I study engineering management. What foreign language should I learn?

Doctor of Linguistics teaches you to choose a foreign language from four angles.

"There are thousands of miles on the road of life, and there are thousands of crossroads". Many times, choices often change our destiny, whether consciously or unconsciously. At present, thousands of students in Qian Qian are preparing for the college entrance examination, and the pressure is self-evident. A lot of pressure and confusion often come from various choices-majors, colleges and so on. Among them, the choice of foreign language is also a big choice that many candidates must face. I analyze it from several different angles, hoping to give students reference:

Perspective 1: regional factors

Language learning is inseparable from language environment, which directly affects the overall level of foreign language learning. Have you noticed that China is currently implementing a "one-stop" policy for foreign language learning? From primary school to doctoral degree, it can really be described as "accompanying you to the end". But the learning effect is often not proportional to the length of learning time: after learning English for more than ten years, there are still many people who can't speak or do it, let alone show off. In the final analysis, the main reason is the lack or inadequacy of the target language environment or atmosphere.

In view of this, due to the special geographical environment and historical factors, the three northeastern provinces have a good target language (mainly Japan, South Korea and Russia) environment and atmosphere, and ordinary people can also speak one or two foreign languages. In this environment, it is difficult to learn well.

Thanks to this unique geographical advantage, Japanese, Korean, Russian and other majors in dalian university of foreign languages have considerable strength and characteristics. Japanese is the "fist product" of Dalian International Studies University and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. The Korean Department now has a five-year Korean-Japanese bilingual undergraduate program and a four-year Korean undergraduate program. It has become an early-established, high-start and comprehensive teaching entity and research unit in Northeast China and even the whole country, and it is also one of the departments with the largest number of Korean majors in universities across the country. The Russian Language Department has developed into the largest Russian talent training base in China.

Similarly, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, located in the southwest border of the motherland, border Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries. Economic and trade exchanges and cultural exchanges have made the target language environment in these areas have a good mass base and a good foreign language learning atmosphere and tradition. Therefore, the teaching and research of Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and other small languages are colorful in these two provinces. For example, some small languages offered by Guangxi University for Nationalities and Guangxi Normal University are no less powerful than well-known foreign language institutions such as Beijing Foreign Studies University. Similarly, English, European languages and other foreign language majors are active in coastal universities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and universities in Xinjiang and other provinces and regions have also shown more or less unique geographical advantages in the study and teaching of Central Asian languages.

Of course, the geographical advantage is not only reflected in the superior language environment and language practice opportunities, but more importantly, the advantage in employment. The capital Beijing, coastal open cities, tourist cities and border areas are often active areas for economic and trade exchanges and cultural exchanges among countries, and foreign affairs activities are frequent, which naturally makes foreign languages the world.

Perspective 2: Political and economic factors

As a unique communication tool for human beings, the use and spread of language are influenced and restricted by various factors in human society, the most obvious of which may be political and economic factors. From individuals to groups, society and even national alliances, the size of their "discourse power" is directly proportional to their political and economic strength. "Deep pockets" is the fact. Coincidentally, there is a similar expression in English-"IamhavetheFinal". American economic and political hegemony has actually made English a lingua franca. Japan, Germany, South Korea and other countries have developed rapidly after the war, and their strong economic strength has also made their language advantages increasingly prominent. French, Russian and Chinese have become one of the official working languages of the United Nations, which is also inseparable from their specific political and economic status.

It is worth noting that it cannot be said that the employment rate of strong language will be high, because it is strong, it is popular, because it is popular, there are many candidates, and the job market is becoming increasingly saturated. On the contrary, for those "cold words" with a small number of applicants, their talent training has long been a "planned economy model" and "a radish is a pit", but talents are extremely scarce. Of course, then again, learning a strong language can help us learn and learn from other people's advanced technology and experience for our use. Why not?

Perspective 3: generalist factor

Entering the information age and the era of economic globalization, the social demand for foreign language talents has been diversified, and foreign language graduates who only master foreign language professional knowledge can not fully meet the social needs. People's Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of Education's Opinions on Undergraduate Education Reform for Foreign Language Majors Facing the 2 1 century has made the most authoritative exposition, that is, the five characteristics that compound foreign language talents should possess are: solid basic language skills, extensive knowledge, certain professional knowledge, strong ability and good quality.

It can be seen that foreign language learners in the 2 1 century must be generalists, otherwise when the whole people master computers and foreign languages, it will be the day when our foreign language learners are laid off. Therefore, many foreign language colleges and related institutions are actively trying or practicing the training mode of compound foreign language talents. To sum up, there are mainly foreign languages+professional knowledge, foreign languages+professional direction, foreign languages+majors, foreign languages+another foreign language, foreign languages+wide knowledge, majors+foreign languages, and double degrees. For example, the English Department of the School of Foreign Languages of Guangxi Normal University has two English undergraduate majors: English education and business English. South Dalian International Studies University's five-year Korean-Japanese bilingual undergraduate program has its own characteristics. The International Business School of Beijing Foreign Studies University currently offers six majors: international economy and trade, finance, business administration, accounting, e-commerce, information management and information system. The compound knowledge structure of students is as follows: graduates have reached the level of English major in foreign languages, and at the same time receive systematic education in basic theories of economics and management and professional disciplines. Graduates can use fluent English for professional exchanges and academic research. Therefore, it is the best policy for candidates to grasp the whole according to their own actual situation and the professional characteristics of colleges and universities.

Perspective 4: Cultural factors

There is a close relationship between culture and language: language is a part and carrier of culture, and the teaching and dissemination of culture must rely on language. It can be said that learning a foreign language means learning and understanding other people's cultures.

There is a saying in foreign language learning theory that a favorable or positive attitude towards the people and culture of the target language will greatly promote the mastery of the language of that country, and vice versa. Love me, love my dog, the reason is not difficult to understand. At present, "Korean Wave" is still popular in China, including Korean dramas, hanbok, Korean food, Han Xing ... followed by "Korean fever". On the contrary, because Prime Minister Koizumi has repeatedly stirred up the feelings of the people of China, many people are resistant to "Japanese goods" and naturally do not have much affection for Japanese culture. Learn Japanese-you will always be a pain in my heart. Admittedly, this is irrational and unwise, and there is a legacy of "narrow nationalism", which is really undesirable. "Learning from foreigners to control foreigners" requires such breadth of mind and boldness of vision.

In a word, interest is the best teacher. The biggest and longest interest in learning a foreign language is not the foreign language itself, but the rich humanistic accumulation behind it. If you think the above choices are too "real" and just for your livelihood, you might as well "I advocate my happiness", follow your own interests and choose your favorite language and culture.