What's the most popular foreign language in US schools now? (high school, grades)
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Why should I care if people learn Chinese or not? It's not like I would speak Chinese to them.
Besides, they all learn simplified Chinese.
If it's decreasing in higher education I don't see any reason why it would increase in secondary education. Actually, it'd probably be even sadder if it is increasing in secondary education but decreasing in higher education as it would mean those who learn Chinese just do the bare minimum for fun and no one's bothered to take it to the next level, unlike with other languages.
Of course in Asian countries more people would learn Chinese. China is in Asia.
You don't speak "simplified Chinese" though. And someone who masters simplified characters usually can understand traditional script perfectly.
Chinese is much more difficult to learn than most mainstream languages. Maybe they can try teaching only in pinyin for the first 1~2 years. It would be good to learn characters after a basic vocabulary has already been built.
Currently the Chinese classes all start with characters in the first semester, and many students are scared away.
You don't speak "simplified Chinese" though. And someone who masters simplified characters usually can understand traditional script perfectly.
But they write and read simplified Chinese.
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Chinese is much more difficult to learn than most mainstream languages. Maybe they can try teaching only in pinyin for the first 1~2 years. It would be good to learn characters after a basic vocabulary has already been built.
Currently the Chinese classes all start with characters in the first semester, and many students are scared away.
It is more difficult to learn than most mainstream languages, but Japanese is more difficult for English speakers, yet it is a more popular language to learn in America.
It is more difficult to learn than most mainstream languages, but Japanese is more difficult for English speakers, yet it is a more popular language to learn in America.
That table is only for reference...88 weeks to be proficient in Chinese (or Japanese)? Good luck with that LOL
Japanese is "perceived" easier by many new students, because there are fewer characters to memorize and there are no tones. And beginners can go by with kana. Since Japanese directly borrowed much more words from English than Chinese did, it is also easier for English speakers in that aspect.
I understand Japanese has a more complex grammar, but grammar is not really a concern for beginners or very advanced learners. If a kid can never figure out four tones, or cannot memorize 10 characters per week, he is likely to drop out early.
In America, "Chinese" is used as a metaphor for difficult things. You hear people say "as hard as Chinese". So there is some culture bias here too.
Last edited by Bettafish; 11-12-2020 at 12:12 AM..
Math, Science, Social Studies, and English (or whatever predominant language in a country of size) should be, and they are.
And there are reasons for that.
We prefer many excellent monolingual engineers and a few excellent interpreters/translators over many lousy bi/multilingual engineers and many lousy bi/multilingual interpreters/translators.
Talking to abuela is one thing, professional engineers and linguists are another.
Math, Science, Social Studies, and English (or whatever predominant language in a country of size) should be, and they are.
And there are reasons for that.
We prefer many excellent monolingual engineers and a few excellent interpreters/translators over many lousy bi/multilingual engineers and many lousy bi/multilingual interpreters/translators.
Talking to abuela is one thing, professional engineers and linguists are another.
I agree. Theoretically I'd be on board with teaching every child a second language. Realistically it won't work because there is no one obvious choice for that second language, like English is the obvious choice in most non-English-speaking countries today. It's narrow-minded to insist that everyone learn Spanish...outside of the US and Latin America, Spanish is not particularly useful. But then Chinese is useful mainly in China, French in France and some parts of Africa, and so on. How could you tell which language would end up being most useful for any given child?
If children are native English speakers, they've already won the global language lottery. They can take their English and their engineering skills (or whatever) almost anywhere. If a second language is taught, at the very least families should get a choice as to what it should be.
If children are native English speakers, they've already won the global language lottery. They can take their English and their engineering skills (or whatever) almost anywhere. If a second language is taught, at the very least families should get a choice as to what it should be.
Practically, it is true that native English speakers do not need any foreign language in general.
However, learning a foreign language is a good training for many purposes. I think it is still good to require one.
I'm getting my kids to learn Chinese because we believe in the future that China will be the next super power. Especially with business. When Chinese customers spend money they spend their own money. In the US people spend other people's money.
Math, Science, Social Studies, and English (or whatever predominant language in a country of size) should be, and they are.
And there are reasons for that.
We prefer many excellent monolingual engineers and a few excellent interpreters/translators over many lousy bi/multilingual engineers and many lousy bi/multilingual interpreters/translators.
Talking to abuela is one thing, professional engineers and linguists are another.
I don't insist it be Spanish but we really should start earlier for most students. Most of us started in middle school when the brain is "too developed" to really maximize the ability to learn a foreign language, and a third and fourth language is easier if you're already bi-lingual.
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Originally Posted by Bettafish
Why mandatory though?
Most Americans don't really need Spanish in their life, and some of them may want to learn another foreign language.
I took Spanish starting in middle school, and ended up minoring in it in College.
It didn't give me much of a professional advantage but it definitely has been handy at times. Personally I equate foreign language skills with things like literature or musical instruction; something that has an inherent value beyond practical skills.
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