Are you interested in what’s happening in the world of ESL but don’t have the time to keep up with listserv discussions or read long articles? Do you feel left behind when it comes to current research in the field. Well, you’re in luck. I’m kicking off a new blog series called Keeping up with ESL. I’ll let you know about current news from around the world of ESL teaching in a series of short and sweet posts, designed to keep you up-to-date and ahead of the pack, while still leaving you the time you need to devote to classroom planning and teaching.
Our first post isn’t specifically ESL related, but is does look at language, an essential component of ESL. A study recently came out showing a connection between geography and language. The researcher, Caleb Everett, found that languages spoken at high altitudes are more likely to contain ejectives – sounds made with short bursts of air. There are no ejectives in the English language. While the study didn’t look at why this might be true, Everett wondered if it has to do with the fact that air pressure decreases with higher altitudes making ejective sounds easier to produce.
For more details on the study and to hear an example of what ejectives sound like, check out this short article from National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130614-high-altitude-ejective-language-linguistics/) or go to PLOS ONE for the full article (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%253Adoi%252F10.1371%252Fjournal.pone.0065275 )
Stay tuned for next month’s Keeping Up with ESL post on the effect of images from a learner’s native country on language learning.