In many other countries, English is taught as a second language. As a result, many foreigners are bilingual when they finish school. For example, my cousins in the Philippines can communicate with me because English is part of their curriculum. I, on the other hand, have some difficulty speaking in their native tongue, Tagalog. This is the way of the world. The United States is a leader in the global economy and therefore interacts with many countries. Consequently, these countries have tailored their education systems to keep up. Even, linguist George Weber states that English is the most influential language of the world, with 115 countries using it. But where does that leave Americans? According to Gallup.com, only 26% of adult Americans can maintain a conversation in another language. So while the rest of the world is making it a point to learn English, only about a quarter of Americans can say they are bilingual. It seems like they are coming up to the bar, while Americans are too lazy to meet them half way.
This lack of American bilingualism isn’t a complete tragedy. English is an influential language for good reason so it’s more just a benefit than a need to be bilingual. I just think that if other countries can better themselves through language, then the United States – a country of ingenuity, innovation, and one-step-ahead-ness – surely can to. Sure, we have foreign languages in college, high school, and sometimes grade school, but not that many students can boast of a fluency in a second language by the time they’re out of school. A reason for this could be that not many students are serious about learning. Or maybe the methods of teaching foreign language are lacking. For instance, many early level language classes emphasize the memorization of vocabulary, but some people argue that it’s more successful to facilitate constant speaking rather than just memorization.
I think it would be cool if more Americans were eager and dedicated to learn a new language and if we would have stronger teaching methods to support that. If the coming generations could bring the bilingual percentage from 26 percent to over 50, that would be a pretty awesome accomplishment. We would be a better, stronger nation – true leaders or globalization.
I truly wish that I had the time to learn a second language, but honestly I just don’t. So for me, it’s more about the time required than about lack of motivation. Also, I agree that languages are not taught correctly here, at least in my experience. I took Spanish for three years in high school, and came out the other side knowing a lot of grammar and vocabulary, but couldn’t speak a single coherent sentence of it. If I was serious about learning a language, I would just study abroad in that country; I hear that it is much easier to learn when you are constantly immersed in the culture.
This post reminds me of a joke: what do you call someone that speaks three languages? trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American. I think the only issue with language in the country is it is hard to get language to seem very applicable to American’s when everyone is learning English and that is the gold standard. Though it definitely wouldn’t hurt.
I learned english at school and then spanish at home as a child so I was able to pick both of them up very quickly. I even knew some portuguese because my mom spoke it and she had friends that would speak it so by ear I was able to pick up some stuff but now I cant speak any portuguese execpt a few words but I can understand simple conversations however I wish I was able to actually fully learn which I might consider to start over the summer. I also dated a brazilian guy in highschool and they would always speak portuguese at home so I just think being able to speak more than one language is very beneficial and cool. I love that I can speak both english and spanish because those are two of the most important languages in this country .
Really interesting post, I have heard of the bilingual gap between the US and other countries before but never really looked into it. I have to agree with Lydia though that the biggest obstacle is how they are taught and also the lack of a choice in the matter. In my high school, Spanish was the only language that you could take classes in and two of the teachers did not really teach their classes anything. And thus when you moved into the next year’s class you already started off behind.
This is all too true. I think another reason not so many of us are quick with our foreign tongues is because we are crazy complacent. Why bother to learn another language if those who speak it are learning ours? America’s lazy sometimes and I think a great way to help us to true globalization is to knock off all the apathy.
I’m surprised that that many Americans are bilingual, but I’m also willing to bet that most of those bilingual-est have English as their second language. It’s harder for Americans to learn a second language because no other language is as universal as English (making it more worthwhile). I suppose if Americans were to learn a second language, it would be Chinese due to the population that speaks it, but I definitely don’t see that happening; cuz, you know, ‘Merica.
I think the biggest obstacle in learning a second language in the US is the way they are taught in schools. Little kids can learn a new language much more easily than a middle or high school student. Yet, most language education doesn’t even begin until the upper grades. Perhaps some of the problem is an unwillingness to learn, but I personally really want to learn Spanish, have been taking classes for six years, and still can barely converse. I wish that schools, preschools, and parents would see the benefits of beginning serious language education early!