Job Discussion Forums

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

"Note that knowledge of TWO foreign languages is required:"

...are...

As is mastery of auxiliary verbs...

NCTBA

[Cleopatra]

[mccainjohn96]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Oh, come on1 I couldn't resist!

NCTBA

[Dedicated]

To mccainjohn96 and Cleopatra,

Let's not forget that Baylor University in Waco, Texas, is a private Baptist University and liberal arts institution, currently ranked 79 out of 262 national universities.

[johnslat]

Dear Dedicated,

Who could ever forget that?

But then is your point that Baylor has the "two language requirement because it's a highly ranked private Baptist university and liberal arts institution?

Regards,
John

P.S. At Harvard, those two languages can be classical Latin and Greek. At Boston College only one foreign language is required:

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT AND COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

Students must also pass two examinations: a language examination and a literary studies examination. The first will demonstrate reading knowledge of a foreign language. The second will gauge the student's mastery of three different skills or practices integral to advanced literary studies: the ability to analyze in detail a short poem or prose passage; the ability to place a number of passages in their proper literary-historical context based on their form, style and content; and the ability to reflect on the theoretical, methodological or interpretive issues involved in reading and criticism. The examinations are offered yearly in December and May. The language exam may be taken at any time during the course of a student's program; the literary studies exam is ordinarily taken after all courses have been completed or are in the process of completion. Students should consult with the program director and with other faculty to plan an appropriate course of studies in anticipation of the examinations. The language exam may be taken in a wide range of languages and may be waived if either 1) the candidate can supply proof of proficiency in a foreign language in the form of an undergraduate transcript carrying credits for the completion of at least six semester hours in an advanced course with grades of B or above (taken within three years of the application for waiver) or 2) the candidate successfully completes a 12-week intensive language course administered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Boston College."

But hey - we were a bunch of slackers at B.C. (Good sports teams, though.)

[veiledsentiments]

The small college where I got my bachelors in the US required that you take two years of a language, but since I had already taken 4 years in High School, I tested out of it. It was again required when I first enrolled for my MA in Applied Linguistics at a US university... and even thought it had been nearly 20 years since I had done anything with the language, I passed the test. It was a translation exercise... dictionary allowed. I think it was mainly a test of whether you could use your knowledge of one language to turn it into an acceptable essay in English. Which makes a certain amount of sense linguistically speaking...

I would expect that knowledge of at least one language is required in most American degree programs. I believe that Mr McCain was referring to American programs... only without mentioning that fact.

VS

[saharastars]

The DELTA is far better than the MA in Applied linguistics that I did, there were at least 7 MAs in TESOL/ELT/LINGUISTICS on my course who all agreed.
The practicability and professional development components to the course were/are very relevant to current teaching theory and reality, I still use my notes three years on.
The benefit of the DELTA is that it is designed by scholars in our field whose actual research is not only published but peer read and edited up at Cambridge University.
The teaching practice was so thorough most of even the seasoned teachers/lecturers and Univ profs, found it challenging but in a positve way. I loved it ever minuite of it, it was exciting, exhilarating and challenging in complete contrast to my MA in TESOL. Which was turgidly boring, watching paint dry would have been a blast.
My advice would be to do an MA in TESOL at an American University- they dont require a pound of flesh like the English Mad Hatter UNIS in Hobbiton. Then if you want some professional development/recharging your teaching batteries , once setteled into your lucrative Mid EAST contract, go for the DELTA.

[mccainjohn96]

[johnslat]

Dear mccainjohn96,

"Well, you need to rinse and repeat whatever you did, because you still don't know what a comma splice is."

Good thing I read this. I've been teaching my students NOT to put a comma before an adverb clause when it ends a sentence, only when it begins one.

Guess I'll have to 'fess up to my mistake.

Regards,
John

[mccainjohn96]

Nothing is that simple. There is an exception for every rule, but there is a rule for every exception.

[johnslat]

Dear mccainjohn96,

You're wrong - I am.

Regards,
John

[mccainjohn96]

Ok, I'll explain it to you. The object of "repeat," i.e., the subordinate clause "whatever you did," immediately precedes our adverbial clause. Hence, a comma is required to make it clear that our adverbial clause modifies the remote verb phrase "to rinse and repeat," rather than the nearby verb "did."

Think your students will ever be ready for that rule?

[johnslat]

Dear mccainjohn96,

"There is an exception for every rule . . ."

Would that include the "comma splice rule?"

Regards,
John

[mccainjohn96]

Yes. Some of my favorite novelists comma-splice short clauses together in a signature style. But good English teachers can tell the difference between somebody breaking a rule on purpose for a good reason and somebody who just doesn't know the rule. I've graded a thousand freshman essays with the quality of our example.


Author Lynne Truss says: �When done knowingly, the comma splice is effective, poetic, dashing.� I never thought of it that way, but I know it�s especially useful when writing dialogue. The comma splice (two complete sentences separated only by a comma) can sometimes capture the exact rhythms of normal speech.

Hurry up, let�s go eat.
Of course I recognize her, I�ve known her all my life.
Mama says he is, he says he isn�t. (Eudora Welty)

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Qb1R5S6icEgJ:criminalbrief.com/%3Fpaged%3D78+raymond+chandler+comma+splice&cd=33&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a