Do we need this language law?
- Thread starter Machjo
- Start date
That shows how much you know.
What do you figure, totalitarianism has to look like North Korea?
Here educate yourself:
link
There's a difference between maths and a second language. Maths is reinforced outside the classroom. You use it at the shop counting change, calculating taxes, making an investment, building a fence for your backyard (measuring lengths, etc.), etc.
And owing to the environment, even a little is better than none (if all you can do is add and subract, you can already buy food at the market). But with languge, it's different. Many people never use it again outside the classroom. And to know a little can simply lead to overconfidence and so misunderstandings. In China, I'd witnessed enough businessmen running into contract and legal problems caused by bad English. In such cases, none would have been better than a little because it would not have lead to overconfidence in the language and force people to professional translators.
Another point to make is that the law proposed above would not ban students to choose to learn a second language; it wold merely stop schools from forcing students to learn it unless they can guarantee a reasonable rate of success.
The discussion about a second language.
I have a very important question for you:
When you are writing in French or speaking French, are you thinking in English and then translating, because if you are you are not bilingual, you are just pretending to be.
My advice to you, leave it alone for you shall never win.
scratch
I have a very important question for you:
When you are writing in French or speaking French, are you thinking in English and then translating, because if you are you are not bilingual, you are just pretending to be.
My advice to you, leave it alone for you shall never win.
scratch
I see what you're describing as the problem I just have this resentment about not being emersed in french forty-five years ago. Machjo what is the advantage to be gained by not forceing the language instruction?
Hey scratch my sister learned enough french to have three bilingual kids with a french Canadian.
I'm sure your right actually. People seem to think laws make them safer, protect them or something... I'm not sure why they think that but their fears play right into the hands of the power elite IMO.
Welcome to Canada, Risus. Where have you been all these decades?
English has been compulsory across Quebec for a number of decades already.
I don't know who you're referring to, but if it's me, it's hard to answer that question simply.
If I'm just chatting, I'll be thinking in the language. But if I'm writing a formal letter, I'll be analysing the grammar and checking on the spelling much more carefully. But since I do this in any language, would this suggest that I don't know a single language fluently?
I'd just say that I'm less conscious if I'm chatting, but more careful on formal occasions. Same for French and English.
That's one of the greatest benefits of learning a second language. But this benefit comes only if you learn the second language well.
To just be able to introduce yourself and maybe buy some fruits doesn't count as bilingualism, and certainly not biculturalism.
Well that clears thing up a bit. In that case, why even bother with polite? They'll never be satisfied anyhow. Schools teach "lawyer French". Local slangs and dialects vary from one family, field and village to the next everywhere. Losing the language? It's already long gone
Ergo lone,
The reason why the laws in Quebec to protect the language are so strict and untouchable.
scratch
Well, the idea I'm proposing wouldn't ban schools from making a second language compulsory, but would make it a precondition that the school prove that it can guarantee a decent rate of success before it be allowed to do so. Right now, the vast majority of students are failing to learn their second language.
For example, once a school realizes that it can't guarantee that most of its students will succeed in French, it would find itself forced into one of three options:
1. Just leave it up to the students to decide whether or not to learn a second language.
2. offer easier language options. For example, is sign language easier? I don't know, but if so, mabe that could be an option. What languages do students learn at home? maybe the school could promote more teacher-parent collaboration in achieving bilingualism by exploiting the family or local environment. Etc. I'm sure there are plenty of ideas, but while French might be too difficult for a student, maybe the school could guarantee success in some other language, and so compel students to learn that language.
3. Spend more money. Just provide more funding to ensure that students will succeed in English.
Any of these three options would be an improvment over forcing students to learn French wihtout being able to guarantee a reasonable rate of success. After all, what's the use of learning a language just to fail to learn it?