This article was particularly interesting to me because I am taking Mandarin this year. I think the article hit the issues right on the nose when it states we, the US, should learn more languages, and some of the languages that should be pushed because of their impact on international relations.
My high school only taught Spanish and, while it's the most important foreign language, having more options would have been very helpful. What I find particularly interesting while I'm learning Chinese is that when I don't know a specific word in Chinese, I usually come up with the Spanish word and want to use that instead. English is only a last resort for some reason... I think it would be interesting to figure out why this happens.
As for other points made in the article and those that seem particularly relevant to my home state, South Dakota, is that of "The World is Flat." The idea of the economy becoming more global and being able to outsource to the lowest cost workers is particularly frightening considering South Dakota is doing very little to be competitive. The labor market in South Dakota and most of the growth in Aberdeen, my home city, has been towards call centers and other super-competitive industries. What I think should happen is that South Dakota should develop several niches to occupy and become the industry leaders in those niches.
Learning languages is great, and communities that have been relatively secluded are now facing more and more competition from a global market. This article makes the great point that to keep up or even get ahead of the curve we need to learn more languages, especially those of international interest, such as Chinese.
Original Article: http://www.uticaod.com/education/x510086403
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4 comments:
I know exactly what you mean when you talk about using Spanish words when you are trying to speak Mandarin. I do that all the time interchangably with Japanese and Hawaiian. I'll try to ask what time is it in my Japanese class and Hawaiian starts coming out of my mouth. I wonder why this happens?
I have to get one thing out of the way first: WOOO, SOUTH DAKOTA!
Having said that, I think that our state is working to better the economy with the use of ethanol. As far as foreign language instruction, which can apply to an endless number of industries, I agree that we have a far way to go.
Anya,
I have no idea why this happens. My personal thought is, "Since it's not my native language, the words must be in the same language." That's the only conclusion I can come up with.
Janessa,
WOOO, SOUTH DAKOTA right back!
I agree SD is trying to get into the niche market of ethanol, but there is a bit of a problem with the industry. Corn is necessary for other puroses, such as food, and is quickly being replaced with cheaper produce that has a less significant role (and is easier to raise.) Also, competition from renewable sources (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal) and hydrogen will make the ethanol economy short lived. Otherwise, with foreign language instruction, I couldn't agree with you more!
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