Canada Day, Eh!

 ... and wannabe French Canadians flock around the nearest poutine vendor, eh!

 ... unless they're Greek Canadians, nai!

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.  

Education 6 - GCSE and the Chinese Language

Foreign language learning is an interesting subject at the best of times, notwithstanding the misunderstanding between a foreign and a second language.  But, I find the examination of foreign language courses quite thought-provoking.

For some time, I have been studying language schools in the U.K.  At least, those progressive schools that include the Chinese language within their curriculum.

As with many European schools, the emphasis of ‘academia’ and ‘language’ is to resist change for various reasons.  In the U.K., French and German are popular with both teachers and students because of the relationship of their shared origins.  In other words, they are easy.  But, if one raises one’s head to look, globally, it is not difficult to notice the increasing Chinese presence.  Business is beginning to notice this but, unfortunately, many schools have not ... yet.

All schools teach the French language, just as they did 60 years ago when I was at school.  Interestingly, not as a foreign language but, just because ... “we always have”.  The German language may be introduced in sixth grade for the same reason, together with Spanish (For some obscure reason).  But the slow acceptance of introducing Chinese is narrow-minded.

Originally, the Chinese language was not part of the GCSE and, fortunately, that has changed.  But, recently, I have noticed that some schools are teaching the Cantonese dialect instead of Mandarin.  Cantonese was the language of Hong Kong and may be heard in most Chinese restaurants, but even in Hong Kong today the CCP mandates the use of Mandarin.  Therefore, one wonders if some schools feel that their students will rarely visit China preferring, instead, to visit the local Chinese restaurant.

There is something to be said for the influence of the Confucius Institutes.