What language would you like to learn?

french.

 

I would love to learn ASL
and as well as explore my Italian roots, I'd also like to learn more of that too

 

not according to my university. they think 3 or 4 days a week of 1-1.5hr classes is sufficient. further, foreign language is required for virtually all majors, with, of all things BUSINESS being an exception. seriously, my sister is an ENGLISH major, and she has to also take a foreign language.

yet people who plan to go into business, despite our ever more globalized marketplace, do not have to take foreign language. even though they're probably about ten times as likely to come into contact with people who speak other languages as part of their job than, say, someone who wants to be a novelist or a journalist for an american newspaper.

what sense does this make??

to add insult to injury american students are almost NEVER taught foreign languages as children, and we're lucky if its possible to start taking them in middle school. in highschool its usually required that you have some foreign language class, but neither the administration, the students, nor the teachers really view it as important, and so very few students learn much about a foreign language until they get to a college or university, where it is usually required.

personally, i think its b.s.

american schools consistantly underperform compared to the vast bulk of the schools in the industrialized world. its no wonder, when we dont require foreign languages at an early age (when it may be far more easily learned) and we teach in "science" classes that "god did it." (sorry, paley, your version of the watchmaker analogy was beautifully written, and i think theres something to be said for it, but theology is NOT science)

despite having a shitty education system, americans continually votes AGAINST raising taxes to fund schools, yet often won't allow things like legalizing casinos and taxing them to help fund public schools.

young children learn languages amazingly well. did you know that at birth, babies babble using every syllable the human body can create? every one of them!! but not every human language uses the same sounds. within a matter of weeks (about 2, iirc) the infant will learn to use only the sounds they hear spoken around them! at around 1.5-2 years old, the average child learns to recognize anywhere from dozens to over a hundred new words EVERY DAY.

as a general rule, the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language. and to wait until highschool or college to require it? ridiculous.


errrrr.....sorry to go off on a rant, there, pal:biggrin:

 

yay! ASL! it comes in handy at loud bars and concerts... i just have a conversation signing.

 

if you have one too many, do you slur your fingers?

 

Yo quiero aprender Ingles para ser un ciudadano de los Estados Unidos de America.

Vive la libertad!

 

yes, actually, really sloppy. and if your tired. the deaf has so much slang to shortcut words, alot of times i have to ask them what that means.

 

That is really cool How did you learn? I don't know anyone who signs and I haven't been able to find any books but I'm really interested. All I know is A,E,I,O,U and most of my alphabet.

 

i agree with the rest of your post, but i do think that it makes sense for someone majoring in a language to learn an alternate language, just so that they can gain a greater understanding of how language works in general.

 

its not that i think its crazy for a literature/creative writing major to have to learn another language....

but for someone majoring in such things to be required to learn another language when of all things a business major will not have to is simply ludicrous, imo.

how many of our companies do business in other countries or with other businesses from other countries? places where they speak a whole variety of other languages....

oh well, whatever:cheers2:

 

i completely agree that it would be at least as important for a business major. i'd say that it's a good thing for anyone to learn.

 

Learning another language in college pretty much doesn't count. The classes are usually on such a low level that people simply forget all that they've learned.

It's just more educational system bullshit.

 

i learn from certified interpreters and i go to "silent socials" that are students, interpreters, and the deaf community all gather, and we only sign. also school, but im not going right now.

the best book is A basic Course in Sign Language, its really good., theres a work book too and videos for each chapter.

 

I'd like to learn Italian, French, Russian and Portuguese.
I'll probably only learn Italian.
Also, I'd like to brush up on my Latin cause I'm forgetting it

 

Mandarin Chinese, because then I could breeze through this paper and go to sleep, then wow the rest of the class tomorrow morning with my amazing skills.

 

japanese

 

Back in the day I wish I knew Vietnamese- now I could care less

but- I sure would like to learn how to write in Chinese- it looks like a form of art

 

agree.... where are my three years of learning french? i only remember the words everyune knows
also a yearof latin - down the drain

i'd like to learn spanish and hindi

i'll probably do that since i'm an interpreter

but my most cherished dream has alw been to learn animal language
so far i only can speak with cat...just a bit...

 

After searching for and writing characters for the past 5 hours, I can confidently tell you, it's not as cool as it looks.

and it makes having a dictionary useless. Where do you even begin to look for a picture in a dictionary!?!

-I have class at 9 so I'm going to bed. I am feeling optimistic about my upcoming 3 hours of deep restful sleep.

 

Hebrew.
And indeed I could learn it, if I had enough time.