O estudo da língua estrangeira

Abstract

The following study analyzes the importance of studying foreign languages in both civilian and military contexts, aiming at the necessity of a new mandatory language on the curriculum of the Naval School. The paper is divided into four chapters and used data collected from a research made with the Midshipman, exploring the impact that having proficiency in a language can cause on the career of a future officer. The results showed that english is widely known to be an essential skill, but the same cannot be said about other languages. When it come to the Midshipman, this fact occurs mainly because of the rigorous routine and the lack of free time to invest in learning beyond the curriculum. Therefore the conclusion of the research is that adding other languages to the curriculum of the Naval School would not be ideal, because the focus of the institution is to educate Midshipman and prepare them for the initial ranks as an officer, and the military activities that require other languages are usually responsibility of higher ranked officers. The resulting recommendation is to try and encourage lower ranked officers to pursue a third language or to become fluent in english, for those who have yet to achieve it, so that they are prepared for the future requirements and opportunities that may arise in their path.