Hispanics Should Learn English But Shouldn't We Learn Another Language, Too?
By anniepa
@anniepa (27955)
United States
January 20, 2008 11:33pm CST
This could be a sticky one, so I want to make sure no one takes this the wrong way. We're always saying immigrants, whether they're illegal or not, should learn English, which I agree with totally. There were hundreds of immigrants from Italy, Poland, Germany, Russia and I'm not sure where else in the small town where I live and they all learned our language eventually and many of them were older when they came here so it couldn't have been easy. But, I was watching a movie the other night - "Before Sunrise" I think it was - and there was a line about Europeans thinking Americans are rather inferior because most of us only speak one language, English while Europeans, no matter which country they're from, usually speak several languages, often including English. A few days later I was listening to a local radio talk show in my car and they were discussing about how many of these first generation immigrants from Europe that I just mentioned often spoke their native language in their homes and their children and often their grandchildren would also learn that language even though they mainly spoke English and I knew that was true from some of the families I'd known growing up. But, this caller said, this doesn't happen anymore and most Americans only spoke English. I realized how true that was. I know of few people who are fluent in any language other than English and many that never learned any other language at all, not even a year or two in high school. I took four years of French in high school but I really don't remember much of it anymore.
I'm not saying "we" should accommodate "them" by learning Spanish but maybe we should start encouraging our children to become fluent in a second language. It certainly wouldn't hurt anything and it will possibly help them at some point in their lives either professionally or personally. It would seem that if we're so determined for others to learn our language, which is said to be one of the most difficult, it wouldn't do us any harm to also learn another one ourselves. If anything it may help us to respect the effort that goes into it. Any opinions?
Annie
4 people like this
13 responses
@RosieS57 (889)
• United States
21 Jan 08
'We' and 'Them'? I think there is a lot of confusion over these terms. Let me put it bluntly -- those you call 'them' are being gracious enough to allow the speaking of English here.
This land was Amer-Ind and Hispanic well before any English speakers landed here. The 'Indians' who were already here didn't speak English like they do in Hollywood movies.
You are a resident of this hemisphere. There are a few Canadians, many of which speak two languages. The vast overwhelming majority of the peoples of the Western Hemisphere do not speak English now, do they?
This land you call 'America' has only recently been overtaken by English speakers. Compared to the longevity of the Mayan and Incan people, you all are very new-bies here.
I am not Hispanic but I am of Amer-Ind ancestry. Most of what I learned about the people of this hemisphere and their history I learned in Spanish classes. You might have too, if you would have taken them.
Don't forget where you are and how vastly outnumbered you are.
I won't be responding to angry outbursts because nothing anyone says or does changes the numbers in this Hemisphere -- so if you don't like the facts as they are: tough.
2 people like this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
21 Jan 08
I didn't mean to offend anyone and I certainly didn't use the words "We" and "Them" in a derogatory sense at all. And when I wrote about those of us who speak English, I wasn't speaking of the entire Western Hemisphere, I was speaking of those of us who were born and raised in the United States. I was merely making an observation that in generations past many people who had immigrated here learned English and their children learned English but the children still learned the native language of their parents at home as they were growing up.
Basically, I didn't mean any part of this discussion as criticism on anyone no matter where they live or originally came from. I guess my main point, which somehow got lost, was that widening our horizons and gaining knowledge never hurts any of us. I wouldn't be a bad idea for our public schools to teach foreign languages starting in the earlier grades, when kids are more receptive to learning and when they retain more of what they learn not to pander to immigrants who come here and can't speak English but just to learn it because we CAN.
Thanks for responding!
Annie
1 person likes this
@RosieS57 (889)
• United States
21 Jan 08
Learning Spanish isn't accomodating 'them', Annie. It is becoming 'us'. If citizens of Los Estados Unidos (the United States) could broaden their perpectives to being Norte Americanos (North Americans)'we' would be all better off.
