Language Opens Doors to Asia – Arts & Humanities Assignment Help

Assignment Task

ASSESSMENT
This document consists of the following five sources:
an extract from a book, a journal and an online magazine article, and three newspaper articles including APA reference list information about all the sources. Please note that the sixth source is posted separately.

Writing Assessment 
Scan the following material and underline any lines/sections which relate to the assessment question.

Source One
This article called Language opens doors to Asia was written by Helen Twose and published in the New Zealand Herald on September 9, 2016, on page C1.
Language opens doors to Asia
It’s tough to build rapport if you’re using an interpreter
The key ingredients for conducting successful business in Asia can be found close to home. Although strategies vary, a common characteristic of businesses that have done well in Asian markets is that they have bilingual staff. And with limited Asian language teaching available in New Zealand (NZ), local Asian-Kiwi populations provide a shortcut for businesses seeking success in Asia. Therefore, not having the language skills to communicate directly with clients unnecessarily distances companies from their markets. Becoming familiar with Asian markets means businesses are less likely to be blindsided by events. If companies have to go through their distributor for everything and cannot read the local news, they cannot get a direct sense of what their customer’s requirements are.
Whereas the rest of the world has made an effort to learn English as a second language, New Zealanders tend to be monolingual, and, as a result, do not realise how hard it is for all but the truly bilingual to speak in another language. Consequently, New Zealand companies put their contacts in the other country in the position of having to make that much extra effort. If employees have to talk through an interpreter, it is very hard to establish a rapport. People do not go off-script very much if everything is going through an interpreter. Alongside the language skills is the importance of cultural competence that enables companies to interpret business interactions through a local, rather than New Zealand, lens.
A survey of businesses entering the Chinese market revealed many felt they were being held back by an over-reliance on their agent or distributor in that country. Unless they had a great agent, it meant they never developed a connection with the market or gained direct feedback on adapting or localizing products. One of the huge issues is how to raise the value-add and to have a differentiated, higher value product that is not going to be competing as a commodity – how to get away from the bulk milk powder or raw sawn logs – and for that NZ needs a higher degree of connection with the Asian marketplace; otherwise companies are going to be selling as a commodity seller. That is always going to be a price game, which, in the end, is hard for NZ firms to sustain. If they have a commodity that is in plentiful supply and they have a market, people might wonder what the problem is. But as a growth strategy for New Zealand, that is not a great story, and for many companies, there is a certain amount of frustration too. If they cannot enter that more niche, high-value area, they are going to struggle, for instance, when a new competitor comes along.
Therefore, local graduates with a foot in both New Zealand and Asia are an under-used resource. Sometimes people do not realise how much they are missing out through not having the language capacity, the cultural knowledge, the insider perspective. Even someone who has spent time on the ground in Asia or studied the region is an asset.
Both Australia and Singapore have committed to Asian culture, and Asian languages are being studied at all levels of their education systems. By contrast, language programmes in NZ appear to be piecemeal at school, with no NZ university currently offering Southeast Asian languages – a backward step from 20 years ago, when both Victoria and Auckland universities taught Indonesian. The $34.5 million government funding announced in this year’s Budget to establish new centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence was welcome but overdue.
A common feature of businesses in NZ is that the company itself is the product, with a goal of reaching a certain size before looking to find a buyer for the business. It is the opposite of Southeast Asia, where companies were established with a long-term aim of growing and being handed on down the generations. An eye on the short-term also spills over into deals, where unless a NZ company is in the fortunate position of having a raw product in high demand, a longer-term approach is what is needed. Product differentiation and local adaptation becomes sidelined by New Zealand companies in favour of a transactional focus on extracting as much as possible from each deal. That is a very short-term, very mercenary approach, which is noticed on the other side.

