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• Tech is Removing Language Barriers – But will Jobs be Lost in Translation?

The Guardian – News – Education – By Martin Williams

“Swansea’s councillors must be painfully aware of the dangers of technology in the translation industry. When a translator’s email reply landed in their inbox in 2008, the Welsh sentences were duly printed on a road sign. It read: “I am not in the office at the moment.”

But recent advances in technology are now helping to break down language barriers and revolutionise the role of traditional translators.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning, Second Language Teaching and tagged Computer-Assisted Translation, Foreign Languages, Machine Translation, translation on September 19, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• Emoji: The First Truly Global Language?

The Guardian – News – Technology – By Alex Clark

“I sent one this morning. My pal texted to say that she was in that most invidious of contemporary social tangles: someone was offering her a Kate Bush spare but she had already committed herself elsewhere. Me, I was busy thinking about emoji. I didn’t have time to deal with someone else’s heartache or their moral scruples vis-a-vis ditching an apparently iron-clad prior engagement. I scanned quickly through the available faces: there was one, all scrunched up in dismay about something or other. I decided it would do to convey a mixture of can-you-believe-it crossness and wrenching disappointment, selected it, added zilch and pressed send.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning and tagged emoji, Japanese, mobile, multimodal, new literacies, second language writing on September 19, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• Reading Literature on Screen: A Price for Convenience?

International New York Times – Arts – By Stephen Heyman

“Do people read as well on screens as they do on paper? Scientists aren’t quite sure. While the type of E Ink used in the latest generation of Kindles and other tablets has been shown to be as or even more legible than printed text, other studies have indicated that — in terms of reading comprehension — the medium doesn’t much matter.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning, Second Language Teaching and tagged books, digital reading, new literacies, reading, reading comprehension on September 8, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• Grading Teachers, with Data from Class

The New York Times – Technology – State of the Art – By Farhad Manjoo

“Halfway through the last school year, Leila Campbell, a young humanities teacher at a charter high school in Oakland, Calif., received the results from a recent survey of her students.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Teaching and tagged assessment, ELL, panorama education, surveys, Technology on September 5, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• A New Translation App from Frommer’s

The New York Times – In Transit – By Elaine Glusac

“Perhaps you already know that “buongiorno” is the appropriate greeting in Rome. But what about the concept of “bella figura”? The new translation app from the guidebook publisher Frommer’scovers both linguistic and cultural interpretations.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning and tagged app, culture, phrasebook, Technology, translation, travel on September 2, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• What’s in a Word? A Chinese Dictionary Updates

The New York Times – Sinosphere – By Amy Qin and Didi Kirsten Tatlow

“The revised edition of the Dictionary of Modern Standard Chinese has just been released, and with it, more than 100 new terms — many slang or online neologisms — have been granted admission to the august realm of official Chinese lexicons.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning, Second Language Teaching and tagged Chinese, dictionary, L2, New Word, vocabulary on September 2, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• Is Learning a Language Other Than English Worthwhile?

The New York Times – Room for Debate – By Multiple Authors

“In a recent essay in The Times, Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard University, wrote about preparing American students for the future. In the essay, he said that international experience was essential, arguing that English’s emergence as the global language makes the investment in other languages less essential.

Does he have a point? Even though Americans aren’t as monolingual as you might think, is learning a language other than English a worthwhile investment?“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning, Second Language Teaching and tagged bilingual, business, Education, ELF, Motivation, multilingual on September 2, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• How Social Media Silences Debate

The New York Times – The Upshot – By Claire Cain Miller

“The Internet might be a useful tool for activists and organizers, in episodes from the Arab Spring to the Ice Bucket Challenge. But over all, it has diminished rather than enhanced political participation, according to new data.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Teaching and tagged critical pedagogy, culture, social media, values realizing on August 31, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

• Is Technology a Silver Bullet for Language Teaching and Learning?

The Guardian – Professional – Teacher Network – By Martin Williams

“There is no longer a four-walled classroom,” says Dr Cecilia Goria, ofNottingham University’s Language Centre. “Teaching and learning now extends beyond that.“

This entry was posted in Second Language Learning, Second Language Teaching and tagged Education, Language Learning, Second Language, Teaching, Technology on August 31, 2014 by richardschoonmaker.

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