- Isabelle kane
- Sudbury, MA
- United States
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Do you think that our children will be left behind economically if they do not learn Chinese?
I am trying to find out if language skills have become a lost art. Do we even care about learning languages. If we don't care, our kids won't care. Does it even mattter?
Topics:
competitive advantage language
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John Walker 30+
I believe language is essential, especially in its diversity. The existence of multiple languages provides different structures of thought which I believe are essential for progress and problem resolution. I grew up seamlessly with 2 languages and have found that when I can't toggle a problem re-framing it in another language usually helps me look at it from a different perspective, providing more tools for resolving the problem.
I feel that language skills have become a lost art in English speaking countries, primarily because it has become such a dominant language in commerce and other fields. Living in Cancun, a tourist rich environment, I can see the cultural difference between tourists from English speaking countries and other countries. I notice a higher level of common sense as well as a much stronger integration, acceptance, and cultural grasp of Mexico from visitors of non-english speaking countries. I would like to state clearly that I am generalizing and mean no offense to any culture.
Conclusion: Language diversity is essential. Linguistic diversity in our children is a treasured gift that should not be discarded. Specifically for Chinese, it is what almost 1/5 of the worlds population speaks, and with the country opening up will be a vital skill. I firmly believe everyone should know at least 2 languages though more is entirely optional. And it is upr to parents to care since it is much easier to learn at a young age and it becomes part of our though process.