Critical Analysis

Kendall Dick published an article about learning a foreign language. I thought this was really interesting and pertained to me, since I speak a foreign language.  

Brief Summary:

The author argues that everyone around the world should learn another language. She declares that bilingualism is now the most useful real world skill to ever exist. The study of a foreign language is mainly about connecting and communicating with others in different ways. It also helps you understand their culture and make connections to your own culture.

Rhetorical Situation:

• Author’s background:
  • Kendall Dick is a sustainability activist, writer, and travels all around the world. She is also a missionary.
• Target Audience:
  • Teenagers and young men and women. Her language/slang and tone reveal that she is targeting a younger audience since they are able to absorb a new language better.
• Context:
  • Published on January 11, 2018, after traveling around Europe and experiencing the advantages of knowing a foreign language first hand.

Argumentative Elements:

• Main argument:
  • Every single person around the world should learn a foreign language.
• Claims:
  • Travel becomes cheaper and easier
  • Opens up job opportunities
  • Foreign language study enhances brain capacity
  • Form meaningful friendships and bonds with people in different cultures
  • Creates a more open mind
  • Aids in understanding one’s own language and culture better
• Evidence
  • Studies on more grey matter (supports cognitive advancement) in brains in the region where language is developed
  • Studies on enhanced decision making when bilingual
  • Learning another language draws your focus to the mechanics of language (grammar, conjugations, sentence structure)
  • Study in Spain’s University of Pompeu Fabra – multilingual people are better a perceiving and understanding their surroundings (people, cultures)
  • Knowing the language in foreign countries saves money on interpreters and guides.
  • You can acknowledge and adopt other cultures easier because of the ability to communicate with them

Evidence Appeals:

• Logos/Questionable logic:
  • Solid arguments and she acknowledges some rebuttals. The claim about it being “sexy” is impertinent to her argument.
• Ethos (Credibility):
  • Her credibility is built through her reference to studies relating to the physical benefits of learning a foreign language and the personal examples she used when she traveled.
• Pathos: The language the author uses is used in a way to persuade readers to learn a foreign language. It is welcoming and friendly, while also being aggressive when trying to convince the reader.

Definitions:

• The terms she used in the article are not extravagant and are easily understandable. This shows her “call” to a larger audience and how universal her article is.

Arrangement/organization:

• Consistency:
  • Consistent in her main idea. She restates her thesis and supports it consistently throughout the entire article. She provides a kind of “call to action” at the end, which I didn’t think was needed.
• Arrangement:
  • Well structured. She introduced her topic and the rest of the article flowed nicely. She fully explained all her claims sequentially and it was logical.