Languages in a Global World, Learning for Better Cultural Understanding
Edited by Bruno Della Chiesa, Jessica Scott, Christina Hinton. Published by : OECD Publishing, Publication date: 02 May 2012, Pages: 470, Language: English.
Description
The rise of globalisation makes language competencies more valuable, both at individual and societal levels. This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages. It begins by asking why some individuals are more successful than others at learning non-native languages, and why some education systems, or countries, are more successful than others at teaching languages.
The book comprises chapters by different authors on the subject of language learning. There are chapters on the role of motivation; the way that languages, cultures and identities are interconnected; the insights that neuroscience provides; migrants, their education and opportunities to learn languages; language learning and teaching in North America; and new approaches to language learning.
Table of contents:
    Part I. Globalisation, languages and motivations
    Chapter 1. Learning languages in a globalising world
    Chapter 2. Motivation and second language acquisition
    Chapter 3. Motivational theories on language learning
    Chapter 4. Economic incentives for language acquisition
    Chapter 5. Bilingual education policy and language learning in Estonia and Singapore
    Part II. Cultures, languages and identities
    Chapter 6. Seeing the world through our hands: A cross-cultural gesture review
    Chapter 7. Ideologies and alphabet reforms in Central Asia
    Chapter 8. Verlan, l’envers: Reversing language and reflecting culture
    Chapter 9. Cochlear implants, deaf culture and narrowly defined cultural characteristics
    Chapter 10. Neuroscientific research and the study of sign language
    Part III. Landscapes, languages and policies
    Chapter 11. Competencies in Canada in a globalisation context
    Chapter 12. Catalan language policy and the challenge of new immigration: Nosaltres parlem Catalá
    Chapter 13. Education and creativity in Tanzania
    Chapter 14. English as a multicultural language for international communication in Asia
    Chapter 15. Language education in Japan and Korea: Policies, practices and challenges
    Chapter 16. Language learning and Chamorro culture in Guam
    Chapter 17. Language learning in Peru: “De mi cerebro, su neurona”
    Part IV. Movements, languages and migrations
    Chapter 18. Why study abroad? Why not!
    Chapter 19. Migrants, language and education: An international perspective
    Chapter 20. Migrants, early tracking and social mobility
    Chapter 21. How the Mexican education system contributes to emigration
    Chapter 22. Intercultural or multicultural education in Europe and the United States
    Part V. Learning languages, means and ends
    Chapter 23. Cosmopolitan education: Building on a biological inclination for care in a globalised world
    Chapter 24. Music as an underutilised and underappreciated tool for language learning
    Chapter 25. “Expansion of our own being”: Language learning, cultural belonging and global awareness
    Epilogue. Prospects for language policies in an age of globalisation
Look inside.

By Terri Macdonald (NTEU National Office). The HES has reported today (National regulator sharpens focus on English language standards 22/08/12) that universities, VET and private providers will all be the target of a "thematic" audit by the new regulator, TEQSA, focusing on English standards.
In particular, it was reported that TEQSA will concentrate on whether the English competence skills of students improve as they go through their course, and how the institutions assess this.
The report cites a recent study that found overseas students who started with 'competent' levels of English were unlikely to graduate with the level of language skill needed to work in Australia. However, given the recent announcement of a 2 - 3 year post study work visa for graduates, having adequate English language skills will be vital if these students are likely to be able to pursue work in their chosen professions in Australia.
This issue has been a long running one. NTEU has for a number of years, echoed the concerns of members working in universities, who see the pressure to admit larger numbers of international students is not necessarily being matched by available English language support services (and where those exist, they are often under resourced).
TEQSA's thematic audit would look at all entry standards in all pathways, language support through the curriculum, and exit standards.
However, given TEQSA's recent obsession with 'drilling down' to the micro level, we are wondering just how it will execute this audit, and what hoops the institutions will need to jump through. It would be a concern if the reason for this review - which we think has merit - is lost in a sea of compliance procedures and red tape.
Link to the story is HERE.

These rankings are based on a survey carried out for the CBI Education & skills survey 2012, in which 542 UK firm managers were asked which languages are useful to their business. A-level results 2012: foreign languages 'need eurozone-style bail-out'.
