The introduction of phonics study in Scotland and England since 1997 seems to have delivered some 17% rise in the number of children who can read functionally, but that has not silenced critics. The Guardian of 19/01 has an interesting article on the debate..
Basically, (a) phonics is a good approach provided it is coupled with encouragement, not imposed from the top. Duh? I thought schools were for encouraging kids to reach their full potential.
(b) No amount of phonics will help kids become good English language readers if they don't have access to books. Lack of access to books in English is not - in my humble opinion - just a matter of socio-economic disadvantage. It can be a matter of socialisation, of "protecting" the child from "outside" influences, of parents not seeing books as something good and enriching, etc. etc. Lets not be simplistic, ok?
(c) What happened to grammar?
(d) Teaching kids needs special people with special gifts. Such people are rare. In UK (and Australia), those who end up doing a BEd are usually those who didn't get anywhere else. They have been taught rubbish at school, and so will pass rubbish on. Sorry if I sound dismissive, but I speak from sad experience.
So.. back to basics. Buy kids books and educational toys. Send the parents back to school. Divide time spent between games on the computer and real hard-copy books. Expose the kids to various things, grow their vocabulary, couple hands-on stuff with theory. Kids are NEVER dumb. We are.
For all your English to Arabic and vice versa translations that will help you expand your business into the Middle East visit Arabic Language Experts at http://www.arabic.com.au/.
Showing posts with label teaching English. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching English. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Mastering Native Tongue Helps Mastering Others
English monolinguists, sit up and hear:
“When Arab students do not learn proper Arabic grammar, their English will suffer because they lack a strong linguistic foundation in their mother tongue. By improving their Arabic skills, students will be able to improve their English as well”, says a language expert.
As parents in the Arab world seek bilingual education for their children, they are increasingly opting for schools that educate them in languages such as English or French.
This has resulted in an increase in the number of Arab students fluent in the regional dialect. Such students are becoming less proficient in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the accepted form of Arabic used in writing and formal speech. Abbas Al Tonsi, an Arabic professor and expert at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar), is building an innovative solution to this incongruity.
Al Tonsi and his team were recently awarded a grant by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) to study Arabic language instruction in Qatari schools, and to help identify some of the current shortcomings. The team has proposed a study to explore ways in which the demand for English education is affecting the Arabic language skills of Qatar’s youth, and address the challenge of maintaining strong linguistic skills of native Arabic speakers who spend many of their formative school years in English language schools. Their research will focus on addressing the needs of heritage learners, native Arab students raised in Arab countries who lack formal instruction of MSA.
The first six months of the project will be dedicated to conducting a large field study of the different Arabic language curricula used within Qatar’s school system.
Source:THE PENINSULA
For all your English to Arabic and vice versa translations that will help you expand your business into the Middle East visit Arabic Language Experts at http://www.arabic.com.au/.
“When Arab students do not learn proper Arabic grammar, their English will suffer because they lack a strong linguistic foundation in their mother tongue. By improving their Arabic skills, students will be able to improve their English as well”, says a language expert.
As parents in the Arab world seek bilingual education for their children, they are increasingly opting for schools that educate them in languages such as English or French.
This has resulted in an increase in the number of Arab students fluent in the regional dialect. Such students are becoming less proficient in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the accepted form of Arabic used in writing and formal speech. Abbas Al Tonsi, an Arabic professor and expert at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar), is building an innovative solution to this incongruity.
Al Tonsi and his team were recently awarded a grant by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) to study Arabic language instruction in Qatari schools, and to help identify some of the current shortcomings. The team has proposed a study to explore ways in which the demand for English education is affecting the Arabic language skills of Qatar’s youth, and address the challenge of maintaining strong linguistic skills of native Arabic speakers who spend many of their formative school years in English language schools. Their research will focus on addressing the needs of heritage learners, native Arab students raised in Arab countries who lack formal instruction of MSA.
The first six months of the project will be dedicated to conducting a large field study of the different Arabic language curricula used within Qatar’s school system.
Source:THE PENINSULA
For all your English to Arabic and vice versa translations that will help you expand your business into the Middle East visit Arabic Language Experts at http://www.arabic.com.au/.
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