Learning Italian as a SL and its benefits

"Globalization and the multicultural society that we live in has increased the need for knowledge of other languages and cultures for effective communication, better human relations within a diverse Canadian society and for a competitive edge in the shrinking world of economics." (Alberta Program of Studies) As a teacher of a second language I believe it's an important in today's world to know a SL and to recognize and appreciate the differences across the variety of cultures. In addition, through the learning of a SL students are taught to respect and learn about the beliefs and values associated with certain cultures.

The learning of any second language introduces many benefits that give the learner a great advantage in a number of areas. Some of the benefits that present themselves through the learning of an SL are: a better global understanding, economic benefits, an enhancement of cognitive and life skills, opportunity to make travel experiences more enjoyable and further increasing understanding of one's self and own culture. Surely, there are many more advantages to learning a second language which is by individuals should learn a new language. Being a SL teacher I believe that it's an extremely important counterpart that should be given more attention in educational institutions. It provides a number of of benefits for the present and future of students and it is interesting to explore the language and lifestyles of another culture.

Teaching Italian as a SL I believe that learning about the culture and the language is beneficial as it gives students an opportunity to further understand the development of European culture. In addition, "The study of Italian also develops awareness of, and sensitivity to, the cultural and linguistic diversity of Canadian society. The Italian culture consists of a rich history that would be interesting for students to learn about. Furthermore, Italian is beneficial for communication with Italian speakers but it also brings forth the advantage of being able to learn about art, literature, music and the chance to travel the country and learn about the various monuments and attractions. Even if you are a native speaker of Italian it would be great to learn about the Italian culture as allows you to maintain the language skills and cultural connections as well as be subjected to historical information that you may not have known. From my perspective, I believe it's important to have fluency in more than one language, whether it be Italian or not. By investing the time to learn a language and about a culture there is a number of favorable circumstances that are advantageous in the diverse Canadian Society.

Alberta Education, Programs of Study
http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/interlang/italian.aspx

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