The Language Feed - February 27, 2005

Mon Feb 28 18:12:51 UTC 2005

The Language Feed
February 27, 2005

This issue and archives can be read on the web at
http://mason.gmu.edu/~smorris2/feed
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Big fall in language students
The Guardian, February 25
The government's national languages strategy is seriously questioned in
a damning report today, which reveals that there has been a "marked
national decline" in the numbers of undergraduates studying languages.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1424772,00.html

Teachers learning sign language
Munster Times , February 25
Program helping educators communicate with hearing impaired students in
mainstream classes.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/02/25/news/illiana/22344b2b36e4349c86256fb200033c01.txt

Language suggestion angers students
The Standard, February 25
Students called for Chinese University vice-chancellor Lawrence Lau to
resign after he suggested that English be used as the medium of
instruction for more courses.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/GB25Ak10.html

Cracking the gender language barrier
The Joplin Globe, February 24
After five years of attending Missouri Southern State University, I
earned a bachelor of arts degree in communication. After two years of
attending Pittsburg State University, I earned a master's in
communication education. For the past 10 years I have taught basic
communication skills at Missouri Southern. Nonetheless, with all this
background and knowledge about human communication, I still don't
understand my husband sometimes.
http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=165869&c=105

National Security Education Program (NSEP) Announces New Language Programs
Yahoo News, February 22
The National Security Education Program (NSEP) announces two new
National Flagship Language Initiative (NFLI) programs in Arabic and Chinese.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050222/dctu021_1.html

The Web not the death of language
Wired News, February 22
We love instant messenger for the little pleasures it provides: workday
diversions, covert flirting opportunities, parental contact with an easy
out. But communicating using instant messenger, text messaging, even
blogging are changing the way humans communicate.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66671,00.html

In Italian and Spanish, a howl of EU protest
International Herald Tribune, February 25
José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, is facing a
rebellion in Brussels after Italian and Spanish were quietly downgraded
as working languages of the European Union.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/24/news/union.html

U.S. pushes Arabic: Study of language now tops Hebrew
World Tribune, February 25
The United States has designated Arabic a strategic language and
promoted its instruction in schools throughout the nation.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/breaking2453427.0368055557.html

Teacher Immersions
KVAL 13 News, February 25
Jean Moule says that many of the graduate students she teaches in the
Oregon State University teacher education immersion program come to her
straight out of college, full of idealistic enthusiasm for entering
Oregon's K-12 schools. "Then," she says, laughing, "the reality of the
classroom hits them."
http://www2.kval.com/x30530.xml?ParentPageID=x2649&ContentID=x49350&Layout=kval.xsl&AdGroupID=x30530

Retailers increasingly recruit bilingual employees
Denver Post, February 21
Tucked inside the aprons of cashiers at a Home Depot store in Miami are
translation books to help employees who speak only English to converse
with customers who speak only Spanish.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~34069~2722226,00.html

Foreign language falling by wayside
Rome News-Tribune, February 27
Every day students at Pepperell High leave the main building to cross a
swath of dirt and gravel to the village of trailers, where many of their
classes are located.
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news613777.html

Safety comes in many languages
Metrowest Daily News, February 27
One morning this week, Honduran native Jesus Velazquez walked into the
Framingham Police Station and asked for help. The night before, he lost
his wallet with all his documents and didn't know what to do.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=91757

Come here once and learn already
Wisconsin State Journal, February 27
Not even Meryl Streep could accurately mimic the speech of most
born-and-raised Wisconsinites, according to a recent study by a team of
linguists from UW-Madison.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=30138&ntpid=4

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