Culture-based language learning opens doors

MINI-EDS

MCKINLEY GARNER THE RUBICON

What is the purpose of learning another language? Is it fluency? Cultural understanding? Global worldview? College admissions?

For millennia, people have learned language by immersing themselves in the culture and people in the area. Immersion forced them to develop experience in these languages and cultures as if they didn’t, they would not thrive. As the world has become ever interconnected, people have used apps like Duolingo or YouTube to broaden their language horizons, leading some to believe it’s easier to learn a language from the comfort of their home; there is no need for them to learn a language for survival purposes, or maybe even in a educational setting. But the truth is that language learning that focuses on culture leads to an expanded worldview and builds greater understanding.