People immigrating without learning the new country's language? Thoughts?

I think it is absolutely essential to learn the language of the country you choose to call home. I have no idea why anyone would feel differently. First it shows respect to the country and people. Second it is much easier to communicate with everyone if you speak their language. Anyone planning to live for an extended period of time in a different country needs to learn the language. With all the tools available now (the library has tapes in many languages you can check out for free), there is no reason not to start learning on your own and then ask the locals to help you.

Here in America one can come over , reside in a certain area where your native tongue is spoken and be ok .We don't have an official language. True you can do so much better knowing English than not ..but you can live without it in certain neighborhoods. But in other countries , where the official language , it is a great idea to learn a few phrases and plan to learn more when you get there.

It used to be even if you did not know the language of the country as soon as you immigrated, you tried to learn it, either by taking classes, getting books, tapes, or using any means necessary to learn it. There are language classes on the net but they only give a couple of free ones before charging. And one can listen to You tube and get an idea. Then were is Rosetta Stone and other aides. I do not think you have to be conversant in the new languages before you leave your native country, but once you get there,e you have to start learning enough to get along.

I think people that immigrate to other countries without learning the language are idiots! It is a waste of time and energy. It is important to atleast know the basics of a foreign language. What about their culture? It is just dumb to enter another country without knowing anything about the country or how to speak to the people.

Yeah, if you go to a foreign country it is better to know at least the basically of the tongue which will be spoken there. But if you go to study in some University of that country, then you need to learn the language on a higher level, in order to understand the lessons, except if the lectures will be taught in English. Actually, English is the most spoken tongue in the world. There are Universities abroad of the USA that have lectures in English. So you don't need to learn well the language of the country. Further, English is being learned by the majority of the people. At this moment there are probably hundreds of millions of people learning English around the world. Perhaps this is the reason because people who speak English don't worry to learn another tongue. If you are living in a foreign country, the best way to learn the language is to take lessons at an Institute or school and try to speak with the inhabitants of that place. You must avoid to stay only with your countrymen. :)

I think It would be incedibly hard to go into a new country to start a new life. I don't know how you would be able get a job without knowing the launage. I guess yyou could either catch on fast or you'll sink quickly

I think that anyone who plans to move to another country for work no matter what the work or the country is you need to learn the native language. I wonder how you can survive and be able to talk to people and coworkers if you dont know the language even a basic understanding. I love to travel to different countries to just visit, but before I do that I would like to learn the language on a basic travelers level before I do that.

For those American, they think English is the dominant language in this World, so they won't bother to learn any other language. Same for Japanese, they are the rich country, and they won't bother to learn other people's language, instead, they want you to learn their language to accommodate them. What do you think of this concept?

In my own opinion all you need to know when you go to other countries to work is knowledge of the global language. You can go and work anywhere if you know English. You can even go and work in China with only English. People there will be happy to have more English-speaking people there because they do not have to leave their country to learn English. When you work there you will eventually learn the language of the place anyway.

I would certainly like to know what are the strategies of these foreigners to communicate. Not learning the native language of the coutnry is like the first crucial mistake of an alien to a foreign land. Granted that we do have an international language, it is still essential and not safe to assume that we can be understood by the local people. That's the reason why aliens should at least learn the basics of a foreign coutnry. They are doing themselves a favor of not being fooled or taken advantage of some bad elements in a foreign country. It's like a disaster waiting to happen. My teacher once said to me that we cannot not communicate. But in order to communication to be effective, there should be an understanding between two parties. That's where language kicks in. A person who wants to live and work aboard should have the sense that he needs to speak to other people and that cannot happens effectively is there is no understanding. This considered on the part of the alien to at least put the effort to learn and adjust to the foreign country becuase the coutnry or its people are not the ones who will adjust to them. So even though it's hard and painful to the tongue, it's worth to try. Better be an foreigner who speaks funny language than a foreign that speaks nothing.

I agree with you, people should learn the language before they immigrate to the country. But actually I saw many Americans in China they speak quite well Mandarin, even better than some Chinese speak Cantonese from the north of China.So I think they might learn Chinese before they came. And that exist many Chinese can not speak any English before they came to the USA. But most of them live in China town, the preson they communicate are Chinese.