300 million Chinese are learning English!

Ralphy1

Ralphy1

Well-known Member
The rise of a middle class in China has led to this development. It seems that the Chinese with means realize that to be successful in the world they must learn the universal language. Maybe some day the tables will be turned and we will have to learn Chinese, or at least learn to eat with chopsticks...:cool:
 

Good! Maybe you could lead tours of Chinese when they come to see where some of there oppressors in the past came from...:cool:
 

Americans are adverse to learning or speaking any other language.. and just about insist everyone speak English.. Funny though... It isn't even our official language.
 
QuickSilver said:
Americans are adverse to learning or speaking any other language.. and just about insist everyone speak English.. Funny though... It isn't even our official language.
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Not since they opened up the gates down in the southwest, no ... :cower:

A quick side-story ... my student recently went down to Philadelphia to catch a flight to a wedding in Chicago. When he got to the airport he was a bit confused as he is a travel virgin - never even rode in a plane until now (he's 54), so it's perhaps understandable that he was flummoxed.

Anyway, he asked a lounging airport employee for directions to the security area, and although the employee seemed to speak some form of English he sounded like total gibberish. The same thing happened with several other employees he approached, all ostensibly Americans but none able to communicate in a meaningful way. This continued right up to and including the TSA agent he finally received his screening from, who was wearing a hijab and spoke so quietly that he had to lean in to hear her.

English is primarily used for all of our legislative and executive actions, is taught in all of our schools and is the accepted international language of pilots - no, it is NOT our "official" language, but then, we aren't really the "world's leading Democracy" either.

We like to lie to ourselves. :rolleyes:
 
We don't have an official language but the language of government and law is English. Children of non English speaking backgrounds are encouraged to learn their parents languages at Saturday community schools and every high school student must take 100 hours of a foreign language, with further study available as an elective. Popular languages include Japanese and Mandarin. The problem is always the shortage of qualified language teachers.
 
It is time for all to learn English and stop being politically cute about it...
 
What do you mean by all? The elderly Greek Nona is never going to learn English. In reality, as her brain ages she is forgetting any English she had already learned. What she needs is an interpreter, not English lessons.

All school children learn English as long as they are in the education system. Newly arrived children go to intensive language schools before being integrated into the general school system. At school teachers are trained to teach children for whom English is the second language.

Factory workers are required to have basic English, if only as an occupational health and safety issue. Classes are available for new migrants.

Please put "politically cute" into context for me.
 
Things are very different over here, DW ... here, you never need to learn English yet can still hold a job, get a driver's license and dip into the Federal trough.
 
Well, it seems like you are on the right track as we expect the world to work the way we want it to...
 
SifuPhil said:
Things are very different over here, DW ... here, you never need to learn English yet can still hold a job, get a driver's license and dip into the Federal trough.
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Phil.... We DO happen to share less than 1/2 of the entire western hemisphere with Spanish speaking countries. In fact the estimated population of South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, should reach over 500 million this year. It is pretty arrogant to think that WE should demand everyone speak English if they dare to cross our border.. don't you think?
 
SifuPhil said:
Things are very different over here, DW ... here, you never need to learn English yet can still hold a job, get a driver's license and dip into the Federal trough.
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This is is true, last time I was at my daughters house, she had a pizza delivered, she lives in a gated area and you have to know the code or call the house to be let in....well, the driver could not even understand the simple instructions on what he had to do. My daughter had to call the Pizza place and they in turn called him and explained to him in his language how to get thru the gate. And this is not unusual here.
 
LynnD said:
This is is true, last time I was at my daughters house, she had a pizza delivered, she lives in a gated area and you have to know the code or call the house to be let in....well, the driver could not even understand the simple instructions on what he had to do. My daughter had to call the Pizza place and they in turn called him and explained to him in his language how to get thru the gate. And this is not unusual here.
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My position on that is if a business hires someone who can't speak the language of the host country it's time to find a business whose employees know the language. I would not live in a country where I did not speak the language of that country.
 
Yes, but so are a lot of others ...especially those looking for PT work after school or weekends. One of our burger places starts you off at $10 an hour, it might even be more now...so that is not bad for a job that needs no education.
 
QuickSilver said:
Phil.... We DO happen to share less than 1/2 of the entire western hemisphere with Spanish speaking countries. In fact the estimated population of South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, should reach over 500 million this year. It is pretty arrogant to think that WE should demand everyone speak English if they dare to cross our border.. don't you think?
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Actually, no, I do not. When in Rome ...

As Jim said, it would be folly to move to a country where you could not communicate. Nor could I expect them to molly-coddle me the way we do them.

It isn't a level playing field and hasn't been for many years.
 
AZ Jim said:
It's not that bad here except yard laborers. You almost have to draw pictures,
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It does seem to be a good business though in these very hot climates and I think they make pretty good money, you see them constantly in my neighborhood all year round.
 

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