As native languages continue to struggle for survival, the influence of French in Africa is fast fading. Models have emerge of possible impact of a mono-lingual civilization especially with regard to innovation and global competitiveness. We now know that emphasis on English language is indeed killing other languages and constraining us to tap into the creativity of non-English speakers?
You’ve probably heard about TOEFL. Yes, me too. Patricia Ryan asks if a computer programmer needs as much score as a doctor on the TOEFL. Good question. Fact is that the score will always be the same regardless. People are therefore screened on the basis of how they can communicate in English in total disregard of what they know or can contribute to global issues. How health is that?
In this piece, Patricia Ryan paints a simple, yet effective case for preservation of native languages (multi-lingualism). She claims that 1 language dies every 14 days. check out her remarks here: http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_ryan_ideas_in_all_languages_not_just_english.html
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Make Technologies work for you
Got more proof for you that ICTs matter yesterday. My 7 yr-old daughter, asked me why her school is collecting money for Japan. She believes that Japan is a rich country already. "Does Japan want to get even richer at the expense of us in Canada?" she wondered. Look, I told her. you are right to say that Japan is a rich country. But about a month ago, Japan suffered a massive earthquake and tsunami. The country lost a lot. It needs all our support to rebuild.
We then went on-line with her and her little brother to search for videos and articles about the incidents. Turned out to be an effective way to teach the young minds. They took lead picking clips with interesting detail. In a couple of minutes, they both understood the earth quake and tsunami. They understood how a country can be destroyed by these natural events.
"I get it dad". the girl declared. She quickly decided to stage a demo of how earthquake can cause a tsunami. She put water in bowl, placed it on a table and went on to agitate the table. The water poured out of the bowl. Was truely interesting couple of hours.
What if I didn't have access to the internet? Alright. I would have answered the question but most likely would have been shot on details. The kids wouldn't have understood these events the way they did. Yes, I positive about that.
Some of the interesting links on Japan earthquake and tsunami we saw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-zfCBCq-8I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3AdFjklR50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ikus_TEaGI&feature=related
We then went on-line with her and her little brother to search for videos and articles about the incidents. Turned out to be an effective way to teach the young minds. They took lead picking clips with interesting detail. In a couple of minutes, they both understood the earth quake and tsunami. They understood how a country can be destroyed by these natural events.
"I get it dad". the girl declared. She quickly decided to stage a demo of how earthquake can cause a tsunami. She put water in bowl, placed it on a table and went on to agitate the table. The water poured out of the bowl. Was truely interesting couple of hours.
What if I didn't have access to the internet? Alright. I would have answered the question but most likely would have been shot on details. The kids wouldn't have understood these events the way they did. Yes, I positive about that.
Some of the interesting links on Japan earthquake and tsunami we saw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-zfCBCq-8I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3AdFjklR50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ikus_TEaGI&feature=related
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