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American Kids Should All Learn Spanish
Should bilingualism required?
When my family reluctantly moved to Southern California five years ago, back when my oldest was 4, one consolation prize was that at least our daughter would learn Spanish. In such a dense population from Mexico, and Central and South America, if she didn’t manage to pick it up on the playground, surely she’d learn it at school.
Well, not so fast. Of the dozens of local public schools, some serving more than 50 percent Spanish-speaking populations, just a few have developed a curriculum that expects elementary schools spend at least part of their days immersed in a language other than English.
It’s strange to me that, in 2010, where the need for bilingualism is everywhere — where the world is shrinking and shrinking — our education system continues to look at native Spanish-speakers as a burden and not a resource.
Sure, sure, school children in the U.S. should all learn to read and write in English. But why just the one? Why can’t they also learn to read and write in Spanish?
The New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, who knows a little something about living in the world and the power of education, sees another problem. Parents who do see a value in exposing their kids to another language choosing Mandarin. Not that there’s anything wrong with Mandarin. He speaks it, as does his wife. His own kids are learning it.
But Spanish. Spanish! In the U.S., Spanish is by far the better first second language.
Spanish may not be as prestigious as Mandarin, but it’s an everyday presence in the United States — and will become even more so. Hispanics made up 16 percent of America’s population in 2009, but that is forecast to surge to 29 percent by 2050, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center.
As the United States increasingly integrates economically with Latin America, Spanish will become more crucial in our lives. More Americans will take vacations in Latin America, do business in Spanish, and eventually move south to retire in countries where the cost of living is far cheaper.
He speaks of Americans retiring to Costa Rica and Panama, and I honestly don’t care about that. Rather, the immediate and growing importance of the countries to the south of the U.S.
Spanish study does more than facilitate piña coladas on the beach at Cozumel. It’ll be a language of business opportunity in the coming decades. We need to turn our competitive minds not only east, but also south.
Well, exactly! I want my kids to be bilingual for all of those incalculable reasons: opens the mind for learning even more languages, broadens their world, blah, blah. But also? I want them to be competitive with their fellow Southern Californians (and North Carolinians, and southwest Kansans, and Texas. I mean, Texas, if you’ve got time to develop curriculum around creationism, aren’t their resources to teach bad science in Spanish?). These places are graduating students who are bilingual by virtue of the family they were born into and the American school system from which they emerged.
Help Wanted: must be fluent in Spanish? Check!
In the end, we lucked out. In our first Southern California year, that crucial school-search period, I met the right people who pointed me toward my few choices and, after a couple of months of hand-wringing, she secured a spot in one of not even a handful of public schools in our city that offers any kind of bilingual education.
My now 4th-grader, and her little sister in Kindergarten, spends at least half their school days learning in Spanish alongside plenty of kids who speak Spanish at home. Their school always has a long waiting list of English speaking families. But still? I’m always stunned that the list isn’t even longer.
Will your kids learn a language other than English in elementary school? Do you care? Do you speak other languages at home? Is Spanish one of them?
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American Kids Should All Learn Spanish | Family Health Corner commented on Dec 31 10 at 7:11 amLisa commented on Dec 30 10 at 9:25 pmIt depends on the students. I have students who speak spanish at home whose parents are here legally, who own their homes, who insist their children speak proper English and do their homework, who are professionals, who pay taxes and obey the laws and who contribute significantly to our community. I also have students who speak spanish at home but don’t speak any English, who are here illegally as are their parents, whose parents use community resources and take jobs that would have gone to those here legally, whose parents don’t give a flying fig whether or not their kid does their homework or speaks English.
And no, I don’t think speaking Spanish is all that valuable, French or Chinese yes. Spanish.. eh,
jenny tries too hard commented on Dec 30 10 at 9:41 pmTexas has bilingual education. We teach bad science and everything else in Spanish. It just doesn’t (from what I’ve seen) WORK. Where I grew up, most of the kids who go to the single language classes turn out more or less bilingual, between their exposure to Spanish at home, in social settings and then eventually classes in middle and high school. Even my siblings and I, who were taught very little Spanish at home learned quite a bit before middle school just because that’s El Paso. I’m not as fluent as I’d like, but I can get by, and one of my brothers actually found a great job that would not have been open to him if he hadn’t been very fluent in Spanish AND incredibly anal about English grammar. The kids who went to dual-language, though, had a much harder time learning English…it’s not at all uncommon in some areas to see people around my age, 27, and younger who’ve lived in the US all their lives and gone to public schools and yet can barely speak English. I don’t know if it was the quality of instruction or just the poverty or what, but it’s SCARY to realize that. That’s why I kicked and screamed when the first public school I looked into in El Paso informed me that they could only admit my twins into the dual-language class. I won. But I wish it hadn’t been such a big deal; I would like my kids to learn Spanish better than I can teach it…but I just couldn’t trust the school system that had so many bad results with dual language before.
