The thread should not be stopped. The discussion has been mostly civil. If the Mods thought the thread was useless or going in circles they would have shut it down. This thread potentially could have gone in circles but new wrinkles in the debate have emerged. So it hasn't been completely circular. The Mods are usually quicker to shut down STD threads when people start a debate on health risks and we have a bunch of non-medical professionals posting seriocomical conclusions about health risks or lack thereof.
The language debate is emotional for some posters here, but it really isn't for me. I look at language debates more from the standpoint of logic and reason. One issue that has not been discussed enough in this thread, IMHO, is the talent issue. I believe that it's a talent to learn foreign languages and some people do not possess it. I certainly do not although my mother speaks 5 languages. It's ironic in my mind to compel people to learn a language (French) which is exceedingly difficult if not impossible to learn and master. To me this is a very underdiscussed issue. What is more logical is that if you are going to compel people to learn a language it should be an easy one, not a hard one. It's like making kids take calculus rather than algebra and geometry. It's not necessary if you are teaching kids that struggle with math.
The language debate is emotional for some posters here, but it really isn't for me. I look at language debates more from the standpoint of logic and reason. One issue that has not been discussed enough in this thread, IMHO, is the talent issue. I believe that it's a talent to learn foreign languages and some people do not possess it. I certainly do not although my mother speaks 5 languages. It's ironic in my mind to compel people to learn a language (French) which is exceedingly difficult if not impossible to learn and master. To me this is a very underdiscussed issue. What is more logical is that if you are going to compel people to learn a language it should be an easy one, not a hard one. It's like making kids take calculus rather than algebra and geometry. It's not necessary if you are teaching kids that struggle with math.