Degree in a Language Other than Ones Mother Tongue Article

Degree in a Language Other than Ones Mother Tongue - Article Example When the entire coursework one has to read and comprehend for the degree is in a language other than one’s mother tongue, it calls for an extra effort to see to it that everything is properly understood. It is definitely going to be tougher task than reading study materials in one’s own language. One has to assume that the student will be tested to have basic proficiency in the medium of instruction in which the degree is to be studied. However, a basic proficiency in the language may not be sufficient to follow different registers of the language. A degree course will necessarily feature a lot of specialist vocabulary that the student is supposed to pick up fast. For a foreign user of the language, it may take double the time to pick up such specialist words, since their explanations will also demand a working level knowledge of the language. This may in fact lead to initial hiccups which would dissuade many students from continuing the course. They may feel left out f rom the group of students who are more proficient and at ease in the medium of instruction.The problem mentioned above can in fact be overcome and turned into a benefit if the student is willing to dedicate quality time in enhancing her/his knowledge in the language simultaneously with the work done for the degree course. At least two dictionaries could be used to meet the challenges of the new language– one dictionary gives explanations of the words in the new language to the students mother tongue, and another dictionary gives simple explanations of the words in the new language