...Writing is a way of recording language in visible form and giving it relative permanence, as stated by Ignace Jay Gelb and R. M. Whiting (2008). Of the four skills in English, writing is considered to be the most complex and difficult skill to master. This difficulty, according to Richards and Renandya (2002: 303),” lies not only in generating and organizing of ideas but also in translating these ideas into readable texts.” Aside from creativity and cohesion, writing is most effective when it is grammatically accurate or correct. As it is an important helpful skill through which thoughts and ideas are distributed, it serves for instructors of writing in different educational environments to exploit the many different methods, approaches, and techniques that can serve to produce better writers. Although over the preceding decades, the process approach to teaching writing has greatly improved L1 and L2 composition pedagogy especially in terms of creativity and organization. However, these advances have been compromised through the generation of written products containing grammatical and lexical inaccuracies, which often frustrate and distract readers (James 1998:155). That is why grammatical correctness in writing is a problem of concern especially among 4th year college education students as they will be teachers of English themselves upon graduation. According to Jonopolous (1992), Santos (1988), Lorenz and Met (1988), a lack of grammatical accuracy in writing may...
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...B. Theses Benzon, Paraluman Ma. Fatima C. “Computer Literacy of Local Government Unit Personnel of Vigan City”, (Unpublished Master Thesis, University of Northern Philippines, Vigan City, 2006) Lumibao, Donna Marie C. “Computer and Information Technology in the local Government Units of the First District of Ilocos Sur”, (Unpublished Master Thesis, University of Northern Philippines, Vigan City, 2004) C. Magazine National Information Technology Plan. Info Trends, 1988 88 UNP Research Journal Vol. XIX January-December 2010 Linguistic Errors in the Oral Expositions of Speech Communication Students of the College of Teacher Education in the University of Northern Philippines Rommel V. Tabula, MAT Abstract The study generally examined the linguistic errors in the oral expositions of Speech Communication students of the College of Teacher Education in...
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...Theories Of First Language Acquisition English Language Essay Imagine a blank template, a white sheet of paper, thats how human being starts off. From a crying baby in a cradle, to babbling, to simple single words, slowly progressing into two-words, then finally a complete sentence, ever wonder how one acquires the ability to produce the language? Linguists throughout the ages have tried to find out how does one ACQUIRE a language, is it a deep structure as claimed by Kimball? Or is it an innate ability, a build-in human capacity propagated by Chomsky? Various theories have arose since language studies came to fore, and the ability to acquire language has interested various parties since the dawn of man. From the dunes of Egypt, Psammeticus, the Pharaoh during the 7 th century BC, believed language was inborn and that children isolated from birth from any linguistic influence would develop the language they had been born with. Fast forward to the 15th century,King James of Scotland performed a similar experiment; the children were reported to have spoken good Hebrew. Akbar, a 16th century Mogul emperor of India, desired to learn whether language was innate or acquired through exposure to the speech of adults. He believed that language was learned by people listening to each other and therefore a child could not develop language alone. So he ordered a house built for two infants and stationed a mute nurse to care for them. The children did not acquire speech, which seemed to...
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...Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning Stephen D Krashen University of Southern California Copyright © 1981 Stephen Krashen All Rights Reserved. This publication may be downloaded and copied without charge for all reasonable, non-commercial educational purposes, provided no alterations in the text are made. First printed edition 1981 by Pergamon Press Inc. Print Edition ISBN 0-08-025338-5 First internet edition December 2002 i Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following journals and organizations for granting permission to reprint material: Newbury House, the Center for Applied Linguistics, Language Learning, TESOL, the SPEAQ Journal, Academic Press. I have had a great deal of help and feedback from many people in writing this book. Among the many scholars and friends I am indebted to are Marina Burt, Earl Stevick, Heidi Dulay, Robin Scarcella, Rosario Gingras, Nathalie Bailey, Carolyn Madden, Georgette Ioup, Linda Galloway, Herbert Seliger, Noel Houck, Judith Robertson, Steven Sternfeld, Batyia Elbaum, Adrian Palmer, John Oller, John Lamendella, Evelyn Hatch, John Schumann, Eugene Brière, Diane Larsen-Freeman, Larry Hyman, Tina Bennet, Ann Fathman, Janet Kayfetz, Ann Peters, Kenji Hakuta, Elinor Ochs, Elaine Andersen, Peter Shaw, and Larry Selinker. I also would like to express my thanks to those scholars whose work has stimulated my own thinking in the early stages of the research reported on here: John Upshur, Leonard Newmark, and S...
