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Author Topic:   Language Classes
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1405 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 1 of 4 (837955)
08-11-2018 11:06 AM


Part of the problem in the world is communication ... and if people with multiple language skills have better hiring probability ...
... shouldn't we be teaching more languages in schools?
A lot of people complain that new immigrants don't learn english, but have they taken classes in foreign languages (I took French for 4 years in high school).
What languages should be taught and when -- especially that it is easier to learn new languages at young ages -- elementary grades, for instance.
What languages should be taught?
Spanish
Chinese (mandarin)
Russian
German
What's your thoughts.
Enjoy

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Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Phat, posted 08-11-2018 11:40 AM RAZD has not replied
 Message 4 by caffeine, posted 08-12-2018 6:43 AM RAZD has not replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


(1)
Message 2 of 4 (837956)
08-11-2018 11:40 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by RAZD
08-11-2018 11:06 AM


Learning Spanish
My closest friend is from Mexico and speaks Spanish fluently, as does my grand nephew and his Dad. I recently acquired Babbel in an attempt to learn some Spanish, but I am not practicing nearly enough. My bi-lingual friends at work implore me to practice all of the time with them and others.
Its harder to learn Spanish at age 58.

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This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by RAZD, posted 08-11-2018 11:06 AM RAZD has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by Coragyps, posted 08-11-2018 6:13 PM Phat has seen this message but not replied

  
Coragyps
Member (Idle past 735 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


(2)
Message 3 of 4 (837990)
08-11-2018 6:13 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by Phat
08-11-2018 11:40 AM


Re: Learning Spanish
Much, much harder as you get old. My wife is pretty seamlessly bilingual (Spanish/English) and yet I struggle to do much beyond ordering dos cervesas, por favor with my three years of high-school Spanish from a half century ago. I just can’t listen fast enough to keep up in a conversation.
But yeah, we need more language early, not to be eliminating classes. I learned a huge amount of English from the lone year of Latin I got before the teacher retired....

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caffeine
Member (Idle past 1024 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


(3)
Message 4 of 4 (838009)
08-12-2018 6:43 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by RAZD
08-11-2018 11:06 AM


What languages should be taught?
Spanish has a lot of advantages - it's a major global so would be very useful. It's also a very common language in the US which means both that it's immediately useful in daily life and employment and students don't have to search hard for opportunities to practise outside the classroom - at least in some parts of the country Spanish-speakers are easy to come across and Spanish-language media is widely available. It's also one of the easiest languages to learn for a native English speaker.
The most important thing, though, is not to wait until high school to start teaching languages. Teach kids foreign languages as soon as they start school - 4 or 5 of whatever it is in the US. Start then and you'll end up with some people beginning bilingual as a result - start in high school and the effect is negligible.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by RAZD, posted 08-11-2018 11:06 AM RAZD has not replied

  
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