Re:The Neural Advantage of Speaking 2 Languages
by bugs on Thursday January 21, 2010 @04:11PM
(#1068326)
Spanish would be of much more use to Americans because there are so many Spanish speakers in America especially in states near the border. I live in a southern state and many conversations here interchange Spanish and English words where best fit when speaking to other bilinguals
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:The Neural Advantage of Speaking 2 Languages
by furyg3 on Friday January 22, 2010 @06:37AM
(#1069506)
Not to mention it would completely reverse the role of immigrant children in the classrooms.
A decade ago (maybe still) there was a debate in California: what's the best way to educate Spanish-speaking kids? Do we start immersing them in English right away? or do we start off in Spanish, and slowly transition them to English?
Meanwhile, I was in High School being taught how important it is to learn a 2nd language, of which the preferred selection is Spanish. High School, especially Jr/Sr years, has got to be one of the worst times to learn a language...
The answer is obvious: (where possible) teach both languages to both kids right from the get-go, which would also have some equalization effect in the schools.