| I am learning Mandarin from a woman from China. We are about the same age (30's) and I would 'refine' her English skills (already pretty good) as she refined my Mandarin (unfortunate at best).
In the states, there is not as much emphasis on learning other languages as there used to be. I think this is an unfortunate product of the recent (20 years or so) push against "illegal" aliens (perticulalrly Spanish-speaking). It's very sad that we do not embrace the opportunities we get to learn more and instead push to have people "un-learn" their native languages in favour of English. English is, I am told, very hard for people to learn. There are all kinds of gramatical rules and exceptions to these rules. In learning Mandarin, I am impressed by the consistency and how things fit together to create meaning. It's beautiful. I don't think that the regional and traditional languages should be lost, though- there's too much that goes when a language goes. |
Is English Skill That Important