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 Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:07 am
Kokoroki Ozumou Am so Annoyed. Our PM John Howard wants to make an English test (and a Aussie Values test) Part of the Citezenship test. All teh time ESL funding in Oz has been cut. How are ESL teachers expected to help new arrivals with less tiem and money? Bloody politicians. Make them learn a 2nd langauge and see how long it takes them! Here endeth the rant. And to Americans under the "no Child left behind Policy" I know, you have had this in your country before. Americans can't even pass their own citizenship test That policy proved we are dumb , I saw something on it, that we compared scores with Belgium and Belguim was smarter than us I agree with that statement. We amercians probably couldn't pass our own citizenship tests..i tried to do one once and failed..Whats also pretty sad is that half of us don't even know which states are which in our own country...
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 2:30 pm
I would argue that the citizenship test, aside from being in English and thus requiring a basic knowledge of the English language (which is a vital component of being an American citizen), is an arbitrary compendium of useless information about the Constitution (i.e. How many members are there in the House of Representatives? In what year was the Constituation written? Name the amendments that guarantee or address voting rights. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death"?; all of which are actual questions on the citizenship test) that many native-born Americans don't know themselves, and that the vast majority couldn't tell you off-hand. The only way to pass the test is to study the information in the same manner that you would study, say, dates and locations of Civil War battles for a high school US History class.
Given the nature of our citizenship test, I don't think that our own inability to pass it points to our "stupidity," so much as the utter uselessness of the information presented on the test.
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 6:53 pm
Spanish Nerd Wow, I was under the impression English was a romance language because of all the cognates in spanish and others! i think english is actually both germanic and romance, but i could be wrong
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:52 pm
English is Germanic, but with a heavy influence from Latin via Norman French.
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:53 am
Dave English is Germanic, but with a heavy influence from Latin via Norman French. As well as in medicine, and the fact that Latin used to be the scholarly language of most of Europe for quite a while.
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:20 am
WellzY Dave English is Germanic, but with a heavy influence from Latin via Norman French. As well as in medicine, and the fact that Latin used to be the scholarly language of most of Europe for quite a while. and now it *EVOLVED* to all those romance languages........... and their is no language entirely similar to english (you would have to mix a bunch to come close)
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:34 pm
Oh yeah, that's definitely true.
English has lots of influences, actually.
And tons of loanwords from various languages.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:23 am
I go to an international school in Copenhagen.
And the teachers here use both British and American english.
So whenever I say eraser to my math teacher who is british
He always says " not eraser, Rubber"
And than some of the American kids would say but a rubber is a condom.
So, my point is, xD
I get confused alot by the british english and American English.
Especially when I have to write essays I have to take into consideration where my teacher is from. Such as the spelling. DD:
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:54 pm
I have kind of a weird question. A friend of the family can speak english fluently, just not read.
She had like 14 brothers and sisters, so growing up, they all couldnt get the best education.
Any tips for helping her become literate? I had a minor idea, I could have her play some videogames or watch some movies that let you have both voice acting and subtitles in english. That way, she could start reconizing sentence structure, etc, but one problem with that idea...not all games and movies have ACCURATE subtitles. a lot of times ive notice, the VO will be one thing, and the text will simplify it for space.
I cant remember how i was taught it in school, cause I picked it up pretty quick.
Any advice?
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:04 pm
You simply teach them as you would a child. All children learn to speak before they can read. With this friend of yours, it should probably be easier since you say she's fluent, and more than likely has even more vocabulary than a young child would.
Just go over with her the basic pronunciation of the letters, combinations of vowels and consonants, simple spelling rules like "I before E except after C" and other minor things, and common exceptions to these spelling/pronunciation rules. Shouldn't be too hard, but will take some time.
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:48 pm
Hawk_McKrakken You simply teach them as you would a child. All children learn to speak before they can read. With this friend of yours, it should probably be easier since you say she's fluent, and more than likely has even more vocabulary than a young child would. Just go over with her the basic pronunciation of the letters, combinations of vowels and consonants, simple spelling rules like "I before E except after C" and other minor things, and common exceptions to these spelling/pronunciation rules. Shouldn't be too hard, but will take some time. Ah that sounds pretty solid, thanks!
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 9:54 pm
Zorack Takahashi I have kind of a weird question. A friend of the family can speak english fluently, just not read. She had like 14 brothers and sisters, so growing up, they all couldnt get the best education. Any tips for helping her become literate? I had a minor idea, I could have her play some videogames or watch some movies that let you have both voice acting and subtitles in english. That way, she could start reconizing sentence structure, etc, but one problem with that idea...not all games and movies have ACCURATE subtitles. a lot of times ive notice, the VO will be one thing, and the text will simplify it for space. I cant remember how i was taught it in school, cause I picked it up pretty quick. Any advice? Teach her the most basic elements of English writing, some of the spelling rules, then maybe have her listen to a book on tape while she's got the written text in front of her?
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:29 pm
I adore the English language, it's actually the only subject at school that interests me and where I actually get really good grades for. I love writing stories in English, I just love the way the English language gives you a million possibilities to express yourself or a certain situation. It's just the most beautiful language on this planet. (Well, that's what I think.)
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:21 pm
Ophelia8 I love writing stories in English, I just love the way the English language gives you a million possibilities to express yourself or a certain situation. It's just the most beautiful language on this planet. (Well, that's what I think.) There're about 8 million people who would disagree with you... But, like you said, that's your opinion... I think it's okay... Then agani.... I am a native... I's like to forget it completely and then re-learn it... Just to get the feel, y'know?
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Eccentric Iconoclast Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:41 am
I certainly don't hate English, myself. I get the impression that it is beyond my capacity to hate any language. razz
English does have a bazillion shmillion ways of expressing subtle nuances.
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