Communication and Culture: The Benefits of Beginning Foreign Language Study Early
As global awareness increases, American interest in the
study of languages other than English increases apace. Unlike early
programs which did not teach “languages…primarily to learn oral/aural
communication, but to learn for the sake of being ‘scholarly’ or, in some
instances, for gaining a reading proficiency in the foreign language”
(Brown 18), the twentieth century began to focus on communicative
goals, and a variety of new theories and methods for teaching were
put forth. A common goal has emerged, and modern programs push
students towards fluency. Therefore, more research is being conducted
into the best possible ways to create competent communicators. The
Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics defines
communicative competence as “the ability not only to apply the
grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct
sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and
to whom” (Richards, Platt, and Platt 65). As scholars search for the
best ways to achieve communicative competence, they emphasize the
importance of beginning language study early.
The critical period hypothesis first put forth by Lenneberg
in the late 1960’s holds “that there is a limited developmental period
during which it is possible to acquire a language…to normal, nativelike
levels” (Birdsong, 1). At the most generous estimate, this critical period
is thought to extend from the age of 2 only until puberty, and some
estimates posit a much narrower window (for more information on the
possible causes of the critical period, see Birdsong, 7-9). According to
Krashen, Long, and Scarcella, although “adults and older children in
general initially acquire the second language faster than young children
(oldest-is-better for rate of acquisition), …child second language
acquirers will usually be superior in terms of ultimate attainment
(younger-is-better in the long run)” (574). This eventual attainment
includes superior pronunciation skills (Fledge 101) when compared with
learners who began their study later in life.
Although “starting age determines the levels of
[communicative] accuracy achieved, particularly in pronunciation” (Ellis
qtd. in Nunan 41), beginning young has an additional advantage. The
young learner has many years of schooling left in which to explore this
new language, and “the number of years’ exposure contributes greatly to
the overall communicative fluency of the learners” (Ellis qtd. in Nunan
41). Although the pace of the young learner may be slower than that
of the older learner, “when language learning begins earlier, it can go
on longer and provide more practice and experience, leading ultimately
to greater fluency and effectiveness” (Curtain and Pesola, Languages and
Children 3) than is generally achieved when study begins after puberty.
Cain and Abel were in a situation much more unique than Esau and Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers faced, for the society they lived in was extremely small, and they each had a direct relationship with God. As the book of Genesis tells us, Cain was the first born son of Adam and Eve. Their next son was a boy whom they named Abel. As Cain and Abel grew up both took responsibilities for making a living. Abel took care of the sheep and Cain became a farmer. (Genesis 4:7)
Children are vastly influenced by their elementary education. The fundamentals and basics of a child’s education begins with language, more specifically, reading and writing. These children are the future cognitively, socially, and physically and they should be provided with the most effective educational techniques available. While children are young, they should be provided with those techniques by starting at the beginning: foreign language. Children should learn a foreign language at the elementary school level.
Stage 3: Ethnic Identity Clarification: here people begin to have positive attitude towards their ethnic group. Cultural pride is genuine at this stage. They clari...
After Lenneberg's (1967) advanced analyses and interpretation of critical period in regards to first language acquisition, many researchers began to relate and study age issue in second language acquisition. In this area of study, Johnson and Newport (1989) is among the most prominent and leading studies which tries to seek evidence to test the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) in second language (L2) acquisition. This study aims to find identifying answers to the question of age-related effects on the proficiency for languages learned prior the puberty.
KFC is chicken restaurant chain which is fast food. That is the most popular and has many chains around the world. Now KFC is business successful but it was failed that is interesting how KFC become successful after failed. The cause KFC failed marketing result from goes forward in the wrong direction. By 2005, KFC fall into a difficult situation, sales slump, the reduce consumers this result from poor performance both the challenges category and challenges brand itself. The category challenges, health agenda had trendy in that time people focus on healthy food so KFC is fast food it not popular in consumer. The challenges brand itself that is problem
Since the end of World War II and the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, Britain has experienced numerous improvements in the medical sector. Among these advances are the pre and postnatal management, development of vaccines, tests, treatments, drugs and machines. These developments have allowed life expectancy to increase from 66 to 78.8 and 70 to 82.8 for males and females respectively from 1950 to 2010, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This essay is about a child’s development and learning, focusing primarily on language development. It will describe the main stages of developmental "milestones" and the key concepts involved for children to develop their language skills, discussing language acquisition and social learning theory. The essay will also look into the key theorists involved in language development, primarily Vygotsky and Chomsky, and how these theories have had an impact on the way society views language and their implementation within schools. The essay will describe the factors affecting language development, both biological and environmental. While also discussing key arguments among theorists, one being the nature vs nurture debate, and how these play a part in the teaching in schools.
In the Bible, there are two sons, Cain and Abel, who are very different. For example, Cain worked the ground, while Abel took care of the sheep. Adam and Eve were their parents and Abel seemed to be favored by them and by the Lord. Cain, who was the older of the two, became very jealous and angry enough that he killed Abel. The Lord punished him, for this was the first murder ever committed in history. It was also the first human death.
