Que no! No són bojos!

“What languages do you speak?”

“English, Spanish/Castillian, and Catalan.”

The next question is either “What’s Catalan?” or “Why/how did you learn Catalan?” (neither of which ever really surprise me). How I answer the first question should  be obvious at this point (it’s the language spoken in Catalonia, etc) but how I answer the second has changed a bit with time.

At the root of my interest in Catalonia is something simple: football. I’m a Barça fan and the club has literally turned my life upside down. I wouldn’t have half the friends I have now, or have gone to a quarter of the events that I have in the past four years, or have taken half the classes I did last semester, or be writing this blog post if it wasn’t for Barça. (I would have saved a lot of money because I wouldn’t have dropped hundreds on jerseys, but that’s besides the point.) I was kind of a slump when I encountered the beautiful game and in a sense, Barça gave me life.

I became determined to scheme up something to give something back to Barça, to thank it for that. The scheme I originally came up with was learning Catalan (as time went by the scheme eventually snowballed into this project). When I came to Columbia and found out that not only do they offer the language but that the professor was the biggest sweetheart on the planet/Columbia’s secret gem/literally the best person on earth, I knew it was meant for me to learn the language. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. Not the part about Elsa but the second part.  In my head it was as if everything fell into place and so I enrolled second semester. By that point, the answer to “why did you learn Catalan” became a motley of “because I love Barça,” “because the professor is fantastic,” “because language classes are so much fun,” “because why the hell not,” and “because I wanted to.” That’s the answer that still stands today and while I was in Barcelona I sprinkled in a little of “because I wanted to visit Barcelona and get the most out of my stay.”

The past few days, I’ve been thinking about that second question a lot. I’ve also been thinking a lot about a documentary about the Catalan language that pops up on my Twitter timeline every so often. It’s called Són bojos, aquests Catalans?! It’s about this German girl who decides to learn Catalan instead of Spanish because she’s dating a Catalan guy and is moving to Catalonia. She gets there and takes a little road trip to see exactly how useful her new language skills are. She’s riding around in this van that is reminiscent of the Mystery Machine, talking to all sorts of people and going to all sorts of places. I first watched the documentary in 2013 and thought it was interesting, gave it a thumbs up. When I took my Catalan Cultures class, again with the wonderful Elsa (TAKE ONE OF HER CLASSES COLUMBIA STUDENTS TAKE ONE OF HER CLASSES), I watched it again for a homework assignment.



To give a little more context about the purpose of the film, here’s its summation as provided by the director, David Valls:

The Catalan language is spoken by about 10 million people. This makes it the ninth most spoken language in the European Union and within the 100 most widely spoken languages in the world. It is a medium size language, comparable in number of speakers with languages ​​such as Czech, Swedish, Bulgarian, and it has more speakers than Danish, Estonian, etc.. Despite these objective facts, what it happens to Catalan that it does not happen with these other languages​​? Why [is] Catalan is not in a similar situation such as other languages with a similar amount of speakers? Why [isn't] its use it isnot normalized? Why [do] we assume [its behaviors] as normal linguistic behaviors [when they] are not? Why [do] Catalan speakers often code switch to Spanish? What are the actual uses of Catalan? What difficulties are there?

As a viewer, there’s two ways to look at the film. The first: you can think of the film as illuminating the obstacles that the Catalan language still faces, as the director’s summary leads one to do. The documentary shows that Catalan isn’t used in the courts, on food or medicine labels, or in machinery user-guides. It explains that universities have different sections for classes (sections taught in Castilian and others in Catalan) and the presence of the language in radio, publishing, television and even in other regions of Spain. It’s informative and exposes truths that people like me all the way over here in America wouldn’t have known otherwise. If you look at it this way, then the film won’t (or at least shouldn’t) discourage you from learning the language. Sure it faces obstacles, but that’s okay.

The second: you can think of the film as legitimizing the lack of a need for foreigners to learn the language. Here’s an entire documentary about foreigner that takes time out of her life to learn a language, heads over the only place the language is spoken, and then realizes that she was probably better off learning Castillian because the whole Catalan thing isn’t as important as her boyfriend made seem. She lucked out because she got her story turned into a movie, but clearly, that won’t be happening to you — she covered all the bases and the world doesn’t need two movies about the same irrelevant language. Why learn a language that faces obstacles when you could stick to Castillian and survive just as well, if not better?