One solution a lot of Spanish-speaking families round here have come up with (that I have really mixed feelings about) to get around either having their kids lose their Spanish language or be stuck in a dual-language class that might suck is this: Parents speak only Spanish to their kids at home, even parents who otherwise hadn’t felt strongly about speaking mostly Spanish, and then sign the kid up for Pre-K or kindergarten in the English classrooms. The kids then learn by immersion in the first semester or so (though sometimes language difficulties are the reason for repeating kindergarten) and the parents can switch to speaking some English and some Spanish at home. It seems to work pretty well, but I just can’t fathom having my kids start out already so far behind the curve, even if (in theory) they’d actually come out ahead. And I’m kind of uncomfortable with the burden it places on the school, when people who speak English all day at work and school just fine deliberately choose to not teach it to their kids…it seems skeevy.
ChicaDificil commented on Dec 31 10 at 6:41 amWow, Lisa, you basically sound like a kind of racist to me. Why are French and Chinese worth learning but not Spanish? You are basically telling us that you have students who speak Spanish and struggle with English. Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew Spanish so that you could communicate with those kids better. Oh wait, their parents are most likely here illegally so screw those kids!
Gretchen Powers commented on Dec 31 10 at 6:49 amI love the idea (and the reality) of learning foreign languages and think it is important. I took Spanish as my language in highschool and really enjoyed it. I also took some French in college—with much less success. I can speak Spanish functionally, not French, but it helps for travel. Anyway, though, I don’t think the fact that we have alot of Spanish-speaking immigrants in our country is a reason to push the idea that English-speaking Americans *should* learn Spanish…uhm…it is more like the Spanish-speaking folks’ responsibility to learn English if they want to live here! So many places in the world speak English. As far as my kid goes, well, we’re already into the Spanish because of Dora and because that is my strongest second language, so it may be that that will be my kid’s second language. But, I would let her CHOOSE which second language she wants to take. And, in this day and age of schools being so stretched and crappy anyway, I would think they should focus on fundamentals like math and science and reading comprehension before bilingualism. I’d rather see my kid be a math and science superstar. Maybe its just a regional thing, though…
Gretchen Powers commented on Dec 31 10 at 6:56 amI realize that my comments may have missed the point, focusing more on a language the kid might choose to learn rather than a system of immersion, teaching subjects in the 2nd language half a day or whatever…so I’ll address that. From what I hear from people who are first-hand in the school system, at least as far as public schools go, I don’t think that this should be a priority. They really barely have enough resources for the basics. I think it is a great boon if the educators know Spanish and can do their best to guide along their students who speak English as a second language, but again, it is really incumbent of the immigrant or the person who does not speak English for whatever reason to learn English if they want to do well in the U.S. (and the world—most Europeans who live in cities speak basic English, and that’s true of educated folks in other countries as well). As far as the value of French…with Lisa’s comment or whatever…I sure don’t see that. It’s fun and all but not really all that functional as far as I can tell.
ChicaDificil commented on Dec 31 10 at 7:19 amJenny tries to hard, why wouldn’t you expose your children to Spanish at home if you speak the language? What’s “skeevy” about realizing that they will pick up English anyway, and therefore the speaking and reading of Spanish needs to be nurtured and maintained at home?
My family moved from South America to the US when I was 6 years old. Because my parents continued to speak exclusively Spanish at home, I was exposed to a lot of Spanish until I left for college at age 18, Now as a professional, my fluency in Spanish has opened up doors to job positions and promotions. As the only Clinical Psychologist who is fluent in Spanish at the hospital where I work, I am a very big asset.
I talk to my children in Spanish at home and will definitely be placing them in the Spanish immersion program in my city when they reach school age. I know that like me, they will master the English language anyway, so it’s the Spanish language that I worry about. Besides, I want them to maintain a connection to their Latin-American family and culture, and without language it is hard to do so.