1. German
Germany remains the largest single export market for British goods outside of the USA, and Europe's largest economy – with a GDP of more than €2.4 trillion – continues to defy the eurozone downturn. So it's no surprise that UK companies want to hire employees who know their umlauts from their eszetts.
2. French
It may be in seemingly terminal decline as a subject of study in our secondary education system, but proficiency in French remains a highly sought-after skill among UK employers, with 49 per cent rating it as useful for their organisations.
3. Spanish
Valued as a major European language but also as the leading language of fast-growing Latin American economies – as well as its continued rise to prominence in the United States – Spanish is rated as useful by 37 per cent of the employers surveyed.
4. Mandarin
The official language of China – the world's most populous and economically dynamic nation – features highly in managers' preferences. In 2006 Brighton College became the first school in the United Kingdom to made studying Mandarin compulsory for all 13 year-olds.
5. Polish
Polish makes the top five, with 19 per cent of UK managers rating it as useful for their organisations. Large-scale Polish migration to the UK after the country's admission to the European Union made the headlines, but as the largest consumer market of the new EU member states and the only EU country to avoid recession since the downturn began, business ties with Poland extend considerably further.
6. Arabic
Any who doubts the importance of Arabic-speaking business to the United Kingdom's economy should take a look at The Shard – the tallest building in Western Europe was largely made possible by Qatari investment. Or they could just ask a Manchester City fan.
7. Cantonese
The majority of the UK's Cantonese speakers have ties to Hong Kong, where it is the official language. But Cantonese is spoken much more widely around the world, with nearly 70 million native speakers.
8. Russian
Relations with Russia haven't exactly been warm since the end of the Cold War – from the Litvinenko poisoning to the infamous Moscow "spy rock" – but according to the Government's Trade & Investment website, Russia is the UK's fastest-growing major export market.
9. Japanese
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt's love of the lambada may have earned him more ridicule than respect, but his proficiency in Japanese – he spent two years teaching English in Japan – is held in high esteem among his parliamentary colleagues, and came in useful on a recent trade mission to Japan.
10. Portuguese
Brazil recently overtook the United Kingdom as the world's sixth-largest economy, and with the football World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics just around the corner, all eyes will be on this Portuguese-speaking "Bric" nation.

By Thomas Cookson. Many believe the International Baccalaureate could bring English education back up to scratch.
The European Survey of Language Competences found last week that English pupils are among the worst in Europe at foreign languages. “For England, an international trading nation, to lie at the bottom of a league of language competence is economically and socially dangerous,” said the Schools Minister, Nick Gibb.
Reports that Education Secretary Michael Gove is considering a return to an O-level-type exam in an attempt to raise standards, the establishment of single boards to avoid grade inflation in core subjects, and the setting up of a review of A-level syllabuses in English, science and maths by leading universities reinforce the sense of unease at the present state of English education. The Telegraph’s Make Britain Count campaign (see Weekend’s front pages) has already called attention to the deficiencies in maths and science teaching in this country.
Yesterday, students of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, offered by more than 200 schools in England as an alternative to A-level, got their results, along with thousands of other students across the northern hemisphere. The pass mark, and the number of those reaching it, is likely to be the same, within one to two percentage points, as it has been since the exam began in 1970. Run by an organisation based in Geneva, the exam is subject to no political pressure and exists for the convenience of the large numbers of people working abroad whose children need a qualification accepted by universities worldwide.
The Diploma Programme’s syllabus might have been invented with Mr Gove’s ideas in mind. As with A-level, all candidates can choose three subjects in six compulsory domains to study at “higher” level; but they must also choose three more subjects from the other three domains to study at “standard” level. Thus, a science-based candidate might choose to do, say, chemistry, biology and maths at higher level. But he or she would also have to do English, a foreign language and a subject such as history at standard level. For an arts-based candidate, the situation would be reversed — there would be no escaping standard-level maths or a science. No candidate, in other words, can avoid doing a core subject up to the age of 18.
The IB regards languages as core subjects. It believes study of your native language teaches you to speak and write precisely, clearly and sensitively; and that it’s important to continue it beyond 16 so that you can learn to express the more complex ways in which you see the world. Continued study of a foreign language is essential for members of a global society, as IB Diploma candidates are encouraged to consider themselves. More...

