Literature Review 1

Kristen Hooker
Professor Charles Freeland
English 1201
24 October 2020
Literature Review
How is the fact that most American’s aren’t bilingual damaging to our culture? Language
learning should be given a higher place of importance in schools because it has many benefits
and is very useful. Foreign language learning should be taught at a higher level in schools, it is
best to learn as a child and it could be very helpful to our economy. How does language learning
in America fall short of other countries and is it putting us at a disadvantage?
Nearly every source highlights the fact other countries are much more advanced than we
are in America in terms of language learning. Dr. Gregory K Fitz this in his article, “The Benefits
of Being Bilingual.” It was discovered that while 50-60% of the world is bilingual, less than 25%
of America is. (“Benefits of Bilingual”) This was a good source because Dr. Gregory Fitz is an
acclaimed doctor who specializes in behavior of children. His information is pertinent because it
talks about the fact that we are behind other countries, why it would be best to learn language as
children and the many cognitive benefits of learning language. The article goes on to explain that
other countries also so start teaching language at a much earlier age than we do in America. The
article, “U.S. students lag far behind rest of the world in learning a second language. Here's why
that matters”by Derek Beres goes on to state the astonishing fact that kids in Germany begin
learning a second language at 3 years old. And specifically, most European countries enforce that
all children know at least one language. (U.S Students Lag...”) This information is very
compelling because it gives specific facts about other countries that make it clear how far behind,
we are. Derek Beres is not the most qualified individual as he is only a media expert, but he cites
his information from more reliable sources which makes it more acceptable. This convincing
data about other countries is enough to show that if many other countries are seeing how
beneficial it is and implementing it so young that maybe we should question what we’re doing.
A few other sources talk about how America is losing out on economic benefits. Stephen
Palacios explains this in his article “Bilingual education should be increasing but it is declining”,
He states many convincing points such as how the workforce benefits greatly from people who
are able to conduct business in more than one language. (“Bilingual Education”). This has been a
great source to support how America as a whole could benefit economically from becoming
more bilingual. This should lead people to want it to be taught more thoroughly at a young age.
He is reliable because he is a business executive vice president and leads the company’s
Hispanic practice. This means he’s firsthand seen the benefits through a business standpoint.
This idea of language helping business should be very sensible as we can clearly understand that
jobs would stay in America if we were able to handle all international business through
Americans. While many complain that our jobs are being taken away by China, it must be
understood that we have put ourselves at a disadvantage business-wise if we aren’t able to
communicate in other languages.
The next benefit is that many studies show that people who know more than one
language are actually smarter. Not only does this give a much bigger vocabulary and
understanding of language but it also shows that children who learn another language have better
attention spans, planning and problem solving abilities. Another study showed that being
proficient in multiple languages helps fight against Alzheimer’s. (“Benefits of being bilingual.”)
On the other side of the debate some believe language confusion could be a problem
when teaching multiple languages to a child at the same time. This is the area that my research
needs the most work in. Most of my info is very biased so I’ve been working on how to include
research from another point of view. I would also like to do more research on how ideas about
language learning has changed over time because I haven’t found anything about that yet.
This is just the beginning of the data on this topic. There’s so much more to expand on.
The information is very convincing that America would benefit greatly if we held language in a
higher role of importance. So, how does language learning in America fall short and is it putting
us at a disadvantage?
Works Cited:
Beres, Derek. “U.S. Students Lag Far behind Rest of the World in Learning a Second Language. Here's
Why That Matters.” Big Think, Big Think, 30 Jan. 2019, bigthink.com/21st-century-
spirituality/us-students-lag-far-behind-rest-of-the-world-in-learning-a-second-language-heres-
why-that-matters.
Devlin, Kat. “Learning a Foreign Language a 'Must' in Europe, Not so in America.” Pew Research
Center, Pew Research Center, 13 July 2015, www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2015/07/13/learning-a-foreign-language-a-must-in-europe-not-so-in-america/.
Engle, Jeremy. “How Important Is Knowing a Foreign Language?” The New York Times, The New York
Times, 29 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/learning/how-important-is-knowing-a-
foreign-language.html.
Fritz, Gregory K. “The Benefits of Being Bilingual.” Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior
Letter, vol. 32, no. 5, May 2016, p. 8. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/cbl.30126,
https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=9af49c6a-4f0d-4f54-9626-6582b94cd1bf
%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=114787199&db=a9h
Palacios, Stephen. "Bilingual Education Should Be Increasing but It Is Declining."
Bilingual Education, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale In Context:
Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010256227/OVIC?
u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=ad7f3253. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019. Originally published as

"Conditions Are Perfect For Bilingual Education—So Why Is It In Decline?" Huffington Post,
16 Apr. 2012.
Sigsbee, David L. “Why Americans Don't Study Foreign Languages and What We Can Do about That.”
Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 11 Apr. 2002,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/he.46?casa_token=HoYZHwbDZG4AAAAA
%3Aaq8HimCv7wm034p2PcOe4NXyqg2gRRiS_q-y2hQixzAOMzHKvNXH0UewA_m9qi-
r1nTRf_8UwIOeGg.
Woumans, Evy, et al. “Shifting Gear in the Study of the Bilingual Advantage:
Language Switching Examined as a Possible Moderator.” Behavioral Sciences 2076-328X), vol.
9, no. 8, Aug. 2019, p. 86. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3390/bs9080086,
https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=18bf864d-53e3-4a67-8872-
9f31f01dbd5f%40sessionmgr4006

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Kristen Hooker

Professor Charles Freeland

in America fall short of other countries and is it putting us at a disadvantage?

understood that we have put ourselves at a disadvantage business-wise if we aren’t able to

communicate in other languages.

Center, Pew Research Center, 13 July 2015, www.pewresearch.org/fact-

Times, 29 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/learning/how-important-is-knowing-a-

Letter, vol. 32, no. 5, May 2016, p. 8. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1002/cbl.30126,

Palacios, Stephen. "Bilingual Education Should Be Increasing but It Is Declining."

Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010256227/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=ad7f3253. Accessed 17 Oct. 2019. Originally published as

Language Switching Examined as a Possible Moderator.” Behavioral Sciences 2076-328X), vol.

9, no. 8, Aug. 2019, p. 86. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3390/bs9080086,

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