<p>He is both rich and not exactly well-composed in the mind. Actually, if English was taught as foreign languages in HS are taught, we would be superb writers, given the constant emphasis on grammar and rote memorization.</p>
<p>I always laugh when I see a ninth grader say, "We are reading Hamlet in class today, but of course I am in honors English. I reply, "Do you know what a prepostition is"? Student replies, "Whats that"?</p>
<pre><code> HA HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! :) Who needs that "grammer" anyway? ;) HA HAH HAHAHAHAH!
</code></pre>
<p>But HONESTLY...why know what a preposition is...know how to USE THEM...it's a shame though we learned about prepositions in spanish before in english....</p>
<p>Seriously? Thats horrible! I agree though that one must know the function of the preposition rather than the definition. By the way, that is a true story. Of course, we do not want to say "Wheres that at?" ;)</p>
<p>its called america
LOL
their method is "english or get out of the country"</p>
<p>Justinian,</p>
<p>Native speakers rarely have a technical understanding of their language. I see the same thing in my Japanese students as well.</p>
<p>"Okay class, today we're learning about the past perfect."
"The what?"
"The past perfect."
"The what?"
"Sigh..."</p>
<p>I don't think that it's a US only thing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
its called america
LOL
their method is "english or get out of the country"
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Name me a country that prints DMV paperwork in more languages than the US. </p>
<p>Seriously.</p>
<p>I know, however I find that it is necessary to drill in these young minds proper english. When one speaks properly, greater respect is received. There is no excuse that a high schooler learns what a prepostition is in a foreign language class in HIGH SCHOOL! Perhaps elementary students should learn the principles of grammar before meandering into the art of creative assignments about ones feelings. </p>
<p>You teach Japanese pupils English, eh? I have heard that the Japanese pay Americans generously for the instruction of english, $40,000 a year if I am not mistaken. Correct?</p>
<p>why do you assume im rich? and does being rich have to do with speaking proper english...ever heard of immigrants?</p>
<p>Justinian,</p>
<p>It seems to me that most natives rarely, if ever, learn about the technicalities because the language learning process is more organic than that. However, I do agree that some technical education should be required (my schools all stressed them.)</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I actually see no problem with learning about the grammar of your own language through foreign languages. Through comparison and contrast, one can truly understand the intricacies of their own language.</p>
<p>I wish I was making $40K a year... Still, with my income and zero rent, I guess I can say I do well.</p>
<p>Not knowing prepositions as a 9th grader? His elementary school teachers should be shot, or he should be held back till he learns some basics of English. </p>
<p>Oh please "learn english or get out." Yea--So many companies and services are bilingual, trilingual etc in the US. Let's take for example the Healthy Families medicaid program in California. They offer assistance in several languages. Triple AAA offers services in different languages. As previously mentioned, so does the DMV. </p>
<p>If it's learn English or get out, what about the Little Tokyos, China Towns, etc. We're not going to kick out whole sections of cities now are we?</p>
<p>Anyway, back on topic. Four years of English are a requirement because I'm going to need a job in the future! (I'm going to be an English teacher) If four years of English aren't required then I won't be needed as much and my ego won't allow that!</p>
<p>In the end, speaking coherently is the most important. A decent sized vocabulary is important also. I don't mind reading a thesarus or anything of that sort but I'd pull my hair out if I had to listen to someone repeat the same words over and over.</p>
<p>And now, time for my rant! All of the above was just my wisdom. ;)I have people in my AP Literature/AP Language class that struggle with basic grammar and don't seem to be able to hit spellcheck. That just really irks me.</p>
<p>Methinks that's about it.</p>
<p>One thing that bothers me:
When people say "was" instead of "were" when using a conditional-if phrase such as "If you were at home, what would you be doing?"</p>
<p>If you have "if" and "would" in the same sentence, you say "were" and not "was". Sorry, I had to address that.</p>
<p>I always thought the 4 years of English requirement was a federal thing (along the same lines of the President's Fitness Council for gym), but I probably made that up.
Anyways, I think that high school courses should focus more heavily on writing composition and grammar than literature. Shakespeare gives you a good foundation for later literature, but who cares? Analyzing fiction isn't really a necessary occupational skill, certainly not on the level of writing competently.</p>
<p>heybucs,</p>
<p>You'd be amazed how much being able to go through the convoluted and oftentimes difficult writings of Shakespeare and other well-known laureates can actually help you with reading and writing more occupational things. </p>
<p>You know guys, in this case, I think the adults have made a good decision.</p>
<p>Why do so many freshman college students have to take remedial grammar and composition? This fact lay upon the knowledge that children are not taught proper english in grade school. Many entering freshman can hardly develop a thesis sentence or write a five paragraph essay. It is quite sad.
Analyzing Shakespeare or Austen is fine and good, but a mastery of grammar and compostion is nearly essential to daily life in the work place.</p>
<pre><code> And yes, runningcircle, I hate it when people say,"If I was you, I would go to the park." It sounds like a nail scraping against a chalkboard. The Subjunctive mood is vital, indeed.
</code></pre>
<p>...because English is the best subject in the world!</p>
<p>The reason is simple. The skills learned (or at least what should be learned) in English are by far the most applicable compared to everything else. However, I agree with what some of you have said about how the focus should be put on writing and grammer, not literature. Although literature is important (as is comprehending it, and everything else learned in high school), learning how the in and outs of the language itself and being capable of writing well is FAR, FAR more important (in my opinion). </p>
<p>I do realize that many high school students have no idea what a preposition is or even the different between a subject and an object even--and that's just the basics! They also don't know different tenses, punction, structure, etc, etc... and when they use it, they do it incorrectly. Now, I'm not saying everyone is horrible at the English language, but many people are (I'm not so great myself, but that's why I'm an english/psych major). It's actually pathetic that, even when taught English all 4 yers in high school (and it's even taught before that as well), we still don't know anything--and we need to. </p>
<p>In college. writing (and I've only taken english 1 and 2 so far) is soooo important. Honestly, way above half of my grade has been based solely on my writing skills. If you can't write (and read and comprehend) you are screwed in college. This isn't based on just my school either, many of my friends agree. It's not much different in the real world either though. For many professional level jobs, grasping the English language is important. We need to be able to read, write, and speak well, or else, as someone mentioned, we just look like rednecks.</p>
<p>Seriously, English is so important and if you say otherwise you are just flat-out stupid. Math, science, history, etc are all important, but in each of these you must be able to read and write, don't you? So, even in non-English subjects you need to use English. In life in general you speak using the skills learned in English.</p>
<p>It's an undeniable fact that English is the most important subject for high school students, period.</p>
<p>If you want to challenge me, go for it, but I don't think you can win. They don't just teach you English all 4 years for the hell of it, there is a reason. The reason is simple, because it's essential. Yet, 4 years still doesn't even seem enough.</p>
<p>( sort of a different topic but whatever) Do you think that improving ones ability in foreign language writing, for example essays in spanish etc, can help one improve ones writing abilities in english?</p>
<p>I'm asking because for example this year in spanish I've had to write tons of essays, pretty hard stuff, and I feel that extra writing has helped me in other classes such as english.</p>
<p>^DEFINITELY! It's helped me a lot!</p>