Arabic, Chinese and Southeast Asian languages increasingly in demand

NIU has students speaking in tongues — different tongues that is.

NIU offers many languages from Latin and Tagalog to Spanish and Mandarin Chinese not only to students fulfilling their B.A. requirement, but also for those looking to get a leg up on other people trying to find work in a harsh economy.

Having fluency in another language has many advantages, including setting apart a resume from the rest, said Katharina Barbe, assistant chair of NIU’s foreign language department.

“More and more businesses work closely with companies in other countries; therefore, there is a need for workers who can communicate in different languages,” Barbe said. “Many of our graduates were hired precisely because they had foreign language proficiency.”

Barbe said some of her department’s graduates have gone on to have stable jobs as foreign language teachers, bankers, State Department employees, Foreign Service employees, FBI linguists, journalists and U.S. Customs Service employees.

One graduate of NIU who has made professional use of the languages he has learned is Ralph Strozza, who graduated in spring of 1981 with a double major in marketing and French with a Spanish minor.

Strozza is now the co-founder, chief executive officer and majority owner of Interpro Translation Solutions in Lisle and has seen first-hand how the development of technology and globalization has made multilingualism more practical than before.

“Thanks to the Internet, which has made the world a much smaller place, the ability to speak more than one language is more of an asset than ever before,” Strozza said. “People sometimes forget that the ‘e’ in ‘e-business’ does not stand for English.”

In his experience, Strozza has recognized an increasing need for speakers who know Chinese and Southeast Asian languages. National security concerns also have made Arabic, Urdu and Farsi in demand.

In a 2006 report published by the Modern Languages Association, some of the languages with the largest growth in enrollment between 2002 and 2006 were Arabic (126.5 percent), Chinese (51 percent), Korean (37.1 percent) and American Sign Language (29.7 percent).

Some may be intimidated by taking on a language, but some professors believe anyone is capable.

“I believe everyone is capable of learning foreign language fluently,” said Lan Hui Ryder, a Chinese professor. “A person who is motivated and persistent can stick with it, but being able to handle embarrassment is also necessary.”

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