Angela commented on Dec 31 10 at 8:59 amI agree that it would be great to introduce our children to foreign languages earlier and to encourage bilingualism. I don’t necessarily agree that every child should learn Spanish however. Spanish is a useful career tool for those who interact with the general public such as a medical professional or any type of customer service. For those choosing to go into business however it is of very limited use. In that case Mandarin, Japanese, French, or German might be more advisable.
jenny tries too hard commented on Dec 31 10 at 9:06 amWell, one reason for me is that my husband doesn’t speak Spanish, exactly. He speaks Chamorro which to me sounds like “blah blah blah blah Spanish Word! blah blah Other Spanish Word That Makes No Sense!” And my Spanish isn’t great, either, I was kind of afraid that between Chamorro and my go-along-to-get-along border Spanish they’d learn it wrong and have a harder time overall.
And I think its ‘skeevy’ because when raising one’s kids in the US, they absolutely do need to learn English while Spanish is more or less a bonus. You cannot succeed here without English, and to place the burden of teaching what is one of the hardest languages to learn and teach on the school system when you could’ve done it effortlessly at home just seems wrong to me. Oh, I should’ve mentioned that Pre-K AND a language tutor is free for kids who don’t speak English, regardless of income, while pre-k in Texas is otherwise only free for the indigent, kids with special needs, and military families. So that’s part of it. If you plan on using private school it’s different.
It’s great that you’re confident your kids will master the English language anyway, but pretty much my whole comment above was that a lot of kids don’t. Some learn to speak and read it passably but never master it well enough to really enjoy reading, some do master it and some can’t even pass the state tests in English and end up unable to get their diploma at 17. Now, that probably has a lot to do with the culture; one can get by (with a low wage job) speaking only Spanish in my area.
And, then, it’s also my personal family culture. My grandparents are from Mexico but they came to the states in the 1940s when my uncle was a kid…if my grandparents hadn’t learned English pretty quickly they would’ve held my uncle back considerably in a way that your parents didn’t hurt you by speaking Spanish at home. When my dad was born in the 50s they spoke only English to him till he was halfway through grade school because they were much more concerned with his academic performance than with maintaining cultural anything. If he’d told his parents to speak only Spanish to me and my siblings, they would’ve smacked him.
NoVa Mommy commented on Dec 31 10 at 9:40 amI’m sort of surprised by all the negativity here. Regardless of the language in question, learning a second language at a young age (say, before adolescence) does all sorts of wonderful things to the brain that help a person learn every subject better. Also, I don’t know how anyone could possibly question the usefulness of Spanish. Do you not live in the same America I do? (And by “America,” I mean both North, Central, and South.) Spanish is HUGE where I live in Northern Virginia, but I know our area is far from unique in that regard. As a teacher, I wish I’d learned Spanish. My Realtor husband would be hugely benefited by knowing Spanish, as well. As a straight bottom line issue, being able to serve a Spanish-speaking clientele just makes financial sense. So, smart brain, bigger profits, and then, what the hell, let’s throw some fabulous cultural element in there, and I’m sold! (And yes, my kid does attend a bilingual school and we’re THRILLED so far with how she’s doing in all of her subjects.)
Oh, oh! And the whole “illiterate immigrant” denying their children the benefits of English, I’m just not buying. For one thing, every family that lives in the US will eventually produce a generation of kids dominant in English. The issue isn’t what’s spoken at home, it’s the literacy level of the family. If you want to produce literate, well-educated people, try encouraging reading in any language at home. That’s what we used to do when I taught high school ESL. We even encouraged our kids to read aloud to their parents–in English, Spanish, whatever. Literacy and an appreciation of language will produce educated kids–I don’t care what the home language is. (Side note: Funny how nobody cried foul when my ESL students’ parents only spoke Korean or Chinese at home.) Increase the literacy level of the family, people, that’s the key.
And exposing my white, middle-class, English-dominant kids to Spanish can only benefit them. But let’s be honest, my kids would probably be fine no matter what. Nobody needs to worry about them at the bilingual school.
Sort of rambling here, but just wanted to add that I was a French major in college and have to say, what a friggin’ waste of time! Wish I could fire up the ol’ time machine to spend my time reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez instead of Guy de Maupassant!
Gretchen Powers commented on Dec 31 10 at 10:37 amWell, I agree that speaking only Chinese or Korean or whatever else at home to the point that children don’t learn English is bad, too. Anyway, I really dig Spanish, the variety of cultures that speak Spanish, and welcome my kid learning it. I just don’t know that it should be *required* or come at the expense of other things they need to learn.
