posted by Sam Richards
I’ve been saying for over a decade that students should learn Mandarin if they want to ensure that they’ll have a future in the economic marketplace that includes unlimited upward mobility…and a job. Out of the thousands who have heard the message, a few have listened. Not bad.
So here is an article about the increase in the number of high schools teaching either Mandarin or Cantonese, even though there is an overall reduction in teaching of foreign language classes. (Spanish remains constant, by the way.) Hmm…someone is listening. Not teaching language in high school is probably not a big deal; I’ve rarely met anyone who truly learned to speak a foreign language after even four years of study. So why waste the time? But if we’re going to invest, I suppose Mandarin (and Spanish) is the way to go.
This from the New York Times: “Foreign Languages Fade in Class–Except Chinese”
And here’s your first Mandarin Chinese language lesson in case you want to get started:
I had no idea that schools were even teaching Chinese as a foreign language. My high school only taught Spanish or French as a foreign language that you would have to pick to take. I think if we had Chinese as a language more people would of chose that to take. I think it is really pretty interesting that schools are starting to get rid of having to take a language. I don’t know if it is just me, but I liked learning a foreign language in school. However, I just feel like you never really learn enough to go out in the real world and use it. With the world becoming more diverse this will be a very good thing.
I do like the idea of leaning Chinese in schools though. That seems like it would be a very interesting language to learn. But I have heard that the Chinese language is very difficult language to acquire. I think learning Chinese is very important for people in the United States to learn. Chinese or Spanish are two very important languages that we should know.
Since learning Chinese is very hard, then teaching children to learn it at a young age will increase the chances of them being able to actually use the language now and in years to come. I think it is very important for someone to know a second language. All the time I wish I was fluent in another language. I learned Spanish in grammar school and high school but I do not know it well enough to use. I remember some words or phrases but I would have no idea how to use it in everyday conversation with someone fluent in Spanish. But, if people started learning it early on I feel like this would really be a good thing for our world.
The Chinese play a big role in the economic marketplace. If more people actually knew the language then the business between the United States and China could be even more successful than it is now. Also, China has a very big population. More and more people from China are starting to come into the United States. More people will actually be able to communicate with them.
Overall, I really feel that it is not a good idea to get rid of foreign languages in schools. This is really important for our country. It’s sad that most of us only know one language. Most other countries are required to learn English as their second language. It is just sad that in the United States we all don’t fluently know another language. I also hope that this would help our world become more open to new things.
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Over the past 100 years the world has increasingly become a smaller place. It seems that as history has passed technology has acted as a catalyst that has increased the speed at which the world shrinks. International relations in all facets of the work place have made the demand for multilingual individuals even greater than it has ever been. This can be seen in the relationships that form between different businesses and the parts of the world that they primarily involve. We see this in example how Chinese (particularly Mandarin) has moved to the third most popular language for the AP test according to the College Board. This shift can be accredited to the current economic situation that the United States faces and its strong tie to the Chinese Government and economy caused by current political international relations. Chinese has become the second language of business, the way that Spanish has for the longest time been the second language of the Criminal Justice System.
A second language has become a standard option for high school students across the United States, exposing students to new cultures and languages that may allow them to excel in whatever field that they tailor their education to. Once again our example of how Mandarin is the second language of business further emphasizes this. Figuring I wanted to be a Criminal Justice Major in my high school days, a logical choice for me was to take Spanish as a second language. Once I completed my two years I had no desire to further my second language skills (I feel to the tribute of a poor instructor) but being bi-lingual in Spanish and English is almost a guaranteed high ranking position in the Criminal Justice field. (At least my two years may let me know when someone is talking about me.) The point being that relations today between peoples of varying language types is so common due to the now small global market, and high school is the place to start not only offering second languages, but encouraging their importance in many of today’s mainstream job markets.
The world shrinking as it has, it is important to remember that the primary language is still English, and not the proper Queen’s English (colour, etc.) is the main staple of all of international relations. This may be very ethnocentric, but if you come to the United States of America, lean to seek ENGLISH DAMN IT! It is the dominating language of the world because the United States is the dominating superpower of the world! I would not go to Germany and expect for the people there to cater to an English speaking American, so I would lean German. Second languages are indeed a useful tool that can open doors and break down barriers. So, if expect to be a business major learning Mandarin would be a good idea, the same as a Crime, Law, and Justice Major learning Spanish. They may be very use full someday in the ever shrinking world.
