Neathborn

I agree. I'm married to a Mexican American (sadly he doesn't speak Spanish because when he was growing up, his parents were told to speak to him in English). However, my two children will be going to school where they teach Spanish at kindergarten level. I lived in Texas for 11 years and increasingly there were jobs that required someone who was bilingual English-Spanish.

Sara

Tone

I'm suprised nobody's mentioned the delicious irony in the thread title here....

begonia77

The least a person can do is learn basic English if they are moving to the USA or any other country where English is the home language and vice versa with an English speaking settler. When in Rome?
When I move to Spain then I'll learn to speak Spanish with pleasure, but to anticipate that the USA is going to be a spanish speaking nation is ignorant in itself. Shy away from the border and you'll not see a spanish speaking person for miles.
Since when has it become the responsibility of an entire country along with its people to adapt to a forgein visitor's language requirements as opposed to the visitor adapting to the very surroundings by which they have moved, through no choice other than their own, all over the fact that they simply cannot be bothered to learn the native tongue? Soaking up the culture of a new country is a beautiful learning experience, but to ignore the culture and all its pleasures appears to be nothing more than waste of time and energy.

Elvira

Well, there are responsibilities and then there are practicalities...

Remember what happened back home after 1066?

Manc

The UK has 3 official languages.

NC Penguin

I see a joke about Newcastle folk coming up...




NC Penguin

snowbunny

If you make it into a family learning project it will be much easier for them to develop a competent fluency. I had a Mexican-American boyfriend who had spoken only spanish until he began school at age five. Like your husband, his parents were told to speak only English to him so that he could learn the language, and he lost nearly all of his language and his native-born accent. He's gotten some of it back since he lives and works in south Florida now.

One of the first things I taught my eldest was how to roll her 'r's because that's one of the harder sounds to learn when you're older, and essential in having a decent accent. There's plenty of telly in spanish, including footie matches which I prefer to watch in spanish cos of the enthusiasm of the presenters. Many movies are overdubbed in spanish as well.

Texas has been embroiled in the "English-only" movement for years. While I agree that immigrants *should* learn the language of the country they are moving to, I don't think a free country can *force* them.

Bueno suerte,

Amy

Tone

Ban all people who can't spell foreigners, bloody forgeiners

Bob

they have to be able to speak first *lol*

snowbunny

I was thinking that cash prizes at adult spelling bees might prove very motivational.

tony_2003

Never been to California have you? I also live in Oregon (very northerly) and there's plenty of Spanish speaking people here.

Yes that's true. I wonder how well you would have mastered the 500 different native American languages...

Another ignorent statment. Many people have very different circumstances, often coming to the U.S. to escape persecution, maybe they should make time to grab a phrasebook while running for their lives?

Bob

One thing if that is the case, but often it isn't, and when they have been here for years and still can't speak it, or are second generation and can hardly speak any English because they speak Spanish as school??

NC Penguin

I don't think you've visited the States recently, have you?

The Spanish speaking population (both legal and illegal) has seen an incredible increase in the last 8-10 years.

See-
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...-spanish_x.htm

I live in North Carolina, hardly close to the USA/Mexico border and there are Spanish speakers living and working here from all over South and Central America.

For example at the DMV office near me (I live in Durham, NC) where you go for driving licenses and the like, signs are in Spanish too and the Drivers Handbook is available in Spanish (as well as 2 other non-English languages).




NC Penguin

Bob

That's impressive...we have the odd sign, mostly historical info in French, but that's about it...

Just Jenney

Why do you assume the grandmother lives in the States? Maybe she was visiting.

I taught English at Berlitz in Chile several years ago -- only the target language spoken in the classroom. I taught at a couple of other language schools before Berlitz and it makes a world of difference when the students are not permitted to speak their native language in class. The Berlitz method really is the best -- none of this word-for-word translation crap. You learn it by speaking and hearing it, period.

And let me tell you, as native speakers we really do take things for granted. I never realized how complex English grammar and structure is. Why do we get "in a car" but "on a bus"? I don't know, we just do. Hmm...

As for the original question, personally I think that it is most beneficial if an immigrant learns at least the basics of the dominant language of their adopted country. However, this is not always feasible, and having been in that situation myself I suppose I am a bit more sympathic than others who have always lived in an environment where their native language is spoken.

~ Jenney