Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education

Bilingual education has become very popular lately, with perhaps the most compelling reason for bilingual education being the concept of equality of education in our country. How is it possible for someone to obtain a great education when he or she doesn't fully understand the language the lessons are being taught in? Isn't that student going to become a second-class citizen? Should we just allow that to happen or should we teach them in their native language and worry about assimilation at some later time? The fact is that there are a lot of pros and cons about the subject.

On the positive side, there are many benefits of students learning another language at a very early age. It has been proven that children who learn to speak another language early in life have an easier time grasping the vocabulary, grammar, and nuances of both languages. It has also been shown that these same students will be able to move on to learning third and fourth languages just as easily. The reasons for this are varied, but one of the principal reasons is that many languages have their roots in a single ancient language such as Latin or Greek. As the nationalities have developed, their languages changed but kept a lot of the same words and word structure. Also as the world shrinks and everything becomes more global in nature, it is going to become ever more important to be able to communicate in more than one language.

There is no denying that bilingual education lessons should be taught to students at the elementary level. Waiting until high school will only make it more difficult on the children. Once a student becomes familiar with a second language it is much easier for him or her to master it as they grow older. It is also a good thing when students learn about the culture of different countries, which is enhanced by learning the language. Studies have proven that the ability to speak multiple languages does not confuse the mind. In fact, it helps to develop it faster and lead to a well rounded future.

On the negative side, there are people who feel that bilingual education is a bad idea because it takes away our sense of national identity. The United States has always been known as a "melting pot" of cultures where everyone is treated equally and every culture becomes assimilated into the primary culture of the United States. Historically, newcomers to this country have been forced to learn our English language and many of our ways, all the while contributing parts of their historic culture and making the entire culture better as a result. The argument is that by retaining the language of their old country, they are no longer as easily assimilated into this country.

Bilingual education is a concern in other countries as well as in the United States. For example, there is currently a movement underway in France to ensure that French remains the dominant language and that all citizens learn to speak French. Similarly in the United States many people feel that we as a country have gone too far overboard in making all the other cultures comfortable by printing everything in their home languages. The problem that is brought up is that, by printing everything in multiple native languages, the newcomers don't have to learn English. And if they don't learn English they will never be fully assimilated into the United States. By thus creating nationalistic cliques some people say that we are potentially creating the same type of societal issues that are found in other parts of the world and that those who are immigrating to the United States are frequently running away from. My personal belief is that children from other cultures who may speak other languages at home need to become familiar with English and that English should be the required language for all governmental affairs.

In summary, bilingual education is not a way to take anything away from American students. In fact, it is just the opposite. Language is an important part of the learning process. Young students are in position to learn a second language early on, which will benefit them greatly in the future. This is why so many school districts are implementing bilingual education criteria at lower grade levels. However, let us all recognize that there are issues to be faced in bilingual education and our schools and our society will need to face these issues fully.

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The GED Essay Test: Understanding the Essay and Improving the Score

If you're planning to take the GED Test soon, it's essential to understand the essay section since many test candidates find it one of the most difficult aspects of the language arts exam. Understanding what this part of the GED test expects -- and how it's scored -- is an excellent way to reduce difficulty, test anxiety and improve scoring.

The GED, the common term for the General Education Development credential, is the adult's alternative to a high school diploma. The GED credential is awarded after passing tests in science, social studies, math, and reading and writing, or language arts.

Most of the GED test is multiple-choice. But part of the language arts writing test requires the candidate to write an original essay, based on a provided prompt. The essay will need to make an explanation or present a point of view. Two pages are provided for the essay, but there's no requirement that all the space be used. Still, at least 200 words are recommended.

Timing for the test is flexible. A total of 120 minutes is allowed for both parts of this language arts exam, with 75 minutes slotted for the 50 questions in part one and 45 minutes slotted for the essay test. However, GED candidates who finish the first part in less time can devote the remaining time to the second part. Or, if more time is needed for the first section and less for the second, a candidate may use remaining time from the essay and return to the multiple-choice section of the writing test.

