The Appropriacy of a Foreign Language - Assignment Example

FOREIGN LANGUAGE (APPROPRIACY) Affiliation The aim of this paper is to elaborate the importance and features of appropriacy of foreign language. It is very difficult for new learners to understand and use proper words of a foreign language because of lack of proper knowledge and understanding. In this paper features and importance of correct usage of words and grammar has been described for the better understanding of appropriacy in foreign language. A foreign language is the language of another country; language which is originated and used in another country. It can also be described as a language not used in the indigenous country of the person referred to, i.e. a Chinese speaker living in England can say that he belongs to China so English is a foreign language to him. It is very difficult for learners of a foreign language to comprehend and correctly use all the features of appropriacy. Youngsters can learn new language easily as compared to old ones because youngsters possess the ability to absorb or accept new things easily while older people are little bit rigid and do not learn new things quickly (Liao, 2013). Appropriacy is the state of precise and delicate suitability of an expression or word to its context, regardless if it is chosen from synonyms (Archer, 2008). Appropriacy is very important for any language because it shows how competent a person is in using correct words when speaking or writing a foreign language. Proper understanding and correct usage of words and grammar is necessary to ensure appropriacy of any language. Sometimes native people cannot speak their own language appropriately due to poor understanding of correct usage of words. Furthermore, human needs many approaches and methods to learn a new foreign language, and these methods and approaches are changing with the passage of time (Shimura, & Ralph, 2009). We can easily examine that historically people were more conscious about the structure of language. By learning foreign language we can easily communicate with people of that particular country. In recent time people speak different languages across the globe and every language has its own words and grammatical usage, approach, and importance. In order to speak any language fluently, we need a deep understanding of grammar because it is very important for speaking or writing effectively, by proper understanding of grammar we can use accurate language. Proper usage of words creates proper speech and a good speech shows how the speaker is competent and charming. Additionally, people cannot use accurate words or language all the time because human make mistakes. So, we can understand that we make many mistakes when speaking or writing any foreign language (Liao, 2013). We can reduce our errors or mistakes by getting knowledge about foreign language structure and words. But unfortunately everyone cannot get proper knowledge about the grammar and language structure due to many hindrances like; lack of time, inability to understand etc. but they can try to improve on this area. Without knowing appropriate words, grammar and language structure a person can still communicate with others and can convey his/her ideas to others by using appropriate words. Appropriacy helps people to speak foreign language and deliver the ideas and views. Recently, some theories have been developed which explains that meaning of words and sentences vary situation to situation, means words and sentences are not isolated entities, they are dependent on situation and correct usage of words and sentences means speaking with appropriacy. Field Theory is one such theory which explains the vocabulary of a language as semantic fields or interrelated networks (Liao, 2013). Interrelated words may belong to similar semantic fields for example flower, bud, blossom, bloom etc. To use the correct word from number of synonyms depends on the situation and the audience or listeners. Furthermore, accuracy and appropriacy both are very important for any language. The most important skills that a learner of foreign language needs are listening, speaking, reading, and writing, without these essential skills no one can learn any new language effectively (Shimura, & Ralph, 2009). Additionally, grammar is the foundation of any language so understanding of grammar is very useful for new learners. In order to learn any language a learner must have the knowledge of grammar. Sentences pattern and tenses explains how words in a selective combination make sentences. Knowledge of systematic grammar is necessary for new learners. For example a student wants to learn English but the mother tongue of a student is Sotho because he/she belongs to South Africa for him/her it is necessary to have knowledge of systematic English grammar. Knowledge and understanding of grammar helps students in speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Therefore students who want to learn English should understand the way how skills of English are used in structure of sentences. To make things simple, we can define appropriacy as suitable words of any language. Appropriacy helps students in speaking and writing. To communicate effectively it is important to use proper language, and proper language means usage of suitable words and grammar in sentences. The use of suitable words does not only help a speaker but it also helps the listener to understand things easily and quickly. There are many words in English language which should be used in a suitable manner. If we write or speak English then there are chances that the same word have many different meanings and the meanings depend on the structure of sentence and environment. It is also possible that two words have similar pronunciation but different spelling and meaning. So, in order to avoid discrepancies it is necessary for new learner of English language to understand appropriacy of words and sentence structure (Archer, 2008). For effective learning, appropriacy of phrases and words are necessary. Usage of words and sentences should be used in appropriate manner. When we write or speak words, it should be placed correctly in the sentence. If a person has ability to comprehend things easily then he/she can quickly learn appropriacy of words. Appropriacy depends on what a person says and how he/she says. Sometimes similar words have different meaning which totally depends on the situation, which is known as reciprocity condition (Solórzano, 2008). Therefore, reciprocity condition describes how features and situation affect the meaning of words. For example if we say “shut up” to our friend it means we don’t believe him/her and don’t want to listen to the nonsense, but if use the same word in a formal meeting then the other person might misinterpret our meaning and get angry so, we cannot say shut up to any stranger or someone who is not familiar to us. It has been indicated by many studies that cultural learning is the