Native American Languages

Answer choices

1. A

   Wrong Emphasis3% picked this

   Because of the growth in Internet use in many indigenous communities, English has again begun to supplant native languages, thus reversing the recent

   This answer doesn't mention radio programming at all, which is the #1 thing our author wants to talk about. She wrote this passage to say, "Please -- improve radio programming, because it's an effective tool for language preservation, and if you don't make it better, the internet will ruin these efforts."

   3%
2. B

   Correct78% picked this

   Native language radio programming has become a valuable tool for preserving native languages, and it may be able to help counter the threat to

   Why this is right

   We wanted something like, "Please -- improve radio programming, because it's an effective tool for language preservation, and if you don't make it better, the internet will ruin these efforts." This answer's first clause matches up well with paragraphs 1 and 2, and this answer's second clause matches up well enough with paragraphs 3 and 4.

   Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   78%
3. C

   Too Strong: only1% picked this

   While the Internet and many other media serve as factors helping to push native languages toward extinction, radio, because of its wide availability, is

   The author never said anything maximalist like, "radio is the only viable tool for counteracting language loss". In our thesis sentence (end of 3rd paragraph), she is saying, "If radio programming doesn't resonate, it won't be a viable tool for counteracting language loss."

   1%
4. D

   Wrong Emphasis17% picked this

   Language preservation is more successful when, rather than merely transmitting the language by traditional classroom lessons, an effort is made to take into account

   This answer doesn't mention radio programming at all, which is the #1 thing our author wants to talk about. She wrote this passage to say, "Please -- improve radio programming, because it's an effective tool for language preservation, and if you don't make it better, the internet will ruin these efforts."

   17%
5. E

   Too Narrow Wrong Causal Emphasis1% picked this

   Native language radio programming succeeds in preserving native languages where other approaches fail because it has stimulated the interest of older people in

   The overall sentiment of this answer is "radio programming is doing a great job at helping to preserve native languages". That covers paragraphs 1 and 2, but this answer is missing any reference to paragraphs 3 and 4, which discuss the encroaching threat of the internet. Also, the author never talks about other approaches preserving native languages failing (she just says this approach of radio shows is particularly effective), and she never singles out the special causal difference-maker of radio as, "it stimulates the interest of older people in rekindling the use of their languages". I mean, yes, it's true that older people have taken an interest in rekindling the use of their languages, but that was just one part of why radio is good. The first half of the 2nd paragraph (where we talk about who radio is a good match for oral traditions) is at least as important as the second half of the 2nd paragraph (where we talk about its role in solidifying communities), within which we mention older people. Since "older people" is just a detail found in a sentence that is supporting Big Point #2 within the 2nd paragraph, we shouldn't be elevating "older people" to the Main Point answer choice. Big Point #2 (these radio stations help solidify communities) belongs in the Main Point more than one of its supporting details does. And we wouldn't put Big Point #2 in main point (these radio stations also help solidify communities) unless we were also putting Big Point #1 from that paragraph (these radio shows are a particularly effective tool for oral traditions). Sometimes we have to talk ourselves out of answers that say true things by reminding ourselves of where those true things fit in the hierarchy of the passage's argument. If we can demonstrate to ourselves that an idea is subsidiary to something else, then we usually know it's Too Narrow for the main point.

   1%