Languages and Literacies: Their Role in Global Futures

1. Languages and Literacies: Their Role in Global Futures Damien Trezise Chia Nan University

2. The Tower of Babel

3. Arabic Bengali (India) Chinese (Mandarin) Chinese (Cantonese) English French What SIX languages have the most speakers? • German • Hindi (India) • Indonesian • Japanese • Spanish

4. The SIX most spoken languages • Chinese (Mandarin) – 837,000,000 • English – 370,000,000 • Spanish – 300,000,000 • Bengali (India) – 189,000,000 • Hindi (India) – 182,000,000 • Arabic – 175,000,000

5. Which language can be used by the most people?

6. Which language can be used by the most people? English: 370,000,000 (Native) + 375,000,000 (ESL, e.g. USA) + 750,000,000 (EFL, e.g. Taiwan) 1,495,000,000

7. Why are so many people learning English?

8. Information • 80% Internet pages • 95% of scientific papers • News

9. Travel and Communication • Spoken by one in four people in the world • Language of travel and tourism industries • Official language in 75 countries • Signs, documents, education • Social media – Facebook, Twitter, etc.

10. Career • Business • International trade • Email communication • Exhibitions • Multinational companies • Used as company language • Government departments • International relations, trade, exchange

11. Career • Information technology • Used for software development, programming • Service industries • Basic requirement for employees in Tourism, Hospitality, MICE, etc. • Academia • Sharing of research – conferences, papers.

12. How difficult is English?

13. Vocabulary • How many words do average native speakers of English know? • 1,200 - 2000 • 2,000 – 5,000 • 5,000 – 10,000 • 10,000 – 12,000 • 12,000 – 20,000

14. Vocabulary • How many words do average native speakers of English know? • 1,200 - 2000 • 2,000 – 5,000 • 5,000 – 10,000 • 10,000 – 12,000 • 12,000 – 20,000

15. Vocabulary • How many words do native speakers of English use in normal conversation? • 1,200 - 2000 • 2,000 – 5,000 • 5,000 – 10,000 • 10,000 – 12,000 • 12,000 – 20,000

16. Vocabulary • How many words do native speakers of English use in normal conversation? • 1,200 - 2000 • 2,000 – 5,000 • 5,000 – 10,000 • 10,000 – 12,000 • 12,000 – 20,000

17. Vocabulary (國一、二) • If you know 1,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal English writing can you can understand? • 20 % • 50 % • 70% • 90%

18. Vocabulary (國一、二) • If you know 1,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal English writing can you can understand? • 20 % • 50 % • 70% • 90%

19. Vocabulary (國三) • If you know 2,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal English writing can you can understand? • 40 % • 60 % • 80% • 95%

20. Vocabulary (國三) • If you know 2,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal English writing can you can understand? • 40 % • 60 % • 80% • 95%

21. Vocabulary (國一、二) • If you know 1,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal speaking can you can understand? • 20 % • 50 % • 70% • 90%

22. Vocabulary (國一、二) • If you know 1,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal speaking can you can understand? • 20 % • 50 % • 70% • 90%

23. Vocabulary (國三) • If you know 2,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal English speaking can you can understand? • 40 % • 60 % • 80% • 95%

24. Vocabulary (國三) • If you know 2,000 words, what percentage of vocabulary in normal English speaking can you understand? • 40 % • 60 % • 80% • 95%

25. How about more than 5,000 words? (高三、GEPT 中級)

26. How long does it take to learn English?

27. Index • GEPT 初級、CEF A2、TOEIC 350 • Vocabulary – 2000 words • Grammar – all basic tenses • Usage – communication about immediate environment • GEPT 中級、CEF B1、TOEIC 550 • Vocabulary – 4,800 words • Can use basic English to communicate about topics in daily life. English ability is roughly equivalent to that of a high school graduate in Taiwan.

28. Index • GEPT 中高級、CEF B2、TOEIC 750 • Vocabulary – 8000 words • Has a generally effective command of English. Is able to handle a broader range of topics, and although he/she makes mistakes, these do not significantly hinder his/her ability to communicate.