The civil society platform form the promotion of multilingualism held its latest General Assembly in the end of June 2012 in Brussels with a renewed spirit to continue its efforts to promote multilingualism in Europe as one of the key elements to foster European Integration and contributing to the promotion of intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding, cultural diversity, but also mobility, employment and economic growth in Europe.   
The meeting was chaired by Uwe Mohr, President of the Platform, and Belen Bernaldo de Quiros, Head of the Unit of Multilingualism at the DG EAC of the European Commission. They both highlighted the strategic developments in multilingualism policy and the Council conclusions on language competences to enhance mobility. The European Commission also presented the results of the latest Eurobarometer 2012 on Europeans and their Languages published a few days before, as well as the results of the European Survey on language competencies. The participants in the meeting, representing 23 organizations working at European level on the promotion of multilingualism in Europe and representing all UE countries, had also the opportunity to debate and dialogue about the future role of the Civil Society Platform in the new political and economic context, and discussed about new objectives and working methods to achieve its goal. During the meeting good practices were presented by the Goethe-Institut in the field of Professional Mobility Language Learning, and by the Instituto Cervantes in the area of Online Language Learning/project AVE (Virtual Spanish Classroom). Miguel Martin, from the European Academy of Yuste Foundation, one of the members of the Platform, launched a debate about how to create an effective structure dialogue within the Platform and with the EU Institutions to raise the importance of multilingualism in the political agenda.
In this sense, the Platform will continue to promote multilingualism and policy developments within the European Union in a way that aligns with the new challenges and priorities that the European Commission has outlined for the coming years, especially with regard to the upcoming Erasmus for All programme that will come into effect in 2014. At the same time it will emphasize and advertise the acquisition of languages for professional growth and mobility for a more dynamic and competitive Europe, and will reveal avenues for stakeholders to collaborate and get involved at the EU policy level for a more effective promotion and development of EU-wide multilingualism policy;
In order to achieve its goals the Platform will address the following themes, during the following two years:
* Innovative ways and methodologies to promote the acquisition of language competences with a view to achieving the Barcelona objective of "mother tongue plus two" for every citizen.
* Extend the work achieved on early language learning to other levels of education with special regard for the vocational education and training (VET) and adult learning fields.
* Removal of linguistic barriers to mobility particularly for disadvantaged groups
* Consolidation of the collection of data on migrants' linguistic integration and social inclusion;
* Exchange information on accessible language learning resources
* Explore how to best make full use of the new Erasmus for All programme for education, training, multilingualism and youth 2014-2020 as well as of the European tools for education and training.
* Get expert input on partnerships, experimentation and new approaches to language teaching and learning with a view to the upcoming Erasmus for All programme, involving universities, research centres, cultural and language Institutes, the language industry and other interested parties;
* Expand opportunities available for social and professional mobility through language acquisition, in line with the Commission's own strategies and goals for growth;
* Explore the possibility of exploiting the full potential of the involved parties by putting forward a proposal for a language knowledge alliance.
Source: Goethe Institut Brussels.

La Commission européenne a publié le 21 juillet 2012 la première étude sur les compétences linguistiques des élèves en Europe. L’enquête menée dans 14 pays européens, auprès de collégiens et lycéens âgés de 14 à 16 ans, relève des écarts très importants entre les pays.
L’évaluation portait sur les deux langues les plus enseignées dans chaque pays participant, parmi les cinq langues officielles les plus parlées au sein de l’Union européenne (anglais, allemand, espagnol, italien et français). L’étude montre que moins de la moitié des élèves maitrise bien leur première langue étrangère et seuls 25% sont compétents dans une autre langue. En outre, 14% des élèves européens ne savent pas s’exprimer dans leur première langue étrangère (et 20% dans la deuxième langue enseignée). Malte et la Suède présentent les meilleurs résultats, avec plus de 80% des élèves compétents dans leur première langue étrangère (l’anglais). Les plus mauvais résultats sont enregistrés en France et en Angleterre, dont les taux respectifs sont de 14% (anglais première langue étrangère) et de 9% (français première langue étrangère). L’étude constate que l’apprentissage de plusieurs langues ou le contexte sociétal et familial favorisent la maîtrise des langues étrangères.
