My parents wanted bilingual children, so my sisters and I were educated in Mexico (though English is our first language). Because I was so old when I learned Spanish, I have a very noticeable accent when I speak (and I speak too slowly for a native). It’s a skill that has helped my professional career quite a bit.
Baby brother didn’t have the benefit of a Mexican education, but he does speak Spanish (though not well). My brother’s Spanish improved by leaps and bounds when he started high school. Not because he took Spanish, but because he interacted with so many other students whose primary language was Spanish. And, in Pasadena, there’s a lot of opportunities to practice.
Like it or not, Spanish is here to stay.
Americans not waiting to learn Spanish
— reported by Yahoo News
[snip]
Across the United States more people are mixing Spanish into conversation, and American parents are fighting to place their kids in bilingual schools.
[snip]
Now 11.5 percent of the U.S. population, or more than 30 million people, speak Spanish at home, U.S. Census data show, and Hispanic immigrants are feeling at home in their adopted country.
[snip]
“We’ve seen an upswing in the number of English-only parents who value giving their child a second language,” principal Robin McCrae said. “There are a number who don’t want their children just to be citizens of a small town, but citizens of the world.”
