Should Spanish Be a Required Subject in School?

[Arcana XV]

I wouldn't make it mandatory, but knowing another language is always an asset. Given that the US has no official language and therefore can't force immigrants to learn the majority spoken language and given that most immigrants to the US right now are Hispanic, Spanish is the logical choice to teach kids in schools if they want to learn it. I know I would certainly enroll my kid in Spanish classes if she wasn't already fluent in it. Mandarin would be another good choice in today's world.

 

[Andalublue]

Then good, if pretty much everybody speaks English, then we have absolutely zero need to force kids to learn spanish. Problem solved!

You think that communicating with immigrants is the only reason for learning a foreign language? Language learning ought to be central to any balanced education.

 

[jimbo]

You think that communicating with immigrants is the only reason for learning a foreign language? Language learning ought to be central to any balanced education.

The original post was not about learning a foreign language. It was about making Spanish mandatory. The argument stated by the figures presented was that it was needed to communicate with Spanish speakers on American soil.

I say no both to mandatory and Spanish as the only language mandatory.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

You think that communicating with immigrants is the only reason for learning a foreign language? Language learning ought to be central to any balanced education.

No, if you'd paid attention to anything I've said in this thread, or even the title, you'd realize that I am 100% pro foreign language learning, just against the fascist OP's suggestion to force everyone to learn spanish to cater to immigrants.

I'm bilingual myself, and I took German in high school. I would've had zero need for spanish.

 

[Andalublue]

No, if you'd paid attention to anything I've said in this thread, or even the title, you'd realize that I am 100% pro foreign language learning, just against the fascist OP's suggestion to force everyone to learn spanish to cater to immigrants.

I'm bilingual myself, and I took German in high school. I would've had zero need for spanish.

Okay, my bad.

 

[Rocketman]

No. For one thing period is this. . Proper English is destroyed when you spell it. You fail English.

and you do as well.

 

[iliveonramen]

EDITED: This is old data that used to be contained on the Wikipedia site on Spanish language in the U.S. (link below) The site has changed, and no longer gives those percentages by state (although it does give percentages by country, as does this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spanish_in_the_United_States_by_countr.gif ) I'll try to find another link.

The 2004 American Community Survey (from the U.S. Census Bureau) these are the percentages of Spanish speakers living in the U.S., by state:

New Mexico: 43.27%
California: 34.72%
Texas: 34.63%
Arizona: 28.03%
Nevada: 19.27%
Florida: 19.27%
New York: 15.96%
New Jersey: 13.89%
Illinois: 12.70%
Colorado: 12.35%

The remaining states have less than 10% of their populations speaking Spanish.
Spanish language in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spanish is also predicted to become the world's second most spoken language (after Chinese) by 2050.
newamericamedia.org/2011/02/us-will-be-biggest-spanish-speaking-country-by-2050-says-scholar.php

Should Spanish be a required subject in school? If so, for which states and starting in what grades?

Pam

I don't think so. I think a 2nd language should be encouraged but individuals can chose what that second language is. Spanish classes by far will be filled up first since it is pretty much the most logical second langauge!

 

[Hard Truth]

\

True, but these are special circumstances, having to do with immediate family, employment, refugees, and the like. There are about a million of these in the US as near as I can tell, only 14% from Mexico. Assuming a few more from other Spanish speaking countries, hardly a reason for everyone in the US learning Spanish.

All immigrants start as legal residents (getting a green card) and then can apply for citizenship. Obtaining citizenship requires passing a test among other criteria. The main new privilege is voting and running for office. Citizenship is not required for most jobs. Many immigrants don't bother applying for citizenship.There is no English language requirement for legal residents.

