THAILAND'S English language teaching is to be restructured in an effort to increase English proficiency among its citizens, according to The Bangkok Post. Thai's Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng set a deadline of one month for English learning to change from learning by rote and grammar to concentrating on communicating and writing. Results from the TOEFL place Thais eighth in English proficiency among Southeast Asian countries, while the TOEIC saw Thais rank in fifth place.
Series of war stories wins US book award
美国国家图书奖揭晓 二战题材小说摘得桂冠
"EUROPE Central", a series of 37 intertwined stories by William T. Vollmann that examine the moral decisions of characters during World War II, won the US National Book Award for fiction on November 16, reports The New York Times. The award for nonfiction went to Joan Didion, whose memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking" recounts her response to the death of her husband and the serious illness of their daughter.