I didn’t realize this second way until watching the movie a second time. Please note: realizing and adopting the second way are not the same thing. I realized it but vehemently disagree with it and here’s why:

• I was already a month into my Catalan course to know that the language was 1. beautiful, 2. fun, and 3. a hidden gem (much like the Catalan professor at Columbia TAKE HER CLASSES TAKE THEM). Plus, ain’t nobody gonna convince me a month into doing something that all my efforts were pointless.
• There’s something, I dunno, just plain obvious about the importance of learning a nation’s language before you visit it. This point is mainly for all my monolingual Americans who plan on stamping up their passport without cracking open a book about the places they want to see. Don’t be the ignorant American who hops off the plane and forces everyone they encounter to speak English because you can’t communicate in any other way. That’s just plain disrespectful and inconsiderate. Additionally, as my coworker recently pointed out, If you’re one of those Americans who demands that those who come to America learn to speak English, you should realize that you have the same responsibility when you go abroad. No one is asking you to be completely fluent in the language, but make an effort to learn and use it. You don’t even have to learn it before you get there — you can learn it while you’re there. This, to me, is part of being a decent traveler and a huge part of respecting other people’s cultures. (Some of you may chime out with the “well, newsflash you Ivy League brat: some of us don’t have the money to take language classes!” To you I say, get to a library and use the Internet or borrow a book. If you have the money to travel abroad, you most likely have money to at least do that.
• When you go Barcelona and speak Catalan, new opportunities open up.It’s a conversation starter because not many foreigners speak the language. You’ll most likely be much more intriguing and you can finally become friends with the locals and see what the real city is like. Some people may open up faster and decide to take you under their wing and show you around themselves. You’ll be able to read the menu without having to bug the waiter to translate it for you. You’ll avoid ordering things that you know you won’t like or that you’re allergic to. You’ll be able to navigate the supermarket a lot faster and understand those cute signs that line the streets asking people to keep the noise level low at night. You also open up the door to a whole world of fantastic music. (There is a small chance that speaking Catalan may run you into some trouble but I’ll explain that tomorrow and it was literally a one in a million event that ended up flattering me instead of insulting me in the long run.)

My point is if you end up watching that documentary and regarding it in the second way, think the whole thing over again. Learning Catalan is a good thing. It’s a little weird, sure, but do it. It’s worth it — it’s fun, it’s different, and ultimately, it is useful.

BIANCA GUERRERO  http://biancaincatalonia.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/que-no-no-son-bojos/

Ana Botella se toma al final su Café con Leche.

Interveción de Ana Botella y l canción promocional

No deja de ser extraño que tras la intervención de la alcaldesa de Madrid Ana Botella utilizando un inglés que algunos calificaban de horroroso, se haya creado poco menos que un mito y se vuelva a recordar esa intervención que para algunos fue penosa.


Sin embargo esto requiere un poco de reflexión pues hay que conocer el contexto. Los que juzgaban la aparición pública de Ana Botella eran en su inmensa mayoría españoles, y por tanto la inmensa mayoría de esa inmensa mayoría, que ya son unos poco menos pero todavía muchos, no hablan bien la lengua de Peter Pan.


Los que la juzgaban lo hacían probablemente por las inserciones en español de las palabras "café con leche" y "Plaza Mayor" en su frase "have a cup of café con leche en la Plaza Mayor". Seguramente querían oir "have a cup of white coffee in the City Square", o "Main Square" o cualquier otra trancreación del término Plaza Mayor.




Parémonos a considerar ahora nuestra posible reacción si escucháramos a alguien hacer el mismo discurso en un país que no fuera España. Los españoles, no todos, siempre han tenido un sentimiento de inferioridad. Por ello históricamente tenemos que hablar el idioma del que nos visita, o hablamos súper despacio a cualquier extranjero. Si escucháramos un programa de la RAI nos sorprendería sin duda oír algo parecido a "have a nice cup of white coffee in Spain's Square". Tal vez no nos chocaría sin embargo oír algo parecido a "have a nice capuccino in Piazza Spagna". 


