www.change.org...
From Ideas for change?
I will open the doors of government and ask you to become involved in you own democracy again,
Obama
According to numerous studies and tests in schools throughout the world, children who were taught Esperanto before another foreign language succeeded in learning the second language much faster and better than without taking a prior course of Esperanto. The use of a grammatically simple and culturally flexible auxiliary language like Esperanto lessens the second-language learning hurdle (see an article on Wikipedia for examples of pedagogic experiments).
A pilot project, Springboard2languages, was introduced in a number of British primary schools. It offers an introduction to foreign languages through Esperanto, used as a tool to raise language awareness and build transferable skills. It serves as an adequate preparation for learning other languages and was particularly suitable for the non-specialist teacher of foreign languages in primary schools. Esperanto gives all children a taste of success in language-learning, due to the streamlined regularity of its grammar.
If a similar school course of Esperanto as the first foreign language were introduced to the US schoolchildren, it would greatly help American kids in their efforts to learn another foreign language following Esperanto: Spanish, French, German, or any other offered by their school.
In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world a command of multiple languages becomes a "must" and an important competitive advantage for a nation as whole. Instruction of foreign languages in Europe has been taken to new heights, while the US is falling behind.
Inspired by the President-elect Barack Obama's call,
issued during his campaign, for American children to learn foreign languages, we claim that time for this CHANGE is NOW!
CHANGE is NOW!
I see.
Inspired by the President-elect Barack Obama's call,
[edit on 093131p://bWednesday2009 by Stormdancer777]



