America and English

[mark]

Hi, my friend and I were arguing over a topic (not really arguing considering she ignored me for only stating my opinion and made me feel like total ********) and I decided I would like to hear opinions of others...

If someone is immigrating to America and plans on making a living in America, should they or should they not have a basic understanding of the English language?

I'm saying they definitely should have a basic understanding of English... no, they don't need to be able to speak like an American-born or write paragraphs, but they should know the basics of communication.

 

[Lindsay]

If you were moving to another country you would learn the language most spoken there. It's common sense. I don't see why America is any different just because we're 'Murica. If I moved to Germany without having a basic understanding of German, I'd be a complete idiot. If nobody can understand you how are you going to get a job, a house, a car, etc?

 

[Kinglaser]

In my opinion, yes you should. Even if its the lowest form of conversational English, its important that you know the basics so that you can communicate with people without needing a translator. Like Lindsay said, it doesnt make sense to move to a foreign country without knowing enough of their language to communicate with people. Obviously the longer you live there the better youre communication skills will become, but you should definitely learn the basics before making the move.

 

[Youtherevmk]

I don't agree that you NEED to have a basic understanding of the country's language, I think it would help though. If someone wishes to migrate to America from another country generally speaking they flock to areas where they know people similar to them are. If you're from Mexico and you move to a Hispanic community in America it's not really going to matter that much that you don't know English.

 

[joetheman]

Personally, I think it should be required, but given that the United States for some unknown reason still hasn't made English its official language, I guess technically it isn't required or necessary.

 

[Frinklebumper]

There are entire communities of non-English speakers here in America that function just fine. I think your knowledge of English as a second language should only go as far as you need it to. *Requiring* English is a little ridiculous, as you really don't need it to survive, especially in a country that doesn't even have an official language.

 

[Elegance]

I don't think English should be required, but I definitely think it would help. Personally, if I were moving to another country that speaks a different language, I would try to learn the basics. It would really be horrible if I were stuck somewhere and couldn't communicate with people in order to get help. There are people who are mute and do just fine, but it's not easy.

 

[Gregory]

I 100% believe that you should learn some conversational English, and you will pick up on more while you're here.

From a social aspect, its important to know how to speak the language- You're going to be in a new place where you start knowing no one (mostly).
From an income aspect, you don't want to limit yourself to a job which does not require English.
From a safety aspect, you will want to be able to communicate in an emergency and read any signs you come across.
From a cultural aspect, it's polite. Whether it be America or China or Russia or anywhere else, the people who live there will respect you more if you take a moment to learn their language and (in turn) culture.

 

[PrettyBlissfulSky]

Granted we don't have an official language, I still believe that English should be required if you're going to come into our country! The other day I was returning something at Target and the lady ahead of me didn't speak English. At all. She had a translator with her helping, but she was struggling a lot to understand what was actually happening. I deal with this all the time at work too and it can be very frustrating. Out of respect, these people should be willing to learn some basic English, considering we are letting them come into our country.

 

[Superior]

when i moved to america i did not speak a word of english and my parents only briefly learned it in school - i guess for me it was different because i moved at a very young age but i was able to learn english within 3 months, however it was really difficult for me since french wasn't really spoken where i lived, and if i had gone to a specific international school/school for french people in america, i don't think i would have learned english as fast as i did
being immersed in the country and its culture and language really puts you in your place, therefore i don't really think it's absolutely necessary since you'll pick it up quite fast. i had a friend who moved to spain for a year to be able to speak spanish (he had done german in school, so he didn't know anything except 'donde esta la biblioteca' lols) and he came back fluent, obviously - because he had to. it doesn't really matter in my opinion as long as you're willing to learn

 

[Rob P]

It depends on how you expect to make a living in America.
There is no official language in the United States, so to live here, it's ridiculous to be required to speak English. However, if you want to hold a career in a job where most of your colleagues speak English, then yes, it would probably be advantageous to know conversational English.

