An interesting article on language learning recently appeared on the Daily News-Miner website. Some hgihlights from the article include the following:
- Fewer than 18% of Americans report that they they speak a language other than English, complared to 53% of Europeans who report that they speak more than one language.
- The Foreign Service estimates that 600 - 2200 hours of class time are required to learn a language.
- Individuals who speak two or more languages are more productive AND earn more money!
- Studies have shown that students who study a foreign language outperform their counterparts in the classroom and on tests.
About 350 million people in the world speak English as their first language; however, more than 950 million speak Mandarin, 400 million speak Spanish and 300 million speak Hindi. "It may be time for Americans to consider the importance of learning the language and cultures of others as well."
Adapted from "Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language" (March 30, 2014).