Learning a new language.

You make a very good point. I know that one of my Spanish teachers started teaching her son Spanish at a young age. Consequently, he now is now an advanced speaker entering his freshman year of high school. Building off of your point in a now global society, it is vital that the American people start to learn foreign languages in order to stay competitive with the rest of the world. Like you said, it is up to our education system to start with them at a young age when they are most like to excel in learning it.

At my grade school we actually started learning Spanish, but not until the third grade. Also that was the only language option. I feel like it did help (I passed straight to Spanish II entering high school), but we learned from a video. This reminded me about how we discussed in class learning a language from a person compared to a video. I learned better from a social interaction. In conclusion I do agree children should start learning at a young age.

You bring up a very interesting argument. I feel as if I have forgotten the majority of the Spanish I learned in High School. Spanish was not even offered at my elementary school. I feel if people truly think its necessary we should start teaching it to kids in elementary school so they can not only learn it but master it.

I took 2 years of Spanish in high school and honestly I can't remember much more than simple sayings and verb tense. Starting at a younger age probably would have been extremely beneficial. I agree that learning multiple languages would provide more employment opportunities in the future for students who learned multiple languages.

I definitely agree! I took Spanish in high school and I can remember a few key words and phrases, but I am not proficient enough to speak it fluently. Teaching younger children a second or third language will be incredibly useful in this growing global economy! Great blog

I totally agree with you that children in elementary school or kindergarten should start learning the second language. English is my second language. In my county, everyone needs to study English from Jr. high school, but unfortunately not many people can speak English. I wanted to have an environment to hear English around me when I was baby.

I couldnt agree with you more. I wish that I was able to have the opportunity to learn a second language, such as those immersion schools. I know a few people that had this experience and they seem so native to that language be it chinese or spanish. When I was growing up I remember taking german and spanish in middle school, but it wasnt every day, so it never retained. Then in high school I had to take spanish for all four years. To this day I remember a lot of spanish like yourself, but I am far from fluent. Even here in college I had to take it. It would just of been a better idea to start young. And I agree also how language is a great way to exercise the brain.

I think this is an interesting idea. I'm pretty sure that emersion schools, schools that teach younger children to learn new languages, have begun to be used by more people. I also agree that high school, a time when teenagers are probably much more interested in other things, may not be the best time to start teaching languages.

I wonder, do they start teaching languages in high school because it began to be required before the studies on universal adaptability were done? Just a thought.

You talk about an very interesting concept. As a international student, I have learn English for many years. I agree what you say about we should learn a new language in early age. However, we learn English since elementary school in my hometown, there still many students can speak English well. I guess the right time or intelligence is one factor, but study hard is the decisive factor.

I definitely agree...in theory. However, with the demand on students to reach a certain level of math and science proficiency, do you think that there is enough time in the school day for this. Also, I would need to ask the inevitable question, would you sacrifice arts and music education for language?

I agree with you because of my own experience. My sister learned Spanish at a younger age; I took a few classes in high school. She speaks Spanish fluently while I only understand words but am unable to respond in Spanish. I do think having another language under your belt opens up opportunities for you.

I've always wondered this too. For me, being adopted from Guatemala(A Spanish Speaking Country, I would naturally grown up learning Spanish, but seeing I was adopted I grew up learning English. Yet still trying to study Spanish is somewhat difficult for me to do. I really enjoyed learning about this topic too.

I agree with you that language education should be required early on in elementary school. I think the United States is falling behind in the ability to understand languages. I knew a German exchange student in high school very well, and she could speak English, German, Latin, and French. I think it's sad that the majority of americans can only speak english!