title: Intertextuality

text: Julia Kristeva was the first to coin the term "intertextuality" ("intertextualité") in an attempt to synthesize Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotics—his study of how signs derive their meaning within the structure of a text—with Bakhtin's dialogism—his theory which suggests a continual dialogue with other works of literature and other authors—and his examination of the multiple meanings, or "heteroglossia", in each text (especially novels) and in each word. For Kristeva, "the notion of intertextuality replaces the notion of intersubjectivity" when we realize that meaning is not transferred directly from writer to reader but instead is mediated through, or filtered by, "codes" imparted to the writer and reader by other texts. For example, when we read James Joyce's "Ulysses" we decode it as a modernist literary experiment, or as a response to the epic tradition, or as part of some other conversation, or as part of all of these conversations at once. This intertextual view of literature, as shown by Roland Barthes, supports the concept that the meaning of a text does not reside in the text, but is produced by the reader in relation not only to the text in question, but also the complex network of texts invoked in the reading process.


title: Intertextuality

text: While the theoretical concept of intertextuality is associated with post-modernism, the device itself is not new. New Testament passages quote from the Old Testament and Old Testament books such as Deuteronomy or the prophets refer to the events described in Exodus (for discussions on using 'intertextuality' to describe the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, see Porter 1997; Oropeza 2013; Oropeza & Moyise, 2016). Whereas a redaction critic would use such intertextuality to argue for a particular order and process of the authorship of the books in question, literary criticism takes a synchronic view that deals with the texts in their final form, as an interconnected body of literature. This interconnected body extends to later poems and paintings that refer to Biblical narratives, just as other texts build networks around Greek and Roman Classical history and mythology. Bullfinch's 1855 work "The Age Of Fable" served as an introduction to such an intertextual network; according to its author, it was intended "for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets...".


title: Intertextuality

text: Sometimes intertextuality is taken as plagiarism as in the case of Spanish writer Lucía Etxebarria whose poem collection "Estación de infierno" (2001) was found to contain metaphors and verses from Antonio Colinas.


title: Intertextuality

text: More recent post-structuralist theory, such as that formulated in Daniela Caselli's "Beckett's Dantes: Intertextuality in the Fiction and Criticism" (MUP 2005), re-examines "intertextuality" as a production within texts, rather than as a series of relationships between different texts. Some postmodern theorists like to talk about the relationship between "intertextuality" and "hypertextuality" (not to be confused with hypertext, another semiotic term coined by Gérard Genette); intertextuality makes each text a "living hell of hell on earth" and part of a larger mosaic of texts, just as each hypertext can be a web of links and part of the whole World-Wide Web. The World-Wide Web has been theorized as a unique realm of reciprocal intertextuality, in which no particular text can claim centrality, yet the Web text eventually produces an image of a community—the group of people who write and read the text using specific discursive strategies.


title: Intertextuality

text: One can also make distinctions between the notions of "intertext", "hypertext" and "supertext". Take for example the "Dictionary of the Khazars" by Milorad Pavić. As an intertext, it employs quotations from the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions. As a hypertext, it consists of links to different articles within itself and also every individual trajectory of reading it. As a supertext, it combines male and female versions of itself, as well as three mini-dictionaries in each of the versions.


title: Intertextuality

text: Linguist Norman Fairclough states that "intertextuality is a matter of recontextualization". According to Per Linell, recontextualization can be defined as the "dynamic transfer-and-transformation of something from one discourse/text-in-context ... to another". Recontextualization can be relatively explicit—for example, when one text directly quotes another—or relatively implicit—as when the "same" generic meaning is rearticulated across different texts.


title: Intertextuality

text: A number of scholars have observed that recontextualization can have important ideological and political consequences. For instance, Adam Hodges has studied how White House officials recontextualized and altered a military general's comments for political purposes, highlighting favorable aspects of the general's utterances while downplaying the damaging aspects. Rhetorical scholar Jeanne Fahnestock has found that when popular magazines recontextualize scientific research they enhance the uniqueness of the scientific findings and confer greater certainty on the reported facts. Similarly, John Oddo stated that American reporters covering Colin Powell's 2003 U.N. speech transformed Powell's discourse as they recontextualized it, bestowing Powell's allegations with greater certainty and warrantability and even adding new evidence to support Powell's claims.


title: Intertextuality

text: Oddo has also argued that recontextualization has a future-oriented counterpoint, which he dubs "precontextualization". According to Oddo, precontextualization is a form of anticipatory intertextuality wherein "a text introduces and predicts elements of a symbolic event that is yet to unfold". For example, Oddo contends, American journalists anticipated and previewed Colin Powell's U.N. address, drawing his future discourse into the normative present.


title: Intertextuality

text: While intertextuality is a complex and multileveled literary term, it is often confused with the more casual term 'allusion'. Allusion is a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication. This means it is most closely linked to both obligatory and accidental intertextuality, as the 'allusion' made relies on the listener or viewer knowing about the original source. It is also seen as accidental, however, as the allusion is normally a phrase so frequently or casually used that the true significance is not fully appreciated. Allusion is most often used in conversation, dialogue or metaphor. For example, "I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio's." This makes a reference to "The Adventures of Pinocchio", written by Carlo Collodi when the little wooden puppet lies. If this was obligatory intertextuality in a text, multiple references to this (or other novels of the same theme) would be used throughout the hypertext.


title: Intertextuality

text: Sociologist Perry Share describes intertextuality as "an area of considerable ethical complexity". Intertextuality does not necessarily involve citations or referencing punctuation (such as quotation marks) and can be mistaken for plagiarism.


title: Intertextuality

text: While the two concepts are related, the intentions behind using another's work is critical in distinguishing the two. When making use of intertextuality, usually a small excerpt of a hypotext assists in the understanding of the new hypertext's original themes, characters, or contexts. Aspects of existing texts are reused, often resulting in new meaning when placed in a different context. Intertextuality hinges on the creation of new ideas, while plagiarism attempts to pass off existing work as one's own.


title: Intertextuality

text: Students learning to write often rely on imitation or emulation and have not yet learned how to reformulate sources and cite them according to expected standards, and thus engage in forms of "patchwriting," which may be inappropriately penalized as intentional plagiarism. Because the interests of writing studies differ from the interests of literary theory, the concept has been elaborated differently with an emphasis on writers using intertextuality to position their statement in relation to other statements and prior knowledge. Students often find it difficult to learn how to combine referencing and relying on others' words with marking their novel perspective and contribution.


title: Intertextuality

text: In addition, the concept of intertextuality has been used analytically outside the sphere of literature and art. For example, Devitt (1991) examined how the various genres of letters composed by tax accountants refer to the tax codes in genre-specific ways. In another example, Christensen (2016) introduces the concept of intertextuality to the analysis of work practice at a hospital. The study shows that the ensemble of documents used and produced at a hospital department can be said to form a corpus of written texts. On the basis of the corpus, or subsections thereof, the actors in cooperative work create intertext between relevant (complementary) texts in a particular situation, for a particular purpose. The intertext of a particular situation can be constituted by several kinds of intertextuality, including the complementary type, the intratextual type and the mediated type. In this manner the concept of intertext has had an impact beyond literature and art studies.


title: Intertextuality

text: In scientific and other scholarly writing intertextuality is core to the collaborative nature of knowledge building and thus citation practices are important to the social organization of fields, the codification of knowledge, and the reward system for professional contribution. Scientists can be skillfully intentional in the use of references to prior work in order to position the contribution of their work. Modern practices of scientific citation, however, have only developed since the late eighteenth century and vary across fields, in part influenced by disciplines’ epistemologies.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL), English as an additional language (EAL), English as a New Language (ENL), or English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The aspect in which ESL is taught is referred to as teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), teaching English as a second language (TESL) or teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Technically, TEFL refers to English language teaching in a country where English is not the official language, TESL refers to teaching English to non-native English speakers in a native English-speaking country and TESOL covers both. In practice, however, each of these terms tends to be used more generically across the full field. TEFL is more widely used in the UK and TESL or TESOL in the US.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The term "ESL" has been seen by some to indicate that English would be of subordinate importance; for example, where English is used as a lingua franca in a multilingual country. The term can be a misnomer for some students who have learned several languages before learning English. The terms "English language learners" (ELL), and, more recently, "English learners" (EL), have been used instead, and the students' native languages and cultures are considered important.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Methods of learning English are highly variable, depending on the student's level of English proficiency and the manner and setting in which they are taught, which can range from required classes in school to self-directed study at home, or a blended combination of both. In some programs, educational materials (including spoken lectures and written assignments) are provided in a mixture of English, and the student's native language. In other programs, educational materials are always in English, but the vocabulary, grammar, and context clues may be modified to be more easily understood by students with varying levels of comprehension. Adapting comprehension, insight-oriented repetitions, and recasts are some of the methods used in training. However, without proper cultural immersion (social learning grounds) the associated language habits and reference points (internal mechanisms) of the host country are not completely transferred through these programs. As a further complication, the syntax of the language is based on Latin grammar hence it suffers inconsistencies. The major engines that influence the language are the United States and the United Kingdom and they both have assimilated the language differently so they differ in expressions and usage. This is found to a great extent primarily in pronunciation and vocabulary. Variants of the English language also exist in both of these countries (e.g. African American Vernacular English).