The main difference between a person’s cultural and social identity is the historical roots that create and help shape their cultural identities (“Communication in the Real World”). Unlike someone’s personal and social identity, cultural identity is not something that constantly changes. This is due to the fact that a person is born into this type of identity. However, the development of “culture is an ongoing negotiation of learned patterns of beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors” (“Communication in the Real World”). Although others may view this as a way of saying that people cannot change the identity they have, even though their cultural identity does not change as much as the others, the different types of identity that form who they will become and shapes their overall identity will change throughout life. There is more than just a person’s personal, social, and cultural identities, they also develop an ethnic identity that changes as they
One of the factors that influences identity is the culture a human being was raised in. There are many different types of cultures on Earth, and each culture has its own set of norms. These set of norms puts pressure of the human being to act in a certain way. This, as a result, influences
Wilder Penfield and Lamar Roberts first introduced the idea that there is a “critical period” for learning language in 1959. This critical period is a biologically determined period referring to a period of time when learning/acquiring a language is relatively easy and typically meets with a high degree of success. German linguist Eric Lenneberg further highlights Roberts and Penfield’s findings and postulated the Critical Period Hypothesis in 1967. According to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH), certain biological events related to language development can only happen in the critical period. During this time, the brain possesses a degree of flexibility (ability and ease of learning a language) and becomes lateralized (assignment of language functions becomes concrete – either in the left or right hemisphere) (Marinova-Todd, S; Marshall, D & Snow, C. 2000 9-10). This critical period lasts from childhood through the onset of puberty (usually at around 12 years of age). Once this period is over, it is more difficult to learn a language because language functions in the brain have become concrete. This hypothesis can be seen with the case of Genie, a woman who was isolated from human interaction and language up to the age of 13. By the time she was rescued, she was well after the critical period for language acquisition, and as such, she did not have a full command of the English language. Had she been rescued before the age of 13, she may have had more linguistic capability. However, this accounts for firs...
Being unique and different from one to each other is exclusive. For instance, there are a number of countries in the world with more than million human populations with their own traits, tradition, cultures, and perspectives. However, these aspects of exclusiveness may lead to a problem. For instance, there are upcoming issues regarding to the gap between numerous countries to be solved in the age of globalization, an age of massive emergence of invention and information. Hence, they also struggle to live and survive in the world that continually improves. With a wide variation of human population, something is needed to sync with the rapid pace of world’s development as well as to connect each other; a language.
... and registered as members. And now, KFC is also playing the time strategy. They have offering different time pricing. They has snacks time in the afternoon with a cheaper price from Monday to Friday. Also, they are generally targeting family rather than single person. This is the reason why they provide Family Meals which are basically served at a cheaper rate. For economic factors, they also targetting upper class and middle class. KFC is now entering the market using market skimming. They set their price highter to target the middle to upper class of people. KFC adopt the cost base price strategy. Pricing of the product is including the government tax and excise duty and then comes the final stage of determine the price of their product. The food’s price is quite high according to the market segment and it is also comparable to the standard of their product.
Still today, it is the commonly held belief that children acquire their mother tongue through imitation of the parents, caregivers or the people in their environment. Linguists too had the same conviction until 1957, when a then relatively unknown man, A. Noam Chomsky, propounded his theory that the capacity to acquire language is in fact innate. This revolutionized the study of language acquisition, and after a brief period of controversy upon the publication of his book, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax, in 1964, his theories are now generally accepted as largely true. As a consequence, he was responsible for the emergence of a new field during the 1960s, Developmental Psycholinguistics, which deals with children’s first language acquisition. He was not the first to question our hitherto mute acceptance of a debatable concept – long before, Plato wondered how children could possibly acquire so complex a skill as language with so little experience of life. Experiments have clearly identified an ability to discern syntactical nuances in very young infants, although they are still at the pre-linguistic stage. Children of three, however, are able to manipulate very complicated syntactical sentences, although they are unable to tie their own shoelaces, for example. Indeed, language is not a skill such as many others, like learning to drive or perform mathematical operations – it cannot be taught as such in these early stages. Rather, it is the acquisition of language which fascinates linguists today, and how it is possible. Noam Chomsky turned the world’s eyes to this enigmatic question at a time when it was assumed to have a deceptively simple explanation.
Although I am Chinese, I am writing this essay in English. In fact, I spend most of my time communicating with others, expressing myself, and learning new knowledge in English. Regardless of my race, I, similar to many people across the world, use English as a primary language in my daily life. Most will agree that English is the international language of the world. To this day, English has been the most widely spread language around the globe. It is the official language of over 50 countries and the third most spoken language worldwide (Lewis, 2010). However, despite the contributions English has made to the merging of a global village, the spreading of English will lead to the displacement of local languages and cultural identities. It threatens