Language: The Crucial Connection

The overall objective of this course is to lay a foundation for all courses.  This course deals both with the nature of language and the “globalization language”—English.  It also serves to introduce the student to the development of languages all around the world and to spark interest in learning a second language, which we believe is very important for individuals’ future development.  All future languages are built around the “natural” Rosetta Stone system used by the USA State Department.  In this course, we will learn about linguistics, orality/literacy, how children learn languages, global language history and expansion , and laying a lifelong learning strategy for language development.  It will also develop an appreciation for the power of language—speaking, listening, reading and writing.  The specific objectives are:

• To understand the history of languages globally
• To understand the power of language in everyday life
• To motivate future interest in and development of language skills
• To spark interest in learning a second language
• To sketch a future course for personal language development