...Learning a foreign language can be a daunting challenge, but can also be one of the most rewarding experiences in one’s life. The journey to fluency is a long and difficult path, in part because foreign language learning is not a single skill. It is the intensive coordination of multiple skill sets. These include memory, cognitive problem solving, internalizing grammar, speech fluidity, listening comprehension, and vocabulary. To the foreign language learner the process is slow and growth is almost imperceptible. However, through exposure to comprehensible input a language learner can improve (Krashen, 1985). The input hypothesis (IH) “assumes that we acquire language by understanding messages” (Krashen 1985). This hypothesis states that language learners only grow when exposed to language that is just out of their level of comfort, but can be understood (Krashen 1985, 1995). The language learner level is “l” and the level needed for growth is “i+l”. This pushes students to broaden their understanding and acquire more language knowledge. The type of input can be any type of language material as long as it is at...
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...cultural interaction. To be interacted in other country, people should learn one language different from their native language at least. Since learning a second language contributes to their knowledge and extends their horizons. By this way, people have more tendencies to be able to learn a foreign language. People try to learn the language which they choose at different places such as school, language courses or in foreign countries. And, people can try to learn any foreign language whenever they want. However, children have more chance to be able to learn a foreign language than adults. As a result of this, foreign language should be taught in kindergarten. The first reason why foreign language should be taught in kindergarten is that children learn foreign language easier when they are young ages. The brains of children are fresher in young ages. A mechanism which is called language acquisition device is very important in learning a language and language acquisition device is most active in childhood. After a certain age , it not very easy to activate this device. This device should be exploited as much as possible when it is still available. Gomez and Gerken support this idea that children acquire a language at mysterious speed. They owe this success in language acquisition to language acquisition device which is a ’domain general’, ’associate mechanism’.( Gomez & Gerken,2000, para.1)Thus, language teaching should start as early as possible. Moreover, children tend to learn new...
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...the different views on the state of foreign language learning in Britain presented in the text Overall, there can be a lot of different views on the importance of learning a foreign language while growing up in an English speaking country. While some find it a very necessary and important thing to learn, to fit into today’s globalised world, others think that speaking English is enough. For example, text 1, 2 and 3 are all articles discussing whether learning of foreign language is important or not, but they doesn’t agree with each other’s conclusions. On the one hand text 1 claims that refusing to learn foreign languages is like refusing to evolve in phase with the rest of the world. He finds it a very important skill and argues that the reluctance to learn foreign languages in Britain will at last cause the end of any political and economic wellbeing in the future. On the other hand article 2 claims that even though it agrees with the fact that speaking a foreign language fluently is an advantage for anyone, it doesn’t influence British economy in such an extremely way as described in text 1. In addition, text 3 totally differs from the other articles in its way of seeing the discussion. While the other articles take stands on whether learning foreign languages in Britain is important or not, text 3 claims that the discussion is far more nuanced than that. She argues that in Britain there is not a very big incentive to learn EU languages, because it doesn't give you any assets...
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...NSs from learning foreign languages? Does the spread of English prevent its NSs from learning foreign languages? Table of Contents Page number introduction: 3 Argument With: 4 Argument Against: 5 Responding To The Counter-Argument 6 Conclusion: 7 List Of References: 9 INTRODUCTION: At a time when the number of users of English language increases in all parts of the world to nearly two billion people, while only a number of talking about it as their mother tongue on the about five this total number or less, while more jobs and uses English language by speakers of their native language or foreign language alike, regardless of the nationality of the Spokesman (or writer), started a number of results in emerging clearly. Some of these results to the need not only to knowledge of the facts and in English on pace of changes. Some of them relate to, inter alia, the standards and criteria for English-language education, and the goals and criteria evaluation of success in learning and education. Some people say that because of the worldwide spread of the English language, the native speakers of English do not need to learn any other languages because they can use English everywhere. For this reason, some people say that the native speakers of English lose any other languages they might have learned because they do not practice it. We now will show if the the spread of English prevent its native speakers from learning foreign languages. ARGUMENT...
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...Introduction In the last two decades learning strategies has grown more and more, especially learning vocabulary. One of the most important elements of language is vocabulary; there has been a considerable interest in vocabulary studies. By learning vocabulary foreign learners can improve their knowledge and proficiency in second language. Over the last years so many researchers, for example (Folse, 2006; Huang, 2007; Min, 2008; Shen, 2010; Vidal, 2011; Mohebbi, 2013; Charkova, 2014), tried to discuss the different sides and the role of vocabulary learning, that is why so many useful strategies have been indicated in their findings. As we know vocabulary always plays a great role in learning English as a foreign language, especially for the students in universities, because it is a suitable time for them to improve their English skillfulness. The trend of linguistic theory play great role in the improvement of language education. Vocabulary acquisition was neglected...
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...Since parents and their involvement and attitude have a crucial role in children’s achievement in English learning, the present study is to explore and evaluate the impact of Iranian parents’ involvement in and attitude toward their children’s foreign language programs for learning English. In other words, the effectiveness of their high level of involvement and strength of attitude will be evaluated. Besides, this study is to explore whether some factors as parents’ gender, knowledge of English, income, and educational background are related in the parents’ involvement and attitude or not. To this end, first a reliable questionnaire, checked through a pilot study, was distributed among 140 parents to get the level of their involvement in...