The essay is scored on a 4-point scale, and scored by two trained GED essay readers.

The two GED readers' scores are averaged. If the essay receives a score of 2 or higher, the essay score is combined with the language arts multiple-choice score to form a composite. If a GED candidate receives a score of 1 or 1.5 on the essay, there's no composite score, and the candidate must retake both the essay and multiple-choice portion of the test. GED Essay readers may not be more than one point apart in their scoring. In those cases where the readers are more than one point apart, the chief reader for the GED scoring site will set the score by agreeing with the reader whose score follows the GED Testing Service scale.

Individual essay scores are not reported, but the score accounts for 35 percent of this portion of the language arts test.

Essay scoring is based on five areas, and measures the overall impression of the essay:

1. Does the paper respond to the assigned prompt--did the candidate use the topic on the test, and remain on-topic?

2. Can the reader see or follow an organized plan for development?

3. Are there specific and relevant details to support the paper's focus?

4. Are the conventions of language (grammar, usage, and mechanics) generally followed?

5. Is the word choice precise, varied, and appropriate?

Here's a good way to understand these five requirements. The essay is scored on organization, essay focus to the prompt and how well the ideas are developed and supported. The essay is also scored on appropriate English mechanics such as grammar, punctuation, along with word choice and sentence structure. However, the most important measure is organization, focus to the main prompt, and idea development.

Prompts differ from test to test, cover topics of general interest and are not released in advance of the test. But here's an example of a prompt:

'What is your most important reason for obtaining the GED credential? How do you think it will help you achieve a goal in the next year? In your essay, identify your most important reason for obtaining the GED and the single most important goal you plan to achieve with it. Explain your point of view and support your goal, using your own experience, background and knowledge to support your essay.'

So, what's the best way to prepare for the essay test? Practice! To best prepare, practice writing two-page essays in the 45-minute time period. Ask for critique and guidance to determine how well your essays are organized, focus on a particular subject and explore ideas that support your main topic. You'll also want to know that your grammar and use of English mechanics are sound.

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An Easy Formula For Writing College Papers - Part One

Your paper's due date is rapidly approaching, and along with it, so is that desperate feeling in the pit of your stomach. You have done the research, you have a stack of printed material on your desk that you have read, but the paper is just not taking shape in your mind.

This is why you need a formula to follow. Think of a good paper-writing formula as a recipe. If you have the same ingredients and recipe as the chef at a great restaurant, you can cook the same dish and it will taste just as good at home as it does when you go out to eat.

Below is a formula I used for undergraduate English papers, argumentative essays in philosophy, history, and other subjects I can no longer remember.

I also used this same formula in law school on my legal briefs and my essay exams. And when I graduated from law school, I used it on ever single legal brief I wrote as a practicing attorney.

This formula sets up an argument form, acknowledges the other side's main point, and then proceeds to show why your point is stronger.

Here it is:

First, you write, "Although _____" or "Even Though _____." This is where you acknowledge the counter argument to your thesis, or main point. You don't act as if another point of view doesn't exist, you face it head on and give it a fair chance (before you blow it apart).

Second, you write, "Nevertheless _____" or "However ______." This is your thesis statement and your argument. You have given the other side a fair hearing, now you present your argument and state a better way.

Third, you write, "Because _____." This is where you prove your thesis statement and show why it is stronger than the counter argument. Assemble all the proof you can muster to blow down the other argument and build up your thesis.

Look for ways to use this formula no matter what type of paper you have been assigned. You will be surprised at how often a paper can be improved if you simply take a stand or a position and argue for a certain position.

In the next article, we will look for examples of ways this formula can be applied.

