STUDYING ABROAD
March 5, 2006 - Posted in Study AbroadThe ISU Foreign Language Department and the Study Abroad program have new reasons to cheer - 114-million reasons, thanks to President Bush and Congress. Elyse Peterson explains.
Julie Small got more than she bargained for when she studied abroad in Morocco.
“I feel more for the people that actually come to America and they look like they are lost. I feel more for them. I want to go up and show them around.”
Idaho State University has a Study Abroad program tied to the Bush administration’s push to get more people speaking other languages.
Dr. James Fogelquist, ISU Foreign Language Department: “Sometimes in elementary we have the tendency to teach the names of a few colors and to count to ten in Spanish, but that is not what a serious study of a foreign language is about.”
The hope is the U.S. will be better in foreign affairs, to educate citizens on other cultures, languages, and customs of various lifestyles.
“The student who does go abroad has the advantage of being immersed in a different culture where a another language is spoken, the opportunity to observe the way people do things, customs, family, the way the business world operates, different religious practices and so forth.”
Less than 2% of students in the United States study abroad - something Small and others are trying to change.
“Don’t be critical of other people’s cultures - what they are doing is right for them. And if they come here, you gotta make it as easy as possible!”
Dr. James Fogelquist, ISU Foreign Language Department: “In a world that is increasingly more connected economically, I think it is essential that we take the initiative in the U.S. to show interest in other languages and cultures.”
In order to aid in President Bush’s initiative, the ISU Foreign Language Department will add Arabic and Mandarin to its course line-up this fall.[kpvi.com]