American Education and Foreign Language Learning

[EarthySun]

Basically, America's dropped the ball on teaching our public a second (or even third) language through the public school system. In foreign countries, such as Germany, students are first taught a foreign language as young as ten, and continue learning that foreign language until fluent... and then they start a third language. In America, we usually start learning our first foreign language at age 12-14, and even then we're nowhere near fluent by the end of our foreign language education. In college, we're only required to take one year of a foreign language, and that is only as much as two years of a high school foreign language course (about enough to adequately order at a restaurant, but not converse with someone meaningfully, fully, or well).

 

This irks me very much, especially because I love learning foreign languages. Right now, I'm pursuing both German and Spanish. People think that I know the entire dictionary of words, but far from it... I just know much more than them (which is still a meager amount >.<). When I see my classmates attempt Spanish or German, they often mispronounce words, misspell words, and/or misuse grammar/words. My classmates also rarely recite their own linguistic verses, but rather take to using learned phrases from the textbook or just reading out of the textbook itself. Also, a note: this occurs in classes for the college-bound and would-be-professionals.]

 

However, you could argue that it isn't important for Americans to learn a foreign language. I don't think that it's particularly important, but that it's still a very useful ability to have, gives your brain a lot of exercise, and helps you to better understand language/syntax/grammar (especially in your native language). I think that the path to fluency in a foreign language is one that everyone should travel upon.

 

Edit: I get this topic in my head every time I see a TIFer who says that they're from another country. I think that it's annoying in how there are these teenagers from Sweden, Germany, France, et cetera, who can converse in English so very well, and yet I can't (nor do I know anyone who can) converse in a non-native language so fluidly and well. I certainly don't sound like a native Spanish-speaker when I talk in Spanish online, nor in German.

[obfuscator]

I think languages are important, but unless you have a truly bilingual country it shouldn't be mandatory..

 

For example, here, you learn french from kintergarden to grade 9 - and you can take it past that if you wish.

[Skull]

Rosetta stone is too expensive since a copy of the program needs to be bought for each computer. My school tried to get it but they couldn't afford it and it's not like they're going to go torrent it like an individual who wanted it.

 

Anyways, I'm on my 5th year of learning a second language now. I'll admit I'm no where near fluent, but I can hold a decent conversation. Will it be grammatically correct, no. Understandable, probably

[Romy]

I must say that learning a foreign language is much easier when practiced rather than taught.

 

 

I can assure you that what you'd learn in... say Greek, would be far more in a month of living there than 5 years of learning the language in class.

[Zierro]

I can assure you that what you'd learn in... say Greek, would be far more in a month of living there than 5 years of learning the language in class.

 

This is exactly what my Spanish teacher said. And she was a white lady with English as her first language.

[Danqazmlp]

The same can be said here in the UK. I hate to sound big headed in the English language, but I see the reason as being the fact that you can get by in a lot of the world by speaking English, so a second language is rarely required. However, if my native language was German, i would struggle to get by in a lot of other countries without using a second language (usually English).

[rangeor]

Last year I finished the last required year of Spanish in my county, and most other American public schools, which would be Spanish 3. I honestly do not remember much of it at all, and would be very unprepared if I traveled to a country that speaks Spanish. I think it should be mandatory through elementary and middle school but optional during high school, even though I most likely would not take it, if I was taught well at those young ages I would be better prepared to possibly learn a different language in the future.

[Faux]

french is forced on canadian schools til gr. 9. it's pretty useless.

[Distracted]

In Belgium (Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part) we learn French at an age of about 10. Few years later we take on English, and then even later also German. I've always wondered whether English-speaking people were taught other languages, here's my answer.

[Nom]

Americans are geographically isolated and we already speak the most widely used language (for now and excepting Chinese.) Living in Europe is a different experience, where countries with their own language and culture are smaller than one American state and butt right up to other countries with totally different languages and cultures. I mean, we have Mexico, so if anything the practical language to learn would be Spanish, but unless you're going to be an international businessman there's no reason to learn another language, really.

