In Malaysia, that is…

Those grounded in the bilingual education debate in the US would likely be surprised to know that there has been widespread grumbling against the policy of teaching elementary aged kids in their native language, which became national policy in the 90’s in contrast to the English immersion programs commonly found in public schools previously.  The government is taking their cues from the data in support of bilingual education — namely, that by grounding their early education in the language they already speak, kids will develop better in terms of literacy and general academic performance.  Some people, however, are lamenting the corresponding drop in general English fluency across the population as it is deemphasized in the public school curriculum — just as the importance of English fluency for international trade purposes peaks.

IN the 60’s and early 70’s, children from poor families can study at English medium schools free. A fisherman’s son and a farmer’s daughter can converse in English at ease while at the padi-field or helping in their father’s catch.

And one could see these children enjoy reading comics such as Beano and Dandy. And when they were in Standard Four or Five, they could read the English newspapers with ease and relish Enid Blyton. In secondary schools they enjoy Shakespeare and great poets such as Wordsworth or Elliot….

Sad to say, change is indeed painful. In the name of narrow nationalistic sentiments, the present generation who are the product of the present education system of Sekolah Kebangsaan are not the same as their lucky parents who studied at English schools.

Only privileged children of the rich and famous can study in English schools conducted by the private sector. They have the advantage of an English education which prepares them to be competitive in the job market and enhance their self esteem.

and…

I can vouch for all that he has said, as a retired teacher who taught in the 60s and 70s during which time parents had the choice of sending their children to a Malay, Tamil, Chinese or English school….

I often meet many of my ex-students, from generals to clerks and even manual labourers. They all amaze me with their English language competence acquired in their schooldays till today.

They are equally proficient in Bahasa Malaysia. Regretfully, I cannot say the same for our present generation, even if they are degree holders.

If the younger generation is not proficient in English, it is not their fault but that of past governmental policies and over-zealous lawmakers.

So, let’s get on with it and bring back English medium schools that also emphasise Bahasa Malaysia learning.

Note that Malaysia arguably has a very different set of facts on the ground than the US.  English in Malaysia has historically been a unifying factor between groups, because, since the Brits left in 1957.  It didn’t belong to any of the major ethnic groups, and was considered a language of equal prestige amongst all Malaysians.  Malaysians were under no delusions as to the usefulness of English on the international scene, either.  There was also plenty of choices available: Malay, Chinese, Indian, and English medium schools were available both publicly and privately.  The recent policy shift in favor of native-language education was enacted for the right reasons.  Despite some almost conspiracy-theory-like allegations that English was dumped to give certain groups preference or to only allow English education for the rich, I sincerely believe that most government officials had good intentions at heart.  The research in the West has demonstrated convincingly that there are certain cognitive advantages to native-language education, but if Malaysia is a completely different case, the theory may have to be refined.  I don’t claim any specific knowledge on Malaysia, having spent a grand total of three weeks or so in the country (over two separate trips), so I’m just airing some thoughts here…  Take it accordingly.  Mind you, every generation tends to complain about the “horrible education” of the following generations, but do the complainers have a point here?  While it may be upsetting that Malaysian youths’ English abilities are slipping, it may be more worthwhile to check on performance in subjects like math, science, and (L1) reading.  If those subjects are slipping, then it may be well worth considering going back to an English immersion system.

A team of University of Florida computer engineers and scholars has used the popular online world Second Life to create a virtual Chinese city, one that hands a key to users who want to familiarize themselves with the sights and experiences they will encounter as first-time visitors. The goal of the federally funded research project: To educate and prepare foreign service or other government professionals to arrive in the country prepared and ready to work.

Interesting concept — and one that will probably quickly spread…  It’s billed as a means for diplomats, businessmen, and the like to get a glimpse of life in China before ever getting on the plane.  It’s got a serious educational component, and seems like a good way of “getting the basics”:

With each scenario, the user gains understanding or awareness: the Chinese formal greeting language and procedure, that it’s traditional to bring a gift to a first meeting, that guests typically are seated facing the door in a Chinese meeting room, and so on….  In the teahouse simulation, a greeter shows the visitor photos of well-known personalities who have visited as patrons, a typical practice in many establishments in China. However, in the simulation the photos include, for example, a photo of Hu Jintao, the president of China. The accompanying Web tutorial provides biographical background on Hu and the other well-known Chinese personalities in the photos.

This could have some useful implications to language teachers as it could allow students of language to get travel experience without leaving the classroom.  Another example of the wonderful applications of internet technology for learning language and culture!!!

Do note: I’m expecting a decidedly decreased output volume on this blog for about the next week as life is going to be kicking me square in the patootie for a bit.  I’ve got the oral comprehensive exams coming up soon, as well as student conferences, and a major worship concert, all of which will be sucking up my free time fairly effectively.

“We have chosen Vietnam because this is a rapidly growing economy. Also, Vietnam has a very interesting culture,” he added.

The trend of foreign companies flocking to make investment in Vietnam has prompted foreign students to learn Vietnamese in the hopes of finding lucrative jobs.

Thus far, students who chose to study Vietnamese are mainly from neighboring and regional countries, but as the economy expands, it won’t be surprising to find a slow but steady emergence of Vietnamese language departments in universities in the West.  If foreign investment continues apace, Western businesses will eventually have to start demanding some Vietnamese language ability from its recruits, and while they might be able to rely on the Vietnamese expat community for awhile, eventually, there will be the expectation for non-Asian westerners to learn it.  While I can’t realistically expect it to ever gain the traction that Chinese-learning has (or even Japanese, for that matter), it really just comes down to the strength of the economy.  Chinese is an unfair comparison just given the differences in population size.  Even Japan’s population is 50% or so higher than that of Vietnam, and, of course, Japan’s economy is the second biggest in the world.  Economy does tend to trump population, however.  Just how prevalent is the study of Indian languages?  Compare that with say… Korean — which has a population only about 60% the size of Vietnam’s.  Korean language study, while not very widespread in comparison to languages like Chinese or Japanese (and certainly not French, Spanish, and German), is still common enough that the student who sincerely wishes to study it should have no shortage of options.

