I keep hearing people actually defending not learning a language besides English. This is a common American trait. The only decent argument I have heard so far in favor of Americans not learning foreign languages went thus : the Dutch (for example) need to learn several languages in order to survive. But at what cost? They are not learning math and science and computers to the degree that Americans are. In that way we maintain our competitive edge.
Is that argument valid? As I look at statistics from around the world, it seems that America is in poor shape on the education front. It falls far behind European and Asian competitors. Granted, American universities are the best in the world overall, but even that is now vulnerable. Americas obsession with halting illegal immigration (which isn't working), is actually taking a terrible toll on legal immigration, particularly on students who want to go to an American university. Attendance at top non-American universities is rising at record rates. The brain drain to the US may be slowing.
The decline of the US education system actually increases the need for us to learn other languages, in order to compete more effectively in the global market. I recently read an article on a similar subject which referred to an environment of 'anti-intellectualism in America.' That is the problem.
Since when is it cool to be stupid?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment