ID:187108
 Feb 11 2005, 7:04 pm
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Today in my U.S. History class, I learned that the United States passed an act (I forgot what it was called) that would make everybody speak German because of all the immigration (back in the late 1800s and up to the mid-90's). With all of the immigrants coming in, people started to develop new cultures, languages, ETC. and people would get confused so they passed an act that would allow everybody to speak German, permenantly and forever. This act failed by one state vote. I repeat, one state vote. Just think if that vote stated yes. We would all be speaking German right now...pretty amazing if you think about it. By the way, anybody remember what this act/policy was called?
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i would not find that too amazing since i've been living here in Germany for about 5 years now. With the exception of some quirky grammar rules, much of my English is used directly in German, albeit with a significant pronounciation change. :)
kids should be taught a second language right from the start of school i think. here, they learn english along with their native german from early school years until they finish (i would say an average of 6-8 years of english at least) and in the last few years they can do another language in addition - often French, Spanish, or Russian. i found that many of the kids who do well with their english studies are more understandable than their american counter-parts when they get older. american kids just don't seem to care about their language, or anyone else's for that matter. kids who grow up with multiple linguistic skills often do better in the real world after school. they are generally more tolerable of different cultures, better prepared for international experiences, and have improved communication skills- even in their native tongue. | |
digitalmouse wrote:
kids should be taught a second language right from the start of school i think. Oh, but they do. Here in America, from 4th grade, to senior year, it is required to take a language otherwise you cannot graduate. | |
GokuDBZ3128 wrote:
digitalmouse wrote: At my school we had to take Spanish until highschool, then we could pick Spanish again, French, or German. I think we might have latin, but I'm not sure, lol. | |
Actually that's not true, in fact at our school you're not even reqired to take a forign language to graduate. They also don't start offering till 8th grade.
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GokuDBZ3128 wrote:
Oh, but they do. Here in America, from 4th grade, to senior year, it is required to take a language otherwise you cannot graduate. Not at my school, I had the oppurtunity in 7th to take a marking period (four marking periods in a year) of Spanish, and one of German, and then, if you have good grades and get a recommendation from your reading and english teacher, then you can take either German 1 or Spanish 1 for a full year the next year (8th grade). If you pass the class for the whole year, then you earn one high school credit. So basically I took German 1, a high school course at my school, in 8th and earned one high school credit, and now in 9th grade I take German 2. Kind of confusing, but I would of preferred to start German earlier on. | |
Shun Di wrote:
Actually that's not true, in fact at our school you're not even reqired to take a forign language to graduate. They also don't start offering till 8th grade. Actually it is. It is a law and if your school does not follow it, they can be in big trouble. Also, people who goto resource room do not have to take a language, so I hear. So you either goto resource room or no nothing about your school (I could be wrong though, this is just what I have heard about). | |
GokuDBZ3128 wrote:
Today in my U.S. History class, I learned that the United States passed an act (I forgot what it was called) that would make everybody speak German because of all the immigration (back in the late 1800s and up to the mid-90's). With all of the immigrants coming in, people started to develop new cultures, languages, ETC. and people would get confused so they passed an act that would allow everybody to speak German, permenantly and forever. This act failed by one state vote. I repeat, one state vote. Just think if that vote stated yes. We would all be speaking German right now...pretty amazing if you think about it. By the way, anybody remember what this act/policy was called? I think you mean that this was an act that would make German a second official language, with English as a first. Nothing else would make sense. Certainly an English-speaking legislature in a predominantly English-speaking country would not simply force everyone over to a new language; that's absurd. Likewise there was no need to "allow" somebody to speak German, since such a right already existed. The most likely explanation for this is that it was some sort of bilingual initiative, pushing for something like Canada's system. Also, states do not vote on acts of legislation. They vote to ratify Constitutional amendments. So you've misinterpreted what was actually taught in your class--or your textbook is one of the worst ever written. Lummox JR | |
GokuDBZ3128 wrote:
digitalmouse wrote: i think you meant 'here at my school' not the U.S. as a whole. i know second language studies are not standard cirriculum country-wide -- I went to school in Atlanta, Georgia from grades 3-12 and a second language was not even offered until 9th grade, and even then there was only one year of classes possible, and only in French and Spanish. with a few rare exceptions, second language offers are very rare in the U.S. education, whereas i find second language studies are available (and usually mandatory for 3-4 years at the least) in most every other country in the world. funny that. | |
digitalmouse wrote:
GokuDBZ3128 wrote: I find that second language programs offered later in school(ex Core French) don't teach anywhere near as much as programs that start in the early grades(ex French Immersion). A student in grade 7 or 8 could be learning was was learned by other students in grade 2 or 3. | |
digitalmouse wrote:
with a few rare exceptions, second language offers are very rare in the U.S. education, whereas i find second language studies are available (and usually mandatory for 3-4 years at the least) in most every other country in the world. I'd have to disagree. In my state, for example, I know that people need at least one foreign language credit to graduate high school. Most people, of course, take more than just one year of a foreign language. | |
GokuDBZ3128 wrote:
Oh, but they do. Here in America, from 4th grade, to senior year, it is required to take a language otherwise you cannot graduate. Mine was English. =) I also had an elective Spanish and French (one class teaching both) in seventh grade, but that was just to meet girls. =D | |
Wizkidd0123 wrote:
I'd have to disagree. In my state, for example, I know that people need at least one foreign language credit to graduate high school. Most people, of course, take more than just one year of a foreign language. This is why I said '... and even then there was only one year of classes possible...' in my highschool. i also said there were rare exceptions- your state seems to be one of them. and that points out another important issue: students are only required (in your state at least) to take one credit (whether that is a semester or a year) to graduate highschool. and you mention that most take more than one year, which means they have a choice to learn and are probably not required nor motivated to learn a second language. here in Germany, they start learning (atleast english) very young (4th-5th grade sometimes, depending on the local school system) and continue learning right up through the end of highschool. face it, if most american kids have a choice, they probably would not bother to take more than the bare minimum in secondary languages, and afterwards most are probably grateful to forget what they learned. | |
Wizkidd0123 wrote:
digitalmouse wrote: Wow, sucks for you guys. Here in Florida - we're not required to take them to graduate but, we DO need atleast two years of a foreign language to attend some 4-year universities (technical schools are not included). | |
Different question: Does it really matter if one nation stops speaking a language? As long as others still speak it and it doesn't die out, do you think it would make a difference to the people?