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The Most Common Errors in Writing Essays

While writing comes naturally for some people most everyone else has to make a conscious and concentrated effort to get the appropriate words on paper. It is not only the words, but also the formatting, spelling and grammatical errors that often plague the common student's essay. There are a number of reasons for this; however it can be easily corrected with a little bit of time and effort. After all this essay could mean not receiving the acceptance letter desired or a failing grade. It is important to ensure that anything from a letter to a full blown research paper is correct and reads well because it is a direct reflection on yourself. This article will cover the common errors of essay writing and a few tips to help alleviate those issues.

Spelling - Not Only Spell Check

Spell check is one of the most wonderful inventions ever. It helps everyone, not only students with ensuring the words on their paper are spelled correctly. Over the years we have all learned to spell, but there are those specific words that give us trouble each and every time. Many of us have become dependent on the computer for alternate words, spelling and catching grammatical errors, but we also have to remember that the computer is not 100% error proof. By this point you fully realize that different words can have different meanings as well as alternate spellings. Though spell check is a very efficient tool there are items that it simply does not catch. This doesn't mean that spell check leaves words incorrectly spelled; it means that the word that you intended may not be the word that is included in the paper. For example words such as there and their are commonly mistaken in the context of the sentence. The computer is logical, but is not able to apply common sense to wording.

Improper Person

Almost every student has a problem with writing in the wrong perspectives at some point or another. This is a very common problem and can be addressed with a little bit of understanding. The two most common perspectives of writing are the first and third person. The second person perspective is generally not required for most college, high school or other academic papers unless otherwise specified. In most cases the third person perspective is used when it applies to everyone and not any one person specifically. First person refers to the author or the individual writing the paper. The first person perspective is commonly seen in opinion or evaluation papers, from the writer's point of view.

Fragments and Run On Sentences

Students commonly find themselves either with a long winded sentence or one that is not a complete idea. This is a very common problem among professional writers. Generally, individuals will either have trouble with one or the other, but in some cases both issues are a problem. Spell check will catch fragments and run on sentences for the writer to correct before turning the essay in. Run on sentences are easy to spot because they are two independent sentences sandwiched together. They can be corrected by simply adding punctuation, and therefore separating the sentences. For fragment sentences it is important to express a freestanding idea in the sentence. Below are examples of both:

RUN ON: Logan loves to color he is a talented artist. (This would sound better if it were broken down into two - it crams two complete thoughts together.)

Fragment: Such as dogs, cats and horses. (This sentence can not stand alone and make sense - what about dogs, cats and horses? What the author means is unclear.)

Not Proofreading

Proof reading is not all that fun and no one likes to do it, but it is imperative for a well written essay. As we pointed out earlier spell check does not catch every type of error that can be found in typical writing. It only takes a few minutes to read over each and every sentence ensuring that they are complete thoughts, have the correct words and make sense. Proof reading increases grades by about 10 to 20 points every single time. Most professors and teachers claim that if the students would have reread or proofed the paper before turning it in, they would have received a much better great. In many cases those extra points could mean the difference between passing and failing the entire class, or gaining entrance into a school of choice. If possible having someone else read over the paper or proof it as well can help, sometimes the author understands the concept, but the reader may not be able to understand.

The best advice in writing a good essay is to slow down and follow the guidelines to ensure a quality paper. All of the steps must be followed or it is likely that the paper will have errors and will receive a poor grade.

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It's a type of paper used in all manuscripts of writing in Japanese. Vertical writing usually starts from right to left and top to bottom. Horizontal writing starts from left to right and top to bottom. Here are some tips for you.

Vertical Writing

1. Title: write the title in the 1st line. The 1st word starts from the 4th square. If the title starts with numbers, write them in Kanji.
2. Name: writer's name is on the 2nd line. Last name comes before the first name. Leave 1 square between the last and first name. Leave 1 square below the first name as well.
3. The First Sentence of the Essay or Paragraph: starts from the 3rd line in the 2nd square. Each new paragraph starts from the 2nd square.
4. Punctuation Marks: usually occupy their own squares. Exception: when they will occur at the top of next line, we write them at the bottom right quarter next to the last word of the current line.
5. Small Characters: each occupies 1 square and we place it on the top right quarter of the square.
6. The Subheading (if applicable): has 1 empty line before and after. It starts from the 3rd square of a new line. If there are no subheadings, just start the next paragraph in a new line after the previous one.
7. Elongation Mark: when writing from top to bottom, the elongation mark should also be written from top to bottom in the middle of the square.
8. Writing Numbers: use kanji instead of Arabic number. One number occupies 1 square.