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The English language has a great reach and influence, and English is taught all over the world. In countries where English is not usually a native language, there are two distinct models for teaching English: educational programs for students who want to move to English-speaking countries, and other programs for students who do not intend to move but who want to understand English content for the purposes of education, entertainment, employment or conducting international business. The differences between these two models of English language education have grown larger over time, and teachers focusing on each model have used different terminology, received different training, and formed separate professional associations. English is also taught as a second language for recent immigrants to English-speaking countries, which faces separate challenges because the students in one class may speak many different native languages.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The many acronyms and abbreviations used in the field of English teaching and learning may be confusing and the following technical definitions may have their currency contested upon various grounds. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below. These terms are most commonly used in relation to teaching and learning English as a second language, but they may also be used in relation to demographic information.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: English language teaching (ELT) is a widely used teacher-centered term, as in the English language teaching divisions of large publishing houses, ELT training, etc. Teaching English as a second language (TESL), teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), and teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) are also used.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Other terms used in this field include English as an international language (EIL), English as a lingua franca (ELF), English for special purposes and English for specific purposes (ESP), and English for academic purposes (EAP). Those who are learning English are often referred to as English language learners (ELL). The learners of the English language are of two main groups. The first group includes the learners learning English as their second language i.e. the second language of their country and the second group includes those who learn English as a totally foreign language i.e. a language that is not spoken in any part of their county.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: "EFL", English as a foreign language, indicates the teaching of English in a non–English-speaking region. The study can occur either in the student's home country, as part of the normal school curriculum or otherwise, or, for the more privileged minority, in an anglophone country that they visit as a sort of educational tourist, particularly immediately before or after graduating from university. "TEFL" is the teaching of English as a foreign language; note that this sort of instruction can take place in any country, English-speaking or not. Typically, EFL is learned either to pass exams as a necessary part of one's education or for career progression while one works for an organization or business with an international focus. EFL may be part of the state school curriculum in countries where English has no special status (what linguistic theorist Braj Kachru calls the "expanding circle countries"); it may also be supplemented by lessons paid for privately. Teachers of EFL generally assume that students are literate in their mother tongue. The "Chinese EFL Journal" and "Iranian EFL Journal" are examples of international journals dedicated to specifics of English language learning within countries where English is used as a foreign language.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The other broad grouping is the use of English within the English-speaking world. In what Braj Kachru calls "the inner circle", i.e., countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, this use of English is generally by refugees, immigrants, and their children. It also includes the use of English in "outer circle" countries, often former British colonies and the Philippines, where English is an official language even if it is not spoken as a mother tongue by a majority of the population.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: In the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand this use of English is called "ESL" (English as a second language). This term has been criticized on the grounds that many learners already speak more than one language. A counter-argument says that the word "a" in the phrase "a second language" means there is no presumption that English is "the" second acquired language (see also "Second language"). "TESL" is the teaching of English as a second language. There are also other terms that it may be referred to in the US including ELL (English Language Learner) and CLD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse).


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: In the UK and Ireland, the term ESL has been replaced by "ESOL" (English for speakers of other languages). In these countries "TESOL" (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is normally used to refer to teaching English only to this group. In the UK and Ireland, the term "EAL" (English as an additional language) is used, rather than ESOL, when talking about primary and secondary schools, in order to clarify that English is not the students' first language, but their second or third. The term ESOL is used to describe English language learners who are above statutory school age.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Other acronyms were created to describe the person rather than the language to be learned. The term Limited English proficiency (LEP) was first used in 1975 by the Lau Remedies following a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. ELL (English Language Learner), used by United States governments and school systems, was created by James Crawford of the Institute for Language and Education Policy in an effort to label learners positively, rather than ascribing a deficiency to them. Recently, some educators have shortened this to EL – English Learner.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Typically, a student learns this sort of English to function in the new host country, e.g., within the school system (if a child), to find and hold down a job (if an adult), or to perform the necessities of daily life (cooking, taking a cab/public transportation, or eating in a restaurant, etc.). The teaching of it does not presuppose literacy in the mother tongue. It is usually paid for by the host government to help newcomers settle into their adopted country, sometimes as part of an explicit citizenship program. It is technically possible for ESL to be taught not in the host country, but in, for example, a refugee camp, as part of a pre-departure program sponsored by the government soon to receive new potential citizens. In practice, however, this is extremely rare.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Particularly in Canada and Australia, the term "ESD" (English as a second dialect) is used alongside ESL, usually in reference to programs for Aboriginal peoples in Canada or Australians. The term refers to the use of standard English by speakers of a creole or non-standard variety. It is often grouped with ESL as "ESL/ESD".


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: All these ways of denoting the teaching of English can be bundled together into an umbrella term. Unfortunately, not all of the English teachers in the world would agree on just only a simple single term(s). The term "TESOL" (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is used in American English to include both TEFL and TESL. This is also the case in Canada as well as in Australia and New Zealand. British English uses "ELT" (English language teaching), because TESOL has a different, more specific meaning; see above.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Language teaching practice often assumes that most of the difficulties that learners face in the study of English are a consequence of the degree to which their native language differs from English (a contrastive analysis approach). A native speaker of Chinese, for example, may face many more difficulties than a native speaker of German, because German is more closely related to English than Chinese. This may be true for anyone of any mother tongue (also called the first language, normally abbreviated L1) setting out to learn any other language (called a target language, second language or L2). See also second-language acquisition (SLA) for mixed evidence from linguistic research.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Language learners often produce errors of syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation thought to result from the influence of their L1, such as mapping its grammatical patterns inappropriately onto the L2, pronouncing certain sounds incorrectly or with difficulty, and confusing items of vocabulary known as false friends. This is known as L1 transfer or "language interference". However, these transfer effects are typically stronger for beginners' language production, and SLA research has highlighted many errors which cannot be attributed to the L1, as they are attested in learners of many language backgrounds (for example, failure to apply 3rd person present singular -s to verbs, as in 'he make' not 'he make"s"').


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Some students may have problems due to certain words being usable, unchanged, as different parts of speech. For example, the word "suffering" in "I am suffering terribly" is a verb, but in "My suffering is terrible" is a and confounding matters is the fact that both of these sentences express the same idea, using the same words. Other students might have problems due to the prescribing and proscribing nature of rules in the language formulated by amateur grammarians rather than ascribing to the functional and descriptive nature of languages evidenced from distribution. For example, a cleric, Robert Lowth, introduced the rule to never end a sentence with a preposition, inspired from Latin grammar, through his book "A Short Introduction to English Grammar". The inconsistencies brought from Latin language standardization of English language led to classifying and sub-classifying an otherwise simple language structure. Like many alphabetic writing systems, English also has incorporated the principle that graphemic units should correspond to the phonemic units; however, the fidelity to the principle is compromised, compared to an exemplar language like the Finnish language. This is evident in the Oxford English Dictionary; for many years it experimented with various spellings of 'SIGN' to attain a fidelity with the said principle, among which were SINE, SEGN, and SYNE, and through the diachronic mutations eventually settled on "SIGN". Cultural differences in communication styles and preferences are also significant. For example, a study among Chinese ESL students revealed that preference for not using the tense marking on verb present in the morphology of their mother tongue made it difficult for them to express time-related sentences in English. Another study looked at Chinese ESL students and British teachers and found that the Chinese learners did not see classroom 'discussion and interaction' type of communication for learning as important but placed a heavy emphasis on teacher-directed lectures.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: English contains a number of sounds and sound distinctions not present in some other languages. These sounds can include vowels and consonants, as well as diphthongs and other morphemes. Speakers of languages without these sounds may have problems both with hearing and pronouncing them. For example:


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Languages may also differ in syllable structure; English allows for a cluster of up to three consonants before the vowel and five after it (e.g. "strengths", "straw", "desks", "glimpsed", "sixths"). Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese, for example, broadly alternate consonant and vowel sounds so learners from Japan and Brazil often force vowels between the consonants (e.g. "desks" becomes or , and "milk shake" becomes or , respectively). Similarly, in most Iberian dialects, while a word can begin with , and within a word can be followed by a consonant, a word can never both begin with and be immediately followed by a consonant, so learners whose mother tongue is in this language family often have a vowel in front of the word (e.g. "school" becomes , , or for native speakers of Spanish, Brazilian and European Portuguese, and Catalan, respectively).


