Learning Foreign Languages in India

The large number of online queries regarding courses (personalized and online) on foreign languages on the ThinkVidya website prompted me to write this article. The demand is for learning many non-English languages (and/or mainly with the English language). This interest in languages is no longer solely from people going abroad for jobs or studies, hence tied to technical or scientific subjects.

Foreign Language The renewed interest is Humanities-oriented, that is, it geared toward learning about other cultures. This is a very positive development, as the entire field of the Humanities is about relationships: with other people, with other individuals and with oneself. In the world of today, relationships are everything—in business, in politics and in life.

The strong availability of online options for learning languages while sitting in one’s own home is a very important factor in this. People are veering away from the institutional language teaching programs, as these are often too time-consuming, of too long a duration, and also require crossing cities with packed roads. Less costly air travel has also brought the people of the world closer than ever before and people who travel want be able to speak and interact with the people of the country they visit. This is the complete opposite of a not so distant history when it was considered a blasphemy for Indians to want to cross the oceans and go to other lands. Crossing the ‘kala paani’ (black waters) was tantamount to social excommunication. The result was that while other cultures entered our society, learnt our ways and languages and prospered, we remained isolated from the ways and thoughts of others. We thus became vulnerable to conquest and social disaggregation. In fact, it is my personal view that if the valorous hero, Prithviraj Chauhan, had acquired knowledge on the history of other countries, he would not have been so hidebound by his code of honour but would have faced his enemy with a more realistic approach, and averted a personal and historical disaster. The Moghul courts flourished and were centres of cultural exchange because the rulers encouraged mastery over languages; Turkish, Arabic and Persian, and perhaps other languages were spoken and encouraged in their courts. It is well known that language is the first ‘science’ that a child learns in his/her life. Therefore, each time we learn a new language we acquire once again the ‘scientific’ approach to life and the discipline that goes with it. This indirectly helps us in whatever task we are currently handling. Scientific studies have also shown that children born in households where more than one language is spoken are believed to have higher cognitive, managerial and planning abilities. The more languages children are exposed to, the more agile and flexible is their brain to external stimuli. By learning languages we get access to new thinking on issues that concern us and on institutions that govern us. Indians already learn and employ the English language in their professional lives and the advantages of being literate in English is evident to all. Once we use the tool of language to begin sharing our thinking with others, we realize that our problems are not unique. For example, the emancipation of women, rape and violence on women, unemployment and drug-related crimes among the youth and care for the aged are problems plaguing all societies. Again, today French, Italian and Spanish are languages spoken in more than one country. These are also languages of international institutions like the UN, or the European Union, so they also provide employment opportunities. Many Indians do not know that from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, Italy was the wealthiest area in Europe and that it was the birthplace of Western culture; many modern institutions forming the backbone of our societies, like capitalism, banking, science, philosophy and world exploration also originated in Italy. The expansion of the concept of democracy, although originating in ancient Rome, has had some singular developments in countries like Russia, China and Poland, while the welfare state has demonstrated quite a novel and highly advanced form in countries like Sweden, Denmark and Norway. There are those who argue that it is a waste of time to learn a foreign language when so many countries have survived for generations with only one language and are none the worse for it! Why eat other fruit if you can survive by just eating apple? The answer is that just as a comprehensive diet creates better health, so too learning languages creates a more emancipated mind. The humanism of the Renaissance man was due to his ability to be capable in many subjects; today, we are lucky that more and more persons have access to tools to become like the Renaissance man (or woman!). ~Bela Butalia

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Learning Foreign Languages in India

Looking for Foreign Language Classes?

Looking for Foreign Language Classes?