Why Learn Languages ?

Languages enhance your employment prospects!

Government and industry often give preference to job applicants who are proficient in a foreign language. Why?

Globalisation

The globalisation of knowledge, of the economy, and of social interaction means that languages are more and more in demand.

If English is becoming the world lingua franca in the world of commerce, and if everyone selling a product speaks English, not every buyer does.

The internationalisation of our societies is not limited to trade exchanges.

International government and non government organisations employ an increasing number of staff and prefer to employ doctors, lawyers, office workers, or logistics engineers with linguistic skills.

Scientists and engineers not only work in a global environment but also often rely on primary sources published in other languages, attend international consortia, and often find themselves interacting across national, cultural and linguistic borders.

We aim to prepare our graduates for mobility in an increasingly international labour market.

The growing awareness of this reality in Australia means that the demand for foreign language teachers will increase in the same way as the demand for teachers of English as a Second Language.

Lateral thinking and adaptability

Employers who are not functioning on an international level have started to see the benefits of employing graduates with a background in languages.

Learning a foreign language does train a student to function simultaneously within different parameters, in two worlds. In a rapidly changing technological and intellectual world, the adaptability of people who have learnt foreign languages makes them more employable.

The Modern Languages Program at the University of Wollongong uses the latest technology in bringing you linguistic knowledge.

Travel and pleasure

Travelling in foreign countries for work or pleasure, and being able to understand the people and their cultures is in itself a pleasurable and enriching experience.

The University of Wollongong recognises this and encourages students to participate in exchange programs. As your studies at a university in a foreign country count towards your degree at UoW, you can benefit from an immersion in the target language and still count that experience in your degree.

You can take a language within an Arts degree or as the main Arts component in a double degree.