The importance of a second language

Re “Have a drumstick and a history lesson,” Opinion, Nov. 19

I was horrified to read that Josiah Bunting III believes immigrant families should strive to use English as the primary language at home. Loss of immigrant languages happens at a fast and furious pace -- second-generation speakers usually have limited skills in the immigrant language, and the third generation are generally monolingual English speakers.

On both the personal and national levels, this loss is tragic: Communication difficulties between generations can lead to devastating familial consequences, and the constant cry of business and national security institutions for expert speakers of foreign languages goes unanswered.

One of the best methods of preserving immigrant languages is for parents to speak these languages to their children in precisely such circumstances as around the dinner table. Is losing a second language really worth a measly 1.80 points on a current events survey? Even one introductory civics class would more than make up this deficit, whereas learning another language would take a lifetime.

Claire Chik

Torrance