The worst reaction to this subject comes out when I mention the ability of many kids to learn foreign languages. Some people think the kids will forget English if they learn Spanish.
We in the US have always been sheltered from the rest of the world. And have not been taught what we need although that encompasses a lot. We had an exchange student here from Australia and a junior high student asked her if she had taken a bus here. We did not travel as extensively as the Europeans. So there was not as much need to learn and use a foreign language. Now that the world is shrinking, we shall see.
That used to be a common understanding, and some people still believe that. My relatives came here from Sweden. Both of my parents spoke Swedish fluently, and when my grandparents, uncles, or aunts were over, they would speak Swedish to one another, but as soon as one of us kids came into the room, everyone switched to English. The idea was that we were in America, so we should speak American English, and I don't think it was widely known that kids could learn multiple languages at the same time without confusing them. I was taught how to say "thank you" and "you're welcome" in Swedish, but that was it.
My hubby said when he walked into a room, everyone would switch to German so he would not be able to understand what they were saying.
Ken Anderson, I know what "was / is" the idea. The fact is learning a second / third / four ..languages not only doesn't make you to forget your own but each one you learn improves your polyglot' s abilities .
Mary Stetler, I know about the sheltering (I call it manipulation). I have 44 years living in US ...and 26 of them as a teacher of languages. The ignorance about this issue is " fast n furious". Once, a mother told me her daughter would forget English by learning Spanish....to which I said "What if she learns French?" The mother answer was: That' s different, learning French won't affect her English."