Metros Striker10
18 Nov 2004, 06:11 PM
I personally think that the more one can learn, the better. If you have the chance of mastering another language, go for it. You never know when it might be useful. Plus, studies have proven that the more languages one know's the easier it will be for them to learn other things.
TeamUSA
21 Nov 2004, 05:47 PM
I fought through the two years required in high school. Had an epiphany in college and speak Spanish fluently now.
Working on the German slowly, in preparation for the 2006 World Cup.
uclacarlos
23 Nov 2004, 10:23 AM
it doesn't matter how many languages are taught, the important part is: are any americans actually trying to learn them? no. we just dont have the drive
It has nothing to do w/ "drive". It has to do w/ large class sizes and vast territories where monolingualism rules the land. In areas where there is heavy contact btw languages, language learning tends to flourish, depending on which is the dominant language and how that dominance plays out in social, political and economic arenas.
In large US cities, you'd be surprised at how much ppl know a foreign language. In Cali, the average person knows upwards of 200 words in Spanish w/o even thinking. (I can't remember where I got this fact, so I could be off.) Certain professions pick it up really quickly: health care workers, legal system workers (from cops on to judges and clerks), utilities, construction, soccer, etc.