What is wrong with being monolingual?

[Thunder Peel]

I think no one will say that they should not learn English. I think everyone agrees that they should learn English. However, that is not the only reason the community with those kind of people wants a worker who can speak English.

Think about it. The people in that community has family. Those family member is going to visit. Do they have to learn English because they want to visit their family and be able to buy something or do something in there? Even because there is that community there, many tourist who speak that language probably visit those kind of community too. Of course we cannot expect them to speak English if they are just tourist.

I can understand tourists not having a firm grasp of English. Most of them can get by on very little for a week or so. However, anyone LIVING and working the United States should be able to speak enough English to function in society. If they want to speak their native language in their home or around family then that's fine; I have no qualms with that. Unfortunately, many of them are coming here and expecting us to embrace their culture and language while they refuse to embrace ours. If I move to Germany I should be expected to speak German instead of expecting them to learn English to accommodate me.

It has nothing to do with racism or prejudice. It has to do with people not respecting the laws and customs of our country and expecting us to cater to them completely. I love the diversity of races and cultures in our country; however, there has to be a balance and they need to understand our language if they're going to be here permanently.

 

[shinkou]

I agree. I said before I think they should try to learn the language for the country they live in. But also it does take time to learn that language. They will know not know it immediately. People that do not make any effort to learn are wrong but if it is an area where there are many tourist, many new immigrants coming, then business that want the worker who can speak that language is something you must expect.

 

[Blank123]

I can understand tourists not having a firm grasp of English. Most of them can get by on very little for a week or so. However, anyone LIVING and working the United States should be able to speak enough English to function in society. If they want to speak their native language in their home or around family then that's fine; I have no qualms with that. Unfortunately, many of them are coming here and expecting us to embrace their culture and language while they refuse to embrace ours. If I move to Germany I should be expected to speak German instead of expecting them to learn English to accommodate me.

It has nothing to do with racism or prejudice. It has to do with people not respecting the laws and customs of our country and expecting us to cater to them completely. I love the diversity of races and cultures in our country; however, there has to be a balance and they need to understand our language if they're going to be here permanently.

out of curiousity... what laws?

 

[Blank123]

I'm nto sure if I'd agree it 's a good method.. but it works

for some.

for me? I'd drown. I need some education in the language before being thrown into immersion. I can't believe I'm alone in that either.

 

[alacrity]

I only know English fluently, but I am trying to change that! I've been studying Spanish for the past two years and just love it. It is a beautiful language that I never truly appreciated until I started learning it. I had given up on learning French after years of classes in school that went nowhere, but learning a new language has also given me hope that someday je peux parler français aussi (a very useful language to know in Africa as well as Europe and Canada. A lot of my relatives speak French so that's another incentive for me).

Also in my studies I have been researching the relationship between language and development... like how dominant and minority languages relate to human rights, exploitation, poverty, etc. and also how languages are perceived (i.e. positively or negatively) by insiders and outsiders. This is a topic that fascinates me!! Plus international development/ peace-building is a practical and vital field that learning a language can help with. I dream of learning Quechua, Arabic, Portuguese and Koine (New Testament) Greek someday...

It's also fun to listen to the Bible in another language. I found dramatic readings of the New Testament in Spanish as a free podcast (the series is called "You've Got the Time" if you want to look it up) so I listen to that from time to time on the bus and sometimes read along in my bilingual Bible.

So finally... Give language learning a chance! It will expand your horizons and even just learning basic phrases can be a lot of fun and a good way to get to know people.

Que Dios los bendiga a todos...

 

[MacFall]

We can't know everything, and we can't become good at everything. Learning multiple languages is useful, but not always the most useful thing that a person can do with his time.

 

[MacFall]

out of curiousity... what laws?

I was wondering that too. Perhaps it's that people who can't speak English can't understand the laws. But then, the laws of the U.S.A. are not even written in regular English. They're written deliberately so as to be incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't gone to law school.

 

[broken_one]

I was wondering that too. Perhaps it's that people who can't speak English can't understand the laws. But then, the laws of the U.S.A. are not even written in regular English. They're written deliberately so as to be incomprehensible to anyone who hasn't gone to law school.

