Comments on: Is It Necessary for Americans to Become Bilingual? http://blog.teachstreet.com/homepage/is-it-necessary-for-americans-to-become-bilingual/ Learn something new. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:58:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: teacherinchina http://blog.teachstreet.com/homepage/is-it-necessary-for-americans-to-become-bilingual/comment-page-1/#comment-37 teacherinchina Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:33:38 +0000 http://blog.teachstreet.com/2007/10/17/is-it-necessary-for-americans-to-become-bilingual/#comment-37 I teach English in China, the Chinese as the coming superpower willspeak English, the US as the diminished superpower will not learn how to speak anything. I teach English in China, the Chinese as the coming superpower willspeak English, the US as the diminished superpower will not learn how to speak anything.

]]> By: Robert Dupuy http://blog.teachstreet.com/homepage/is-it-necessary-for-americans-to-become-bilingual/comment-page-1/#comment-36 Robert Dupuy Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:12:22 +0000 http://blog.teachstreet.com/2007/10/17/is-it-necessary-for-americans-to-become-bilingual/#comment-36 It is absolutely necessary. Monolingual speakers make bad decisions out of ignorance. As an example, I've been to dozens of websites that sell Spanish language books -- in English. To reach the full audience of Spanish speakers, you should sell the books in Spanish. But monolingual speakers tend to vastly overestimate the cost of translations. They also tend to have old world colonial attitudes. For example, they tend to think of the non-English world as being impoverished and an area of the world in need of aid. Instead of correctly understanding the non-English world as being an economy in its own right, and a place, not where you send donations, but conduct business and generate profits. There are just so many competitive disadvantages to being monolingual and no real advantage. The idea mentioned here, that being monolingual gives you a chance to concentrate on core subjects, is just fiction. Monolingual speakers are not better at core subjects. Of course, I am speaking in generalities, but the extra time goes to TV watching, playing the Nintendo Wii, listening to the MP3 player. Going to core subjects, what a joke. But anyway, acquiring a 2nd language doesn't usually come in school, but via constant exposure to a 2nd language. If you don't have it, you don't have it. You can get it, via the internet, nowadays, but that does take considerable self discipline. It is absolutely necessary. Monolingual speakers make bad decisions out of ignorance.

As an example, I’ve been to dozens of websites that sell Spanish language books — in English. To reach the full audience of Spanish speakers, you should sell the books in Spanish.

But monolingual speakers tend to vastly overestimate the cost of translations. They also tend to have old world colonial attitudes. For example, they tend to think of the non-English world as being impoverished and an area of the world in need of aid.

Instead of correctly understanding the non-English world as being an economy in its own right, and a place, not where you send donations, but conduct business and generate profits.

There are just so many competitive disadvantages to being monolingual and no real advantage. The idea mentioned here, that being monolingual gives you a chance to concentrate on core subjects, is just fiction.

Monolingual speakers are not better at core subjects. Of course, I am speaking in generalities, but the extra time goes to TV watching, playing the Nintendo Wii, listening to the MP3 player. Going to core subjects, what a joke.

But anyway, acquiring a 2nd language doesn’t usually come in school, but via constant exposure to a 2nd language.
If you don’t have it, you don’t have it.

You can get it, via the internet, nowadays, but that does take considerable self discipline.

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