Why do schools make you learn a new language?
I don't mean to sound ignorant but....why do schools make you learn a new language? I know I will eventually forget everything I've learned and it just seems like a waste of time. It just makes me want to cry when i stare down at my Spanish textbook and realize I have no clue.
15 Answers
I took Spanish a year in high school because I had to. I took a second year because it wasn't that bad. And one of my big regrets in life is that I didn't keep learning it.
I decided to do it again, mostly because my county in Kentucky is now 30% hispanic, and it makes zero sense to not learn Spanish when you live in a place that has so many Spanish-speaking people.
Folks in other countries think it's important for them to learn English. And I agree, because English is so important to the world, it's spoken so many places, and they would miss out on so much culture by not knowing it.
By the same logic, we ought to learn Spanish! It's one of the predominant languages of the world, and is the second most spoken language in the US by far.
My son took 4 years of it in high school, then a year in college, and spent a summer in Panama as an exchange student. He now envies my ability and wishes he had kept up with his Spanish....and he's not out of college yet.
And you know what? Little kids in Spain and Mexico learn how to speak it. You can too.
You don't sound ignorant. I said the same thing about algebra. I'm still not sure why I had to go through that torture. Fortunately, for me, I was able to see how a foreign language could help. I took three years of French when I was in high school and I still remember quite a bit.
I'm not sure where you live, but learning Spanish will help you in many ways. I regret not taking it in school. That is why I am playing catch-up now. I initially became interested after a trip to Mexico, when I was frustrated that I could not communicate with anyone. I have since made other trips to Mexico and other Latin American countries and the experience has been completely different. I have made friends and had unbelievable experiences that I never would have had if I didn't know at least a little Spanish.
Also consider the fact that many people around the world know more than one language. It is becoming increasingly important for people in the job market and just in general, to know more than one language. Through technology, the world is becoming smaller and smaller and you will be thankful for taking the time to be able to communicate to others around the globe.
Maybe better question would be - Why do schools make you hate the things they claim they want you to learn? I can pity people like Nicole that nobody showed her the real magic of maths. And like me, when it comes to history or geography. Lucky we live in time and place where internet is affordable and resources like this site exist.
You have to learn a new language so jokes like this aren't perpetuated.
Q: If speaking three languages makes you trilingual, and speaking two languages makes you bilingual, what does speaking only one language make you?"
A: American.
Also, joking aside - when the current Pope was being elected a journalist asked a Cardinal what the likelihood was that an American would ever be elected. The Cardinal laughed (laughed!) and said (I'm paraphrasing), "A Pope needs to speak multiple languages and Americans are lucky if they know two."
I had a similar experience. My class took a Spanish module as part of a transition year. I had no interest as it wasnt even examinable. Now its 10 years later after spending some time in South America and Spain and I am learning Spanish in the hope of moving to a Spanish speaking country in the next year or so.
For what reason have you started re-learning Spanish?
On the flip side, my brother studied french all through school and studied it as part of his degree. He went on to open a company in Nice. Without this introduction to French in school he may never have realised he had a flair for languages and may have never been able to experience the fantastic French culture. Similarly, when you were in school, some of the kids in your class probably went on to study Spanish or at least found it to be a doorway to learning a different language.
Sure, why bother learning anything in the first place? You will have forgotten it all anyway when you are old and decrepit on your hospital deathbed .....
Another thing is why do we need to know algebra II computers can do all of that on their own. A better choice would be a computer course or something that computers are not yet able to do. Its like teachers and adults are reluctant to change the aging school system even when it is in dire need of change. The world is changing...why should schooling stay the same?
Hmm, I don't know, this seems wrong. A calculator can do all the basic mathematical functions for us as well. So do we really need to learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide? Just saying.
I think it's great to learn a lot of things. Though I can see where you're coming from. Algebra II is one thing, but if they started making Calculus a mandatory course...-oh please..won't somebody please think of the children!- Calculus is just starting to get a bit too esoteric to have as a general mandatory course.
I also agree on the fact that we need to change the schooling system. I live in Florida. I think we're actually trying to do away with 'useless' subjects like gym, art and music. This is a FATAL mistake, don't do iiiittttttt!
-Charlius-
Just FYI my two youngest just started Kindergarten and first grade - both are already taking Spanish. I'm very happy their school starts this early so my children can have a head start and advantage over others in their generation. I'm so glad they've had Dora, etc. to grow up with.
