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Old 03-11-2010, 01:16 AM
 
332 posts, read 641,612 times
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Americans, around the world, are generally regarded as stupid. Americans are the only people who complete a basic education and can still speak only one language. In the third world, many people who have never been to school at all can speak several languages.
BULL$HIT. I have been to Brazil and Mexico, both 3rd world countries and the overwhelming majority of the population there are definitely not bilingual. The vast majority of the population in those 2 countries can not speak English if their lives depended on it. Most people in Mexico can only speak Spanish and most people in Brazil can only speak Portuguese.
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Old 03-11-2010, 03:34 PM
 
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20 or 30 years ago I would've totally agreed with the OP that multilingualism should be required or encouraged for college-bound students. But today English has become the de facto global standard for communication such that unless you work specifically with businesses in one region (say Latin America or China or Germany), studying one particular language to the point of fluency is self-limiting. When my colleagues from India, Norway & Italy conference, it's always in English. I think it's good that students learn a second language just like they study trig or the Reconstruction era, but it's more a form of mental gymnastics that prepare them to delve, analyze & absorb other subjects they encounter in college.
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Old 03-11-2010, 11:03 PM
 
Location: Austin, Texas
2,754 posts, read 6,081,199 times
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I minored in linguistics in college and still love that particular field; I'm fluent in Spanish and fairly proficient in German. And it's all too true that in comparison with much of the rest of the world, we Americans are very ethnocentric and thus are usually woefully deficient when it comes to multi-linguism. But the reason for this is not that we're lazy or stupid--like another poster, who's noted for his hyperbole, professed. The reason most of us that were born here only speak English (I believe the bi-lingual rate for Americans is 10%) is simply do to geography. Europeans aren't any smarter than we are: the only reason that most of them speak two or three languages is beacause in Europe the countries are closer together and you can drive to another country in less time than you can drive to another state over here. And even those third-worlders who are multi-lingual? They're just speaking tribal tongues that are also in very close prxomity to where they live. Bottom line: it just behooves them to learn another language more than it does us. Jesus: this isn't rocket science. A cursory glance at a globe will explain why we don't speak multi-lingually as much as do some people from other countries.
So, no: I don't feel it should be required for kids in grades K-12 to speak another language. It should remain optional. Listen: if we're gonna make anything compulsory it should be introducing more logic and problem-solving skills into the curriculae--like they do in Asia--instead of the ol' Three R's.
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Old 03-11-2010, 11:52 PM
 
332 posts, read 641,612 times
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And even those third-worlders who are multi-lingual?
Go walk through the streets of Mexico City and Sao Paulo for example speaking nothing but English and see how many of the locals on the streets will understand what you are saying. I guarantee most of them will not have a clue what you are saying. And you want to know why, BECAUSE MOST OF THEM ONLY SPEAK ONE LANGUAGE. So don't give me crap about Americans being the only ones that are not bilingual. If most people from Latin America were bilingual, there would not be so much of that no hablo Ingles crap that is so common among illegal immigrants from Latin America who are living in the U.S.
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Old 03-12-2010, 08:56 PM
 
139 posts, read 440,004 times
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Originally Posted by Golem1979 View Post
BULL$HIT. I have been to Brazil and Mexico, both 3rd world countries and the overwhelming majority of the population there are definitely not bilingual. The vast majority of the population in those 2 countries can not speak English if their lives depended on it. Most people in Mexico can only speak Spanish and most people in Brazil can only speak Portuguese.
I don't know about Brazil or even Mexico being 3rd world. Some Brazilians looked like they were living pretty damn good to me - at least those of European ancestry. Latin America has never put too much emphasis on education, at least public education because 70-90% of their population is very poor and don't need to be that literate to do menial labor.
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