"Nearly two-thirds of the 5.4 million legal immigrants from Mexico who are eligible to become citizens of the United States have not yet taken that step. Their rate of naturalization—36%—is only half that of legal immigrants from all other countries combined, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center."
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/02/04/the-path-not-taken/

"An estimated 13.1 million legal permanent residents (LPRs) were living in the United States on January 1, 2011 (see Table 1). Of the 13.1 million, an estimated 8.5 million were eligible to naturalize. Between January 2010 and 2011, the total LPR population and LPR population eligible to naturalize increased by 3.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively. Over the long term, the size of the LPR population changes slowly because increases in the number of per-sons becoming LPRs each year are offset by persons naturalizing."
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_lpr_pe_2011.pdf

"Just over two in five (43.7 percent) immigrants in the United States in 2009 were naturalized US citizens. The remaining 56.3 percent of immigrants included legal permanent residents, unauthorized immigrants, and legal residents on temporary visas, such as students and temporary workers.

......In 2009, 46.9 percent of the 38.5 million (or 18.1 million) foreign born reported Hispanic or Latino origins.

......Of the 48.4 million people in 2009 who identified themselves as having Hispanic or Latino ancestry, nearly two-thirds (62.6 percent, or 30.3 million) were native-born US citizens. The remaining 37.4 percent of Hispanics (or 18.1 million) were immigrants......In 2009, 52.0 percent of the 38.3 million foreign-born persons age 5 and older were LEP (Limited English Proficient)"
http://www.migrationinformation.org/feature/display.cfm?ID=818#2c

 

[fmw]

I learned English as a second language. It was required where I went to school. It turns out to have been quite useful after moving to the United States.

 

[Indeed]

EDITED: This is old data that used to be contained on the Wikipedia site on Spanish language in the U.S. (link below) The site has changed, and no longer gives those percentages by state (although it does give percentages by country, as does this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spanish_in_the_United_States_by_countr.gif ) I'll try to find another link.

The 2004 American Community Survey (from the U.S. Census Bureau) these are the percentages of Spanish speakers living in the U.S., by state:

New Mexico: 43.27%
California: 34.72%
Texas: 34.63%
Arizona: 28.03%
Nevada: 19.27%
Florida: 19.27%
New York: 15.96%
New Jersey: 13.89%
Illinois: 12.70%
Colorado: 12.35%

The remaining states have less than 10% of their populations speaking Spanish.
Spanish language in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spanish is also predicted to become the world's second most spoken language (after Chinese) by 2050.
newamericamedia.org/2011/02/us-will-be-biggest-spanish-speaking-country-by-2050-says-scholar.php

Should Spanish be a required subject in school? If so, for which states and starting in what grades?

Pam

Not unless they throw in French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Latin, Greek, etc.

And even then, no. They don't make you learn English in Southern Mexico, so why should we have to learn Spanish in the Northern U.S.? If I go to Mexico and don't know Spanish, that's my problem. It should be the same way in the U.S.

Now, if we do start teaching a foreign language, it should be early. Like third grade or earlier.

 

[Andalublue]

They don't make you learn English in Southern Mexico,

Do you know this for a fact? Most European countries do teach English as a compulsory subject, usually from what you'd call 2nd or 3rd grade. I know this to be true in Spain, Portugal, France, NL, all of Scandinavia, Germany, Hungary and Turkey, probably in most of the others too.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Homer.]

I was thinking their language is rapidly becoming our language, at least in the border states. Proficiency in Spanish and English is a job requirement in many places. Not knowing both languages puts a person at a disadvantage in the job market. Education is supposed to prepare students for that. Spanish should be a required subject at least in the border states, starting in high school at latest.

Pam

I disagree that the role of education is to prepare children for the job market. It's role should be to instill knowledge and create well rounded individuals. I agree that learning a 2nd language is a good thing and should be encouraged, but trying to learn a language you have no interest in is a chore. You need to choose a language that interests you.

 

[Masada]

Learning another language is useful, and can further one economically most times. However, I do not agree with forcing kids to learn Spanish just because of the large influx of immigration into America from Mexico. If they come here, they should speak OUR language. I've lived in another country, and there wasn't any special "press 1 for English" in that country. You came there, and you were expected to use THEIR language. They should accomodate our society, and our culture, and work hard to be incorporated into it, not force it to change for them.