Mrs Mooney Discursive Writing Higher (Exemplar Plan)

Essay Ideas and Plan

1. Possible topics:

·  Do video games have a negative impact on gamers?

·  Should English be the world language?

·  Should cloning be banned?

·  Staycation is the new vacation – there’s a lot to celebrate about being living in Scotland.

·  Should Scottish Universities be able to set their tuition fees in order to compete with English universities?

2. Chosen topic:

·  Should English be the world language?

3. Stance:

·  Generally against and will write persuasively though I will acknowledge some credible points for.

4. Table – Brainstorm of arguments FOR and AGAINST

FOR / AGAINST
Globalistaion – makes communication easier. 1 / Losing cultures 4
International relations – foster cooperation and international citizenship 2 / Losing the ability to be able to access documents etc. written in lost languages. 5
Language integration is already happening / Why should English be chosen anyway? 7
It would negate the problem of meaning becoming ‘lost in translation’. 3 / It would be impracticable to implement.
English is an easy language to learn / It is a slippery slope to the loss of freedom of expression 6

5. Identify likely points for essay

See highlighted points – numbered with likely order.

6. Proposed essay structure with research

Point 1 – FOR Globalisation/communication (Economic)
Topic Sentence: We now live in a global community and our ability to communicate with our international partners is becoming increasingly important.
Evidence:
"We understand that economics is a discipline, like most scientific fields, where the research is published in English," the petition read, in apologetic tones. But it declared that it is "unacceptable" for a native French professor to teach standard courses to French-speaking students in the adopted tongue of English.
Lille School of Management
"We understand that economics is a discipline, like most scientific fields, where the research is published in English," the petition read, in apologetic tones. But it declared that it is "unacceptable" for a native French professor to teach standard courses to French-speaking students in the adopted tongue of English.
“In many business schools, the bottom line is in English”By Doreen Carvajal
http://www.nytimes.com/world/europe/10iht-engbiz.2.5212499.html?pagewanted=all
“British goals both in the colonial period and today are primarily political and commercial. The British Council's Annual Report 2009-10 states that for the equivalent of every $1.60 of taxpayer's money it receives, it earns $4 through its English teaching and examining worldwide. ELT is of massive importance for the British economy. This underlies expansion efforts in India and China, where it has had very mixed success, except perhaps in commercial terms. David Graddol's 2010 report English Next India, commissioned by the British Council, uses similar arguments to those articulated 180 years earlier by Thomas Babington Macaulay, a senior British administrator, in making a case for British involvement in Indian education. Influence on the learning of English may be as ineffectual as in Namibia, in this very different context.”
“Linguistic imperialism alive and kicking” by Robert Philipson
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/mar/13/linguistic-imperialism-english-language-teaching - Consulted on 22/06/12
Point 2 – FOR Globalisation - International Relations (Political and Social)
Topic Sentence: Equally, our dependency on other nations goes far beyond trade as we are dependant on cooperation within global political organisations.
Evidence:
"English does not make us all the same - nor should it, for we honour who we distinctly are.
"But it makes it possible for us to speak to each other, to better understand each other and so it is a powerful force not just for economics, business and trade but for mutual respect and progress." Gordon Brown, during his time as Prime Minister.
“Brown speaks out for English” by Deborah Summers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jan/17/gordonbrown.labour?INTCMP=SRC – consulted 22/06/12
Point 3 – FOR Translation – Lost in translation
Topic Sentence: Indeed, where we are so intrinsically interdependent it surely essential that what we are communicating doesn’t get lost in translation.
Evidence:
“One day English too, the last lingua franca to be of service to a multi-lingual world, will be laid down. Thereafter everyone will speak and write in whatever language they choose and will understand.”
Dr Ostler said machine translation like Google translate or translation apps like Siri are improving all the time. Eventually he predicted that it will become easy to translate written documents quickly and use hand-held devices to translate speech and signs in real time.
“The most plausible future for English is it will continue to be spoken as a mother tongue (in English-speaking nations) but its position as lingua franca will be over taken by technology as more and more people live their lives electronically.”
Dr Ostler, Chairman of the Foundation for Endangered Languages
“English will die out like Latin, leading linguist claims” by Louise Gray
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/9314749/Hay-Festival-2012-English-will-die-out-like-Latin-leading-linguist-claims.html
Point 4: AGAINST Losing culture
Topic sentence: Unfortunately, a move to any global language would result in far more being lost; important aspects of our culture could be wiped out forever.
Evidence:
Professor David Crystal, Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales commented that "A language is dying every two weeks somewhere in the world today. Half the world's languages will no longer be spoken in another century. This is an extremely serious concern, and English has to share the blame." Professor David Crystal, Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales
“Will English Kill off India’s Languages” by Mark Tully.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15635553 - Consulted 22/06/12
Unesco has stressed the significance of the mother tongue for over 50 years. Save the Children's 2009 report for the CfBT education trust, Language and Education: The Missing Link, hammers home this message.
“Countries in the region face a dilemma. They acknowledge that English provides access to vital Western science and technology as well as valuable markets in the West. Yet they worry that the price may be a dilution of the cultural strength and cohesion that have helped Southeast Asia emerge in the past few years as one of the fastest-growing economic areas in the world.
A looming explosion of mainly American, English-language television programs beamed to viewers in Asia via satellite is adding to regional concerns.
George Yeo, Singapore's minister for information and the arts, warned recently that the ability of governments to control the flow of information was being weakened.
"The flow is becoming a flood," he said at a meeting in Manila of information ministers from ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
This development, Mr. Yeo said, was "a threat because, as entire communities, we may lose the means to preserve and promote values important to us."
"There is a danger that our traditional cultures may be drowned by the deluge of films, TV programs, videos, books and magazines from the West."
While Southeast Asian countries need the widest access to information to "educate our people, bring in the latest technologies and compete in a very competitive world," he said, "free access to information does not mean letting the market decide what values we should have."

