Germany considers scrapping English lessons
Germany is considering scrapping English classes for primary school children after a study showed no advantage in starting lessons at an early age.
The country is among many in the world which adopted the mantra of ‘the earlier the better’ when it came to teaching pupils English.
Poor marks in the international Pisa studies of educational prowess in recent years gave even more urgency to start English lessons – in some cases for children aged as young as four.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/4306975/Germany-considers-scrapping-English-lessons.html
Hinglish – a ‘pukka’ way to speak
NEW DELHI // In a shampoo advertisement currently playing on Indian television, Priyanka Chopra, the Bollywood actress, sashays past a line of open-top sports cars, flicking her glossy mane, before looking into the camera and saying: “ Come on girls, waqt hai shine karne ka!”
Part English, part Hindi, the line – which means “It’s time to shine!” – is a perfect example of Hinglish, the fastest growing language in India.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090122/FOREIGN/303267224/1103/ART
Program lauded for teaching English as added language
NOBLESVILLE — The outlook is improving at Noblesville Schools for students who primarily speak a language other than English.
Those students have posted large gains on ISTEP scores throughout the district.
About 352 of Noblesville’s 8,779 students natively speak a foreign language, and 40 different languages are spoken in the district.
Director of Students Services Mark Booth credits the improvements to a two-year-old program that includes individualized plans for students as well as small groups at the elementary, intermediate and middle schools.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.indystar.com/article/20090120/LOCAL0104/901200409/1015/LOCAL01
English language institutes make hay in global era
English had always been a language, which just could not be ignored but after globalisation, it has become more or less a compulsion. Many MNCs have found their way to the land of snake-charmers. Thousands of job openings have been created.
CLASS OF 30; students belonging to different backgrounds and age groups… a young female teacher is teaching them the basic grammar of English language. Yes, you got it right, this is a view of a class of English-speaking institute, which claims to teach spoken English in just 90 days. Take a round of the city and you will find such institutes at every nook and corner. In Lucknow, where many students hail from outlying districts having Hindi-medium background, these institutes get ample scope for success.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=156547
Call to nurture the English language empire
BRITAIN’S colonial empire is long gone but the language that helped run and often unite it has helped build an empire of a different kind.
This English language empire needs to be nurtured and protected by universities in English-speaking countries such as Australia, Britain and the US if it is to survive and prosper, according to the University of Melbourne’s vice-chancellor Glyn Davis.
Delivering the 2008-09 Menzies Lecture at the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King’s College London on Monday night, he said that the place of English in global affairs meant universities in English-speaking countries were likely to enjoy some enduring advantages.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24940069-12332,00.html