Learning a Language
As more and more businesses work closely with companies in other countries, they need many different kinds of employees who can communicate in different languages and understand other cultures. No matter what career you choose, if you’ve learned a second language, you’ll have a real advantage. Professionals who know other languages are called upon to travel and exchange information with people in other countries throughout their careers. In Australia, possible areas of employment for foreign language graduates include tourism, international trade and commerce, foreign language teaching, translating and interpreting, defence and other public service sectors, journalism, press agency and broadcasting, providing services to Australia’s non-English speaking communities and advanced study of non-English speaking countries. The possibilities are endless.
The languages taught within the School are: Chinese, French, German, Ancient Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Spanish, and Ukrainian. (The School also offers programs in Linguistics, English as an International Language, and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies.)
Monash offers the largest languages program of any Australian University. The program is significant in terms of the number of languages taught, students enrolled, academic staff involved, and opportunities for study abroad. If you are a complete beginner or even a native speaker, there are subjects for you in all the language programs offered.
Learning a second language at Monash is exciting as new technologies, such as computers and the World Wide Web, are incorporated into the learning process. Emphasis is on communication, so that you can practise your skills almost straight away! You can also develop your language skills and cultural understanding by studying a wide variety of literary, cultural, linguistic and area subjects in conjunction with language-specific studies.
Would you like to study overseas?
Monash Study Abroad is the most ambitious cultural exchange program in Australia. Each year, Monash helps hundreds of students to take courses overseas for a summer, semester, or a year as part of their Monash degree.
You don’t have to be an Arts student to study languages at Monash. Many degrees such as engineering, accounting, business, medicine and law, allow students to pick other subjects.
If the undergraduate degree you undertake is located in a faculty other than Arts, you can enrol in a Diploma in Languages. This is the equivalent of a major in the language of your choice. The diploma is undertaken at the same time as your other studies and adds one further year of study to your bachelor degree.
Not only does learning a language expand your mind, but your language skills will be invaluable to many employers. Languages open the door to opportunities in many different fields around the world, and it will make a difference in how you see the world and in how the world sees you.
For further information, please contact the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics