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[Poll]

Should schools require students to learn Spanish?

Yes, across the country (please specify starting grade)

19% (10)

Yes, but only in certain states (please specify state and grade)

5% (3)

No

75% (39)

Total Votes : 52

(last vote on : 12/28/2011 7:00:18 PM)
(Poll will run till: -- )

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Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 2:00:25 AM

gungadin09

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According to the 2004 American Community Survey (from the United States Census Bureau), these are the percentages of Spanish speakers living in the U.S., by state:

New Mexico: 43.27%
California: 34.72%
Texas: 34.63%
Arizona: 28.03%
Nevada: 19.27%
Florida: 19.27%
New York: 15.96%
New Jersey: 13.89%
Illinois: 12.70 %
Colorado: 12.35 %

The remaining states have less than 10% of their populations speaking Spanish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language_in_the_United_States

Should Spanish be a required subject in school?

pam

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 2:03:08 AM

gungadin09

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i think that New Mexico, California, Texas, and Arizona ought to require Spanish to be taught as part of the curriculum, beginning in the 4th grade.

pam

< Message edited by gungadin09 -- 3/29/2011 2:04:10 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 2:29:28 AM

kissheels

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not here (Canada) but learning different languages can never hurt..

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 3:16:51 AM

twistedwillow

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Not American so what I think doesn't really count for this question, but I voted no, because while I think kids should learn at least one language other than english, they should be allowed to choose what that language is.

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 3:31:41 AM

Phoenixpower

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Back home they started some years ago to teach kids from first or 4th grade onwards to teach french, in addition to english from the fifth grade, based on the view that we live near the french border so it would be good if we could talk to our neighbours as well. Personally I think its good with the focus to the country nearby, even more considering we don't need a passport anymore to go into france and the other way around.

< Message edited by Phoenixpower -- 3/29/2011 3:32:18 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 3:36:15 AM

twistedwillow

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That is a good point, being Aussie I forget that other countries are cheek to jowl.

While we do have choices in the schools here, Indonesian ( in my um's school ) is encouraged as Indonesia is one of the closer countries with any sort of sphere of influence.

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 4:00:44 AM

calamitysandra

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I think that children definitely should learn a second language, it broadens the horizon and is good for the brain development. Spanish sounds like a sensible choice for the US. As for the starting grade, I would go with as early as possible, as it is proven that kids learn languages easier when they are young.

English is taught from first grade in Germany. During elementary school (1-4) in a mostly playful manner. Depending what school you choose for your child after elementary, he/she will stay with one foreign language (English) or move on to more. Gymnasiums introduce a compulsory second one at grade 6, mostly a choice between French, Latin, and Spanish. After that, it is the kids choice if they want to take a third one.

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 4:03:49 AM

soul2share

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Under no circumstances should Americans be required to learn a language other than the recognized one for the country they live in. Period! When I lived in Germany, I made the effort to learn at least the basics in German.

If the child wants to learn another language, then fine, but requiring it....no.

< Message edited by soul2share -- 3/29/2011 4:15:24 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 4:59:09 AM

gungadin09

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quote:

ORIGINAL: soul2share

Under no circumstances should Americans be required to learn a language other than the recognized one for the country they live in. Period! When I lived in Germany, I made the effort to learn at least the basics in German.

If the child wants to learn another language, then fine, but requiring it....no.

Actually, the U.S. has *not* officially recognized English as it's language. The U.S. has no official language nationally, and the feds left it up to the states to determine their own official state languages. About 30 states have recognized English as the official language at the state level. In the rest, English is the state language de facto, except for Hawaii which recognizes Hawaiian as it's official state language.

i'm not suggesting that English should *not* be required in school. But i think it makes good sense, especially in New Mexico which is approaching 50% Spanish speakers, to require Spanish to be studied too.

pam

ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_official_languages_by_state

< Message edited by gungadin09 -- 3/29/2011 5:57:10 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 4:59:57 AM

Phoenixpower

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Here is a text which mentions that countries nearby at times influence what language is being taught in Germany

quote:

quoted from here: http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/18074/one-country-one-language.html

In the course of one school year, a German pupil has 200 foreign language lessons. This puts Germany high above others according to Eurydice, the information network on education in Europe. The amount of classes students receive is vital to their success: abroad they are considered to be linguistically gifted. French is traditionally their second language but this is gradually being replaced by Spanish.

But you will search in vain for a uniform syllabus in Germany. Each ‘Bundesland’ (Germany is divided into 16 Bundesländer, or federal states) has its own policy for foreign languages. Nevertheless the trend in all Bundesländer is to start foreign language learning early. In Baden-Württemberg, children begin learning English or French as early as primary school. In the Saarland, language classes start during the very first school year, a sign of the region’s close proximity to France.

More often than not, neighbouring countries determine which language German school children learn. That’s why school children are taught Dutch in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Danish is taught in some areas of north Germany. Czech in the Bavarian-Saxon border regions, together with Polish along the Oder river are limited to these regions.

< Message edited by Phoenixpower -- 3/29/2011 5:00:16 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 5:14:27 AM

0ldhen

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No, if a sprog wants to learn a second language then they should get to choose.

