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What do you think?

In my area of the country, it wouldn't be Spanish, it would be Vietnamese.

I say if you live in America you should AT LEAST learn English. Just please try to. In almost every other country in the world we have to speak the native language there or else weren't pretty much f**ked.

also see this

I'm sorry, I searched, I didn't see that.

uh...

Except Cherokee isn't the language of America. Never was. There were many Indian languages THEN, not now.

That is an old argument that doesn't really work.

I'm not saying learning other languages is bad or wrong. The world is getting smaller everyday, of course it is a good idea.

From the look of things, no one else did either :-D

I really don't see the problem with this. As a matter of fact, I agree with it. There are many reasons why learning a second language is not only usefull but also beneficial.

The principal one being the fact that it opens so many doors, just knowing a second language will guarantee you income, no matter what sector you work for.

On another related topic, do you have any idea how many languages people from other countries know? Yeah, that's right, not only do they know their native language (Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, etc.) but they are obligated to also learn English, so no matter what, an educated individual from another country emmigrating to the US already knows 2-3 languages MINIMUM.

In some instances, said individuals must also learn other languages. For example in Europe, because of the myriad of languages, the majority of the individuals living in Europe know French, Spanish, English, German, Italian, Greek, Russian, Finnish, and other promminent European languages.

I came to the US in 1989 knowing Spanish and English. My husband is French and he knows French, Spanish, German and English. So right there we are equiped with the tools to not only be able to work in the US and Britian, but also any other country in the world that speaks the languages that we do.

When I had already been here for a while, I was disappointed to learn that the general population of this country does not know a second language. So much can be accomplished if people only have the tools to communicate properly no matter the situation.

When I was in Greece, doing a bit of tourism, people looked at and treated us differently, just because we made an attempt to communicate in Greek. You could see the gratitude in their faces and that breaks so many barriers.

Knowing a second language could very well put a stop to all the hate.

I hope you guys don't think I am against it (tho he could have worded it better).

Someone sent me this link and I thought it would be good for discussion.

I agree, kero. I think that Americans would do well to learn that other languages, other countries, and other cultures are worth learning. Not only does it make one a better person, it makes you realize that we have more common, ever day, than we do different, 1-2 days a week.

It never ceases to amaze me how myopic so many Americans can be when it comes to travel and getting outside of their own little tiny bit of the world. And doing so, not as a tourist, but as a fellow human being! Gawking at national wonders might be expected, but seeing the people, visiting their markets, living as they live...There's so much more in the world.

Oh no, bingo... great find, I think this a wonderful topic for discussion...

I love how the media makes this seem like a big deal when John McCain has said the same basic thing to his home state for a while now.

I believe they mention that in the story in Bernard Blacks link.

Awesome.

Of course it is good to learn another language. It should be required to take at least 2 years, perhaps 4 in high school, probably in middle school/jr high as well.

However a few things...

Americans are not being myopic by not learning a second language. Non-english speaking europeans are not being broad-minded or some other type of SuperHero by learning English. Nor are they learning English solely so that they can understand another culture.

English is the closest we have to a global language. Learning English is almost a necessity for many people.

Now of course many Europeans speak a third language and many from the UK know another non-english language. That is quite admirable.

There is also the benefit of learning another language that Europe has in that there are so many people with different languages all near each other. Living in that sort of environment, you will pick up at the very least a smattering of other languages by osmosis, by the same way you learned your native tongue. There is also the benefit of many of the languages having root languages in common, making learning that much easier.

I guess what I am trying to say, is I am sick and tired of people insulting Americans for not speaking another language like many europeans do. There are huge differences that makes Europeans more likely to speak multiple languages, reasons that have nothing to do with the "ugly american" cliche.

Americans don't learn other languages mainly because historically speaking there has been little need to do so - at least until recently, knowing other languages is obviously more and more vital. There has also been fewer chances to learn another language. Historically speaking, most Americans could go their whole lives without coming into constant contact with people from other countries speaking different languages. Obviously, this has changed.

Europe on the other hand is the opposite. As I said learning English was practically a necessity, not just a requirement. The constant intermingling of different speaking natives due to the nature of Europe's geography makes learning another language almost inevitable.

English is the language of the busisiness world...And here. Deal with it, amigos.

So far English helped me out in other countries. Including US. Even around the southern border at places like Sonora. English is as important today as Latin used to be until the 20th century. We can fight it, try to make people learn Spanish, Chinese, whatever, it is not going to happen. Should they? Yes, they should. Will they? I don't think so.

Learning languages in school does not worth the time spent on it. Kids learn languages 2,3 years in high school in my school district, but they are not good at it, they end their studies without being able to speak to native speakers or read literature. Anything you learn as a theory only will be a wasted time if you are not forced to apply your knowledge either in real life or by building more theoretical knowledge on it.
so learning languages does not work because people do not have the opportunity to practice it.
I have learned German and Russian. I used to translate research articles from Russian and I used for some time my German in real life. But 10 years later I couldn't use these languages because their significance in my life diminished and I forgot most of my skills. In my experience most people's mind works similarly: whatever they learn, if they dont use it they forget it.
Lets face it here in the US there is no real need to use any language besides English in everyday life. So how could people speak any other languages. In Europe with so many languages in so little area, obviously there is plenty of stimulus for the language skills to be used. They are in a different situation.
Learning at school is a very weak tool to try to solve these kind of problems. I mean if it is a problem at all.

Quite true, but as I said and you said as well, there is very little opportunity in the US to learn a foreign language by using it instead of just rote memorization.

Sure in some parts of the country you can pick up Spanish that way.

In other places such as Hawaii, you can pick up a bit of languages such as Japanese, Philippine dialects such as Tagalog or Ilokano, and Hawaiian, but for most of the US it is unlikely to be able to use a foreign language, let alone learn one properly.

Also, learning the language via a classroom may not teach you all the nuance of the language.

That's funny....I seem to remember when George W. was campaigning in the Southern States, he would speak Spanish to the crowds. And the Democrats lambasted him for it.

I completely agree with Obama here. I had to learn French all through school, and I was also sent to German school on Saturdays. While I haven't traveled far abroad yet (hey, I'm a recovering student and need to save up before I can take off), I definitely enjoy still being able to use these languages, if only with friends and tourists here in Canada.

It was funny, my first encounter with Ontario/Quebec French. I had been taught to speak so carefully, and I was surprised to hear someone say "wah" instead of "oui." It was fun.

It's not just Europeans that speak 2 or more languages, look north, eh. Beaucoup de Canadiens parlent 2 langues.