 

Plus the majority of Americans are convinced their country is the best in the world, and it's hard to tell them otherwise when they're separated from Europe and Asia by two huge oceans. People don't want to bother with a foreign language when Canadians speak English and Central/South Americans are held in contempt because of illegal immigration or plain racism.

 

It's nice to be educated, though.

[Perakp]

The Finnish system is that you start with English at 9, then you have a chance to start a 2nd foreign (usually german or swedish) at eleven if you want to and Swedish (2nd official language) starts at 13.

The obligatory swedish raises political conflicts from time to time, people don't need it, it's hard for the students, there'd be more important subjects to study (russian for example, some argue), etc. Personally I think from a minority point of view, obligatory swedish as a 2nd foreign language is a good thing, even if you never needed it. Seeing what kind of minority related problems other european countries have, I think it sends out a message that we view them as a legitimate and respected part of the community when we teach their language to everyone.

 

Our german teacher had a good quote on her classroom door that I don't know how to put in English:

Mit jeder Sprache die du kannst, bist du ein Mensch mehr.

It's true.

[Obtaurian]

I'm an American college student and I could not agree with the OP more. I think it's silly that we don't learn second or third languages. I took Spanish for the first time when I was fourteen, and living in Southern California, Spanish is easily the most useful second language that I could possibly know, but I'm just not very interested in it. I'm learning French in college right now, and I plan to continue with it for years to come. As someone who wants to travel, and French being the wide-spoken language that it is, I feel that this is a more worthwhile investment than Spanish. I really, really wish that I had been forced to start learning French at a young age.

 

I understand, however, that it's not absolutely vital for most Americans to learn a second language. In my area, yes, it helps a lot, but most places it'd go to waste. I would still consider our lax view of second languages to be an educational failure, though.

[Aslan]

Atleast here, in Romania(Central-Eastern Europe), we start learning English from the 2nd grade until the 12th and French from the 5th grade until the 12th.I'm at Uni now and surprisingly I've had more choices for the Language part of the school program( English, French, German, Italian). I personally chose French as the classes are a lot easier(compared to the English ones for example) and I'll have more time to focus on other subjects. I'd say that the main reason why you do not learn in the same way as in other countries is the fact that the "foreigners" report to the English language, while you do not have anything to report to. English is by far the most used international language so it's not needed for you to do like most of us(learn another language) if we want to do something in life.

[Abc1230]

American education absolutely sucks :/ Up until grade 9 (age 14ish) everybody was forced to take the same classes (except one or two...) In the three years of Spanish I took in middle school, I literally learned nothing more than a few random words and numbers... I didn't actually start learning Spanish until I got to high school. I stopped after two years (the minimum...) I honestly believe I would have been able to be fluent in the language if I was taught at a younger age. This goes for all classes, really :/ American education doesn't diverse AT ALL until high school. By then, a lot of us are too old to easily learn a second language... You know what I mean :s Most Americans are too stupid to admit that they're not perfect or something... [bleep] it >.> They never taught me how to rant properly

[Romy]

American education absolutely sucks :/ Up until grade 9 (age 14ish) everybody was forced to take the same classes (except one or two...) In the three years of Spanish I took in middle school, I literally learned nothing more than a few random words and numbers... I didn't actually start learning Spanish until I got to high school. I stopped after two years (the minimum...) I honestly believe I would have been able to be fluent in the language if I was taught at a younger age. This goes for all classes, really :/ American education doesn't diverse AT ALL until high school. By then, a lot of us are too old to easily learn a second language... You know what I mean :s Most Americans are too stupid to admit that they're not perfect or something... [bleep] it >.> They never taught me how to rant properly

 

Hilarious, ROFL....

[blakdragon39]

french is forced on canadian schools til gr. 9. it's pretty useless.

