JAPAN'S foreign language learning sector saw earnings rise by 0.9 per cent in the 2005 fiscal year to US$ 5.5 billion, according to data gathered by the Yano Research Institute. The market for foreign language businesses includes schools, learning materials, translation and interpretation services. The moderate growth was mainly due to the expansion of English conversation classes for pre-schoolers and primary school children. This market was estimated to be worth US$ 822 million. There was also slight growth in the adult foreign language teaching sector, which was estimated to be worth US$ 2.3 billion.
Singaporeans urged to use correct English
新加坡启动“说标准英语行动”
SINGAPORE has launched the annual "Speak Good English Movement", the sixth in its series this year, urging Singaporeans to speak standard English so as to be understood both locally and internationally. Stressing that speaking good English is not about accent, Minister of State for Education Lui Tuck Yew said that Singaporeans need to avoid using English with sentence structures directly translated from their respective mother tongues like Chinese, Malay or Tamil. The Ministry of Education piloted a programme called "Strategies for Effective and Engaged Development in English" in 30 schools from the beginning of this year and is conducting an English Language Review to find ways to help students better learn the language.
Siberian tale wins top Scottish book award
苏格兰图书奖揭晓 战争题材小说获奖
SCOTTISH writer James Meek has won the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award. Meek was given the award, along with a check for US $18,815, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival for his novel, "The People's Act of Love". Set in Siberia in 1919, the novel concerns a renegade Czech army unit stranded in a community dominated by an obscure religious sect. Meek drew on his experience as the Guardian's foreign correspondent in Moscow in the 1990s when writing the book. The award is the biggest of its kind specifically for a Scottish writer.
