Persuasive Speech: Bilingualism
Jonathan Cortez
Speech 1
Professor Haley
December 3, 2015
Specific Purpose Statement: At the end of my speech my audience will agree that being bilingual holds many benefits and opens up many opportunities for them in the future.
Introduction:
Attention Getter: How many of you here only speak one language? How many of you people here speak two languages? Hold your hands up high. How many people here speak three or more languages? Excellent. To those people that said that they speak two or more languages, I have some good news for you. You are probably smarter than the other person who said that they speak only one language. Not only that, but your future is a bright one as being able to speak two or more languages…show more content… With the growing diversity of people, cultures, and languages in the nation, it is very important to be bilingual.
A. In order to understand why we need bilingualism let’s look at the history and diversity of our society over the past two centuries.
B. The growing population of immigrants and diversity of people in the U.S. have impacted our nation in a positive way by creating more consumers, workers, and a larger economy. According to the article Immigrants and America published by the magazine World & I accessed from the SIRS database, they state that this is a benefit to our country unlike Japan and Europe where they have an aging population with problems in tax money to care for the elderly.
C. Argument: Shouldn’t these immigrants just learn English so that we don’t have to learn these new languages?
D. Counter-Argument: Many of these legal immigrants are learning English. The problem with just speaking English is that our nation has grown so diverse that is important to also learn their languages if possible. It is very important that we keep an open mind and be more flexible especially in the 21st century. Plus, it makes us look good as a nation knowing that many Americans are able to speak different…show more content… II. New jobs and economic opportunities are available and opened if we learn new languages along with educational opportunities.
A. Becoming bilingual can allow opportunities for more jobs and pay. According to an article titled Rewarding Workplace Bilingualism found on the Stanford University website, they state that many companies spend over one million dollars replacing workers oversea who can’t handle the job. They also state that some companies pay their bilingual workers more such as the Public Social Service Agency who pay their bilingual workers $1,200 more annually, and that’s just one company keep in mind. Imagine what other companies can do.
B. According to an article titled Why It’s Smart to be Bilingual published in the magazine Newsweek accessed on the SIRS database, they state that bilingualism can be an advantage for college admissions and resumes. In the competitive scene in schools today it is incredibly important that you have the edge when applying. Not only is being bilingual competitive, but it’s also fundamentally