Just 20% of U.S. K-12 students will study a foreign language, typically Spanish, and starting around age 15-16. In Europe, 91% of students will study a 2nd language, starting at age 6 to 8.
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Being “International” helpful to Youtube channel success?
I noticed one of the Youtubers I follow had an unexpected international background. I began looking at other Youtubers I follow and near 100% of have extensive international experience. As I have observed, international skills are a defining characteristic of those who achieve success in today’s world, and this is nearly a requirement for professional class workers.
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20% of US residents speak a language other than English, at home
20% or just over 60 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home.
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Surprising International Connections You Probably Never Knew
Did you know that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was once a U.S. citizen?
Did you know that Sen. Ted Cruz was once a Canadian citizen?
Did you know that Barack Obama, who was born in Hawaii and is a U.S. citizen also held citizenship in Kenya and Indonesia in his youth (as dual citizen with the U.S.)?
Fascinating stuff that blew my mind. These examples and more point to the critical importance of having international experience and “global thinking” capability.
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Demand for Bilingual Workers in the U.S.
Demand for multi-lingual workers in the U.S. is increasing. Unfortunately, U.S. public education has among the worst language education of any developed nation.
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The U.S. is falling further behind in global thinking and education
The U.S. is behind and is falling behind in global education skills, including being multi-lingual. This portends a future where the U.S. may be less influential in the world.
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Industry travel partnerships aim to make language learning more accessible
Several travel businesses have partnered with well-known language learning businesses to help travelers pick up some language skills.
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Language Learning Resources
Studying languages on our own, without the guidance of a teacher, is hard!
For best results, you will want to use multiple learning resources – do not rely on just one.
In this section, I describe tools I have found useful.
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A language joke
I am struck by how “global” many young people are – they have traveled much and many have lived in multiple countries by the time they are in college.
Many of these students speak multiple languages, some times fluently.
This reminded my wife of an old joke: What do you call a person who speaks only one language?
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