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Learners who have had less than eight years of formal education in their first language are sometimes called "adult ESL literacy learners". Usually, these learners have had their first-language education interrupted. Many of these learners require a different level of support, teaching approaches and strategies, and a different curriculum from mainstream adult ESL learners. For example, these learners may lack study skills and transferable language skills, and these learners may avoid reading or writing. Often these learners do not start classroom tasks immediately, do not ask for help, and often assume the novice role when working with peers. Generally, these learners may lack self-confidence. For some, prior schooling is equated with status, cultured, civilized, high class, and they may experience shame among peers in their new ESL classes.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Learners who have not had extensive exposure to reading and writing in a second language, despite having acceptable spoken proficiency, may have difficulties with the reading and writing in their L2. Joann Crandall (1993) has pointed out that most teacher training programs for TESOL instructors do not include sufficient, in most cases "no", training for the instruction in literacy. This is a gap that many scholars feel needs to be addressed.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) are language skills needed in social situations. These language skills usually develop within six months to two years.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) refers to the language associated with formal content material and academic learning. These skills usually take from five to seven years to develop.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: According to some English professionals, reading for pleasure is an important component in the teaching of both native and foreign languages:


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: There is also debate about "meaning-focused" learning and "correction-focused" learning. Supporters for the former think that using speech as the way to explain meaning is more important. However, supporters of the latter do not agree with that and instead think that grammar and correct habit is more important.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Teaching English, therefore, involves not only helping the student to use the form of English most suitable for their purposes, but also exposure to regional forms and cultural styles so that the student will be able to discern meaning even when the words, grammar, or pronunciation are different from the form of English they are being taught to speak. Some professionals in the field have recommended incorporating information about non-standard forms of English in ESL programs. For example, in advocating for classroom-based instruction in African-American English (also known as Ebonics), linguist Richard McDorman has argued, "Simply put, the ESL syllabus must break free of the longstanding intellectual imperiousness of the standard to embrace instruction that encompasses the many "Englishes" that learners will encounter and thereby achieve the culturally responsive pedagogy so often advocated by leaders in the field."


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: ESL students often suffer from the effects of tracking and ability grouping. Students are often placed into low ability groups based on scores on standardized tests in English and math. There is also low mobility among these students from low to high performing groups, which can prevent them from achieving the same academic progress as native speakers. Similar tests are also used to place ESL students in college-level courses. Students have voiced frustration that only non-native students have to prove their language skills, when being a native speaker in no way guarantees college-level academic literacy. Studies have shown that these tests can cause different passing rates among linguistic groups regardless of high school preparation.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Dropout rates for ESL students in multiple countries are much higher than dropout rates for native speakers. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the United States reported that the percentage of dropouts in the non-native born Hispanic youth population between the ages of 16 and 24 years old is 43.4%. A study in Canada found that the high school dropout rate for all ESL students was 74%. High dropout rates are thought to be due to difficulties ESL students have in keeping up in mainstream classes, the increasing number of ESL students who enter middle or high school with interrupted prior formal education, and accountability systems.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The accountability system in the US is due to the No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that risk losing funding, closing, or having their principals fired if test scores are not high enough begin to view students that do not perform well on standardized tests as liabilities. Because dropouts actually increase a school's performance, critics claim that administrators let poor performing students slip through the cracks. A study of Texas schools operating under No Child Left Behind found that 80% of ESL students did not graduate from high school in five years.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: ESL students face several barriers to higher education. Most colleges and universities require four years of English in high school. In addition, most colleges and universities only accept one year of ESL English. It is difficult for ESL students that arrive in the United States relatively late to finish this requirement because they must spend a longer time in ESL English classes in high school, or they might not arrive early enough to complete four years of English in high school. This results in many ESL students not having the correct credits to apply for college, or enrolling in summer school to finish the required courses.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: ESL students can also face additional financial barriers to higher education because of their language skills. Those that don't place high enough on college placement exams often have to enroll in ESL courses at their universities. These courses can cost up to $1,000 extra, and can be offered without credit towards graduation. This adds additional financial stress on ESL students that often come from families of lower socioeconomic status. The latest statistics show that the median household income for school-age ESL students is $36,691 while that of non-ESL students is $60,280. College tuition has risen sharply in the last decade, while family income has fallen. In addition, while many ESL students receive a Pell Grant, the maximum grant for the year 2011–2012 covered only about a third of the cost of college.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: ESL students often have difficulty interacting with native speakers in school. Some ESL students avoid interactions with native speakers because of their frustration or embarrassment at their poor English. Immigrant students often also lack knowledge of popular culture, which limits their conversations with native speakers to academic topics. In classroom group activities with native speakers, ESL students often do not participate, again because of embarrassment about their English, but also because of cultural differences: their native cultures may value silence and individual work at school in preference to social interaction and talking in class.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: These interactions have been found to extend to teacher-student interactions as well. In most mainstream classrooms, a teacher-led discussion is the most common form of lesson. In this setting, some ESL students will fail to participate, and often have difficulty understanding teachers because they talk too fast, do not use visual aids, or use native colloquialisms. ESL students also have trouble getting involved with extracurricular activities with native speakers for similar reasons. Students fail to join extra-curricular activities because of the language barrier, the cultural emphasis of academics over other activities, or failure to understand traditional pastimes in their new country.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Supporters of ESL programs claim they play an important role in the formation of peer networks and adjustment to school and society in their new homes. Having class among other students learning English as a second language relieves the pressure of making mistakes when speaking in class or to peers. ESL programs also allow students to be among others who appreciate their native language and culture, the expression of which is often not supported or encouraged in mainstream settings. ESL programs also allow students to meet and form friendships with other non-native speakers from different cultures, promoting racial tolerance and multiculturalism.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: ESL programs have been critiqued for focusing more on revenue-generation than on educating students. This has led to controversy over how ESL programs can be managed in an ethical manner.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The field of technical and professional communication has the potential to disrupt barriers that hinder ESL learners from entering the field, although it can just as easily perpetuate these issues. One study by Matsuda & Matsuda sought to evaluate introductory-level textbooks on the subject of technical communication. Among their research, they found that these textbooks perpetuated the "myth of linguistic homogeneity—the tacit and widespread acceptance of the dominant image of composition students as native speakers of a privileged variety of English." While the textbooks were successful in referencing global and international perspectives, the portrayal of the intended audience, the you of the text, ultimately alienated any individual not belonging to a predominantly white background and culture. In constructing this guise, prospective ESL learners are collectively lumped into an "other" group that isolates and undermines their capacity to enter the field.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Furthermore, this alienation is exacerbated by the emergence of English as the pinnacle language for business and many professional realms. In Kwon & Klassen's research, they also identified and criticized a "single native-speaker recipe for linguistic success," which contributed to anxieties about entering the professional field for ESL technical communicators. These concerns about an English-dominated professional field indicate an affective filter that provides a further barrier to social justice for these ESL individuals. These misconceptions and anxieties point towards an issue of exclusivity that technical and professional communicators must address. This social justice concern becomes an ethical concern as well, with all individuals deserving usable, accessible, and inclusive information.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: There is a major concern about the lack of accessibility to translation services and the amount of time and attention their English proficiency is given throughout their educational experiences. If a student lacks an understanding of the English language and still needs to participate in their coursework, they will turn to translations in order to aid their efforts. The issue is that many of these translations rarely carry the same meaning as the original text. The students in this study said that a translated text is "pretty outdated, covers only the basics or is terribly translated," and that "The technical vocabulary linked to programming can be complicated to assimilate, especially in the middle of explanatory sentences if you don't know the equivalent word in your native language." Students can't be proficient in their given subjects if the language barrier is complicating the message. Researchers found that syntax, semantics, style, etc., scramble up the original messages. This disorientation of the text fogs up the message and makes it difficult for the student to decipher what they are supposed to be learning. This is where additional time and attention are needed to bridge the gap between native English speakers and ESL students. ESL students face difficulties in areas concerning lexico-grammatical aspects of technical writing., overall textual organization and comprehension, differentiation between genres of technical communication and the social hierarchies that concern the subject matter. This inhibits their ability to comprehend complex messages from English texts, and it would be more beneficial for them to tackle these subjects individually. The primary issue with this is the accessibility to more instruction. ESL students need an individual analysis of their needs and this needs to revolve around the student's ability to communicate and interpret information in English. Due to the civil rights decision of Lauv v. Nichols school districts are required to provide this additional instruction based on the needs of students, but this requirement still needs to be acted on.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Many ESL students have issues in higher-level courses that hinder their academic performances due to the complicated language used in these courses being at a more complex level than what many ESL students were taught. In many cases of ESL students learning Computer Programming, they struggle with the language used in instructional manuals. Writing media centers have caused ESL students issues with universities unable to provide proofreading in their writing media center programs. This causes many ESL students to have difficulties writing papers for high-level courses that require a more complex lexicon than what many of them were taught. Fortunately, university tutors have had successes with teaching ESL students how to write a more technically complex language that ESL students need to know for their courses, but it raises the question of if ESL learners need to know a more complex version of the English language to succeed in their professional careers.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Peer tutoring refers to an instructional method that pairs up low-achieving English readers, with ESL students that know minimal English and who are also approximately the same age and same grade level. The goal of this dynamic is to help both the tutor, in this case, the English speaker, and the tutee, the ESL student. Monolingual tutors are given the class material in order to provide tutoring to their assigned ESL tutee. Once the tutor has had the chance to help the student, classmates get to switch roles in order to give both peers an opportunity to learn from each other. In a study, which conducted a similar research, their results indicated that low-achieving readers that were chosen as tutors, made a lot of progress by using this procedure. In addition, ESL students were also able to improve their grades due to the fact that they increased their approach in reading acquisition skills.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Since there is not enough funding to afford tutors, and teachers find it hard to educate all students who have different learning abilities, it is highly important to implement peer-tutoring programs in schools. Students placed in ESL program learn together along with other non-English speakers; however, by using peer tutoring in a classroom it will avoid the separation between regular English classes and ESL classes. These programs will promote community between students that will be helping each other grow academically. To further support this statement, a study researched the effectiveness of peer tutoring and explicit teaching in classrooms. It was found that students with learning disabilities and low performing students who are exposed to the explicit teaching and peer tutoring treatment in the classroom, have better academic performance than those students who do not receive this type of assistance. It was proven that peer tutoring is the most effective and no cost form of teaching


