Canadians Do Not Want Charles As King

 

Today, a copy of the CBC “Morning Brief” appeared in my eMail describing a new woke survey published by Reuters (Dan Kitwood).  This did not surprise me because, if one searches well enough, a poll may be discovered somewhere indicating a “truth” fitting any narrative  —  but I was somewhat annoyed that Reuters did not choose to value my, or any of my associates, opinion on the matter (“Opinion” only).  

After all, the King of England is, firstly, the choice of English people (More later) and other countries of the Commonwealth however, choose to accept his position as they wish (Technically, not accurate, but you know what I mean).  My point here is that Canadians are, or should be, not part of the decision-making process.  

The title of this article states that 60% of Canadians do not recognize the King while,  a few paragraphs later, they become simply respondents.  

I have written before on the controversial question actually defining a Canadian, and the simple answer is someone qualified to carry a Canadian passport, i.e., not random respondents (Contrary to the whim of our current P.M.).  

Therefore, unlike countries of Communist dictators, and the probability that the banana-republic Canada will become controlled by the CCP … we still have a King, thus immigrants, both legal and illegal, and refugees, real or not, should sit quietly in their government-subsidized apartments … until, if necessary, deported.    

Past readers of Bernie's Blazar will be aware of my deliberately controversial tone, in order to cause discussion … I look forward to the spore. 

Imitative Writing

 With the introductory statement that almost any subject could be included in this Blog, I have decide to share part of a conversation with an overseas senior student about T.E.S.L., and encourage, perhaps, controversial comment. 

Hi;

I knew that it would be hard to change the subject from “Teaching”.  But I’ve been reading through earlier comments and this one escaped my reply,:

“I focus on writing in my class. I usually ask my students to write short passages, like imitative writing. They like to do it and they gradually become more confident in English. I think it works well. And the class becomes not so tiring for me.?”

Note:  (a). The British have been teaching English for hundreds of years. 

(b)  I studied T.E.S.L. at a Canadian college. 

(c). I’m wearing my boring teacher's hat instead of my humorous penpal hat. 

Imitative writing is just copying … a chimpanzee can do that.  Write in early Egyptian hieroglyphs and they can do that equally well, but they’ll not become fluent in Arabic … only how to copy meaningful characters, without understanding the meaning.  Of course, “they like to do it”.  They’re just kids.

Also, thousands of books have been written on this subject, and most end up with concern for fluency.  In China, those books are published by the Propaganda Department of the CCP and do not contribute to a fluent use of the language.  Even the renowned Oxford University Press is based in Hong Kong!  Did you know that?  

There was an English Language Competition on CCTV whose hosts were British/Chinese from BBC TV, together with a Canadian called Dashan (I think).  They were the only Chinese, that I ever knew who were “fluent”.  

[My friend], don’t be annoyed.  I am very (very) aware that you are just following the “book”.  It must be extremely frustrating.  

I’ll finish, as I often do, with a humorous example.  Imagine the U.S. removing all the Chinese teachers of Chinese, ruling that Chinese must be taught by American teachers. [China has, in fact, dismissed all foreign teachers].  Take this idea to Europe and rule that the French language must be taught by German teachers, etcetera.  I may be displaying humour, but it’s very (very) serious humour.  

Bernie

Education 14 - Linguistics of Foreign Language Teaching

Teaching foreign languages may be considered by some as the prerogative of bilingual teachers.  This assumes (a) bilingualism, and (b) teacher training, but one important qualification is usually forgotten … linguistics.

     Bilingualism - Although a bilingual teacher should be able to teach reading and writing, listening and speaking must be the prerogative of the native language teacher.  This principle is also known for its importance with translators.

     Teacher Training - Knowledge of the subject is, of course, essential, but formal teacher training is crucial.  Registration at teaching colleges should center on graduates of major subjects, with concentration on teaching philosophies and practise.

Thus, from experience, one observes new teachers presenting themselves in front of classes with a teacher trainer hovering, necessarily, in the background.  Difficulties occur when a foreign language is the subject to be taught.  For example, a British teacher teaching English to British students would be a straight forward matter, but the same teacher teaching French to the same students will need additional qualifications and experience.  Equally, a Chinese teacher using English to teach Chinese to Bangladeshi students, a common example, will require even greater experience.

Linguistics, in these, and similar scenarios, is often ignored.  A common problem seen with learning a foreign language is accurate pronunciation in speaking and listening.  British students in London will have some difficulty if taught by a teacher from Edinburgh, and, obviously, Bangladeshi students will have even greater difficulty learning Chinese from a teacher using English as an implement (Even though English is an official language of the country).

Teachers of foreign languages are often unaware of linguistic principles and sometimes use their intuition towards success.  Others, usually, those without training, unfortunately, may develop unfair thoughts about their student's ability.  The answer is both interesting and simple, and therefore, enjoyable.