Mexicans are "Americans" too and it really isn't difficult to learn Spanish -- especially since Mexicans speak it slowly!
You are losing your French because where do you practice it? I promise you there will be more and more opportunities to use the Spanish (which you can easily learn) in the future. Heck, some of the songs that are eligible for the Latin Grammys are fabuloso after translation into English, too.
You should accommodate your own future and not lock Spanish and Hispanics out of it.
Those who do pigeonhole their futures risk cutting off their own noses to spite their faces.
Not learning Spanish in order to not 'accomodate' Hispanics is exactly and precisely the wrong attitude -- and can't you see that it is insulting?
1 person likes this
@JamesDeansBack (40)
• Netherlands
22 Jan 08
Wow taking it on a hot course :P cool down, there are more people in the world talking mainly spanish then english thats true, but for what benefit? more and more people are willing to learn english at least here in europe :P most of the technology is in english aswell....and talking about the inca's and all of that like maya's, the spanish killed 6000 maya's in one hour did you know that? :P any way i allready know 4 languages i find that enough...
1 person likes this
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
22 Jan 08
When I was in the military, I had to travel a lot. I did learn enough of the language of the main country where I was stationed to converse with my neighbors, order food ymmm, and pay my bills, but I would not have needed to do this. They went out of their way to accommodate Americans and were always eager to practice their english. I found that the same was true in many of the European countries. Most of the shop keepers, hotels, and eateries had employees who spoke enough english to handle any order or need that came up.
This did not just apply to American tourists either. The various places had people who could speak many languages so a German or a Frenchman could also find what he needed as he traveled.
America is the only country that expects tourists to speak our language when they visit our country. That is ludicrous. People who move here should learn english, but we should go out of our way to make visitors feel welcome to our country by having folks around to speak their language.
It used to be required in our schools that before you could graduate you had to have a second language. But we pamper our children too much now and let them graduate without even a good grip on english!
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
26 Jan 08
Thank you so much for "getting it"! You said it very well. When I was in high school you had to have at least two years of a second language to graduate but I don't think some schools have that requirement at all anymore. We were give a semester of French and a semester of Spanish in seventh grade then in eighth we got to pick one but it wasn't a class we had every day, it was maybe two or three classes per week so we only got the very basics. Then in ninth grade we got started on the "real thing". Once we got to what was considered senior high school back in the old days we had a few other choices, I think Latin and German and I'm not sure if there were any others but some students took two or three foreign languages. Now I'm not even sure if there's anything other than French or Spanish offered, if they even have those two in some districts. Good point about kids not even having a good grip on English when they graduate!
Annie
1 person likes this
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
21 Jan 08
I would learn another language if I was going to that country but not as I am in an English speaking country, I have learnt to say hello in several languages just to be able to bring a smile to some elderly people faces who were in a nursing home but that is far as I would go, I really do believe people in an english speaking country should speak the language.
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
26 Jan 08
You have some good points there anniepa and maybe if when I was a child and knew I was going to be able to put a particular language to use yes then good idea, but I know when I was volunteering in a Nurising Home a few years ago i learnt a couple of greetings for every language in the Nursing Home and there were a few and this was about three years ago but to be honest i couldn't tell most now, so for me who does not have a good memory it would have been a waste of time to learn at school.. and I think learning within the country itself would be part of the fun I think, gets you on a good path with the locals when you ask for help....
2 people like this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
26 Jan 08
I believe people should speak the language of whatever country they live in also. But you say, "I would learn another language if I was going to that country but not as I am in an English speaking country." Now, if you were now going to another country you say you'd learn their language, right? Just for the sake of discussion, wouldn't it have been easier if you had learned that language when you were a child in school instead of learning it now, no matter how many years it's been since you've been in school? Or even if the language or languages you learned as a child weren't the same as that of the country you're not going to visit, there are similarities between some other languages, particularly some of those spoken in Europe so it would be easier for you to learn the new one now if you had some background in a similar language. But, of course, you would have had no way of knowing when you were say 11 or 12 if you one day would travel abroad, right? Knowledge is something that can never be taken away from you once you have it. If we fail to use it we may "lose it" but it's still there to be retrieved if we need it.
