Bi-lingual education?

The new head of White Hart Lane school in Tottenham has said that pupils must focus on learning English.

Now maybe you are reading this and thinking, "of course", but seemingly the previous situation was that many pupils were being taught in their native language. When you realise that more than 70% of the pupils there speak English as a second language and 59 different languages, from Amharic to Ukrainian, are spoken you realise how difficult the situation is.

About 400 of the school's 1,200 pupils speak Turkish, and bilingual lessons were introduced in 2001 for those taking GCSE science. But, results for this group and for other students remained stubbornly low, with only 23% getting a grade C or higher at GCSE.

A tough decision to make, but I think it's the right one.

Language learning for primary schools

Well they're a bit late, but, software maker Microsoft and Enterprise MPC (EMPC) have announced the development of a learning gateway solution, to be extended across six primary schools in Europe, which will support the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) 'Collaborative Technology in Languages Initiative' (CTLI). The CTLI project aims to help develop the teaching and learning of languages by focusing on the innovative use of technologies in primary schools across Europe.

Launched today in Granada, Spain, the CTLI is designed to help open up the doors of communication and give children and teachers across Europe access to different forms of technology to link up their classrooms, enabling them to communicate, collaborate and share information, resources and techniques to support teaching of the curriculum and motivate children to develop their language skills.

In the UK, the project will support the government's plans to improve the teaching of primary modern foreign languages and to ensure that language lessons are available for all pupils in every primary school in England by 2010.

Source - http://www.digitalmediaasia.com

It's got to be an improvement on what is currently in place, but I hope it facilitates spoken English too.

A rise in Chingllish

Teaching English in Germany I often hear examples of Ginglish or Deutschlisch even. But seemingly now English has been affected by the rise of China.

According to a Chinese website, the People's Daily Online, we can look forward to such delightful new words as:-

"Chinglish", "kweerboy", "drinktea" and "torunbusiness".

Seemingly the Global Language Monitor (GLM), added 20,000 new words to their database last year, twice as many as one year earlier, and 20 percent of them are Chinglish.

Sometimes it is worth it

Sometimes it is worth teaching English. In spite of the terrible pay and unsociable hours someone, someday will make it sooo much fun.

For example my student who when offered a cup of coffee replied with "Yes, please. But I only drink castrated coffee." Of course she meant decafinated coffee and I had to explain what castrated meant, but it was fun.

Then the student, who when shown two people kissing each other on each cheek (and they still don't believe me when I tell them that we do it in the UK sometimes) said to me "Ah yes a French kiss". Once I had explained to her what a French kiss actually was she took great delight in going around the office asking for a French kiss from her male colleagues.

As I said; sometimes it all seems worth it.

Karaoke Friday

Well I hope people weren't too shocked at my choice of music for Karaoke. I wanted to do something a bit different and a bit more challenging.

I'll bet you look good on the dance floor by the Arctic Monkeys is very topical as they released the fastest selling debut album in the history of the UK.

Half man half biscuit's 24 hour garage people is a classic in British sarcasm and with such a dark ending.

Meline's choice of song was as ever very pretty and beautifully sung. A modern version of the classic "Twinkle twinkle little star".

Not many people realise that this famous children's song has five verses:-

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Then the traveller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,—
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Squirrel with no name.

Squirrel with no name.
Originally uploaded by Your Teacher.

After updating the diary I needed to do something fun.