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I love this blog posting. I think this is a huge issue in our society. Women need to realize that the models on the front of magazines are not the ideal image of women. In my current women’s studies class, we are learning that being a woman is not a physical definition. Being a woman consists of so many things, I agree.
It isn’t a secret that women, especially teenage girls, face the most pressure to conform to society’s standards. From eating disorders, skin treatments, make-up clothes, we try so hard to fit the qualities that we see as perfect. And what does this do other than cost thousands of dollars and shatter self confidence. We live in a society where plastic surgery can fix anything someone doesn’t like about their body. Does anyone not see a problem with this? Women need to learn that they are perfect the way they are. We should worry about feeling good in our own bodies rather than straining ourselves to impress others. The models and actresses we view as the ideal women are often represented in misleading light. Cosmopolitan and other fashion magazines frame the “perfect” woman on the front cover. We need to understand that these “perfect” women are airbrushed until there isn’t a single imperfection on their face or body. And these women that we view as perfect only make up about one percent of the world’s population.
Beauty certainly does come in all shapes and sizes. Our society and Hollywood has gotten better over the years at representing a wider range of women. From Ugly Betty to Hairspray women who aren’t blonde-haired stick-figures are beginning to show up in our media.
Another problem with society is that women are always over sexualized. Just look at the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. Pamela Anderson represents the expression “less is more.” This is a problem because women shouldn’t be expected to show their “goodies” in order to be happy or successful. A lot of times the people we idol such as the Pussycat Dolls teach us to be sexy. Sexy is good at times, but that isn’t what a woman is. She shouldn’t have to dance around on poles and chairs with no clothes on to get a man’s attention.
A new trend is women beginning to invade the science and math careers. Intelligence is becoming a valued trait by women. It is important that women be appreciated for more than just their physical appearance. I really enjoyed the play that was performed the other day in class because it told the story on the other side of the spectrum. Things that men like in women are not always a woman’s favorite part of herself. With that said, women do need to love themselves before impressing society.
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I think that Sam, the public school systems, and private school systems are absolutely right to start integrating Mandarin and Cantonese classes into their education programs. Mandarin is one of the most, if not the most, frequently spoken language in the world. English doesn’t even come close to the most frequently spoken language compared to the Mandarin. My roommate is actually from China and she’s been teaching a few words and phrases here and there. According to my roommate, when going to elementary school, she was required to learn both Mandarin and English while attending classes. She even told me that China has even created schools designed to prepare children to eventually study in a foreign country. In these schools, students study a different language (usually English, Korean, or Japanese) and learn about cultural aspects of the country they plan on traveling to. If our country could adopt more schooling programs designed to set students up for foreign studies, I’m sure that America could extend and strengthen its relationships with foreign countries. She has also told me how the Chinese public schooling systems have changed since she attended elementary school. Now students are required to learn three languages; Mandarin, English, and Cantonese. Cantonese is spoken more in southern provinces in China where Mandarin is spoken in mainland China. Cantonese is known to be spoken in Hong Kong, but many Cantonese speaking people travel to Canada. Apparently Canada’s three most spoken languages are Cantonese, English, and French (not in that specific order). So not only will students in China be able to communicate with their entire country, but also in foreign countries ranging from North America, Europe, and Australia. As a result from adopting foreign languages into China’s educational system, China has been able to extend its relationships all over the world. It’s also opened up opportunities for the heavily populated country to have people migrate to foreign countries and increase their opportunities in life. Learning a foreign language is like have the key to a new world. Just think of how many more opportunities the next generation would have if they learned a foreign language in school. The ultimate goal towards peace might be more realistic if countries could communicate with one another other. Instead of selfishly waiting for the other country to extend its hand out to our country, why doesn’t America take the first step towards peace by reaching their hand out first? The United States can extend peace to others and show a genuine care for anothers country by taking the time to learn how to talk to people in their comfortable native tongue. Integrating foreign language classes into our school system could also make the United States more welcoming towards immigrants. Mandarin is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Why doesn’t the United States start there and then work our way down to less frequently spoken languages? I believe that language is the key to obtain peace, and if our country doesn’t invest in it, then we may never obtain what we are so desperately seeking.
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I’m not sure how I feel about this. First off I don’t think that Mandarin is crucial to know in order to be successful in the business field. Even though English is becoming one of the, if not the most common language in the world, I think being bilingual in general is a great plus. Everyone says that English is the hardest language to learn, so I don’t see the harm in learning an easier language. With that said, I think learning a second language should be chose out of a desire to travel to a certain place of the love for the art of that particular language, not because someone says it is important for business.
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