En mai 2010, une étude de la Direction de l’évaluation, de la prospective et de la performance (DEPP) du ministèreMinistèreEnsemble des services de l’Etat (administration centrale et services déconcentrés) placés sous la responsabilité d’un ministre. de l’éducation nationale avait déjà conclu à la faiblesse du niveau général des collégiens français en langues, avec une forte proportion d’élèves aux plus bas niveaux de l’échelle et plus particulièrement en compréhension de l’oral. Dans les deux évaluations les élèves français ont de meilleurs résultats en espagnol qu’en anglais.
Sur la toile publique
Les élèves européens doivent travailler plus les langues étrangères, Toute l’europe.eu
First European survey on foreign competences (2012), Commission européenne.
Études concernant l’apprentissage et l’enseignement des langues, Commission européenne
Les compétences en langues étrangères des élèves en fin de scolarité obligatoire: Premiers résultats de l’Étude européenne sur les compétences en langues (2011), Ministère de l’éducation nationale.
Les langues vivantes étrangères à l’école, au collège, au lycée , Ministère de l’éducation nationale.

The last five years have seen an explosion in the number of English-taught degree programmes in continental Europe, according to the Institute of International Educations. This growth has been particularly noticeable in postgraduate study, its new report says, with the number of English-taught master's programmes available on the continent more than quadrupling in the last five years. We look at the 10 mainland European countries offering the most English-taught masters programmes, as listed on MastersPortal (estimated to represent 90 per cent of the total number of English-taught master's programmes on offer in Europe). "Typical" tuition fees for European students at public universities in each country are provided, as calculated by StudyPortals, but exact costs vary per programme and can be found at www.mastersportal.eu.
1. Netherlands
Holland, the Netherlands, Nederland... call it what you will, the Low Countries are the place to be for studying a master's in English on the Continent. An impressive 869 master's degrees in Holland are taught in English, albeit at just 45 institutions. Maastricht University has reported a tenfold rise in applications from Britain over the last year, with demand set to soar further when figures for 2012 are released. Typical tuition fees are around €1,720 per year.
2. Germany
Germany has the second-most English-taught master's degrees of any mainland European country, with 713. Tuition fees vary between the different Bundeslands, with some costing up to €1,100 per year, others charging nothing at all for European students. However in terms of the number of institutions offering such courses it is far ahead of the rest of Europe. 144 German universities and colleges teach master's in English, compared with just 45 from our winner...
3. Sweden
The Scandinavian countries are well-represented on this list, and foremost among them is Sweden, where 707 English-taught master's degrees are on offer. No tuition fees are charged for European students.
4. Spain
Spanish may be rivalling English as the most widely-spoken European first language in the world these days, but its universities seem to have their focus squarely on the English-speaking world. 395 English-taught master's abound in Spain – incredibly, one year ago there were only 89. Public universities charge European students around €1,500 per annum in tuition fees.
5. France
Famously protective of their native language, it's not like the French to humour les rosbifs. But when it comes to higher education it seems English is making inroads – 346 master's degrees in France are taught in English, compared with just 11 as recently as 2007. Master's degrees at French public universities charge start at around €250 per annum.
6. Switzerland
You'd think this wealthy Alpine country had enough languages on its plate, what with French, German and Italian all in common usage – but Switzerland now offers 237 English-taught master's degrees. Tuition fees in Switzerland vary between cantons, but are usually between €500 and €4,000 per year.
7. Italy
Want to enjoy la dolce vita while bolstering your academic credentials? Try one of Italy's 256 English-taught master's options. Incredibly, there were only seven such courses in the whole of Italy as recently as 2007. Public universities in Italy usually charge around €1,500 per annum for European students.
8. Belgium
With the Eurostar taking you to Brussels in less than two hours from London, enrolling on one of Belgium's 252 English-taught master's could even be a more convenient option than some far-flung British universities. Tuition fees at public universities in Belgium tend to be around €600 per annum.
9. Finland
Finland has one of the best education systems in the world, with almost half of its population holding at least an undergraduate degree – and if you don't mind the Arctic climate you can join its ranks, with 246 master's programmes taught in English. That's a steady rise from just 42 on offer back in 2007, and again public universities in Finland typically don't charge tuition fees for European students.