Madeline Holler commented on Dec 31 10 at 11:57 amRight on, NovaMommy!
And GP, that’s exactly my point: Spanish should be part of the basics, not an add-on. Also, I wasn’t arguing that we should learn Spanish just to speak to immigrants (though, what a bonus!). Rather, as Kristof points out, countries where Spanish is the dominant language are the future economic powerhouses. I’d like my kids to stay competitive. (Along those lines, I’d like them to learn Mandarin, too.)
Gretchen Powers commented on Dec 31 10 at 3:08 pmJust read the Kristof piece. I get it. But this, again, is for the top schools…in case anyone didn’t notice, the public schools in America are a mess. Kids are barely learning basics. We’re behind in math and science. Asking whether most kids should learn Spanish or Mandarin, in the general public school system of the U.S. is like asking a starving person if they want foie gras or quail eggs…anyway, for me, it will be cool for my kid to learn both, sure. And I agree, Spanish should certain come first if only because it is much easier to get command of.
Madeline Holler commented on Dec 31 10 at 4:16 pmWe manage to get the foie gras of technology in lots of un-top schools. Why not Spanish?
Gretchen Powers commented on Dec 31 10 at 5:36 pmIf that’s true, then cool…I’m all for it. I just hear alot about how much the schools (not in my county, but across the nation) are struggling. What would you consider the foie gras of technology that schools are getting?
Madeline Holler commented on Dec 31 10 at 5:43 pmComputers, computer-aided instruction,computer teachers, tech administrators. Sometimes funded through grants, all of it as a way of helping kids develop necessary skills for future success. I’m arguing Spanish could easily be argued as a necessary skill for future success, maybe even more so than knowing how to search the web and write papers on a computer — skills their learn either way.
Gretchen Powers commented on Dec 31 10 at 6:52 pmSi, si, yo comprendo. Muy bien. We just had empanadas and fried plaintains for dinner so are totally on board! Prospero año nuevo!
Amanda commented on Jan 03 11 at 1:08 pmSince when does the immigrant group coming to a nation that speaks another language force their language on those already here??? The priority should be helping immigrants from Spanish-speaking countires to learn English, not having English-speaking Americans learn Spanish. I’m not against learning another language, but this is ridiculous.
Madeline Holler commented on Jan 03 11 at 1:25 pmAmanda, you’ve missed my point. I’m not arguing that we should learn Spanish so that it will be easier to tell our gardeners to trim the hedges 12 inches. I’m saying that (1) we Americans need to think of learning a language as necessary for education as math, science, etc. and (2) that Spanish is the best first choice because of the future economic powerhouses of Latin America. Don’t you want your kids competitive for jobs where Spanish (or another language) is necessary?
We have to stop thinking of learning Spanish as capitulating to lazy immigrants who can’t be bothered. Because (1) immigrants who can only say a smattering of English words still know more in a second language than the vast majority of Americans educated in the U.S. and (2) I’ve lived overseas enough to see plenty of American expats and overseas workers — educated! in U.S. schools! — who actually say they can’t be bothered to learn the local language. “Too difficult,” “unnecessary,” etc. and fully expecting Japanese-, French-, Chinese-, Arabic-speaking nationals to speak English to them.
I’d love to see our culture of mono-lingualism end with my kids’ generation.
michelle commented on Jan 03 11 at 5:44 pmBilingual education has been shown NOT to damage children’s ability to learn in their primary language. Meaning that many of the arguments trotted out by commenters here are pretty specious. Canada has extensive French immersion and bilingual programs for English-speaking students, and its educational outcomes are superior to ours. In practically the entire developed world (plus China) children start learning English in early elementary school, such that later on they can attend university in the US and outperform native English speakers. I think a lot of the resistance to children learning Spanish in the US is therefore just thinly disguised xenophobia. Oh, and the worst kind of provincialism.
dorje shugden commented on Jan 05 11 at 3:27 amWhy learn the language of your servants when you haven’t mastered the language of the hand that feeds you ?
If your servants are scrambling to learn the new master’s language, and you ain’t that new master any more, shouldn’t you be learning that new master’s language too or at least your children should ?
The fact that English was popular was ONLY because USA was #1 economy and many British colonies like Canada & Australia & New Zealand etc use English. All that will come to pass when China becomes #1 economy in the world in 10 years if not sooner. When all Asian countries adopt Chinese as their secondary language, I wonder what these British colonies will amount to in International Trades.
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