Linguistics teaches us that our speech varies enormously because of the distances that we live away from each other.  Over long periods of time, we create different words and phrases for the same thing.  Physically, our vocal cords adapt differently, such that one ethnic group is unable to make the ‘th’ sound, and another group will pronounce an ‘f’ as a ‘v’, etc.  Such detail includes those who may have many different words for one item, for example, the word ‘ice’ by the Inuit people, or the absence of the word ‘please' in the Chinese language. 

Such knowledge becomes enjoyable for most of us when it is realized that to overcome these problems we must study, not only the history and culture of the people, but the history and culture of the language.  In fact it is our duty to the students to diligently make this study.  Then, when you, next, face the student with an arm raised to ask the question, “Why are the words ‘meet’ and ‘meat’ spelt differently, but pronounced the same?” you could discuss Germanic origins, etc.  It is probable that listening to William Shakespeare would, then, be enjoyed.  

Religion 6 — Shawls and Scarves

As an occasional teacher of English to Muslim students but, now, resident in an English-speaking country (Equally, acknowledging the existence of our French-speaking cousins), I feel justified in making the following suggestion or request for, at least, two reasons.  Firstly, our language must not be ignored because of its essential effect on accurate communication in our multi-ethnic society and, secondly, there needs to be opposition to some misinterpretation in translation by extreme individuals of other cultures.

There is an increasing backlash against the wearing of certain clothing for (so-called) religious reasons.  From a language point of view, specifically, I shall focus upon shawls and scarves, known as a hijab in some foreign languages.  And, that, is my first point;  if the discussion was about the wearing of a scarf or shawl, either around the neck or over the head, would there be so much heated discussion?  I doubt it.  Therefore, let us start speaking English.

Of course, the real problem is hiding the face, but that is a completely separate matter from the point of view of identification and security ... and has nothing to do with religion.

Here, I should be pleased to quote from an authorized English language version (Wikipedia) of the Qu’ran.  I am sure that it will cause some surprise.

“And say that the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, etc. ...”

Sura 24 (An-Nur), ayat 30-31, Qur'an

“O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them. That will be better, so that they may be recognized and not harassed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.”

Sura 33 (Al-Ahzab), ayah 59, Qur'an

However, there are many different interpretations of what "modesty" requires.  The Qu’ran admonishes Muslim women to dress modestly and cover their breasts and genitals.  The Qu’ran explicitly states that "O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women" (Qu’ran 33: 32) and as such has separate rules specifically for the wives of the Prophet.  However, many people often mistake it for rules for all Muslim women.  The Qu’ran has no requirement that women cover their faces with a veil, or cover their bodies with the full-body burqua or chador.  The Qur'an does not mandate or even mention the hijab (A scarf).

Comments are not only welcome but requested.

Travel 9 - International Retirement

Recently, a close friend told me of her wish to retire to a country other than her own, with only one requirement;  the English language.  Now, that requirement needs a definition which, from my understanding, means any country where knowledge of the English language by the local population would be sufficient to permit reasonable communication.

A source of information ① provided one list of more than 90 countries using the language formally.  Of course, many of these countries use a form of English greatly modified by localization (other languages, dialect, and accent) that affect one’s ability to communicate.  In fact, there are only eight countries where English is the majority language, as a proportion of the native English population;  U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Nigeria, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Of those countries, the Canadian government ② cautions against any non-essential travel to Nigeria.  Thus, from the few remaining countries, a Chinese citizen faces a difficult immigration hurdle to jump over.

Therefore, I looked elsewhere, and discovered 'International Living' ③, that appears to offer a treasure trove of information.  Unfortunately, some of the information appears to be out of date or in conflict with other destination information found elsewhere.  Nevertheless, it is a useful initial source.  For example, they provided me with a list of “Top Ten Retirement Havens” comprising the following;  Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, France, Panama, Nicaragua, Italy, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Belize.  Unfortunately, only three of these countries (France, Italy, and Uruguay) avoid the Canadian caution advisory against all forms of travel.  Therefore, to avoid strict European immigration rules, I concluded that Uruguay should be investigated.

Montevideo, Uruguay, has been named as the "second least expensive city in the world" ④ and, certainly, seems to show good value against the dollar.  It has a low poverty level, the second lowest level of corruption, and is the most developed and prosperous country in Latin America.  Between the years 2007 and 2009, Uruguay was the only country in the Americas that did not technically experience a recession.  Aesthetically, it is a very old-world European city, mainly as a result of the Spanish history, with minor British and Italian influences, and 85% of the population are of European origin.

Located within a temperate zone, Uruguay has a climate that is relatively mild and fairly constant nationwide.  Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare.  Therefore, one may assume a closer investigation into our search for a haven is required.

To be continued, perhaps.

① wikipedia.com
② voyage.gc.ca
③ internationalliving.com
④ mercer.com