Comments on: When Do Immigrants Learn English? Likely, not when you think.

By: hoary puccoon

hoary puccoon — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:31:43 +0000

I’m and American, but my husband and I have had a second home in France since 1996. I had French in my American high school and college and I’ve worked very hard to perfect my French. I’ve been complimented many times on what beautiful French I speak– by some French people. Others hear my accent (which I’ve tried and failed to get rid of) and just turn off anything I say. Still others, usually with strong regional accents themselves, really can’t get what I’m saying. Then there are times when I’m completely baffled by some idiom I’ve never heard before. (And I read French magazines specifically looking for trendy idioms.)

Every time I hear an American say, why don’t “they” learn English, I want to say, Why don’t *you* go to another country and try learning *their* language? If you arrive as an adult, it simply isn’t that easy, no matter how hard you work at it.

By: rocket french

rocket french — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:17:12 +0000

Ola! Scienceblogs,
I take your point Learning English is no different than learning any new language. You do have to immerse yourself in the language, which means being in situations where those around you are speaking the language. You can go to a place where English is spoken most of the time, but you do need instruction in the language. Along with attending classes, there are online English classes you can take for free, which will give you extra instruction and practice. It takes more than just speaking and listening to help you learn English effectively.
All the Best

By: tods outlet

tods outlet — Fri, 27 May 2011 08:07:25 +0000

I’ve seen a lot of Americans in foreign lands who are capable of adapting the language of that particular place they’ve visit.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:59:29 +0000

I am writing an opinion article for my college newspaper on why immigrants should not be forced to speak English. I found this article, along with the comments, to be very enlightening. Thanks!

By: Samantha Vimes

Samantha Vimes — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:15:39 +0000

Well, sometimes you have a professor with an accent and a mumble-y sort of voice, and no one in the class understands more than a word or two.
Well, fortunately that only happened to me in a fencing class, and his demonstrations could be done quite well with very few words distinguishable. I don’t think any of his students would have complained about his speaking limitations. We were in too much awe of his skills.

By: lucas montes valentin

lucas montes valentin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:01:20 +0000

Yes, we have the same USAmerican ghettos here in small towns in Puerto Rico. Came to Rincon, to build a nuclear power plant, and stayed for the surfing and the tropical weather. That was back in the 60s and the vast majority after 40 years can not communicate a thought in Spanish. However, the local community has to cater their language needs, printing ads and signs in English and even a cultural newsletter in spanish has a section in English for them. Nevertheless their kids had assimilated the Puerto Rican culture and c an communicate easily in Spanish, and at home speak english with their parents, so the are truly bilinguals. They should not ask for things that they themselves wont do in the same situation. “If I move to another country I would learn the language” its been said a lot but the facts do not support this. I guess many people think that speaking english and other language will make them less american. Well the world is changing, and the USA will have to change also, wether we like or not. And if all the americans spoke English plus another language, that would be a real improvement, and maybe an end to the “ugly american” reality.

By: Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:46:31 +0000

Hello.

By: Learning Language

Learning Language — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:42:32 +0000

But what about Americans who immigrate to places where English is not the main language? What do they do?

I’ve seen a lot of Americans in foreign lands who are capable of adapting the language of that particular place they’ve visit. Although, most of the people can speak English, despite the fact that it is a universal language, and through this, people of different countries understand each other well.

However, not all people limit themselves in learning English, they also study other language as well especially when they are traveling to various places or migrating to other countries.

It is better to have a knowledge of how to speak other languages than knowing only a single language.

By: learn to speak spanish

learn to speak spanish — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:37:43 +0000

I think we have to learn English only for speaking with others since it is an universally acceptable language.

By: Kevin Sooley

Kevin Sooley — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:48:19 +0000

Un homme qui parle trois langues est trilingue.
Un homme qui parle deux langues est bilingue.
Un homme qui ne parle qu’une langue est anglais