During week 3 we learned about the importance of language in teaching and learning. Language is not just a tool for communication but also a very important factor for the development of thinking, identity and personal growth of an individual. Children mostly acquire their language skills from their social and cultural contexts surrounding them such as their home, their school and their community. It is often discrepancies in the language used among these contexts that causes learners difficulties moving into a different context such as that of the classroom.
Language has, since a very young age, always been an extremely important issue in my personal development. I am originally from Greece and received all my primary and secondary education in my mother tongue, Greek. However, I left Greece to move to the UK where I completed all my University studies in a totally different and foreign language, English. I was then faced with a double challenge. Not only that of the language in different contexts but also the use of a foreign language in a number of different contexts. When I was at University, in the early 90s, the presence of foreign students in the UK that English was not their mother tongue was steadily increasing. However, most lecturers were using mostly a restricted language code assuming that all students were aware of the terminology and abbreviations used in our field of study. The students on the other hand not having been previously exposed to many foreigners also used a restricted code to communicate with their peers unaware most of the time that foreigners like me didn’t have the capacity of understanding and follow their conversations. It is very clear that it doesn’t take much for people like me to feel like outs...
... middle of paper ...
... language codes and help our students to enrich their knowledge, vocabulary and skills on the use of language. In my role as an educator and due to my own past experiences I am constantly aware of language and the context in which certain words are used and I am always trying to make my students aware by using mostly elaborate language codes that feel much more inclusive and understandable.
Works Cited
1. Week 3 Lecture 1 , The nature and importance of language, Commonwealth Education Trust, Course 2: Being a teacher by Dr D. Francis
2. Patricia M. Rowell, BES Project (1998) Language for teaching and learning in the classroom, some observations. Reform Forum: Journal for Educational Reform in Namibia, 8:1-8 (http://www.nied.edu.na/publications/journals/journal8/Journal%208%20Article%203.pdf)
3. Basil Bernstein’s Restricted and Elaborated Codes
As a result of many negative stereotypes associated with certain variations of English many students have adapted codeswitching. When this concept came up in the book it made me think about my own language. I realized that I code switch quite often between what is seen as Standard English and African American English or Ebonics. Usually with family or other friends that speak Ebonics I use that Ebonics to communicate, but when I am in school, in a
Language is a skill that, if used properly, can open up a variety of opportunities in life. Throughout the readings of “Homemade Education” by Malcolm X and “Living with Dyslexia” by Gareth Cook, we see many difficulties and challenges that people overcome when they are put in the face of language. Like many things, there are many different aspects that shape the way we understand the art of language. Throughout culture, perspective, and language we see all the components that make language so powerful. It is made very clear, that language has the power to promote the shaping of one’s identity.
Throughout the span of the past few weeks I have traversed the globe, visiting several countries and regions, only to realize that although new methods develop, language as a way of expressing ones self has remained the most effective. Despite this fact, language still has its pitfalls. Neil Postman, in his essay “Defending Against the Indefensible,'; outlines seven concepts that can be used to aid a student in better understanding the language as a means of communication. He describes how modern teaching methods leave a student vulnerable to the “prejudices of their elders';, further stating that a good teacher must always be skeptical. He urges teachers of all subjects to break free from traditional teachings as well as “linguistical tyranny';
Language plays a major role in a child’s life, because some children will dialogues with themselves through how they engage with themselves or other children through imaginative play. Vygotsky explains this as how they will make up their own story and give their characters different names, and also changing the voices of each character. This helps children with their vocabulary skills, in which it will help them in the long run to name, and negative the different things that they will start to come into connect with as they get older. Language is also known as a symbolic system of communication and a cultural tool transmit play, and cultural history both play a big part in language development, and understanding the world around them. And also
