Interlanguage and teaching the language system - Coursework Example

3. Vocabulary acquisition in the foreign language is not as fluent or as quick as the native language. There are two primary reasons that can be identified as responsible for this phenomenon. First, the self consciousness of the foreign language learner, which makes him or her anxious about appearing foolish while speaking the second language and thereby restricts rapid learning, Second is the differences in grammatical structures between the two languages, which would make it slower for the foreign language learner to pick up vocabulary in the foreign language.

Moreover, the differences in meaning of words in different socio cultural contexts and the need to express meaning correctly may slow down the process of vocabulary acquisition. 4. Pragmatics refers to the social interactions that take place in every language, where words are attributed a meaning that is comprised of not merely the grammatical meaning of a word but also the social context o its expression. 5. I visited a friend in Saudi Arabia and expressed admiration for his car. I intended this as a compliment in accordance with English language culture, but as per the Saudi culture, the expression of admiration meant a desire to own the object.

As a result, my friend forced me to take his car. 6. Pronunciation depends on auditory discrimination which comes naturally when learning the first language; because of constant exposure to the language in the surrounding environment. Pronunciation patterns in the native language are the most deeply set and this would influence the kind of pronunciation of the second language learner. Native patterns would have a stronger impact because exposure to the second language pronunciation is also limited to classes.

Hence, the two most important factors influencing pronunciation would be (a) native language and (b) time available for learning second language. 7. In my view, it is more important for second language learners to strive for intelligibility. Native level pronunciation is likely to take an enormous amount of time, especially as they are bereft of the high level of immersion and the childhood readiness and receptivity to their native language. Although it is beneficial for second language learners to strive for the fluency of native speakers, their communication would be hindered if they focused too much upon this objective, because they would become excessively conscious of errors and this would impede their learning. 8. The correction of pronunciation depends very much upon the context within which such correction occurs.

When it is done in a derogatory manner or when carried out in front of other people, it feels humiliating and makes a learner even more hesitant about the learning. When correction of pronunciation is done in a friendly spirit, where it is deemed natural to make mistakes, the learner is more likely to respond positively – hence positive rather than negative criticism is vital. Activity 5: The book titled “Cambridge grammar of English” teaches grammar in the traditional way that has been used, i.

e, through offering explanations of the rules of grammar. The objective fo the book is the same as that of any foreign language learning course, i.e, to provide for the ultimate end objective for a learner to learn conversation in the language. There is also a CD provided with the book, to enable learners to listen to the sound of the language. The book however works on the principle of providing the general