Teaching English to Pass or to Learn?
(Courtesy of Getty Images) Chinese test preparation company New Oriental Education & Technology Group dominates the Chinese market for preparing students to take entrance exams such as the SAT and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) to be accepted into American universities. What sets them apart from their American competitors such as Kaplan … Continue reading
No Surprise: Chinese, Japanese and Arabic on the Rise
(Photo courtesy of U.S. DoS) The traditional foreign language offerings, Spanish and French, are still leading the numbers among high schoolers enrolled in each courses. However, some Eastern languages are slowly grabbing their bigger piece of the pie. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages reported that Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Arabic are being offered … Continue reading
Parents seek exposure of children to Chinese culture
(Photo courtesy of mLive) There are public schools. There are private schools. There are charter schools. And then there are language immersion programs, and they open up an entire other category. Language immersion programs take place at all kinds of education institutions, but instead of teaching a foreign language as a separate subject, the selected … Continue reading
Google Translate provides easy, free language to language translation
(Photo courtesy of Apple) Learning languages and overcoming language barriers are difficult things to accomplish. Google is trying to make it easier with Google Translate. Google Translate is free service that provides translations in 57 different languages. Often with translations, we see the translation, but still do no know how to say it. With Google … Continue reading
The case for foreign language courses
(photo courtesy of AGAWAM Public Schools) “To remain competitive in this century this country must focus on creating a globally competent work force.” Clarissa Adams Fletcher, ACTFL‘s 2011 National Language Teacher of the Year, began her case for foreign language learning with clear reasoning. While the United States is pushing the STEM initiative subjects, science, … Continue reading
Congrats to the ACTFL video contest winners!
Back in December, we announced the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Language’s (ACTFL) video contest. February was declared “Discover Languages…Discover the World month” by ACTFL and the winners were announced. The videos show, from a student perspective, how learning a language expands horizons and opens opportunities around the world. Watch the inspiring videos from … Continue reading
Arabic: Making it Mandatory?
(Photo courtesy of Yael) Forget just making foreign language credit mandatory, Mansfield ISD in Texas is making Arabic classes mandatory. Or at least they tried. Protesting parents have put the plan to a temporary halt. The proposed 2012 Arabic course offering is due to a $1.3 million Foreign Language Assistance Program grant from the Department of Education … Continue reading
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