A subjective definition of anti-social behavior permit you to cast your net wide and include anything you find personally disagreeable; the legal definition is also widely inclusive. To quote (trích dẫn, nêu ra) the Crime and Disorder Act, it is behavior which 'causes or is likely to cause harassment (sự quấy rầy, quấy rối), alarm or distress (nỗi buồn, nỗi đau buồn) to one of more people who are not in the same household as the perpetrator (thủ phạm, kẻ gây ra)'. This includes among many other things, foul (hôi thối, bẩn thỉu) and abusive (lăng mạ, sỉ nhục) language, threatening behavior, shouting, disorderly conduct, vandalism (tính chất dã man, tính tàn bạo), intimidation (sự hăm dọa, sự đe dọa), behavior as the result of drug or alcohol misuse (lạm dụng), graffiti and noise which is excessive, particularly at night.
The idea is that ASBO are sanctions (luật pháp, sự thừa nhận) designed to deal with issues that affect everyone in the community and as such are civil (thuộc công dân) sanctions, not criminal ones, and need the cooperation of the community to be effective. For example, a private individual cannot apply for an ASBO; he or she must make a complaint to the police or local authority, who will then work together to gather more information and build up evidence. This involves (gồm, bao gồm, làm cho dính líu) getting witnesses (nhân chứng), among whom will no doubt be neighbours and acquaintances (sự hiểu biết, sự quen biết), to make statements to the authorities. When the authorities are satisfied that they have enough evidence. the local council (hội đồng) applies to the magistrates court (tòa án) to have an ASBO imposed (đánh thuế, bắt, chịu, gây ấn tượng mạnh)
We still haven't decided what constitutes anti-social behaviour. It does not have to be physical violence, of course, but is far easier to identify and deal with if it is. What about threatening behaviour? We are not talking here about direct threats such as: "if you come round here again, I will beat you up", but situations perceived as threatening. Let's say a pensioner or a person of timid (rụt rè, nhút nhát, sợ hãi) disposition is on their way home and they run into a group of young people who are shouting, swearing (chửi thề) and kicking a ball about and who happen to make a few unkind remarks as the person passes. Let's say the person is alarmed or feels threatened by the situation. Does it merit getting the ASBO process going.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Các từ chỉ sự tăng và giảm trong IELTS task 1
Tăng và giảm
Dùng động từ:
1/ Tăng (increase): rise, augment, grow, go up (v), to be up
- tăng nhanh: soar (v), sky-rocket (v), shoot up (v)
- tăng chậm, nhích từng chút một: inch up (v)
- leo thang: escalate (v, escalation (n)), climb (v)
- lên tới đỉnh: to reach a peak, peak (v)
2/ Giảm (decrease): fall (v, n), drop (v, n), tumble (v), slump (v), decline (v), go down (v), to be down
- giảm nhanh: plunge (v), nose-dive (v), plummet
- Thu hẹp (e.g., thị phần): diminish, shrink, contract
- Chạm đáy: to reach/hit rock-bottom, a trough (điểm đáy)
Reduce khác với fall, hay drop ở chỗ to reduce là transitive verb (to reduce ST) trong khi fall và drop là intransitive verb. Vd: The company reduced their prices, but their prices fell.
3/ Ổn định: level out (v)
Dùng thêm tính từ/trạng từ:
Chúng ta có thể dùng adj hay adverbs để bổ sung cho động từ.
+ Để chỉ cường độ:
Mạnh: dramatic (dramatically), sharp (sharply), huge (hugely), enormous (enormously), steep (steeply), tremendous (tremendously)
Nhiều, đáng kể: substantial (substantially), considerable (considerably), significant (significantly), marked (markedly)
Vừa phải: moderate (moderately)
Nhẹ: slight (slightly)
Ít: small, little
Tối thiểu: minimal (minimally)
+ Để chỉ tốc độ:
Nhanh, thình lình: rapid (rapidly), quick (quickly), swift (swiftly), sudden (suddenly)
Đều: steady (steadily), constant (constantly). Thường dùng kiểu như to remain unchanged/stable/steady, to stay constant
Dần dần: gradual (gradually)
Chậm: slow (slowly)
Trích blog: CAPTAIN BEAR (http://englishtime.us/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=5658)
Dùng động từ:
1/ Tăng (increase): rise, augment, grow, go up (v), to be up
- tăng nhanh: soar (v), sky-rocket (v), shoot up (v)
- tăng chậm, nhích từng chút một: inch up (v)
- leo thang: escalate (v, escalation (n)), climb (v)
- lên tới đỉnh: to reach a peak, peak (v)
2/ Giảm (decrease): fall (v, n), drop (v, n), tumble (v), slump (v), decline (v), go down (v), to be down
- giảm nhanh: plunge (v), nose-dive (v), plummet
- Thu hẹp (e.g., thị phần): diminish, shrink, contract
- Chạm đáy: to reach/hit rock-bottom, a trough (điểm đáy)
Reduce khác với fall, hay drop ở chỗ to reduce là transitive verb (to reduce ST) trong khi fall và drop là intransitive verb. Vd: The company reduced their prices, but their prices fell.
