LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION QUESTIONED 

IN THE PAST GOVERNMENTS, ESPECIALLY IN CANADA, HAVE SPENT MILLIONS ON LANGUAGE TRAINING. RESULTS HAVE NOT BEEN OUTSTANDING, TO SAY THE LEAST. NOW THAT WASTE OF MONEY MAY END.

ACCORDING TO THE MAN WHO SHOULD KNOW, CHARLES BERLITZ, THERE ARE 2,796 LANGUAGES SPOKEN ON THIS PLANET. IS ALL THIS NECESSARY IN THE COMMUNICATIONS AGE?

IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALBERTA, IT COSTS C$4,000 A YEAR TO PUT A STUDENT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL -- WHICH WORKS OUT TO ABOUT $1.25 PER STUDENT PER HOUR. THE COST IS $500 PER MONTH (INCLUDES TEACHERS' SALARIES, SCHOOL OVERHEAD, ETC.) FOR A 20-STUDENT CLASS TO GET 20 HOURS (ADDS UP TO 480 HOURS IN THREE YEARS!) OF QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION. THERE IS A BETTER WAY.

WRITER ARTHUR WRIGHT FROM INGLEWOOD, AUSTRALIA SUGGESTS (IN HIS EXAMPLE USING SPANISH) THAT WE SEND THOSE STUDENTS TO ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA, WHERE FOR ABOUT C$400 EACH A MONTH THEY WOULD GET:

1. ROOM AND BOARD WITH A LOCAL FAMILY.

2. SIX HOURS A DAY OF TUITION, PLUS UP TO ANOTHER 10 HOURS A DAY WITH SPANISH- SPEAKING HOSTS -- WHICH ADDS UP TO 480 HOURS FOR ONE MONTH!

3. ONE TEACHER PER STUDENT !

DO THESE KIDS SIT IN A DULL CLASSROOM LISTENING TO A NON-SPANISH TEACHER? NO. THEIR TEACHER/GUIDE TAKES THEM AROUND TOWN, VISITING SHOPS, LIBRARIES, MANUFACTURING PLANTS, RESTAURANTS AND BUS STATIONS. THEY LEARN THE WAY THE LANGUAGE IS REALLY SPOKEN. THEY LEARN IT QUICKLY BECAUSE THEIR ENVIRONMENT SPEAKS NOTHING ELSE. AFTER ONE MONTH OF THIS TOTAL IMMERSION, STUDENTS USUALLY SPEAK SPANISH MORE FLUENTLY THAN STUDENTS ATTENDING NORTH AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION LANGUAGE CLASSES FOR FIVE OR SIX YEARS.

EVEN THIS MAY NOT BE THE "BOTTOM LINE". FUJITSU, JAPAN'S LARGEST COMPUTER COMPANY, HAS NOW DEVELOPED WHAT I CALL THE "UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR". IT CAN TRANSLATE JAPANESE INTO ENGLISH AND VICE VERSA AT THE RATE OF 1,000 WORDS PER MINUTE. IT CAN TRANSLATE HALF A DOZEN LANGUAGES SIMULTANEOUSLY. HARD COPY PRINT-OUT AVAILABLE IF YOU SO DESIRE.

WILL ANYONE WANT TO LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE WHEN THERE IS NO LONGER ANY ECONOMIC INCENTIVE TO DO SO? WHEN A MACHINE CAN EFFICIENTLY TRANSLATE FOR YOU? SURE, SOME PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS WANT TO LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE SUCH AS LATIN, BUT IT'S HARD TO MAKE A LIVING FROM IT.

EXPECT TO HEAR THAT THE JAPANESE TELEPHONE SERVICE WILL OFFER AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATOR WITHIN A FEW YEARS. YOU WILL PHONE JAPAN AND SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR CHOICE. THEY WILL ONLY HEAR JAPANESE. THEY WILL REPLY IN THEIR NATIVE TONGUE AND YOU WILL HEAR ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN, GERMAN OR WHATEVER YOU PREFER. EXPECT A SLIGHT ADDITIONAL CHARGE TO COVER THE ROYALTY TO FUJITSU FOR THIS SOFTWARE TRANSLATING SERVICE.

FOR THE SKEPTICS, I NOW SHOW AT MY SEMINARS A VIDEO TAPE FROM A SATELLITE TRANSMISSION SHOWING A BLACK AFRICAN FROM KENYA, BROAD- CASTING FROM JAPAN TO ONE OF OUR OWN CANADIAN INUIT IN IQALUIT (FORMERLY FROBISHER BAY), NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. THE KENYAN IS SPEAK- ING SWAHILI. THE CANADIAN IS SPEAKING INUKTITUT. BECAUSE THE TRANS- LATION IS DIGITALIZED AND SYNTHESIZED, ONE COULD HAVE BEEN BLIND AND THE OTHER DEAF AND THEY WOULD HAVE STILL UNDERSTOOD. BECAUSE THE BLIND WOULD HAVE HEARD IT AND THE DEAF WOULD HAVE READ IT.

PREPARE FOR SURPRISES AHEAD. THEY ARE GREATER THAN YOU THINK.... THEY WILL ALSO OCCUR SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.

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