No school district I have encountered has required Spanish.
In certain places, one would find Spanish very handy. In certain places, especially big cities, certain jobs – such as working in a restaurant kitchen or working in property management in certain neighbourhoods or working in construction or certain local government positions – fluency in Spanish is mandatory.
I wish I’d been required to learn Spanish in high school. It would have been a hell of a lot more useful post-graduation than Trigonometry (to name one class I did have to take) ever was.
While the US does not have an official language, English is required for some official purposes. In particular, people who wish to become US citizens (with a few exceptions) must take a test to prove their proficiency in English. And if you are dealing with the US goverment, it usually easiest to do so in English.
I doubt this. I don’t know for sure, but I thought that relatively few schools/districts in the U.S. required a second language for graduation, though the college-bound would be strongly encouraged to take one. And of those who do take a foreign language, I would guess that Spanish is the most popular choice, but not overwhelmingly so (i.e. that those who study Spanish outnumber those who study any other particular language but not those who study all other languages.)
At the pre-high school level, some students may well be exposed to Spanish as one of the things they learn about, like the solar system or dinosaurs or whatever. I don’t know how common this is or how far they’d go in their studies.
:eek: Wow. That’s amazing. I really wish I had such opportunities when I was in elementary school.
May I suggest, risking rudeness, that your children are not the norm in terms of schooling opportunities? It’s really an amazing opportunity for them… however, AFAIK, most public shools do not start offering foreign language before high school unless they are located in a rather monied district. Where I grew up, the high school taught French, German and Spanish, and we only had four AP classes (English, Chem and Calculus). (Whereas New Trier, the school everyone loved to hate, had a fencing club.)
Forgive the hijack, but it drives me friggin crazy when an ATM machine makes me choose between English and Spanish before I can proceed. I know its just one more button, but for some reason I really resent it. It would be OK to have a button off to the side to switch to Spanish, or for an ATM to ask once and then remember it. I actually speak some Spanish, along with some French, and Mandarin Chinese, so its not xenophobia.
Beyond that, it doesn’t take much English to be able to to use an ATM.
A & B true.
C - Spanish tends to be one of the more commonly taught foreign languages (but I would be very hesitant to say that it is the “most common” or the “default” language offered in schools)
D - no national requirement. There may be state requirements, but you would have to check state by state. And without actual evidence, I would not say “predominantly Spanish”
I attended a private school Kindergarten through eigth grade. Starting in the second grade, studying either French or Spanish was a requirement. One of my high school graduation requirements was three years of a foreign language, or two years each or two foriegn languages. The options were French, Spanish, and Latin. I took two years Spanish and two years Latin. This was all in California, btw.
Can’t speak either language worth a damn, despite over eight years of Spanish classes. But that says more about me than the education I received.
Oh, and I’m violently opposed to the idea of an “official” national language. I’m sure this is a grossly unfair generalization, but the entire concept of an official national language strikes me as subtly racist.
There are definitely state requirements, at least in some places. In New York, I think three years of a foreign language were required. In the schools I attended, the options at first were Spanish, French and Italian, and later there were others (although Italian was later dropped because not enough students enrolled). I think Spanish was the most popular, but there was no default language. In the places where there are default languages, I think missbunny has a good point - districts are restricted by the available teachers, and their budgets as well.
In my high school (early 1980s, upstate New York), Spanish, French, German and Italian were offered as foreign languages. The most popular was French, given the proximity to the Canadian border and the very low Hispanic population in the area. Spanish followed, with Italian very closely behind; there was a very large Italian-American population in the city. German was the least popular.
Buffalo is probably one of the few cmajor cities in the US where you’ll hear more French spoken on the streets than Spanish, although that may be changing. The French comes from Francophone Canadian cross-border shoppers, many from the Toronto area, and a lot from Welland.
My niece and nephews are in elementary school, here in South Carolina, where the educational motto is “Thank God for Mississippi”, and they all take Spanish. And they’re not in programs for smart kids, trust me. They’re like monkeys in clothes. I’m glad - you need it, more and more, in a lot of jobs. The restaurant business most obviously. I don’t think they really learn very much, though - they count to ten when I ask them what they learn in Spanish.
