Patricia Ryan
Patricia talk about
language loss and the globalization of English. She starts with tell audiences
about her friend who teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi. One day, her
friend take her students into the garden to teach some nature vocabulary . But it was she who ended up learning all the Arabic words for the local plants, as
well as their uses , medicinal uses, cosmetics, cooking, herbal. Those students get all
that knowledge from their
grandparents and even their great-grandparents.
But sadly, A language dies every 14 days. Now,
at the same time, English is the undisputed global language. When I first
came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait in the days when it was still a hardship post. I was recruited
by the British Council,along with about 25 other teachers. And we were the first non-Muslims to teach in the
state schools there in Kuwait. We were brought to teach English because the government wanted
to modernize the country and to empower the citizens through
education.
Now, teaching English has
morphed from being a mutually beneficial practice to becoming a
massive international business that it is today. Everybody wants to have
an English education, because the
best education according to the latest
World University Rankings — is to be found in the universities of the U.K. and the
U.S. But if you're not a native speaker, you have to pass a
test. English teachers reject students all the time. They can't pursue
their dream any longer, 'til they get English. English teachers are
the gatekeepers. first that your English is good enough. Now it
can be dangerous to give too much power to a narrow segment of
society.
There was lots of translation when Islamic
Golden Age. They translated from Latin and Greek into Arabic, into
Persian, and then it was translated on into the Germanic languages of
Europe and the Romance languages. I love it that we have a global
language. But I am against using it as a barrier.
I want to remind you that the giants
upon whose shoulders today's intelligentsia stand did not have to
have English, they didn't have to pass an English test. Case in
point, Einstein. There are lots and lots
of tests of English such as TOEFL the American test of English. That
start in 1964. But we're rejecting
them. TOEFL are prohibitive to so many millions of poor people.
I understand why people focus on English,
because they need a Western education. And the best jobs go to people out of the
Western Universities.
My daughter came to England from
Kuwait. She had studied science and mathematics in Arabic-medium
school. She had to translate it into English at her grammar school. Which
tells us that when students come to us from abroad, we may not be
giving them enough credit for what they know, and they know it in their
own language.
On CNN, they gave the Heroes Award to a young Kenyan
shepherd boy who couldn't study at night in his village, like all
the village children, because the kerosene lamp, it had smoke and it
damaged his
eyes. So he invented a cost-free solar lamp. now the children in his
village get electricity at home.
When he received his award he said these lovely words : "The
children can lead Africa from what it is
today, a dark continent, to a light continent."
Let us not keep them and
ourselves in the dark. Let us celebrate diversity. Mind your
language. Use it to spread
great ideas.
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