Pero no, aquí los fariseos del lenguaje, que ni saben ni permiten que otros sepan, critican lo mismo que aprueban en otras latitudes. De igual modo no visitamos la plaza de Oxford sino Oxford Circus, ni el Real Palacio de Alberto sino el Royal Albert Hall. ni el Parque Hyde o la Plaza de los Tiempos, (o de las Horas, qui lo sa) sino Hyde Park y Times Square.


Tal vez lo que a muchos no les gusta es que esta señora, muy madrileña de formas, gesticulase tanto, cosa que tiene más que ver con su manera de ser. A muchos no les gusta por razones políticas o por ser del PP. O tal vez por ser la esposa del ex presidente del gobierno José María Aznar.



Su pronunciación tampoco era mala. Pronunciación era esa tal que seguramente pasaría un nivel de First Certificate, si se juzga solamente en base a las frases que pronunció. Nivel sea dicho de paso, que aunque es el adecuado para un chico o chica de 16 años hoy en día, es el que se pide para acabar con un aprobado una carrera universitaria. Pasar un nivel de First Certificate decía, aunque ya lo del "first certificate" lo vamos abandonando en Europa, porque ya adoptamos el Marco Europeo de Referencia de Lenguas, en este caso un B2. Ya vamos abandonando decía, muy a pesar de los británicos, un marco que era lo que queda del imperialismo inglés a través de su lengua. Lengua que ya no pertenece al antiguo imperio británico ni a su descendiente la Commonwealth of Nations, sino al planeta.



Por tanto concluiría que resulta que Ana Botella hizo bien pronunciando esas frases, como bien harían los italianos, o como nosotros hacemos cuando viajamos fuera. El First en cuanto pronunciación lo pasaría justito pero no sería su performance óbice para un Pass.Yo le daría un Grade 6 del Trinity College de Londres.

ENGLISH TUTORS - SUMMER 2014 EXTRAVAGANZA

SUMMER CAMPS FOR KIDS WITH SPANISH KIDS

HOMESTAY PARA PROFESIONALES EN CASA DEL

PROFESOR

CAMPAMENTOS DE VERANO en Inglaterra y otros países de habla inglesa en verano para jóvenes, CON JÓVENES DE HABLA INGLESA, plazas limitadas. Estancias en casa del profesor para PROFESIONALES individuales o en matrimonio. También cursos de verano con otros estudiantes extranjeros. Por favor, puedes contactarnos en 
summercamps@englishtutors.es

SPANISH SUMMER CAMPS in Spain for young people. Immersion Summer Camps with Spanish kids doig sports and cultural and learning activities. Limited availability, Please, do contact us at 
campamentosdeverano@englishtutors.es

Para PROFESIONALES EN CASA DEL PROFESOR, individuos o matrimonios/for professionals at the home of the teacher, both for individuals and married couples:

homestay@englishtutors.es

TO MY TURKISH FRIENDS...

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or

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and you may leave comments, or LIKE the page. You may consider improving your English or Spanish Conversational skills or start learning Spanish with me...

Have a good week.

J

MOOC will teach English

FutureLearn and the British Council see India as a major market for MOOCs that teach English. Photo: Nic Walker

Tim Dodd

The UK-based FutureLearn will ­partner with the British Council, which already provides English language education, to pioneer MOOCs that teach the English language.

It is the first time that a major MOOC provider has announced plans to offer language courses. The two organisations said there would be a portfolio of English language courses ready in 2014 which would be focused on preparing ­students whose native language is not English for studying higher education courses taught in English.

The announcement was made in India, which FutureLearn and the ­British Council see as a major market for MOOCs that teach English. The two organisations said the MOOCs would also “provide a route for learners to take International English Language ­Testing System (IELTS) assessments at British Council testing centres”.

The British Council is a part-owner of the IELTS test, along with Australian company IDP Education, which ­operates a separate network of IELTS testing centres.

FutureLearn is owned by British education institution, The Open ­University, and has 29 partners which are mainly UK universities but also include the British Council and the ­British Museum.

Monash University is one of FutureLearn’s international ­partners.

