Pre-employment selection tests can be valuable tools, providing vital information about candidates’ applicable knowledge, skills, and abilities before they are offered employment. Ideally, this information will save you time and money by increasing the likelihood that candidates will perform well and stay on the job. To reap these rewards, however, you must carefully weigh your assessment options and choose wisely. Asking the following critical questions is key to identifying a test that will help you select and keep the right people.
ACTFL’s Martha G. Abbott Appointed to National Security Education Board
ALEXANDRIA, VA — ACTFL Executive Director Martha G. Abbott has been appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Security Education Board.
“It is truly an honor to be appointed by the President to serve in this capacity on the National Security Education Board advising on the important work of building our nation’s linguistic and cultural capacity,” Abbott said.
“We are delighted to have Marty represent ACTFL and the language education community on the National Security Education Board,” ACTFL President Peter Swanson added. “Her appointment sends a strong message about the importance of global competence in the 21st century.”
In a press release Sept. 7, President Obama praised Abbott and H.T. Nguyen, who was appointed to the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations.
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Does Bilingualism in America Threaten the English Language?
English is in no danger of disappearing any time soon; it is firmly established both in America and in countries throughout the world. In fact, no language has ever held as strong a position in the world as English does today. Some people worry when they see Spanish showing up on billboards and pay phones, but in a neighborhood with a high Spanish- speaking population, it makes perfectly good sense for public information and instructions to be printed in both English and Spanish. This doesn’t mean that the English language is in danger.
The truth is that there will probably always be immigrants in the U.S., coming from a wide variety of countries, who cannot speak English but whose grandchildren and great-grandchildren will end up being native English speakers. The reason for this is, again, the fact that it is much easier for children to learn another language than it is for adults. Adults who immigrate to the U.S., especially later in life, may never really become fluent in English. It’s not that they don’t want to speak English; it’s simply much more difficult for them to learn it well. Their children, however, will be able to pick up English easily from their friends and the society around them.
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Is Texting Killing the English Language?
Texting has long been accused as being the downfall of the written word, “penmanship for illiterates,” as one critic called it. To which the likely response is LOL. Proper testing is not writing at all — it’s actually more like the spoken language. It’s a “spoken” language that is evolving and becoming more complex as time passes.
But let’s go back a while. Writing was invented over 5,00 years ago, and language likely traces back perhaps 80,000 years. So talking came first; writing is just an artifice that came along much later. Due to this, writing was first based on the way people talk, with short sentences — think of the Old Testament. However, while talking is largely subconscious and rapid, writing is slower and more deliberate.
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