Should we teach American students a second language
My question is about whether we should be required to teach America's students a second language? Why or Why Not. I need some feed back on what you think for my essay that I am writing.
21 Answers
I taught high school in the US for ten years, and I'm convinced that making students take a two year foreign language course is a waste of time. We should begin teaching a second language in the third grade so that the students can actually speak the language.
I think American students should all be home schooled and only taught English, and only about history and geography of the United States of America (except California and New England - too many lib'ral freaks there). English is good 'nuff fer them, an' any foreigners that want to do business with America can darn well learn the language of the Most Powerful Nation on Earth!
Yes, but it should be done differently. Most people in my high school spanish classes really don't grasp even basic concepts and certainly could not apply it. If we start kids young and actually work with the intent of becoming bilingual, that would be much better and much more beneficial!
There is absolutely no need to learn a second (etc.) language, just as there is no need to travel more than a dozen miles from the place where one was born or pay any attention to anything but local news. For most of recorded history, people have been born, grew up, lived and died without ever learning a second language or traveling outside their immediate community. As far as that goes, there is no pressing need to learn to read/write ones native language. Again, through much of recorded history, most people were illiiterate In the "good old days", one could go to the market-place and easily find a scribe to write a letter (or whatever was needed). Nowadays it's harder to find a scribe but most communities (even in America) contain some people who are literate. Of course, if one lived is a large center of commerce, it was usually advantageous to know other languages and be familiar with the customs of other people (most obviously, ones trading partners). However, for the poor, scratch-dirt farmer, there are few practical advantages to be gained from speaking more than one language.
What it comes down to turns on the word "required" ("... whether we should be required to teach America's students a second language?"). In my experience, the primary function (not job) of the educational system is to stifle the natural curiosity of young children. They are taught that there are certain subjects that they should know about (with the clear implication that the learning process will undoubtedly be unpleasant and that they shouldn't want to know about the subject). Girls are taught that they shouldn't be interested in math/science, everyone is taught that the study of history, grammar, etc. are unpleasant but necessary requirements.
Preschool children are curious about everything. After two or three years in the educational system, they have learned that they shouldn't be curious and that there are certain things that they should learn (but they have been warned ahead of time, that they are not expected to enjoy the process).
Plain and simple... The real question is, do we want to offer oppurtunity and success to our students, or neglect them?
There's a good opening arguement question. 
I'm definently for it, without a second language (atleast intermediate knowledge of one) it's next to impossible to flourish in today's business society.
And that's ignoring the fact that almost every other country in the world speaks two or three languages starting around the equivalent of elementary school in their education systems! 
I think that learning a second language should be mandatory in American schools for many reasons, the least of which is that it helps greatly with your grasp of language and the importance of communication. It helps students learn their own language, and, as so many here have already said, it can double the number of foreign countries that are now open to you.
If you look around online, you can find sites that give statistics about students who learn a foreign language in school versus students who don't. Those that do, I remember reading, do much better in school and are, on average, more employable and therefore more successful. With as interconnected as the world is, it only makes sense to study another culture in order to learn your own and broaden your horizons. Foreign languages really use a completely different part of your brain than other subjects do. It forges new connections and makes you think. It most definitely should be required at a much younger age than high school. Children naturally learn languages--why not take advantage of that??
If the most brilliant linguist was never obliged to study a language other than the native tongue, would that brilliant linguist ever become a brilliant linguist? Just as every child should be obliged to look at fine art, listen to fine music, study history, etc., etc., so should every child (of any nation) be obliged to learn the fundamentals of a second language. Otherwise, we will have very few brilliant artists, musicians, historians, etc., or linguists, just a lot of mediocre couch-potatoes.
Do you want us to make your homework for you?... its a joke. I think the more languages you speak, the more satisfaction you receive. For me its a pleasure to learn english, im from Madrid, Spain, and i realized that its very important to speak more languages, specially if you have to travel abroad. On the other hand, people who speak english dont have the need to speak another language, because english is the international language, spoken wherever. Regards.
Being monolingual isolates (you) from the rest of the world. A second language should be a requirement without a doubt
And in consideration of the comment of Feliz77,should begin as soon as is possible. Its much harder to learn when we get older.
¡Claro que sí! Considering that America has the fourth largest population of Spanish speakers in the world, I think it should be mandatory. Here in Denver nearly 30% of the population speak Spanish, and it is often the first language I hear in the morning. Not only is learning another language practical, but it helps exercise the mind, prevent Alzheimer's disease, and it is beneficial towards developing better communicational skills.
We should actively encourage everyone to learn a second language in all countries and make it a major part of the curriculum. In many European countries it is compulsory(mandatory) to learn a second language and some students have then progressed to learn a third one.
One of the difficulties is persuading politicians to invest in languages in view of the mulitiple benefits they can bring to people invidually and businesses, although I suspect that in many cases the business world is way ahead of the rest of the country (England) in both using and recognising such advanytages!
I have noticed that some English natives have trouble writing clear not to mention gramatically correct sentences even in English so they would need extra help in learning a second language. Admittedly, English spelling is one of the hardest to grasp being complex and somewhat illogical. Spanish, however, being much more phonetical might be less of a challenge to them than English.
I am looking forward to reading other people's points of view here. 
Studies have shown that people who speak two languages have a lower risk of contracting Alzheimer's. Should we be required to? Who is we?
Of course we should!!! if you wanted to be in a different country for work of vacation it is always good to know how to talk to someone of a different language. It is good to be able to speak multiple languages
I can't see my answer so I shall try again. I found this link to research about learning languages and the development of alzheimers. [link] (http://www.livescience.com/12917-learning-language-bilingual-protects-alzheimers.html)
