This article took a fresh look at the education system and how it teaches people how to learn language. The creator of the program, Pat Howe, is dyslexic and worked for many years on developing his product. It is a system of cd's and color-coded flash cards for sounds. The article also says that 40% of people may not benefit from the program.
What seems interesting to me is the role in which color plays with the flash cards. Is there some sort of greater neurological imprint that can be made when color is used? If we use colors to signify specific sounds, how does that shape the way we think? Because I believe learning is very contextually based - for example, Prof. Boroditsky thinks and generally speaks in Russian when talking about her childhood and English when referring to her work - I believe that certain associations, especially if developed and reinforced early on, may have more significant ramifications down the road. Whether these are good or bad, I'd have to wait until data is analyzed.
Also, when it comes to learning the cd's, it would be interesting to discover the strategies used in the cd's. Are they using conversations to convey everyday vocabulary and meaning? Is this an immersion system that is backed up with the basics in grammar/spelling flash cards? I don't know how to gauge the effectiveness of this type of program, and the website isn't up to see how exactly the program works. I commented on an earlier blog that I believed effective language learning came from immersion, because that environment gives meaning and substance to every aspect of the language. I will be on the lookout for the website and it's products.
Orignial Article: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/1029/breaking25.htm
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Emergency teams focus on language gulf
This article discusses how 17 people died in a terrible windstorm in Western Washington. The interesting thing is that 85% of the individuals that died didn't speak English as their primary language. The article then discusses different actions that can be taken to reduce or eliminate this language gulf. They are printing pamphlets in multiple languages, such as Spanish, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese.
What I find interesting is that the article is always talking about bringing the information to these people in their foreign language, but really I think we need to have everyone learn a common language. English would be an optimal choice, and I've talked about this in multiple posts, so I'll just further develop my reasoning.
I think there should be many, many more programs in place to help these individuals learn English. I believe that one program that could be set up is allowing individuals to gain citizenship and live in the country and be taught English for free, in exchange for becoming an ESL teacher in a school. If teaching at school isn't your thing, then what about learning English at the same time as learning your "trade", say a hospital's medical aide. You can then help aid with patients that come in that don't speak fluent English. If they take this route, their schooling is paid for. While it seems like a lot of money for these programs, imagine the money that can be saved from saving one individual's life because the language barrier was crossed.
There are many other ways this plan can be implemented, but immersion and nearly coercion into learning the English language, per se, seems to me as the right course of action. Not only would we get passed the language gulf, we could overcome many of the problems that occur from cultural miscommunication. It's a hope, right?
Original Article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2003969991_emergency24n.html
What I find interesting is that the article is always talking about bringing the information to these people in their foreign language, but really I think we need to have everyone learn a common language. English would be an optimal choice, and I've talked about this in multiple posts, so I'll just further develop my reasoning.
I think there should be many, many more programs in place to help these individuals learn English. I believe that one program that could be set up is allowing individuals to gain citizenship and live in the country and be taught English for free, in exchange for becoming an ESL teacher in a school. If teaching at school isn't your thing, then what about learning English at the same time as learning your "trade", say a hospital's medical aide. You can then help aid with patients that come in that don't speak fluent English. If they take this route, their schooling is paid for. While it seems like a lot of money for these programs, imagine the money that can be saved from saving one individual's life because the language barrier was crossed.
There are many other ways this plan can be implemented, but immersion and nearly coercion into learning the English language, per se, seems to me as the right course of action. Not only would we get passed the language gulf, we could overcome many of the problems that occur from cultural miscommunication. It's a hope, right?
Original Article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountynews/2003969991_emergency24n.html
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Is a new language programme being rushed in?
England is debating the issue of a program that teaches foreign workers only workplace English in a program known as ESOL (English for speakers of other languages.) The first major argument brought up against the program is that the workplace English necessary for one environment, such as cooking, is much different compared to the environment of being a dentist. Having one type of instruction really limits vocabulary, and potentially to the detriment of the workplace if it is not common to that environment.
Another argument made is the cost of the program, and who will foot the bill. Should it be taxpayers, employers, the students, or a combination of the three? Personally, I think it should mostly be footed by the employer and maybe some by the student. None by the taxpayer because it's workplace English, not everyday English. Also, if the worker doesn't turn out to be an effective worker and leaves or is fired within six months, then the employer has the right to deduct from the workers paycheck to recoup the loss.