What i don't understand is why Teachers and parents expect us to know what we want in life but force us through generic schooling that we don't need. Another thing is why do we need to know algebra II computers can do all of that on their own. A better choice would be a computer course or something that computers are not yet able to do. Its like teachers and adults are reluctant to change the aging school system even when it is in dire need of change. The world is changing...why should schooling stay the same?
Well - I do not take education for granted. To explain my point - in secondary school I had chemistry teacher I wish everybody to have. OK - I had nothing to do with chemistry ever last couple of years. However you could wake me up in the middle of the night with hangover from hell - and I still would be able to solve the exercise. Should not it be the case that other teachers do the same quality job?
I was once told a story when teacher (+/- 30 years ago) was asked why he makes his classes so funny. His answer - "I have only two ways of teaching you something for good - by making you cry or by making you laugh. For the former I could go to jail so I pick the latter"
Yes - we need schools to prepare for different options in life. Just in my opinion the way to do it is by tuning up the curiosity in kids, not by killing it.
Well, at first, I did not like learning languages, but as I needed to learn English I tried with a fun method.
Now, I am an English teacher and I have noticed that all my pupils have something in common. They do not like learning English.
Life was so much simpler three or four hundred years ago. If you were a boy, you did whatever your father had done (cobbler, blacksmith, shopkeeper, etc.) and if you were a girl, you did whatever your mother had done (bear children and keep a household). In modern times, things are more complicated; you are expected to make some kind of choice (among which is, of course, doing whatever your parents did). How are you to choose among the huge number of possibilities that are available now? Will you ask you shop-keeper father about the benefits of becoming a scientist/lawyer/doctor/computer programmer/etc.? Does he know anything about these professions (other than that they earn more money than he does)? If you rely on your personal experience, it is likely that you will have almost no idea about most of the possibilities. Your schooling is primarily intended to introduce you to more of the world than that with which you have had direct contact.
For almost any profession that you can name, there are people who practice it and love doing so. The mathematician/poet/economist/doctor/programmer/salesman/actor/lawyer/musician/artist/translator/etc. may have found tremendous pleasure/satisfaction in his career (there are also, of course, those who end up in a profession that they don't enjoy). If you have no real understanding of mathematics, how can you reasonably say I don't want to be a mathematician? If you've never tried to play an instrument, how can you know that you wouldn't like to be a musician?
Unfortunately (for the beginner), most professions/interests start off with a period of acquiring basic skills (which usually means a lot of repetition/practice and is not interesting). If you want to be a rock star, you'll need to learn to play an instrument (e.g. the guitar) and that will mean long hours practicing boring things such as chords. If you want to be an astrophysicist, you'll have to learn algebra along the way to learning more "interesting"/"exciting" mathematics.
If, on the other hand, your father was (for example) a farmer, and you intend to be a farmer, you don't need to do any of this. You can pay a botanist/agricultural consultant to provide advice about what crops to plant, an accountant to advise you on how to manage your books (and know if you are making/losing money), a foreman (who speaks more than just English) to communicate with your workers. You will never travel anywhere (except, possibly, the county fair) so you need know nothing about foreign geography/politics/culture/language).
Lo siento pero no lo sé. (I guess they just make us)
I think you could pose a question like this referring to any other school subjects. It's impossible to predict what a kid will want to do in a few years' time and thus it's necessery to provide some basis for future education and/or profession.
HI blub, I am a Spanish native, a new language is all you need in this life, jeje, as you will be able to communicate with over 400 millon more people,
I would on the other hand not be able to communicate with you, if I had not learnt English. I would not have a job either, as I am a teacher of English. I think these are good reasons to learn a new language. 
That doesn't make you sound ignorant. Schools generally aren't very good at much, but they do serve a purpose and they are about the best of many alternatives and definitely better than nothing.
I've learnt more in a few weeks using this site, an audio course, and online translation tools, than I did in 2-3 years of language lessons at school. I'd even go as far as to say that my particular experience learning languages at school actually made it harder for me! By creating confusions that have taken time and effort to undo.
If you want to learn Spanish, there are some great resources out there that will make it far easier than your school are going to while trying to teach a whole classful. If you don't want to learn it, there's nothing that's going to make it easy for you. One day you may want to, and you will find it much easier to learn it. Forcing stuff into your brain when it wants to be off thinking elsewhere is just going to be hard work, boring, and completely unfun.
If you have to learn it, and/or you need the qualification for it, my best advice is to find some reasons why you would actually want to learn it. Maybe you could realise that something you may want to do later in life will be made easier or possible by knowing another language, and with how long it takes to learn a language fully (think how long you've been learning English, yet there's still more that can be learnt every day) ... the earlier you get started the better.