Horizontal Writing

1. All the rules (1-8) in vertical writing would normally apply to horizontal writing.
2. Small characters occupy in the bottom left quarter of 1 square.
3. When writing conversation script, we use the Japanese quotation mark.

Essay Tips

• Always aim to write about 90% of the words required. Between 90-100% is great. Below 80% will not give you good marks.
• Always write Kanji if you can. Too many Hiragana will not help you get good marks.
• Be consistent. Stick to whichever the form you choose to use for sentences throughout the essay. To include all what you wanted to write about without exceeding the word limits, we recommend to use the plain form. The plain form also gives the friendly feeling to readers.
• Avoid using slang or colloquial words/ expression in the formal essay writing.
• Avoid repeating the same words or the same content too often.
• Avoid writing a sentence that is longer than 2 lines of the Genkouyoushi.
• Ensure the logic of the sentence flows.
• Ensure there are no typos or writing errors. e.g., You are thinking of 1 word but you wrote it differently.
• If you need to write in pencil, please make sure you choose the proper one for clarity of reading and ease of writing.

'H' indicates the hardness. e.g., 3H is harder than H.

'B' indicates the blackness. e.g., 3B is softer than B.

'F' indicates that you sharpen the pencil to a fine point.

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Who Can You Believe In Academic Writing?

In January 2006, the journal Science retracted the 2005 paper by university professor Hwang Woo-Suk and co-workers which had proclaimed the existence of patient-specific embryonic stem cell lines. If the paper had been true, it would have suggested that tangible medical applications of embryonic stem cell might be close in time. Concerning the publication of this fraudulent paper, it is interesting to note BOTH that the referees and editors found no difficulty with the paper at submission AND that scientific experts in the embryonic stem cell field did not question the paper prior to the unraveling in December 2005. Nobody in the field could identify a fraudulent paper.

In my paper LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE HWANG MATTER: ANALYZING INNOVATION THE RIGHT WAY (88 JPTOS 239 (March 2006)), I noted that incidences of misstatements by academics in the published literature are not uncommon. For example, a Stanford University professor writing in the Stanford Law Review proclaimed that Gary Boone was the inventor of the integrated circuit. Mark A. Lemley, Patenting Nanotechnology, 58 Stan. L. Rev. 601, 612 (2005). This misstatement, ignoring the true inventors Noyce and Kilby, sailed right through the "review" process at the Stanford Law Review. Further, the "message" Lemley drew from the Boone invention of the IC was that The sum of all these stories is rather remarkable: for one reason or another, the basic building blocks of what might be called the enabling technologies of the twentieth century - including the computer, software, the Internet, and biotechnology - all ended up in the public domain. In reality, the IC is an example of a situation in which users had to pay royalties not to just one patent holder, but to two (Texas Instruments AND Fairchild).

Academic research is not the only area in which one must be wary.

Did New Jersey actually fund stem cell research?

A number of publications have suggested that the state of New Jersey was the first state to use public funds for research in embryonic stem cells:

New Jersey officials on Dec. 16, 2005 announced $5
million in grants for stem cell research, including
studies involving human embryonic stem cells. The
awards are said to be the first instance of a state
using public funds for such research.

The grants may appear to be modest compared with those
for other scientific endeavors, but they represent an
important step in New Jersey's effort to establish a
stem cell research industry. With strong competition
already under way from California and Florida,
supporters say, New Jersey cannot afford to fall
behind.

''The grants we have awarded today are based on
science, not politics, and have been conceived by some
of the brightest minds and best institutions in our
state,'' Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey said in a
statement. ''This funding will hopefully set the stage
for a new era in medical treatments that will ease the
suffering of millions and ultimately save lives.''