Getting back to the main issue of whether or not it is enough English for a worker to learn, I would have to say it depends on the program. If it is a very communications-dependent environment, such as being a doctor, English should be taught to a much greater degree. If it is a cook, then I could understand a short program tailored to their English needs. Overall, though, I think it would be much more beneficial to teach them everyday English as well as occupation-specific English. What happens when these workers aren't at work and need to buy groceries? What about driving, public transportation, and getting directions? All of this seems to be missing and it seems to be a huge oversight by business owners to think that these areas can be skipped over.
One solution I think might work is a residency program in state that allows structured immersion into the language. It could be set up so speakers of the same native language are roomed together and undergo training as a group. How to pay for this program, I don't know, but I do know it would provide the environment necessary to create happier, more productive citizens and employees. My final comment is I that the proposed program will fall short of achieving its goals. How can an employee work if they can't get to work?
Original Article: http://education.guardian.co.uk/tefl/story/0,,2196880,00.html
Another argument made is the cost of the program, and who will foot the bill. Should it be taxpayers, employers, the students, or a combination of the three? Personally, I think it should mostly be footed by the employer and maybe some by the student. None by the taxpayer because it's workplace English, not everyday English. Also, if the worker doesn't turn out to be an effective worker and leaves or is fired within six months, then the employer has the right to deduct from the workers paycheck to recoup the loss.
Getting back to the main issue of whether or not it is enough English for a worker to learn, I would have to say it depends on the program. If it is a very communications-dependent environment, such as being a doctor, English should be taught to a much greater degree. If it is a cook, then I could understand a short program tailored to their English needs. Overall, though, I think it would be much more beneficial to teach them everyday English as well as occupation-specific English. What happens when these workers aren't at work and need to buy groceries? What about driving, public transportation, and getting directions? All of this seems to be missing and it seems to be a huge oversight by business owners to think that these areas can be skipped over.
One solution I think might work is a residency program in state that allows structured immersion into the language. It could be set up so speakers of the same native language are roomed together and undergo training as a group. How to pay for this program, I don't know, but I do know it would provide the environment necessary to create happier, more productive citizens and employees. My final comment is I that the proposed program will fall short of achieving its goals. How can an employee work if they can't get to work?
Original Article: http://education.guardian.co.uk/tefl/story/0,,2196880,00.html
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Web Domains Get Language Lesson
ICANN is the organization that records ownership of domains and what extensions, such as .com/.net/.org, can be used. They are the primary talk of this article and there is much controversy surrounding their role in regulating the internet. ICANN is a non-profit located in the U.S. whose only oversight is the US Department of Commerce. Many people are concerned with this because the internet is worldwide, yet the U.S. is the only nation to which it is accountable.
Given this history, we can now analyze the current issue, which is that of support for non-Roman language domain names. ICANN has been receiving a lot of pressure to, for example, have Chinese characters instead of .com in the suffix. While sites can have characters in the body portion (ex: www.google.com, google is the body), they can't change the suffix to anything in their native language.
On October 15th, ICANN will be testing 11 different non-Roman languages – Arabic, Persian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil – using the native script in both the body and suffix of the web addresses. This will be interesting and I'm not sure whether or not it is a good decision.
My personal thoughts fall along the lines of what it means for worldwide communication. The predominant language for business, government, and in general official communication is English. According to D-Lib magazine in April 2003, 72% of all websites were written in English. I don't know how the trend has changed, but because of the overwhelming number of blogs and user content generated, I don't know how much that has changed... I'm ultimately afraid that it will cause more problems in the system. I, and many others I know, have a hard enough time dealing with websites that end in .org vs. .com. Imagine wanting to visit another country or speaking a different language and doing research... Things become even more difficult and even harder to discern. Although it can be done, is it necessary or efficient? Only time will tell.
Original Article: Click Here!
D-Lib Magazine Article: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april03/lavoie/04lavoie.html
Given this history, we can now analyze the current issue, which is that of support for non-Roman language domain names. ICANN has been receiving a lot of pressure to, for example, have Chinese characters instead of .com in the suffix. While sites can have characters in the body portion (ex: www.google.com, google is the body), they can't change the suffix to anything in their native language.
On October 15th, ICANN will be testing 11 different non-Roman languages – Arabic, Persian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil – using the native script in both the body and suffix of the web addresses. This will be interesting and I'm not sure whether or not it is a good decision.
My personal thoughts fall along the lines of what it means for worldwide communication. The predominant language for business, government, and in general official communication is English. According to D-Lib magazine in April 2003, 72% of all websites were written in English. I don't know how the trend has changed, but because of the overwhelming number of blogs and user content generated, I don't know how much that has changed... I'm ultimately afraid that it will cause more problems in the system. I, and many others I know, have a hard enough time dealing with websites that end in .org vs. .com. Imagine wanting to visit another country or speaking a different language and doing research... Things become even more difficult and even harder to discern. Although it can be done, is it necessary or efficient? Only time will tell.
