Throughout my school years, although I am quite young, I have noticed that most of my bilingual or multilingual acquaintances and myself show improved listening and the notice of fine details. They also had an impressive memory, which allowed them to learn another language easier than most students I encountered in Australia. Bilingual students who had to learn especially Japanese, French and core subjects in middle years, showed better scores than monolingual students who struggled in those subjects. Therefore, I wish to make the case, that schools should teach a compulsory second language (other than English) to students throughout their school years.
Studies from the University of Chicago show that learning a foreign language enhances ones’ memory, decision making, and listening skills. It has been proven that bilingual people are able to pick up nuances and subtleties from any given situation. 43% of the Australian high school students in 2019, showed significantly improved scores than monolingual students. This has also been seen in Asian and other non-English country’s’ schools. They learn their first language and second language as English or maybe a third language too. 95% of their students are rich in knowledge about eastern and western cultures and languages, whereas other countries like Australia and America do not know much about languages other than English. It has also been proven in an experiment done in 2014 by the phycologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee, which bilingual pre-school students showed a great understanding of puzzles and riddles compared to monolingual students who were in the same grade.
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Although English is one of the most spoken languages in the world, it does not help us in some situations. Which leads to my second point.
In situations like higher-level job applications, there is a higher chance of being selected for the job when the applicant can speak a second or multiple languages. It has also been proven that speaking 2 or more languages affect in improving career growth in a survey done in 2015. “A British Chambers of Commerce study conducted in 2013 discovered that language barriers in foreign trade limit more than 60% of companies.”(Bilingua.com). Employees’ survey shows that being bilingual and using that language in their career can have a 10%-15% boost in their salaries. In the United States, Military Personals receive USD 1000 for knowing a foreign language and using it in duty other than monolingual officers. International companies seek for multilingual candidates that can cooperate with their foreign clients and their translators. This creates an effect on those clients then the person in charge of the employee’s position, which leads to an upgrade in the position of the employee. This is one of the main reasons why bilingual people are more successful than monolinguals. They have higher decision-making skills, enhanced memory and they have been in more situations like socializing with foreign people that helps them in their jobs and future.
'A second language a second life.' Bilingual people are known for looking at things from different perspectives or angles. This links back to my first point, bilinguals have higher decision-making and problem-solving skills, which gives them a number of alternatives to the one problem that monolinguals and bilinguals both encounter. It was also shown in a survey that bilingual people socialize and make friends quicker than most monolinguals. 'The University of Stockholm found out that speaking two languages can have a cognitive impact on the behavior of a person. Especially on bilinguals because the way they think differently depends on the linguistic environment in which they act.' Not only there is one's change of personality but it builds up self-confidence. When one starts learning a new language, people around them will notice that one has become more confident and motivated. People tend to not know, but learning a new language can affect ones' mental health greatly. It makes ones' mind strong and capable of handling situations, making decisions and gives one advanced memory. These small factors build ones’ life, make them successful and balanced. Therefore considering all of these aspects I wish to make the case that schools should teach a second language other than English.
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