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I've noticed this fact always I've travelled... in fact I know a very very very few English native speakers who learn another language.
I was living in the UK and I met many people, smart people with lots of studies and who have travelled a lot but they were monolingual... more or less happened in USA, where the multiculture is everywhere.
Any reason? Is not compulsory at school the study of a second language?
as english is the language of the world , most people simply dont feel the need , irish people are hopeless when it comes to learning a second language aswell , the vast majority of us cant even speak our native tongue
the french also avoid learning other languages and with less justification it must be said , in fact ive heard it said that french people take pride in their inability to speak english especially
As irish_bob has pointed it, most feel like there is no need as English is widely spoken. I'm in the process of learning Swedish - I can construct a few sentences!
There is a very simple explanation for this. Second languages must be imprinted before the age of about 12, during the years in which multilingualism is perfectly fluid and natural, and the public education system in nearly all English-speaking countries discourages (in some cases punishes) the learning of a foreign language at the elementary level. By the time time an English speaking child is exposed to the opportunity to learn a second language, bilingualism has become an arduous, mentally-challenging chore for which older children and adults have little enthusiasm, and do not regard as fun.
I say this as an embittered victim of the linguistic provincialism of a mono-lingual childhood environment
Most of you know that Canada is officially a bi-lingual country, English and French.
What you may not know is that we encourage `new Canadians `to maintain their original language, and teach it to their kids. The result is that as a nation, Canadians are very multi lingual. In the latest national census, the most spoken language, in Canada, after English and French, is Mandarin and Cantonese, with Hindi and Punjabi close behind.
So, what does this mean to our country..... Well when a Canadian trade mission goes to China, we dont have to rely on local interpreters, we send Canadians who speak the language properly, as they learned it at home, in Canada, as a child. It is a lot easier to do business, with an other country, when YOU speak THEIR language.
I live in the largest city in Canada, Toronto. About HALF of all the people who live here now, were BORN in another country, not Canada. As a city we speak 120 languages here, and that means a really vibrant and integrated society.
Just one example.... The Toronto Police Service has about 5200 uniform Police officers, and amongst that number 35 percent are fluent in a language other than English or French. How do we do that...... We recruit from with in the Immigrant populations, and give extra points on the entrance examination for the TPS, if an applicant is fluent in a foreign language. As a result we have a city that is very diverse, and yet we all work in English, on a day to day basis.
After I retired, I spent a few years working in Toronto as a tour guide, on a double decker bus, doing a three hour tour of downtown Toronto. I dealt with hundreds of visitors, every week. I learned how to say Welcome to Toronto, in 15 different languages, just for fun. And how to say .... Tipping is encouraged, here. ( grin) .
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Originally Posted by jtur88
There is a very simple explanation for this. Second languages must be imprinted before the age of about 12, during the years in which multilingualism is perfectly fluid and natural, and the public education system in nearly all English-speaking countries discourages (in some cases punishes) the learning of a foreign language at the elementary level. By the time time an English speaking child is exposed to the opportunity to learn a second language, bilingualism has become an arduous, mentally-challenging chore for which older children and adults have little enthusiasm, and do not regard as fun.
I say this as an embittered victim of the linguistic provincialism of a mono-lingual childhood environment
Here learning a second language is part of the curriculum from primary school. I took Japanese but remember very little of it. The simple answer to the question is there is less need. The main English speaking countries tend to be isolated, indeed only one even has a non English speaking land neighbour. Also more people are learning English, so as far as tourism goes most in the tourist industry feel compelled to learn basic English.
Most of you know that Canada is officially a bi-lingual country, English and French.
What you may not know is that we encourage `new Canadians `to maintain their original language, and teach it to their kids. The result is that as a nation, Canadians are very multi lingual. In the latest national census, the most spoken language, in Canada, after English and French, is Mandarin and Cantonese, with Hindi and Punjabi close behind.