Original Article: Click Here!
D-Lib Magazine Article: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april03/lavoie/04lavoie.html
How Technology Can Save Dying Indigenous Languages
This article touched close to home in terms of utilizing technology to help preserve culture, especially languages. An organization, Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association (ACRA), has developed a program called Miromaa that allows indigenous language speakers an opportunity to record their language in technological format and preserve it. The primary motivation for the development of this program is to allow indigenous tribes that are in fear of dying out the opportunity to capture their way of life.
Being able to utilize a program that takes pictures, sound recordings, video recordings, and text in a cohesive manner for categorizing and developing instructions for learning a new language is fascinating. I've seen similar software used for English speakers trying to learn Spanish, French, German, etc. This takes the idea to a meta level by creating the framework these courses operate within, and then allowing people to create their own learning tool.
When I checked out the website, I couldn't find a price for the software, only contact information for an inquiry. The site was informative and well laid out, but had issues displaying content in Firefox. Overall, though, I'm impressed with the software program, idea behind it, and dissemination method for utilizing it.
Original Article: http://www.abc.net.au/northqld/stories/s2060162.htm?backyard
ACRA Product Website: http://www.arwarbukarl.com.au/default.aspx?id=153
Being able to utilize a program that takes pictures, sound recordings, video recordings, and text in a cohesive manner for categorizing and developing instructions for learning a new language is fascinating. I've seen similar software used for English speakers trying to learn Spanish, French, German, etc. This takes the idea to a meta level by creating the framework these courses operate within, and then allowing people to create their own learning tool.
When I checked out the website, I couldn't find a price for the software, only contact information for an inquiry. The site was informative and well laid out, but had issues displaying content in Firefox. Overall, though, I'm impressed with the software program, idea behind it, and dissemination method for utilizing it.
Original Article: http://www.abc.net.au/northqld/stories/s2060162.htm?backyard
ACRA Product Website: http://www.arwarbukarl.com.au/default.aspx?id=153
Thursday, October 11, 2007
How to Upload Your Photo
There are a couple of steps involved in this process and I will try to put them in as much detail as possible, but if you still have difficulties, please don't hesitate to email me (or add a comment.)
1.) Create a new post and click the "Add image" button that is above the text box just to the right of the "Check Spelling" and below the field where you enter the title (the image will be a landscape image with mountains and sky.)
2.) Select an image from your computer by clicking the "Choose file" button, click the "Choose" button once you've found it, and the click the orange "Upload Image" button to upload the image.
3.) IMPORTANT - You will return to your blog post with some new text in the page. Look through that new text and find src="blah_blah.jpg". Once you have found that, copy the URL inside of the quotations. This is the "location" of your image.
4.) Publish your post and then go to the Dashboard (http://www.blogger.com/home) and click "Edit Profile" from the right hand column.
5.) Scroll down to "Photograph", then paste the URL that you copied into the availabel text field.
6.) Scroll down to the bottom and click "Save Profile". You should now have your image uploaded and should now be seen on your blog!
7.) Now you can go back to your blog and delete the post you created that has your picture in it. It will ask you if you want to delete the photo and make sure that it DOESN'T. You will go to a screen that has the photo and deselect it (there should be a checkbox) to save your photo.
All right, that should allow you to upload a profile image! If you have any questions or something is hard to understand, please just send me an email and I'll help you out the best I can!
1.) Create a new post and click the "Add image" button that is above the text box just to the right of the "Check Spelling" and below the field where you enter the title (the image will be a landscape image with mountains and sky.)
2.) Select an image from your computer by clicking the "Choose file" button, click the "Choose" button once you've found it, and the click the orange "Upload Image" button to upload the image.
3.) IMPORTANT - You will return to your blog post with some new text in the page. Look through that new text and find src="blah_blah.jpg". Once you have found that, copy the URL inside of the quotations. This is the "location" of your image.
4.) Publish your post and then go to the Dashboard (http://www.blogger.com/home) and click "Edit Profile" from the right hand column.
5.) Scroll down to "Photograph", then paste the URL that you copied into the availabel text field.
6.) Scroll down to the bottom and click "Save Profile". You should now have your image uploaded and should now be seen on your blog!
7.) Now you can go back to your blog and delete the post you created that has your picture in it. It will ask you if you want to delete the photo and make sure that it DOESN'T. You will go to a screen that has the photo and deselect it (there should be a checkbox) to save your photo.
