Foreign Language Study

―Its Relation to the Humanities―

Abstract

The purpose of foreign language studies is to help the student increase his ability in speaking, comprehending, reading, and writing a foreign language. For most Japanese medical students, university studies in English are a continuation of six years of junior and senior high school English. For other languages, such as German and French, it is the beginning of a study which may continue for only two years or may be the cause of a lifelong interest in the language. No matter what the language may be or what level a student may attain, the primary purpose of any foreign language is to communicate with a person from another culture orally or through the written language as a dispenser or receiver of knowledge. Effective communication in a foreign language implies that one knows not only the language but also the culture and customs of the foreign country and how to develop human relationships with a person from this culture. The foreign language teacher can help the student to attain this knowledge but much can also be learned by studying the subjects taught under the humanities. In this paper, I attempt to show reasons why the humanities and foreign language studies are both necessary to develop good communicators and propose that the teachers of the humanities and foreign languages work closely together to develop international persons.