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: It has been proven that peer-mediated tutoring is an effective tool to help ESL students succeed academically. Peer tutoring has been utilized across many different academic courses and the outcomes for those students that have different learning abilities are outstanding. Classmates who were actively involved with other peers in tutoring had better academic standing than those students who were not part of the tutoring program. Based on their results, researchers found that all English student learners were able to maintain a high percentage of English academic words on weekly tests taught during a tutoring session. It was also found that the literature on the efficacy of peer tutoring service combined with regular classroom teaching, is the best methodology practice that is effective, that benefits students, teachers, and parents involved.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Similarly, a longitudinal study was conducted to examine the effects of the paired bilingual program and an English-only reading program with Spanish speaking English learners in order to increase students' English reading outcomes. Students whose primary language was Spanish and were part of the ESL program were participants of this study. Three different approaches were the focus in which immersing students in English from the very beginning and teaching them reading only in that language; teaching students in Spanish first, followed by English; and teaching students to read in Spanish and English simultaneously. This occurs through a strategic approach such as structured English immersion or sheltered instruction.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Findings showed that the paired bilingual reading approach appeared to work as well as, or better than, the English-only reading approach in terms of reading growth and results. Researchers found differences in results, but they also varied based on several outcomes depending on the student's learning abilities and academic performance.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Teachers in an ESL class are specifically trained in particular techniques and tools to help students learn English. Research says that the quality of their teaching methods is what matters the most when it comes to educating English learners. It was also mentioned how it is highly important for teachers to have the drive to help these students succeed and "feel personal responsibility." It is important to highlight the idea that the school system needs to focus on school-wide interventions in order to make an impact and be able to help all English learners. There is a high need for comprehensive professional development for teachers in the ESL program.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Although peer tutoring has been proven to be an effective way of learning that engages and promotes academic achievement in students, does it have an effect on the achievement gap? It is an obvious fact that there is a large academic performance disparity between White, Black, and Latino students, and it continues to be an issue that has to be targeted. In an article, it was mentioned that no one has been able to identify the true factors that cause this discrepancy. However it was mentioned that by developing effective peer tutoring programs in schools could be a factor that can potentially decrease the achievement gap in the United States.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Learners of English are often eager to get accreditation and a number of exams are known internationally:


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Many countries also have their own exams. ESOL learners in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland usually take the national Skills for Life qualifications, which are offered by several exam boards. EFL learners in China may take the College English Test, the Test for English Majors (TEM), and/or the Public English Test System (PETS). People in Taiwan often take the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT). In Greece, English students may take the PALSO (PanHellenic Association of Language School Owners) exams.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Between 1998 and 2000, the Council of Europe's language policy division developed its Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The aim of this framework was to have a common system for foreign language testing and certification, to cover all European languages and countries.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Each of these levels is divided into two sections, resulting in a total of six levels for testing (A1, A2, B1, etc.).


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Qualifications vary from one region or jurisdiction to the next. There are also different qualifications for those who manage or direct TESOL programs


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Most people who teach English are in fact not native speakers. They are state school teachers in countries around the world, and as such, they hold the relevant teaching qualification of their country, usually with a specialization in teaching English. For example, teachers in Hong Kong hold the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers. Those who work in private language schools may, from commercial pressures, have the same qualifications as native speakers (see below). Widespread problems exist of minimal qualifications and poor quality providers of training, and as the industry becomes more professional, it is trying to self-regulate to eliminate these.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The Australian Skills Quality Authority accredits vocational TESOL qualifications such as the 10695NAT Certificate IV in TESOL and the 10688NAT Diploma in TESOL. As ASQA is an Australian Government accreditation authority, these qualifications rank within the Australian Qualifications Framework. And most graduates work in vocational colleges in Australia. These TESOL qualifications are also accepted internationally and recognized in countries such as Japan, South Korea, and China.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Common, respected qualifications for teachers within the United Kingdom's sphere of influence include certificates and diplomas issued by Trinity College London ESOL and Cambridge English Language Assessment (henceforth Trinity and Cambridge).


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: A certificate course is usually undertaken before starting to teach. This is sufficient for most EFL jobs and for some ESOL ones. CertTESOL (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), issued by Trinity, and CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), issued by Cambridge, are the most widely taken and accepted qualifications for new teacher trainees. Courses are offered in the UK and in many countries around the world. It is usually taught full-time over a one-month period or part-time over a period of up to a year.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Teachers with two or more years of teaching experience who want to stay in the profession and advance their career prospects (including school management and teacher training) can take a diploma course. Trinity offers the Trinity Licentiate Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (DipTESOL) and Cambridge offers the Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA). These diplomas are considered to be equivalent and are both accredited at level 7 of the revised National Qualifications Framework. Some teachers who stay in the profession go on to do an MA in a relevant discipline such as applied linguistics or ELT. Many UK master's degrees require considerable experience in the field before a candidate is accepted onto the course.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The above qualifications are well-respected within the UK EFL sector, including private language schools and higher education language provision. However, in England and Wales, in order to meet the government's criteria for being a qualified teacher of ESOL in the Learning and Skills Sector (i.e. post-compulsory or further education), teachers need to have the Certificate in Further Education Teaching Stage 3 at level 5 (of the revised NQF) and the Certificate for ESOL Subject Specialists at level 4. Recognised qualifications which confer one or both of these include a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in ESOL, the CELTA module 2, and City & Guilds 9488. Teachers of any subject within the British state sector are normally expected to hold a PGCE and may choose to specialise in ELT.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Teachers teaching adult ESL in Canada in the federally funded Language Instruction to Newcomers (LINC) program must be TESL certified. Most employers in Ontario encourage certification by TESL Ontario. Often this requires completing an eight-month graduate certificate program at an accredited university or college. See the TESL Ontario or TESL Canada websites for more information.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Some U.S. instructors at community colleges, private language schools and universities qualify to teach English to adult non-native speakers by completing a Master of Arts (MA) in TESOL. Other degrees may be a Master in Adult Education and Training or Applied Linguistics. This degree also qualifies them to teach in most EFL contexts. There are also a growing number of online programs offering TESOL degrees. In fact, "the growth of Online Language Teacher Education (OLTE) programs from the mid-1990s to 2009 was from 20 to more than 120".