3/ Ổn định: level out (v)
Dùng thêm tính từ/trạng từ:
Chúng ta có thể dùng adj hay adverbs để bổ sung cho động từ.
+ Để chỉ cường độ:
Mạnh: dramatic (dramatically), sharp (sharply), huge (hugely), enormous (enormously), steep (steeply), tremendous (tremendously)
Nhiều, đáng kể: substantial (substantially), considerable (considerably), significant (significantly), marked (markedly)
Vừa phải: moderate (moderately)
Nhẹ: slight (slightly)
Ít: small, little
Tối thiểu: minimal (minimally)
+ Để chỉ tốc độ:
Nhanh, thình lình: rapid (rapidly), quick (quickly), swift (swiftly), sudden (suddenly)
Đều: steady (steadily), constant (constantly). Thường dùng kiểu như to remain unchanged/stable/steady, to stay constant
Dần dần: gradual (gradually)
Chậm: slow (slowly)
Trích blog: CAPTAIN BEAR (http://englishtime.us/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=5658)
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Insomnia - The enemy of sleep
It is not unusual to have sleep troubles from time to time. But, if you feel you do not get enough sleep or satisfying sleep, you may have insomnia, a sleep disorder. People with insomnia have one or more of the following: difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep, waking up too early in the morning and unrefreshing sleep. Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours you sleep every night. The amount of sleep a person needs varies. While most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a night some people do well with less, an some need more.
Insomnia occurs most frequently in people over age 60, in people with a history of depression, and in women, especially after menopause. Severe emotional trauma can also cause insomnia with divorced, widowed and separated people being the most likely to suffer from this sleep disorder. Stress, anxiety, illness and other sleep disorders such as restless legs syndrome are the most common causes of insomnia. An irregular work schedule, jet lag or brain damage from a stroke or Alzeimer's disease can also cause insomnia as well as excessive use of alcohol or illicit drugs. It can also accompany a variety of mental illnesses.
The mechanism that induces sleeps is not know. When it becomes dark, the pineal gland in the brain secretes a hormone called melatonin, which is thought to induce sleep. Exactly why sleep is necessary for good health and efficient mental functioning is unknown. We do know that sleep consist of two very different states: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. In REM sleep, dreams occur, the eyes move under the closed lids and there is an increase in oxygen consumption. blood flow and neural activity. REM sleep occurs four or five times during a night. The periods of REM sleep alternate with longer periods of non-REM sleep, when body functions a sleeper. As the night goes on, the periods of non-REM sleep become progressively lighter. Sleep in stages 1 and 2 are felt to be restorative as during this time body repairs itself utilising a hormone called somatostatin. Lack of stage 4 sleep is believed to be importance in chronically painful conditions such as fibromyalgia.
Healthcare providers diagnose insomnia in several days. One way is to categorize insomnia by how often it occurs. Another way is to identify the insomnia by what is causing the sleep deprivation. The two main types of insomnia have been described as Primary Insomnia and Secondary Insomnia. Primary insomnia is a chronic condition with little apparent association with stress or medical problem. The most common form of primary insomnia is psychophysiological insomnia. Secondary Insomnia is caused by symptoms that accompany a medical condition such as anxiety, depression or pain.
