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Discussion Groups / English Usage / December 2007UK schools facing English language crisis
"British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it was revealed that children studying English as their first language are in a minority now." http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=14576732  SignaturePurl Gurl -- So many are stumped by what slips right off the top of my mind like a man's bad fitting hairpiece. >"British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it > was revealed that children studying English as their first > language are in a minority now." > >http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=14576732 A classic example of poor sub-editing.The body of the article says "The figures show that in more than one in 20 of all schools in Britain, children with English as their first language were in the minority" SignatureJohn Ritson purlgurl@purlgurl.net had it ... > "British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it > was revealed that children studying English as their first > language are in a minority now." > > http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=14576732 You snip too much. It was actually "revealed" that: "... in 112 of the 3,343 secondary schools, children without English as a first language make up 51 to 70 per cent of all pupils". SignatureDavid >> "British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it >> was revealed that children studying English as their first >> language are in a minority now." >> http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=14576732 > You snip too much. It was actually "revealed" that: No, I provide just enough information to motivate readers to research and read. You are spoiled and expect all to be delivered to you upon a Silver Platter. SignaturePurl Gurl -- So many are stumped by what slips right off the top of my mind like a man's bad fitting hairpiece. > No, I provide just enough information to motivate > readers to research and read. Did you know the word "gullible" is not in the dictionary? > "British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it > was revealed that children studying English as their first > language are in a minority now." > > http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=14576732 Except that it doesn't really say that -- a good example of how false information gets spread by sloppy reporting of research results in the media. What it actually says (if you take the trouble to analyse it) is that in a sample of 3,343 British secondary schools, 112 of them (3%) have 51 to 70% of their pupils who do not have English as a their first language. It is of course entirely possible to be completely fluent in a second language even though the language of the home is (say) Gujarati or Punjabi. My kids had quite a few Asian friends at school who spoke perfect idiomatic English even though they used another language at home. So some schools may indeed have a problem, but to call it a crisis and imply that it is the case in all schools is a travesty of the facts. But the media never let the truth get in the way of a good headline. > It is of course entirely possible to be completely fluent in a second > language even though the language of the home is (say) Gujarati or > Punjabi. My kids had quite a few Asian friends at school who spoke > perfect idiomatic English even though they used another language at > home. Let's more forget the oft-repeated conclusion that pupils who are brought up in a bilingual environment are more fluent - in *both* languages - than those who have had a purely monolingual education. SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. >> "British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it >> was revealed that children studying English as their first >> language are in a minority now." >> >> http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=14576732 [...] > What it actually says (if you take the trouble to analyse it) is that in a > sample of 3,343 British secondary schools, 112 of them (3%) have 51 to 70% [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Punjabi. My kids had quite a few Asian friends at school who spoke perfect > idiomatic English even though they used another language at home. [...] Fred Springer is clearly correct. In the grammar school where I taught before retirement, we had an application during the holidays from the father of a 12-year-old boy of Iraqi-Finnish parentage, who had virtually no English apart from "Hello". In mathematical and "spatial reasoning" tests he scored almost full marks, but the headmaster and I couldn't interview him. Fortunately his father, who had a fair command of English, told us that young Sami-Ali (hi, Sami, if you're reading this in Australia!) spoke some German, as did our Swedish librarian, and she reported that he was bright and polite. So we took him on, Within two terms his English was pretty good, and after another year indistinguishable from that of his class-mates (except that he had a wider vocabulary than most). Later he gained top passes in all his GCSEs, starred as the romantic lead in "She Stoops to Conquer", and did dazzling well in A-Levels. He also became a much-respected Head Boy before going to university, and is now a consultant surgeon. English was his _fourth_ language. Alan Jones >> "British schools are facing an 'English language' crisis as it >> was revealed that children studying English as their first [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > language even though the language of the home is (say) Gujarati or > Punjabi... My daughter, who was educated entirely in France, was completely fluent in French for many years despite its being the third most likely language for her to hear at home. I think that sort of thing is extremely common among immigrants. athel (BrE) |
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