Do you think foreign language education is important in America?
Ok, so obviously the American education system has plenty of things that need to be worked on. But I think we’re really lacking in terms of solid foreign language education.
In Europe, almost all public school students are at least bilingual. They learn the other major languages in their country or region; or the language of their neighbors. German students will learn English and French, and depending on the region they might also learn Russian or Italian; this is all in public school, starting at elementary levels.
So why don’t we do this? Sure, we’re different than Europe – we have only two neighbors, and we cannot travel through the borders with ease. But why not teach Spanish to kids in elementary school? It is the second most spoken language in America, the language of most countries in the Americas. Instead of fearing the loss of American culture, we should embrace it in its entirety. We have to prepare our kids to be global citizens, not just American citizens.
You are very right. Foreign language education is the best thing the USA could offer its people. There are many languages in North America. The largest ones would be Spanish and French, besides English. Plus there are many native languages. I live in Canada where we speak English and French. I am a native French speaker from Montréal, but I started to learn English in elementary school. Then I learned Spanish and German in high school. And then I did some exchange programs and learned Dutch and Swedish. But I think learning a different language would be great for American kids. Spanish would be a great language for American schools to teach. But I also think that schools in the Northern part of the country, especially the northeast, could also benefit from learning French, being so close to the Canadian border. But language learning should be mandatory. At least one language. And immersion schools work wonders. Here in Canada, we offer French immersion for English speakers, and English immersion for French speakers. But it may help foreigners better accept Americans if they spoke another language besides English and become global citizens.
Learning Italian Like Crazy – N3L