 

I only ever had to start taking it in Grade 5 too, so I only got 4 years of French language learning. I could have kept taking it, but I felt that would be utterly useless. I never once had a good french teacher, and I never had one teacher for more than a year. It's sad really. I know NOTHING in French, even after taking 4 years of classes? I have no interest in trying to keep learning French, but I think I might have if my teachers had been any good at it, and if we ever went past learning the same verbs and the form they go in year after year.

 

I'm really annoyed at the terrible French education we received, and I just wanted to vent about it a little, whether or not learning the language is necessary. :P

[Hawks]

I hate it that our schools don't offer more choices. I'm taking German right now (in my 2nd year) and I wish my school offered Japanese. We only have Spanish and German.

 

I also find it dumb that they force Spanish on us until we're like 11, then drop it until we get into high school. I personally believe that if you're going to live and work in the US, you need to speak English. I do not have a requirement to be able to understand you, you have a requirement to be able to speak the language I speak. (Which, incidentally, is why I'm taking German and not Spanish.)

 

There's a German exchange student in my school though, and he says all you do in school in Germany is sit around in one class all day and sometimes the teachers leave early; he likes the American system much better... Although he's 16 and speaks German and English fluently.

[pegpenguin]

I've always hated american education, for it's complete lack of any actual educating. They basically make you memorize everything, teaching you the same thing all through k-8, then at 9-12, you get to choose which crap they stuff down your throats >.> The music department was the only part I enjoyed and I often skipped most of my classes to hang out in the band room my senior year, so I could pursue the things I was interested in. Luckily I didn't get in trouble seeing as I was failing anyways so whatever, I just got my diploma through homeschooling myself >.>

 

I think it would be cool to know a foreign language, but I honestly would not care to learn that much, not because I'm so elitist [puncture] who thinks everyone should learn English, but because I don't care to travel that much and I don't honestly have much time to learn a foreign language when I spend all my days with music!

[Riku3220]

I don't care much for foreign language. American school systems rarely teach the more unusual languages and really, the one foreign language that will be of any use to us is Spanish. I'm not saying this because I'm some arrogant American who believes we're the best but because we only have 2 countries on our border. One that speaks Spanish, and another that speaks English and French (Mostly English).

[Faux]

other countries should have english in their curriculum

[Riku3220]

other countries should have english in their curriculum

The funny thing is that most already do.

[Alg]

I must say that learning a foreign language is much easier when practiced rather than taught.

 

 

I can assure you that what you'd learn in... say Greek, would be far more in a month of living there than 5 years of learning the language in class.

AGREED

Maybe it's just that I had a horrible Spanish teacher, but I never learned a thing from the class. You don't learn language by memorising the rules! I know more Italian than Spanish after two years of Spanish and none of Italian because I listened to it spoken by actual people in actual conversation rather than the absolute failure of a class that the waste of a Spanish teacher tried holding.

 

It should be required, of course. They just need to actually teach the language in the classes.

[Pkmastachaos]

french is forced on canadian schools til gr. 9. it's pretty useless.

 

I'm from Canada, but can't say it was the same back when I was in school. I didn't start learning French until grade 7 (6 years ago now), as far as I can recall that's the only year I had to take it as it was mandatory. Once I got into high school we had the option to take a second/third language such as French, Spanish or Italian. But that's about it.

 

Never do see much people speak French though.. I've tried to learn a different language, but it's tough when your surrounded by people who just speak English all the time.

[mcneilp]

I'm not American so i can't comment on that but it seems much the same in the Uk. We started learning very basic french, numbers/alphabet and simple sentences in primary school. French was compulsary in first and second year of high school then optional from then on. I done french for five of the six years in high school and german for three. There wasn't a great choice of languages, mostly due to my old school's languages department being really understaffed but we had a teacher who could speak, as well as french/spanish/german, fluent russian and italian. They became an option in senior years if there was enough interest in them but there rarely was. It's a shame.

[Dizzle229]

Let's face it, for a long time what is now the UK pretty much ruled the world. As a result, much of the world speaks at least basic English. A foreign language is a useful thing to learn, but I don't really think it should be required.