Source Two:
This newspaper article was written by Peter Calder and published in the NZ Herald newspaper on 10 April, 2013. The title of the article is Bilingualism great if you’ve time. The article was on page A13.
The 23 children in the classroom at Richmond Rd School in Ponsonby are sitting on the mat just like the kids in any other primary class. However, there’s a significant difference: the teacher runs the class entirely in French. The class is what’s called an immersion unit in which the children who go there don’t just learn French: they learn everything in French. For three days of the week, French is the medium of instruction for their entire curriculum – maths, science, art; the other two days it’s English. The parents who seek out this unit have a French connection – a Francophone parent or grandparent, for example, and the 5-year-olds arrive with a working understanding of French.
Some people see this immersion unit as the template for the future. Among them is Sir Maarten Wevers, former Head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Sir Maarten lamented how few New Zealanders learn a second or third language. He claims we lag behind Australians and Europeans and wants the NZ government to make a list of priority languages, such as Mandarin, and emphasise them in schools.
As someone who excelled in languages at school, did a degree in German, and achieved near-fluency in Spanish while living in South America, I found his comments interesting. I’ll bet that most of the schoolboys who sat with me through five classes of French a week for seven years wouldn’t now be able to ask the time in Paris.
According to Sir Maarten, who speaks fluent Japanese, he achieved his fluency by learning, two students to one tutor, six hours a day for two years while living in Japan. That is as total as total immersion gets, and it’s a far cry from primary or secondary school kids getting four 30-minute periods of Mandarin a week for a few years while living in a world where they rarely hear the language.
Proficiency in language is the ultimate demonstration of the axiom that you use it or lose it. For example, the Swedes and the Dutch, who speak excellent English, are constantly surrounded by English language media such as television and films.
Therefore, acquisition is one thing, maintenance quite another. Languages are only useful if you are in a situation where you can use them. It’s problematic if people keep speaking as if we have programmes that would actually deliver fluency or even ability in the language. Bilingual education at Richmond Road School is a good model, but such immersion units are rare in New Zealand.
As far as New Zealand’s global ambassadors are concerned, we already have them. There are many Chinese and Korean people living in New Zealand who also speak excellent English. If we need go-betweens with Asia, they are more likely to be effective in building relationships than people starting a language from scratch. They understand the Asian culture, and they already have links in NZ.

Source Three:
This newspaper article was written by G.Skellern and was published in the NZ Herald on April 30 2015. The title of the online article is China business: Language teaching out of kilter with trade, and the article was on page D20.
China Business: Language teaching out of kilter with trade
Chinese people comprise a large and growing percentage of New Zealand’s population, so we need to lift our game.

A Mandarin language class at Westlake Boys High School. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Chinese language learning in New Zealand (NZ) secondary schools is way out of step with the country’s growing trade and cultural relationships with China – the world’s biggest economy. For every $1 million of New Zealand’s exports to China, just two students are learning Chinese, compared with 63 for French, 31 for Spanish, 17 for German and 10 for Japanese. Furthermore, 4218 secondary school students studied Chinese last year compared with more than 20,000 who studied French. These Chinese language students were spread among 82 secondary schools, whereas Spanish was taught at 160 schools and French at 215 schools.
However, China is our most important trading partner, our largest source of (international) students and second biggest source of tourists. Therefore, there is an economic need to have more New Zealanders communicating and understanding China in a cultural context. Furthermore, Chinese now comprise a large and growing percentage of New Zealand’s population, so we need to lift our game.
We understand the importance of increasing our pool of Chinese speakers. Research from the Asia New Zealand Foundation shows a clear preference for school children to learn Chinese compared with other non-English languages, but enrolment figures show our language acquisition levels are clearly out of synch with these expectations. The Asia New Zealand Foundation survey found that 83 per cent of New Zealanders were in favour of students learning a second language in school, and 49 per cent of respondents said children in schools should learn Chinese.
German, Spanish, Japanese and Maori enrolments are consistent with the relative weight placed by the survey respondents. But French is taught more frequently than surveyed importance (by 10,000 compared with other languages v current enrolment of 20,478), and Chinese is significantly under-taught (by 25,000 v current enrolment of 4218). The relative mismatches are stark when we consider Spanish to Chinese language teaching. Attitudes are 2.7 times in favour of Chinese (49 per cent to 18 per cent) but secondary school enrolments are 2.7 times in favour of Spanish (11,573 enrolments v 4218 Chinese).

