August 5, 2012
Photo Gallery: Germany's First Week at the 2012 Olympics
See a photo gallery of German athletes during the first week of the 2012 Olympic Games at http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/P__Wash/2012/08/03Olympics-bg.html
Norskklassen: Listserv for the Study of Norwegian
The Norskklassen list is for people learning the Norwegian language. Commentary is mostly in English, but members are welcome to use any language. In this informal email "class" there is no lecturer, but all share their knowledge with the others.
Join at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/norskklassen
Join at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/norskklassen
Chinese Resources for Middle School Students
From http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/teachers/curriculum_resources/languages_cr/chinese/nalsas_chinese.html
The Asia Education Foundation in Australia has curriculum resources on its website, including these for middle school students of Chinese:
Scenarios
The six culturally relevant stories engage students with language used in context and include a number of computer-based activities. Students are presented with small 'in story' tasks, more challenging 'linked activities' and contextually relevant language and cultural information.
Explorers
The four Explorer resources develop students' awareness of Chinese society and culture.
Texts are short, based on familiar vocabulary and structures, and explore Chinatown, Beijing zoo, food and drink, and minority groups in China.
Space voyage games
Students play the part of an Australian astronaut visiting a Chinese space station and must engage in dialogue with the inhabitants of the space station to solve a range of problems. Students review the available dialogue, then construct correct language (questions and responses) in order to make things happen. The game is predicated on prior learning and with students using conversational language to 'solve problems and save the day'.
Teacher resources
All games are accompanied by detailed teachers notes.
These resources are available at http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/teachers/curriculum_resources/languages_cr/chinese/nalsas_chinese.html
The Asia Education Foundation in Australia has curriculum resources on its website, including these for middle school students of Chinese:
Scenarios
The six culturally relevant stories engage students with language used in context and include a number of computer-based activities. Students are presented with small 'in story' tasks, more challenging 'linked activities' and contextually relevant language and cultural information.
Explorers
The four Explorer resources develop students' awareness of Chinese society and culture.
Texts are short, based on familiar vocabulary and structures, and explore Chinatown, Beijing zoo, food and drink, and minority groups in China.
Space voyage games
Students play the part of an Australian astronaut visiting a Chinese space station and must engage in dialogue with the inhabitants of the space station to solve a range of problems. Students review the available dialogue, then construct correct language (questions and responses) in order to make things happen. The game is predicated on prior learning and with students using conversational language to 'solve problems and save the day'.
Teacher resources
All games are accompanied by detailed teachers notes.
These resources are available at http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/teachers/curriculum_resources/languages_cr/chinese/nalsas_chinese.html
100,000 Strong: Resources for Studying in China
The 100,000 Strong Initiative (http://www.state.gov/100000strong ) works to help educational organizations and institutions increase their funding so that they can offer more opportunities for study abroad, and more financial aid and scholarships to students. There are a wide variety of programs for people who want to study in China, including a number of U.S. Government-sponsored programs, as well as scholarships offered by the Chinese government.
For a summary of current scholarship and other assistance opportunities for both secondary and post-secondary students, click here: http://www.state.gov/p/eap/rls/2011/177633.htm
Wertz, R. [OFLA] 100,000 Strong: Resources for Studying in China. OFLA listserv (OFLA@LISTSERV.KENT.EDU, 1 Aug 2012).
For a summary of current scholarship and other assistance opportunities for both secondary and post-secondary students, click here: http://www.state.gov/p/eap/rls/2011/177633.htm
Wertz, R. [OFLA] 100,000 Strong: Resources for Studying in China. OFLA listserv (OFLA@LISTSERV.KENT.EDU, 1 Aug 2012).
Article: How To Preserve Africa’s Languages
From http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/education/55972-how-to-preserve-africa%E2%80%99s-languages.html
How to preserve Africa’s languages
By KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE
August 2, 2012
As far as nine-year-old Jesse Iriah is concerned, she is not a Nigerian. And she may be right.
She was born in New York to a Yoruba mother and Edo father. She speaks only English. She knows a little Yoruba, though, at least she hears a bit of it when her mother speaks with relatives, but she doesn't understand what Ora, her father's language, is at all.
She is among thousands of school-aged children across the country growing up in homes where English is exalted above the mother tongue as the preferred language of communication.
Her kind are born to a generation of highflying comfortable young professionals, many of whose parents also maintained a similar language regime during their childhood.
However, renowned Kenyan author Prof Ngugi wa Thiong' O does not think such should be encouraged. His description of the practice as enslavement took on a whole new meaning for the audience at the Read Africa Launch by UBA Foundation at the UBA Headquarters, Marina, Lagos on Monday last week.
