Cantonese is a language

Sent to the Hong Kong Free Press, May 2

Re: “Cantonese a dialect, not a mother tongue, says Hong Kong Education Bureau supporting material on Mandarin.” (May 2, 2018)

Song Yinqiao has stated that Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese and therefore cannot be considered to be a mother tongue. If so, Mandarin is also a Chinese dialect and cannot be considered to be a mother tongue. 

Stephen Krashen (Ph.D, Linguistics, UCLA)

Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California 

90% fever: Should we require that the teacher use the target language 90% of the time in class?

Language teachers are told that they should make sure they use the target language in class 90% of the time or more.  I have no idea who came up with this number, but there is no solid research I know of that supports it. There is no research I know of that says the percentage of first language use should be 100% of the time, 80% of the time or 50% of time. 

What research does say is that we need to supply a lot of compelling comprehensible input, and that using the first language is one way of making second language input more comprehensible. This can sometimes be a single word, or a short explanation. 

The research also says that some uses of the first language are not helpful. They include translating everything we say into the first language, or spending a great deal of time talking about complex grammatical rules. 

Stating a percentage requirement of 90% (or any percentage) says nothing about HOW the first language is used. A teacher could easily meet the 90% requirement simply by speaking the first language all period, without regard as to whether the input is comprehensible. 

If we simply focus first language use on making second language input more comprehensible, e.g. an occasional translation of a problematic word or a brief explanation of grammar, I predict that use of the second language will be 90% or more. But if our goal is only to use the second language 90% of the time, there is no guarantee that it will be used in the service of providing comprehensible input. 

Stephen Krashen

Insituto Krashen?

 

This is from an article in El Universal: “Branlyn Jaraba está en el radar de la Major League Baseball” about a baseball player in Colombia interested in playing the Major Leagues in the US.  He is studying English at the “instituto Krashen.”  

 

“Branlyn Jaraba Lorduy terminó académicamente  en el ICCA en el primer semestre de 2017. Actualmente recibe clases en inglés en el Instituto Krashen con el firme propósito de manejar el idioma al máximo para estar preparado cuando le llegue la oportunidad de firmar con alguna organización de la MLB.”

http://www.eluniversal.com.co/deportes/beisbol/branlyn-jaraba-esta-en-el-radar-de-la-major-league-baseball-277283EU

 

 

This is the first I have heard of this school. I have no connection with them, and no idea what teaching methods they are using. 

 

Don't forget about reading

Sent to the Taipei Times, April 22,2018

I was surprised to discover that the Taiwan Ministry of Education will prioritize “listening and speaking skills” in English language education, and that they will encourage students to “first listen, then speak , then write” (Robert Dildine, “Education Magic,” Letter to the Editor, April 22, referring to a report in Taipei Times, “A long road to improving education,” Jan 24).  

The Ministry forgot something: Reading.  Research over the last 40 years has confirmed that we acquire language by understanding what we hear and read, and that the ability to speak and write is the result of listening and reading.  Study after study confirms that listening and reading need to come before speaking and writing. 

The Ministry might want to do some reading themselves and get familiar with this research. The annual English Teachers Association meeting in Taipei typically includes many reports from Taiwan’s scholars and teachers confirming that reading, especially self-selected reading, results in impressive gains in vocabulary, writing, grammar, spelling, and of course reading ability. In fact, time spent reading results in better progress in these areas than time spent in traditional teaching. 

Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus

University of Southern California, School of Education

sloppy tweet + sloppy reporting = unfair attack on boba milk

“Lies are half-way around the world before the truth can get its shoes on.” (Attributed to Mark Twain.)

This following was posted on twitter (Bestofnextdoor) by someone in Millbrae Park:

“I agree with the lady who spoke at the public hearing who said kids hanging out a boba milk tea shops are throwing their futures away when they should be studying SATs, nonstop.”

The tweet was immediately discussed in several local newspapers and websites and by others with wider circulation. The reports did not question the accuracy of the tweet. They should have.

I discovered that the “lady who spoke at the public gathering” was Prof. Christy Lao, SF State University, a respected scholar in language education and literacy. She posted a response on Resonate. She pointed out that she did not attack Boba Tea shops, and did not recommend nonstop SAT testprep.  Please read what she really did say.

(http://www.weareresonate.com/2018/03/bubble-tea-apparently-ruining-childrens-sat-scores/#respond)

Christy Lao Reply

It has come to my attention that my remarks at the public hearing on a site development plan, the Millbrae Serra Station Project, at Taylor Middle School, on March 27, 2018 were inaccurately reported on Nextdoor twitter and the twitter post, unfortunately, was quoted in “Some Bay Area Moms Worry Boba Tea is Destroying their Children’s Future” (Nextshark, March 28, 2018). I did NOT attack Boba Milk Tea and did not say students should be “studying SATs, nonstop.”
I DID say that students spend a great deal of time at Boba tea shops because of the shortage of quality after-school activities and enrichment programs that will help our students be more well-rounded.
I also said that “Mills High School does not have the variety and the quality extracurricular activities and athletic programs that Burlingame High School offers. Top tier colleges look for students not only with good grades but students that are well rounded, unique and have their own minds.”

Mr. Trump's spelling problem: Not just a failure to proofread

Sent to the Washington Post

Mr. Trump’s spelling mistakes reflect problems deeper than a failure to proofread (“Elected to read, not to proofread,” March 21, 2018). My research shows that poor spelling is often the result of not having a reading habit. Studies also show that those who read a lot know more about history and science. They also have greater empathy with others, and understand that the world is complex.  

Mr. Trump is a perfect example of a non-reader. 

Stephen Krashen

Original article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/elected-to-lead-not-to-proofread-typos-spelling-mistakes-are-commonplace-in-trumps-white-house/2018/03/21/092cd086-2d16-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.4fae250cb98d

Sources: 

Krashen, S. 1989. We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the input hypothesis. Modern Language Journal 73: 440-464.

West, R., Stanovich, K., & Mitchell, H. (1993). Reading in the real world and its correlates. Reading Research Quarterly, 28, 35-50.

Kidd, D., & Castano, E. (2013). Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind. 

Science, 342 (6156), 377-380.

Djikic, M., Oatley, K. & Moldoveanu, M. (2013). Opening the closed mind: The 

effect of exposure to literature on the need for closure. Creativity Research Journal, 25(2), 149-154.

Driverless cars and road safety

Sent  to the New York Post, March 19, 2018

Re: (“Pedestrian killed by driverless Uber, rideshare company suspends program,” March 19, 2018).  

Yes, we should be very concerned about the use of driverless cars. But if we are interested in a large improvement in road safety, let’s increase public transportation: Buses are 60 times as safe as cars, trains about 50 times as safe.  The problem with this obvious solution is that the super-rich make no profit.

Stephen Krashen

Source: https://journalistsresource.org/studies/environment/transportation/comparing-fatality-risks-united-states-transportation-across-modes-time

The fatality rate per billion miles driven for cars is 7.3, for buses, .11, for trains, .15.