If Vietnamese starts to take off, it will probably give a boost to the whole SE Asian region, and SE Asian Studies Departments will start to sprout up across the US.  They already exist in some universities (U. Wisconsin at Madison has one of the premiere centers at the moment).  I’ve been surprised that Thai language study has not become more widespread, but having two emerging economies in such close proximity will certainly boost the chances of universities opting to respond to these market changes by offering courses designed to familiarize students with that part of the world.

powerspeaK¹² (formerly Power-Glide, a product developed by Power-Glide Language Courses Inc. which was acquired by K12 Inc. in October 2007) offers schools and independent learners a comprehensive set of 29 courses in multiple levels for elementary, middle, and high school students (grades 3-12). Languages include Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Chinese.

The powerspeaK¹² courses can be used as self-paced, independent study courses or as teacher-supported courses. The online delivery format allows courses to be taught or taken in a classroom, computer lab, or student’s home, providing flexibility to meet teachers’ and students’ scheduling and pacing needs. Additionally, the powerspeaK¹² courses include tests throughout the content, facilitating the granting and transfer of academic credit for student course completions.

Looks interesting, although the lesson components are pricey.  This would be useful for students who lack language learning options in their local K-12 setting or home-schooled kids (foreign language study is one of the subjects that tends to suffer from the natural limitations of home-schooling).

I came so very close to falling off my bed I was laughing so hard… If you haven’t been reading this blog very long, you’ll need to click here first for background on the world’s greatest Japanese English-learning-slash-exercise program. (Note: if the video embeds don’t work, please click here) Then, you can read about my favorite web-based program here. Only then watch the video embedded below to experience the most sublime faux-Japanese game show parody of your life.

Note: I realize that the chances that Kiko (real name: Kim Evey) and company found the Japanese English/exercise show through the link on my own blog is beyond remote, but on the ever-so-small-and-vague hope that Kiko is a reader of foreignlanguageblog.com, I would simply like to ask: how about a guess role by your fan, the FL Doctor???? (After “the Hedgehog,” I could only be considered a tremendous step up).

These are native or “heritage” speakers, meaning they have been speaking a particular language their entire lives, in the home or in school, the release states.

“They’ve grown up in the U.S. … speaking their mother’s tongue, though many have never been to their mother’s nation of birth,” Col. John Bird, director of training development and support at the Army Intelligence Center in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., said in the release….  the unit will eventually include more than 140 native speakers of languages like Arabic, Farsi, Pashtu, Kurdish and Dari, the release said. Right now, the 51st has about 120 soldiers assigned, with about 90 of those working in theater.

If one is talking about foreign language classes (much like Mp3 players), the answer is a definitive yes…  While my personal opinions run counter to teacher union claims that small class sizes are a constant prerequisite of effective classroom teaching and management (East Asian schools somehow manage to kick American kids’ collective bottoms across most subjects, despite average class sizes of 50-60 students), in foreign language learning, I have to say that small class-size is more effective when it comes to foreign language courses (incidentally, this is one of the inherent weaknesses of English education in East Asia).  It’s a simple concept, really.  While theoretically, class size is irrelevant for reading, writing, and listening components, for speaking class size directly impacts the amount of time that each student can spend using the language — especially with teacher feedback.  So what is the ideal class size?  Contrary to common wisdom, one-on-one instruction isn’t particularly good.  It’s useful to learn a language in the company of several other people of similar level, as that makes for better conversational practice when focusing on certain grammar points (an advanced or native speaker of the language, counterintuitively, will often have trouble simplifying language or staying on format).  Also, the ability to practice more conversational scenarios than just one-on-one (e.g., 3, 4, 5, 6, or more people…) is beneficial.  For these reasons, I usually recommend classes of 8-12 where this is feasible.  When I teach private lessons, I tend to offer financial incentives to get at least 3-4 people together.  Of course, in most public school scenarios, under 20 students is almost unheard of (at least in beginning sections — by 6th year, class sizes are often down to a dozen or so).  While normal class sizes are not ideal, a good teacher can still maximize speaking time by using a lot of peer and group speaking activities.  While this has the disadvantage of not allowing for teacher feedback, in a class of 25-30 students, this is the only means of allowing any significant amount of speaking time for all students.

“For guests, if you can speak their language, it puts you heads above the rest,” said Ronen Nissenbaum, regional vice president of operations for InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, owner of the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo brands. Languages spoken at the company’s flagship InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead include Hebrew, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Polish, Arabic, Mandarin, Swiss-German, Malay, Turkish and Russian.

“Having a staff that speaks several languages is definitely an asset,” Nissenbaum said. Nissenbaum, who is Israeli and German, is the former general manager of the InterContinental Buckhead and has worked in Israel, Paris and Berlin. He is fluent in English, French, German and Hebrew.

At the Four Seasons Atlanta, the city’s only five-star hotel, languages spoken include French, Spanish, Italian, German and several variations of Swahili, Arabic and Chinese.

And mind you… That’s in Atlanta, not NYC.  Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything besides Spanish or Indian dialects spoken in hotels, but as a student, I’m more a “valued customer” of establishments like Motel 6.  Still, it bears remembering that as trans-global business and networking continues to expand, foreign language skills of all types will become increasingly valuable across professional fields.

And how does it apply to countries with a homogeneous race/culture/language population like Japan or Korea.  Robert Dickey comments in The Korea Times.