New York Times, B2, December 17, 2005

California's pioneering initiative has caused a
backlash, as some states have enacted bans on publicly
funded embryonic stem cell research. Yet others --
including Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas and Illinois
-- have recently approved small amounts of state
funding for research.

Los Angeles Times, B1, Feb. 27, 2006

"Californians' decision to put out a welcome mat to embryonic stem cell research has prompted reaction among states that
don't want to see a brain drain in biotech.
Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey have passed
state laws to encourage embryonic stem cell research."

New Jersey Law Journal, Feb. 20, 2006

At this point in time, it is not clear that both houses of the New Jersey state legislature actually approved this expenditure of money, or that actual money has gone from the state of New Jersey to research institutions for funding stem cell research.

Google uses citation hits, not accuracy, to determine ranking of hits in search engine results

People are still only willing to look at the first few tens of results. Because of this, as the collection size grows, search engines need tools that have very high precision (number of relevant documents returned, say in the top tens of results). Indeed, search engines want the notion of "relevant" to only include the very best documents since there may be tens of thousands of slightly relevant documents.

Briefly, Google, in part, assigns "rank" on its search engine results much as Science Citation Index (SCI) assigned the "value" of a scientific paper based on the number of papers who cite to it. Google assumes you will find a given webpage more valuable if others have created links to it.

--> If a human reads a web page and finds it relevant, that human might put a link to it on his or her own site.

--> The higher the number of pages that link to a given web page, the more relevant it is.

Thus was born PageRank, brought to us by a small search engine called Back-Rub that later changed its name to Google.

With Google, we have a strong goal to push more development and understanding into the academic realm. Academics love citation index, and create mutual societies of cross-citation: I'll cite your paper if you cite mine. Although some will say this is "objective," a more apt description is that it is "quantifiable" according to relatively simple rules.

The citation (link) graph of the web is an important resource that has largely gone unused in existing web search engines. We have created maps containing as many as 518 million of these hyperlinks, a significant sample of the total. These maps allow rapid calculation of a web page's "PageRank", an objective measure of its citation importance that corresponds well with people's subjective idea of importance. Academic citation literature has been applied to the web, largely by counting citations or backlinks to a given page. This gives some approximation of a page's importance or quality. PageRank extends this idea by not counting links from all pages equally, and by normalizing by the number of links on a page. Links from well-linked pages are better indicators of quality.

An interesting example of why Google's ranking system is not necessarily effective was in a study of Google searches for +"patent reform" +2795, in the time period after Lamar Smith's HR 2795 on patent reform was introduced in June 2005. Initially, Google searches seemed rather underinclusive, but at least gave hits relevant to the content of the bill. As time went on, the number of hits increased dramatically, but there was an almost selective "weeding out" of substantive hits (those which really discussed the content of HR 2795 and what it might mean) in favor of more popular hits giving only cosmetic discussion of the bill. Webpages with significant content were almost eliminated.

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Careful Usage Of Idioms In IELTS Writing and IELTS Speaking Tests

In the Speaking and Writing tasks of the IELTS exam, you can use idioms to make your speaking and essay more interesting. Even if you already know what an idiom is it is still very important to be cautious with its usage. Every idiom can still be detrimental to your IELTS band score if not well-chosen and properly used.

In choosing a good idiom, it is imperative to accurately know its meaning. More importantly, choose the ones that are appropriate for the given context. For example, in the Academic Writing task, it would be unwise to use informal idioms such as those under the category of "daily-life idioms". Another aspect to consider is the theme or topic question you are answering. What idea would you like to emphasize or highlight? It is only when you can inject an idiom appropriately into a particular part of your speech or the essay that idioms should be used.

How you use these well-chosen idioms is another important factor. The answer goes back to a test of simplicity and genuineness. Use an idiom to elaborate a thought rather than complicating it, or worse, making it more vague. Also, be natural, and do not use a number of idioms as if the task is to showcase how many idioms you know. Remember, a natural conversation is not scripted. You are there to express, not to impress!

