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I mean no...it reminds me of the drive to make us learn Spanish in school *because you will need it in the future*. The fact is English is a much easier language to use and pick up than Chinese so learning it should be for yourself or certain skilled jobs, but it isn't going to give the average person any sort of leg up in the world or anything.
It's funny - people in the U.S. tend to get upset if someone here doesn't speak English if they are going to live here. And yet seem to think that since so much of the rest of the world speaks English, then we shouldn't have to speak their language when doing business with them.....
I also think it's advantageous to know multiple languages. Not to mention, you also learn more about the use of English language when learning other languages. I know my son has. The English language is actually very complicated. I wish my son did know Chinese. But that's not offered here. He's learning Spanish.
The younger the better too. It's been a lot harder for my son to learn as a teenager. One thing that really helps set it though is using it. Over the summer he worked on a farm and it helped him immensely going into Spanish 3 this year.
Why? Most of the western world uses English for business,
That's all going to change when China becomes the world's economic super power.
Quote:
Originally Posted by paganmama80
and the amount of Chinese who speak English is around 0.77 percent of the population....so it's not like they are blowing us out of the water or anything
We shouldn't wait until they are blowing us out of the economic water. They will be in the future. We should be prepared to compete.
It's funny - people in the U.S. tend to get upset if someone here doesn't speak English if they are going to live here. And yet seem to think that since so much of the rest of the world speaks English, then we shouldn't have to speak their language when doing business with them.....
I also think it's advantageous to know multiple languages. Not to mention, you also learn more about the use of English language when learning other languages. I know my son has. The English language is actually very complicated. I wish my son did know Chinese. But that's not offered here. He's learning Spanish.
The younger the better too. It's been a lot harder for my son to learn as a teenager. One thing that really helps set it though is using it. Over the summer he worked on a farm and it helped him immensely going into Spanish 3 this year.
Like i said...in business i can see the value of learning it. But the average america will never travel to china nor be in a position that learning it will benefit them in business matters is my point. Learning it for education and personal growth is one thing, but it's not going to benefit the vast majority of the population beyond that.
Like i said...in business i can see the value of learning it. But the average america will never travel to china nor be in a position that learning it will benefit them in business matters is my point. Learning it for education and personal growth is one thing, but it's not going to benefit the vast majority of the population beyond that.
But who knows what the situation will be in 10-15 years. When children that are younger now will be going into the work force. Who knows what your child will want to do someday. They may be wishing they were given the opportunity to have learned it when they were younger.
That's all going to change when China becomes the world's economic super power.
We shouldn't wait until they are blowing us out of the economic water. They will be in the future. We should be prepared to compete.
Chinas ability is great.....but they have vast vast weaknesses....one being something you are seeing now in that Chinese workers are demanding higher wages, and more benefits. Once that happens, then the benefits of major corporations of being in china will evaporate and they will move to other 3rd world places for cheaper labor. That will slow the growth just a bit. The other problem they face is the amount of pollution they are pumping into the local eco system is bound to catch up with them. Even though reports are highly suppressed in china for the last few years you are hearing reports of remote villages with now alarming rates of cancer, where none was there before. The last being that no one will look to them for that role until they shed the government they have....which is not going to happen overnight. So their weaknesses are going to slow the ability they have to overtaking us anytime soon.
Remember in general china benefits more from us than we do from them . And hopes english is much easier to speak so that won't change....you are not going to see vast portions of the world learning Chinese. You will see china adapting to western standards before you see the opposite happen .
But who knows what the situation will be in 10-15 years. When children that are younger now will be going into the work force. Who knows what your child will want to do someday. They may be wishing they were given the opportunity to have learned it when they were younger.
Then they can learn...no one is stopping my child from doing that. A kid wants to learn Chinese they are going to take the course....or decide to learn it themselves. I don't think forcing all kids to take it is going to in general benefit most people, because most people have no desire to learn it....or won't stick with it when they do as it's a very very difficult language to learn.
Then they can learn...no one is stopping my child from doing that. A kid wants to learn Chinese they are going to take the course....or decide to learn it themselves. I don't think forcing all kids to take it is going to in general benefit most people, because most people have no desire to learn it....or won't stick with it when they do as it's a very very difficult language to learn.
I guess is didn't realize the topic was about forcing kids to learn Chinese. I thought the general question was if people saw a benefit.....
I guess is didn't realize the topic was about forcing kids to learn Chinese. I thought the general question was if people saw a benefit.....
I'm responding to the people who seem to think that American kids will left behind if they don't learn it is all . I think learning anything is a benefit though personally.
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