Improving one's sleep hygiene helps improve insomnia in all patients. Relaxing during the hour before you go to sleep and creating a comfortable environment suited for sleep can be helpful. Older people who wake up earlier than normal or have trouble falling asleep may need less sleep than they used to. Changing one's sleep pattern, either by going to bed later or waking up earlier can be effective in dealing with insomnia in older people. Therapy also depends on the cause and severity of the conditions last only a few days as a time. However, if insomnia interferes with insomnia is by attacking the underlying cause. For example, people who are depressed often have insomnia and looking at this problem may eliminate it.
Insomnia occurs most frequently in people over age 60, in people with a history of depression, and in women, especially after menopause. Severe emotional trauma can also cause insomnia with divorced, widowed and separated people being the most likely to suffer from this sleep disorder. Stress, anxiety, illness and other sleep disorders such as restless legs syndrome are the most common causes of insomnia. An irregular work schedule, jet lag or brain damage from a stroke or Alzeimer's disease can also cause insomnia as well as excessive use of alcohol or illicit drugs. It can also accompany a variety of mental illnesses.
The mechanism that induces sleeps is not know. When it becomes dark, the pineal gland in the brain secretes a hormone called melatonin, which is thought to induce sleep. Exactly why sleep is necessary for good health and efficient mental functioning is unknown. We do know that sleep consist of two very different states: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. In REM sleep, dreams occur, the eyes move under the closed lids and there is an increase in oxygen consumption. blood flow and neural activity. REM sleep occurs four or five times during a night. The periods of REM sleep alternate with longer periods of non-REM sleep, when body functions a sleeper. As the night goes on, the periods of non-REM sleep become progressively lighter. Sleep in stages 1 and 2 are felt to be restorative as during this time body repairs itself utilising a hormone called somatostatin. Lack of stage 4 sleep is believed to be importance in chronically painful conditions such as fibromyalgia.
Healthcare providers diagnose insomnia in several days. One way is to categorize insomnia by how often it occurs. Another way is to identify the insomnia by what is causing the sleep deprivation. The two main types of insomnia have been described as Primary Insomnia and Secondary Insomnia. Primary insomnia is a chronic condition with little apparent association with stress or medical problem. The most common form of primary insomnia is psychophysiological insomnia. Secondary Insomnia is caused by symptoms that accompany a medical condition such as anxiety, depression or pain.
Improving one's sleep hygiene helps improve insomnia in all patients. Relaxing during the hour before you go to sleep and creating a comfortable environment suited for sleep can be helpful. Older people who wake up earlier than normal or have trouble falling asleep may need less sleep than they used to. Changing one's sleep pattern, either by going to bed later or waking up earlier can be effective in dealing with insomnia in older people. Therapy also depends on the cause and severity of the conditions last only a few days as a time. However, if insomnia interferes with insomnia is by attacking the underlying cause. For example, people who are depressed often have insomnia and looking at this problem may eliminate it.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Air Safety - Coming Down without a Bump
E. So in t1978 the ICAO chose the Microwave Landing System (MLS) to replace the ILS. The MLS also uses two radio signals from similarity sited transmitters to guide down aircraft, but there the similarity ends. The MLS uses narrow beams at a much higher frequency sweeping and forth across the path of incoming flights. A receiver on an aircraft registers when the beams pass and works out its angle to the runway from the timing of the signals. The new system is significantly less susceptible to interference than the ILS. And because its signals fan out wider, aircraft can make long curving approaches. This sometimes helps controllers manage traffic.
Monday, June 13, 2011
The death of wild salmon
The last few decades have seen an enormous increase in the number of salmon farms in countries bordering the north Atlantic. This proliferation is most marked in two countries famous for their salmon, Norway and Scotland. Salmon farming in Norway and Scotland has expanded to become a major industry and as the number of farmed salmon has exploded, the population of its wild relatives has crashed. The rivers of these countries that used to have such great summer runs of fish every season that they used to attract thousands of anglers from all over the word are now in perilous decline. Recently Truls Halstensen, a Norwegian fishing writer, wrote that his local river, the Driva, where he used to be able to catch five or more fish of over 20 pounds weight in a morning, is now almost totally fishless.
