English as a Foreign Language (EFL) AROUND THE WORLD 

LATEST NEWS:

Immigrants Infuse English Language with Dynamism
Hispanics, Asians are reinvigorating English, professor says

By Carolee Walker
USINFO Staff Writer

August 20, 2007, Washington – English is a living, dynamic language that is invigorated by new speakers, including foreign students, tourists and immigrants, says cultural critic Ilan Stavans.

Even native English speakers never use the exact same language, Stavans said in a USINFO Webchat August 20. “As the language changes, often as a result of newcomers, so do its speakers.”

For example, the mixing of Chinese and English, Korean and English, Japanese and English, and Vietnamese and English are worldwide phenomena, Stavans said. Within the United States, Asian immigrants are using English as their language of communication while also infusing it with their own linguistic attributes. Stavans predicts that English in the late 21st century will borrow from the constellation of Asian languages in unforeseen ways.

“It is a mistake to think of the English taught in the classroom as divorced from the living English, the one heard on the street, in restaurants, on TV and music,” according to Stavans. Teachers should introduce students, even beginners, to the wide array of possibilities of a language, he added. “In a multiethnic society like ours, it is important to use different linguistic varieties as education tools.” (more)

More EFL in Focus Stories:

Teens Learning English in U.S. Benefit from Press Freedom - April 30, 2007

The 20-year-old Silver International, published at Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland, seeks to improve the English language skills of immigrant teens. Yet its journalists, many of whom come from countries where the press is controlled tightly, also learn about the rights and responsibilities of a free press. (more)

State’s Hughes on Budget Increase Request for Fiscal Year 2008 - April 19, 2007
Participation in our education and exchange programs has grown in the last three years from 27,000 to nearly 39,000 and will increase to more than 42,000 with your support for our budget requests.  We are reaching new audiences.  (more) 

U.S. Students Increasingly Choosing To Learn Foreign Languages - November 8, 2006
Washington -- On a recent Monday in a suburb of Washington, 17 teenagers finished their regular school day, practiced sports or participated in other after-school activities and then, at dinnertime, headed back into the classroom for a two-hour course in the Arabic language. This is the first year the Arlington, Virginia, public school system has offered classes in Arabic and Chinese to students; several evening sessions are filled to capacity.  (more)

 
South Asian English Instructors Learn U.S. Teaching Methods - July 28, 2005
Washington – English-language ability is an important tool for social mobility in South Asia, and as the quality of English-language instruction in the region improves, young South Asians will be better equipped to succeed, according to the director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy for the State Department’s Bureau of South Asian Affairs, Larry Schwartz.   (more)


[Last update on April 23, 2008]