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...GLA Factors affecting SLA success Topic 4: Factors affecting L2 learning Conceptual objective: the students will be able to enumerate those factors connected to L2 learning success Procedural objective: the students will explore those factors that have promoted their success as language learners, making a chart and comparing it with other people Attitudinal objective: the students will develop a critical attitude towards the causal correlations between factors and learning success Attitudinal objective: the students will realize the need for further research A. Internal/ Individual B. External a. 1. Age 2. Aptitude 3. Motivation and Attitude 4. Personality 5. Cognitive Style 6. Hemisphere specialisation 7. Learning Strategies 1. Learning and Teaching Contexts 2.Teaching a second language: Effects 2.1. Input and interaction: How these elements affect learning A.1. AGE AND L2 LEARNING • Effects of age on RATE of second language learning ΚAdults are superior to children in rate of acquisition ΚOlder children learn more rapidly than younger children ΚWith regards to morphology and syntax, the adolescents do best, followed by the adults and then the children ΚGrammar differences diminish over time, and children begin to catch up, but adults outperform children in the short term Κ Where pronunciation is concerned, adults do not always progress more rapidly than children do Thus: adults learn faster than children, and this is more applicable to grammar than pronunciation, although...
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...Contents INTRODUCTION 3 Chapter One 5 Methods of Teaching Foreign Language 5 Chapter Two 8 Teaching Vocabulary 8 Textbook analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....................20 CONCLUSION ...22 INTRODUCTION It seems almost impossible to overstate the power of words; they literally have changed and will continue to change the course of world history. Perhaps the greatest tools we can give students for succeeding, not only in their education but more generally in life, is a large, rich vocabulary and the skills for using those words. Our ability to function in today’s complex social and economic world is mightily affected by our language skills and word knowledge. Words are the primary building blocks of effective communication. Although gestures and facial expressions work well in face-to-face communication, words carry the weight of meaning when people are removed from each other in distance and time.The linguist David Wilkins summed up the importance of vocabulary in this way:”Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. His view is echoed from a course book (Dellar H and Hocking D, Innovations, LTP):”If you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much. You will see most improvement if you learn more words and expressions. You can say very little with grammar, but you can say almost anything with words!” ...
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...CHALLENGES STUDENTS FACE IN LEARNING ESSAY WRITING SKILLS IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MANGA DISTRICT, NYAMIRA COUNTY, KENYA BY NYANG’AU BENARD NYASIMI E55/CE/14078/2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION KENYATTA UNIVERSITY JULY 2013 * DECLARATION This thesis is my original work and has not been presented for degree in any other university. Signature: ______________________________ Date: ________________________ BY NYANG’AU BENARD NYASIMI E55/CE/14078/2009 We confirm that this thesis was carried out by the candidate under our supervision as university supervisors. Signature------------------------------------------------------ Date-------------------------- Dr .Sophia. Ndethiu. Department of Educational Communication and Technology. Kenyatta University. Signature------------------------------------------------------ Date------------------------- Dr. John. Kimemia. Department of Educational Communication and Technology. Kenyatta University. * DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my loving wife Zipporah Nyasimi and our sons Philemon Siko and Enock Ongeri . * ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to acknowledge the support of those individuals who made it possible for a successful completion of this work. Special thanks go to my supervisors Dr. Sophia Ndethiu and Dr. John. Kimemia for the support, guidance...