The link between the increase in farmed salmon and the decline in the wild population is hotly disputed. Environmentalist claim that the increase in farming has affected wild salmon and the sea environment in various ways. Firstly it is claimed that the mass escapes of farmed fish present a grave threat to the gene pool of wild salmon stocks. Escapees breed less successfully than wild salmon but the young of the escapees, known as parr, breed aggressively and can produce four times more successfully than their counterparts. The parr, bred by escapees also become sexually active far sooner than wild salmon stocks. Jeremy Read, director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust points out that "the major problem of interbreeding is that it reduces a population's fitness and ability to survive. Native salmon have evolved to meet the circumstances and habitat of sea and river life. Farm fish are under very different selection pressure in an artificial habitat. This could leave the world with a north Atlantic salmon which could not survive in its native conditions.". The huge increase in sea lice in coastal waters in another growing problem. Sea lice thrive in salmon farm conditions and their increase in numbers means that wild salmon and other fish entering waters where there are farms can fall prey to the lice.
Another difficulty and one of the most worry side effects of the salmon farm industry is that salmon farmers cannot function without vast quantities of tiny sea creatures to turn into food pellets to feed their stock. Lars Tennson of the Norwegian Norwegian Fishermen's association complains that "the huge quantities of small fish caught by industrial trawlers is helping to strip fishing grounds of the small fish and of other species, including wild salmon, that depend on the feed fish"
Fish farms are also being blamed for increasing levels of nitrogen in the ocean. Over the last 2 years there have been 26 effluent leaks involving nitrogen-rich fish droppings. Naturally occurring algae feed on this and grow into large toxic blooms that kill most other marine life. Even legal chemicals used in farms, such a those used to combat the sea lice, can unbalance micro-organism populations, affecting the other organism that feed on them. Kevin Dunnon, director of FEO Scotland, has warned that "using inappropriate chemicals and medicines has the potential to do real environmental damage... We will prosecute if we find enough evidence"
In spite of the evidence that farming is harming fish populations, fish farmers are adamant that they are not responsible. Nick Jury insists that "algal blooms and the decline in fish stocks have occurred naturally for decades because of wide range of unrelated and more complex factors." Jury feels that fish farms are being made a scapegoat for lack of government control of fishing.
Overfishing is a major problem that affects salmon stocks and not just salmon. A combination of high trawler catches, net fishing at estuaries, sport fishing and poaching have all led to stocks of wild salmon diminishing. The UK government likes to thing that this problem has been recognized and that the roots of the problems have been attacked by laws passed by them. Fishermen, at sea and in estuaries, have been set quotas and many salmon rivers have been closed to fisherman. Poachers are more difficult to control but their effect is not as marked as that of the fishermen. Angus Kilrie of the NASF feels that the efforts have been wasted: "Legislation has merely scratched the surface", Not enough money has been forthcoming to compensate fishermen and the allowances have been set to high
The fate of the wild Atlantic salmon is anybody's guess. Farmers and governments seem unworried, environmentalist fear the worst. Wild Scottish salmon stocks this year have actually gone up this year which is heralded by the UK's fisheries department as a result of their policies. Paul Knight, Director of the Salmon and Trout fishing association has stated that he is "delighted with the upturn in numbers this year." He adds the warning warning though that "there are still significant threats to salmon stocks and that it is important not to take our eye off the ball". Statistics though can always be interpreted in different ways. All issues concerning the health of the wild north Atlantic salmon need to continue to be addressed in order to protect the viability of future runs
Vocabulary
- proliferate (v): sinh sôi, nảy nở, phát triển
- proliferation (n): sự sinh sôi, sự tăng nhanh chóng về số lượng
- explode: (v) làm nổ, làm đập tan, làm tiêu tán
- angler: (n) người câu cá, người đánh bắt cá
- perilous: (adj) nguy hiểm, hiểm nghèo, hiểm họa
- perilously (adv)
- perilousness (n)
- hotly: (adv): sự sôi động, kịch liệt
