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  1. #81
    Learning a New Language at Any Age Helps the Brain

    Researchers found that young adults proficient in two languages performed better on attention tests and had better concentration than those who spoke only one language, irrespective of whether they had learned that second language during infancy, childhood or their teen years.

    In the new study, bilingual young adults performed better in ignoring irrelevant stimuli and focusing on relevant information. One possible reason for this ability is that the very processes of learning two languages and switching back and forth between them train the brain to be more attuned to auditory information, Bak said.

    ----

    If I knew 4 languages fluently, I sure as hell would have it on my resume regardless of job qualifications.

  2. #82
    Void Lord Felya's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grubenwolf View Post
    And there's nothing else that we could teach them that would have the same benefits?
    Music... but, it’s pretty much learning a different language. Like I said earlier in the thread, if you want to train your brain to see different ways to accomplish the same goal, there is nothing better than learning new languages. For what should be obvious reasons...
    Folly and fakery have always been with us... but it has never before been as dangerous as it is now, never in history have we been able to afford it less. - Isaac Asimov
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  3. #83
    Quote Originally Posted by Attackrabbit View Post
    My school did it alternating between French and Spanish (and of course you had to learn Welsh ^^ ), one year learns French, next yeargroup learns Spanish then French for the following year group and so on. Might only be the Catholic schools around here that do it as I know the non-Catholic ones mostly seem to do German.
    Might be a Catholic school thing, just speculation but might be rooted in the whole protestant v Catholic stuff as germany was on the protestant side of the divide I was in church of England High school.

  4. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elegiac View Post
    So...again, what exactly is wrong with second languages for this purpose? Besides you not liking them.

    - - - Updated - - -



    Also, lol.

    Nearly 13% of the country speaks Spanish at home. Why shouldn't you learn the language of the people that were living there before you?
    There's nothing wrong with learning a second language. I thought I made that clear in my original post. Where exactly do you get me saying that I don't like learning second languages? I even mentioned that one day I would like to learn some new languages. The problem is FORCING people to learn a language they will most likely never use. Just because it "helps the brain" doesn't mean it should be a requirement in school. It should be up to them. Going to college helps develop the brain too. Should it be required that high school graduates go to college too?

    What about the foreign immigrants who come to the US to live here? Should we make it a requirement that they need to learn English in order to live here? No? Why?

    So tell me. Besides it making me "super smart" what would I do with the new language I just learned? I can't talk to my family or friends in that language. I don't see myself going to the country where the language originated from. I don't associate with anyone who uses that language. So what do I do with it? I was required to take this language class where if I didn't pass it I would have failed my grade and now I have no use for it. Well, at least it helped my brain.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Felya View Post
    Music... but, it’s pretty much learning a different language. Like I said earlier in the thread, if you want to train your brain to see different ways to accomplish the same goal, there is nothing better than learning new languages. For what should be obvious reasons...
    Ok, cool, music. So should music classes be a required class in school then? Again, I'm not against learning new things like languages or in this case music but why should it be required in school?
    - "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black" - Jo Bodin, BLM supporter
    - "I got hairy legs that turn blonde in the sun. The kids used to come up and reach in the pool & rub my leg down so it was straight & watch the hair come back up again. So I learned about roaches, I learned about kids jumping on my lap, and I love kids jumping on my lap...” - Pedo Joe

  5. #85
    Here's a better idea

    Everyone learns and speaks English.
    You can still learn your native language for cultural reasons. But English has won the language war and sooner or later it will become the universal language of mankind.
    Having language barriers in 2020 is so dumb when we can all switch to a universal language.

  6. #86
    I would much rather they require classes that deal in art, music, and shop classes. Highschool was a nightmare and band got me through alot of hard times. Unfortunately when there are budget issues in many schools the first things that get effected are the 3 types of classes I listed. Not all kids get into sports. They deserve classes that will offer them a way to express themselves.
    Kom graun, oso na graun op. Kom folau, oso na gyon op.

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  7. #87
    Quote Originally Posted by Wilfire View Post
    Here's a better idea

    Everyone learns and speaks English.
    You can still learn your native language for cultural reasons. But English has won the language war and sooner or later it will become the universal language of mankind.
    Having language barriers in 2020 is so dumb when we can all switch to a universal language.
    Every age has a lingua franca. Today it is English. Yesterday it was Spanish, French, Arabic, Latin, Greek. Tomorrow it could be Mandarin, Portuguese, or any other language. English is not going to become the "universal language" any more than Greek or French did.

