Improvement of Teaching Processes - Coursework Example

This situation led to serious misunderstandings between the Chinese and caused a diplomatic dispute that led to the Opium Wars fought between Britain and China. Language is necessary for a person to integrate and have a meaningful life in a given society. Socialization comes about when a person internalizes the norms and values of a given society (Ellis & Fotos, 1999 p128). This can easily occur if a person speaks the language of the people in question. In order to effectively communicate, one has to be able to manipulate language.

The acquisition of language, whether the mother tongue, as a second or foreign language, is achieved through four basic skills which are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These four basic skills form the foundation of formal education in our own time. It is the basis of literacy and the study of languages as it is transmitted through educational institutions and systems. In the practical sense though, most educational institutions have arrangements that allow people who have previously studied a given language to go, live and interact with custodians of the language.

This forms the second level of the teaching of a second language. This study proposes to examine the acquisition of a foreign language in the Virgin Islands. The acquisition refers to the familiarization with a second language to understand and use meaningfully, the sounds, grammar, vocabulary, and culture of the custodians of the language (Alvarez-Sandoval, 2005 xiv). Therefore, it is critical that the “right” or appropriate approach is used by a given nation to transmit these skills to as many people as possible through the educational systems and institutions.

There are several methods employed in foreign language instruction. These include traditional classroom instructions, private learning, the use of automated tools like computers, and practical use and interaction with other speakers of the language.