Should our students be required to learn more than just one foreign language?

[stratego]

Should our students be required to learn more than just one foreign language?

 

[SeleucusNicator]

There is no need. Most will likely never learn one foreign language to any usable extent, let alone two.

 

[Syterion]

If we really wanted our students to learn a new language, we would start them on the foriegn language much, much earlier.

 

[Perfection]

No, it's bad enough that I have to learn one to get into college! Here in America we make other people speak our language!

 

[SeleucusNicator]

No, it's bad enough that I have to learn one to get into college! Here in America we make other people speak our language!

Don't think we stop there. We make people living in other countries learn our language too!

 

[Perfection]

Don't think we stop there. We make people living in other countries learn our language too!

The way it should be, we worked hard to be an economic superpower, now it's time to reap the benefits!

 

[Rammstein]

You're all joking, right? I speak 3 languages fluently, if I get the chance I will learn more.

 

[Colonel]

honestly though i am by defention a kid i dont think kids should have to even go to school i think that if a kid wants to goto school they should go but if they dont dont make them i mean if a kid doesnt want to learn to make him they arent going to learn if they dont want to, and to put a fact by my statement

Over the past 40 years public education has been a waste of over 40Trillion dollars, and its a waste because over the same 40 years grades and averge test scores have gone down hill significatly

 

[Rammstein]

@ Colonel: Yeah, and if nobody goes to school, the test scores will improve? I understand that YOU don't like school, but the only way to make things better is to make an effort, not withdraw.

I'd love to see how the US, or any country, would fare if 50 years from now, only 10 % of the population had attended school.

 

[Colonel]

Rammstein: i like school to a point, but if u look at it only a portion of students would come but look in 50 years at how many would not come to school if givern the choice it would be far more if u get rid of the ones who dont wish to be there now u would most likely get out a majority of the TRUELY bad students that wont amount to much even if they are forced to stay in school anyways

most likely more then 10% of the population would choose to goto school i would say somewhere between 60%-75% the rest wouldnt go anywhere anyway

 

[Hakim]

I'm not american but I don't think the they should force their kids to learn another language. For an american, that simply isn't useful enough. Adults have a tendency to come up with all kinds of subjects children should learn to solve various problems in society (at least over here). I think they have enough as it is.

 

[Colonel]

besides the fact that TWO years dont teach u a foriegn language but merely the basics of one language if they are going to force a little more then two to accuatley teach a langauage

 

[WS78]

There's a point. Let Americans learn their first language better.

 

[WickedSmurf]

Those who speak English as their mother language should not have mandatory education in a second language, although I think it should be encouraged. Don't ask me how though.

 

[phil87]

At my school (In the UK). We had to pick either French or German, its incredibly boring for most people to learn a language (in school) even if you are fairly good at it. Most of the stuff you learn is of little use unless you were to carry on to higher levels. Even more annoyingly I will have forgotten all but a few phrases within a few years so it seems a waste of time to force people to do it as unless you plan to take it further its pretty pointless.

 

[LOVE_Magiska]

Tsss, you should all be made to suffer like me!
Swedish, English, Spanish and French =/

 

[Iggy]

Those who speak English as their mother language should not have mandatory education in a second language, although I think it should be encouraged. Don't ask me how though.

Quite simple, give students the choice, either they must learn another language or they learn about their own language ie study Latin.

 

[phoenix_night]

No, it's bad enough that I have to learn one to get into college! Here in America we make other people speak our language!

Don't think we stop there. We make people living in other countries learn our language too!

You have a language now?

 

[Wolfe Tone]

I don't think that it should be compulsory to learn more than one Foreign language but the option should be made availible. Also they need to start teaching the languages a lot earlier. I didn't start learning a language until I was 11 (when I done Irish and French) then after 3 years I got rid of French and just done Irish for the next two. At A-Level I hated languages so much I didn't go anywhere near them. If I started to learn another language early in primary school I think it would have served me better. Also the way that languages are taught needs to be improved. There seemed to be a lot of memorizing passages off rather than being taught to construct our own sentances. The language should be taught so it can be used in everyday conversation with a foreigner rather than just to pass tests.

 

[phoenix_night]

When in school, I had to study three languages.

Welsh was my first language, but I also had to have English lessons for more or less my entire time in school (starting quite young). When I went to secondary school I also had to take German (I had no choice, though other students studied either French or Spanish). That lasted three years, but today, I can barely speak a word of German.