Annotated Bibliography assignment

Running head: LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE 1

Learning a Second Language

John Smith

Oklahoma State University

Use the header feature in MS Word to form a running head as shown here. Notice that the short title is in caps. Short title should not exceed 50 characters, including spaces.

Page number: start 1

Title of paper, your name and your school should be centered, about halfway down the page

LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE 2

NOTE: THIS IS A SAMPLE. THESE SOURCES ARE NOT REAL

Nowadays, having knowledge of a second language is one of the most important

aspects in people’s lives. The number of American students who take a foreign language course

during their college years has increased in recent years. Basic reasons for the need of learning a

second language have been found by researchers, such as easy travel, broader job opportunities,

better knowledge of different cultures; but not many have studied the attitudes of college

students towards learning a second language. Thus, my research topic is going to focus on what

college students expect from learning a second language and also what difference students

experience as a result. In addition, there are three different outside sources used for this study, all

of which come from scholarly articles. The first source reports a list of several different

advantages people would receive from learning a second language in a specific way (Joe, 2009).

The second source, which is from a magazine, states that numerous companies welcome

employees who have knowledge of a second language in order to improve their operation with

foreign customers (Lester, 2010). The last source, which is a web article, explains current

Americans’ perception of learning a second language compared to the past (Whiteman, 2007). As

a consequence, these three sources are valuable for this study because they all basically address

how the learning of a second language has become important in people’s lives.

Starting at the second page, the running head will only include the short title in all caps. Omit Running head:

T he introduction paragraph

LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE 3

NOTE: THIS IS A SAMPLE. THESE SOURCES ARE NOT REAL

Joe, G. I. (2009). The importance of second language learning to general life skills. The

Journal of Language Studies, 3(15), 89-103.

In this article, the author treats learning a second language as an essential part of people’s

lives in modern society, especially for those seeking academic success in general. However, it is

an uneasy process for people to develop their foreign language skills, as it requires a great deal of

time. The article provides principally four major benefits people would acquire from knowing a

foreign language: better academic understanding, a broader working field, less difficulty in

traveling, and advancement of our brain function. For these reasons, the article encourages

people to acquire knowledge of a second language in order to improve their lifestyle.

This article is an argumentative type of journal article which is generally based on a

personal opinion. The article gives reliability to audiences as it supports each advantage of

learning a second language by providing specific data from trustworthy outside sources, such as

newspaper sand studies by other researchers. Throughout the article, Jones states that people who

learn a second language would have a better understanding of diverse cultures around the world,

better communication with foreigners, and greater success in the academic field by having more

diverse job opportunities. These statements are in agreement with my opinion that the learning of

a second language benefits people’s lives. Therefore, this article would be helpful for my

research topic in order to support my argument concerning the importance of knowing a second

language for college students. Moreover, this article is very similar to the other two articles, as it

focuses on the merit of learning a second language. However, the article does not refer the actual

attitude of college students about studying a second language, which is the topic for my future

research. Also, it lacks empirical evidence which demonstrates that the author’s opinions are

valid.

The 2nd and all subsequent lines of each entry must have a ½” hanging indent.

T he bibliographic inform

ation T

he annotation

LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE 4

NOTE: THIS IS A SAMPLE. THESE SOURCES ARE NOT REAL

Lester, K. R. (2010). No translation necessary. The Language Journal, 14(2), 126-134.

In this second article, the author mainly focuses on how the awareness of a second

language influences the workforce. Lester reports that having second language skills has become

a part of requirements for many jobs. The number of people who attend local colleges and adult-

education programs to learn a second language has increased in recent years. Most of these

students are already employed and seek to improve their communication skills with foreign

clients in their field of work. All in all, the article emphasizes the need for Americans to study a

second language in order to be competitive in the global marketplace.

This article is a reliable, peer-review journal in which data are based on interviews and

formal statistics obtained from institutions and companies in the United States and around the

world. Furthermore, this article reports the ever-increasing number of proprietors who have a

demand for individuals skilled in second languages. This supports my overall argument of why

college students should adopt a second language in this new, global job market. This source

relates to the other sources as well because it puts forth the same arguments concerning the

benefits and personal gains acquired from learning a foreign language. However, if provides an

added perspective of the necessity of varied linguistic skills in the workplace, even in America.

Even though I do agree with this article’s ideology and main thesis, I still find a few of the

arguments made by the author to be lacking in persuasiveness and depth. Lester could have

presented more detailed information in order to provide college students more insight into the

reasons for learning a second language. Moreover, there are no real-life examples of how college

students feel when they try to learn another language, which is related to my topic.

LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE 5

NOTE: THIS IS A SAMPLE. THESE SOURCES ARE NOT REAL

Whiteman, J. R. (2007). Why should I learn a second language? The Americna Journal of Second

Language Studies, 12(5), 68-91.

This very last article particularly concentrates on an explicit change in college students’

perceptions about second language study over time. Whiteman states that the study of a foreign

language is often not considered important unless one desires to be a teacher or an interpreter.

However, as the United States has had large amounts of incoming foreign workers and a

development of international enterprises in the nation, Whiteman proposes the learning a second

language as a basic preparation for competitive careers searches. Also, he accentuates the

necessity of improving the U.S. trade and commerce by developing a bilingual education system

nationwide.

This argumentative article has the same character as the first source. The article has

credibility because it is found in a peer-reviewed journal which is an authority in the field of

second language studies. Moreover, the author uses various outside sources, which are generally

books, to strengthen his own arguments. Throughout the discourse, the author states that a

second language not only impacts foreign-related vocations, but also other fields of business as

well. Whiteman also uses rhetoric from the past to make claims that foreigners who can speak

English prefer to their native languages over English to do business. These ideas would be useful

for my research since it supports my hypothesis that not only foreigners are in need of learning a

second or third languages. It is also valuable for Americans seeking to develop their businesses.

In addition, this article is related to the other two sources, as it shows the positive effects that

studying a second language would bring into the lies individuals and to society as a whole.

Nevertheless, the source still lacks the information about the opinion of second language learners

in college, which is going to be a focal point of my research.