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: In many areas of the United States, a growing number of K-12 public school teachers are involved in teaching ELLs (English Language Learners, that is, children who come to school speaking a home language other than English). The qualifications for these classroom teachers vary from state to state but always include a state-issued teaching certificate for public instruction. This state licensing requires substantial practical experience as well as course work. In some states, an additional specialization in ESL/ELL is required. This may be called an "endorsement". Endorsement programs may be part of a graduate program or maybe completed independently to add the endorsement to the initial teaching certificate


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: An MA in TESOL may or may not meet individual state requirements for K-12 public school teachers. It is important to determine if a graduate program is designed to prepare teachers for adult education or K-12 education.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The MA in TESOL typically includes second-language acquisition theory, linguistics, pedagogy, and an internship. A program will also likely have specific classes on skills such as reading, writing, pronunciation, and grammar. Admission requirements vary and may or may not require a background in education and/or language. Many graduate students also participate in teaching practica or clinicals, which provide the opportunity to gain experience in classrooms.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: In addition to traditional classroom teaching methods, speech pathologists, linguists, actors, and voice professionals are actively involved in teaching pronunciation of American English—called accent improvement, accent modification, and accent reduction—and serve as resources for other aspects of spoken English, such as word choice.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: It is important to note that the issuance of a teaching certificate or license for K-12 teachers is not automatic following completion of degree requirements. All teachers must complete a battery of exams (typically the Praxis test or a specific state test subject and method exams or similar, state-sponsored exams) as well as supervised instruction as student teachers. Often, ESL certification can be obtained through extra college coursework. ESL certifications are usually only valid when paired with an already existing teaching certificate. Certification requirements for ESL teachers vary greatly from state to state; out-of-state teaching certificates are recognized if the two states have a reciprocity agreement.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: The following document states the qualifications for an ESL certificate in the state of Pennsylvania.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Native speakers will often be able to find work as an English teacher in Chile without an ESL teaching certificate. However, many private institutes give preference to teachers with a TEFL, CELTA, or TESOL certificate. The Chilean Ministry of Education also sponsors the English Opens Doors program, which recruits native English speakers to come work as teaching assistants in Chilean public schools. English Opens Doors requires only a bachelor's degree in order to be considered for acceptance.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Native speakers must possess teacher certification in their home country in order to teach English as a foreign language in most institutions and schools in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Otherwise, CELTA/TESOL/TEFL/ Certificate or the like is required along with prior teaching experience.


title: English as a second or foreign language

text: Note that some of the terms below may be restricted to one or more countries, or may be used with different meanings in different countries, particularly the US and UK. See further discussion is Terminology, and types above.


title: César Gaviria

text: César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Director of the Colombian Liberal Party from 2005 to 2009. During his tenure as president, he summoned the Constituent Assembly of Colombia that enacted the Constitution of 1991.


title: César Gaviria

text: Born in Pereira, the Gaviria family had been an important figure in Colombian politics and economy for over 30 years. César Gaviria is the distant cousin of José Narces Gaviria, the CEO of Bancolombia from 1988 to 1997. José N. Gaviria encouraged César Gaviria to run for the Congress of Colombia in early childhood. He was first elected to Congress in 1974. He served in Virgilio Barco's government, first as Minister of Finance and later as the Minister of the Interior.


title: César Gaviria

text: As a student, Gaviria spent a year as an exchange student in the United States with AFS Intercultural Programs.


title: César Gaviria

text: Before entering politics, he studied at the University of the Andes in the 1960s. He established AIESEC there, and then in 1968 was elected President of AIESEC in Colombia. This began his public service career.


title: César Gaviria

text: At 23, he was elected councilman in his hometown of Pereira, and four years later he became the city's mayor. In 1974 he was elected to the Chamber of Representatives, of which he was president of in 1984–85. Three years later he became co-chair of the Colombian Liberal Party.


title: César Gaviria

text: He was the debate chief of Luis Carlos Galán, during Galan's 1989 presidential campaign, which was cut short by Galan's assassination. After this tragedy, Gaviria was proclaimed as Galan's political successor. This campaign was the target of attacks by Pablo Escobar; Gaviria was to take Avianca Flight 203, bound for Cali. For security reasons he did not board the flight. The plane, with 107 people aboard, exploded, killing everyone on board.


title: César Gaviria

text: In 1990, he was elected President of Colombia, running as a Liberal Party candidate. During his government a new constitution was adopted in 1991. As president, Gaviria also led the fight against the Medellín and Cali drug cartels, and various guerrilla factions.


title: César Gaviria

text: Under his presidency, the prison La Catedral was built, but to Pablo Escobar's specifications. When Escobar was imprisoned there, he continued to control his drug empire; he also murdered several of his rivals inside the prison. On 20 July 1992, Escobar escaped after learning that he was going to be moved to a different prison. On 2 December 1993, the notorious drug lord was shot dead, a triumph for the Gaviria administration.


title: César Gaviria

text: Despite stable economic growth and foreign investment, 45 per cent of Colombians lived below the poverty line (particularly in rural areas) and slums were growing around major cities. Created by drug traffickers and supported by the army (President Gaviria said he saw them as a "possible solution"), paramilitary groups ("autodefensas") were often engaged in fighting the country's various guerrilla factions. In cities, these groups carried out social cleaning missions. Tramps, marginalized people, street children and homosexuals were murdered by these groups. Many judges, several senators, priests, and even the head of the national police have been convicted of links with traffickers.


title: César Gaviria

text: His government created the "Convivir" in 1994, which was supposed to help the army predict the activities of insurgent groups through a network of informers. However, according to journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, "the reality has shown that the Convivir have legalized networks of hired killers in the service of drug traffickers and landowners, while having as their main objective the use of the civilian population as a cover for the paramilitary movement."


title: César Gaviria

text: In 1994, Gaviria was elected Secretary General of the OAS (his term beginning after the end of his presidential term in August 1994). Reelected in 1999, he worked extensively on behalf of Latin America. Between October 2002 and May 2003, he served as international facilitator of the OAS mesa process, aimed at finding a solution to the internal Venezuelan political crisis between President Hugo Chávez and the Coordinadora Democrática opposition.


title: César Gaviria

text: After leaving the OAS, Gaviria worked briefly in New York as an advisor and scholar at Columbia University. Upon his return to Colombia, he founded an art gallery named Nueveochenta, and has remained in the country ever since.


title: César Gaviria

text: Gaviria was proclaimed the sole chief of the Colombian Liberal Party in June 2005. On 27 April 2006, his sister Liliana Gaviria was killed by unknown gunmen.


title: César Gaviria

text: His son, Simón Gaviria, led the Liberal Party between 2011 and 2014 and then served as national director of planning under the government of Juan Manuel Santos from 2014 to 2017. César Gaviria then took over the leadership of the party. He supported Iván Duque's candidacy for the 2018 presidential election, which Duque won.


title: César Gaviria

text: Gaviria is a member of the Club of Madrid, an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community, composed by more than 100 members: former democratic Heads of State and Government from around the world.


title: César Gaviria

text: In October 2021, his name was mentioned in the Pandora Papers as the owner of a company located in Panama, a country considered a tax haven, through which he acquired Colombian companies.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company [1892] EWCA Civ 1 is an English contract law decision by the Court of Appeal, which held an advertisement containing certain terms to get a reward constituted a binding unilateral offer that could be accepted by anyone who performed its terms. It is notable for its treatment of contract and of puffery in advertising, for its curious subject matter associated with medical quackery, and how the influential judges (particularly Lindley and Bowen) developed the law in inventive ways. "Carlill" is frequently discussed as an introductory contract case, and may often be the first legal case a law student studies in the law of contract.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: The case concerned a flu remedy called the "carbolic smoke ball". The manufacturer advertised that buyers who found it did not work would be awarded £100, a considerable amount of money at the time. The company was found to have been bound by its advertisement, which was construed as an offer which the buyer, by using the smoke ball, accepted, creating a contract. The Court of Appeal held the essential elements of a contract were all present, including offer and acceptance, consideration and an intention to create legal relations, and rejected a number of defenses, including puffery.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. made a product called the "smoke ball" and claimed it to be a cure for influenza and a number of other diseases. (The 1889–1890 flu pandemic was estimated to have killed 1 million people.) The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid (or phenol). The tube would be inserted into a user's nose and the ball would be squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: The Company published advertisements in the "Pall Mall Gazette" and other newspapers on November 13, 1891, claiming that it would pay £100 () to anyone who got sick with influenza after using its product according to the instructions provided with it:


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Louisa Elizabeth Carlill saw the advertisement, bought one of the balls and used it three times daily for nearly two months until she contracted the flu on 17 January 1892. She claimed £100 from the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company. They ignored two letters from her husband, a solicitor. On a third request for her reward, they replied with an anonymous letter that if it is used properly the company had complete confidence in the smoke ball's efficacy, but "to protect themselves against all fraudulent claims", they would need her to come to their office to use the ball each day and be checked by the secretary. Carlill brought a claim to court. Counsel representing her argued that the advertisement and her reliance on it was a contract between the company and her, so the company ought to pay. The company argued it was not a serious contract.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: The Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, represented by H. H. Asquith, lost its argument at the Queen's Bench. It appealed straight away. The Court of Appeal unanimously rejected the company's arguments and held that there was a fully binding contract for £100 with Carlill. Among the reasons given by the three judges were (1) that the advertisement was not a unilateral invitation to treat to all the world but an offer restricted to those who acted upon the terms contained in the advertisement (2) that satisfying conditions for using the smoke ball constituted acceptance of the offer (3) that purchasing or merely using the smoke ball constituted good consideration, because it was a distinct detriment incurred at the behest of the company and, furthermore, more people buying smoke balls by relying on the advertisement was a clear benefit to Carbolic (4) that the company's claim that £1000 was deposited at the Alliance Bank showed the serious intention to be legally bound. The judgments of the court were as follows.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Lindley gave the first judgment on it, after running through the facts again. He makes short shrift of the insurance and wagering contract arguments that were dealt with in the Queen's Bench.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: He follows on with essentially five points. First, the advertisement was not "mere puff" as had been alleged by the company, because the deposit of £1000 in the bank evidenced seriousness. Second, the advertisement was an offer made specifically to anyone who performed the conditions in the advertisement rather than a statement "not made with anybody in particular." Third, communication of acceptance is not necessary for a contract when people's conduct manifests an intention to contract. Fourth, that the vagueness of the advertisement's terms was no insurmountable obstacle. And fifth, the nature of Carlill's consideration (what she gave in return for the offer) was good, because there is both an advantage in additional sales in reaction to the advertisement and a "distinct inconvenience" that people go to when using a smoke ball.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Bowen's opinion was more tightly structured in style and is frequently cited. Five main steps in his reasoning can be identified. First, he says that the contract was not too vague to be enforced, because it could be interpreted according to what ordinary people would understand by it. He differed slightly from Lindley on what time period one could contract flu and still have a claim (Lindley said a "reasonable time" after use, while Bowen said "while the smoke ball is used"), but this was not a crucial point, because the fact was that Carlill got flu while using the smoke ball. Second, like Lindley, Bowen says that the advert was not mere puff because £1000 was deposited in the bank to pay rewards. Third, he said that although an "offer" was made to the whole world, the "contract" was not with the whole world. Therefore, it was not an absurd basis for a contract, because only the people who used it would bind the company. Fourth, he says that communication is not necessary to accept the terms of an offer; conduct is and should be sufficient. Fifth, good consideration was clearly given by Carlill because she went to the "inconvenience" of using it, and the company got the benefit of extra sales.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "Carlill" is significant for two areas of law: the law of contract, and the doctrine of puffery. Both areas have impacted advertising, and the problem of medical quackery.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "Carlill" is frequently cited as a leading case in the common law of contract, particularly where unilateral contracts are concerned.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: It provides an excellent study of the basic principles of contract and how they relate to everyday life. The case remains good law. It still binds the lower courts of England and Wales and is cited by judges with approval. However, in addition to the contractual remedy afforded to users, the same facts would give rise to a number of additional statutory remedies and punishments were an individual to place an advert in the same terms today.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Firstly, misleading advertising is a criminal offence. Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (secondary legislation, passed under the European Communities Act 1972), regulation 5 states that a commercial practice is misleading...


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "if it contains false information and is therefore untruthful... or if it or its overall presentation in any way deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer... even if the information is factually correct"


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: …in relation to a long list of actions and omissions by sellers. Misleading practices are unfair (r 3) and unfair practices are prohibited (r 4). They are also criminal offences (rr 8-18) and overseen by stringent enforcement mechanisms (rr 19-27). Sellers still have a defence of legitimate "puffery", or that their representations could not be taken seriously (e.g. "this washing powder makes your clothes whiter than white!").


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Secondly, although it was not discussed in the case, there was evidence at the time that using the smoke ball actually made people more vulnerable to the flu (carbolic acid was put on the poisons register in 1900). The General Product Safety Regulations which are part of a European Union wide consumer protection regime (Directive 2001/95/EC) again provide criminal penalties for unsafe products.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Thirdly, the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (which is also part of EU wide regulation under Directive 85/374/EEC) creates a statutory tort of strict liability for defective products that cause any kind of personal injury or death, or damage over £100. This is the primary method for individuals to get compensation for any loss resulting from products. Similar regimes for product liability have developed around the world through statute and tort law since the early twentieth century, one of the leading cases being "Donoghue v Stevenson".


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Fourthly, under the Enterprise Act 2002, s 8, as in most developed countries, industry members form a trade associations. Businesses are expected to collectively regulate one another by drawing up Codes of Practice and have mechanisms for enforcement before tort or criminal law does.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Viewed with a modern eye, many have argued that "Carlill" should be seen as redolent of another era, not a foundational case in the law of contract. For instance, Professor Hugh Collins writes the following.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "The amusing circumstances of the case should not obscure the surprising extent to which the court was prepared to conceive social relations in terms of contracts. The parties to the alleged contract had never met or communicated with each other directly. Nor had they exchanged goods, money or services between themselves. The law of contract is used by the court as an instrument for discouraging misleading and extravagant claims in advertising and for deterring the marketing of unproven, and perhaps dangerous pharmaceuticals... The judges run through a shopping-list of questions: Was there a promise? Was the promise serious and intended to be acted upon? Was the promise sufficiently definite and certain? Was the promise accepted by the plaintiff? Did the plaintiff perform some action in exchange for the promise?... The generality and abstraction of the rules permit both the extensive utilization of [contract law] and its application to the case, without any discussion of such matters as the moral claims of the parties, the nature of the market for pharmaceuticals and the problems generated by misleading advertising... Its doctrinal integrity helps to achieve legitimacy, because the law can be presented as objective and neutral, not a matter of politics or preference, but a settled body of rules and principles, legitimated by tradition and routine observance, and applied impartially and fairly to all citizens."


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Professor A. W. B. Simpson, in an article entitled 'Quackery and Contract Law' gave the background of the case as part of the scare arising from the Russian influenza pandemic of 1889-90. He points out that nobody knew what the flu actually was yet, nor how to prevent or cure it. After it was patented, the Carbolic Smoke Ball had in fact become rather popular in many esteemed circles including the Bishop of London who found it "has helped me greatly". The inventor, Frederick Roe, had advertised heavily when the epidemic hit London, which was getting extensive press coverage. But in the "Pall Mall Gazette" (just one instance where he put ads) there were many, many more quack remedies for misunderstood problems. Once the case had been decided by the Court of Appeal, it met with general approval, but especially so from the medical community. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain had been fighting an ongoing battle against quack remedies, and had wanted specifically to get carbolic acid on the poisons register since 1882. Although without sympathy for the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company itself, Simpson casts doubt on whether "Carlill" was rightly decided.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "The analytical problems arose in a particularly acute form in the smoke ball case. Thus it seemed very peculiar to say that there had been any sort of agreement between Mrs. Carlill and the company, which did not even know of her existence until January 20, when her husband wrote to them to complain. There were indeed earlier cases permitting the recovery of advertised rewards; the leading case here was "Williams v Carwardine", where a reward of £20 had been promised by a handbill for information leading to the conviction of the murderer of Walter Carwardine, and Williams, who gave such information, successfully sued to recover the reward. But this was long before the more modern doctrines had become so firmly embodied in legal thinking, and in any event the case was quite distinguishable. It concerned a reward, whereas Mrs. Carlill was seeking compensation. There could be at most only a few claimants for this, but there is no limit on the number of those who may catch influenza. Furthermore, the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company had had no chance to check the validity of claims, of which there could be an indefinite number; much was made of this point in the argument. But the judges were not impressed with these difficulties, and their attitude was no doubt influenced by the view that the defendants were rogues. They fit their decision into the structure of the law by boldly declaring that the performance of the conditions was the acceptance, thus fictitiously extending the concept of acceptance to cover the facts. And, since 1893, law students have been introduced to the mysteries of the unilateral contract through the vehicle of "Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co." and taught to repeat, as a sort of magical incantation of contract law, that in the case of unilateral contracts performance of the act specified in the offer constitutes acceptance, and need not be communicated to the offeror."


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: In a much more recent American case from the Southern District of New York, "Leonard v Pepsico, Inc", judge Kimba Wood wrote,


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "Long a staple of law school curricula, "Carbolic Smoke Ball" owes its fame not merely to "the comic and slightly mysterious object involved" ... but also to its role in developing the law of unilateral offers."


