The following appeared in an article in a college departmental newsletter
Professor Taylor of Jones University is promoting a model of foreign language instruction in which students receive ten weeks of intensive training, then go abroad to live with families for ten weeks. The superiority of the model, Professor Taylor contends, is proved by the results of a study in which foreign language tests given to students at 25 other colleges show that first-year foreign language students at Jones speak more fluently after only ten to twenty weeks in the program than do nine out of ten foreign language majors elsewhere at the time of their graduation.
Discuss how well reasoned... etc.
This newsletter article claims that Professor Taylors foreign-language program at Jones University is a model of foreign language instruction. This conclusion is based on a study in which foreign language tests were given to students at 25 other universities. The study shows that first-year language students at Jones speak more fluently after just 10 to 20 weeks in the program than do 90 percent of foreign-language majors at other colleges at graduation. Despite these impressive statistics, I am unconvinced by this argument for two reasons.
To begin with, the assumption here is that students from Professor Taylors program have learned more than foreign language students at other universities. However, we are not given enough information about the study to be sure that this comparison is reliable. For example, the article does not tell us whether the foreign language students at Jones were given the tests; it only reports that the tests in question were given to students at 25 other colleges. If Jones students were not tested, then no basis exists for comparing them to students at the other universities. In addition, the article does not indicate whether students at all the universities, including Jones, were given the same tests. If not, then again no basis exists for the comparison.
Furthermore, we cannot tell from this article whether the universities in the study, or their students, are comparable in other ways. For instance, Jones might be a prestigious university that draws its students from the top echelon of high school graduates, while the other universities are lower-ranked schools with more lenient admission requirements. In this event, the study wouldnt tell us much about Professor Taylors program, for the proficiency of his students might be a function of their superior talent and intelligence.
In conclusion, the statistics cited in the article offer little support for the claim about Taylors program. To strengthen the argument, the author must show that the universities in the study, including Jones, were comparable in other ways, that their foreign language students were tested identically, and that Taylors program was the only important difference between students tested at Jones and those tested at the other universities.
2016中考英语语法阅读复习指导
2016中考英语冲刺阶段复习技巧
2016中考英语冲刺学习规划
2016中考英语口语应用题解题思路
2016中考英语阅读复习指导
中考应把握英语作文评分标准(2016)
2016中考英语复习指导考前必备
2016中考英语关于基础知识复习指导
2016中考英语书面表达的几点分析与建议
2016中考英语学习规划(百日冲刺)
阿匹婆(打一英文名词) 谜底:a people
2016中考英语得分技巧(复习指导)
中考英语满分作文写作指导(必备)
不可(打一英语单词) 谜底:book(书)
潲哇(打一英文单词) 谜底:shower阵雨
2016中考英语完型填空复习总攻略
复习指导:分析中考英语作文被扣分的原因
2016中考英语复习需要注意的事项
2016年中考英语复习指导:九大题型及答题技巧
一窝蚊子(打一英语单词) 谜底:involving
围棋(打一英语单词) 谜底:which
四围泼一泼(打一英语单词) 谜底:sweep
2016中考英语复习技巧(听力)
2016中考英语复习方法:注重基础
2016中考英语复习指导:扎实掌握基础知识
(2016年)中考生如何复习英语
上下(打一英语单词) 谜底:sunshine
中考英语学习方法(备考)
2016中考英语各题型拿高分策略(必备)
2016中考英语考前复习指导
| 不限 |
| 英语教案 |
| 英语课件 |
| 英语试题 |
| 不限 |
| 不限 |
| 上册 |
| 下册 |
| 不限 |