WHY STUDY FOREIGN LANGUAGES?

At its best, the education of the whole person comes to fruition not simply in personal integration but in a sense of one’s place in the global village and concern for those in need. From LMU’s perspective, today’s whole persons are men and women with and for others—visionary men and women able to see beyond the bounds of culture and class and eager to work for the common good wherever it is thwarted by economic, political, or social injustice.
LMU Mission Statement


In today’s world of global interconnectivity you have to be able and willing to look beyond your own community and step outside your comfort zone to be successful. No matter whether you find yourself working in business, politics, community organizing, humanitarian work, education, the arts, science, technology or any other field, it will be impossible  in the future to be a “citizen” of only one culture, to practice “navel-gazing” and ignore the rest of the world.
“Part and parcel” of the new paradigm of the 21- century is not only flexibility, multitasking, multiple careers in one lifetime, adaptability to a fast paced environment and new technologies, but also the ability to navigate in a multicultural society, a global economy and a world in which all countries and its citizens are growing increasingly dependent on each other.  Studying a foreign language and culture will equip you with a set of skills that will give you an edge in the job market and enrich your life.  Here at LMU you will work closely with faculty members who are committed teachers and scholars.  The classes are small and each student gets a lot of individual attention.  You will be exposed to a vast array of new intellectually stimulating information.

The study of a foreign languages:

• broadens your cultural and intellectual horizons and enhances global understanding
• increases acceptance of people, cultures and countries who/that are different from us
• is an indispensable survival tool in the world of globalization
• provides you with a better understanding of your own language and enhances your communication skills
• it develops skills in flexible thinking and problem solving
• can improve your analytic and interpretive capacities
• it can improve your scores on GREs and LSATs
• helps you build the foundation for studying abroad
• fulfills the requirement of most graduate programs to be able to at least read one foreign language and sometimes as many as three
• enables you to explore career options abroad
• increases your job skills and career opportunities. Proficiency in a  
• foreign language can lead to careers in teaching (high school and/or college level); translating and interpreting; government positions in agencies such as the CIA, FBI; international businesses and corporations; the service industry such as hotel, tourism, food; publishers and entertainment industries such as films, radio, music. In other areas, such as medicine, law, business, promotion, journalism, political science, library science, museum and preservation, and more general government work, proficiency in a foreign language will give you a significant advantage over otherwise equally qualified applicants.
• Prepares you for travel, no matter whether it is for business or pleasure
• makes you stand out