Job Discussion Forums

[muffintop]

[Sashadroogie]

'You may have the body'. At least, that is what my Latin teacher taught my class.

Plenty of Russian words in English too. Shouldn't forget them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Russian_origin

[Javelin of Radiance]

[Non Sequitur]

'With this in mind, should one bother to point out the numerous French loan words? They are a part of our language,..'

This is key: 'point out' to whom?
They clearly look different to our Chinese students from their normal English vocab. This leads us to: 'Why are they different?'
'Deja vu' with its proper accents is clearly different as is 'cul-de-sac'.
My point is 'Are in depth analyses of borrowed words or phrases of interest to other than English majors?'
What I'm picking up is that English majors and English Club (not Corner) students are the proper target. Our normal Oral English students probably have more pressing classroom needs.

[choudoufu]

i think someone way up the thread asked "what be the purpose
of teaching foreign words/phrases" since to the chinese, they
are ALL foreign words.

[except for: tofu, kung fu, chow mein, dim sum, low mein.]

i don't really see a need for a special class on foreign words introduced
into english (ok, maybe for a reeeeeaaaalllly high-level advanced
class with the ability and interest) for most chinese students.

i can see this turning into just another lecture by the foreign teacher
showing off his linguistic skills with a fancy PPT while the boring
students snore in the background.

if the words don't come up in general conversation, why bring them up
at all? and when they do appear, what's the point of teaching the
foreign origin, unless you need to explain why they don't follow general
pronunciation rules.

*this week, we have the word "concierge" in hotel english and tourism
english classes. get to use both ipa spellings, british and 'merkan
pronunciations....after i learned how to say this word i've never had
occasion to use. that one year of high school french (got a D) sure
came in handy.

oh well, perhaps this conversation has finally reached a cul-de-sac.

[Non Sequitur]

If you look even further back you will see how it (the resource) will be used.
Certainly not a lecture - TTT and all that.

[Sashadroogie]

[Bud Powell]

My point is 'Are in depth analyses of borrowed words or phrases of interest to other than English majors?'

I'd say no based upon my experience with non-English majors. University English Corners often attract non-English majors, so it might make an interesting topic in that context.

English majors would benefit from such exposure to loan words if they are advanced speakers.

Sasha: You are correct in the literal translation of habeas corpus. I think I got it turned around because it is the defense that files the petition for the writ. My bad.

[Bud Powell]

I have to question the usefulness of teaching phrases such as habeas corpus to students in China.

In Chinese universities, students take Western History (usually divided into two parts: British and American). The books that I have used cover British common law in which the concept (and the term) are used. That fact, however, isn't enough to justify spending a class on Latin loan words.

[Javelin of Radiance]

[Non Sequitur]

Can I restate:
This is a resource for student use, not lecture notes for teacher.
It is aimed at students who will be exposed to English in a worldwide sense, not in the Southern USA or Francophone Quebec.
50 words and phrases across six languages is not going into the murky depths of any one of them ie '10 Russian words with political overtones'.
Any FT with a reasonable grounding in the language they are employed to teach would use and recognise words such as
Ad hoc, Ad lib, Bona fide, Nemesis, Verboten, Kitsch, Angst, Prima donna, Fiasco, Mama mia and Czar.
If you can remember back to your own ESL studies you will recall the tutor saying 'give your students the language and let them use it back to you'.
That's what the resource provides.
My experience is that English majors in their second year lap it up.
English Club attendees from all majors who come out of their sheer interest in the language also find it worthwhile.
My OP was to find out if it had wider applicability.

[Sashadroogie]

Nobody was saying that Russian has contributed more words than any other language. But if we are on the subject of numbers, I'd recognise about as many as those Spanish words in the list as the Russian ones - not counting the admittedly obscure acronyms.

Of course, the question of what makes a word an English word is a thorny one. However, one thing is certain: just because the general public don't recognise or use a word doesn't mean it isn't a word. If it did, we'd have to discard more than half of any dictionary.

[MisterButtkins]

You guys must teach at better universities than me. I teach freshman English majors, and I'm still trying to get them to stop saying 'boring' instead of 'bored'.

[Non Sequitur]

Sorry Mr B, but what has the level of understanding of 80% of the US population got to do with it?

[choudoufu]