Why should English speakers learn a foreign language?

[Riprorin]

I studied Spanish for 4 years in HS and 1 year in college. What a collosial waste of time.

The only useful language an English speaker should study is Latin.

 

[LukFilm]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
I studied Spanish for 4 years in HS and 1 year in college. What a collosial waste of time.

The only useful language an English speaker should study is Latin.

Ignorance at its best

 

[Martin]

?

 

[woodie1]

It took you 5 years to determine you were wasting your time?

LOL!

 

[piku]

Ignorance?

Latin is a fine choice. If I had to pick one language to learn (other than English, which I would prefer mastering before any other language), it would be Latin.

 

[MacBaine]

That's why I dropped French after I finished my required years. I HATE French... and my teacher was one of those ditsy French women... GOD I hated it... :|

 

[Gibson486]

Ignorance?

Latin is a fine choice. If I had to pick one language to learn (other than English, which I would prefer mastering before any other language), it would be Latin.

You missed what he was saying Riprorin was ignorant too. He was saying that Rip was ignorant in saying that learning another language besides Latin and english is a waste of time. It is a pretty ignorant statement.

 

[Adul]

why not chinese? 1/6 of the world speaks it? or maybe japanese for business reasons.

U know a lot of europeans speak more then one langauge. heck 3 or 4.

 

[DigDug]

Unless you plan to study the classics, your only reason for learning latin is to add to you pseudo-intellectual arsenal.

 

[LanEvoVI]

Last year I was in Spain for 3 weeks and this year i was in Central America (Guatemala and Honduras) for about 2 weeks. Those 3 years of high school spanish really weren't enough for me to get by (Thank God my sister is fluent). So to answer your question, English is not the first language in many foreign countries and learning a foreign language will make it much easier to get by in other places besides the US, the UK, and Australia.

Edit: Forgot Canadia as pointed out by Yakko...hehe...

 

[ElFenix]

the reason its a waste of time is that you don't really learn enough to go elsewhere and have a conversation, usually. getting a 2 on the AP would have gotten me out of all spanish required for college, but instead i took two years and had to put in a lot more work for that class to get the same grades i would get in others. you can guess your way to a 3 on the AP pretty easily. the fact that its so easy to get credit by test and so hard to get credit by coursework without ruining your GPA is pretty awful.

 

[LukFilm]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Ignorance?

Latin is a fine choice. If I had to pick one language to learn (other than English, which I would prefer mastering before any other language), it would be Latin.

You missed what he was saying Riprorin was ignorant too. He was saying that Rip was ignorant in saying that learning another language besides Latin and english is a waste of time. It is a pretty ignorant statement.

Thank you.

 

[Amused]

Actually, I halfway agree with you. Spanish is a waste of time. Chinese, Japanese and German would suit a person far better if they were going into the business world.

 

[crystal]

Originally posted by: LukFilm

Originally posted by: Riprorin
I studied Spanish for 4 years in HS and 1 year in college. What a collosial waste of time.

The only useful language an English speaker should study is Latin.

Ignorance at its best

This replies to the thread is,

[edit] ok, I might misread your intention [/edit/]

 

[MacBaine]

What a collosial waste of time

Yes, it would have been spent better learning English again

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Two words - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS...

Try negotating a deal in Latin...

Latin is a dead language that is only relevant in academia...

In short, you are an idiot.

 

[joe678]

Originally posted by: MacBaine

What a collosial waste of time

Yes, it would have been spent better learning English again

lol...

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

Actually, I halfway agree with you. Spanish is a waste of time. Chinese, Japanese and German would suit a person far better if they were going into the business world.

What?

Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in the United States... What about NAFTA? Mercosur? Your underestimation of the importance of Latin America is grotesque...

 

[poopaskoopa]

Nah, don't bother with a foreign language and keep watching your local news.

 

[DaiShan]

Why should english speakers learn a foreign language?

in case you put a ricky martin cd in the player, you don't want there to be silence.... (sry I had to)

 

[Nemesis77]

Learning a foreign language is a sign of respect to that nation. If you go to a foreign country, I bet that if you try to communicate with them in their native language (no matter if you are not good at it), their respect for you will go up.

 

[Hoeboy]

I don't see how knowing an extra language can be a waste. I think employers will see it as a plus if you are multi-lingual. Especially here in America where there are so many varieties of people, knowing an extra language (even a rarely used one) can get you ahead of others who only know English. But then again you should try to concentrate on a language that best suits where you live and your career of choice. I'm trying to learn Spanish because I'm going towards education so it's VERY useful for me.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Learning a foreign language is a sign of respect to that nation. If you go to a foreign country, I bet that if you try to communicate with them in their native language (no matter if you are not good at it), their respect for you will go up.

Or you could move to that country and get a job and spend the rest of your days there without ever trying to learn the language, and expect the natives to learn yours.

 

[hoihtah]

obviously... you haven't travelled much out side of english speaking countries.

i'll assume that you're from the states.
do you know what kinda welcome you get in england if you speak to them in american accent?

 

[boi]

Dang, 80% of my friends speak Spanish. Everytime they say a joke in Spanish, I don't understand them =(