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Unless you are a business using illegal stoop labor why in the heck would you need to learn Spanish? Maybe if you were importing or exporting to a Spanish speaking Country but there is hardly a market for millions of people in that field. How useless, if anything Chinese would be the language of Commerce.
I dunno. I've done business with Spanish speaking companies a couple of times over the years. Once with a factory in Mexico and another time with a company in Spain.
I agree that Chinese would be more useful. Just last week I met with a group of Chinese people. I was wishing I could understand what they were saying when they switched from English to Mandarin to speak amongst themselves in my presence.
I dunno. I've done business with Spanish speaking companies a couple of times over the years. Once with a factory in Mexico and another time with a company in Spain.
I agree that Chinese would be more useful. Just last week I met with a group of Chinese people. I was wishing I could understand what they were saying when they switched from English to Mandarin to speak amongst themselves in my presence.
Well, it sounds to me like you lean torwards speaking Spanish and yet it's only been useful for you a couple of times. Why would Joe tax payer then need to waste their time with learning Spanish when that time would be better spent learning Accounting or other business skills.
Don't get me wrong, I want to better myself at Spanish but that is for selfish personal gain as many of my friends are fluent in it. I have no real need for it.
I have learned a little conversational Spanish over the years just to flirt with Latina women (whom I love!) and impress there families a little. And I did have to use a little on my job one time at a Smithfield meat packing plant to keep some obviously illegal workers from killing themselves.
Other than that I have no real use for it in my daily life. Nothing wrong with learning a foreign language. I actually took a year of high school Spanish. You have to take two years get a bachelors degree from most universities.
I just feel that just as much (or more) effort should be put to making sure that all the children of illegals (because almost all LEGAL immingrants usually speak English already or learn it very fast) who are going to stay here learn enough English as early as possible. This way they won't fall behind in school which is the case we see so much in Cali and parts of the Southwest with all these bilingual curriculums.
In California there are already Spanish as first language schools starting up. All children, English speaking including, must first learn in Spanish and then in Grade 6 they start learning English. If a child is not from a Spanish speaking home, then that's too bad. He has to find a school to attend somewhere else because certain schools are Spanish ONLY until 6th grade.
If your info is correct: that is flat disgusting; this is the USA not some Latin American country.
ESL should be banned and English immersion only for foreign students.
The English language shall be the official language of the United States. As the official language, the English language shall be used for all public acts including every order, resolution, vote, or election, and for all records and judicial proceedings of the Government of the United States and the governments of the several States.
From H.R. 3333:
The Government of the United States shall preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the United States of America. Unless specifically stated in applicable law, no person has a right, entitlement, or claim to have the Government of the United States or any of its officials or representatives act, communicate, perform or provide services, or provide materials in any language other than English. If exceptions are made, that does not create a legal entitlement to additional services in that language or any language other than English.
You already blew your free government chance to learn Spanish if you went to public school. I became more or less fluent (certainly proficient) from high school Spanish and lots of practice and also gained a functional level of French. If you putzed around high school and didn't take advantage of those opportunities, it's your own fault.
In California there are already Spanish as first language schools starting up. All children, English speaking including, must first learn in Spanish and then in Grade 6 they start learning English. If a child is not from a Spanish speaking home, then that's too bad. He has to find a school to attend somewhere else because certain schools are Spanish ONLY until 6th grade.
California has had bilingual education/dual immersion schools for a very long time now. As a matter of fact, I was part of the first generation that started from Kindergarden with bilingual education. The school is not Spanish only, most schools are dual immersion which means that both learn the opposite language at the same time. If you dont want your child to learn Spanish, you can opt out.
Personally, I dont think that children need five or six years of bilingual education. It should be cut down to 2-3 years, no more. They should then be placed in English only programs to give them a more intense level of exposure to the language.
And I did have to use a little on my job one time at a Smithfield meat packing plant to keep some obviously illegal workers from killing themselves.
Why would you do that? OK, OK... maybe it would have cost the company more money but...
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OK, OK... maybe it would have cost the company more money but...