- dispute (n) cuộc bàn cãi sự tranh cãi
- dispute (v): tranh cãi bàn cãi
dispute with (against) somebody: tranh luận với ai
dispute on (about) a subject: tranh luận về chủ đề gì
- grave (n): mồ mả, sự chôn vùi, sự chết, thế giới bên kia
- threat (n): sự đe dọa, lời đe dọa, sự hăm dọa
- threaten (v): đe dọa
- aggressive (adj): hay gây hấn, hung hãn, xông xáo
- aggressively (adv): xông xáo, tháo vát
- evolve (v) mở ra, suy luận ra
- involve: (v) gồm, bao gồm, liên quan đến, dính líu tới
- circumstances: hoàn cảnh, tình huống, trường hợp
- habitat (n): môi trường sống, nơi sống của cây cối động vật
- habitant: người ở, người cư trú
- thrive: (v) thịnh vượng, phát đạt
- prey (n): con mồi, a bird of prey - chim săn mồi
- be/fall prey to sth: làm mồi cho cái gì
- prey on/upon somebody's mind: dày vò ai
- trawler: tàu đánh cá bằng lưới
- feed: sự ăn, sự cho ăn
- marine: t
- blame (man): sự khiển trách, lời trách móc
The link between the increase in farmed salmon and the decline in the wild population is hotly disputed. Environmentalist claim that the increase in farming has affected wild salmon and the sea environment in various ways. Firstly it is claimed that the mass escapes of farmed fish present a grave threat to the gene pool of wild salmon stocks. Escapees breed less successfully than wild salmon but the young of the escapees, known as parr, breed aggressively and can produce four times more successfully than their counterparts. The parr, bred by escapees also become sexually active far sooner than wild salmon stocks. Jeremy Read, director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust points out that "the major problem of interbreeding is that it reduces a population's fitness and ability to survive. Native salmon have evolved to meet the circumstances and habitat of sea and river life. Farm fish are under very different selection pressure in an artificial habitat. This could leave the world with a north Atlantic salmon which could not survive in its native conditions.". The huge increase in sea lice in coastal waters in another growing problem. Sea lice thrive in salmon farm conditions and their increase in numbers means that wild salmon and other fish entering waters where there are farms can fall prey to the lice.
Another difficulty and one of the most worry side effects of the salmon farm industry is that salmon farmers cannot function without vast quantities of tiny sea creatures to turn into food pellets to feed their stock. Lars Tennson of the Norwegian Norwegian Fishermen's association complains that "the huge quantities of small fish caught by industrial trawlers is helping to strip fishing grounds of the small fish and of other species, including wild salmon, that depend on the feed fish"
Fish farms are also being blamed for increasing levels of nitrogen in the ocean. Over the last 2 years there have been 26 effluent leaks involving nitrogen-rich fish droppings. Naturally occurring algae feed on this and grow into large toxic blooms that kill most other marine life. Even legal chemicals used in farms, such a those used to combat the sea lice, can unbalance micro-organism populations, affecting the other organism that feed on them. Kevin Dunnon, director of FEO Scotland, has warned that "using inappropriate chemicals and medicines has the potential to do real environmental damage... We will prosecute if we find enough evidence"
In spite of the evidence that farming is harming fish populations, fish farmers are adamant that they are not responsible. Nick Jury insists that "algal blooms and the decline in fish stocks have occurred naturally for decades because of wide range of unrelated and more complex factors." Jury feels that fish farms are being made a scapegoat for lack of government control of fishing.
Overfishing is a major problem that affects salmon stocks and not just salmon. A combination of high trawler catches, net fishing at estuaries, sport fishing and poaching have all led to stocks of wild salmon diminishing. The UK government likes to thing that this problem has been recognized and that the roots of the problems have been attacked by laws passed by them. Fishermen, at sea and in estuaries, have been set quotas and many salmon rivers have been closed to fisherman. Poachers are more difficult to control but their effect is not as marked as that of the fishermen. Angus Kilrie of the NASF feels that the efforts have been wasted: "Legislation has merely scratched the surface", Not enough money has been forthcoming to compensate fishermen and the allowances have been set to high
