It’s almost 2014 and some people have to deal with this everyday

But one can better convey complex thoughts in Spanish due to something called the subjunctive, which English doesn't have. True, most places you'll go will have English speakers, but that doesn't mean you should never learn another language. That is just plain ignorance.

If I could teach my kids (when I eventually have them) another language I would. Even if it isn't relevant in the country I'm living in it helps in other ways, and Spanish is one of the most common languages in the world, after Chinese and English; it would be helpful when travelling overseas.

baughman, i didnt say we never should learn other languages. But as a child you have a lot of stuff to learn that is way more important.. Like learn math, play, and stuff like this. Its not easy to learn other languages, that would be to much stress if you want to learn your kids other languages and other stuff in the same age.. I mean thefuck? They just kids.. Not learnrobots. They should can play and mind their own stuff, not sit indoor and get headache because learning.

I have family friends who taught their kids 2 languages, they learnt exactly the same way as they would one language. And it took them the same amount of time, they still did normal kid things

learning spanish is a great thing to do, wether just to have the ability or if you need it for business. some of the richest people in the world are from mexico or other latin countrys

by the way i'm from german. As a child we learned france, but i dont know any word anymore. I now learn japanese and improve my english. So yeah.. We should learn other language, but not should get forced.
@micky 2 languages (mother+another) are okay. What i mean is more languages (not only 2) - like mother language + english + spain + japanese and other settings..thats too much at the same time for a child

I never said we should force kids to learn another language. I'm learning spanish on my own, and I love it. And if it's taught like a regular subject in school, as it started out for me, it wasn't too much at all.

Cystasy, spanish isn't spoken just in Spain, spanish is the mother language of a lot of amazing countries. It's ok if you are not interested in learn Spanish but think about all the beautiful poetry that you'd be missing... if I could I'd learn all the languages in the world, unfortunately life isn't long enough for that.
I'm a fluent spanish speaker and I'm improving my English just like you, so please don't be racist about languages and don't minimise, not only Spanish but another languages just because you think they are "not so important", every language is beautiful and important even if they're not the most spoken.
Oh... And I almost forgot to tell you that you can make a lot of things with spanish... Like I said, there are thousands of great poets from Spain and Latin America, and a lot of horror stories in Mexico (those lose a bit of the horror if they get translated)... So yeah... Spanish is used in many other ways than just business.

Sry for my horrible english, i cant say what i rly want , my english is to bad.. It must sound crazy for anyone that speak good english x_x i'm out - my english is to bad to write with you guys about that topic :(..

Spanish is the number 4 most spoken language in the world, only "beaten" by Madarin, Spanish and Hindustani. Spanish is spoken in Spain, Mexico, Guatamala, Honduras, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Argentina, Panamá and even more languages. Yes, English is GREAT to know, because you can come very far with it. But not say that you never need spanish. You can learn more than one language, you know? And why dont children go to spanish-speaking countries? My first time in Spain was when I was 3. The more languages you know, the easier it is to learn more.

Something that I learned from my early childhood education studies is that it is not harmful for children to learn multiple languages. It's actually very good for them.

@norwegiangirl, I felt sad when you mentioned all those Spanish-speaking countries, and didn't see mine! Damn my country...
Anyways, back to the topic, I have two cousins who were adopted, but my aunt never taught them how to speak Spanish, albeit those two were adopted from Spanish-speaking countries. Only the youngest knows a little bit, but that's because my grandma lives with them, and she doesn't speak English at all. My mom says how my aunt make a horrible decision by not teaching them Spanish. In now-a-days world kind of environment, employers are looking for people who can talk more than one language because at the end, it will cost less to the company. I mean, if you can have one person that speaks 2-3 languages fluently, why bother hiring those other 2-3 to do the job just one person can do?
Sorry if I can't express what I'm trying to say better, since English is not my first language, heck, not even my second, it's a little bit harder since I get some stuff mixed up.

you know how hard it is to learn a language rly good? Its not easy as it sounds. If you learn just 1-2 languages , its easier for you to learn the languages. if you learn more languages its harder and you cant speak the languages good.. so i dont think its a good idea to learn as much languages as posible.

Well. You can't speak the languages well.

No, actually it is good. I'm not saying it is easy, you just have to have some interest.

you forget that we talk about childs. should they learn the whole day? they should have time to do stuff that they want, have fun.. play outside, go to the playground, play with friends and stuff.. not just learn - the have to learn for school much enought i think - you dont think too? the brain of a child its not made for that stuff (learn a lots of stuff in a short time period)

Actually, the brain is a sponge at that age. The best time to learn anything, including a language, is during childhood.

yeah, maybe - but not 3 or more languages in my opinion

In my school (Im 15) I have greek french dutch english german and latin

Cystasy, you're assuming that all learning occurs in a traditional setting. It is very good for children to learn multiple languages naturally. They learn just through exposure, interaction, and play. It's not confusing to them, and they aren't drilling lessons in a classroom.

THANK you. So tired of cystasy passing of his/her own ignorance as fact.

I sympathize for cystasy. He/she is from Germany, and we have a German exchange student at my school right now. He said he speaks several languages, but English and Spanish were the most difficult to go to from German, because the setup is so different. He had a lot of trouble and it really frustrated him. The best thing to do is follow ricepudding's advice.

But the fact that learning another language is difficult it doesn't mean it's impossible or useless.

It's also not actually difficult for young children because their brains are primed for language learning.

I dont think anybody was every saying "force the child to learn a dozen different languages and spend all day every day teaching it so they have zero time for other subjects or to play or anything" All anybody ever said was that its a great idea to learn a 2nd language. When you are young, its actually MUCH MUCH easier to learn a 2nd language than to go back and try to learn one 30 years later. Their brains are still developing and they don't have all kinds of preconceived notions of how things are "supposed" to work. And yes, if you never use it there is a good chance you'll end up forgetting a lot of it. The same can be said of almost anything. However, if you start back into it, you'll be able to relearn it much quicker than somebody learning it for the first time

In my country, we are encouraged to learn English since early, because employers look for bilinguals and most of our businesses come from the USA. Also since we are bi-cultural (latino culture + new and surprising american culture), we HAVE to learn English or 3+ languages since it makes understanding media content easier, also we have the tourism industry which requires learning multiple languages.