Mexico notebook: Obama on bilingualism

ZACATECAS, Mexico -- "Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English -- they'll learn English -- you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual."

 

After reading Barack Obama's above response to a discussion about "English-only" legislation, my traveling companion said his view of the presidential candidate "just went up."

 

I'm guessing impressions of Obama went up for people all over the world.

 

What Obama said merely points out the obvious in the eyes of many outside of the United States. He said: "We should have every child speaking more than one language."

 

It's certainly already done in Europe. This week, walking down a colonial street in Zacatecas, Mexico, a German we encountered explained his smattering of Spanish by saying he'd just started learning in November, and delivered his apology in as perfect English as one might hear on BBC news.

 

"You know, it's embarrassing when Europeans come over here. They all speak English. They speak French. They speak German. And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is 'merci beaucoup.' Right?"

Yes, Sen. Obama, that is right. It is common for Europeans to speak several languages. My family moved to Germany when I was in the eighth grade. While I'd had a smattering of Spanish by then in kindergarten (in New Mexico) and fifth grade (in Mississippi), I knew no German, and took classes to come up to speed. But the neighborhood German kids all spoke English -- and at least one other language besides. They'd had a chance to select what they wanted to learn in elementary school.

 

When our own firstborn started elementary school in the mid-80s, I actually thought Albuquerque Public Schools was going to teach him Spanish because we knew a couple whose son of the same age had just such a curriculum at a school in Albuquerque. To our dismay, that school was the exception.

 

It wasn't so far-fetched to think it would be taught. Bilingual education is guaranteed (after a fashion) as part of the New Mexico Constitution, although I believe the point of that was to allow Spanish speaking in the schools during New Mexico's Territorial days, not to educate English-speaking Americans.

 

Elementary school is the ideal time to teach children other languages, and those who are bilingual or multilingual have a distinct advantage, especially is this global economy.

 

In an attempt to make up for the lack of having Spanish classes at an early age, our second child is now enrolled in a six-week class at a Mexican university, learning Spanish. The University of New Mexico offers six Mexican universities from which to choose as a place of summer Spanish study. Only about 20 took advantage of the program this summer, out of more than 20,000 students at UNM.

 

Barack Obama has the right idea. It is not liberal or radical. It is common sense. And New Mexico should not wait for the United States to take the lead. New Mexico should equip its students with a bilingual education from an early age, not only for economic reasons, but to encourage simple understanding and cooperation. It's time we caught up with the rest of the world.

 

The Mexicans have a joke:

 

What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual.

What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual.

What do you call a person who speaks one language? Gringo.

 

Obviously, the joke is on us.

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