All right, that should allow you to upload a profile image! If you have any questions or something is hard to understand, please just send me an email and I'll help you out the best I can!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Connecting cultures: Schools teaching Chinese language
This article was particularly interesting to me because I am taking Mandarin this year. I think the article hit the issues right on the nose when it states we, the US, should learn more languages, and some of the languages that should be pushed because of their impact on international relations.
My high school only taught Spanish and, while it's the most important foreign language, having more options would have been very helpful. What I find particularly interesting while I'm learning Chinese is that when I don't know a specific word in Chinese, I usually come up with the Spanish word and want to use that instead. English is only a last resort for some reason... I think it would be interesting to figure out why this happens.
As for other points made in the article and those that seem particularly relevant to my home state, South Dakota, is that of "The World is Flat." The idea of the economy becoming more global and being able to outsource to the lowest cost workers is particularly frightening considering South Dakota is doing very little to be competitive. The labor market in South Dakota and most of the growth in Aberdeen, my home city, has been towards call centers and other super-competitive industries. What I think should happen is that South Dakota should develop several niches to occupy and become the industry leaders in those niches.
Learning languages is great, and communities that have been relatively secluded are now facing more and more competition from a global market. This article makes the great point that to keep up or even get ahead of the curve we need to learn more languages, especially those of international interest, such as Chinese.
Original Article: http://www.uticaod.com/education/x510086403
My high school only taught Spanish and, while it's the most important foreign language, having more options would have been very helpful. What I find particularly interesting while I'm learning Chinese is that when I don't know a specific word in Chinese, I usually come up with the Spanish word and want to use that instead. English is only a last resort for some reason... I think it would be interesting to figure out why this happens.
As for other points made in the article and those that seem particularly relevant to my home state, South Dakota, is that of "The World is Flat." The idea of the economy becoming more global and being able to outsource to the lowest cost workers is particularly frightening considering South Dakota is doing very little to be competitive. The labor market in South Dakota and most of the growth in Aberdeen, my home city, has been towards call centers and other super-competitive industries. What I think should happen is that South Dakota should develop several niches to occupy and become the industry leaders in those niches.
Learning languages is great, and communities that have been relatively secluded are now facing more and more competition from a global market. This article makes the great point that to keep up or even get ahead of the curve we need to learn more languages, especially those of international interest, such as Chinese.
Original Article: http://www.uticaod.com/education/x510086403
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
What language barrier?
Deborah Cameron, an Oxford language professor, analyzes the stereotypes regarding communication betweem men and women. She denounces the idea that men and women communicate differently according to pop culture; for example, women are more empathetic and emotional, while men are more direct and spatial communicators. Also, when it comes to conversations, it's generally agreed that women tend to dominate; but according to a meta-analysis of 56 research studies, 60% had males talking more, 4% had females talking more, and 29% were about equal (7% had no clear pattern.)
To me, I really don't think it's a matter of male vs. female, but rather higher status vs. lower status speakers (this was talked about in the article.) If there is someone who is recognizably more knowledgeable in a subject, they tend to dominate the conversation. Common scenarios that get stereotyped are women being more conversational about household duties, and males more knowledgeable about politics/business/engineering/etc. I believe this is not a matter of gender, but rather expertise/experience.
I will concede that there are still problems with sexism in the workplace and specific fields (engineering for example), and it's great that we're working to eliminate those discrepancies, but even though they exist doesn't mean we can assume they are the only or major reason why conversation domination is necessarily specific to males or females. Instead, we should look past a person's gender and look at his or her qualifications in regards to the subject matter being discussed. If it's a conversation between those that are equally knowledgeable, I would expect to see the conversations virtually equal. One other thought to throw out is that it wasn't even analyzed whether the individuals were introverts or extroverts.
Original Article: http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,2181069,00.html
To me, I really don't think it's a matter of male vs. female, but rather higher status vs. lower status speakers (this was talked about in the article.) If there is someone who is recognizably more knowledgeable in a subject, they tend to dominate the conversation. Common scenarios that get stereotyped are women being more conversational about household duties, and males more knowledgeable about politics/business/engineering/etc. I believe this is not a matter of gender, but rather expertise/experience.
I will concede that there are still problems with sexism in the workplace and specific fields (engineering for example), and it's great that we're working to eliminate those discrepancies, but even though they exist doesn't mean we can assume they are the only or major reason why conversation domination is necessarily specific to males or females. Instead, we should look past a person's gender and look at his or her qualifications in regards to the subject matter being discussed. If it's a conversation between those that are equally knowledgeable, I would expect to see the conversations virtually equal. One other thought to throw out is that it wasn't even analyzed whether the individuals were introverts or extroverts.
