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WHY you learn a foreign language ? [外国語]
WHY you learn a foreign language ?
In my opinion, it is for the purpose of enhancing the ability to cope with different cultures.
Just for that, first of all, we would be required to have mutual understanding between or among the parties concerned. Just to recognize what other people would be thinking, we would need to communicate each other. And the tool we use for the communication will be the commonly understandable language. Just to exchange views and ideas with people of different culture, our mother tongue does not work. That’s why we start to learn a commonly acceptable popular foreign language like English from boyhood. But the language itself is not the purpose – it’s just simply a means of communication. Just for the mutual understanding and furthermore for co-works or cooperation, we need common words.
In Japan as a compulsory education we get started with English to be followed by other major foreign languages like French or Spanish etc. as you grow older. In our Japanese history of modern times, for example, in the time of last world war, it looks to have been said in Japan not to learn languages of a hostile country. It was a wrong policy – Japan should have studied foreign languages just to win the war, just U.S. had studied our language to get information on Japan.
Now we are living the age of IT. We can get connected with any people of the world directly and instantaneously if we make use of IT tools like internet or skype etc. If you use for example English as a communication tool, your world you can reach will be next to endless. You find no longer any barrier like a border there on the internet. You do not need to pass through a custom. In such an open world open to everybody of the world, I find no meaning to stay inside of your own country alone. The field you can play an active part will be extended to every possible direction beyond the border. You can be in New York today and then you can be in London its next day physically, for example. If you use internet, you can be anywhere at the same time.
In Japan, we had historically the time we had national isolation, although very limited part was exclusively open to outer world. Japan is a very special country if we look at it from outside of Japan. In the first place, our country is said to be composed of a homogenous population and the language spoken internally in Japan is limited to Japanese. This looks to be very special. So, those who do not need to be connected with other countries do not need a foreign language at all as long as you live your own life within Japan. It has been so historically. But, the too rapid innovation of IT had changed the world even within Japan. Influences from other countries are coming in just like a flood. It’s getting harder to remain isolated all alone. We should open the window widely and let winds of different kind come into our house.
I have friends in other countries. We can talk each other by writing emails even daily and if required as many times as possible even in one single day. I am lucky I have such close friends. By writing mutually, we can come to know new things which I didn’t know so far. Although traditions and cultures themselves are not the same, we can well understand each other. If we can share the same interest, it will help to make our talks more activated. We can talk just as we talk with old friends of the same country. Because the habits and customs will be different, it’s interesting to find such differences.
We can gradually come to know how they think and what thought they hold. But, in my case, what I find is that we are just same people – simply the race and nationality happen to be different. With good friends of different countries, we can understand very well mutually. Simply it’s because we have the same tool of same language. It is the key.
I’m on the side of talkative people. I can speak for 2 hours even one-sidedly without pause on the way. But, if I get involved in a circumstance where my languages do not work, I will be quiet. Because nobody around me can understand what I speak. No choice other than to keep silence.
Only one time I had such an experience in Osaka. I was invited by my friend to a club where hostess are all from Russia or Ukraine. They didn’t speak Japanese or English. They spoke Russian only. And I knew nothing about Russian. What was possible was just silence ! No way !
As long as English alone is concerned, I use it on my business. And I have chance to write it for the daily works by email. But, what I write are mostly for business only. We seldom talk about private matters. And as long as you do it, your vocabulary will be very limited to the business matters only. That’s why I need friends we can talk about the other matters extensively, just to widen the horizon.
Language itself is not a purpose but it works very well to find new worlds you have never experienced in the past. That’s WHY I believe learning a foreign language is crucial.
In my opinion, it is for the purpose of enhancing the ability to cope with different cultures.
Just for that, first of all, we would be required to have mutual understanding between or among the parties concerned. Just to recognize what other people would be thinking, we would need to communicate each other. And the tool we use for the communication will be the commonly understandable language. Just to exchange views and ideas with people of different culture, our mother tongue does not work. That’s why we start to learn a commonly acceptable popular foreign language like English from boyhood. But the language itself is not the purpose – it’s just simply a means of communication. Just for the mutual understanding and furthermore for co-works or cooperation, we need common words.
In Japan as a compulsory education we get started with English to be followed by other major foreign languages like French or Spanish etc. as you grow older. In our Japanese history of modern times, for example, in the time of last world war, it looks to have been said in Japan not to learn languages of a hostile country. It was a wrong policy – Japan should have studied foreign languages just to win the war, just U.S. had studied our language to get information on Japan.
Now we are living the age of IT. We can get connected with any people of the world directly and instantaneously if we make use of IT tools like internet or skype etc. If you use for example English as a communication tool, your world you can reach will be next to endless. You find no longer any barrier like a border there on the internet. You do not need to pass through a custom. In such an open world open to everybody of the world, I find no meaning to stay inside of your own country alone. The field you can play an active part will be extended to every possible direction beyond the border. You can be in New York today and then you can be in London its next day physically, for example. If you use internet, you can be anywhere at the same time.
In Japan, we had historically the time we had national isolation, although very limited part was exclusively open to outer world. Japan is a very special country if we look at it from outside of Japan. In the first place, our country is said to be composed of a homogenous population and the language spoken internally in Japan is limited to Japanese. This looks to be very special. So, those who do not need to be connected with other countries do not need a foreign language at all as long as you live your own life within Japan. It has been so historically. But, the too rapid innovation of IT had changed the world even within Japan. Influences from other countries are coming in just like a flood. It’s getting harder to remain isolated all alone. We should open the window widely and let winds of different kind come into our house.
I have friends in other countries. We can talk each other by writing emails even daily and if required as many times as possible even in one single day. I am lucky I have such close friends. By writing mutually, we can come to know new things which I didn’t know so far. Although traditions and cultures themselves are not the same, we can well understand each other. If we can share the same interest, it will help to make our talks more activated. We can talk just as we talk with old friends of the same country. Because the habits and customs will be different, it’s interesting to find such differences.
We can gradually come to know how they think and what thought they hold. But, in my case, what I find is that we are just same people – simply the race and nationality happen to be different. With good friends of different countries, we can understand very well mutually. Simply it’s because we have the same tool of same language. It is the key.
I’m on the side of talkative people. I can speak for 2 hours even one-sidedly without pause on the way. But, if I get involved in a circumstance where my languages do not work, I will be quiet. Because nobody around me can understand what I speak. No choice other than to keep silence.
Only one time I had such an experience in Osaka. I was invited by my friend to a club where hostess are all from Russia or Ukraine. They didn’t speak Japanese or English. They spoke Russian only. And I knew nothing about Russian. What was possible was just silence ! No way !
As long as English alone is concerned, I use it on my business. And I have chance to write it for the daily works by email. But, what I write are mostly for business only. We seldom talk about private matters. And as long as you do it, your vocabulary will be very limited to the business matters only. That’s why I need friends we can talk about the other matters extensively, just to widen the horizon.
Language itself is not a purpose but it works very well to find new worlds you have never experienced in the past. That’s WHY I believe learning a foreign language is crucial.
タグ：何故外国語を学ぶか？
2018-05-08 14:02
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