“Leaders Fear an Erosion of Their Cultures : Awash in English, Asians Fret” By Michael Richardson

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/12/news/12iht-langi.html

Point 5: AGAINST It is a slippery slope to the loss of freedom of expression.
Topic Sentence: It’s not just retaining our past we have to worry about though as a move to a world language could be considered an act of suppression.
Evidence:
Compare to 1984 thinkspeak to illustrate idea of control.
“When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer” – George Orwell (though it wasn’t intended in this sense…)
Point 6: AGAINST People are highly protective of their national heritage and much unrest could result from such policy being imposed.
Topic Sentence: More worryingly is the fact that installing a world language may prove a divisive force in the international community.
Evidence:
“A May 24 attempt by pro-presidential lawmakers to adopt legislation that critics say could boost Russian language usage, in turn undermining Ukrainian, triggered a brawl. In a successful bid to block the vote, opposition lawmakers stormed the podium in parliament and roughed up pro-presidential lawmaker Vadym Kolesnichenko, the bill’s author.”
Associated Press.
“…such legislation would de facto make the Russian language a second state language, marginalizing Ukrainian as in Soviet days.”
“Language law fight breaks out ahead of election” by Yuriy Onyshkiv
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/language-law-fight-breaks-out-ahead-of-election-1.html
Point 7: A Why should English be chosen anyway?
Topic Sentence: Perhaps you are yet to be convinced that establishing English, our language, as the world language is not a sensible suggestion. You may feel comfortable in the knowledge that….
Would this change if I were proposing that Mandarin be adopted as the global tongue?....
Evidence:
“And around four fifths struggle with the basics, such as ordering in a restaurant or asking the way to a train station, according to research by the European Commission.
The Commission warned that the UK has some catching up to do to reach the foreign language abilities of their European neighbours.
The findings show that in England, just 9% of 14 and 15-year-olds studying French met the “Council of Europe's definition of being “an independent language user who can deal with straightforward, familiar matters”.
On average, 58% of pupils could do this across the countries surveyed.
A separate opinion poll on attitudes towards languages, also conducted by the Commission, found almost three in four (72%) of people in the UK think everyone in the EU should be able to speak one other language besides their mother tongue.”
“Teenagers lag behind on languages” by Alison Hershaw
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/englands-teenagers-lag-behind-on-languages-7872891.html - consulted 23/6/12

7. Proposed title:

·  Lost in Translation

8. Draft Introduction

Imagine a world where all countries are united by one language. Imagine a world where all human beings are able to communicate with each other using one language. Imagine a world where the only language is one used in all areas of life; science, technology, business, medicine and tourism. This idea has been passed around for centuries, and now the argument is put forth that we could achieve it. Many argue that English could become the global language. It is already spoken in 45 countries - more than any other European language. But what would be the cost of the introduction of such a policy?