Spanish or English (illegals, regular, American, USA)

[Kele]

Originally Posted by Stockholmaren

Also, it's very sad that the US is the only developed country where you can obtain a Bachelor's degree without having to learn a foreign language. It's time to stop being so ethnocentric.

I don't know about other states but in California, you absolutely must have a foreign language in order to obtain a B.A. I'm transfering out of California to the University of Wyoming and they also require a foreign language for a B.A. I would think that most state universities would not deviate in their requirements that much.

[Stockholmaren]

Originally Posted by Kele

I don't know about other states but in California, you absolutely must have a foreign language in order to obtain a B.A. I'm transfering out of California to the University of Wyoming and they also require a foreign language for a B.A. I would think that most state universities would not deviate in their requirements that much.

That may be true in CA (which is a great thing!), but many if not most other states don't have this requirement. I know here in Ohio, where I went to a state university, you could choose to either study a foreign language or do what they called area studies. Almost all students picked area studies, which is simply studying about a certain region like South America.

[Kele]

Originally Posted by Stockholmaren

That may be true in CA (which is a great thing!), but many if not most other states don't have this requirement. I know here in Ohio, where I went to a state university, you could choose to either study a foreign language or do what they called area studies. Almost all students picked area studies, which is simply studying about a certain region like South America.

I find it difficult to believe that most universities do not require a foreign language. I think that Ohio may be the exception to the rule. All of the universities that I looked at outside of California (Wyoming, Texas, Montana, the Dakotas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Tennessee) required foreign language units for a Bachelor's.

[Stockholmaren]

After looking into this some more, it seems like it's mostly up to each university and the individual program to determine if foreign language is a requirement for graduation. I don't believe there are many states that mandate foreign language in order to get a degree, but I'll keep you posted.

As for LA, there are only 9 credit hours of humanities required for a BA - and that can be subjects other than foreign language.

Louisiana Board of Regents Statewide General Education Requirements

[Hawkeye48]

Originally Posted by Stockholmaren

I don't believe there are many states that mandate foreign language in order to get a degree, but I'll keep you posted.

Which is a good thing. States shouldn't mandate a foreign language to get a degree. If a university chooses to do so that's fine. But it shouldn't be a state mandate.

[Torn2pieces]

It should be optional - not forced. I'm all for learning different languages, but it should be a choice...

[mm_mary73]

Isn't the ability to at least read in a different language part of a broad liberal arts education? I wish I could speak more than one language. Most Europeans I've met converse freely in their native language, English, and at least one more.

[Stockholmaren]

One would think so mm_mary73, but often that is not the case. It's a tough line to draw between what should be required and what should be a choice and who should make that decision. Just when I went to college (3-4 years ago) they changed the curriculum a lot to remove many of the required classes and instead have electives.

A big difference compared to other countries (Europe in particular) is that those countries normally don't have a broad education at the university level. They will start foreign language early (I started in first grade) and it's mandatory throughout high school, but university programs are structured in way so you mostly study subjects within your major. Most of the liberal arts classes are completed while in high school if you follow a college-prep path, but they aren't required when you start college.

[gardener34]

AT&T has a huge long distance client base calling to Mexico. Which is why they do that. $$

[Kele]

Originally Posted by Stockholmaren

One would think so mm_mary73, but often that is not the case. It's a tough line to draw between what should be required and what should be a choice and who should make that decision. Just when I went to college (3-4 years ago) they changed the curriculum a lot to remove many of the required classes and instead have electives.

A big difference compared to other countries (Europe in particular) is that those countries normally don't have a broad education at the university level. They will start foreign language early (I started in first grade) and it's mandatory throughout high school, but university programs are structured in way so you mostly study subjects within your major. Most of the liberal arts classes are completed while in high school if you follow a college-prep path, but they aren't required when you start college.

Is English generally the required foreign language if it isn't your first language?