Languages Offered at IWU

Given all the advantages of being able to speak a second language, we hope that you will keep pursuing your language skills at Illinois Wesleyan. We offer language opportunities in the following:

• Hispanic Studies (Spanish)
• Japanese Studies
• French
• American Sign Language

Benefits of Learning a Second (or Third!) Language

Students who become fluent in a language that is not their native tongue experience a number of benefits.

Academic

Studies consistently show that bilinguals have increased cognitive skills and abilities to multitask and prioritize. 

• In Praise of Languages for Internationalization - Read more from The Chronicle of Higher Education

• What does research show about the benefits of language learning? - Read more from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
  
  
• The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual - Read more from The Dana Foundation

Cultural

Learning a second language enriches students' personal lives and increases their power to act as citizens of the world.

• Language Study in the Age of Globalization - Read more from Modern Language Association

Economic

Globalization is making it increasingly more common to do business with people who speak different languages. As a result, employers are constantly looking for people who are able to speak additional languages.

• Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, local courts, schools and the State Department can't get enough workers with this job skill. What is it? Fluency in a foreign language - Read more from the CNN-Money article

• What Business Wants: Language Needs In The 21st Century - Read more from Language Flagship

• Why MBAs Need to Be Bilingual - Read more from BusinessWeek

• Business Schools are Speaking the Language of Business - Read more from BusinessWeek