Foreign Language

     Lately, I've been curious about certain college courses that are beneficial or required for a criminal justice career. Searching through various sites, many articles talked about the importance of proficiency in a foreign language, such as Arabic, which happens to be one of the six official languages of the United Nations (the other five languages: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian). This being so, the Federal Government has increasingly stressed the value of Arabic, as a language vital to US security. Here is a picture of the flags at the UN Headquarters in New York, and a picture of a map identifying all the countries and their specific UN language.



    









    









George Washington University (GW), which is located in Washington D.C., stood out to me because it offers a major and minor in Arabic. At this university, they offer students a multitude of opportunities, such as being able to further their academic knowledge in Arabic by studying comparative literature and international affairs. Also, a requirement for a major in Arabic is overseas studies for a semester, where you would go to a country that natively speak Arabic. It's a great experience! By the end of this program, GW graduates will be well-suited to take on jobs such as counter-terrorism experts, interpreters, and Foreign Service Officers.

     After seeing how a foreign language works in a college setting, I wanted to grasp how you could apply it to a career. The United States Secret Service values the significance of knowing a foreign language. This government agency is mainly known for protecting the president and his family, however, they also do criminal investigations of financial crime and computer-based attacks on the nation's infrastructure. Special agents could get a 25% bonus pay if they are able to speak a second language with sufficient accuracy. Wow! Four years of Spanish in high school is really beneficial! After reading this, I am motivated to continue on with Spanish into college, so that I may be able to get a better paying job. It's amazing how lucky I am to be able to start studying a foreign language at such a young age. Next week, I will begin talking about job descriptions of certain criminal justice careers.