Original Article: http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,,2181069,00.html
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Native Language Governs The Way Toddlers Interpret Speech Sounds
This article touches upone one of the base feelings I have about language, its interpretation, and understanding of it. At the base of it, children can understanding meaning based upon the intonation of the words being spoken. Whether or not you are scolded in Japanese, English, or Swahili, we all know that we are being scolded. The words and distinctions of what specific sounds are relevant to the speech is something that is developed through hearing the mother tongue.
The article discusses a specific study when two children, one learning English, the other learning Dutch, are presented with two objects. They assign names to these objects and these names have a difference in how long the vowel is enunciated. Such as bat and baaaat. The English speaking children make no distinction between the objects (they think they're both bats) while the Dutch speaking children do, and that's because in that language, words such as bat and baaaat have different meanings.
What I find perplexing though is that certain language speakers end up being unable to distinguish certain sounds after they reach a certain age. As provided in the article, Japanese speakers have a hard time distinguishing l's and r's. My question is, why do they lose this capability? Does the brain lose a certain level of malleability after a certain threshold? Can this threshold ever be reversed? If yes or no, why?
In conclusion, there are a lot of questions that have yet to be answered in the world of psychology. Different universities that speak different languages are performing different test, and coming up with different conclusions. How we interpret these conclusions will make this field fascinating for decades to come.
Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071001172817.htm
The article discusses a specific study when two children, one learning English, the other learning Dutch, are presented with two objects. They assign names to these objects and these names have a difference in how long the vowel is enunciated. Such as bat and baaaat. The English speaking children make no distinction between the objects (they think they're both bats) while the Dutch speaking children do, and that's because in that language, words such as bat and baaaat have different meanings.
What I find perplexing though is that certain language speakers end up being unable to distinguish certain sounds after they reach a certain age. As provided in the article, Japanese speakers have a hard time distinguishing l's and r's. My question is, why do they lose this capability? Does the brain lose a certain level of malleability after a certain threshold? Can this threshold ever be reversed? If yes or no, why?
In conclusion, there are a lot of questions that have yet to be answered in the world of psychology. Different universities that speak different languages are performing different test, and coming up with different conclusions. How we interpret these conclusions will make this field fascinating for decades to come.
Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071001172817.htm
Europeans must learn more languages
I find it quite interesting that 56% of Europeans are bilingual and 28% are trilingual and the EU commisioner is saying they should learn more languages. The reason I find it interesting is that not even close to half of all Americans are bilingual. The most common language is Spanish, and that's because it is the native language for many immigrants.
The article goes on to point out that 38% of those individuals that are at least bilingual speak English. In order to rectify the problem of not knowing enough languages, commisioner Orban is suggesting everyone learn more languages, and it doesn't matter which ones. I, on the other hand, think that bilingual students should reach 100%, with the two languages being their mother tongue and English (if they speak English, they still have to pick up a second language.)
While many may have issues with imposing English as a second language on many people, I believe that effective communication is extremely important in international affairs and "feelings" shouldn't be at the heart of arguments against it. As for learning more languages beyond the two necessary, I think it is a great idea and helps enrich different cultures and societies.
Overall, I feel the issue isn't necessary in learning more languages to begin with, but choosing one common language and teaching it to everyone. Even if they wanted that to be Esparanto, that's completely acceptable, except it is much harder to adopt because fewer individulas speak it as compared to English.
Original Article: http://euobserver.com/9/24849
Esparanto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto
The article goes on to point out that 38% of those individuals that are at least bilingual speak English. In order to rectify the problem of not knowing enough languages, commisioner Orban is suggesting everyone learn more languages, and it doesn't matter which ones. I, on the other hand, think that bilingual students should reach 100%, with the two languages being their mother tongue and English (if they speak English, they still have to pick up a second language.)
While many may have issues with imposing English as a second language on many people, I believe that effective communication is extremely important in international affairs and "feelings" shouldn't be at the heart of arguments against it. As for learning more languages beyond the two necessary, I think it is a great idea and helps enrich different cultures and societies.
Overall, I feel the issue isn't necessary in learning more languages to begin with, but choosing one common language and teaching it to everyone. Even if they wanted that to be Esparanto, that's completely acceptable, except it is much harder to adopt because fewer individulas speak it as compared to English.
Original Article: http://euobserver.com/9/24849
Esparanto: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto
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