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Speaking as a foreigner, what is the necessity of this?
Americans speak English, they have no need of speaking any foreign language.
Obviously it can be picked up out of interest, but in all honesty you have no necessity of speaking any other language but your own.
Not true. It depends upon your field and goals.
Historians have to read books in their original LANGUAGES when they do academic research. Particularly in the parts of the world they specialize in. Bankers have to do deal with counterparties in other nations and yes they can be required to know other languages.
In large cities social workers and doctors can be required to know other languages to deal with their clients/patients.
There are other professional and personal reasons why people do need foreign language skills.
Historians have to read books in their original LANGUAGES when they do academic research. Particularly in the parts of the world they specialize in. Bankers have to do deal with counterparties in other nations and yes they can be required to know other languages.
In large cities social workers and doctors can be required to know other languages to deal with their clients/patients.
There are other professional and personal reasons why people do need foreign language skills.
The historians point might be partly true but for rest English is the business language of the world.
Given that I frequently hear people here saying that children should be required to learn a foreign language, and even some people that (in the U.S.) it should be Spanish I thought I'd start a poll to see what everyone thinks (and I'll offer my opinion).
I think there should be a national requirement for schools to teach one or more foreign languages*, but there should be no national mandates that it be Spanish or anything else**.
*Since that's the norm in much of the world and there are studies that show numerous benefits of being bilingual.
**Since schools should have flexibility to teach what is most relevant locally or what they feel would be most useful for the majority of its students (if they can teach only one - if multiple languages are offered the student/parents should be able to choose from any of them). While in all but a handful of locations in the U.S. that would be Spanish, schools in Louisiana or near the Quebec border should be able to teach French instead for example, schools in Hawaii an Asian language, etc.
What do you think?
I think there should be a national requirement for all kids to go to Catholic School/parochial school to learn English grammar...even back in my day.
Those kids who transferred to public school in 9th grade used to whip the butts of my honors English class.
Speaking as a foreigner, what is the necessity of this?
Americans speak English, they have no need of speaking any foreign language.
Obviously it can be picked up out of interest, but in all honesty you have no necessity of speaking any other language but your own.
That sounds kind of ignorant. Especially from a foreigner!
I think that EVERY country should teach children a second language. It is not only good to acknowledge that there are other languages in the world, it also opens up their minds and stimulates the brain.
I have learned English and French in school (back home in Germany) and later on took some Spanish classes on my own. Even though I forgot most of the Spanish and French, it still helps me when I travel to foreign countries, trying to find places, or buying stuff, just looking at the news.
I live in California and I think it is a shame that they don't teach Spanish in schools.
White people are having disadvantages in schools, jobs, and every day life because the Spanish speaking community is so huge here and we let them discriminate us by being ignorant, insisting on not learning their language.
Of course people in the US should speak English first - but fact is that in some states, the main language is Spanish. So insisting on English as only language is stubborn and not smart. If you stand in front of the ATM, complaining that you have to pick between English and Spanish - this will not help you in every day life, even though your view is politically correct.
As soon as my English is really good, I want to learn Spanish again. If Mexican people around me talk crap about me, I wanna know what they say!
I wish I had more language instruction while I was in elementary school.
It's so much harder as an adult, but everyone says that knowing at least one other language fluently makes it easier to learn more. I feel as if part of the world of knowledge is locked away from me, and there's nothing I'll ever be able to do about it. I'm doomed to speak all other languages as poorly as much of my immediate family speaks English.
How about classes on finance and managing your money, a lost art in America these days.
Kids could be required to read a book on that subject over the summer. That's not a problem.
What does that have to do with a discussion about foreign language classes, though, other than the standard complaints that come in whenever someone implies that we should teach kids anything even remotely academic?
It's not an either-or situation. Foreign language should be taught starting in elementary school. Finance obviously shouldn't be, if it is taught at all (and it's the sort of thing an educated person can figure out without a class).
Kids could be required to read a book on that subject over the summer. That's not a problem.
What does that have to do with a discussion about foreign language classes, though, other than the standard complaints that come in whenever someone implies that we should teach kids anything even remotely academic?
It's not an either-or situation. Foreign language should be taught starting in elementary school. Finance obviously shouldn't be, if it is taught at all (and it's the sort of thing an educated person can figure out without a class).
Obviously people can't figure out finance because we have so many poor uneducated people in the USA living on welfare and social services that we have to raise the min. wage to 15 an hour, rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, does not both me because I have money. I do feel bad for people that don't know how to manage their finances.
Obviously people can't figure out finance because we have so many poor uneducated people in the USA living on welfare and social services that we have to raise the min. wage to 15 an hour, rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, does not both me because I have money. I do feel bad for people that don't know how to manage their finances.
I said that educated people can figure out finance. Personal finance is not hard at all. It's certainly not hard enough to warrant getting rid of a real academic subject just to get it into the curriculum.
I'm not sure the rest would be better off even if it were taught in high schools.
I don't mind if it's taught, perhaps instead of something entirely worthless like study hall. Even making some personal finance lessons mandatory as homework or as a summer project might be useful.
Foreign language, though, is something that has to be taught early, or else the kids who miss out on it are punished for the rest of their lives.
That sounds kind of ignorant. Especially from a foreigner!
I think that EVERY country should teach children a second language. It is not only good to acknowledge that there are other languages in the world, it also opens up their minds and stimulates the brain.
I have learned English and French in school (back home in Germany) and later on took some Spanish classes on my own. Even though I forgot most of the Spanish and French, it still helps me when I travel to foreign countries, trying to find places, or buying stuff, just looking at the news.
I live in California and I think it is a shame that they don't teach Spanish in schools.
White people are having disadvantages in schools, jobs, and every day life because the Spanish speaking community is so huge here and we let them discriminate us by being ignorant, insisting on not learning their language.
Of course people in the US should speak English first - but fact is that in some states, the main language is Spanish. So insisting on English as only language is stubborn and not smart. If you stand in front of the ATM, complaining that you have to pick between English and Spanish - this will not help you in every day life, even though your view is politically correct.
As soon as my English is really good, I want to learn Spanish again. If Mexican people around me talk crap about me, I wanna know what they say!
Your right!! It's a good idea for American folks to learn Spanish....Especially the children. It will be useful during their adult lives, too.
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