Uh, gee, maybe it's because learning another language is just a good idea in today's world. Maybe, just maybe it remotely has something to do with the fact that business is so global now. And don't you suppose it's better to have a broad education than a narrow one?

I strongly agree with you that we should do nothing to compromise our political sovereignty, but that's not what learning a foreign language is about. It's about economics and understanding other cultures.

I must say I'm negatively impressed by the writer's comments. I mean, why would you prefer not to be bilingual or even trilingual or better? Why would you actually make it a point to remain uneducated and limited in knowledge and your ability to relate to others? Or maybe the best way to put it is: Why would you make it a point not to learn something? Unbelievable.

you think we arent divided already? distrust...lol! we all hate it when people talk behind our backs but when its in another language...people can talk about you right in front of you and you wouldnt know what they said...if i had to learn 3 languages...i would learn spanish, arabic and pharci...do i have a suspicious mind? sure. will you still see me trying out my salsa moves at Rumba Latina? definetly.

I am curious what country Mr. Millar is from. It's a pity he doesn't tell us, because that might explain his attitude.

I agree with you, Paul. Nobody is asking anyone to give up English. Our public school system is federally required to get non-English speaking children into mainstream English classes as quickly as possible. No Child Left Behind effectively does away with any bilingual education for immigrants. Immersion programs seek to compliment children's native language with a second, but NO child can graduate from and American high school without English. This is not going to change; I guarantee it.

Anyone who does not speak a second language is in a very small minority of the world's population, and, in my opinion, lazy, unfortunate, and limited in his weltanschauung.

Bilingualism = "communistic"?

Tell that to the Swiss.

W speaks Spanish. Does that mean he's part of the global communist plot? What about the late John Paul II? He spoke many, many different languages. Is the Catholic Church just a front for the communists? Maybe that's why the cardinals wear red!

I think it is cool that kids be taught a foreign language at an early age. After all, that is when it is easiest to learn. I tried to learn Spanish in high school and college and found it to be increasingly frustrating as I progressed.

Do I think it should be mandatory? No. But I have no problem with a voluntary immersion program.

I agree with this reader. My state, California, banned bilingual education several years ago...and it's working. The children of immigrants whose parents speak no English are fluent in English and have a much better chance to find jobs not picking strawberries, etc. Also, a friend married a woman from Mongolia last year. She and her 8 year old son moved here. The son spoke no English. With an English only school program, he has quickly learned our language. Please don't handicap these children by teaching them in their native languages.

Tony: I don't think the writer is addressing bilingual education for children who don't speak English. Rather he seems to oppose offering voluntary foreign language programs to children who speak English.

Seems to me that the responses to the original letter are confusing the question of the impact of multilingualism with the educational pursuits of a languag. If the purpose is to allow immigrants from any country to come to this country and continue their culture and ignore ours, then I question "immersion." If immersion is simply an opportunity for students to learn another language, shouldn't they be give the option of which language to learn?

History has proven that the erosion of the basic language of a nation is an early step to the demise of that country. To me, it all depends on the purpose of this immersion...culture maintenance or educational pursuits.

Mr. Millar's comments about the Spanish Immersion program is a fine example of the arrogance that makes Americans so unpopular throughout the world. My friend is housing a German exchange student who speaks perfect English. Why? Because it is a required subject for German students so that they can function in countries that don't speak their language. What makes us any different? Being bilingual enhances one's understanding of other cultures and, in our global enconomy, increases employment opportunities. It seems that Mr. Millar is the one who needs to wake up.

I wish I had learned a second language. Maybe if I spoke hick I could better understand our friends from Kernersville.

Senior Millar, eres uno culo grande!

Confused:

No one is confusing anything. What sort of immersion program do you think Mr. Millar is complaining about? If it were Spanish classes for native Spanish speaking immigrants, I can't imagine such a program would be called "immersion".

Mr. Millar isn't complaining about some hypothetical universal forced-Spanish program. He's talking about an existing elective immersion program, although he's couched it in doomsday language like "social engineering".

Immersion programs are those that teach subject-area classes in a second, complimentary language -- one that is not the students' native language.

These classes are elective. Parents can choose not to send their kids there. However, thankfully, many do; in fact, there are more applicants than enrollees in most such programs.

The only required foreign language in the US is in high school, at an age when learning a foreign language has become a much more difficult task. In addition, it is at an age when students can elect to drop out of high school.

We do indeed live in a world that is becoming more and more international. Business owners who have multilingual staff can do business in other countries. How "communistic" is that?

Larry, my mistake. I took French as Grimsley HS...not that I remember much of it. I took German at Eastern Kentucky Univesity..and I remember less of that. I'm not a communist, however, I am currently taking another German course. What's the big deal?

Yo creo que es mejor cuando los ninos pueden hablar en dos lenguas. Cuando se habla dos lenguas, es mas facil hallar trabajo que paga mas dinero...quisas.

Great job, nick, of stating the obvious. I was addressing the nature of the letter. When did I mention communistic?

Cathey: "Mr. Millar's comments about the Spanish Immersion program is a fine example of the arrogance that makes Americans so unpopular throughout the world. My friend is housing a German exchange student who speaks perfect English. Why?"

Why Cathey is because Europe is a much smaller continent with a mix of languages, not like the US, so there is more of a need to learn other languages.

English is also the dominant language of business in the West, so Germans & others know they must learn English. It has nothing to do with our arrogance.

Not to say I don't encourage learning other languages, I speak fluent French and can understand/speak Spanish enough to get by. A bientot.

its not like the program is disabaling and handicaping immigrant children if these readers had done any research they would have found that in the elementry school there are no immigrants in the spanish classes. in my spanish immersion class there was one person who was adopted from guatamala when she was 3 months old. she learned english and her mother wanted her to learn her native language is that a crime???????? i dont think so. also in middle school when we had new students come in who spoke english they were not entered into the program they had to go to a special english class. the only problem was nobody could communicate with them so the unfortunate nation splitting spanish immersion kids had to help tell them were to go i know its terrible what has the world come to????????