Annie
2 people like this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
26 Jan 08
I agree with you there. It's just that I do think it's a great idea for our children to learn another language, starting when they're really young when they're minds are the most receptive at learning new things. Knowledge never hurts anyone and sometimes it comes in quite handy. It shouldn't be mandatory to work and function in our own country but it could someday save a life or at least make life a lot easier in different situations.
Annie
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
29 Jan 08
What an excellent idea for, your niece to teach her little boy to speak Spanish now, while he's ripe for the learning. I also think it's great your niece is taking that class. I think we all should want to continue learning new things long after we're out of school. You're never too old!
Annie
1 person likes this
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
26 Jan 08
I have nothing against learning. In fact, I am obsessed with it. I totally agree that children should start learning a second language from birth. When they get older, they will be fluent in it.
I had a friend whose mother was Hispanic and father was fluent in speaking Spanish. But, they never talk her to speak it. She would always say that she wished they had taught her.
Right now, I took a break from typing this and called my sister. Her daughter is taking a Spanish class right now. I told her to tell her daughter to start teaching her almost two year old son to speak it. That way, he will be fluent by the time he goes for a job.
1 person likes this
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
21 Jan 08
Learning a second language is really a great advantage for a person... English is my second language and this took me miles... career wise... and my husband was able to get a job abroad because he is an english major even if that is no his native tongue...
These days... may consider english as the foremost important language in business... so in your case... to learn a different language would be like a hobby... because in the workplace in different parts of the world english is being used instead of their own native language...
I really would like to commend those people who made it a point to teach people this language because it has been like the unifying force in the world... but your thought on learning a different language for and already English speaker like you is not a must have but something out of you own choice for your own personal growth...
2 people like this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
26 Jan 08
That's an excellent point and while I know this will anger some people if they take it the wrong way I think it shows a bit of arrogance on the part of Americans that we feel we don't "need" to make that choice for personal growth because the rest of the world has come to realize they needed to learn our language.
Annie
@Sungolian (377)
• United States
21 Jan 08
I already speak 2 and a half languages :)
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
30 Jan 08
There is a saying - if you speak 3 languages, you are trilingual; if you speak 2 languages you are bilingual and if you speak one language you are American.
I studied French and Spanish in high school and my opportunity to ever use them...not until very recently. And somehow, after 30 years, I forgot what I learned.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
30 Apr 08
I'm all for kids learning another language if they want to. Alot of high schools offer classes such as French, Spanish, ect. I personally never learned one b/c I had no need to. I did learn a little Spanish while living in Texas but certainly not enough to carry on a conversation.
On the other side of the coin, I would expect that if I decide to go to Russia that I would need to learn Russian and not expect ppl to be able to speak English. I think that tends to be where the problems with some immigrants, illegal mainly, come from...they come here and expect ppl to learn their language in order to communicate.
**AT PEACE WITHIN**
~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
25 Jan 08
I admire some European nationalities like the Dutch. Most of them speak English and German really fluently. I worked a children's nanny in Finland and met Finns that could speak English, Swedish, German and French. I live in the UK, we the British people are not known for our skills in learning foreign languages. Someone that lives in a non-English speaking country is likely to learn to speak English. There are Teaching English as a Foreign Language Schools in many different countries from Spain and Brazil or Japan and China. Illegal migrants from Africa used to travel up to the Canary Islands but security has increased. So they go via Libya and hopefully make it to Italy or worst Malta where they are put in a detention center. I saw on the news that a group of African men were stranded in the sea after their boat sank they hopped on a net that turned out to be a tuna catching devise. The Italian government gave them the right to sty in Italy for one year. One of them is learning Italian, another of them dreams of reaching England and the others are living in a hostel in a rural area and they find that quite boring. They note that many Italians haven't a job and so them getting one is even more challenging. I learned French at school but there is a choice from French, German, Italian or Spanish. I think Spanish is spoken in Central America, most of South America, some of the USA and Spain so it might be the most useful language.