The British Council is a non-profit organisation set up by Royal Charter to promote British culture and education internationally.

It is pitching English teaching MOOCs as a way of channelling ­international students to British ­universities.

“It is right that India should be one of the first places where we collectively launch the FutureLearn MOOC ­platform and courses,” said Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council. “FutureLearn will provide young Indians with another means of access to the UK’s world-class education ­institutions.”

In other news, the world’s leading MOOC provider, US-based Coursera, has raised $US20 million ($21.8 million) more than expected in its latest capital raising.

According to All Things D , Coursera’s $US43 million capital raising announced in July this year has expanded to $US63 million.

Three unnamed universities are responsible for most of the extra investment. Coursera has now totalled $US85 million in capital from investors.

Emancipating the English Language Learner

As you cooraptoriliate these words, make sure you flimp the scoglottora in proper schimliturn. You will only understand this column if hickitow glisps in baggaduanation. Use your joomering and begin.

Huh? _Look, everyone else reading this column has begun his or her work, why haven't you? Seriously, use your joomering and get started. _What exactly do you want me to do? Hmm.  _Maybe you're not ready for the level of comprehension this magazine requires of its readers. We might have a remedial magazine for you, perhaps something from Highlights for Children? _No, I really want to know. I can do whatever you ask, but I don't know what it is. I'm actually a good reader and thinker, but I don't use your words or have experience with your culture. Do not think of me as unintelligent!  _Maybe I could find something from the basic teacher texts for you if I only had the time. Just sit here a moment while I explain this information to the other readers and let them move ahead. I know this means you'll be further behind than you already are, but it's all I can offer right now.Wow. 

Just a couple of moments of walking in an English language learner's shoes and a few things are abundantly clear:

1. Well-intentioned yet uninformed teachers can offend English language learners (ELLs) if they are not careful.
2. Some ELL students don't receive appropriate instruction for their intellectual level.
3. We feel a lot of anxiety when we don't know the language or culture of the country in which we are living—so much so that some of us stop trying. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and patience every day to remain attentive and engaged when you're learning a language, and some days ELL students are so emotionally drained they can't muster either one.

We need to be mindful of the emotions at play when asking students to do all this thinking aloud in a language and culture foreign to their own. Students are stressed not only about learning a new academic concept, but also about having to adjust to different cultural expectations in which they may not succeed.Debra Coggins and her coauthors explain in English Language Learners in the Mathematics Classroom: "For students from cultures in which students are expected to wait to be asked before speaking, and where students are not expected to ask questions of elders, it is very important for the teacher to explicitly set the expectation for students to ask questions and express their opinions in the…classroom. Otherwise, classroom discourse becomes an exercise in trying to participate in a game where only others know the unwritten rules."Simple StrategiesIf we embrace the promise of America from its earliest roots, we realize that with the noted exception of native peoples, we are a nation of immigrants. What can those of us not trained in working with English language learners do in our regular classrooms to help them succeed?Twenty minutes of empathetic reflection on the needs of ELL students yields some common sense responses that truly help them learn:

1. Speak slowly and clearly.
2. Repeat important words and information several times.
3. Extend time for responding to prompts as necessary.
4. Avoid using idioms and colloquialisms until students are more advanced with our culture; if we use them, we take the time to explain them.
5. Gesture and point to what we are referring.
6. Ask students to read text more than once.
7. Label objects and concepts in the classroom frequently.
8. Provide a lot of specific models, including hands-on experiences.
9. Use visuals during instruction: pictures, illustrations, graphs, pictographs, as well as real objects.
10. Frequently demonstrate what we mean, not just describe it.
11. Make ELL students feel as though they belong and have a role to play in classroom learning. One way to do this is to find something in the student's background that connects to the topic we're studying.
12. Use thinking aloud or self-talk to model the sequence of doing the task.
13. Use cooperative learning groups; let ELL students work with English-proficient partners.
14. Let students draw responses occasionally instead of writing them; use more than one format for assessing students if the general approach won't allow ELL students to accurately portray what they know.
15. Find ways to enable ELL students to demonstrate their intellectual skills and maintain dignity.
16. Give students quick feedback on their word use: An ELL says in halting English, "This correct paper?" and we say in affirmation, "Yes, that is the correct paper. Thank you."
17. Spend time before lessons on important topics to build a personal background in English language learners so they have an equal chance to attach new learning to what's already in their minds. This is good for all students, not just ELLs, of course. If we're about to teach students about magnetic fields, for example, we can let them play with magnets, lightly pouring iron shavings near their poles to watch their pattern of dispersal or gathering.
18. Stay focused on how ELL students are doing toward reaching their learning goals, not how they're doing in relation to other students. This is huge. We remove all hope when we ceaselessly cajole ELL students into proficiency by comparing them to language-proficient students.
19. Recognize the difference between conversational language and academic language and that students need help with both; learning one does not mean you've learned the other.
20. Take the time to learn about English language learners' home countries. This engenders good will and allows you to make connections in the curriculum.

