Reply With QuoteIf you spoke a international language and one used first for business, then why bother learning a second? Though to learn chinese probably is prolly a good choice.Originally Posted by Gauntlet
Teach language earlier
What annoys me about American public schools is they start offering foreign languages in High School, or in some cases, Middle School. But not Elementary School. Believe it or not, learning languages earlier is easier. Some of the Europeans on this forum can agree. The idea is that when you're younger, your brain is still growing so its easier to stuff it full of information. About at the age of 11 or 12, your brain stops growing so putting in info might take more effort.
Sweden has a very good school system and 90% of the population can speak English, and a good plenty can speak it fluently. They also offer other languages such as German, French, and Spanish. But these classes are in elementary school, not High School.
Much of the world is complaining how monolingual most Americans are, and how they don't care for the world outside of their borders. You have to lay the foundations early. Put language classes in Elementary school.
If you spoke a international language and one used first for business, then why bother learning a second? Though to learn chinese probably is prolly a good choice.
The world doesnt consist of business alone. Additionally, learning foreign languages is a vital part of training your brain to adapt to uncommon systematics, as well as understanding other cultures. Its not a coincidence that many of the brightest head in history, be they artists, scientists, businessmen or politicians were fluid in at least one foreign language, and often more.
First, get good experienced language teachers.
So far all my foreign language teachers were either too soft or terrible at teaching. We need better teachers!
I just want to learn Chinese so I can hear what they are saying about all the fat Americans at the buffet lines so I can laugh with them, that and so I can properly hit on the cute ones.
Q: What do you call a person who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual.
Q: What do you call a person who speaks three languages?
A: Trilingual.
Q: What do you call a person who only speaks one language?
A: American.
See my thread for working in China....want to learn a language....come and teach one and learn one for free....
Until 10 y/o, the brain is still developing, and if the child learn a language at this time, she will grow up as a "natural bilingual": she will have the same proficience with the foreign language and the mother language, like if she had two mother languages. It happens because the brain, still developing, will be programed to work this way.
But if the child learns the language after 10, so desn't matter how much she studies, the child never will have the same proficience as if she had learned the language until 10 y/o. The brain is already too mature to be programed to work equaly with to different tongues, so every time she read/write/speak/listen the foreign tongue, her brain will have to traslate the information to the native languege, or translate from native to foreign tongue.
International language? Maybe, but in the Multinational Corporations there are very few Americans that speak at least another language (French in the majority)...
In City (London) there are more Dutch and Germans than British...
In most arab countries you learn english or french in grade 1 along with arabic.
While I support the benefits of learning another language, the geographical reality is different for the U.S. and Europe. Europe is a bunch of countries with a multitude of different languages easily connected to each others, kids growing up will more often than not find themselves with the need to know more than one language. The U.S. on the other hand, to the North, we got Canada, they speak English (forget Montreal), to the South, everybody does the Spanish thing in one form or another. Throughout the average American lifetime, he or she won't likely leave this hemisphere. If they do, they will find a world that is cater to the English language. So realistically, there is just not much of an influential incentives for somebody in the U.S. to learn anything else beside English and/or Spanish.
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