CLOSE UP CHAPTER ONE. Sociocultural knowledge and experience is very important to kidwatchers this is when they can go and observe and see how other children interact with each other. Theories show that language develops with the help of sociocultural practice. When they are practicing daily languages and literacy they are developing cultural knowledge. Over the years of the childhood they gain a range of social practices. Each child learns differently and it is important to the teachers to see how they learn so they can connect with them. Evaluation involves understanding and making sure children are understanding the use of literacy and language. The example above is a social-context approach. Language and identity are very important to kidwatchers. Understanding language and how that applies to children is very important to teachers. They have to be able to evaluate their students and see where they are lacking skills so they can teach them where they need
People use language as a material object. Language is social in nature and language helps people to convey a message. Language is how humans communicate with each other. Language empowers, language makes the person’s needs known and language expresses what the person wants people to do. Language is how people interact and language makes a person’s identity, emotions and opinions known. Language helps a child to make sense of their world. Language helps older children to interact and belong to a group, Language also helps a child to understand the field, tenor and mode in situations, so that the child can critically evaluate and organize the
The aim of this assignment is to establish whether informal communication is just as important as formal communication in a school environment. My hypothesis at the start of the assignment is that both will be essential in order for a school to run efficiently and for a healthy culture to exist in an educational establishment. However, I first need to outline the nature of the school used for this study.
Language is an important factor to consider when communicating with a child. How information is delivered must ensure understanding from the child and relieve any uncertainties.
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
Andrew Sampson states that total proscription of mother tongue is detrimental to some extent, suggesting that code switching of mother tongue and English, under a good strategy of control, is useful for academic needs and even communicating purposes by concluding, “The results of this study suggest that code-switching is not necessarily connected to learners’ ability level and rarely signals an unwillingness to communicate in L2, but rather serves communicative classroom functions such as expressing equivalence, discussing procedural concerns, floor holding, reiterating concepts, and forming group relationships” (302). Code-switching not only improves the learner’s proficiency in English, but also allows the students to learn. In most cases, English language is meant for English-speaking students’ at level L2 or L3. Therefore, teachers should help non-native English-speaking students to code-switch in their communications. Code switching would improve the learner’s ability to identify his or her mistakes and correct those mistakes while she or he continues to learn English. At the same time, if possible, the teachers might use code switching to illustrate particular concepts and subjects. In other words, the teachers themselves can use the learner’s L1 or any other language to explain concepts or offer examples on the subjects in the learner’s L1. However, the teachers should avoid using oversimplified English words and vocabularies. This is because such approach would not help the learner to perfect his or her English
Thus, the book answers numerous practical questions that teachers have often struggled with; for example, how to increase the chances of academic success for language learners, how to use technology to teach language effectively, or how to teach language and content material concurrently. From the preface, the author makes it very clear that the book is designed to support language teachers in their journey as new teachers and throughout their teaching careers. In total, the book contains eleven chapters, which have been divided into four parts. The first part, "What Do Language Teachers Think About?" includes topics of foreign/ second language acquisition theories and language teaching methodologies. This part introduces the background knowledge readers will need in their journey as language teachers. The second part, "How Do You Teach a Language?" introduces approaches to teaching and learning that improve students’ writing, listening, speaking and reading abilities. Each chapter in this part includes suggestions for how students can be motivated and describes teaching and testing approaches to assess students ' language skills and academic literacy. The third part, "How Do I Know What to Teach?" is instrumental in helping teachers adopt teaching practices to particular teaching settings. The fourth part, "Where Do I Go from Here?" helps teachers gain a clearer perspective of what language teaching is all about; this section also considers teacher 's self-assessment and personal
Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Language is used to communicate in our daily lives and routines. Language helps people write, speak, read, and actively communicate with one another. Language also tends to build community; with that we gain a sense of belonging within others around us. Through language we can relate with other people and fit in with our personal experiences. The importance of language allows us to interact with all other parts of the world in an effective way. I love the language I speak, I wouldn’t change it for anything, it is part of who I am, it is part of my identity.