I was just sitting here thinking. I'm from Texas and they start Spanish classes in kindergarten for us. I know it is only done this way on the board states. But do you think it is necessary for children to be learning other languages? There are so many benefits. Or do some of you stand with the: "This is America! Speak English!"
I don't think it should be forced upon them at a young age. It creates the impression that Spanish is part of American language, which it's not. I'm learning Spanish right now, and I see the importance of it if you live near the border, but Texas is really big. Granted, I lived in El Paso and we didn't learn Spanish in elementary school, but that was like 12 years ago.
Megamickel, it doesn't necessarily have to be Spanish, either. It is proven that bilingual children do better in school. So maybe it should be done to simply better our educational status with the rest of the leading nations.
Since the founders made it a point to have no official religion or language (even though there are some accepted unofficial ones) I think being mulitlingual comes down to capitalism. If you can't speak the language of your potential customers, then you simply won't get their business. While it may not be necessary for average Americans to learn a second language (although I think everyone should) it would be economic suicide for a large corporation to not have several bilingual people on staff.
i think its great that we're teaching kids to be bi-lingual young! it's only going to help them. i also think all immigrants should have to learn english to become a citizen
Knowing other languages is only a benefit. In Europe, most people can speak at least two languages. I know that english is Americas main language, and that doesnt have to change, but learning other languages is very helpful. Oh, and everyone that lives here should be able to speak the language, even if they dont speak it as well as if they were born here.
I don't see how it could hurt. I would have gone to a bilingual school when I was younger, but they opened it the year after I started elementary school. In California, there is also a pretty big need to speak Spanish.
What could it hurt? It will only make our children more capable in the real world, and teach them some culture.
With different languages comes different ways of thinking. English clearly came out ahead as far as language/thinking is concerned, but that's not to say that other languages don't have their use as well.
I stand with the bilingual speakers/English official crowd.
I agree with Carlie, because there is really no down side to being able to speak more then one language. It only brings benefits towards your way. I know two languages and it helps me understand two types of people, and I just think that's cool.
But we need a primary language! I know Spanish(some) and it is good to know, but we need a language that everyone speaks! We can't graduate people that don't speak our language, because they won't be prepared to live in our society. It is absurd to have a country that is officialy "biligual"! We need linguistic order, or we won't fuction right, and our country will essentialy commit suicide. If you have somthing to say against me, speak up!! I just can believe that two languages will help our country. I like speaking Spanish, but we NEED a single official language. I am open to debate, so SPEAK UP!
I don't think that other languages should be forced upon Americans. I do think that colleges should have the right to favor people who are multilingual, but it shouldn't be REQUIRED by the government. As un-patriotic as I am, this country IS an English speaking country. People who come to live here should have to learn OUR language if they want anybody English speaking to talk to them.
