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should kids start learning a foreign language in grade school instead of HS? Language is absorbed the most rapidly in the formative years (1-5), but post-formative children are still able to learn a second language at a much faster rate than teenagers. Should it be required for children to spend say 20 minutes a day starting in 1st grade until middle school? It makes since when you think that in that amount of time most kids would be more proficient in a second language, than they would after the 1-2 years of foreign language that is required for most college degrees.
When you learn a language is not important as continuing to use what you've learned. Even if kids should learn a language the first six years of their schooling, once that course work becomes elective in middle and high school grades the kids who choose not to continue will eventually lose that skill.
My school taught French in first and second grades, and I don't remember more than a few words and phrases. In a French-speaking culture, I am able to greet people and introduce myself properly, and I will never go hungry.
That being said, it's never a waste of time to learn another language. I'm in favor of throwing as much as you can at elementary school kids; you never know what's going to inspire them.
I would love to see Spanish taught extensively through 8th grade, and then another mandatory two years of another language in high school. How can we expect our children to compete globally when this is a norm throughout the industrial world?
I would love to see Spanish taught extensively through 8th grade, and then another mandatory two years of another language in high school. How can we expect our children to compete globally when this is a norm throughout the industrial world?
Do you think that 8th grade students should be forced to learn Spanish specifically (as opposed to learning some other foreign language)?
Do you think that 8th grade students should be forced to learn Spanish specifically (as opposed to learning some other foreign language)?
I think it really depends on where you live with that. I find it odd that kids in states like Texas, CA or AZ aren't required to learn Spanish in grade school.
( Not trying to turn this into an illegal immigration debate, so let's just leave the reasons for our large Spanish speaking populous out of this thread )
Texas also dropped the Algebra II requirement --- yet pushes the Spanish language. Knowing Spanish isn't going to help you compete with anyone but illegals who will work for cheaper. It won't help you if you go into science and technology but it might help if you want to be a social worker.
I think it really depends on where you live with that. I find it odd that kids in states like Texas, CA or AZ aren't required to learn Spanish in grade school.
I live in California, and I took French (as opposed to Spanish) in high school, and it doesn't appear to be hurting me much. After all, most of the people here who speak Spanish also speak English (at least to some degree).
Texas also dropped the Algebra II requirement --- yet pushes the Spanish language. Knowing Spanish isn't going to help you compete with anyone but illegals who will work for cheaper. It won't help you if you go into science and technology but it might help if you want to be a social worker.
Knowing Spanish gives you a huge advantage in fields like healthcare, sales, or education. I'm a physical therapist, and speaking fluent Spanish would be a huge asset in my field. I live in Seattle, and even up here we regularly have to use an interpreter.
Honestly, advanced math is only useful in a small handful of careers. I was required to go as far as Calc1 for my undergraduate degree, but like 99% of people not working in engineering or a hard science, I've never used anything outside of general math since college. I couldn't do a basic polynomial equation at this point, and that's 8th grade level math in a lot of places. I will tell you that learning Spanish in grade school would have made my life a heck of a lot easier than having to learn it as an adult. After 2 years of HS Spanish and a year of college Spanish, I still only speak basic Spanish. Had I learned Spanish throughout grade school, I think my Spanish would be leaps and bounds better than it is.
I picked Spanish because it is the official language of a large percentage of North American countries, because of the high number of Spanish speakers in the USA itself, and because it is a Romance language and it is my understanding that it is easier to learn other Romance Languages once you have mastered one. Students would have more opportunities (in general) to use their secondary language in everyday life. I Googled the most spoken languages in the world, and while all the lists differ a bit, Mandarin, English, Spanish, Hindi, and Arabic. Out of these, it seems like Spanish would be the easiest and most used in this country/continent.
I said 1-8th grades because I feel like these are the foundation years and I think a secondary language should be a basic foundation skill. I think we should be able to do this AND educate are children well in English, Math, and Science (again, many other industrial countries do not seem to struggle doing so). High Students are allowed to adapt their curriculum, to an extent, to reflect their future goals. This would be a good time for them to pick up yet another additional language of their choosing.
Knowing Spanish gives you a huge advantage in fields like healthcare, sales, or education. I'm a physical therapist, and speaking fluent Spanish would be a huge asset in my field. I live in Seattle, and even up here we regularly have to use an interpreter.
Absolutely! Pretty much any place where you might need to interact with any Spanish speaking individual knowing the language is an asset. Even if the adult has children that can translate, it is much better if you have an understanding yourself to speak with the adult directly.
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