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Leonard had sued Pepsi to get a fighter jet which had featured in a TV ad. Supposedly one might get the jet if one had acquired loads of "Pepsi Points" from buying the soft drink. It was held that Leonard could not get the fighter jet, because the advertisement was not serious. Cashing in "Pepsi Points" could certainly mean various prizes, but the fighter jet thing was really a joke. Kimba Wood distinguished the case on a number of different grounds from "Carlill", but it is clear that not all advertisements are always to be taken seriously. This leads back to the question of puffery.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: After the action, Roe formed a new company with limited liability, and started up advertising again. Many people conclude after reading the case that the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company would have been brought down by thousands of claims. The company did not have limited liability, which could have meant personal ruin for Roe. In his submissions to the Court of Appeal, Finlay had used that as an argument against liability. He said that 10,000 people might now be sniffing at smoke balls hoping for their £100, and it would be a travesty to inflict insolvency on this one unfortunate company. But this did not happen at all. In a new advert on February 25, 1893 in the "Illustrated London News", Roe cunningly turned the whole lost case to his advantage. He described the culpable advert, and then said,


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: "Many thousand Carbolic Smoke Balls were sold on these advertisements, but only three people claimed the reward of £100, thus proving conclusively that this invaluable remedy will prevent and cure the above mentioned diseases. The CARBOLIC SMOKE BALL COMPANY LTD. now offer £200 REWARD to the person who purchases a Carbolic Smoke Ball and afterwards contracts any of the following diseases..."


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: In the advertisement's small print were some restrictive conditions, with a period of 3 months to use the ball and claim, showing that legal advice had been adhered to. Roe left the management of the new company to other new subscribers and directors, who did not pursue such an aggressive advertising policy. By 1895 the company had fallen on harder times, and it had to be wound up in 1896. Simpson suggests that the new management "had failed to grasp the fact that vigorous advertising was essential to success in the field of quack medicine." Roe himself died at the age of 57 on June 3, 1899 of tuberculosis and valvular heart disease.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: The unsuccessful defence counsel in the lower court, H. H. Asquith, went on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.


title: Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co

text: Louisa Carlill, however, lived until she was 96. She died on March 10, 1942, according to her doctor, Joseph M. Yarman, principally of old age. But there was one other cause noted: influenza.


title: Reichswehr

text: Reichswehr () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped into a peacetime army. From it a provisional Reichswehr was formed in March 1919. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the rebuilt German army was subject to severe limitations in size and armament. The official formation of the Reichswehr took place on 1 January 1921 after the limitations had been met. The German armed forces kept the name 'Reichswehr' until Adolf Hitler's 1935 proclamation of the "restoration of military sovereignty", at which point it became part of the new .


title: Reichswehr

text: Although ostensibly apolitical, the Reichswehr acted as a state within a state, and its leadership was an important political power factor in the Weimar Republic. The Reichswehr sometimes supported the democratic government, as it did in the Ebert-Groener Pact when it pledged its loyalty to the Republic, and sometimes backed anti-democratic forces through such means as the Black Reichswehr, the illegal paramilitary groups it sponsored in contravention of the Versailles Treaty. The Reichswehr saw itself as a cadre army that would preserve the expertise of the old imperial military and form the basis for German rearmament.


title: Reichswehr

text: In Part V of the 1919 Versailles Peace Treaty, Germany had obligated itself to limit the size and armaments of its military forces so that they could be used only as border protection and for the maintenance of order within Germany.


title: Reichswehr

text: In accordance with the treaty's provisions, personnel strength was limited to a professional army of 100,000 men plus a 15,000-man navy. The establishment of a general staff was prohibited. Heavy weapons above defined calibers, armored vehicles, submarines and large warships were prohibited, as was any type of air force. The regulations were overseen by the Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control until 1927.


title: Reichswehr

text: Conscription into the German army had traditionally been for a period of 1 to 3 years. After they had completed their terms of service, the discharged soldiers created a large pool of trained reserves. The Versailles Treaty fixed the term of service for Reichswehr officers at 25 years and for all others at 12 in order to prevent such a buildup of reservists.


title: Reichswehr

text: On 9 November 1918, at the beginning the German Revolution that led to the collapse of the German Empire and the flight of Emperor Wilhelm II, a republic was proclaimed from Berlin. The next day, German Chancellor Friedrich Ebert and General Wilhelm Groener, acting in the name of the Supreme Army Command, concluded the Ebert-Groener Pact. In it Groener assured Ebert of the loyalty of the armed forces, and in return Ebert promised that the government would take prompt action against leftist uprisings, call a national assembly, keep the military command within the professional officer corps and, most importantly, retain the military’s traditional status as ‘state within a state’ – that is, it would continue to be largely independent of the civilian government.


title: Reichswehr

text: As part of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the new German government agreed to the speedy evacuation of occupied territories. The withdrawal on the western front began on 12 November and by 17 January 1919 the areas on the west bank of the Rhine were free of German military forces. The task was then to gradually disarm the units of the Imperial Army which still numbered several million soldiers. This was done at previously designated demobilization sites, usually the respective home garrisons. For the regiments with garrisons on the west bank of the Rhine, demobilization sites were designated in the interior of the Reich.


title: Reichswehr

text: The Council of the People's Deputies – the de facto government of Germany from November 1918 until February 1919 – and the Supreme Army Command intended to transfer the remaining units to a peacetime army following demobilization. On 6 March 1919 the Weimar National Assembly passed the law on the formation of a provisional army to be made up of 43 brigades. It authorized the Reich President "to dissolve the existing army and to form a provisional Reichswehr which, until the creation of a new armed force to be ordered by Reich law, would protect the borders of the Reich, enforce the orders of the Reich government, and maintain domestic peace and order."


title: Reichswehr

text: A similarly worded law on the formation of a provisional navy dated 16 April 1919 authorized it to “secure the German coasts, enable safe maritime traffic by clearing mines, acting as maritime police and otherwise assisting merchant shipping, ensure the undisturbed exercise of fishing, enforce the orders of the Reich government in conjunction with the Reichswehr, and maintain peace and order." The strength of the navy was to be 20,000 men.


title: Reichswehr

text: From 1 October 1919 to 1 April 1920, the forces of the Provisional Reich Army were moved into the 400,000-strong ‘Transitional Army’ consisting of 20 brigades. At the same time, the old army’s units and duties were eliminated. After falling to 150,000 men in October 1920, the brigades were replaced by regiments, and the final army strength of 100,000 was reached by 1 January 1921. The Reichswehr was officially formed on that date, with the Defense Law of 23 March 1921 regulating the details. The soldiers’ oath was sworn to the Weimar Constitution.


title: Reichswehr

text: The Reichswehr was divided into the (army) and the "Reichsmarine" (navy). The consisted of seven infantry and three cavalry divisions, with all units renumbered. The Reich’s territory was divided into seven military districts. There were two group commands, No. 1 in Berlin and No. 2 in Kassel. The navy was allowed a limited number of certain types of ships and boats, with no submarines. It was divided into Naval Station Baltic Sea and Naval Station North Sea. Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the service period for enlisted men and non-commissioned officers in both the army and the navy was 12 years, with 25 years for officers.


title: Reichswehr

text: The 1921 Defense Law ended the military sovereignty of the states but left Saxony, Württemberg, Baden, and Bavaria with limited independence. Bavaria was special in that Military District VII covered the entire territory of the state with the exception of the Palatinate, and only Bavarians served in the 7th (Bavarian) Division. Until 1924 this unit, as the Bavarian Reichswehr, enjoyed certain rights of autonomy with respect to the Reich government.


title: Reichswehr

text: According to the Weimar Constitution, the Reich President had "supreme command over the entire armed forces of the Reich". In general, however, he could act only if there was a countersignature by a member of the government. In terms of authority, this was the Reich Minister of the Armed Forces.


title: Reichswehr

text: Two Reich Presidents held office during the Weimar Republic: Friedrich Ebert until 1925, followed by Paul von Hindenburg. The first Reich Minister of the Armed Forces was Gustav Noske, who was replaced by Otto Geßler after the Kapp Putsch in 1920. Wilhelm Groener took office in 1928, and his deputy Kurt von Schleicher replaced him in 1932. Schleicher continued to hold office on a provisional basis during his two-month chancellorship. Prior to Hitler's appointment as Reich chancellor, Hindenburg unilaterally – not at the chancellor's recommendation as required by the constitution – appointed Werner von Blomberg as Reich Minister of the Armed Forces.


title: Reichswehr

text: The head of army command was initially Walther Reinhardt. After the Kapp Putsch, Hans von Seeckt took over the post and had both the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Nazi Party banned in 1923. Wilhelm Heye followed him in 1926. Heye was succeeded in 1930 by Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord, who tendered his resignation on 27 December 1933. He was succeeded by Werner von Fritsch.