Law isn't that hard to read.

 

[Qyöt27]

Official US government documents, of which I would think laws are a part, are available in many languages (or at least Spanish and French), so even that is a non-issue.

And as I mentioned before, there is no national law establishing English as an official language. Generally speaking, the children of immigrants typically are bilingual, so the obstacle that language poses to integration is usually only one generation, depending on the age of the parents and how young the children were when they arrived in their new country. This was probably as true of European immigrants (aside from those that came from the British Isles and thusly would already know English) arriving through Staten Island in the 1800s and early 1900s as it is of immigration today.

 

[chuck77]

That is nice that you can fluently speak and write so many languages, but what can you tell me about the diet of the people of Easter Island or the family structure of pre-Industrial people in the contemporary world? In most cases, probably nothing.

???? Wow dude. I'm uhh, not sure people are learning a second or third language to learn or be able to tell about the "diet of the people of Easter Island".

How, and more importantly why, you relate the two is beyond my capabilities to try to imagine.

Someone may learn a second or third language for any reason they choose, and for you to put limits on why and what else they should do and know while doing so is utterly rediculous.

 

[Blank123]

???? Wow dude. I'm uhh, not sure people are learning a second or third language to learn or be able to tell about the "diet of the people of Easter Island".

How, and more importantly why, you relate the two is beyond my capabilities to try to imagine.

Someone may learn a second or third language for any reason they choose, and for you to put limits on why and what else they should do and know while doing so is utterly rediculous.

 

[Tamara224]

sooo immersion is the best way to learn because they did it in the old days? Sorry but that doesn't float...

No, immersion is the best way because it's the best way. Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows that.

I'm not a leading ESOL researcher, but I've read enough research studies and experiments to see that bilingual learning programs (where they provide instruction in both English and the home language of the learner) shows HUGE gains over immersion.

I didn't say ESL programs aren't at all helpful. Just that I don't think we need to make a big government program out of it.

 

[kevlite2020]

No, immersion is the best way because it's the best way. Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows that.



I didn't say ESL programs aren't at all helpful. Just that I don't think we need to make a big government program out of it.

I've studied a foreign language. I disagree. Many people do. Again, you are taking your perception of something, and trying to call it fact instead of perception.

Time and time again, scholarly research shows that immersion doesn't work as well as bilingual teaching. The reason immersion "works" at all is because it's the cheapest way to do it, and those who can't get it just drop out. It requires basically no effort and practically no training to teach in an immersion setting, and people can just sink or swim. They sink more often than not, but hey that's the American way, right?

 

[Tamara224]

That's quite possibly the funniest thing I've read on CF all year. Congrats on sweeping generalizations, especially when people like myself have many good friends who are Latino.

If I move to Mexico I should be expected to speak Spanish. Why is it racist to expect them to learn English if they're going to settle here?

Wow, lots of defensiveness in response to my comment.

I never said immigrants shouldn't learn the major language of the place they're now calling home. But I would argue that most of them give it their best shot.

The racism comes in when people make judgments about immigrants, saying things like "they come here, take our jobs, refuse to learn our language, use our welfare and don't pay taxes". The belief that all Mexican immigrants and everything they bring (culture, language) is bad for the rest of us.... that's racism, or at the least, xenophobia.

And since learning new languages is good for people, I see no justifiable reason to act like learning some Spanish in order to communicate with Mexican immigrants is ever a bad thing.

It would be nice if we could recognize that communication goes both ways. They can try to learn English, and we can help by trying to learn Spanish. And that way everyone can be benefited.

If we end up with a country in which most people speak more than one language.... that would be excellent. IMHO.

 

[Tamara224]

I've studied a foreign language. I disagree. Many people do. Again, you are taking your perception of something, and trying to call it fact instead of perception.

Whatever, Kevin. Get real. Immersion is how you learned English.

Time and time again, scholarly research shows that immersion doesn't work as well as bilingual teaching.

And do those studies compare immersion (without study) vs. study (without immersion)?