Public school curriculum requirements vary from state to state. The last word that I heard on Tennessee, our students were required to study a foreign language for two years in high school. The most common are probably Spanish and French.
Of course language studies should begin as early as possible. My grandchildren studied Spanish and French in private elementary schools.
I live in a culturally mixed neighborhood. One of our grocery stories has signs out front in seven languages. I think it’s cool!
Do you believe that a lack of fluency in French and German (and Chinese?) has led to cultural misunderstandings with Europe that have had a negative effect economically? Can you elaborate?
I do believe from my own observations and experiences that a greater fluency in Spanish would be beneficial to many. Doctors, for example, have difficulty understanding some of the patients they are treating. I once had to try to comfort a little child lost from her parents. She spoke only Spanish. I speak only English. In this neighborhood, I would have a chance to use Spanish frequently.
I need French only when I’m travelling in France or parts of Canada, studying a ballet or ordering from a menu. There are a few other times, but certainly not as often as Spanish.
I really doubt that high school students are choosing their subjects based on an interest in trade.
I don’t think Spanish is a popular second language for “foreign ties” at all. It’s for use right here at home.
I work for my state’s welfare department in our county assistance office. There is a VERY large Hispanic population in Lancaster, and probably at least 40% of that population is either monoglot Spanish or limited English-speaking. Learning Spanish would be a tremendous boon to the ease of my work. And I’m investigating that.
Unfortunately, learning a new language as an adult is very difficult.
I should rephrase that. For “…40% of that population are monoglot Spanish or limited English-speaking…” read “…40% of the segment of that population who make use of our services are…”
Goodness, I wish I had the chance to learn Spanish at a young age. Most Americans do not have to learn a foreign language until they are in high school, and then only for a year or two. They never get a chance to be fluent.
I took French, and it was one of the dumber things I’ve done. I’ve used it once- to tell a guy who tried to grab my ass on a Paris subway that he was a jerk. But every day I wish I knew Spanish.
I’ve worked in the restraunt industry, where Spanish really is neccesary. I once knew of a Chinese restraunt, run by Chinese people, where they spoke Spanish in the kitchen because Spanish is what you speak in reastraunt kitchens. Right now I am in the hotel industry, and every day I have to resort to charades to communicate with the housekeeping staff. Spanish is useful in many jobs, and not just on the bottom rungs. In California, speaking Spanish will help you get hired, and usually qualifies you for more pay. Most state jobs and many corporate jobs have blingual bonuses.
Also, Mexico is the easiest foreign country to visit, so it is most likely to be useful as far as broadening horizons. Kids will most likely have the chance to talk to native speakers, and Spanish is a romance language that helps understanding of all romance languages.
There was a national mandate for English being the only language taught or SPOKEN in some American schools.
The Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs set it in about 1887 and in actual practice it continued into the 1960s.
Have you ever tried to use an ATM in a foreign language? It’s more difficult than you might think. When I was studying Spanish in Spain, I tried ONCE to use the ATM in Spanish and thereafter decided just to hit the “English” key instead. And I had a couple years of Spanish at that point.
Wherever you go in Europe the ATMs will give you an “English” option. And you’ll be very thankful they do.
Here in Brazil if you use a card that isn’t that Bank’s card they will offer you Language choices (I know this because I used the wrong card in the ATM and suddenly they were asking what language I wanted 5-6 choices)… I guess in europe offering english isn’t standard unless your card is “foreign”.
As for alternative languages... it might be neat for americans to start learning Arabic. You never know how the "War on Terror" might end up... :eek: (On a more serious note... you could get a nice translation job in the "intelligence" services too since they don't have enough arabic translators. Good career choice ? )
PS.: A few times in the U.S. I have doubted the ability of some americans to speak English at all… some accents are terrible. Brits probably agree with me. Nukular on ya.
I was unaware of this. Do you have a cite for more information?
Although the federal government (and state governments) interpret the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VI to require accommodation to people with Limited English Proficiency, knowing how to read, write and speak English is, indeed, a requirement for citizenship.