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<p class=MsoNormal>Whatever else does or does not happen with International
Year of Langauges 2008, it would be a success if it could achieve even this one
result: That children are no longer beaten, shamed, or otherwise punished for
speaking their mother tongue.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Whatever this means for curricula or teaching methods is
secondary - i.e., adapt to the learning approaches to the linguistic realities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Reason I bring this up is that I just received a letter from
a Tanzanian working on a project in the north of that country who mentioned
this practice. In this case it was children who speak Maasai being told in
class that they'd be beaten if they spoke anything other than Swahili, but
similar approaches still exist in lots of places (substitute the languages and
perhaps the punishment). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Don Osborn<o:p></o:p></p>
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