I would argue that the topics to study should not be chosen carefully nor
polished. If the purpose is to learn the language, the more interested the
learner is, the better. Let the learners choose. Show them where to find
content and how to use if or their learning. Stop trying to control
students.

As part of my Russian learning, I listen to Echo Moskvi daily and hear a
variety of points of view on different subjects. Unfortunately Echo is just
about the last free voice in Russia, and the commentators at Echo regularly
lament the move towards a more nationalistic tone in education, in politics
etc.. The recent jingoism surrounding the war in Georgia is but the latest
example. President Medvedev suddenly has a popularity rating of 88% all
because of his hysterical statements on Georgia, such as calling the
Georgian President a political corpse, and referring to the Georgian
artillery attack in Ossetia (where 100 people died) as genocide, while
ignoring the ethnic cleansing of Georgian villages by Russian supported
militia, and referring to the Georgian crackdown on its own citizens,
'Russia's 9/11'.

I fear that the Russian government is moving to control more and more of
what people think. So freedom is an important value that we take for granted
at our peril.

The less we control or try to influence what people think, the better.
Acquiring another language is a great way to gain an additional perspective
on our world. This is true for an immigrant to Canada or the USA and equally
true for the locals.

Steve




-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
1-604-922-8514
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