Governor Ahnold says immigrants should stick with English TV to learn the language? Do You Agree?

Question

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/15/politics/main2933687.shtml

Honestly, I agree. I'm Hispanic and think it is better if immigrants stick with English and learn the language. I was put in ESL when I was in Junior High and asked to be removed. Thankfully, I made the right decision (as did my mother who helped me) because I became more successful than those who were left in ESL...Communicating properly is one of the keys to success IMHO. What do you guys think?

Answer 1

I agree with the technique. I teach a community adult ESL class and one of the things I assign for homework on a daily basis is radio listening and TV watching. The more you are exposed to it, the better you understand it. That, complimented by an ESL class can help people more than if they stay stuck in their habits and never have to learn. I live in a town that is 99% hispanic here in So Cal and you really don't have to know English to get by. You can live here your entire life and never have to speak a lick of English.. but if you want to step out of this city and survive and be taken seriously in this country, you have to learn the language.

Bravo for Ahnold! ;)

Answer 2

Learning English is the best way to go. And not just learning it but becoming fluent and articulate in English will allow a person to excel ahead of those that don't. This is a fact whether you are born in America or not. In the workplace, a college vocabulary will get you favorable promotion consideration, over an equally skilled colleague with a high school vocabulary.

The tensions rise not in knowing this fact but in actually saying it. Because America is a country that does have a number of racist that use statements like "learn to speak English" as a mask for a more racist statement, then anyone who uses it becomes suspect whether racist or not.

In Europe, and most other developed nations, it is not uncommon for a student child to learn 2, 3, or even 4 languages while growing up. In America, foreign language is not even offered until Jr. High or High school. At which point it is usually too late to easily learn a new language. As a child, word/picture associations make learning a language easy. Adults however don't learn this way. For example, an adult American learning the spanish word for "rice" would have to learn "arroz" = "rice" = "mental picture of rice".
An American child learning a new language would simply have to learn "rice" = "mental picture of rice". Speeding up the process greatly.

So while proper communication is a key to success, tolerance of others is a key to being a good human being.

Answer 3

I agree with it to a certain extent. I don't think that solely watching TV in English is the answer, however. I think if one's studying English and uses it to supplement his/her studies, it's an excellent aid. We all have different methods of learning and for one who's an "audio" learner (learns best by listening), well this would be of a great help. I also believe that if a person chooses not to learn the English language while living in the US, then so be it. We can't impose our language on everyone, can we? I mean, of course, it would make their lives much easier, but who are we to dictate what language they should be speaking? I believe that diversity (in every form) is a large part of the beauty of our country. I'm sure not everyone agrees with me on this, however, but who cares.

I'd also like to add that learning any language in a structured environment (classroom or via educational sources) is the foundation to learning any language. I mean, sure, I could go to Brazil and learn Portuguese by watching Brazilian TV everyday, all day long, but the truth is, will I have learned anything other than mocking the people I hear on TV? And so much of the dialoque is colloquial and not even the "proper" way to learn a language. You could defend TV and say, "Well, how many people on the streets speak 'properly'?". You should always learn the proper language (or the standard) first, and then if you'd like to deviate and speak more informally (as all native speakers of any language do), well, then, that would be your choice.

Answer 4

I also agree. I've realized that it's way better if you listen to a language long enough, you'll start to understand it and learn it more quickly. I have close family who came from overseas and they learned the language quickly because I would speak to them in English.

I'm Arab-American and I was also in ESL in elementary school and I was also removed because I was helped a lot outside of school.
I think the governor made the right decision.

Answer 5

Any one who wants to live in the USA should learn our language. If they don't want to bother learning our language, they should go home and speak the language of their choice. If immigrants over the last few hundred years had not learned English, we would never have become the great nation we are. Or at least the great nation we were before Bush and the great nation we will be after Bush.

Answer 6

Well, I agree that immigrants should learn English for communication, education, legal affairs etc., But it doesn't mean that immigrants must give up their native languages and adopt English as their primary language.

Answer 7

I agree; my German grandparents learned English by immersing themselves in American culture. They believed if they continued to read books in the German language that they would never learn English and thus never prosper in their new home.

I have a former girlfriend from Greece. She speaks fluent English which she says she learned by watching American movies while still in Greece.

Answer 8

I sure do! If you want to come to America, you should learn the English language. When I travel to other countries, I speak their language out of respect.

Answer 9

I agree completely. English is the language of money. I hate to see kids separated from their parents but they need English to get ahead.

Answer 10

Being a former immigrant himself he knows what he is talking about. America has catered to immigrants to the point they don't have to change anything.
Why learn English when you have your own newspapers, magazines, TV, restaurants, and it goes on and on.
There is no longer any need to become American since we allow Spanish speaking immigrants to have there own country within ours.