Obama says it's OK to ask immigrants to learn English

[BigmanPigman]

5. Teachers in CA were required to have ESL training to get a job

as a teacher in the regular classroom. I learned a lot about language acquisition and how languages transfer in the brain, etc. We were taught in the 1990s that we should encourage students to use their home language. Learning a new language is easier when you already have a "home language". I taught elementary school and my first graders often would be able to translate for their parents during conferences. Other students who also speak their home language are thrilled to help out new language learners. I think adults fear language acquisition more than younger people.

One thing I learned was why it is so hard for adults to learn a new language is the human brain. I have taken years of German and have had classes in Italian and Spanish and can hardly read a menu. The part of the brain that learns language is large when you are an infant but when a person gets older it shrinks. Once you hit adulthood it's really difficult since this part of the brain has shrunk dramatically. Most adults really must be immersed in a language with no English at all and for a long period of time to learn it well.