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...young children acquire and develop language Young children become amazingly proficient communicators during the first three years of life. As the Birth to Three Matters framework points out, they use 'the hundred languages of children' - body language (including facial expressions and dance); sign language (their own and family inventions as well as an officially recognised sign language); painting, drawing and mark-making; and oral expression. They have been acutely active listeners since their days in the womb, where they learned to recognise the speech patterns, tunes and tones of the languages used in their home contexts. Language theory research informs us that young children's language development is influenced by many factors, including having sensitive adults and older children around them who will listen and attend to their expressions and who will use and model appropriate language themselves. This has been called 'Motherese' by researchers led by Cathy Snow. Children's babbling during their first year includes the sounds of every world language and 'crib talk' demonstrates their intense interest in the sounds they hear around them. Although children with a hearing loss will stop babbling, if they grow up in a home with parents who can sign, they will follow the same patterns of development using their first language - signing - and will sign their first word at around the same age that hearing children speak theirs. Between two and three years of age most children...
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...Reading and Second Language Learners Research Report May 1999 This report prepared by Magda Costantino, Ph.D. The Evergreen Center for Education Improvement The Evergreen State College Olympia, Washington 98505 With assistance from: Joe St. Charles Susan Tepper Edlamae Baird Acknowledgment to Gary Burris and Lynne Adair For their invaluable assistance with the project This material is available in alternative format by request. Contact Bilingual Education at 360-753-2573, TDD 360-664-3631. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction complies with all federal and state rules and regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or marital status. Table of Contents (click on page number for access) Introduction......................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 3 Chapter One Language Acquisition and the Language Learner .......................................................... 7 Section One: How Does First Language Develop? .................................................... 7 Section Two: How Does Second Language Develop? ............................................... 9 Foundational Theories ...............................................................................................
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...paragraph, after the text. A text followed by seven multiple-choice questions. A text or several short texts preceded by 15 multiple-matching questions. One compulsory question. Candidates are expected to be able to write non-specialised text types such as an article, a contribution to a longer piece, an essay, information sheets, a letter, a proposal, a report, a review, or a competition entry, with a focus on advising, comparing, evaluating, expressing opinions, hypothesising, justifying and persuading. Candidates are expected to demonstrate the ability to apply their knowledge of the language system by completing a number of tasks. Test focus Candidates are expected to show understanding of attitude, detail, implication, main idea, opinion, purpose, specific information, text organisation features, tone and text structure. 1 READING 1 hour 15 minutes Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 1 2 WRITING 1 hour 30 minutes Part 2 Candidates choose one task from a choice of five questions (including the set text options). Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 A modified cloze test containing 12 gaps and followed by 12 multiple-choice items. A modified open cloze test containing 15 gaps. A text containing 10 gaps. Each gap corresponds to a word. The stems of the missing words are given beside the text and must be changed to form the missing word. Five questions, each one containing three discrete sentences. Each sentence contains one gap, which must be completed with one word which is appropriate...
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...linguistics lɪŋgwɪstɪks/ noun 1. 1. the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics. Specific branches of linguistics include sociolinguistics, dialectology, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, comparative linguistics, and structural linguistics. Discourse[edit] A discourse is a way of speaking that emerges within a certain social setting and is based on a certain subject matter. A particular discourse becomes a language variety when it is used in this way for a particular purpose, and is referred to as a register.[25] There may be certain lexical additions (new words) that are brought into play because of the expertise of the community of people within a certain domain of specialisation. Registers and discourses therefore differentiate themselves through the use of vocabulary, and at times through the use of style too. People in the medical fraternity, for example, may use some medical terminology in their communication that is specialised to the field of medicine. This is often referred to as being part of the "medical discourse", and so on. Dialect[edit] A dialect is a variety of language that is characteristic of a particular group among the language speakers.[26] The group of people who are the speakers of a dialect are usually bound to each other by social identity. This is what differentiates a dialect from a register or adiscourse, where in the latter case, cultural identity does not always...