But I'm guessing there are other jobs in America where English is not required, especially if the worker is Spanish, since it's such a widely-spoken language in the country!

 

[kaitrock]

I don't think we should be required to learn English at all. I think us Americans should have better language courses tbh. Most people out of country can speak multiple languages and we can barely grasp a second. Also there's almost more Spanish and Chinese speakers in America, shouldn't we learn those languages?

 

[mark]

I don't think we should be required to learn English at all. I think us Americans should have better language courses tbh. Most people out of country can speak multiple languages and we can barely grasp a second. Also there's almost more Spanish and Chinese speakers in America, shouldn't we learn those languages?

My high school teaches both Spanish and Chinese. My friends and I are able to hold a basic conversation in Spanish... my distant cousins (from Venezuela) were able to converse with me in Catalan and laugh with each other. My other friend is learning Chinese, and she's not only able to read and write, but speak to some Chinese only after a few months (keep in mind that the alphabet is way different). Foreign Languages are and have been implemented in high schools, middle schools, and some elementary schools.

What I struggle with is that I have several types of Asians ranging from Japanese to Chinese and conversing with them is so difficult. I've been able to hold a very basic, but vague conversation with them, but there always has to be that one student that has to translate everything. I'm not directing new students, I'm directing people who have been here for years and can't even say the basic fruits they buy at a market.

 

[Kelsey]

no they all need to learn arabic because arabic > english

 

[mark]

no they all need to learn arabic because arabic > english

kissimcki

it means kiss your mom its so cute ♥♥♥

they also teach arabic at my school b t w

and greek
and italian
and french

 

[Kelsey]

kissimcki

it means kiss your mom its so cute ♥♥♥

they also teach arabic at my school b t w

and greek
and italian
and french

i wish they taught arabic at my school b/c i would have passed that with flying colors lol

 

[Style]

Considering that our government provides multiple outlets for non-English speaking citizens to become incorporated into our society (i.e. multilingual ballots in elections, due-process speech rights granted through the 14th Amendment, up-and-coming ESL classes in underdeveloped areas, etc.), I feel as though that people entering the U.S. shouldn't be required to even speak a lick of basic English. We don't have a national language, so there's no reason for anyone to be required to have basic English skills. If anything, we need to step our game up as a nation to help others learn English if they want to. We spend too much time demonizing immigrants in this country and don't do enough to support them. In countries like Sweden, there are government-funded education outreaches that serve to teach the native language to new immigrants. When huge amounts of Americans in both rural and urban areas fail to meet literacy requirements, how can we expect immigrants to be at a glorified communication standard (although most can meet the spoken standard, the written standard is way too high)? Our infrastructure is crumbling for multiple reasons because we don't invest in education: not only do we fail new citizens/resident aliens, we see counties upon counties that have high levels of children and adults who can't comprehend basic children's literature. Currently, 13.7% of families in my county don't speak English at home and of the families that speak English at home, only 60% of the children were assessed and deemed "capable of understanding third grade English." As my county is mostly populated by college students who are also integrated into this survey, it makes those huge numbers like 60% skyrocket even higher when our statistics aren't taken into account. It completely baffles me that we spend so much time debating budgets that slash education when it's clear that we need to step up our game when it comes to community essentials like basic literacy.

 

[Bellarina]

I think no matter where you travel, it is a good idea to learn the basics of the language that is most prominent in that country/area. Not only to benefit yourself should you need anything, but to ease contact you'll have with other people? My nonna came to America from Italy, and learned English so she could get what she needed and be able to hold communication with people here as well as get a good job. She had always made the point that she thought it was also a level of respect, to be able to learn the basic pieces of the language to wherever you travel or at least make some sort of effort to want to learn once you get there.

At the same time, I think as we have multiple languages in America, it's a good idea we learn languages of other areas so we seem more welcoming, well-rounded, and educated. A lot of schools worldwide have students who can speak multiple languages, yet I've only learned Spanish here in California (which I will say, has helped me in some situations).