The increasing cross-cultural relations among individuals in society create a need for people to communicate in languages different from their native tongue. Due to reasons such as business or the mere interest in a foreign culture the need to learn how to speak an L2 fluently, correctly and even in a short time is evident. As globalization increases, people in most nations find themselves in the situation of speaking in front of others in an L2.
However, speaking in the foreign language, both in social and academic contexts, entails risk- taking and seems to be a challenging activity, in which learners who are not fluent in the target language experience that they cannot fully express their personality or their intelligence. Learners attempting
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“I just know I have some kind of disability: I can’t learn a foreign language no matter how hard I try” (Horwitz et al. 1986: 125) and also ,“I think my English level is not so good, so I am shy to talk English…I hate English very much because I think English is quite difficult to learn…” (Tsui, 1996: 145) are statements familiar to many foreign language students and teachers. Hence, for many researchers, one of the prerogatives has been the necessity to find teaching techniques and methods which help to lessen eventual feelings of tension (Krashen & Terrel, 1983; Crookall & Oxford, 1991; Young, 1991). It is important, in fact, that the instructor begins exploring instructional strategies that may overcome the student’s feeling of inadequacy, confusion, and failure. High levels of anxiety may compromise negatively the forthcoming attitude toward the foreign language studied. Teachers should strengthen students’ self-esteem in their L2 ability via reassurance, empathy and even by encouraging realistic expectations regarding the time during which fluency in the target language may be …show more content…
Studies conducted in the 1970s were, in fact, difficult to interpret because of inconsistent findings. At that time, Scovel (1978) in his attempt to clarify the available literature on anxiety and language acquisition pointed out the contradictory conclusions which the other investigators were reporting. Probably due to the lack of adequate definitions and appropriate instruments used to measure anxiety it was hard to establish a clear-cut relationship between anxiety and overall foreign language achievement.
On the one hand, some investigators found positive correlations between foreign language anxiety and proficiency (Chastain, 1975; Kleinmann, 1977; Scovel, 1978). Kleinmann, in his study, observed the behavior of avoidance of certain English syntactic structures, using two groups of ESL, it was hard to establish a clear-cut relationship between anxiety and overall foreign language
Most people who grow up with a foreign language spoken in there house grow up with an advantage in society. This advantage can only occur once the individual learning that foreign language also learns the dominant language spoken in that country. Once both of these languages are learned and mastered, the individual has now placed them se...
Metalinguistic awareness increased within the ESL students, therefore their phonics increased as well and they scored higher than some L1 students. Students who know multiple languages at an early age are proven to do better in both languages than students who only know one language.
Through the process of acquiring knowledge in this course, I have learned countless aspects about my own self. Amidst the very challenges I faced, the act of communication, management, and leadership, are among them. Being bilingual, my communication skills are on par yet at times hinder me from articulating my intention precisely as I have meant them. With every socialization I have made, I have striven to do better and to be better. I have learned that although you may consider yourself “fluent” in a foreign language, there are phrases or intonations to which come across as something entirely different from what you intended to say causing the message to be lost between the barrier of the two communicators.
In the United States, it is important for a person to speak English fluently because it is the official language in America and everybody communicates in English. Many people believe that English should be the only language in America and that sometimes people may face prejudice when they speak English with an accent. For some parents, the fear of prejudice makes them decided not to teach their children their native tongue. On the other hand, there are many other reasons why some parents want to teach their children their native tongue. Gabriela Kuntz explains in My Spanish Standoff why she did not allow her children to speak Spanish at home. Kuntz’s explanations are acceptable, but some research studies reveal that most young children can learn two or more languages. Also, many researchers say that children can learn a second language faster than adults.
3 Cleary, M. N. (2012). Anxiety and the newly returned adult student. Teaching English in the
Of the several challenges that ELL students may face at school, one of the most important to remember is that these students not only have the pressure of learning at the same pace of their peers that have most likely spoken English their whole lives, but they have to do so while attempting to understand the English language. Graves' makes a paramount point on page 411 of his text where he states "it is not that English language learners come to school with a language deficit. They come with a lack of knowledge of the particular language that is used in the schools they will be attending-English."1 Therefore, it is easy to assume that even the most ready-to-learn student will have huge amounts of trouble trying to learn everything in a language that is foreign to them.