The fate of the wild Atlantic salmon is anybody's guess. Farmers and governments seem unworried, environmentalist fear the worst. Wild Scottish salmon stocks this year have actually gone up this year which is heralded by the UK's fisheries department as a result of their policies. Paul Knight, Director of the Salmon and Trout fishing association has stated that he is "delighted with the upturn in numbers this year." He adds the warning warning though that "there are still significant threats to salmon stocks and that it is important not to take our eye off the ball". Statistics though can always be interpreted in different ways. All issues concerning the health of the wild north Atlantic salmon need to continue to be addressed in order to protect the viability of future runs
Vocabulary
- proliferate (v): sinh sôi, nảy nở, phát triển
- proliferation (n): sự sinh sôi, sự tăng nhanh chóng về số lượng
- explode: (v) làm nổ, làm đập tan, làm tiêu tán
- angler: (n) người câu cá, người đánh bắt cá
- perilous: (adj) nguy hiểm, hiểm nghèo, hiểm họa
- perilously (adv)
- perilousness (n)
- hotly: (adv): sự sôi động, kịch liệt
- dispute (n) cuộc bàn cãi sự tranh cãi
- dispute (v): tranh cãi bàn cãi
dispute with (against) somebody: tranh luận với ai
dispute on (about) a subject: tranh luận về chủ đề gì
- grave (n): mồ mả, sự chôn vùi, sự chết, thế giới bên kia
- threat (n): sự đe dọa, lời đe dọa, sự hăm dọa
- threaten (v): đe dọa
- aggressive (adj): hay gây hấn, hung hãn, xông xáo
- aggressively (adv): xông xáo, tháo vát
- evolve (v) mở ra, suy luận ra
- involve: (v) gồm, bao gồm, liên quan đến, dính líu tới
- circumstances: hoàn cảnh, tình huống, trường hợp
- habitat (n): môi trường sống, nơi sống của cây cối động vật
- habitant: người ở, người cư trú
- thrive: (v) thịnh vượng, phát đạt
- prey (n): con mồi, a bird of prey - chim săn mồi
- be/fall prey to sth: làm mồi cho cái gì
- prey on/upon somebody's mind: dày vò ai
- trawler: tàu đánh cá bằng lưới
- feed: sự ăn, sự cho ăn
- marine: t
- blame (man): sự khiển trách, lời trách móc
Thursday, June 2, 2011
IELTS Exam Rules
IELTS Exam includes 4 sections
(1) Listening
- 40 questions
- Time: 30 minute for listening to the recording and choosing the best answer of each question
10 minute extend for transferring answers to answer sheet
(2) Reading
- 40 questions
- Time: 60 minutes in all
20 minutes for each passage
No extra time --> write the answers directly to the answer sheet
(3) Writing: 2 task
- Task 1: 20 minutes: you have to write at least 150 words
- Task 2: 40 minutes: you have to write at least 250 words
(4) Speaking: 3 parts
Time: 15 minutes totally
- Part 1: Introduce by your self (4 to 5 minutes)
- Part 2: Topic talking: you have 1 minute for preparing (4 to 5 minutes)
- Part 3: Question and Answer (4 to 5 minutes)
(1) Listening
- 40 questions
- Time: 30 minute for listening to the recording and choosing the best answer of each question
10 minute extend for transferring answers to answer sheet
(2) Reading
- 40 questions
- Time: 60 minutes in all
20 minutes for each passage
No extra time --> write the answers directly to the answer sheet
(3) Writing: 2 task
- Task 1: 20 minutes: you have to write at least 150 words
- Task 2: 40 minutes: you have to write at least 250 words
(4) Speaking: 3 parts
Time: 15 minutes totally
- Part 1: Introduce by your self (4 to 5 minutes)
- Part 2: Topic talking: you have 1 minute for preparing (4 to 5 minutes)
- Part 3: Question and Answer (4 to 5 minutes)
Billingualism in Children
Paragraph A
One misguided legacy of over a hundred years of writing on bilingualism is that children's intelligence will suffer if they are bilingual. Some of the earliest research into bilingualism examined wether bilingual children were ahead or behind monolingual children in IQ tests. From the 1920s throught to the 1960s, the tendency was to find monolingual children ahead of bilinguals on IQ tests. The conclusion was that bilingual children mentally confused. Having two languages in the brain, it was said, disrupted effective thinking. It was argued that having one well-developed language was superior to having two half-developed languages.
Paragraph B
The idea that bilinguals may have a lower IQ still exist among many people, particularly monolinguals. However, we now know that this early research was misconceived and incorrect. First, such research often give bilinguals an IQ test in ther weaker language - usually English. Had bilinguals been tested in Welsh or Spanish or Hebrew, a different result may have been found. The testing of bilinguals was thus unfair. Second, like was not compared with like. Bilinguals tended to come from, for example, impoverished New York or rural Welsh backgrounds. The monolinguals tended to come from more middle class, urban families. Working class bilinguals were often compared with middle class monolinguals. So the result were more likely to be due to social class differences than language differences. The comparison of monolinguals and bilinguals was unfair.