All my sprogs learned a certain amount of Gaelic and Latin (Latin because they went to Catholic school) growing up, the oldest learned both Japenese and Klingon in college, the other two both took German while the baby also learned Lakota. They learned what interested them or what they needed to hold on to their heritage, none of them being of Hispanic descent why should they be forced to learn Spanish.

English is our national language, everybody needs to learn that at some point if they plan on becoming US citizens.

< Message edited by 0ldhen -- 3/29/2011 5:15:13 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 5:42:36 AM

BonesFromAsh

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quote:

ORIGINAL: gungadin09

Actually, the U.S. has *not* officially recognised English as it's language. The U.S. has no official language nationally, and the feds left it up to the states to determine their own official state languages. About 30 states have recognised English as the official language at the state level. In the rest, English is the state language de facto, except for Hawaii which recognises Hawaiian as it's official state language.

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_lang.html

Just a bit of interesting trivia from the above link....

quote:

There has been at least one interesting contrast to the pro-English efforts. In 1923, Illinois officially declared that English would no longer be the official language of Illinois - but American would be. Many of Illinois' statutes refer to "the American language," (example: 225 ILCS 705/27.01) though the official language of the state is now English (5 ILCS 460/20).

Having more than one language under your belt is a positive nowadays. The schools in my area do require students to take classes in at least one non-english language.

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 5:46:54 AM

FukinTroll

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I would be tickled if we could get the reading/writing English to an acceptable level.

I don't think we should cater to an invader at all. Now Chinese would be a good one to teach them, that thar is an abstract language that would groom a mind into a very abstract thing.

Jus say'n

YMMV
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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 5:50:13 AM

BonesFromAsh

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quote:

ORIGINAL: FukinTroll

I don't think we should cater to an invader at all.

Interesting choice of words.....

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 5:51:15 AM

sunshinemiss

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I think the US needs to wake up and smell the coffee - or actually tea - and start teaching students Mandarin. Yes, a second language ought to be a requirement. It is a reality that we live in a global economy. Our world has shrunk. Let's not pretend we are an island and live in a vacuum (I think I just mixed a couple of metaphors there). As long as the US keeps its head in the sand regarding how the world is affecting us, and how we are affecting the rest of the world (and their opinions of us), we are in for a rude awakening when modern day Rome (USA) falls.

I hate to say it, but the tragedy of Sept 11 should have taught the country that in fact there's more out there that can affect us in here than we had previously allowed ourselves to believe.

Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the population. It would be wise to be able to communicate with our own population. We can pontificate all we want, but sometimes, we just gotta face reality.

best,
sunshine

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 6:01:55 AM

FukinTroll

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quote:

ORIGINAL: BonesFromAsh

quote:

ORIGINAL: FukinTroll

I don't think we should cater to an invader at all.

Interesting choice of words.....

Long ago it was my people that were the invaders... came by the thousands and they adopted English well.

Sunny, I am curious if you are on the same page with me on your choice of Mandarin?

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 6:05:15 AM

gungadin09

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Just to clarify, the topic of this thread is *not* whether U.S. students should be required to learn a second language at all. They are required to do so, in high school. The topic is whether Spanish should be required, and, if so, in what states, and from what grades.

pam

P.S.- i'd be very happy if Mandarin were at least offered as an elective. But i think Spanish should be *required* in states that have more than a 25% Spanish speaking population.

P.P.S.- i'm actually learning Mandarin myself.

< Message edited by gungadin09 -- 3/29/2011 6:26:33 AM >

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 6:26:52 AM

poise

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Here in Louisiana, my sons were required to learn French from grade 6.
I felt learning Spanish would have been more practical, given the statistics.
I would not want it to be mandatory though, but more options to choose from would be nice.

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 6:56:26 AM

DarkSteven

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Keep in mind that there is no "Spanish", as a monolithic block. In New Mexico, Catalanese Spanish is taught in schools,due to the large bloc of Hispanics in northern NM that trace their ancestry to Spain and are proud of it. I assume the same is true of Colorado, where the Hispanic community is dominated by Spanish-descended folks in southern Colorado. In Florida, Cubanos dominate.

For that matter, in the New England states, school French would presumably be Canadian French.

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RE: Should schools require students to learn Spanish? - 3/29/2011 7:34:40 AM

sunshinemiss

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Truthfully, Troll I wrote a FR and hadn't seen that you had made a similar suggestion. I'm just thinking pragmatically. From a business point of view, the Chinese are going to be a tremendous force to be reckoned with (even more so than now) I expect. It would behoove smart, business-minded people to at least be able to say "knee how ma" to them. (that, btw, is the only Chinese phrase I know-heck, it might even be Cantonese and I'm just not realizing it.).

I'm not looking at it as an invader thing but more a business thing. That said, English is currently the language of business, but more and more US businesses are going to So. America, the Hispanic population in the US is on the rise, and many international companies have offices in Spanish-speaking countries. It's just practical and smart to have students learn Spanish and Chinese. I'm not looking at this from a patriotic point of view. I'm seeing it as an international business issue as well as a domestic educational issue.

best,
sunshine

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