Our regular news service will be suspended from today until Friday 4 January. We look forward to welcoming back all MFLE visitors in 2008 and hope for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for all.
Pew Internet has published a report on how teenagers are creating and sharing content online. The press release about the report says, ‘Content creation by teenagers continues to grow, with 64% of online teenagers ages 12 to 17 engaging in at least one type of content creation, up from 57% of online teens in 2004. Fuelled by new technologies, websites, and social network domains such as Facebook and MySpace, large numbers of teens share and create materials online…’
‘Girls continue to dominate most elements of content creation. Some 35% of all teen girls blog, compared with 20% of online boys, and 54% of wired girls post photos online compared with 40% of online boys…’
These findings are highlighted in a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, ‘Teens and Social Media.’ (The report is based on a national phone survey of 935 youth ages 12-17 in November 2006.)
The TESS reports that the demands of teaching pupils with languages as diverse as Nepali and Lithuanian are putting strains on schools even in rural Scotland, prompting the two largest teaching unions to demand more government support.
The Educational Institute of Scotland and the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association have made separate pleas for more English as an additional language specialists, better resources and more professional development.
Read more on the TES website.
The BBC reports that primary schools in England will receive about £340 extra each next year to support compulsory languages teaching.
From 2010 all those over seven must learn a foreign language. That change, plus a recommendation that £50m be spent on language learning, was accepted by ministers in the spring after an independent review. The focus on primary schools is aimed at reversing the sharp decline in the numbers continuing to study languages to GCSE level, which is now optional.
Read more on the BBC website.
Children with English as their first language are in the minority in more than 1,300 schools, according to official figures.
This article on the Guardian website says that data from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) obtained by the Daily Telegraph shows that in 1,338 primary and secondary schools in England there are fewer children with English as their first language than those who consider it a second language.
Topics covered in this month’s English Language Teaching diary in the Guardian are:
China’s New Oriental gets warm embrace in US
New Oriental, China’s biggest English language teaching provider, is reaping the benefits of its flotation on the New York Stock Exchange last year.
Ireland races to raise skills to serve migrant pupils
The recent surge in Ireland’s immigrant population is putting strain on schools, but the government says that it is on track to provide support for over 48,000 ‘newcomer’ pupils.
Trainee lawyers found guilty of poor English skills
The Bar Council, the body that represents lawyers in England and Wales, has called for more rigorous English language testing for students applying to train as barristers.
Read the whole article on the Guardian website.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) is to conduct all its committee meetings in Gaelic, the Herald reports.
At the moment only some committee meetings are conducted in Gaelic but the council, which was set up in 1976, has now decided that all committee meetings and the full council will be held in the native tongue.
A full simultaneous English translation service will be available for all non-Gaelic speakers. There will be no additional costs involved because there is already a translator in the council’s Sgioba na Gaidhlig (Gaelic team).
Read more on the Herald website.
Edinburgh’s Confucius Institute has been hailed a role model for similar establishments around the world, the Scotsman reports. The Edinburgh University institute - set up to promote the Chinese language and culture in Scotland - was honoured in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Read more on the Scotsman website.
The BBC reports that First Minister Alex Salmond will pledge an extra £7.5m to safeguard the future of the Gaelic language this week.
Mr Salmond will unveil the funding increase when he delivers the annual Sabhal Mor Ostaig lecture on Wednesday. The money will be spent on education, the national plan for the language and also broadcasting. The lecture will take place at the St Cecilia Hall in Edinburgh, where Mr Salmond will call for the creation of a ‘Celtic Lion’ economy.
Read the full story on the BBC website.
Last month we published the French Reference Grammar and we have now added the German Reference Grammar which covers:
For your convenience, you can also download the entire resource as a PDF or Word document.
Coming soon - the MFLE Spanish Reference Grammar. Subscribers to the email update will be notified as soon as it is published.
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