Fri, 03 Sep 2010: British Aren't Studying Foreign Languages
It's not just Americans who expect the rest of the world to speak English so they don't have to learn a foreign language. Read an Independent article about a similar situation in Britain.
Thu, 02 Sep 2010: Spanish Language Prep
Thu, 02 Sep 2010: Shakira's New Single
This Colombia Reports article has a link to Shakira's new single, Loca in Spanish, A Hell's Angel in English.
Wed, 01 Sep 2010: Fire Teachers Based on Student Test Scores?
Probably not a good idea. For two articles discussing evaluation of teachers based on student test scores, go to the Education Policy Blog and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tue, 31 Aug 2010: One in Four Lap Dancers Has a College Degree
At least in Britain. It appears that recent U.K. college graduates have trouble finding jobs in their field.
Mon, 30 Aug 2010: El Orfanato / The Orphanage
The Spanish of this film from Spain is not particularly easy to understand; but there's no sex, almost no profanity, and only a couple of gory scenes. With slight editing from the teacher, this horror and suspense film could be shown in class at Halloween. But would the kids like it?
Sat, 28 Aug 2010: Commenting available again
I apologize for the recent inability to comment on Richard’s Ruminations. But the problem software has been removed and replaced.
Fri, 27 Aug 2010: No Need to Study a Foreign Language
According to a Wall Street Journal article, the global dominance of English plus improved machine translation make it unnecessary for Americans to learn other languages.
Fri, 27 Aug 2010: Kidnapping in Mexico
Read the NPR article about how Mexican drug smugglers have added secuestros to their various illegal activities.
Thu, 26 Aug 2010: Film Review: Al sur de Granada / South from Granada
Well, there's too much nudity and love-making for this Spanish language film to make it into the classroom, but is it a good movie to watch at home?