Between life and death: Zombie nouns privilege pretentious vocabulary at the expense of simple clarity

The nominalization of nouns creates abstract, dry and often misleading language “Simplicity is the glory of expression.” -Walt Whitman (1819-1892) American poet Sometimes, it’s fun to play with the English language and transform its adjectives, adverbs and nouns into more complex-sounding words. Playing with word forms can both emphasize a key concept and add an academic tone. Like many other...

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English as a lingua franca unifies people

Emergence of ELF unites people, brings praise, and generates discussion on English student needs “I’m a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they’re interested in.” ―Bill Gates (1955- ) American business magnate, philanthropist As...

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Standardized Exams: Ends or Means?

We Just Want a High TOEFL Score! Students often need solid TOEFL scores to study abroad, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Naturally, this need – and ambition – often makes reaching a certain number on the TOEFL exam as the goal of their English studies. Unfortunately, sometimes these imperfect standardized exams – all attempts to measure...

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California Immigrants are Learning English – and Want to Learn More!

Do American immigrants want to learn English? Are the children of Spanish-speaking adult immigrants learning English? What are the recent trends in California and Los Angeles? A recently released Census Bureau report, based on the 2007 Census information, shows that – shock, shock – immigrants overwhelmingly want to improve their English skills. It also shows that a slight majority (51%) of...

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Teaching English Language Learners: What Seems to Work in American Public Schools

Do English language learners, or English as a Second language students, learn better in sheltered programs? Should students receive some instruction in their native language – and if so, for how long? Are there clear differences to effectively write and speak fluently? Teaching Language Learners: What the Research Does – and Does Not – Say , a 19- page article published in American Educator...

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Does Uncle Sam want immigrants to learn English?

Learning to read, write, and speak English remains a legal requirement for legal immigrants to become citizens in the United States. National polls also consistently show that over 80% of American voters favor making English the official national language. Immigrants to English speaking countries like the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia also want to learn more English to gain...

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