LL-L "Language policies" 2003.11.17 (07) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
L O W L A N D S - L * 17.NOV.2003 (07) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
http://www.lowlands-l.net * lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net
Rules & Guidelines: http://www.lowlands-l.net/index.php?page=rules
Posting Address: lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org
Server Manual: http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html
Archives: http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8) [Please switch your view mode to it.]
=======================================================================
You have received this because you have been subscribed upon request.
To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l" as message
text from the same account to listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org or
sign off at http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html.
=======================================================================
A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
=======================================================================

From: Gaidheal <gaidheal at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language policies" 2003.11.17 (03) [E]

Feasgar math, a Lowlanders;

Ron said:
As far as I can tell,
the Episcopelian church (i.e., the American Anglican church, which,
interestingly, seems to be the name the BBC uses ...) does not do much, if
anything, in this area.

The Episcopalian Church does have a large Spanish-language ministry, and I
believe a smaller
European-language (multiple) ministry in our diocese in the Europe. We have
lots of Spanish
language diocese outside the USA, and there used to be a large amount of
French congregations (enough to warrant the translation of the Book of
Common Prayer into French). However, I have no checked these, so if anyone
has more accurate information, go right ahead.

Beannachdan,
Uilleam Òg mhic Sheumais

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language policies

Uilleam (above):

> The Episcopalian Church does have a large Spanish-language ministry, and I
believe
> a smaller European-language (multiple) ministry in our diocese in the
Europe.
> We have lots of Spanish language diocese outside the USA, and there used
to
> be a large amount of French congregations (enough to warrant the
translation of
> the Book of Common Prayer into French). However, I have no checked these,
> so if anyone has more accurate information, go right ahead.

Thanks, Uilleam.  I'm happy to stand corrected.

Mike Wintzer wrote:

> I know there are many university-trained linguist among us, but I cannot
> avoid adding that,
> for immersing children in a foreign lauguage linguists are not the right
> people, certainly
> not at kindergarten level.

Mike, I neglected to respond to this in my previous posting.

In this regard, too, I feel you are overshooting the mark and are
oversimplifying the issue.

Of course, the ones in direct contact with kindergarten and pre-tertiary
students would be instructors, not linguists (and I take it you mean
“academic linguists”).  However, this does not mean that linguists ought to
be excluded.  Naturally, their participation is needed, albeit indirectly.
What kinds of linguists are you talking about, anyway?  Etymologists?
Phonologists?  Phoneticians?  Morphologists?  Lexicographers?  Semanticists?
Syntacticians?  Historical linguists?  Social linguists?  Language
acquisition specialists?  Language contact specialists?  Applied
linguistics?  Translation specialists?  Computational linguists?  And there
are others, not even counting those that concentrate on specific languages
or language groups.

Language teaching greatly benefits from academic and field research
conducted, published and taught by specialists in educational and linguistic
methodology.  A career language instructor can hardly be all he or she can
be without specialist research findings.  Would you have budding language
instructors be taught solely by other language instructors and thus run the
risk of perpetuating out-of-date methods?  They need to be plugged into
ever-evolving theoretical sources as well.  Besides education specialists,
of particular importance in raising instructional quality are those
phonologists, morphologists, syntacticians, semanticists and lexicographers
that specialize in second-language acquisition, a complex area that deals
with obstacles and constraints imposed by a learner’s first-language
“programming,” also deals with second-language acquisition abilities at
different ages and under different circumstances.

In summary, language education ought not be controlled by one group but
ought to be a team effort, and immersion methods are ideal and desirable,
but, short of them, any type of language study will do as long as it at
least kindles confidence and curiosity among students.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

================================END===================================
* Please submit postings to lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org.
* Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
* Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
* Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
  to be sent to listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org or at
  http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html.
======================================================================