So, what does this mean to our country..... Well when a Canadian trade mission goes to China, we dont have to rely on local interpreters, we send Canadians who speak the language properly, as they learned it at home, in Canada, as a child. It is a lot easier to do business, with an other country, when YOU speak THEIR language.
I live in the largest city in Canada, Toronto. About HALF of all the people who live here now, were BORN in another country, not Canada. As a city we speak 120 languages here, and that means a really vibrant and integrated society.
Just one example.... The Toronto Police Service has about 5200 uniform Police officers, and amongst that number 35 percent are fluent in a language other than English or French. How do we do that...... We recruit from with in the Immigrant populations, and give extra points on the entrance examination for the TPS, if an applicant is fluent in a foreign language. As a result we have a city that is very diverse, and yet we all work in English, on a day to day basis.
After I retired, I spent a few years working in Toronto as a tour guide, on a double decker bus, doing a three hour tour of downtown Toronto. I dealt with hundreds of visitors, every week. I learned how to say Welcome to Toronto, in 15 different languages, just for fun. And how to say .... Tipping is encouraged, here. ( grin) .
Jim B
Toronto.
Ok..but does that mean that the general English-speaking population is lining up to buy Manadarin or Spanish or Hindi language tool kits? and Ya well the US, UK has many many different languages spoken too...the OP is referring to native English- speakers reception to learning additional languages.
In regards to the OP, I think it's because English is the language of the world in the sense that it's widely used globally, there is less inclination to feel the need to learn multilingualism, ironically the reality that it is such an asset to be able to speak another language
Here learning a second language is part of the curriculum from primary school. I took Japanese but remember very little of it. The simple answer to the question is there is less need. The main English speaking countries tend to be isolated, indeed only one even has a non English speaking land neighbour. Also more people are learning English, so as far as tourism goes most in the tourist industry feel compelled to learn basic English.
I 'learnt' Japanese and French in school, it was never taken all that seriously though. I always felt it was nothing more than a token gesture to foreign languages to recognise trade relations or history. Doesn't help when teachers are barely fluent in the language either.
Most of you know that Canada is officially a bi-lingual country, English and French.
What you may not know is that we encourage `new Canadians `to maintain their original language, and teach it to their kids. The result is that as a nation, Canadians are very multi lingual. In the latest national census, the most spoken language, in Canada, after English and French, is Mandarin and Cantonese, with Hindi and Punjabi close behind.
So, what does this mean to our country..... Well when a Canadian trade mission goes to China, we dont have to rely on local interpreters, we send Canadians who speak the language properly, as they learned it at home, in Canada, as a child. It is a lot easier to do business, with an other country, when YOU speak THEIR language.
I live in the largest city in Canada, Toronto. About HALF of all the people who live here now, were BORN in another country, not Canada. As a city we speak 120 languages here, and that means a really vibrant and integrated society.
Just one example.... The Toronto Police Service has about 5200 uniform Police officers, and amongst that number 35 percent are fluent in a language other than English or French. How do we do that...... We recruit from with in the Immigrant populations, and give extra points on the entrance examination for the TPS, if an applicant is fluent in a foreign language. As a result we have a city that is very diverse, and yet we all work in English, on a day to day basis.
After I retired, I spent a few years working in Toronto as a tour guide, on a double decker bus, doing a three hour tour of downtown Toronto. I dealt with hundreds of visitors, every week. I learned how to say Welcome to Toronto, in 15 different languages, just for fun. And how to say .... Tipping is encouraged, here. ( grin) .
Jim B
Toronto.
Although... in spite of the colourful mythology the research generally shows that immigrants to Canada don't really retain their ancestral languages any more than immigrants to, say, the United States. In some cases for certain groups the assimilation rate in Canada is even faster than it is in the U.S.
It generally takes about three generations. Some groups may be faster, other groups may be slower. The differences are more related to specific immigrant groups as opposed to anything to do with the Canada-U.S. border.
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