In addition, in English Language Learners in the Mathematics Classroom, the authors remind us to

1. Invite ELL students to learn and explore ideas in their own languages first, then translate them to English
2. Provide ELL students with response stems, such as, "One thing that I learned was … ."
3. Ask students to restate classmates' comments as they begin their own comments
4. Relate concepts in story format before specific instruction.

Stephen Cary, author of Working with English Language Learners: Answers to Teachers' Top Ten Questions favors authentic talk over compliance talk. "Authentic talk" refers to real conversations about real topics to satisfy real needs, even when this includes the incorporation of local colloquialisms, phrasings, and terms. Consider the value of this dialogue:

Where can I buy soccer cleats? Mine are too old. I can't turn fast in them. I'm the sweep this weekend.

1. Wow, I hate playing sweep. I'm a mid-fielder.
2. I can't play mid-field very well. It's too tiring. You have to be everywhere.
3. Yeah, but you can get the other team off sides.
4. Sometimes, but I don't think about that a lot. So, the cleats?
5. Oh yeah. Over at Fair Oaks Mall, there's a sports store near the soft pretzel shop.

Students need plenty of experiences with real conversations. 

Something Else to Consider: Some people—educators included— equate low language proficiency with diminished mental function. Because teachers are so accustomed to using verbal and written responses as students' manifestation of internal thought, they think ELL students are not capable of abstract or sophisticated thinking because their words are not abstract or sophisticated. As a result, they don't ask ELL students to make comparisons, analyze data, connect ideas, synthesize concepts, or evaluate performances. By not pushing their ELL students this way, teachers allow these students to fall further behind.Add to this the reality that our society tends to be insensitive to those who do not speak our language well or who do not have our same cultural references.Many English language learners who are employed in service positions such as custodian, stock clerk, construction worker, and housekeeper have extraordinary depth, complexity, and rich educational backgrounds but are doing these jobs because their lack of language skills prevents them from working in other positions.One year, I taught a student whose family escaped from brutality in former Romania. The student's parents had been math professors at prestigious universities in Romania. Here in the United States, however, the student's father was cleaning offices in the building next to my school and the mother was teaching English at the local library.Even ELL students who are not from such academically advanced families think in wonderfully imaginative ways, often beyond what can be expressed in English.To not include metaphors and analogies in ELL students' learning experiences due to language struggles is like assuming they don't know how to feed themselves because they don't eat the same food we do. It's pompous, and it denies ELL students their basic instruction. We can't save advanced thinking only for advanced language proficiency students.Freeing Learners to LearnNearing the end of our first full decade in the 21st century, it is no longer acceptable to consider ELL students as someone else's problem or beyond our instruction. They are just as much a part of the modern teacher's daily commitment as taking attendance and making sure students have their supplies.We have effective tools for the regular education teacher to help ELL students find every success in our schools. It's time to free them from what lack of language proficiency would impose.

IN 2050 MORE SPANISH THAN ENGLISH WILL BE SPOKEN IN THE STATES

Con el aumento de la población hispana en el país surgen nuevos estudios que tratan el futuro del idioma español. El reciente estudio fue publicado por la Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española y demuestra que la población de habla española ha crecido considerablemente en Estados Unidos.