To go with these guiding points on effectively using idioms, here are seven idioms that can be used in various topics under the IELTS Speaking and IELTS Writing tasks. Notice that all of them fall under the same category which is of "ambition and determination". You can use them to answer the personal questions in IELTS Speaking part 1, the two-minute talk in IELTS Speaking part 2, and the discussion in IELTS Speaking part 3. Finally, you can include them in writing an opinion essay (IELTS Writing task 2) as well. So, try using these idioms as you talk about ambition and your dreams:

• At all costs - You can use this if you want to talk or write about someone (even you yourself) who does his/her best to achieve or succeed at something. In Speaking, you might be asked:

Can you tell me about your ambition? You can then tell the examiner of your particular dream and you can continue with how you will make it happen.

Consider this: "My ultimate dream is to be a doctor. I know it is not easy, so I will strive hard for it at all costs." This answer sounds very natural and full of conviction as your passion and determination to achieve such ambition are made very prevalent with the use of an appropriate idiom. A good rating will be given for this.

• Beyond your wildest dreams - This suggests a positive surprise which it is more than you think you deserve. If the IELTS Speaking task 2 question asks you to describe a recent success in your life, you can simply talk about it with supporting details and make it very interesting in the last part. You may finish this task with a good sentence:

"So, that was really beyond my wildest dreams".

• Blood, sweat and tears - This is similar to 'at all costs'. The two of them are actually interchangeable. You achieve something through blood, sweat and tears. Going back to our sample task 2 of the Speaking test above, this idiom might be used to explain how you succeed on something. Just be careful! You never have them together in one task. Decide which one would work better for you.

• Buckle down - This is simply the verb-phrase version of 'at all costs' and 'blood, sweat and tears'. Observe how I express the same thought if I use this instead of 'at all costs' in the given example above. Our previous example was: "My ultimate dream is to be a doctor. I know it is not easy, so I will strive hard for it at all costs." Now, our new example is:

"My ultimate dream is to become a doctor. I know it is not easy, so I have to buckle down and stay focused."

• Explore all avenues - A very common function of this idiom is when giving a recommendation or possible solution to a problem. Let us try to use this in Writing task 2. Assuming the topic is:

A very recent social issue today is the dangerous effects of mining. Do you think the government should allow this? Why? Or why not? Explain. Whether you affirm or not, you still need not only to provide reasons to support but also recommendations or reminders.

Sample lines as part of the concluding paragraph of the whole essay:

"I believe every human activity like mining has also its drawbacks. That is why we need to explore all avenues before doing something that is not very safe to a great number of people in order to minimize unfavourable consequences."

This will make your essay more valuable to the readers, and the examiners will definitely give credit to that. Thus, 'explore all avenues' is expressed if you want to say you are very keen on a particular issue or action. Your main purpose is to avoid trouble or harmful effects in the end.

• Go the extra mile - Let us still contextualise this as an aid to our Writing task 2, especially in the concluding paragraph. You may cap you essay with words of encouragement. Taking the same topic we used above, I will show you how to take advantage of this expression:

"I believe every human activity like mining has also its drawbacks. Thus, it is not only the government who should deal with them. Each of us should also go the extra mile to contribute to our society."

• Paddle your own canoe - This is yet another great expression if you want to call your readers into action or encourage them to put everything in your opinion essay's conclusion. Let us use this sample paragraph again:

"I believe every human activity like mining has also its drawbacks. Thus, it is not only the government who should deal with them. Each of us should also go the extra mile to contribute to our society."

Since, it is not advisable to use two or more idioms in one paragraph, let us use this new idiom instead of the previous one without changing the whole idea:

"I believe every human activity like mining has also its drawbacks. Thus, it is not only the government that should deal with them. Each of us should also do what we can to face such concerns (another term for "drawbacks". After all, a good society always has responsible citizens paddling their own canoes."

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