Positives of a new language
By Alyssa Christianson

The United States is a diverse community. We can see this right down into our own towns. There are people of numerous ethnicities and races all around us and as immigration increases, they bring their cultures with them.

Many immigrants enter this country knowing very little English and are pressured to learn the language in order to assimilate. According to the 2000 Census, there are 311 different languages spoken throughout the United States.

With all of this diversity and these different languages, it's becoming imperative that Americans speak at least two languages including English.

This is not to say that English should not be the national language of the United States. English has been the main language spoken here since America's founding and many people don't see that changing very soon.

But all the same, in order to survive in this growing, multinational community, one must know or at least be used to different languages.

Currently the Census tells us one out of every five people in the U.S. knows more than one language, including English. That's over 60 million people in our population of around 300 million.

I believe that although this is a relatively high number, more people need to try to learn a second language.

High schools throughout the country teach second languages, the most common being Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Italian. Of course, they also offer classical languages such as Latin and Greek.

I, myself, took Latin throughout my high school years, completing an advanced placement (AP) course last year as a junior, but I have also taken Spanish, Italian and French.

Although I am only fluent in English and a dead language, which no one speaks anymore, I believe my experience with Spanish, Italian and French will benefit me throughout my life.

Many businesses are now looking for multilingual translators and businesspeople to work for them as their industry extends overseas. Most of these businesses are moving to the Middle East and China, which is making the demand for Arabic, Indian and Chinese classes high.

Many suburban and city schools are now beginning to teach Chinese to students from a very young age so that they learn it along with English. Chinese is expected to become one of the most popular languages in the world due to the high amount of trade being done with China.

Learning a second language at a young age makes it easier for a student to become fluent. The young mind is easy to imprint and children can absorb much more material when they are young.

At the same time, this does not mean that you cannot learn a language when you are older. I know several people who became fluent in a language after as an adult.

Any time is a good time to learn and there are multiple ways to start. Computer programs and online courses are available and easy to learn from. Almost, many colleges offer language courses to the public.

One of the key factors to learning a language is immersion. Most modern-style classes will immerse the student in a language, teaching him or her the same you learn English.

This style uses images and speech rather than direct connections between English and other languages.

Besides the obvious benefits of learning another language, the process also promotes mind stimulation. The memorization skills involved with learning languages helps to exercise the brain.

Knowing a second language or even just knowing a few words and phrases can benefit almost anyone. From travel to business, the uses of a second language are innumerable.

Multilingualism will bring the world closer together. Once we can communicate, we can begin to work together.