Read the full article at http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/education/55972-how-to-preserve-africa%E2%80%99s-languages.html
How to preserve Africa’s languages
By KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE
August 2, 2012
As far as nine-year-old Jesse Iriah is concerned, she is not a Nigerian. And she may be right.
She was born in New York to a Yoruba mother and Edo father. She speaks only English. She knows a little Yoruba, though, at least she hears a bit of it when her mother speaks with relatives, but she doesn't understand what Ora, her father's language, is at all.
She is among thousands of school-aged children across the country growing up in homes where English is exalted above the mother tongue as the preferred language of communication.
Her kind are born to a generation of highflying comfortable young professionals, many of whose parents also maintained a similar language regime during their childhood.
However, renowned Kenyan author Prof Ngugi wa Thiong' O does not think such should be encouraged. His description of the practice as enslavement took on a whole new meaning for the audience at the Read Africa Launch by UBA Foundation at the UBA Headquarters, Marina, Lagos on Monday last week.
Read the full article at http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/education/55972-how-to-preserve-africa%E2%80%99s-languages.html
From http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/us/siletz-language-with-few-voices-finds-modern-way-to-survive.html?_r=2
Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction
By KIRK JOHNSON
August 3, 2012
Local native languages teeter on the brink of oblivion all over the world as the big linguistic sweepstakes winners like English, Spanish or Mandarin ride a surging wave of global communications.
But the forces that are helping to flatten the landscape are also creating new ways to save its hidden, cloistered corners, as in the unlikely survival of Siletz Dee-ni. An American Indian language with only about five speakers left — once dominant in this part of the West, then relegated to near extinction — has, since earlier this year, been shouting back to the world: Hey, we’re talking. (In Siletz that would be naa-ch’aa-ghit-’a.)
“We don’t know where it’s going to go,” said Bud Lane, a tribe member who has been working on the online Siletz Dee-ni Talking Dictionary for nearly seven years, and recorded almost all of its 10,000-odd audio entries himself.
Read the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/us/siletz-language-with-few-voices-finds-modern-way-to-survive.html?_r=2
The Siletz Dee-Ni Online Talking Dictionary is available at http://siletz.swarthmore.edu/?q=talking&fields=all&semantic_ids=
Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction
By KIRK JOHNSON
August 3, 2012
Local native languages teeter on the brink of oblivion all over the world as the big linguistic sweepstakes winners like English, Spanish or Mandarin ride a surging wave of global communications.
But the forces that are helping to flatten the landscape are also creating new ways to save its hidden, cloistered corners, as in the unlikely survival of Siletz Dee-ni. An American Indian language with only about five speakers left — once dominant in this part of the West, then relegated to near extinction — has, since earlier this year, been shouting back to the world: Hey, we’re talking. (In Siletz that would be naa-ch’aa-ghit-’a.)
“We don’t know where it’s going to go,” said Bud Lane, a tribe member who has been working on the online Siletz Dee-ni Talking Dictionary for nearly seven years, and recorded almost all of its 10,000-odd audio entries himself.
Read the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/us/siletz-language-with-few-voices-finds-modern-way-to-survive.html?_r=2
The Siletz Dee-Ni Online Talking Dictionary is available at http://siletz.swarthmore.edu/?q=talking&fields=all&semantic_ids=
Article: Speaking Multiple Languages Can Influence Children's Emotional Development
From http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802184015.htm
Speaking Multiple Languages Can Influence Children's Emotional Development
August 2, 2012
[Code]-switching, or switching back and forth between different languages, happens all the time in multilingual environments, and often in emotional situations. In a new article in the July issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Stephen Chen and Qing Zhou of the University of California, Berkeley and Morgan Kennedy of Bard College delve deeper into this linguistic phenomenon.
Drawing on research from psychology and linguistics, the researchers seek to better understand how using different languages to discuss and express emotions in a multilingual family might play an important role in children's emotional development. They propose that the particular language parents choose to use when discussing and expressing emotion can have significant impacts on children's emotional understanding, experience, and regulation.
Read the full article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802184015.htm
Speaking Multiple Languages Can Influence Children's Emotional Development
August 2, 2012
[Code]-switching, or switching back and forth between different languages, happens all the time in multilingual environments, and often in emotional situations. In a new article in the July issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, psychological scientists Stephen Chen and Qing Zhou of the University of California, Berkeley and Morgan Kennedy of Bard College delve deeper into this linguistic phenomenon.
Drawing on research from psychology and linguistics, the researchers seek to better understand how using different languages to discuss and express emotions in a multilingual family might play an important role in children's emotional development. They propose that the particular language parents choose to use when discussing and expressing emotion can have significant impacts on children's emotional understanding, experience, and regulation.
Read the full article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802184015.htm
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