29. 1. Beginner to GEPT 初級 • 80 learning hours • 200 learning hours • 300 learning hours • 450 learning hours • 600 learning hours • 800 learning hours

30. 1. Beginner to GEPT 初級 • 80 learning hours • 200 learning hours • 300 learning hours • 450 learning hours • 600 learning hours • 800 learning hours

31. 2. GEPT 初級 –中級 • 80 learning hours • 200 learning hours • 300 learning hours • 450 learning hours • 600 learning hours • 800 learning hours

32. 2. GEPT 初級 –中級 • 80 learning hours • 200 learning hours • 300 learning hours • 450 learning hours • 600 learning hours • 800 learning hours

33. 3. GEPT 中級 –中高級 • 80 learning hours • 200 learning hours • 300 learning hours • 450 learning hours • 600 learning hours • 800 learning hours

34. 3. GEPT 中級 –中高級 • 80 learning hours • 200 learning hours • 300 learning hours • 450 learning hours • 600 learning hours • 800 learning hours

35. Issues for Discussion • What is the real status of English education in Taiwan? • What language and literacy abilities are important in order to participate effectively in the globalized world of the future? • What strategies for curriculum and pedagogy can help to cultivate these abilities?

36. What is the real status of English education in Taiwan? • Are Taiwanese really worse at learning English than other EFL countries? • Is lack of English ability limiting our ability to participate in the globalized markets and communities of the 21st century?

37. Taipei Times: Sat Nov 13, 2010 • Among Asian countries, Taiwan ranked sixth in TOEIC scores last year, trailing India, the Philippines, China, Turkey and South Korea, but nevertheless ahead of Japan (7th), Thailand (8th) and Hong Kong (9th).

39. What is the real status of English education in Taiwan? MYTH: Taiwanese do worse in tests like TOEFL and TOEIC than students in countries like Thailand and China. FACT: A higher percentage of students take these tests in Taiwan than other Asian countries. We are not comparing equal samples

40. What is the real status of English education in Taiwan? • The time allocated for English instruction in Junior and Senior High Schools SHOULD be sufficient for students to reach a reasonable standard of proficiency. • BUT, there is a bi-nodal distribution of results in English tests – students are either very good or very bad.

41. What is the real status of English education in Taiwan? • Proficiency tests are the main means of determining English ability in Taiwan. • often test only listening and reading • test an extremely limited range of language use • are profit driven • increasingly drive the curriculum

42. What is the real status of English education in Taiwan? • SUMMARY • Taiwanese are not worse than people from other countries at English • The education system is producing a very unbalanced distribution of English abilities • The information we have about Taiwanese people’s English ability is not necessarily valid or reliable • Does language knowledge = language ability?

43. What language and literacy abilities are important in order to participate effectively in the globalized world of the future?

44. Characteristics of the 21st Century World • Unprecedented levels of interconnectedness • More deeply divided than ever • inequities in the distribution of social and economic capital, • tensions between local and global interests.

45. Communicative requirements • The ability to communicate across cultural, ideological, economic and linguistic difference using modern communicative tools. • Linguistic competencies • Technical competencies • “Cosmopolitan” attitudes of mind – membership of both local and global communities • These combined competencies and attitudes have been called “21st Century Literacies” (e.g. Hull & Stornaiuolo, 2010; Hull, Stornaiuolo & Sahni, 2010)

46. Defining “Literacy” • Cognitive view a. Literacy is a set of skills for reading, writing and thinking. b. Once learned, these skills can be applied in any context • Social view a. Literacy is social practice b. There are different literacies for different domains of life c. The cognitive view is biased

47. Literacy: Competing Views Cognitive view Social view Skills Knowledge shared by communities “Inside the head” “Outside the head”

48. 21st Century Literacies in Use • Kelly (Taiwan) and Hiroshi (Japan) exchange emails about a product Kelly’s company is making for one of Hiroshi’s customers • Sharon (Taiwan) plays Happy Farm with Spiro (Turkey) on Facebook, in English. • Yang (Taiwan) sends a short documentary film he has made to an international film competition in Belgium. • Stephen (Japan) asks participants in a music forum to send donations to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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