Paragraph C
The most recent research from Canada, United States and Wales suggest that bilinguals are, at least, equal to monolinguals on IQ tests. When bilinguals have two well-developed languages (in the research literature called balanced bilinguals), bilinguals tend to show a slight superiority in IQ tests compared with monolinguals. This is the received psychological wisdom of the moment and is good news for raising bilingual children. Take, for example, a child who can operate in either language in the curriculum in the school. That child is likely to be ahead on IQ tests compared with similar (same gender, social class and age) monolinguals. Far from making people mentally confused, bilingualism is now associated with a mild degree of intellectual superiority.
Paragraph D
One note of caution needs to be sounded. IQ tests probably do not measure intelligence. IQ tests measure a small sample of the broadest concept of intelligence. IQ tests are simply paper and pencil tests where only 'right and wrong' answers are allowed. Is all intelligence summed up in such right and wrong, pencil and paper tests? Isn't there a wider variety of intelligences that are important in everyday functioning and everyday life?
Paragraph E
Many questions need answering. Do we only define an intelligent person as somebody who obtains a high score on an IQ test? Are the only intelligent people those who belong to high IQ organisations such as MENSA? Is there social intelligence, musical intelligence, military intelligence, marketing intelligence, motoring intelligence, political intelligence? Are all, or indeed any, of these forms of intelligence measured by a simple pencil and paper IQ test which demands a single, acceptable, correct solution to each question? Defining what constitutes intelligent behaviour require a personal value judgement as to what type of behaviour, and what kind of person is of move worth.
One misguided legacy of over a hundred years of writing on bilingualism is that children's intelligence will suffer if they are bilingual. Some of the earliest research into bilingualism examined wether bilingual children were ahead or behind monolingual children in IQ tests. From the 1920s throught to the 1960s, the tendency was to find monolingual children ahead of bilinguals on IQ tests. The conclusion was that bilingual children mentally confused. Having two languages in the brain, it was said, disrupted effective thinking. It was argued that having one well-developed language was superior to having two half-developed languages.
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The idea that bilinguals may have a lower IQ still exist among many people, particularly monolinguals. However, we now know that this early research was misconceived and incorrect. First, such research often give bilinguals an IQ test in ther weaker language - usually English. Had bilinguals been tested in Welsh or Spanish or Hebrew, a different result may have been found. The testing of bilinguals was thus unfair. Second, like was not compared with like. Bilinguals tended to come from, for example, impoverished New York or rural Welsh backgrounds. The monolinguals tended to come from more middle class, urban families. Working class bilinguals were often compared with middle class monolinguals. So the result were more likely to be due to social class differences than language differences. The comparison of monolinguals and bilinguals was unfair.
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The most recent research from Canada, United States and Wales suggest that bilinguals are, at least, equal to monolinguals on IQ tests. When bilinguals have two well-developed languages (in the research literature called balanced bilinguals), bilinguals tend to show a slight superiority in IQ tests compared with monolinguals. This is the received psychological wisdom of the moment and is good news for raising bilingual children. Take, for example, a child who can operate in either language in the curriculum in the school. That child is likely to be ahead on IQ tests compared with similar (same gender, social class and age) monolinguals. Far from making people mentally confused, bilingualism is now associated with a mild degree of intellectual superiority.
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One note of caution needs to be sounded. IQ tests probably do not measure intelligence. IQ tests measure a small sample of the broadest concept of intelligence. IQ tests are simply paper and pencil tests where only 'right and wrong' answers are allowed. Is all intelligence summed up in such right and wrong, pencil and paper tests? Isn't there a wider variety of intelligences that are important in everyday functioning and everyday life?
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Many questions need answering. Do we only define an intelligent person as somebody who obtains a high score on an IQ test? Are the only intelligent people those who belong to high IQ organisations such as MENSA? Is there social intelligence, musical intelligence, military intelligence, marketing intelligence, motoring intelligence, political intelligence? Are all, or indeed any, of these forms of intelligence measured by a simple pencil and paper IQ test which demands a single, acceptable, correct solution to each question? Defining what constitutes intelligent behaviour require a personal value judgement as to what type of behaviour, and what kind of person is of move worth.
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