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.
高考英语总复习语法专项 冠词1
09届高考英语语法典型习题 冠词的使用
并列连词1. 并列连词and和or
从属连词10. 引导其他从句的连词
高考英语语法精要讲解二:数词
动词不定式3. 不定式作主语
09届高考英语语法典型习题 动词语气:陈述、祈使与虚拟语气
09届高考英语语法典型习题 定语从句及其关系代词与副词
名词的数 练习及答案
高考英语总复习语法专项 形容词和副词2
高考英语语法精要讲解十五:主谓一致原则
09届高考英语语法典型习题 动词的分类:行为/实义动词、及物与不及物动词、瞬时与持续动词、状态与动作动词、 助动词、情态动词与连系动词
09届高考英语语法典型习题 主谓一致
高考英语总复习语法专项 形容词和副词4
09届高考英语语法典型习题 非谓语动词:动词不定式、动名词、现在与过去分词与独立主格结构作主语、宾语、表语、宾语补足语与状语
高考英语语法精要讲解三十六:(引导从句的)关联词+陈述句
动词的分类
高考英语语法精要讲解三十九:同位语从句
09届高考英语语法典型习题 名词与其数和所有格及数词的表达
高考英语语法精要讲解四:人称代词
高考英语语法精要讲解二十六:情态动词
09届高考英语语法典型习题 简单句:陈述句、疑问句、祈使句、感叹句与并列结构、并列句与并列连词及常用与特殊句型、语序
连词的强化练习
高考英语语法精要讲解二十一:一般过去时
高考英语语法精要讲解十九:一般将来时
09届高考英语语法典型习题 形容词与副词及其比较级与最高级
动词不定式 1不定式作宾语
高考英语总复习语法专项 形容词和副词5
高考英语总复习语法专项 数词
高考英语总复习语法专项 冠词2
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |