Foriegn Language Requirements?

I am not sure if it should be mandated Foxx, But I do think It could come in handy in many every day life expierences, and may even open some doors in certian career choices.

I believe all areas of learning are important, and can take you a long way in life. When we stop learning we stagnate.

TRUTHHURTS

Foxx,

Great change of pace.  An interesting question.  Whether or not you realise it, you have asked a very loaded question.  Loaded because it works on at least two levels.  1.  Because there is the probability that I will never use/need a foreign language, it is a waste of time.  2.  Because I will never use/need a number of subjects, they are a waste of time.  One problem with the structured educational system is that they rarely teach students how to think past these questions.

That in itself opens a whole 'nother can of worms.  Let me outline the bad part of the problem first.

Teaching how to think 101.  Without going into the blame game, mainly because I don't have the facts to back my supposition, in the past 3 or so decades, we, as a society, have veered away from teaching a broad based, liberal arts education.  What we have produced (at least for those who decided not to drop out) is a working class that has a moderate to excellent knowlege but in a very narrow field of learning.  The broad aspect of their knowlege is very limited.  In other words, we have been turning out technicians, nothing more.

Some might ask why being a good technician is bad?  Fair enough.  But here's where teaching to think comes in.  Somewhere along the line, people haven't been taught, or refused to learn, to scratch the surface & ask more salient questions.  Why not better myself by giving myself an edge?  In the case of language, what will be the outcome if I do learn another language, even on a basic level?  The more serious implication of the problem is the lack of instilling in a person the impetus to ask the questions that should be asked. The very thought of asking, "How or why should I bother to broaden my intellectual horizons," probably never occurs to them & is not restricted to language studies.  It has shown itself in the fields of science, technology & the humanities studies of geography, history & political science.  This leads to the mindset of provincial thinking processes such as asking why should we worry about what other countries think or do?  The answer becomes readily apparent when the actions of another country come to affect us in an adverse manner.

OK, I've scratched the surface of the negatives.  How @ the positives?  Keeping with language as an example, like any other subject, if one has any curiosity & intellectual discipline, one can ascertain that it will lead to other questions.  Just trying to answer these questions will lead to at least a basic understanding of other fields.  Why are some words in English so similar?  Where do the roots of the language come from? (If you care to find out, they have their origins in the Hindus Valley.)

If one cares to follow up on the questioning process, one may ask where & how the people who speak this language live?  How do they lead their daily lives?  Do they have the same problems, foods & manner of thought?

If one accepts the fact that answering one question can lead to at least another, one starts to accept & enjoy the learning process which will, indeed broaden ones intellect.

So, to answer your question, unless something else appears that will start the other learning process, yes, I think it should be mandatory.  An hour a day for four semesters can produce a virtual cornucopia of extended learning & I can't see anything bad with that.  One thing should always be foremost in the thinking process.  Learning doesn't stop with a diploma.  School is only the jumping off point.  As you grow, in age & maturity, you will, one day, realise that you will be learning much more out of school than you did in school.  If you accept the challenge.  JATFUR>

RichK

I know there is an enormous shortage of translators, and their money making potential is growing by leaps and bounds.  

However before they make it mandatory in our High Schools or Universities I think they should make it mandatory that ALL people living in this country learn to speak English.  It is terribly frustrating to go into an establishment, or speak to someone on the phone whose English is so broken you cannot carry on a civilized conversation. 

Learn a foreign language? I thought my two years of Spanish in HS were crazy. Why do I need or want this?

Fast forward 4 years to a tour of duty in Puerto Rico. Did I speak like a native? No but I could usually get my point across and most of the time at least catch the gist of a conversation.

Fast forward another 8 years to a deployment to the Med. Spain is a great country to visit. Especially if you can speak even a little of the language.

Then SD. It was nice being able to explain to the person that spoke no English that called at 3 AM that they had the wrong number.

Do I 'speak' Spanish? No. But I can understand some of it and I can fumble through a very little and I mean very little now because I just don't have the desire to try to keep up any skills. But the fact is that it did serve me well on occasion.

