With a slew of university requirements to fulfill before graduation, many Brandeis students grudgingly sit through 30-level language classes in order to satisfy the language requirement. Whether it’s dozing through the language you took in high school or starting fresh with Spanish 10, gaining the foreign language credit is often seen as a chore that distracts from a more important area of study. However, taking a language class is a unique opportunity that should be appreciated past its graduation requirements. In fact, there are many benefits to taking a language past the level-30 requirement.
First, through the general requirements, Brandeis offers the unique experience to explore a variety of academic areas with no strings attached. You can take foreign language classes simply to learn something new and take advantage of the opportunities in a liberal arts university, and pass/fail is always an option. It is possible to learn a language by listening to Rosetta Stone in your living room, but this can never be the same as studying a language in a classroom setting. Exposure to the insights and mistakes of professors and classmates is an invaluable part of the learning process.
Language classes get into their most interesting content past level 30. The early stages are focused on grammar and vocabulary: essential building blocks of a course. But languages become far more enriching when paired with their history and culture. If the syllabus is focused on verb tenses and indirect pronouns, there will be less time to study a country’s poetry or traditional music and dance. Higher-level language courses are more enriching because they teach both a new dialect and the culture of its speakers. In lower-level courses, it is easy to become frustrated with the material and give up on the idea of ever speaking the language. But when you become engaged in interesting culture and history, fluency is much more attainable.
Greater knowledge of a language brings access to a wider world. It creates understanding of cultural nuance, allowing you to establish connections rather than get lost in translation. According to Laura Katz ’19, “When you learn a language, you can value the culture more fully. It forces you to have a different perspective that isn’t so whitewashed or Americanized.”
Furthermore, foreign language experience is not only interesting, but increasingly attractive to employers. Many students may find their schedules too packed for a class that does not relate to their major or intended career, but the pass/fail route exists—and bilingualism is impressive on any resume. It is worth it to take on a foreign language class because it provides you an edge with potential employers, a skill that applicants who just strictly stuck to the major degree requirements would not have. This pertains to careers both in the U.S. and abroad, as the ability to communicate with various groups of people is globally advantageous.
And if these reasons are not convincing enough, studies have shown that speaking multiple languages has cognitive benefits. Being multilingual increases attention span and focus,short-term memory and the ability to multi-task. Bilinguals are also less prone to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later on in life. So challenging your mind to navigate another lexicon in higher-level language courses will actually help with your other studies.
Brandeis offers 14 different language programs, from Arabic to German to Japanese. When you finish the level-30 requirement, continue on to 104. Take it pass/fail if you’re nervous about the time commitment. But to formally learn a foreign language is a privilege Brandeis grants us that we should definitely take advantage of.
