2nd language attrition - Shades of gray and other matters

[Aurolyn Luykx]

Hi Hamo,
just a quick answer to the point you directed to me:

>  Aurolyn: Certainly very good mastery of the English
language can reap important benefits in East Asia, but
knowing a little English in a society, where everyone
is forced to learn English, greatly dilutes any
benefit from knowing just a little. I would be very
curious to learn what you meant when you wrote "my
experience in Bolivia indicates that even a very
limited mastery of the L2 ... can bring big benefits".

In Bolivia virtually everyone is forced to STUDY
English (in grade school) but relatively few make any
meaningful progress in it (since public EFL
instruction is generally so poor). Those who do, learn
it in private lg. institutes. Even with fairly minimal
English skills, all sorts of job possibilities open up
that are pretty much closed to non-English speakers:
secretarial, NGO work, anything to do with computers,
and (unsurprisingly) teaching English.
Aurolyn


		
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