Transfer and Generalizability of Foreign Language Learning

Book excerpt: "Knowing a foreign language provides an advantage for understanding, working in, and building relationships with a particular language community. However, military personnel can expect to encounter multiple languages in their operational experiences over a career. Thus, it is important to understand what impact learning a foreign language has beyond its applications with a specific population. This report reviews research on the extent to which foreign language proficiency facilitates further language and cultural learning. Empirical research shows relationships among language learning and intercultural and language-related outcomes, but evidence for a direct causal contribution is lacking. In children, knowing a second language develops metalinguistic awareness, which can contribute to further language learning. However, other factors limit the degree of proficiency that can be expected. Evidence of benefits for cross-cultural attitudes and behavior is similarly scarce. The likely impact of language education and training on adults is therefore unknown, particularly for personnel who lack intrinsic motivation or language aptitude, or who hold negative attitudes about the language community. General characteristics such as intercultural sensitivity and interpersonal skills have been shown to contribute more to outcomes than do language skills. Evidence is currently insufficient to view language as the cornerstone of cultural capability."--Page i.