INDIA - Those who speak English fluently earn up to 34% more than others

Those who speak English fluently earn up to 34% more than others

By Rema Nagarajan, TNN | 5 Jan, 2014

According to the report, only 20% of Indian population can speak in English, and only 4% would be considered fluent, in the language.

NEW DELHI: Those who speak English fluently earn up to 34% more than those who don't speak the language, a recent report has found, confirming the link between an education in English and the scope of employment opportunities.

But given the constraints of cost and access, the number of those studying in English medium is yet to pick up. Less than 25% of students of higher education are studying in English medium in the north central region of India, including Bihar and UP, compared to around 75% in south India.

Higher education in Indian languages costs between Rs 1,200 and Rs 3, 000 a year, while English medium costs 6-8 times more, between Rs 8,000 and 15,000 a year. But the investment is seen as worthwhile since education in English is likely to to yield higher wages, says the report authored by Dr Abusaleh Shariff of the Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy, New Delhi and Amit Sharma, research analyst with the National Council for Applied Economic Research.

"Men who speak English fluently earn wages about 34% higher and men who speak a little English earn wages about 13% higher than those who don't speak any English," the report said.

According to the report, only 20% of the Indian population can speak in English, and only 4% would be considered fluent. Where one lives is a key determinant in accessing English medium education, it found.

"Politicians who don't like English are captains of a sinking ship. Higher education in English helps us get better integrated into the globalized organized sector and labour market. Those without access to higher education in English are being left out," Dr Shariff told TOI.

Japan should take English lessons from Philippines

BY AMY CHAVEZ

The Japan Times Community

I’ve just come back from a two-week trip to the Philippines, where English is an official language along with the local Filipino language.

English was brought to the Philippines during the 1896-1946 American occupation and it still enjoys official status. This does not mean that everyone understands or speaks English, but it does mean that exposure to the language is so widespread that those who do speak it can communicate quite fluently. I was also impressed that people who had never stepped outside the Philippines were nevertheless fluent in English.

How can a nation acquire a second language so proficiently despite some claims that as many as 27.8 percent of Filipino school-age children either don’t attend, or never finish, elementary school?

It’s all in the approach to learning English. The Philippines not only teaches English in its schools but also provides its population with another tool crucial to language acquisition: exposure.

In all parts of the country, English signs abound, and they are not there for foreign tourists. “Don’t block the driveway,” say signs on the roads in Cebu. “House for sale,” informs a signboard in front of a dwelling in the countryside. Company logos, road signs and advertisements are in English. (Think about it: Are any of those things taught in a regular textbook-based English-language class?) As a result, most Filipinos learn English both inside and outside the classroom. It is not just about teaching English in schools but learning it through life experience too.

When I stepped into a taxi in Manila, the driver was listening to a radio program that featured two pundits discussing a recent bus accident in both official languages. The discussion took place in Filipino, with the commentator repeating the arguments and conclusions in English. This not only encourages English acquisition; it also allows people like me, an English-only speaker, to understand the conversations and issues in the program. While the bus accident may have been newsworthy enough to make it into the mainstream English news, I never could have hoped to hear such in-depth analysis of the event from a local point of view in the way this radio program allowed me to.

I should mention that the commentator used natural English, not the slow, instructional English you often hear in Japan that is used specifically for teaching. Rather than being an English language-learning radio program, this was regular radio reporting in the Philippines.

The country also presents national and world news in English on TV. These are not translations of Filipino-language news but news reported in English by Filipino anchors. In Japan, if you don’t speak or read Japanese, you must rely on slow, painful interpretation into often-unnatural English provided by Japan’s select TV news stations. This means that the news media themselves decide what Japanese news should be available in the English language.

If the government hopes to meet its goal of attracting 300,000 international students to Japanese universities by 2020, it should consider how the Philippines has significantly increased its foreign student enrollment: Top universities in the country teach all their classes in English. As a result, the Philippines is attracting foreign students from Iran, Libya, Brazil, Russia, China and yes, even Japan, to earn graduate and postgraduate degrees.

The Philippines offers one more alternative for people who would normally look at much more expensive schools in the United States, Britain and Australia. For Japan, teaching university classes in English would surely help attract more foreign students, as well as potentially position more Japanese universities in the world’s top 100.