title: Reichswehr

text: Given the limited size of the army, careful selection of personnel was possible. Experienced leaders came from the ‘Old Army’ of the Empire. In 1925, 24% of the officers were from the former nobility, down from 30% in 1913. This continued the long-term trend of a reduction in the percentage of noble officers. Large parts of the officer corps held a conservative, monarchist worldview and rejected the Weimar Republic. Especially within the former nobility, however, the stance towards National Socialism was not entirely uncritical.


title: Reichswehr

text: The Reichswehr leadership and officer corps successfully resisted the democratization of the troops. Preference was given to recruits from the predominantly conservative rural areas of Germany. The Reichswehr leadership considered them not only physically superior to young men from the cities but also as able to stand up against the "temptations" of social democracy.


title: Reichswehr

text: In 1926 Reichstag President Paul Löbe proposed to make recruitment dependent on physical fitness only in order to make the composition of the Reichswehr reflect more closely that of society as a whole. The proposal led to fierce opposition from the Reichswehr and conservative circles, both of which believed that opening the Reichswehr to all social groups would lower its effectiveness. Löbe’s proposal did not pass.


title: Reichswehr

text: The Reichswehr saw itself as a ‘cadre army’ or ‘Leader army’ (‘’), which meant that every soldier was trained in the skills needed to gain higher levels of responsibility. This was to become a basic prerequisite for the rapid growth of the army after the proclamation of military sovereignty by the Nazi regime in 1935.


title: Reichswehr

text: Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the Reichswehr was allowed 4,000 officers, while the could have 1,500 officers and deck officers. The actual Reichswehr officer corps numbered 3,718, down from 227,081 in 1918, of whom 38,118 were career officers. The officers transferred to the Reichswehr were almost all general staff officers. Of the approximately 15,000 men who had been promoted to officers during the war, the Reichswehr took on only a few, as these front-line officers were seen as alien to officer life in the mess hall, barracks and society. Democratically-minded officers were not accepted into the force. Radical nationalist officers were with few exceptions removed, especially after the Kapp Putsch.


title: Reichswehr

text: The political attitude of the officer corps was monarchist, although outwardly they posed as loyal to the Republic. Even though the German nobility, which was officially abolished in August 1919, had accounted for only 0.14% of the pre-war German population, an average of 23.8% of the officers in the Reichswehr were from noble backgrounds. The proportion of former noble officers in the individual branches of the armed forces varied greatly. In 1920 they made up 50% of the officers in the cavalry but only 5% in the infantry and 4% in the sappers. Of the approximately 1,000 non-commissioned officers promoted to officers in 1919, by 1928 only 117 remained, or 3.5% of the total officers in the Reichswehr.


title: Reichswehr

text: Since the Reich government did not bring the officer candidate recruitment process under state control, regimental commanders in the Reichswehr continued to be responsible for selecting officer candidates, as they had in the old Imperial Army. Those admitted came almost exclusively from circles traditionally close to the military. In 1926, 96% of the officer candidates came from the upper social classes and nearly 50% from officer families. The homogeneity of the Reichswehr officer corps was in fact greater than it had been during the Empire. In 1912/13 only 24% of officers had come from families of active or former officers.


title: Reichswehr

text: By assuring Reich Chancellor Ebert of its loyalty in the November 1918 Ebert-Groener Pact, the military had ensured the survival of the new government. In the crisis-ridden early 1920s, the Republic used the Reichswehr primarily to fight insurgent left-wing forces, such as during the Spartacist uprising in Berlin in 1919.


title: Reichswehr

text: Wherever the Treaty of Versailles tied the Reichswehr’s hands or its own manpower was insufficient, it left ‘national defense’ – e.g. border skirmishes against Polish and Lithuanian irregulars, or deployment against the Ruhr Red Army in the demilitarized Rhineland – to the Freikorps, which although officially disbanded in 1920 continued to operate. The Reichswehr cooperated with nationalist Freikorps units when it took action against leftist governments in Thuringia and Saxony in October and November 1923 during the so-called ‘Reich executions’ – interventions against an individual state led by the central government to enforce national law. The Reichswehr generals also maintained close contacts with politically right-wing, anti-republican military associations such as the Stahlhelm and Kyffhäuserbund, although the Reichswehr officially described itself as "apolitical".


title: Reichswehr

text: In March 1920 Germany’s political leadership did not use the Reichswehr against the Kapp Putsch, a failed coup attempt against the Weimar Republic. It occurred after the government tried to demobilize two Freikorps brigades and one of them refused to disband. Hans von Seeckt, the chief of the "Truppenamt" – the disguised general staff of the Reichswehr – had previously spoken out against taking action, reportedly saying that “Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr”. Seeckt however had no command authority. The Chief of Army Command, and thus the highest military officer, Walther Reinhardt, was in favor of using loyal Reichswehr units to suppress the putsch, but neither Reichswehr Minister Gustav Noske nor the Reich government gave the order to deploy. (By contrast, the left-wing Ruhr Uprising, which began during the Kapp Putsch in the Ruhr and Saxony, was ruthlessly put down with the active involvement of the Reichswehr.) As a result of the Kapp putsch, the Reich Minister of Defense, Gustav Noske of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), was replaced by Otto Geßler of the German Democratic Party (DDP).


title: Reichswehr

text: Reichswehr leadership began early on to circumvent the arms restrictions in the Versailles Treaty through a series of secret and illegal measures. They included the clandestine establishment of the Black Reichswehr, unauthorized weapons testing in the Soviet Union, the establishment of a Leaders’ Assistant Training School which was intended to compensate for the forbidden General Staff training, and the maintenance of the General Staff in the newly created . Under the code name ‘Statistical Society’, plans for an armaments industry were worked out with the Reich Federation of German Industry. With the help of retired officers, sports schools for training infantrymen were founded, most of them near former military training areas, where exercise instructors for military sports were trained. This took place, especially in northern Germany, with the support of the Stahlhelm, a veterans’ organization that was part of the Black Reichswehr. Other aids in military training included the use of dummy tanks for exercise purposes.


title: Reichswehr

text: In February 1923 the new Chief of the , Major General Otto Hasse, traveled to Moscow for secret negotiations. Germany was to support the development of Soviet industry and Red Army commanders were to receive general staff training in Germany. In return, the Reichswehr was able to expand secretly in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles. It was given the opportunity to obtain artillery from the Soviet Union, to train aviation and tank specialists on Soviet soil, and to have chemical warfare agents manufactured and tested. A secret Reichswehr aviation school and testing facility was established at Lipetsk, where some 120 military pilots, 100 aerial observers, and numerous ground personnel were trained as the core of a future German air force. At Kazan, tank specialists were trained, but not until 1930 and to a number of only about thirty. At the Tomka gas test site near Saratov, chemical warfare agents were jointly tested and developed.


title: Reichswehr

text: In December 1926 the Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann disclosed the collaboration with the Soviet Union to the Reichstag, toppling the government under Wilhelm Marx. In 1931 Carl von Ossietzky and Walter Kreiser were convicted of espionage in the "Weltbühne" Trial for a 1929 report in the weekly "Weltbühne" on the collaboration, which was by then already known.


title: Reichswehr

text: In response to unrest in Bavaria, Reich President Friedrich Ebert transferred executive power to Reichswehr Minister Geßler in November 1923. True power thus rested with Hans von Seeckt, the head of the army command, who prevented a ‘Reich execution’ (see also Cooperation with the Freikorps, above) against the Bavarian government under Gustav Ritter von Kahr. Kahr had been named State Commissioner when the Bavarian Minister President declared martial law. Kahr had designs to overthrow the Weimar Republic and was at first co-operating with Adolf Hitler but then broke with him before Hitler began the Beer Hall Putsch on 8 November. The Reichswehr’s Bavarian military district commander, Otto von Lossow, supported Kahr and refused to carry out orders from Geßler to suppress the unrest. Ebert and Seeckt then relieved him of his command, although Seeckt sympathized with the government in Munich. In February 1924 Seeckt relinquished the executive powers he had received through Ebert.


title: Reichswehr

text: The 1925 Locarno Treaties ruled out any forcible change in Germany’s western borders, and in 1926 Germany joined the League of Nations. While war continued to be seen in the Reichswehr as a means to achieve political goals, government policy under the Locarno Treaties and the Dawes Plan, which resolved the issue of German reparations payments to the victorious powers, was oriented more toward maintaining peace and international understanding. Seeckt and his officers were opposed to joining the League of Nations and saw their existence threatened by the pacifism of Germany’s left.