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Path: utzoo!watmath!watdcsu!herbie
From: herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong, Computing Services)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Teaching children to be bilingual
Message-ID: <568@watdcsu.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 28-Oct-84 14:46:23 EST
Article-I.D.: watdcsu.568
Posted: Sun Oct 28 14:46:23 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Oct-84 02:16:02 EST
References: <1505@ucla-cs.UUCP>, <7100006@iuvax.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 23

Some schools in Canada offer the option of learning in either official
language.  In Calgary, where my little brother goes to school, he had the
choice of going to a school that was French-only.  My parents decided 
against it (though I can't imagine why).  I know that I only spoke
Cantonese until I started Grade 1, but I picked up English quickly.
A third language is easier in high school than a second, so I had no real
problem picking up enough French to get by.  It's been years since I've had
to use it, so I can ony read enough to get by, but I think with a few
months in Quebec, I could be fluent.  Is it my imagination, or is in only
in English speaking countries where they don't bother to teach any other
language throughout the education system?  My impression of Europe is that
at least 80% of the people there can make themselves understood in English,
whereas most who call English their mother-tongue couldn't do the same in
any other language if their life depended upon it.

Herb...

I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble....

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