Reading the Teagle report, I was struck by the statement that studying in a foreign language is essential for an English student’s success. At UNC, as well as at many other academic institutions, an advanced foreign language requirement is what divides the English department from the Comparative Literature department, providing students with the option of choosing to study literature in another language or focusing on texts in English.

In English departments across the United States, there has been a decline in the foreign language requirement, causing, according to many critics, students to develop an ethnocentric view of their studies, and the world. For example, in 1884 the MLA Convention promoted the study of a foreign language as follows: “[A] reading knowledge of French and German should form one of the requisites for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. It was strenuously urged that, as this distinction claims to represent “liberal” scholarship, it should naturally include a sufficient knowledge of these tongues to be able to become acquainted with the current lines of modern thought given in them, and without which no man of our age could esteem himself liberally educated.” Comparatively, in 1971, the Convention promoted a much different view: “the day when all scholarship was written in French and German has long since passed, and we see no reason for according languages special status as a requirement. Other intellectual disciplines are just as important in providing perspective on literature.”

While I do agree that other “intellectual disciplines” are also important for understanding literature, I believe that an additional foreign language requirement for English students would be extremely beneficial. It would allow students to get away from the realm of British and American literature, two forms that I find to be over-emphasized in studies of literature. There are so many wonderful books and forms of literature that students often never have the opportunity to study because they are slighted in relation to the more often studied works.

Not only would an additional foreign language requirement allow students to study different works, but it would help with the English-language studies as well. Students would be able to note historical interactions, cultural connections, and establish better methods of research and literary comparison.

Additionally, those skills that a student would develop would also provide students with marketable skills for the workplace and life post-graduation. Many employers value an applicant’s knowledge of another language, and it shows that a student has skills in communication, interpretation, and global knowledge. Karen Houle, of the University Language Center, said: “in today’s changing workplace, learning a foreign language can be as valuable if not more than learning some of the latest software programs.” Students of English studies, myself included, are often asked: “So what are you going to do with that English major?”, but having foreign language skills can show critics of such studies that English majors are highly marketable.

Personally, I wish I had studied Russian to better appreciate many of my favorite novels. I discovered a love for Russian literature in my freshman year and have since taken many classes where students that understand Russian read the actual texts, while those that cannot read the translations. The students that read the works in Russian are always able to grasp certain aspects that the others cannot. Translations aren’t perfect, and often an author’s wordplay or humor is not evident in an English-language text. It can be extremely frustrating when the students that can read Russian began discussing something that doesn’t translate well into English, and I am sometimes left confused.

Adding a foreign language requirement would be beneficial, although a challenge to the curriculum. Students would need to begin such studies early in their career to have enough knowledge to read and interpret literature in another language. As Robert Scholes stated, “it takes a while to know enough to have anything useful to say”. I like the way UNC currently has set up the requirements- students have the option of taking literature-based foreign language classes. The only feasible change that I recommend now would be to add taking more non-British/American literature course to the degree requirements, and promoting foreign-language literary studies.

[The quotes I chose to use can be found at this website: http://web2.ade.org/ade/bulletin/n138/138064.htm. It focus on doctoral studies in English and the need for foreign language requirements for all students,but also emphasizes the need for such work for all English students. Also, there is an interesting chart at the bottom of the page showing how few schools have such requirements. ]