Ah-Nold says "Turn off Spanish TV"
 

Story here

To be fair, he was asked:
I haven't generated a cohesive opinion on it yet. Certainly academic improvement culturally, for many cultures, is a multi-faceted thing. It seems naive, and yet there's a part of me that can see what he's really trying to say - which is "don't insulate yourself."

So, no real opinion yet.

Thanks.

I think he is right. Kids are learning English in school then going home to family who can't speak/won't learn English and watch Spanish TV. Their skills are not being used outside of the classroom. And people wonder why these kids are failing.

When he says that the kids of insulated Asian families need to turn off their samurai dramas, I'll believe this is something other than pandering.

Ah-Nold says "Turn off Spanish TV"
 

Done!

I had to learn German the hard way - total immersion as an exchange student. I watched a lot of TV that was overdubed. I could get books, mostly classics so I read a lot of those but I didn't get newspapers in English much.

Ein Colt für alle Fälle anyone?

I was just forced to use German for everything. Most people did understand some english but they usually wouldn't use it. It was sink or swim. The first three months sucked but it got much easier after that.

Have Gun, Will Travel?

I'm not sure what kind of an opinion I have on the subject. Being from a country with two official languages (English and French here in Canada), I guess I just don't see the big deal regarding why people should be forced to speak English and only English. I understand that English is the official language of the USA, and know that it is important for people to make an attempt to learn it so that they can make life easier for them...but I don't think that they should necessarily turn their backs on their own language either.

Personally, I'm always in awe of people who can speak three or more languages!

But, that's just me.

The next week's worth of coverage summarized:

There's some validity to his statement. It was said in a very stupid way.

Well, there is no "official" language of the United States - it's just unofficially and primarily English. However, since classes are generally taught in English, some kids are falling behind because they're not getting important language skills early on in life, making many subjects difficult to comprehend - or so my elementary school teacher aunt tells me.

On the flipside, I think English speaking kids need to start watching Spanish-TV. With something like half the world's population speaking Spanish, it's a handy one to pick up.

Or French and only French.

Fetchez la vache!

One of the other things that's surprised me about the people I've met who came from Spanish-only homes never learned to write in Spanish.

Nope the Fall Guy - huge in Germany.

I don't think it was said in a stupid way. I think it was said very bluntly.

If you want to excel academically in a foreign country you need to master the language in which academics are taught. The fastest way to master foreign languages is as close to total immersion as possible. If the only English you're speaking is for a few hours a day at school and then you never hear it, never practice it, never use it in real life situations you aren't going to really learn it.

He didn't say not to speak Spanish with your family and friends (though it would probably be good if they all did set aside some time where they tried to communicate that way).

It's honest and good advice. Whether it is a Spanish speaker in the United States. An English speaker in Bulgaria (my friend currently there with the Peace Corps very specifically does not watch CNN or other English language channels since if she lets herself that would be all she watches since it is easier). An Arabic speaker in Tibet.

I think some parents put their kids in a difficult situation. They want their homes to be an oasis of wherever they came from. They want the comforts of familiar media, familiar foods, familiar values, and familiar culture. The kids have to straddle two worlds, which is inevitable for any first generation American, but isn't easy. And it isn't made any easier by parents who try to keep the home as familiar/old country as possible, rather than try to ease the transition for their kids.

I understand that it's difficult for adults to pick up a language, but they're here. In this country. And presumably no one held guns to the heads and forced them to move here. The governator's comments might have been a bit glib, but I agree with his point.

If you want your kids to succeed academically, in this country, give them the best environment you can. Make sure they listen to English-language media. Not to the exclusion of the parents' language, but English should be a presence in the home as well, not just something the kids hear at school.

If it's more important that your kids grow up like they would have in the country you left - well, perhaps you shouldn't have left. You can't have it both ways. The paradigm is the melting pot of assimilation, not little oil beads of insularity in our national waters.

Compounding this is an attitude that schools are supposed to do it all. Apparently there's no role for parents any more, save banker and chauffeur. Schools are supposed to teach the basics, the extra-curriculars, self-control, "life skill", social mores, cultural values tailored for each individual child according to the whims of the parents -- all carried out by people subject to public opinion as either altruists who don't need to make a decent salary or incompetents who teach because they can't "do."

I would love some more coffee.

You reminded me of a [sad] joke:

What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual
What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual
What do you call someone who speaks one language? American

We really should be pushing for additional languages taught in school. 2 years of foriegn language in high school really isn't enough. Heck, I took 4 years of Hebrew - forgot most of it. 2 years of Spanish in high school - forgot most of it. 2 years of ASL in college - forgot most of it (though I can get by if I need it).

But that's really another topic.

I took 5 years of Spanish and lived with 2 parents that are fluent in Spanish. I got a 5 on the AP exam and was probably well on my way to becoming fluent.

Forgot most of it. At this point I'm lucky if I'd test at first year levels. I moved from Los Angeles to Irvine, and of course didn't take any classes in college, so my opportunities to use it went quickly to zero.

I guess my point is that the number of years you take classes isn't really at issue. It's all about use. Europeans, as a generality, have more contact with people speaking languages other than their native language. At the very least, they hear English on a regular basis from sources that interest them (English language movies, TV, etc. is common world-wide). Much greater opportunity for them to actually use it, not just study it.

In answer to the question as to why we "need" one language in the country, let's go ahead and look at Canada. Specifically, let's look at Quebec and their constant attempts to break away from the rest of Canada. Now ask me again why the United States of America needs one universal language.

And apparently "Mexican" since the issue aren't the millions of English-Spanish bilingual people but the millions of essentially monolingual Spanish speakers.

Interestingly I ran into a version of that joke in some old book recently where "American" was not the punchline. But now I can't remember where.

one of my moms fave shows when I was a wee-tad. she just loved dem cowboys.

hence...my Texan dad.

:D

That's the truth. For a European, let's say a Frenchman like our very own DLRPBopazot, a trip to an entirely different language and culture, such as Spain, Italy, Switzerland, etc. is only as far away as many of us would travel to reach Vegas, or perhaps the Bay Area.

Or Tijuana.

But I think the point the Governator was trying to make was not about learning a second language to use on your vacation, but that if you're going to live in a place where that is the primary language you should expose yourself to the new language as much as possible to learn it.

I agree. That was my point too. People can take ESL classes and speak English in school but that is the extent of it. If you don't use it, you lose it.

I'm sorry...you want me to do WHAT to the cow? :D

I do agree that I'm not a huge endorser of Quebec breaking free from Canada by any means due to language concerns, but, as far as my knowledge goes, there have only been two referendums on the subject of Quebec's separation from the rest of Canada. (in 1980 and 1995, of which it was decided not to separate, albeit by a really, REALLY slim margin.)

I'd offer more thoughts about this subject, but I'd have to create a new post on that, since it has nothing to do with Arnold Schwartzenegger (unless he was French-Canadian in a past life or something. :D )