Re: History of French

From: Herman Rubin (hrubin_at_odds.stat.purdue.edu)
Date: 09/17/04 

Date: 17 Sep 2004 09:10:57 -0500

In article <414A44CC.B0@worldnet.att.net>,
Peter T. Daniels <grammatim@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Herman Rubin wrote:

>> In article <414890F7.35D@worldnet.att.net>,
>> Peter T. Daniels <grammatim@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>> >Mxsmanic wrote:

>> >> Peter T. Daniels writes:

>> >> > Why do you think your alleged profession of ESL-teacher is needed?

>> >> Because, in some countries, foreign-language instruction is woefully
>> >> inadequate in public schools, and so people must take specialized
>> >> classes after leaving school in order to actually learn anything useful.

>> >How can anyone be so dense?

>> >If adults could absorb languages like children, there WOULD BE NO
>> >FOREIGN-LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION, whether in public schools, private
>> >schools, or tutorial situations.

>> So why do we have children take courses in "English" or
>> "language arts" every year of their schooling?

>In order to learn the arts or skills of interpreting literature and
>maybe even doing creative writing. Neither of which is important to
>society generally.

I suggest in that case it be dropped, and basic mathematics
and science, which are not taught, replace them.

>> >> > If adults could learn languages like children, there'd be no need for
>> >> > language-teachers ...

>> Several years of little more? Who is going to spend that
>> much time on it?

>> >> They _can_ ... but they just don't have the time.

>> >Some people have the time and the will, and cannot do it.

>> Nobody is willing to crawl when running is possible.

>Hunh? ESL is "running," and an infant mastering a language in a few
>years is "crawling"? The tortoise really does arrive before the hare!
>(or Achilles.)

Possibly ESL as NOW done is very slow, but this was not
the case in the massive immigration period. Both of my
parents were immigrants, and the night schools were set
up to get the immigrants to be "up to snuff" in a year
or two. My father found this to be far too slow. 

-- 
This address is for information only.  I do not claim that these views
are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University.
Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University
hrubin@stat.purdue.edu         Phone: (765)494-6054   FAX: (765)494-0558

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