10. Denmark
There are 188 options for studying master's degrees in the land of Sarah Lund – a third more than there were just one year ago – with public universities typically charging no tuition fees for European students.

By Lee Chang-sup. In recent years, it has become common for college students in Korea to delay graduation by one or two years. These “professional students” — a colloquial term for college students who decide to stay in school for many years rather than to begin their careers —have become a headache to their parents, the universities, and even to themselves.
Faced with the tough job market, these college students put off graduation for as long as they could. During this period, many students also decide to pursue English language training overseas.
According to the Bank of Korea, one in 10 college students and one in two from prestigious Seoul universities went overseas for language training last year. This brings the total to approximately 125,000 college students; this is the first time the number of such students exceeded the 100,000 mark. The students’ destinations include English-speaking countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, especially China.
Overseas language training is not limited to college students. For instance, 50,000, 90,000, and 30,000 students at the primary, middle, and high school levels, respectively also went overseas last year for short-term language training, mostly in English-speaking countries.
Most college students pursue language training overseas in order to improve their job-related credentials. However, recruiters may not necessarily equate overseas language-training certificates and high TOEIC, TOEFL, and TEPS scores to higher job-related skills.
Moreover, the effectiveness of overseas language training is still unclear. For instance, while overseas, some students reportedly hire friends to attend classes in their place. Moreover, many Korean students room together at the dorms, and thus end up communicating mostly in Korean than in the foreign language they intended to learn. Without using the foreign language daily, it would be difficult to gain fluency.
Parents must therefore take these considerations in mind when deciding whether to send their children to study language overseas. Even if such overseas training programs are effective, they are an expensive endeavor, with many parents borrowing money to pay for the training.
The Bank of Korea estimated that Korean families spent a total of ₩5 trillion (US$4.5 billion) last year for their children’s overseas studies. It costs about ₩45 million (US$40,000) for a student to undergo one-year language training overseas, which is twice the per-capita income of Koreans.
What many parents and students do not realize is that mastering a foreign language does not have to be expensive; there are many other cheaper but equally effective ways to do.
In this era of mobile technology and hyper-connectivity, the only investments parents and students need are the curiosity and patience to learn another language. For instance, parents with a high English proficiency may teach the language to their children themselves.
Another useful way to master English is to read a local English daily regularly. The Korea Times, for example, uses 10,000 vocabularies that are also found in English proficiency tests such as the TOEIC, TOEFL, and TEPS.
Thus, reading an English daily may be an effective alternative to studying for and taking the above tests. For beginners, a local English daily, rather than foreign dailies such as The New York Times and USA Today, may be a good place to start learning English because it uses the English language to chronicle Korean news, events, and issues that are relevant and familiar to the student.
Dr. Park Myung-seok, a professor emeritus of the English Language Department of Dankook University, is an ardent advocate of this method of learning English. He has advised college deans and presidents on the issue of helping students learn English through reading local English dailies. He lamented that even English-language professors seldom appreciate the usefulness of local English dailies for helping students develop their language proficiency.
This writer agrees with Park that English dailies can be an effective tool for mastering English, and I am not just saying this out of self promotion. I speak based on my own experience; having been an avid reader of local English dailies since college, I consider myself a role model for students struggling to learn English. Other shining examples of people who have taught themselves English by reading local English dailies include the late President Kim Dae-jung, the late fashion designer Andre Kim, and Korea International Cooperation Agency President Park Dae-won.
Another important point that many English learners sometimes forget is that developing one’s fluency in the Korean language is also important in mastering English, as a limited knowledge of the Korean language can also limit one’s potential for learning a foreign language. Just as native English speakers do not automatically mean they speak and write English well, native Korean speakers do not necessarily have a mastery of their native language.
The growing exodus of students pursuing language training overseas is also a wake-up call for colleges, whose curricula focus too much on academic English vocabulary, which is seldom used in daily life.
This is also a call for the Education Ministry to review its policy of excluding current English in official tests.
Seoul, in particular, needs an educational policy to help parents teach their children English rather than sending them to expensive overseas programs. Sending children to such programs is like giving them fish; on the other hand, by helping their children learn English using tools such as local English dailies, parents are teaching them how to catch fish. 
Lee Chang-sup is the executive managing director of The Korea Times. Contact him at editorial@koreatimes.co.kr.