The reason immersion "works" at all is because it's the cheapest way to do it, and those who can't get it just drop out. It requires basically no effort and practically no training to teach in an immersion setting, and people can just sink or swim. They sink more often than not, but hey that's the American way, right?

If they sink more than they swim, how on earth did America - the land of immigrants - ever get to the place we're at now?

Our ancestor's swam. It wasn't easy, but they did it.

I honestly think you have too low opinion of the abilities of immigrants. They can do it. It may be difficult - but let's face it, life is difficult.

 

[Blank123]

No, immersion is the best way because it's the best way. Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows that.

Whatever, Kevin. Get real. Immersion is how you learned English.

he learned immersion as a baby. All children come equipped with super language learning skillz. but those gradually disappear as the child grows up. Throw a 50 yearold into a new culture and a new language with no prior knowledge of that language? chances are she won't do as well as a child would.

And this is coming from a foreign language major who actually does have a proficiency for learning language. Its unreasonable to expect anyone would or could learn a new language entirely through immersion without any prior education. I'd go so far as to even call it cruel to expect people to pick it up on their own with no assistance. Those who are fully grown and able to learn a language entirely through immersion without prior education? Those are notable.

 

[Tamara224]

I have never said that I am opposed to people studying language.

I just said that I don't think that it's necessary for the government to start mandating it.

I don't know why people are responding to my comments as if I'm arguing against ESL studies. I'm not.

 

[kevlite2020]

I have never said that I am opposed to people studying language.

I just said that I don't think that it's necessary for the government to start mandating it.

I don't know why people are responding to my comments as if I'm arguing against ESL studies. I'm not.

I'm responding to your comments as if you are trying to make facts out of opinions. I get it Tam, you are a confident, bold woman and I respect you for that. And you are certainly entitled to the opinion that government doesn't need to mandate ESL services.

I just happen to disagree with that view. Like Shari said, our language acquiring skills are different from childhood to adult-hood. On top of that, if we are only taught one language from birth to early teen, we do not build the receptors in our brain that allow for language immersion. Those combine to make learning a new language very hard after teen years, and near-impossible through immersion alone for the general public.

 

[Thunder Peel]

out of curiousity... what laws?

Becoming legal citizens, for starters. Illegal immigration is a huge problem here and people sneak across our border every day and never apply for citizenship. Then taxpayers and workings citizens like myself end up paying for their education, healthcare, and living expenses.

I know I'm not going to be able to say anything that will change your mind or anyone else's (after all, I'm one of those racist, bigoted conservatives that you all love to hate on so much) but the reality is that it's costing our country a fortune to support people who have no desire to live and work here legally.

I had a few people from my old church who fled from the mess in Sudan to move to America. They came here, learned our language, passed a citizenship test, and found jobs to pay for their own education. I also know people from Mexico, Quebec, and the Middle East who did the same thing. It's possible for anyone to come here legally and assimilate. However, they have to have the desire to do it and sadly our government has allowed this problem to get out of hand by not enforcing standard laws that would ensure that people who move to America understand what needs to be done to stay here.

Again, I love the diversity of our country. I know enough people who have immigrated who did it honestly and made it work. I don't think it's asking too much for everyone to pay us the same courtesy. I want anyone to comes here to succeed and live a great life. However, there needs to be a willingness on their part to respect our country.

 

[kevlite2020]

Becoming legal citizens, for starters. Illegal immigration is a huge problem here and people sneak across our border every day and never apply for citizenship. Then taxpayers and workings citizens like myself end up paying for their education, healthcare, and living expenses.

I know I'm not going to be able to say anything that will change your mind or anyone else's (after all, I'm one of those racist, bigoted conservatives that you all love to hate on so much) but the reality is that it's costing our country a fortune to support people who have no desire to live and work here legally.

I understand the price is high, but I don't know if I agree with the bolded part. I think almost all immigrants want to be legal and want to produce and contribute to our country. With all the laws and regulations in place, it's near impossible to do that. In effect, we are making it so they have to come here illegally to be here, and then we complain that they are eating up our taxes because they are here illegally.