As far as children learning English, (or for that matter, the predominant language in any country where they live), it can be VERY important. It **should** also be a priority for the 1st generation immigrants as well... read on!
I have a friend who is an MD in the USA, (Medical Doctor), and when he was doing his early work in a hospital Emergency Room, something unfortunate happened.
Fairly late in his shift, he encountered an older man and his granddaughter waiting for their turn. He told me he took one look at the man, recognized the appearance and symptoms of a heart attack victim, and immediately called for help to rush him to the upper floor for treatment.
Then my friend started trying to find out how the patient was not given immediate priority instead of being sent to wait in the curtain area, (seemed he waited there well over three hours after first being seen by the admitting staff). He checked the records, and the man had been given a low priority by the triage process. The records showed his granddaughter (he said she appeared to be about 5 or 6 years old) had been translating, and the chart said his complaint was a sore neck; he spoke no English.
(FYI, displaced pain in the neck or arm is a pretty common symptom of a heart attack, not just chest pain!)
What went wrong? The man spoke no English, and the child didn't know what was wrong, plus, they didn't press to be seen immediately. Since the man spoke no English, he could not have a dialog with the triage nurse to beter describe what was wrong... and the triage nurse didn't call for a translator, or there was none available. The vocabulary of a 5-6 year old child could hardly be expected to include medical terms, and that probably contributed to the problem, (Example: sore neck, stiff neck, sharp pain in the neck, throbbing pain in the neck, pain and tingling in the neck, stabbing pain in the neck, etc.). Also, once they were in the curtain area, they were out of sight of the public, (intended for patient privacy), and the various medical personnel who **might have** casually seen the man and potentially recognized the symptoms.
Learning "the language of the land" (yes, I mean the language of the country you are in, including for tourists!!), can be a matter of life or death, including your own life.
(Even learning/speaking a little is generally regarded as a sign of respect, so consider learning at least some of the language...)
IMHO, "What could possibly go wrong?" is a question asked by folks with little imagination.
What language did the grandfather speak?
===> Irrelevant.
Did he survive?
Only several hours longer, but he remained conscious... my friend said the patient more than likely would not have survived even if he had been immediately treated when he first came to the hospital (at the time this happened, 1970's, and he waited a few hours before going to the ER). However, there should have been time for his family to have visited with him before he passed.
Do you suppose the family, and even the child, eventually blamed the child? I would hope not. The grandfather had been caring for the child while both parents worked.
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