1 person likes this
@lucgeta (924)
• France
21 Jan 08
There is no much use for a second language if you are not going to use it. Young Europeans might speak more than one language because they travel thru Europe by rail a lot and learn on their way. Or simply because their country speaks more than one language like Belgium (half French and half Dutch). Most learn English for the same reason they would in China or Brazil.
In countries with a very defined language like Portugal, Spain or France, it is a lot reduced the number that do learn English. I haven't seen the movie but it looks to me just provocation or teasing.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
26 Jan 08
There's not much use for a lot of what we learn in school when you think of it in that way. I'm not, nor have I ever had any interest in being scientist but I still had to take science in school, for one. But, some students in my classes did end up in a field related to science so the background that got in the early grades was useful for them, even though they didn't know it would be at the time. The same could be said for most of the subjects they teach in school. As for the scene in the movie, it was just something that was said in conversation which was what the movie mainly was; it was described as a "talk-fest". The main male character, who was American, made a remark to the female lead, who was French and spoke perfect English something to the effect that "We Americans don't think we need to know any other language besides English." He was teasing her, or maybe teasing her back but his words rang true, don't you think? Anyway, this is just a discussion about some random thoughts I'd had - totally in English, of course...lol
Annie
1 person likes this
@bravenewworld (746)
• United States
22 Jan 08
I don't think it's just Americans that seem unwilling to learn another language, it's also other English speakers, such as the Brits, Aussies, Canadians. This may be more to do with lack of incentive, as English is used so widely.
I do think we should accommodate non-English speakers in this country. Older immigrants are just not going to be learn English very well. This is not just Hispanics, but older immigrants from any non-English speaking country. We can assume their children or grand-children will speak English. Accommodating the older generations is not going to do any harm.
1 person likes this
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
26 Jan 08
If anymore forcing of mandatory second language or any other similar nonsense I'm going to flip out. I think children and people should have CHOICES when it comes to learning a language (and other things... call me crazy I just think choice is better). As for virtually all other countries they have a specific language, no way around it. You either know the language or you'll fail fast. There should be a set language so people can communicate, read and understand. Yes there should be assistance and translators for obvious services, but its getting out of hand in some areas. Of course I'm just some ranty old man, so who cares eh.
1 person likes this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
26 Jan 08
I'm not talking about mandating anything but don't you think our children should be encouraged to learn another language or even two in the early grades? Not forced, but it should be offered to them when they learn the easiest and the most. As I said when I started this post, it's not about learning Spanish in particular because of the immigrants who come here that speak Spanish, I wasn't discussing the whole issue of making English our official language and making everyone who comes here learn it or else. It was just something I was thinking about, that it wouldn't hurt for us to learn something new too. Not for someone else but for ourselves, just to do it. If anything we've gone backwards because it was mandatory to learn a foreign language to graduate from high school when I was a kid.
Annie
@morethanamolehill (1586)
• United States
26 Jan 08
I agree, We should be willing to learn another language. WHen I went into JrHigh (7th grade) I wanted to take Latin But I was one of only two people in the school that wanted to take it and they wouldn't tell me who the other one was. Maybe we could have formed a club xD. anyway the only problem I see here is that we are already graduating kids from High School that don't even have english mastered!! Maybe it's because they are already too accommodating to kids. Everybody is pointing fingers but In the mean time our literacy rate continues to drop. I was taught to read by my mother simply by her reading to me every nite and putting the book in front of me. I turned 4 in August and Entered Kindergarten in September. But that doesn't let schools off the hook. If a kid shows up at a school and cannot read he should be taught to read english #1 PRIORITY. I see no excuse for this. If I had performance ratings on MY job like the Public School system in the last 40 years, I would be FIRED.