For the first time in our history, we are dependent on a non-English speaking country for our long term economic wellbeing – China is now our largest merchandise trading partner. New Zealand’s exports to China have increased from $0.5 billion in 1994 to more than $10 billion in 2014 – matched by a similar amount of imports. In addition, there were nearly 200,000 Chinese visitors/tourists to New Zealand in 2014, second only to Australia, and China is New Zealand’s biggest source of international students. A total of 24,268 international fee-paying students from China studied here in Trimester 2 of 2014, making up 28.4 per cent of all enrolments.
Many Chinese speak English and between 300,000 and 400,000 have graduated from New Zealand educational institutions. But if you are in China doing business, there are still only a very small percentage speaking English relative to the size of the population. In senior management of companies and organisations in China, far fewer speak English. So if you want to communicate directly with the decision maker, it is better to speak their language and understand their culture.
NZ companies cannot just keep relying on others to do their translating for them. Language is a key to understanding business culture, so we can make far greater gains and improve our economic position if we truly understand who it is we are dealing with and how better to manage the relationship. The increase in New Zealand students learning Chinese is being driven largely at the primary and intermediate level. Primary school enrolments increased from 18,754 in 2013 to 24,143 in 2014 – a jump of 26 per cent.
The Confucius Institute, with branches in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, has an active programme of placing native-speaking Mandarin language assistants (MLAs) from China in New Zealand schools. Last year there were more than 100 MLAs teaching at 250 schools across the country – 44 in Auckland, 38 in Wellington, and 25 in Christchurch.
If the current rate of primary school students carry on and study Chinese at secondary school, the demand will increase to 24,000 by 2021. However, the number of secondary schools presently offering Chinese language is low and will need to increase significantly to cope with this demand.
Moreover, NZ schools have limited resources, and if there are language studies already in place, such as French, Spanish and Japanese, then it is harder for other languages to gain entry. As the figures show, we are not linking our investments in language to our cultural and economic needs. These factors should be taken into consideration in a review of language studies in New Zealand. A component of the review should be needs- based. New Zealand must increase the number of students learning Chinese at the post-primary level. If we remain complacent, we may lose the opportunity to build on our successful bilateral trade, tourism and educational linkages.

