I recently came across an article about countries that use their native languages in university education:
1. The U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia use English.
2. France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Quebec in Canada use French.
3. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland use German.
4. Spain, Mexico, and most Latin American countries use Spanish.
5. Russia uses Russian.
6. China uses Mandarin Chinese.
7. Japan uses Japanese.
8. The Arab world primarily uses Arabic in universities, although some fields are often taught in English or French.
Living in China, I can confirm that Mandarin is the primary language in universities here.
It’s intriguing how language policies shape education and knowledge exchange within each country.
What do you think are the advantages or challenges of using a native language in higher education? Does it strengthen cultural identity, or could it limit international collaboration? And for those of you in multilingual environments, what’s been your experience with this balance between native and foreign languages in academia?
Dear Ahmed Medhat Elgammal
Thanks for the interesting discussion!
In terms of national moral values, mother tongue teaching is important. However, students should be taught at least one international language so that they can communicate in foreign countries. This is usually either English or Spanish (since they are the most widely spoken languages). Although Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, it has a limited range of use (Only China) and is difficult to learn. Therefore, English is the best choice in this regard. Learning Spanish can also be considered as a second option because it is easy to learn. It is possible to use this language mostly in Latin American countries and Spain.
Thank you for your insightful response!
You raise excellent points about balancing native language instruction with international communication needs.
I agree that while mother tongue education helps preserve cultural identity and facilitates deeper understanding, proficiency in global languages is crucial in our interconnected world.
Dear Ahmed Medhat Elgammal
You are welcome! And also thank you for the interesting discussion!
Best regards, Hamid!
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