re: English as a second language

[Beth Benoit]

Title: re:  English as a second language

Michael Sylvester writes:
Btw,has English been declared the national language of the United States?
When the Early American Psychologists went to Germany to study under
the German Structuralists,did they know German?
And when G.Stanley Hall invited the Freudian group to Clark U.did
they lecture in English?

An example that came immediately to mind is those who decide to attend medical school in a foreign country.  (Typically - [perhaps always?] - because they can't get into an American one.)  The first thing they have to do is learn the language of the country, which often adds a year to their schooling.  Then they attend classes.  We know lots of examples. The instructors at the medical schools make no exceptions for their difficulties with the language.  

And yes, those "Early American Psychologists" who went to Germany to study under German structuralists (and btw, under Freud) learned German.  And when Freud came to Clark University, he delivered his talk in English.  I believe Stephen Black directed us to a website with a sound wave track a while ago.  (Okay, it was pretty broken English, but he tried!)

Beth Benoit
Daniel Webster College
University System of New Hampshire
Portsmouth campuses