Submitted by Cashew (not verified) on Fri, 08/27/2010 - 4:47am.
American is also about the only country in the world to not teach a foreign language through all years of schooling. Young children learn languages far easier than even high schoolers. My 3 year old niece speaks between the two languages without even thinking about it and that's mostly words learned through Dora.
Popular arguments suggest that it might in the future be more prudent for world leaders to know Chinese. However, for the average American the benefit of knowing Spanish is immense. In 9 out of 10 jobs (a totally awesome made up statistic), HR will hire a Spanish speaking applicant over a non-Spanish speaking applicant if they are similiarly skilled.
To not see the advantages of knowing Spanish is pretty ignorant and borderline racist. Although in 9 out of 10 cases, I'd argue ignorance is the larger factor.
We're Also...
American is also about the only country in the world to not teach a foreign language through all years of schooling. Young children learn languages far easier than even high schoolers. My 3 year old niece speaks between the two languages without even thinking about it and that's mostly words learned through Dora.
Popular arguments suggest that it might in the future be more prudent for world leaders to know Chinese. However, for the average American the benefit of knowing Spanish is immense. In 9 out of 10 jobs (a totally awesome made up statistic), HR will hire a Spanish speaking applicant over a non-Spanish speaking applicant if they are similiarly skilled.
To not see the advantages of knowing Spanish is pretty ignorant and borderline racist. Although in 9 out of 10 cases, I'd argue ignorance is the larger factor.