  8. #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grubenwolf View Post
    Ok, cool, music. So should music classes be a required class in school then? Again, I'm not against learning new things like languages or in this case music but why should it be required in school?
    Idealy they should do both. In Sweden music (and visual art) are things every student has until at least 9th grade. Is most music very complicated? No, mostly just singing but that does include quite complicated stuff, with instruments and such getting introduced along the way.
    - Lars

  9. #89
    Some are really are comfortable in their little bubble...what's dumb is insisting "your" language be learned. The one that bothered to learned "your" language is likely smarter since "you" can't communicate with others because "it's too hard to learn his/her language to begin with.

    Certain geographical regions have a language that definitely seems to dominate. For those that want to explore the path less traveled I'd do my homework. I have to wonder if the complaints against being smarter is because some are just intimidated.

  10. #90
    Pit Lord smityx's Avatar
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    To future proof yourself you should learn Spanish and Mandarin

  11. #91
    In my country they are, I had English and Russian in elementary school, then when social-communism ended Russian was gone. Then in high-school I had English, frew( could have chosen German) and Latin. All were obligatory.

  12. #92
    Quote Originally Posted by Kaleredar View Post
    At my high school it was a requirement to take a foreign language; I believe it was at least one year.

    Many colleges, like the UC system which includes many of the top colleges in the world (Berkeley, UCLA, UCSF, UCSD,) require multiple years of a foreign language to even apply.
    My school required 4 credits which was essentially 4 years of foreign language. Took 2 years of Spanish and 2 years of French. 8th grade I took German.

  13. #93
    in austria you start english lessons at around age 8-9. you will have english classes until you graduate. some schools even require learning a third language.

  14. #94
    Ich magt eine dönerkebab bitte

  15. #95
    Maybe for a bit, just to get students exposed to foreign languages, learning the absolute basics and whatnot, but if they don't get a spark to learn more just let them be. Speaking as someone who had Swedish jammed down my throat for 8 years + compulsory courses at university and didn't learn a goddamn thing after basics. You mother tongue + lingua franca caters to your linguistic needs, anything else is extra.
    Now you see it. Now you don't.

  16. #96
    I agree. I'm in California and I was required to take three years of foreign language to graduate high school.

  17. #97
    As someone who has been learning 4 different foreign languages at school (including English), I believe anything besides English is a complete waste of time if you don't have any specific plans with that language. I spent 8 years learning French. The last time I used French was during my last French lesson, ~10 years ago. Obviously, I cannot understand or speak French, since I haven't been using it. Plus, even at my best, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to use French at work (not like any of my jobs ever cared at all about language skills).
    The only way learning languages is not a waste of time is when you have a legitimate use case for the language (like most of non-native English speakers with English). Otherwise, unless you're very determined, you're never going to learn it properly, and then, when you inevitably stop learning it, you'll forget everything after a few years.

  18. #98
    Void Lord Elegiac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Noctiphobia View Post
    As someone who has been learning 4 different foreign languages at school (including English), I believe anything besides English is a complete waste of time if you don't have any specific plans with that language. I spent 8 years learning French. The last time I used French was during my last French lesson, ~10 years ago. Obviously, I cannot understand or speak French, since I haven't been using it. Plus, even at my best, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to use French at work (not like any of my jobs ever cared at all about language skills).
    Can you imagine that not keeping in practice with a skill might mean it atrophies over time. Shocking, I tell you.

    This is an argument for adjusting the format of language classes for better education and retention, not an argument against language classes especially given nearly a fifth of the US is Hispanophone.
    Quote Originally Posted by Marjane Satrapi
    The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.

  19. #99
    Quote Originally Posted by Elegiac View Post
    Can you imagine that not keeping in practice with a skill might mean it atrophies over time. Shocking, I tell you.

    This is an argument for adjusting the format of language classes for better education and retention, not an argument against language classes especially given nearly a fifth of the US is Hispanophone.
    That's the thing, regardless of how well they teach you a second language, if you're not going to use it anywhere (and you won't, unless you have a specific use case for it), then you're going to forget it. I still haven't found a single use case for my French and German that doesn't involve me going out of my way to use it.
    Last edited by Noctiphobia; 2020-10-25 at 10:02 PM.

  20. #100
    That's a big difference between me and some others...
    I have gone well out of my way to retain info and skills that I learned years earlier, and for no reason other than I never can know what may be in the future.
    What may be okay for others, I just have to keep my mind, body, and soul fit.

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