Tony Blair may believe in it, but it has its limitations.
I went to tutor a 12-year old girl today. When I was 12 I didn’t have much homework. I spent these years of my life socialising and watching lots of TV. I was just starting to learn a second language – French – although ‘learn’ is probably an extreme word to use. Maybe I had memorised some numbers, but not much more. I expected to have trouble conversing with a girl this age.
Visions of me pointing at objects and saying the word for them disappeared immediately. She knew all the basics of the English language, so could understand questions and answer them in complete sentences. She was a very smart girl. She was also a good example of a Chinese child. (more…)