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...subject from class 1 and continues with the same status up to class 12. When HSC level is considered, English is taught here as a compulsory subject consisting of two papers each carrying one hundred marks To face the challenges of new century, the English textbook of class XI-XII has been rationally evaluated by foreign consultants and local experts. The evaluated and modified textbook was designed for introducing communicative techniques and for providing adequate practice in language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. But necessity of grammar can not be avoided in the context of Bangladesh. The purpose for designing H.S.C. syllabus is to make the learner competent in communication in the target language and which is similar to CLTA method in language teaching and learning. In CLTA usually a notional-functional syllabus is followed. In this type of syllabus, instruction is organized not in terms of grammatical structure, but in terms of ‘notions’ and ‘functions’. But grammar is also included by the experts. It is expected that the revised textbook will meet the real needs of the students and teachers and eventually results in more effective teaching and learning of English. In this study, HSC...
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...This report provides a complete picture of foreign languages in foreign countries of the European Union, combining statistical data and qualitative information describing the language skills of Europeans, the foreign languages known, first foreign language, second foreign language, other foreign languages, perception of foreign languages, opinions of parents, learning foreign languages and benefits. In addition, the report contains several charts useful to identify the correct language information. This information has been obtained from various sources, including Eurostat, the European survey on language skills (European Survey on Language Competences - ESLC). This survey was attended by 16,000 people across the European Union, which have been asked questions about their language skills and their position in relation to of foreign language learning. The results are summarized here briefly. Foreign languages known Language knowledge of Europeans Mother tongue This section shows the mother tongues of the respondents. In most countries where there is a single national language, it is the mother tongue of 94% -97% of respondents. The exceptions are Greece (98.7%), Italy (99.2%), and Portugal (100%). In Luxembourg, the Luxembourg is a foreign language for 19.5% of respondents; in the Netherlands, Dutch is a foreign language for 5.1%; in Sweden, Swedish is a foreign language for 4.8%; In Austria, German is a foreign language for 3.7% of respondents. Graphs The countries with the...
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...A 1. Give an outline of the different views on the state of foreign language learning in Britain presented in the texts The three texts represent different attitudes toward the state of foreign language learning in Britain. In the first text, “why do we continue to isolate ourselves by only speaking English?” Will Hutton clarity how he think it´s important for the individual person and the English people to learn more than the language, which are their native language. He talk about how it´s important to speak a foreign language, especially to save the Britain´s future economic. By comparing England and America where he see same “xenophobia” culture, he indicate why American can have their attitude to foreign language while they can´t, like it´s saying in the text. In addition will Hutton see this as a lost interest in other countries from the youth, he discuss how that fact establish this unwillingness. The second text by David Hughes “Do we really need foreign language skills to flourish?” David Hughes thinks that the fluency in foreign language is a benefit for anyone, but he doesn´t see the importance in that, when the rest of the world is learning English. When David Hughes went to the Far East, he heard English spoken everywhere, and as he wrote it in the text. The third text by Susan Purcell “Saying Britons ´don’t do´ languages is a fallacy” explain why the discussion about the English language skills is far more nuances. Susan Purcell is comparing the text to...
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...English Language Testing: Review and Prospective —— Analysis of Six Major Journals of Linguistics from 2003-2013 Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………….....1 1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………….......2 2 The Scope of Information Retrieval ...…………………………………….....3 3 Current Situations of Washback Research………………………….……….3 3.1 Research Amount……………………………………………………….....4 3.2 Research Methods………………………………………………………....4 3.3 Research Content……………………………………………………….....5 3.3.1 CET 4& 6………………………………………………………………5 3.3.2 TEM 4&8………………………………………………………………6 3.3.3 NMET…………………………………………………………...…..…6 3.3.4 Language Testing and Washback Resear….………………………...…..…6 3.3.5 Others…………………………………………………………...….…..7 4 Problems of Current Research on Wachback………………..……………….7 4.1 Quantity ………………………………………………………………….....7 4.2 Content …………………………………………………………………......7 4.3 Objects ………………………………………………………..…...……......8 5 Suggestions and Prospective for Future Research on Washback…..…….......8 5.1 Research Objects…………………………………………………………….8 5.2 Research Methods……………………………………………………….......8 5.3 Research Content……………………………………………………………9 6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………9 References……………………………………………..………………………....10 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………..….11 Abstract: Research on washback of language testing...