Source Four:
This is an extract from a book written by John Hopkins in 2008. The title of the book is Learning Languages, and the book was published by the University Press in Baltimore, MD. Pages 7 and 8 are included.
It is a general misconception that studying the Classics, namely, the study of ancient languages, such as Latin and Greek, is useless. Sceptics claim that Latin and Greek are dead languages with no practical use; thus, studying a spoken language such as Spanish or Chinese would be more useful. However, Greek and Latin are not impractical or irrelevant. These languages are not just for scholars or classicists: anyone can benefit from learning Latin or Greek. Studying the classics provides a strong sense of English grammar and vocabulary and, thus, increases test scores, sharpens the mind, and induces a keener attention to detail. It also allows for a greater study of the Graeco-Roman culture, which has greatly influenced western culture, and provides a solid background for learning other languages, especially the Romance languages.
First, a knowledge of the Classics will definitely improve one’s vocabulary. Over 70 per cent of all English words are derived from Greek and Latin. Knowing Latin and Greek prefixes, roots, and suffixes will not only help one remember definitions of words but will also make it easier to determine the meaning of a new word. This understanding of word formation is very useful for increasing test scores. For example, few secondary students can avoid studying a Shakespearean play. Inevitably, the teacher will ask students the meaning of the word soliloquy. A student of Latin could divide the word into two parts: sol and loqu. The former derives from the Latin adjective, solus, which means alone, and the latter comes from the Latin verb, loquor, which means speak. By putting the two parts together, a student of Latin could come up with a definition of speaking alone, in other words, a Shakespearean speech in which an actor is talking to himself with no audience. However, the word soliloquy is only one word at the tip of the iceberg of other derivations like animated, canine, mental, hostile, and urban, to name just six.
Secondly, studying the Classics can improve one’s sense of English grammar. In an English classroom, one usually learns the typical parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, and verbs. In a Latin classroom, one is forced to learn the imperative, vocative, and locative cases, gerunds and gerundives, infinitives, voices, moods, and the different types of clauses. Because Latin does not have a set sentence structure, it is absolutely necessary to learn and recognize the cases in each sentence and uses of each word. Many Latin students feel that their knowledge of English grammar stemmed from their study of Latin, not from their classroom study of English.
In addition to enhancing one’s English vocabulary and grammatical structures, unraveling the confusing word order in Latin sentences sharpens the mind and imparts a keen attention to detail. Latin sentences are like puzzles; they comprise different scattered parts that fit together when placed accordingly. This translation exercise conditions the mind and memory. One has to be able to see connections between words and the idea behind a sentence. Thus, Latin and Greek are like mathematics in that they both involve logical and deductive reasoning. (Page 7)
Another major reason for studying Latin and Greek is the knowledge of the Graeco-Roman culture. No other culture has influenced Western culture to such an extent. We have greatly benefited from the Roman ideals of honour and virtue. Likewise, the Greeks have given us democracy, trial by jury, tragedy and comedy, philosophy, geometry, architecture and physics, to name a few subjects. The renowned Roman orators, such as Cicero and Ovid, have served as models for brilliant rhetoric. Distinguished modern authors have been infinitely affected by Roman poets, including Horace and Catullus. Greek and Roman mythology have been the subjects of a countless number of modern works. Therefore, a knowledge of Graeco-Roman culture will enrich a student’s knowledge of history, culture, and literature.
Finally, apart from the benefits of improving vocabulary, grammar, and knowledge of ancient cultures, a study of Latin also serves as an essential base for learning other languages, especially the Romance languages, e.g., French, Italian, and Spanish. Latin sentence structures show people that structures different from those in English are possible. Also, Latin roots will help one recognize about 75-80 per cent of the vocabulary of the Romance languages. For these reasons, a strong fundamental knowledge of Latin will definitely give one a solid base when learning another language.
To conclude, dismissing Latin and Greek as dead languages with no value in the modern world cannot, justifiably, be done. Studying Classics increases one’s vocabulary and improves one’s grammar, sharpens one’s mind, teaches one about the Graeco-Roman culture, and provides a strong foundation for learning other languages. A Latin or Greek major is impressive and gives one more than adequate preparation for careers in law, business, and medicine, among countless numbers of other occupations. Latin and Greek may seem like difficult subjects, but they are fulfilling. (Page 8)

Source Five:
This is the last page (p.178) of a 2003 journal article by L.Haag and E.Stern. The article is called In search of the benefits of learning Latin, and the journal is entitled Journal of Educational Psychology.The doi is the following:

The discussion section below summarises the results of the above authors’ research.

Discussion
The research revealed that students who studied Latin at school were less well prepared for learning Spanish than their contemporaries who had learnt French at school. The superior performance of the French group was particularly marked in the correct use of grammar rules and was also obvious as a trend in vocabulary skills. The negative transfer effects of Latin on learning Spanish, which became apparent in the analysis of grammar errors, suggest that accessing Romance languages by way of Latin may not only be a detour but may also be a complication. For students with a Latin background, the acquisition of Spanish may often be impeded by so-called “false friends”. In other words, superficial similarities between certain words in the two languages may lead to the inappropriate use or modification of these words. Therefore, because of the grammatical similarities between modern Romance languages, there may be no need for the link function of Latin when learning these languages. The results of the error analysis support the theoretical view of transfer, which was outlined by Thorndike and Woodworth (1917) about a century ago and has been specified in modern cognitive theories. According to these theories, specific knowledge elements and cognitive activities rather than formal rigour are transferred from one situation to another. This appears to be true for Latin.