Jay Doubleyou: October 2021

In the early ’90s, a New Zealand man named Neil Fleming decided to sort through something that had puzzled him during his time monitoring classrooms as a school inspector. In the course of watching 9,000 different classes, he noticed that only some teachers were able to reach each and every one of their students. What were they doing differently?
Fleming zeroed in on how it is that people like to be presented information. For example, when asking for directions, do you prefer to be told where to go or to have a map sketched for you?
Today, 16 questions like this comprise the VARK questionnaire that Fleming developed to determine someone’s “learning style.” VARK, which stands for “visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic,” sorts students into those who learn best visually, through aural or heard information, through reading, or through “kinesthetic” experiences.

Are ‘Learning Styles’ Real? - The Atlantic

Many people, including educators, believe learning styles are set at birth and predict both academic and career success even though there is no scientific evidence to support this common myth, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

Belief in learning styles myth may be detrimental

Instead, it's really all about memory strategies and about how they are thinking about the material which is presented - and about multimedia approaches:

The Biggest Myth In Education - YouTube

Friday 1 October 2021

do the english speak english the best?

The Dutch are 'the best' speakers of English - according to rankings of 'students':

English Speakers in the World – Who Are the Best and Worst Students?

The Dutch are the best non-native English speakers in the world (again!) – DutchReview

In fact, it's now part of life in Holland and many other countries not part of the former British Empire:

English is no longer a foreign language in NL, but it has a unique character here - DutchNews.nl

There is of course 'international English' or English as a Lingua Franca:

Decades of research show that when a native English speaker enters a conversation among nonnative speakers, understanding goes down. Global communication specialist Heather Hansen tells us that's because the native speaker doesn't know how to do what nonnative speakers do naturally: speak in ways that are accessible to everyone, using simple words and phrases.
And yet, as Hansen points out, this more accessible way of speaking is often called "bad English." There are whole industries devoted to "correcting" English that doesn't sound like it came from a native British or American speaker. Try Googling "how to get rid of my accent," and see how many ads pop up.
It turns out that these definitions of "good" and "bad" English may be counterproductive if our goal is to communicate as effectively as possible.

Why Nonnative English Speakers Actually Speak The Best English : Goats and Soda : NPR

And you could also pick up the 'bad English' spoken by 'native speakers':

When we compare standard, correct English to what native speakers usually use in everyday life, there are plenty of discrepancies! Most people in the United States do not speak perfect English; in fact, many common mistakes are actually accepted forms of speech nowadays. Many native American English speakers break grammar rules, they use incorrect sentence structure, and they use vocabulary in what most people would consider the wrong way.

HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH BETTER THAN MOST NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS 😃 | Go Natural English - YouTube

Finally, a nice little piece from Liz Granirer writing in the latest EL Gazette - with the latest research:

It will come as no surprise to anyone that in Europe, the country that speaks English the best and the most is the United Kingdom, though it’s not the only language here. Immigration has brought many other languages, so that, alongside other local languages such as Welsh and Cornish, 8% of the population speaks a language other than English (though, of course, they may speak English as well).
However, on the continent, the number one spot is taken by Sweden where, according to novinite.com, 91% of the population is fluent in English. The Netherlands is close behind with a whopping 90% of the population who can speak English. Proof of how fluent they are here is that English-language films aren’t shown with subtitles – which may go a long way in explaining why their accent leans towards North America.

Who speaks English best? | E L Gazette