BTW Foxx, if you happen to know titina you might want to tell her to brush up on her Spanish skills. She'd have a hard time getting an A in Spanish II. That last post concerns me just a little. The direction it takes could be a joke, but a poor one at best.

Mike Heemer

Marsha,

Thanks for filling in an important gap that I missed.  You are absolutely correct.  On a day to day basis, one comes across people, Americans, not someone who is foreign born, who barely has the basics of the language at their disposal.  There are many factors involved, but none merit the title of "reason."

Foxx, I forgot.  Many countries not only make English mandatory, but highly encourage an additional language to learn.  Just one of the reasons we are not in the top position compared to other industrialised nations.  JATFUR.

RichK

Mike,

Thanks for more good examples.  Doing two cruises in the Carib. & two in the Med., I found the old advise was correct.  If you are showing that you at least make an effort to communicate with others, they take an instant likening to you.  (Even & especially in France.  At least when I was there in '69 & '70.)  I think that might be a universal truth.  Besides, it couldn't hurt.  JATFUR.

RichK

I took 2 years of Spanish in high school and got A's both years.  Of course, the guy next to me wrote "dirty notes" through out the school year so for some reason I remembered the dirty words a lot longer then the good ones. But, I didn't think I would ever need Spanish again, until the local fruit stand popped up in town...they speak spanish and english. When speaking to each other they speak spanish...so on occasion when I stop in and they don't have what I'm looking for and she asks him "in spanish" when it will be in on occassion I have understood a word or two and caught them by surprise and said "Tomorrow or Thursday".... then of course I leave with a grin on my face .... because they are probably thinking "What else does she understand"! 

My only regret is that I don't remember more of my spanish since I work at UF and deal with students from foreign countries on a daily basis.  In this respect it would make my job at times, much easier. 

Do I think everyone coming to this country needs to learn english? YES! Our friend from Cuba learned english when he came over and it just irritates him to no end when his family in Miami refuses to learn or speak english.  But for the students that I deal with that come to this country for a few years to get their education, most are 'trying' to learn english... but I'm sure the beginning of their transition period would be easire if I remembered my 'foreign language'.

"BTW Foxx, if you happen to know titina you might want to tell her to brush up on her Spanish skills. She'd have a hard time getting an A in Spanish II. That last post concerns me just a little. The direction it takes could be a joke, but a poor one at best."

If I read it correctly it translated to "Hello to all, I am a fan of Hanson and in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico....

 Not sure if that's the correct translation or not?

I guess I didn't get it because there wasn't anything dirty huh?

A couple of years ago, a pastor from our sister church in Cuba came to visit our area. He knew no English, and I certainly did not know Spanish. He was invited to my Bible study group's Christmas party at the home of a group member.

He was invited to pray with us and for us, and read passages from the Bible in his native tongue, which should have been so unfamiliar to us all. Instead, his words and the meaning of those words were more understandable to me than any words I have read or heard before.

The group of ladies at that Christmas party left that day with a renewed spirit of hope and a new friend who spoke a language that does not know the restrictions of culture and country and should be familiar to us all... the language from the heart.

Bless be the ties that bind.

Actually my point was that if this is supposed to be someone from Puerto Rico posting it is very poor Spanish. I doubt seriously that someone that spoke Spanish as a primary language would write in that manner. 

You pretty much have the "HOLA" one correct. Though it is not totally grammatically correct.

The "ABURRIDA" (boring) blog is even worse Spanish. hola estoy aburrida y cansada tambien. translate to: Hello I am boring and too tired. 

And the "ESTOY SOLITA" is the one I was really talking about.

The title and post translate to:

I am all alone.

I am all alone. I do not have anyone to live is so bad. Not.

I agree that foreign language might be a good subject for a blog but I'm a little suspicious of the three lead in blogs.

Perhaps young Mr. Foxx is setting up his own subjects?

Mike Heemer

I think it should be an "elective" in high school and college. People should have free choice in whether or not they want to learn a second language. Some people of our nation have a hard enough time just with English!

Of course, I would have also voted geometry off my list when I was in high school!