most efficient way to address appropriacy (Solórzano, 2008). The two major functions that are necessary for new learners to understand the features of appropriacy are culture and motivation. Because culture assists in contextualizing new language whereas motivation increases the interest to actively participate in learning session. Furthermore, culture creates context for utterance to be performed appropriately and naturally. Beliefs, values, practices, and norms are the components of culture that elaborates communication process of any language. Culture explains who the speaker is, what information he conveys, how he transmits messages, and how the audience or listeners perceive information and reacts. Hence, in order to decode any message successfully, it is recommended to pay attention to the culture, otherwise it would be very difficult to comprehend the meaning of the message. As different cultures have different languages it is necessary to teach culture in which the language operates simultaneously with the language. Furthermore, it is a fact that each language is affected by many cultural factors; therefore it is necessary to teach language and culture simultaneously. By doing this new learners can understand language in its natural context and be able to speak language in an appropriate manner. Along with contextualizing language, cultural learning helps teachers to motivate students in learning sessions (Johnson, & Poulter, 2015). Motivation increases the interest of learners and they actively participate in learning new language and culture. The more motivated learner is the more he/she can learn because motivated student take things positively and accept the differences in his/her language and the new language. Let’s take the example of cultural based lesson which consists of presentation, practice, and production. In presentation and practice stage student’s knowledge of appropriacy has been developed and increased, and in the production stage the student develop awareness of appropriacy by producing language in a natural context with great interest and motivation. Due to this, many linguistic researchers have agreed on the fact that in order to achieve high motivation cultural elements plays an important role, because majority of learners pays more attention towards culture based activities such as role playing, dancing, singing, or communication with the people of other countries. Cultural exercises provide opportunities to new learners to explore new language in real life situations which is easy to comprehend. Appropriacy of language can be understood easily with the help of culture based exercises as it provide unique ways to experience things and use different words according to the situation. With the passage of time students become more passionate to learn different languages and this passion helps teachers to explore new and interesting ways and culture based exercises to teach new languages to students (Shimura, & Ralph, 2009). Additionally, sometimes cultural difference creates hurdles for students to understand the appropriacy of words and sentence structure. To avoid any discrepancies it is important for teachers to use these cultural exercises which do not result in cultural differences (Johnson, & Poulter, 2015). Every culture is unique in its own was so as every language is unique and for better understanding of appropriacy it is extremely important to respect the difference and focus on learning. Nevertheless, tone also plays important role in speaking any language. Similar words represents different meaning due to tone, when speaking any new language in an appropriate manner one must pay proper attention to his/her tone (Johnson, & Poulter, 2015). Sometimes it becomes difficult for new learners to understand the usage of proper tone and due to wrong tone they misunderstand others. Different tone can be used to say similar sentence and each tone has its own impact. For example If you say someone to bring you a glass of water in a humble tone then it represents that you are requesting but if you say the same sentence in harsh tone, it represent that you are ordering someone. So it is clear from the above example that tone plays an important role and new learners should learn which tone is most appropriate in a certain situation. Along with tone pronunciation of words also creates difficulties for new learners. Wrong pronunciation creates negative impact on listeners and they lose attention in the message of the speaker. Therefore appropriacy plays a major role for speaker, appropriacy of any language shows how much efficient a speaker is in speaking any new language but no matter if the speaker knows grammar, sentence structure, and correct usage of words, but if his/her tone is not correct then it creates negative impact on his/her efficiency (Solórzano, 2008). So it is necessary for new learners to learn proper pronunciation of words. It is a time consuming task but by proper practise anyone can learn the correct pronunciation. For learning and speaking English language fluency is necessary because fluent speaker is considered as a good speaker, but to achieve that fluency one should practice a lot (Archer, 2008). A fluent speaker should know the meaning of words, grammar, and appropriacy. These three components are important to understand for new learners. Students can learn meaning of words and grammar from books but appropriacy cannot be learned just by reading. Cultural-based training is necessary to learn the appropriacy. Those who learn any new language by using different cultural based exercises can quickly learn appropriacy so it is necessary for learners to learn any new language by exploring the culture. Furthermore, appropriacy of language is a crucial part of effective communication. The ability to communicate effectively in English language depends on both appropriate language and linguistic competence. A culture elaborates different aspects of communication such as context, beliefs, and values in a natural environment. So by focusing on culture along with language, context learners can learn new language more easily. Reference List Archer, A. (2008). Cultural studies meet academic literacies: exploring students’ resources through symbolic objects. Teaching in Higher Education, 13(4), 383-394. Johnson, J., & Poulter, M. (2015). Teachers’ language competence: Issues of appropriation and appropriacy. Assessing Language Teachers Professional Skills and Knowledge, 42, 179. Liao, B. (2013). On Appropriacy of Thanking: Dynamic Compensation and Adaptation. English Language Teaching, 6(5), p71. Shimura, Y., & Ralph, B. (2009). Breaking the silence barrier; Language education and cultural appropriacy. In CamTESOL Conference on English Language Teaching: Selected Papers Volume 5, 2009 (p. 55). Solórzano, R. W. (2008). High stakes testing: Issues, implications, and remedies for English language learners. Review of Educational Research, 78(2), 260-329. Read More