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
The idea to include L1 as part of the language teaching system has been debated upon in recent years. The strong anti-L1 suggest on a complete prohibition of L1 in classrooms, while many others see L1 as a tool to better students’ learning of the TL. This section will highlight the pros and cons arguments for using the L1 in classrooms, along with further evidence supporting the advantages mother tongue bring to the language learning, and teaching process.
Oral language development is the foundation of learning to read and write. When we first make our big entrance into the world, our oral language starts developing. As we grow up, we hear all kinds of sounds such as words, songs, traffic and much more. Oral language is all about using spoken words to express knowledge, ideas, and feelings. According to an article called “Stay at Home Educators” oral language plays a tremendous role for literacy development. There are four great examples that they discuss in this article that I thought was very informative. Oral language helps develop vocabulary concepts. When students discover the meaning and pronunciation of words, they are understanding different types of speech.
People live in the world of communication. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Moore, 1997), communication is defined as, “The activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information”. The significance of communication can be found within the context of a human existing as a social being. As a human being manages his or her life in the course of the interaction between other members of the entire society, communication is inevitable. Communication occurs through the medium of a language and it is presented in two different forms which are written and spoken (Brown & Yule, 1983: 1-10). The importance of spoken performance of a language is becoming more prominent over the written performance capability. It is because the ability to speak a language reflects a person’s personality, self image, knowledge of the world, ability to reason, skill to express thoughts in real-time (Luoma, 2004: ix). These days, due to the global trend of internationalisation, the ability to communicate in English is needed as an essential skill. Whenever the international exchange happens, the use of spoken English entails. However, it is not always an easy task for people who use English as a second language to be able to speak to the level of a native speaker. They have to perfectly understand the sound system of English, have almost instant access to proper vocabulary and be able to place words together intelligibly without hesitation. Moreover, they also have to perceive what is being said to them and need to be able to respond appropriately to acquire amiable relations or to accomplish their communicative goals (Luoma, 2004: ix). Therefore, non-native English speakers encounter these barriers and they are subject to make mistakes often. In relation to this matter, this essay argues that there are socio-cultural factors as well as linguistic factors that affect non-native speakers’ communication in English. It provides analysis of several different situations when the use of spoken English has generated miscommunication problems in regards to author’s personal experience.
Having the ability to speak multiple languages can give people the upper hand when learning and experiencing new cultures; however, being monolingual can help in today 's society. Although having the ability to communicate in different languages can be helpful, being monolingual is not a disadvantage due to the ability to communicate in today 's new and modern global world through the language of English.
However, during the last 20 years language learning trends have noticeably changed in favour of the study of English as a foreign language, ...
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.” ‒ Nelson Mandela. Since the 1960’s learning a second language has decreased by 30 percent in today’s society. People who wish to learn an additional language often do so to communicate with people who reside in different countries. With an increase in today’s globalization, it is forcing companies throughout the world to break the language barrier. However, with the advancement of technology, numerous citizens find it unnecessary to learn another language, as a translation is at the tip of their fingers. The methods of learning a foreign language can differentiate between people. Nevertheless it has been
It is necessary to draw a distinction between foreign language and second language learning. According to (Wisniewski, 2007), a language lear...
The issue focused on importance of learning of foreign languages. Many people ask "Why should I learn foreign languages?" Learning a foreign language takes assiduity and free time. In order to understand this importance we need first to understand benefits of knowing and learning foreign languages. I offer several groups of these benefits below, which may help to convince you to take the plunge, if you need such persuasion. One groups of benefits represent economic and practical reasons, others have intellectual and even sentimental content, but whatever reasons you choose, you will have a clear idea of why learning foreign language so important and how it can help to motivate you in your studies.