Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Grammar: an Eternal Battle

Rutgers English professor Jack Lynch has a new book out titled The Lexicographer’s Dilemma, which you can purchase online from Elliott Bay Book Company, and Salon.com has this great review. The book focuses on the seemingly ceaseless duel between language “purists” (prescriptive grammarians) and linguistic pragmatists (descriptive grammarians) who understand that change in language is not only inevitable, but necessary to keep up with all of life’s other changes.

Halloween is here!

Saturday is Halloween, and people around the United States and indeed the world will celebrate by carving jack-o-lanterns, bobbing for apples, donning costumes, and trick-or-treating. Here, the celebrating has already begun. Few cultures embrace Halloween as heartily as that of the U.S., and A.C.E. students in Seattle and Bozeman always have a good time our annual Halloween parties. This past Sunday, a group of A.C.E. students visited a local corn maze and pumpkin patch (see picture). Such a cultural phenomenon provides great material for English teachers and students, and so here we share a few great online resources. Have a Happy Halloween!

Here is a great matching game to learn Halloween vocab.
Now, test your newly acquired Halloween vocab with this short quiz.
This site has a bevy of Halloween related readings and lesson plans specially designed for English language learners.

New Study Suggests Strong Ties between Cross-Cultural Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Language Learning

By Davey Young at A.C.E.–Dr. Joseph Poulshock of Tokyo Christian University, a close friend and former faculty member at A.C.E., recently brought this study to our attention. The findings were published only last week, and make a strong case for foreign language learning as pertains to critical thinking and problem solving skills, competency in the native language, and cross-cultural literacy.

Here is an excerpt from the abstract: “Kalamazoo College administered the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) to first-years and seniors in 2005 and 2006, and again to seniors in 2007. By disaggregating student CLA scores and then grouping them by academic division, we revealed that foreign language majors at Kalamazoo College scored significantly higher on the CLA [...]. While considering possible causes for this phenomenon, we reviewed recent literature on ways in which second language learning might enhance competency in the native language as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The review revealed four attributes—metalinguistic awareness, critical reading, critical thinking and problem solving, and cross-cultural literacy—that receive explicit and regular attention in language courses and that may contribute to better performance on tasks like the CLA.”

Synopses of the four attributes mentioned above follow.

A.C.E. Instructional Coordinator Contributes to TESOL Text

Tim Healy, Instructional Coordinator at the A.C.E. Language Institute at Seattle Pacific University, has a chapter in a new text for TESOL professionals titled Authenticity in the Language Classroom and Beyond: Adult Learners. A description of the book, published by TESOL, Inc last month, can be found here, and purchased here.

Tim’s chapter, titled “Sharing the Food and Fun Through Restaurant Review Blogs: An Integrated-Skills Project Approach”, is based on an integrative and interactive approach which he developed in his classroom at SPU. If you happened to be at the 2009 TESOL conference in Denver, you may have caught Tim’s presentation on the same topic. You can read about it here.

Everyone at A.C.E. extends a hearty congratulations to Tim and hopes you’ll pick up a copy of Authenticity in Language Classroom & Beyond: Adult Learners.

Russian-American Education Forum: An On-line Journal

If you happened to see Dr. Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady speak at A.C.E.’s 35th Anniversary International Symposium this past May, then you know what dynamic and novel dimensions she regularly brings to the world of international education. Dr. Tsyrlina-Spady has recently launched the Russian-American Education Forum: an On-line Journal, and Issue 2 has just been released. It is available in both Russian and English.

In a letter to the reader, Dr. Tsyrlina-Spady writes that Issue 2 is the first “to publish articles of American and Russian educators together in an attempt to stimulate a true dialogue between them.” You are invited and encouraged to read this thought-provoking new journal and engage in its cross-cultural dialogue. Some article topics in Issue 2 include teaching ethics to children, the period of transition of the modern Russian society, the charter school La Escuela Freire, and an article on language learning in a global context written by A.C.E.’s own David Woodward. Enjoy!