[etni] Fw: English discussion
- From: "Ask Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 13:41:12 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel - ydaleph@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: English discussion
Sergei writes:
When one wants to practice one's English - that precisely indicates
that English is a foreign language for that person. When one has
to know English to read papers in university, that's not a sign of
English being a living language in Israel, but it's a sign of English
being a very useful foreign tongue. It's not that Israelis set the
standards for the ways in which that English should be written.
The English of academic publications is written in the US or
elsewhere, and Israelis assume a passive role with regard to it.
They do not constitute their own, Israeli, brand of English.
This is precisely the point of the discussion. Firstly, there is no read for
"an Israeli brand of English" contrary to that ridiculous lecture of two
years ago at the conclusion of an ETAI conference. Secondly, English is the
linga franca in the world today. While we should not expect Israelis to
speak with with native like proficiency they should be able to read, write
and speak well enough to communicate effectively with the outside world.
That is the purpose of second language proficiency and also of EFL. We also
need to encourage native speakers to maintain and develop their language
skills -- they are our best ambassadors. If the majority of Israelis cannot
communicate in English upon graduation from high school we have a problem
friends and colleagues. If native speakers lose their edge because they are
cheated out of an English education we have an equally great problem. We
have a unique advantage over most countries where English is not a first
language: chiefly that we have many olim from English speaking countries.
Therefore our education system should nurture and promote a two tiered
system so that our future generations will be able to communicate with the
best of them. Finally our hasbara suffers because we don't have fluent
representatives to present our case to the world.
Daniel
--------------------------------------------
Visit the ETNI site - http://www.etni.org
Send a message to the ETNI list: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Send queries and questions to: ask@xxxxxxxx
--------------------------------------------
Other related posts:
- » [etni] Fw: English discussion