Importance of the Mother Tongue on Learning Second Language free essay sample

So,it is an undeniable fact that the language is a vital tool which affects various things ranging from our relationships to fulfil the basic needs. According to the story of The Tower of Babel in Genesis, God mixed up the languages so that people could not communicate anymore. Since that time humankind try to understand each other in various ways and finally they realy became succesful. Despite this fact, humankind succeded to find a way to communicate. Because it is a need that people must keep in touch to contunie their lifes. Now, in order to understand a foreign person, an unknown culture and for any other purposes we learn foreign languages. Anyone cannot go to foreign countries without knowing anything of the language or culture of the people in the places they visit. The importance of language is beneficial regardless if you do it for fun or for your career or even just for personal travel. Learning multiple languages will always serve to enhance your quality of life, and even if you never use that language in practical circumstances, you almost certainly will enjoy the time spent educating yourself. The importance and advantages of learning a second language is continuing to increase day by day. It is a fundamental truth that cultures define themselves through languages. A foreign language gives you access to another culture. It gives you the ability to communicate and to exchange views with people all over the world that you would otherwise not have the chance to know. Learning a foreign language also opens up a whole new dimension. It has a positive effect on intellectual growth and it enriches and enhances mental development. Learning a foreign language is especially effective at an early age. It greatly benefits reading and writing in one’s own language; there is evidence that, like musical education, it contributes significantly to the development of individual intelligence. After mentioning the importance of learning a foreign language, it is a need to mention the significance of mother tongue. In course of learning a foreign language there is a common mistake. In our efforts to keep up with a language that is not our own, we sometimes forget to take care of our native language, something which is particularly important if you no longer live in your native country. People ignore their own language while learning another. But its a fatal mistake because the mother tongue is a window which opens the outer world. Maintaining the native language is a crucial point and its effects are innumerable in human life. One should respect his motherland, his culture and his mother tongue because they are givers of happiness. says The Rigveda which is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns while emphasizing the importance of native language. Ones mother tongue gives him opportunity to understand his nations history, customs and provides him to be social in certain areas. The persons first language is critical to his or her identity. Maintaining this language helps the person value his or her culture and heritage, which contributes to a positive self-concept. It is through language that we develop our thoughts, shape our experience, explore our customs, structure our community, construct our laws, articulate our values and give expression to our hopes and ideas. Expressing himself in his first language allows a person to better understand his cultural heritage. When you are connected to your cultural heritage you have a sense of identity. Having this sense of identity is a key part of having a positive self-esteem. In a world that has become global, it is important for a person to have a strong sense of who they are so they don’t get lost in it. Without comprehend his native language and understand crucial points of this language one cannot be succeded in a process of learning a foreign language. Because learning a language means not only speak that langauge roughly,but it also means enjoying the way he speak and expressing himself in that language. Speaking a foreign language means feel yourself in walking someones shoes,lets say looking at events from anothers point of view. So,in this process you have to receive support of your own language. First one must have necessary acquaintance with his mother tongue,then begins to learn another language. Our language is the most important part of our being. It is important to learn other languages besides our own because it helps us to learn about other peoples and cultures but the most important one that we can learn is our own mother tongue as this is one of the most basic parts of our identity. If we lose our own tongue, for example, when we grow up in a country which is not our own,we are losing a part of our self. Learners will develop an understanding of the culture of the mother tongue language and they can use it as base for comparison with other cultures. They will thus develop an appreciation of the validity of different ways of perceiving and encoding experiences and of organising interpersonal relations to reach a deeper appreciation of their own personal identity and values. Through mother tongue people learn the everyday life patterns of their contemporary age-group, cultural traditional social conventions, historical roots, relationships with other cultures, cultural achievements, current events and regional and geographical concepts, historical evidence of civilisation in different countries including their own. The peple who have a cultural identity learn to stand the pressure from peer group of different cultures in schools, work places and society. The significance of mother tongue is incomparable. If anyone doesnt give the necessary importance to his native language or doesnt comprehend the crucial points in his native,his learning of a foreign language will be deficient. How could a person understand another language before take up seriously his own language? It is impossible to be a complete speaker in a foreign language before understanding his native. It would resemble to build a new structure before reinforcing base of the building. Everytime sometime will be lack. So,if anyone wants to be a perfect speaker in any foreign language,he or she first must be a complete,conscious native speaker. THE REFERENCES : googleacademic. com answerwiki. com wikipedia. com yahoo. answer. com library. com advancedwriters. com Student’s Name Surname : Sefa Mert Kaptan | Class – Number : 1/A – 12310271073 Department : English Language Teaching Department | Teacher’s Name Surname : Seren Ustun Faculty of Ahmet Kelesoglu | University of Necmettin Erbakan