The Language Feed - April 17, 2005

Sun Apr 17 16:30:16 UTC 2005

The Language Feed
April 17, 2005

This issue and archives can be read on the web at
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smorris2/feed
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Immersion students dive right into language
The Register Guard, April 15
Throw a bunch of rambunctious teenagers into a room together and
normally you can't get a word in edgewise.
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/04/15/d1.cr.immersion.0415.html

Helping immigrants learn English — now you're talking my language
Seattle Times, April 15
Take a look at how individual states handle the combustible language
issue — including the English-only movement — and pretty soon you end up
with the good, the bad, and the ugly.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002241696_navarrette15.htmlaa

Contemplating a dual-language program
Malden Observer, April 15
The Dual-Language English/Spanish program at the Forestdale School
emphasizes learning a second language for both English-speaking and
non-English-speaking students. The goal is for all students enrolled to
acquire the skills to begin developing bi-lingualism and bi-literacy in
English and Spanish.
http://www2.townonline.com/malden/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=225111

Demand grows for bilingual teaching skills
Washington Times, April 17
Immigrants seeking jobs at poultry plants in the rural Shenandoah Valley
over the last decade have created an increase in the number of persons
who don't speak English as their native language and a demand for
qualified teachers.
http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20050416-111818-3161r.htm

Three big myths about immersion education
Contra Costa Times, April 17
As America's Latino population soars, our country faces a new crisis --
high school dropouts. Today, 15 percent of 16- to 19-year-old Latinos
educated in the United States drop out of school. That's roughly twice
the rate for non-Hispanic whites.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/11417363.htm

Teachers fight possible bilingual education cuts
The Capital Times, April 15
Bilingual teachers who are helping students in the Madison Metropolitan
School District to learn English are organizing against a proposed cut
to their department.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=36209&ntpid=0

Bilingual parents reaching out
The Charlotte Observer, April 11
Add one more name to the growing list of grass-roots groups trying to
improve Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: parents seeking better
opportunities for Hispanic students.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/11363717.htm

Language may be key for next pope
Boston Globe, April 15
Pope John Paul II was able to communicate in several languages. And if
he didn't know one before traveling to a foreign country, a coach
prepared him for remarks in such languages as Japanese, Swahili, even
Papua New Guinea's native tongue, Melanesian Pidgin.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/04/15/language_may_be_key_for_next_pope/

Researcher says apes could be key in determining human nature
WHO-TV, April 17
Iowa Doctor Sue Savage-Rumbaugh sounds like a proud mother when she
speaks about her brood of bonobos. The eight apes will take part in
unique language research meant to shed light on their nature -- and
maybe our own -- when they arrive over the next month at the Great Ape
Trust of Iowa in Des Moines.
http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3219918

Study linguistics or die
The Observer, April 13
This week, as the rush to register ensues, you can choose from seventeen
languages. Yet, while you can dabble in any number of these exotic
tongues, you are restricted from studying the very root of it all:
language itself.
http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/news/2005/04/13/Viewpoint/Study.Linguistics.Or.Die-922116.shtml

Super-sized OED
South Bend Tribune, April 17
If you're still calling hundred-dollar bills "C-notes," your slang is
outdated. Try "Benjamins."
http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/04/17/living.20050417-sbt-MICH-F1-Definitive_big_book_.sto

Letting the Net speak for itself
The Mercury News, April 17
Summoning the indignation to which only the French language can give
pure expression, Jean-Noël Jeanneney, the director of the French
national library, touched off a national debate not long ago when he
said that Google's plans to digitize the collections of major American
and British libraries raise ``the risk of a crushing American domination
in defining the idea of the world that will be held by future generations.''
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/editorial/11417228.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed to the Language Feed. To unsubscribe, send an email
to smorris2 at gmu.edu. Feedback is always welcome. Send yours to
smorris2 at gmu.edu.