It’s no secret Iowa State is a school nationally renowned in some areas. This kind of reputation allows the university to attract a large number of students from around the world. Travel and places to stay are easily arranged, and there’s really only one roadblock remaining for those students who choose to travel here: learning English.

Some politicians are clamoring to mandate that students learn the native language of a country before traveling abroad there.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich recently delivered a speech in which he mocked the idea of multilingual ballots, and said, “We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”

Gingrich was put under pressure from minority groups to apologize for his choice of words in his speech.

He posted his video apology on YouTube – in both English and Spanish.

“I think that he’s just talking about the political issue of immigration, because promoting bilingual education is a great idea,” said Barbara Schwarte, associate professor of English and interim director of the Intensive English and Orientation Program. “I can’t tell you how many companies value people who know more than one language.”

International students who wish to come to Iowa State first have to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language exam. The results of that exam determine whether they are entered into either the IEOP or English as a Second Language program, which has the student take English 99 or 101, depending on their needs.

“I believe that everyone should learn English if they come to the United States, but I don’t believe that everything else should be discarded,” said Remy Younes, junior in computer science. “I think it’s a bad idea for us to say that all other cultures are crap, and you should only learn English.”

Younes is one of the many international students studying at Iowa State, hailing from southwestern France. He didn’t have to worry too much about the TOEFL, as he had visited America frequently when he was younger and picked up the basics of English from his visits.

“My mom worked for Air France, so we got really cheap tickets,” he said.

Some other students don’t have the same fortune as Younes, though.

Tae San Ha, senior in civil engineering, started learning English from programs at Iowa State.”I kind of agree with Gingrich – there are so many people here. They should learn English to communicate better,” he said.

He also said the programs at Iowa State could be more effective.

“I’m pretty sure most colleges have this type of system, but I think that they were made from the point of view of American people, who are already good at the language. Already knowing the language kind of makes it harder to teach to students like us,” Ha said.

Younes said the best way to learn a language is through everyday conversations.

“The programs really aren’t intensive enough for those who don’t come here with a basic understanding of English,” Younes said. “The problem with me is that I already knew the basics of English when I came to Iowa State, and if I didn’t have that when I came here, I probably would have been lost. If something should be improved, it would be casual conversations instead of a formal classroom situation. That’s really how you learn the language.”

Going out and talking to people is how Ha learned the English language.

Schwarte said conversations are only part of learning a language.

“Practice through conversations is definitely needed, but for the type of English that these speakers need, instruction is needed too,” Schwarte said.

Incentive to learn the language is not a problem for most students, Yournes said.

“Regardless of the program, the students that I’ve seen try a lot to improve themselves, because they want to integrate with this country,” Younes said.

“They should learn English, but they can’t just forget their native language, they have to embrace their culture,” he said.