Now, Here’s A Thing

The BBC says that the Australian government has decided to keep its borders closed to prevent the spread of the virus into next year.  Into next year ??

Additionally, a study finding shows that 56% of people who got a lot of their information from Facebook believe there was no hard evidence coronavirus exists !

Well, is there ?

And,  a decision by Oriel College in Oxford to remove an “iconic” statue of Cecil Rhodes follows a long-running campaign by those who argue the memorial is a symbol of imperialism and racism.  "End of the Rhodes" is the Daily Mail's headline.

I wonder if black recipients of Rhodes scholarships will return their grant ?

The CBC says that current and former employees of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg say its management would sometimes ask staff not to show any gay content on tours.

And, the four candidates vying for the federal Conservative leadership will be on stage tonight for the only English-language debate of this campaign.  The four contenders agree on many things — reducing the size of government, shrinking the tax burden and cracking down on crime. 

Hello, have we forgotten the huge fiscal burden made by the Chinese virus.

And, the CH-148 Cyclone was cutting-edge tech when it became the Canadian military's new maritime helicopter.  Industry experts said the digital system opened up a world of new possibilities for flight operations and the future of helicopter aviation in general. However, after a crash killed six service members, investigators are being confronted with some awkward questions about how ready both the machine and the military were for fly-by-wire technology.

May I assume that someone is dismissing a relationship with the B-737 MAX syndrome ?

So, there’s the thing.

Education 1 - English as a Second Language

I started this blog writing about aerospace as the first subject of my profile’s list of interests.  Unfortunately, for me, I listed linguistics as the second subject, because although linguistics in its basic form has long been an interest of mine, I quickly discovered that it does not have a basic form and greatly exceeded my academic abilities.  I recently added Tom McArthur’s ‘The Oxford Companion to the English Language’ to my bookshelf and, if I dare to open it, I am lost within its wealth of knowledge for hours, just as I was with a earlier copy of Eric Partridge’s ‘Usage and Abusage’ (abusus non tollit usum) and numerous such works.

To find a topical language subject outside of academia, I decided to say something about English as a Second Language (ESL), without any attempt at prescriptivism ... and using less than 300 words.

Recently, I returned to Canada following many years teaching Business Studies to postgraduates in China, who were, hopefully, to be awarded scholarships to foreign universities.  Not surprisingly, it was necessary to include a heavy dose of ESL within each course.  I was presented with excellent students, and there was never any thought of using a stick, due to the attractive sight of the scholarship carrot.

Interestingly, the Chinese-produced exams were of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and my protests were always met with the pervasive, “This is how we always do it” response.  I am sure that many expat teachers in China recognize this behaviour and often wonder why they had been presented with a little red book entitled ‘Foreign Experts Certificate’.

Equally, back in Canada, I had cause to visit some LINK ESL classes, and was astonished to discover that a major percentage of the teachers were immigrants from non-English speaking countries.  According to the authorities, they had all passed a TESL teaching exam ... the oral part being undertaken by their foreign peers, it seemed.  It was not surprising that many students could not understand the teachers.


I would welcome your views on this subject.