"Mind your manners." "Eat your carrots." "Practice your Mandarin." The first two phrases are often uttered by the average American parents. The last one is heard in far fewer homes, but it could become more popular if the president and the first lady have their way.
In a radio address earlier this month, President Obama focused on his desire to improve America's global competitiveness, stating, "our true measure of progress has to be... whether people in this country can still achieve the American Dream for themselves and their children." But what does language have to do with it? Quite simply, the success of the United States depends directly on its citizens' abilities to develop the skills required in today's global economy. The ability to communicate is chief among them.
Even though China is not yet the world's largest economy, a recent poll reveals that the majority of Americans believe China has already replaced the United States in the top spot. While that has not happened yet, with China quickly climbing the ranks in both linguistic and economic importance, it makes sense that parents want their children to learn to speak the country's most widely used language in order to gain an advantage in life.
Michelle Obama recently spoke to students at Howard University about a program to increase the number of American students who study in China. In her view, when students go abroad, what they learn about language and culture has a direct impact not only on their own futures, but on the strength of the United States. Students at the event who had studied Chinese abroad spoke about their motivations for learning the language.
President Obama learned to speak another important Asian language -- Indonesian -- when he lived abroad as a child. His younger sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, holds a Master's degree in Second Language Studies. And, President and Mrs. Obama's younger daughter, Sasha, recently had the chance to exchange a few words in Mandarin with China's President Hu Jintao during an official visit to the United States. So, the positive effects that speaking a second language can have on one's life are not only preached, but practiced in the Obama household.
The Obamas are literally talking the talk. Unfortunately, convincing more Americans to learn economically critical languages won't be easy. Don't expect the shelves of language learning software to sell out as quickly as the latest dress worn by the First Lady in a public appearance. However, the Obamas clearly know that the "American Dream" requires a global mindset -- and increasingly, a multilingual one.
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Nice idea but the schools are so busy taking over parenting and ESL, I can't imagine any more pressure on the already fatigued teachers.
This again has a positive effect on the costs of health care people need. That saved money can be used in other ways.
It is all interlinked, that is what makes governing so hard. A sneeze in Indonesia will lead to a hurricane in the Gulf.
We are monolinguals who have raised our daughter as a fluent trilingual/triliterate ( in Mandarin, Spanish & English from birth) and she speaks some of many languages. Today it is easier than ever to learn languages and many of the opportunities are right in our own neighborhoods.
The first thing one needs is parents who understand the value of languages and that language learning begins very early.. in the womb. Every preschool and school should have Spanish native speakers as assistants who only speak their native language to the kids and encourage ( and aid) the young ones on speaking back to them in Spanish. This was done at my child's preschool and the monolingual parents were amazed at how much Spanish their 2 year old kids picked up.
We think the world is changing so much and understanding other cultures and languages is so important for 21st century citizens that we have taken an unusual ( but fast growing trend) of world schooling our child the last 5 years as we travel our planet.
http://www.soultravelers3.com/2011/01/only-american-girl-in-an-all-mandarin-school-chinese-immersion-in-language-culture-through-school.html
Our schools are begging for money. Parents are tapped for after-school enrichment programs because the economy sucks. When will we see a national list of education priorities that doesn't involve standardized testing?
We hunted for and found MANY free ways to help us as monolinguals raise a trilingual/triliterate from birth. It DOES take years of dedication, not too different from raising a reader or musician. Even in a very "white bread" area, we found opportunities that most missed like native speaker playgroups from babyhood, Sunday school in 2nd language ( not our church, we were there for language), library and free online resources, exchange with native speakers, hire native speaking help etc Don't depend on schools to educate your kid.
I think all US schools should have native speakers in Spanish work as assistance in native tongue from preschool on. Spanish is another major & important language, perhaps more important for USA kids & easier. Immersion is the easiest way to learn & Mexico is near.
9th grade is way to late to start languages. Language learning begins early in the womb!
I remember her saying, "Students should study another language for the same reason athletes should lift weights."
Check your local library. This is an incredible resource. It's easy to use, fun, you can work at your own pace, and it will even tell you how your pronunciation is. Buy a headset with microphone (I got mine for $6 at WalMart), and you can talk back to the program.
Do it with your kids -- have conversations in Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, whatever you want at the dinner table.