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...Arpan Sharma, a ten-year-old boy in England, speaks eleven languages. According to Birmingham Mail, Arpan has reached the national final of the Junior Language Challenge from among 2,600 students for the first round of the competition. Arpan speaks Hindi and English at home, and he has learned nine other languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, French, German, and Italian from the age of seven. Arpan said that he was very interested in learning languages, and he was good at quickly catching on to new things (Collins 1-2). As the world has become globalize, speaking other languages is one of the most important factors for success these days. Many parents encourage their children to learn foreign languages as soon as they can because they believe that people can learn languages faster and more effectively when they are young. According to statistics in Korea, Korean parents spend about 10 billion dollars a year on their children to learn English (Kim 1). Many children go to private English kindergartens and go to English-speaking countries to learn a foreign language effectively. However, in spite of parents’ consistent effort and support, some kids show side effects such as depression, abusiveness, and insomnia when parents have them learn a foreign language. Shin reported in MBC news of Korea about an eleven-year-old Korean boy. Since his parents had him go to an international school, he started showing all kinds of symptoms of a mental disorder. For instance, he refused to...
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...countries can open up many abroad opportunities, and students will be able to communicate with millions of people who speak Spanish. Students will also have a better understanding of different Spanish speaking cultures. Many people do not see the enormous opportunities that learning Spanish has. Studying Spanish will help students gain an overall better knowledge of the Spanish language. Spanish speakers are a fast growing population, especially in the United States because the U.S is where the majority of Spanish speakers migrate to. The Spanish language is spoken everywhere in the United States. Young children can now learn basic phrases and can count to ten thanks to educational television such as Dora the Explorer. Understanding and speaking Spanish is extremely valuable when it comes to employment opportunities. Many corporations are giving preference to bi-lingual candidates. These potential employees become more desirable, especially in a rough job market and in a down economy. Today, most companies and corporations buy, sell, or trade their wares to global markets. Sales positions can open up a whole new market for Spanish speaking employees. In paraphrasing the article, “Spanish Language Interpreter Jobs” written by Sarah Rogers 2010, one can conclude that there are many different kinds of jobs where Spanish interpreters are needed. Rogers states that, In the United States,...
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...Hugvísindasvið Second Language Acquisition The Effect of Age and Motivation Ritgerð til BA prófs Einar Garibaldi Stefánsson Maí 2013 Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Enska Second Language Acquisition The Effect of Age and Motivation Ritgerð til BA prófs í ensku Einar Garibaldi Stefánsson Kt.: 030382-4209 Leiðbeinandi: Ásrún Jóhannsdóttir Maí 2013 Abstract This paper looks into the competence of second language acquisition by investigating how second language is acquired. Furthermore it explores the age factor in learning another language other than mother tongue and also attempts to answer if there is enough current evidence that can demonstrate clearly that starting young makes any real difference in achieving better language competence. Moreover, research such as on motivation in relation to the learning environment along with language exposure and attitudes will be discussed and data analysed to find out if it plays any significant role in aiding learners to achieve successful second language competence. It has been a common belief that starting young to learn a second language makes a significant difference in language learning. However, results indicate that this is not entirely true in all cases since there are further factors that affect successful second language acquisition achievement such as language exposure and motivation. Consequently, if there is not enough language exposure, this might prevent the learners from succeeding in learning the language. Clearly, those...
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...The Role of Translators-Interpreters in Contemporary Society in the US and in Europe: Luxury or Necessity? Dr. Eduardo González University of Nebraska at Kearney Judging by appearances, the US has everything it needs in terms of meeting present-day requirements for language services in all spheres of modern life. There are immigrants from everywhere, millions of bilingual or polyglot people, excellent universities and colleges and so forth. However, the results as to having qualified translators and interpreters fall quite far from the possibilities. This work will attempt to give a general view of the problem and a brief analysis of possible solutions. The Past First England, then the US, have been for at least the last three centuries the most powerful countries in the world. England had a very early Industrial Revolution and its development of machines and ships led to its vast overseas empire. Even during the centuries when Spain was the most powerful nation and its ships traveled the entire world, its war crafts and equipments could not match the British fleet and armies. For a while there was France, with its beautiful Revolution for liberty, equality and fraternity, spreading the power of the bourgeoisie all over Europe. Then arose Napoleon, the Revolution’s emperor, trying to conquer new lands and colonies for France. In the long run, he was no match for the British power either. His ships were blockaded and destroyed at sea and his weary armies were finally crushed at...
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...Name:Sally Date:18/10 Class Name:Vermont International Education and Foreign Languages as crucial elements of education Have you noticed that foreign languages can be seen and heard here and there ?Indeed, currently, a number of people are learning a foreign language to not only improve themselves but also attempt to acclimatize themselves to a new environment. Thus, learning foreign languages and absorbing international education is of vital importance. English has always been children’s friend.For me, when I was a baby,my parents and other relatives taught me some simple words, such as apple, banana, mother, pen, and so on. They said the word and I found out which picture could replace the word. Day by day, I welcomed English and it became my sweetheart. Actually, besides me, plenty of children had a meaningful childhood with the accompaniment of English, which has something to do with schools’ measures. In China, there must be foreign language courses at school. Nowadays, more and more bilingual schools which set two different language courses have been set up. Moreover, there even have been at least 3 universities that provide international education and in which all the courses are shown in English. Anyway, schools play an essential part in propagating international education and foreign languages. At the same time, a great mass of graduated students choose to go abroad for further study, because of the significant influence of some united international...
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