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...Abstract Over the past eighty years or so, some education theorists have repudiated the notion that it is the teacher's role to act as an authority in the classroom, transmitting knowledge to students "who do not know." In English as a second or foreign language education, a notion of the teacher as "facilitator" is considered to be more compatible with students' felt needs and autonomy. This paper argues that there are epistemological flaws in prominent rejections of transmission theories of learning. Drawing on British philosopher Michael Oakeshott's distinction between technical and practical knowledge, it argues for a modified understanding of the English teacher both as an authority capable of transmitting these types of knowledge in language, and as a facilitator of cooperative language learning. Introduction In the teaching of English as a second or foreign language today, the old pedagogical ideal of the teacher as an authority transmitting knowledge to students "who do not know" is in disrepute. The ideal now is for a more democratic, student-centered approach, in which the teacher facilitates communicative educational activities with students. This model reflects in part the influence of communication-based theories of language acquisition. But it also reflects, in large part, the influence of different pragmatist and progressive education theorists ranging from John Dewey (1916) to Malcolm Knowles (1970). Such an approach stresses the importance of learner autonomy and...
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...CHAPTER I CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 The problem and its importance Education is the means of learning and for which the society can develop and sustain the people that live in it. In schools and high schools, students must read for any subject, so the reading must be a skill with which they can study properly. However, lately, the students are having reading problems what affects them in the grades and scores. The root of the problem is that the students do not like to read or because they do not feel motivated by their teachers. Many times, the teachers do not use the proper techniques of reading. Also, the students have problems by reading in their own language. This occurs because they really do not like the type of literature used in the high school. On the other hand, learners must read in English, this is another problem because the students find English difficult because English has a different structure from Spanish. In this work, different theories will be cited in order to analyze the problem and what techniques can be useful for improving when reading. Some of those techniques that can help to improve reading in English in the classroom are scanning, skimming, previewing, predicting among others, which will be explained later. Another point is that the students do not read for lack of help of their parents at home. This thesis will encourage the connection of the three elements, teacher-student-parents. The idea is that parents and teachers help the student to read...
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...another. Technology is defined as “the practical application of science to commerce or industry”. Technological development into present day has been meteoric to say the least. With the advancements of nearly every aspect of human life having some tie with technology, one might start to see a synergistic relationship between humans and technology. However, while some would believe this relationship has been beneficial for us, we believe there have been detrimental effects from our growing dependence on technology. 1 Introduction No one can argue against the fact that the human race has made enormous bounds in advancements in the last century. From developments in technology which affect society, how we communicate, the field of medicine and education. Technology has not left any aspects of our lives untouched. There will be no shortage of people who would argue that the technological advancements of the 21st century have been beneficial to society. While beneficial, we believe that, as a society, we must realise the magnitude of our dependence on technology and the ramifications if it were to be taken away from us. This paper argues that humans have formed a detrimental symbiotic relationship with technology in its many forms. This paper will investigate the changes that technology has affected, and show that we are becoming less dependent on ourselves and more detrimentally dependent on our technological accomplishments. 2 Commerce and Reliability The way society does business and...
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...This page intentionally left blank The Study of Language This best-selling textbook provides an engaging and user-friendly introduction to the study of language. Assuming no prior knowledge of the subject, Yule presents information in short, bite-sized sections, introducing the major concepts in language study – from how children learn language to why men and women speak differently, through all the key elements of language. This fourth edition has been revised and updated with twenty new sections, covering new accounts of language origins, the key properties of language, text messaging, kinship terms and more than twenty new word etymologies. To increase student engagement with the text, Yule has also included more than fifty new tasks, including thirty involving data analysis, enabling students to apply what they have learned. The online study guide offers students further resources when working on the tasks, while encouraging lively and proactive learning. This is the most fundamental and easy-to-use introduction to the study of language. George Yule has taught Linguistics at the Universities of Edinburgh, Hawai’i, Louisiana State and Minnesota. He is the author of a number of books, including Discourse Analysis (with Gillian Brown, 1983) and Pragmatics (1996). “A genuinely introductory linguistics text, well suited for undergraduates who have little prior experience thinking descriptively about language. Yule’s crisp and thought-provoking presentation of key issues works...
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