It is hard to overemphasize the role of exposure in learning a second language. Not only does it allow people to experience the language firsthand in real situations, but exposure provides reinforcement — something Japanese students rarely, if ever, get outside the classroom.

Perhaps this is why Japanese students often major in English at university — as if English were a career — rather than choosing a profession such as teaching, engineering or medicine, where a knowledge of English would enhance their qualifications. As long as English is treated as a subject rather than a method of communication, students will get little exposure outside the classroom.

Some Japanese companies realize the importance of English for communication. The Renault-Nissan alliance implemented an English-only policy for its global communications more than 10 years ago, while other Japanese firms have done so more recently: Rakuten (2010), Fast Retailing (2012), Bridgestone (2013) and, in November, Honda, have all designated English as their global working language; Honda expects its employees to learn English if they don’t already speak it, or to use an interpreter.

It takes a certain amount of determination to learn a second language, and this is what the Japanese government lacks. Adding more English classes earlier in elementary school and having some lessons taught in the target language are all improvements, but the real problem is that Japan doesn’t treat English as a means of communication, nor as a vital way to make Japan globally competitive. Japan should consider not just better ways to teach English but better ways to learn it.

English is an official language in 60 countries. While making it an official language in Japan might be going a bit far, it couldn’t hurt to make English the de facto language of education.

HONG KONG STILL THINKS ENGLISH IS BRITISH OR AMERICAN!!! AND... IS AMERICAN THE BEST OPTION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE, OR RATHER, AN INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH IS MORE FIT?

Hong Kong's English language skills branded 'pathetic' as Chinese has 'negative influence'

The English-language skills of Hong Kong's adult population have slumped to the level of South Korea, Indonesia and Japan, according to new rankings of 60 countries and territories.

Despite rising in the global rankings for English proficiency, over the past six years, the city's actual score has dropped and it now sits fourth in Asia.

Experts put the blame partly on the switch from teaching mainly in English to mainly in Chinese since the handover. They said English skills must be improved if job-seekers were to remain competitive with mainlanders, whose English skills were improving.

Anita Poon Yuk-kang, associate professor in Baptist University's department of education studies, said mother-tongue teaching had had a "very negative influence" on the efficiency of English learning. She said having two standard written languages - English and Chinese - and three standard spoken languages - Putonghua, Cantonese and English - had further lowered the importance of English.

Business consultant Joseph Luc Ngai said the performance of Hong Kong job applicants was "very pathetic", with weaknesses in both English and Putonghua.

"Language ability has become a basic requirement [in job seeking]," Ngai, director of McKinsey and Company's Hong Kong practice, said. "There is no option but to improve Chinese and English at the same time. Too many people are fluent in both."

The annual rankings cover countries and territories in Europe, Asia, North Africa and Latin America where English is not the native language.While mainland China ranked 34th, just above Thailand, the study by language learning company EF Education First showed its English skills have been improving.

Although Hong Kong ranked 22nd among all countries and territories - three places up from last year - its score, at 53.5, has fallen a full point since the first survey in 2011. South Korea, Indonesia and Japan were ranked, respectively, 24th, 25th and 26th. Malaysia, ranked 11th overall, came first in Asia.

Watch: US accent booms in Hong Kong language schools

The rankings are based on tests taken last year by 750,000 people aged 18 and over.

The company also analysed the trends of English proficiency in these countries and territories over the past six years, based on test data from almost five million adults. The minimum sample size in each country or territory was 400 and the tests covered English vocabulary, reading, listening and writing.

Poon said that with the influence of mainland tourists and more frequent business exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland, more parents, job seekers and employees had focused on learning Putonghua.

Ngai said if Hongkongers wanted a language advantage over mainlanders, they needed good English, as their Putonghua would, at best, put them on a par with mainland graduates.

He said many potential employees he interviewed were poor at writing e-mails in English, with many grammatical and spelling errors, while others, although fluent in English, were "very mediocre" in Putonghua.

Smaller European countries proved to be the most proficient in English, occupying the first seven places and led by Sweden. The analysis showed that they believed better English could help them improve their international competitiveness.

France was ranked one lower than mainland China on the list, making it the worst English-learning country in Europe.