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To the Editor
English around the world
The world has become smaller. Cultural differences have been annihilated by globalisation. Language plays a significant role in the process of globalisation. English has proved its viability and practicability to be the common language of global people. The big and industrially independent countries of the world used to put less emphasis on teaching this language to their learners. But now the situation has started changing in response to the practical needs of the time and to keep pace with the race of globalisation.
The Asian Association of Teachers of English as Foreign Language, China National Advisory Commission on Foreign Language Teaching, College English Teaching and Research Association of China, China Research and Development Center for Foreign Language Teaching and Learning and
Higher Education Press of China jointly organised an international conference in Beijing from November 4 to 6 at China Resource Hotel to exchange views and ideas about how to develop the standard of English in Asian countries. More than five hundred scholars, researchers, teachers, educationists and critics gathered in the conference. More than one hundred papers were presented in the conference. The world famous professors from Asia, Europe, America and Africa attended the conference. This writer also presented a paper. The participants shared and exchanged their views and ideas about teaching, learning, teaching methodology and overall situation of English in nonnative countries. On the basis of this conference the writer has tried to focus some light on the situation of English in China and Japan, the two giants of Asia in respect of resource, economy and industrial development.
Complaints often arise when people come to talk about English learning. Students spend many years learning it, usually from junior middle school in the past and now from elementary school grade 3, but their ability of using the language is limited. How to learn English more effectively and efficiently has become a great concern to the people of China. In Xi'an there are 14 kindergartens under experiment, 3 in Shenzhen, 1 in Beijing, I in Wuhan, some other kindergartens from Shanton, Guangdong, Ningbo, Zhejiang, Fuzhou and Shenda are also involved in the programme. The English Immersion Programmes are also being carried out in many elementary schools, one of which is Luojiashan Elementary School in Wuhan. The first immersion kids are now junior middle school students whose English capability has been recognised not only by their parents but also by the schools and education authorities.
Immersion refers to the language learning model of using the second language as the teaching language. This turns the second language teaching to the integration of language teaching and curriculum subjects. This division depends on the following four principles. First, the curriculum subjects in school offer the natural basis and settings for the second language acquisition and give children chances to communicate in the languages where children can learn the second language effectively. Second, the important and interesting learning contents give the children the motivation to master the second language and stimulate them to use it. Third, the acquisition of children's first language is the process of combining the language and the cognitive contents in which their cognitive and communicative abilities develop at the same time. So does the second language. Fourth, the regular and functional characteristics of language
change with the situation. The teaching model of combining the language with the curriculum subjects offers children broad and different situations to use the language.
Computerized Assessment System for English Communication (CASEC) is a computer adapted test developed in Japan which aims to measure English communication proficiency. Bangladesh can share some experiences of these two countries.
Md. Masum Billah
Material Development Specialist (English)
BRAC Head Office, Dhaka
Enayetullah Khan
The death of the veteran journalist, Enayetullah Khan, is a great loss for the nation. Especially, in this time of political confrontations, the nation would have been benefited if he could continue his mission through journalism. Personally, I used to read his thought-
provoking and well-articulated pieces in the New Age and Weekly Holiday. I also had the opportunity to meet him and listen to his speeches on some occasions-- the last one, probably a year back in a UNDP sponsored conference on the prospects of human rights commission.
You have rightly noted that “He was by far the best among us; courageous, articulate, clear thinking, highly political and refreshingly outspoken. His was a life totally dedicated to journalism. Unabashedly opinionated and unreservedly expressive about his views, he was an icon for us who took up journalism as a profession.”
udatta Bikash
Dhaka
Readjust prices of oil
We, the middle class citizens, are in a real dilemma due to frequent change in micro economic policy. In most of the situations, the government takes some
deceptive decisions that ultimately lame the common masses-- just to make happy its elite satellites. The recent price hike of oil across the globe above $70 per barrel is an example of how things are being dealt with. The people of our country whose per capita income is no more than $467 would expect to get supply of oil at a subsidised price because oil spiral has a correlation with the prices of all other daily necessities. On the excuse of global price hike, the government had taken the initiative to adjust the price with foreign market that led to the new transportation fare of Tk .88 per km.
The oil prices went down last week. But we are still bemused to observe the standstill stance of the energy ministry because no initiative has yet been taken to adjust the prices with global market.
Kumar Krishna Biswas
University of Dhaka
Simple solution!
An uncle of mine required a few cardiac tests such as ECG and Lipid profile. We went to a famous cardiac hospital where he did the tests. Everything was all right until the day of report delivery. They handed over a report to us with the name of some other gentleman. My uncle was astonished and enquired at the office to which they responded with a simple solution. The report findings all remained the same while they only typed my uncle's name in place of the unknown gentleman's name and gave us a fresh print-out! We were outraged at their behaviour and their work-- is that how they treat heart patients?
Finally, they agreed to let us have the same tests again free of cost but we wonder what happened to the gentleman whose name was written on my uncle's report when we first received the report.
Whom can we rely on?
Rizwan Shamim
Ramna, Dhaka