Linguistics as Knowledge of Language - Assignment Example

Critical Assignment A. Knowledge of Language (Linguistics) According to Prof. Raja T. Nasr, “Language is an acquired habit of systematic vocal activity representing meaning coming from human experiences”. Thus, the definition of Nasr also suggests that the language is basically oral and these suggest a certain meaning from real life scenario. Furthermore, it also suggests that the language is necessary for social function (Nasr, n.d.). There are five parts of language generally presented in each and every language. These include the phonology, semantics, pragmatics and syntax. Phonology is related to the sounds in a language. Phoneme is considered as the basic unit of sound and phonology is the science of sound. Semantics denote the meaning of a language. In this regard, morpheme is the basic unit of sound to carry meaning. Another major components, which is pragmatics is the study of the use of language. Furthermore, it also deals with the intention behind the utterance. Again, the syntax is another component, which deals with the study of the organization of a language. The intention behind this is to create grammatically correct sentences (Evans, 2009). The implications of these parts or components are to produce a meaningful vocal activity that would lead to the understanding of the expression by the other person. The use of proper components leads to a meaningful communication and would lead to the effective sharing of thoughts and feelings (Byram, 1994). Moreover, it is also essential to considered that language depends significantly upon the situation in which it is used. If the situation is serious and involves the people who are unknown, then it is very likely to use the formal language. On the other hand, if the situation is casual and the people involved are known, then the use of informal language is often expected. It is also observed that people use more formal language while writing and informal language during speaking. Furthermore, language also depends upon the context in which the language is being used. In this regard, it is also been observed that words in different context have different meanings. In addition, it is also to be noted that language is used to understand and access to different cultures in the world. Also, due to the presence of diverse culture, the languages used by people of different culture also vary significantly. Furthermore, with the difference in age of people the language speaks by people tends to differ. It has been observed that the language that a child speaks is different from the language of an adult person. The differences are prominently observed in the type of words or tones or others factors that are being used. It is also being noted that languages significantly differ on the basis of the gender. Notably, in some languages there is a significant difference between the two genders, this is especially observed in the use of particular words. There are some words that are exclusively used by the male people in the community, while some are exclusively used by the females (Byram, 1994). B. Human Development and Learning The age group that is being selected for the study is the students from grade 7 to 9. This group of students is generally of the biological age of 13 to 16. This group of children needs a friendly environment in the learning classes and also a friendly instructor. Moreover, this age group of people has the common traits of learning and exploring new ideas and thoughts. In this particular age, people are very keen towards learning new things and their ability to construct knowledge is also high However, there are also certain limitations for this group of children. Children at this age are more enthusiastic and often engage in doing things that fascinate them more. Thus, it is very difficult to forcefully make them learn the new language (Littlewood, 1994). Learning English for the students of grade 7 to 9 is not an easy task. There is a requirement of understanding the various components of the new language. In this context, the students need to consider the phonology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics in learning the language. Besides, these students also need to consider the situation, context, age, culture and gender and many more in the learning process. Moreover, it is to be noted that the learning of the new languages would lead to the personal development of the students. Besides, it would also lead the students to communicate with the native speakers of English (Littlewood, 1994). C. Adaptations for Individual Needs There are certain individual needs for each and every people on this earth. For the students of grade 7 to 9, this is more prominently observed to be self-development and communicating with different groups of people. However, the students at this age are unaware of the several languages of the world and hence, could not connect with different people. This simultaneously hinders their personal development. However, the learning of the second language through adequate guidelines would lead to the self-development of this group of students. It would also lead the students to connect with different people across the nation borders and simultaneously would also contribute towards enhancing their academic performance. Therefore, for the students to learn new languages like English, it is desirable to have a good instructor for the same. Moreover, the students also require the proper language learning curriculum. Besides, motivation and active participation of students is also an essential factor. Furthermore, the instructor needs to communicate with the students in the new language during the session hours. This is essential because listening to a new language is decisive in learning the same (Littlewood, 1994). D. Instruction Planning The prime objective behind learning session of the new language is to make the students able to effectively communicate with other in English. This comprises of the understanding of both the written and oral words. Also, it involves effective delivery of the language in the written and oral form so that the other people understand the contents of the delivered language (Virginia Department of Education, 2012). In this regard, of learning English by the students, there is a certain standard of learning program that is required to be followed. As per the standards set by the Virginia Department of Education, there are certain standards for learning of new language for particular grades of students. For the students from 7 to 9 grades, the students are required to be capable of giving presentation with a group or individually through the use of English language. The standard also includes the students to able to appear in interviews in English to the instructors of the class. Furthermore, to develop the reading ability of the students a minimum standard has been set which requires students to read and analyze fictional texts, poetry, and others. Furthermore, the students are also required to be capable of writing in correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and many more (Virginia Department of Education, 2012). In order to develop these standards as set by the Virginia Department of Education and also that would mitigate the requirement of the individual needs, development of effective planning is essential. This planning is required to be implemented by the instructors of the learning session. In order to develop the reading skill, the students are required to read new prose and poetry in English. The regular reading in the class would improve the speaking power of the students. This would also lead to the development of confidence of the students in learning English. It is also essential that the students are provided with different reading materials such as, stories, poetry and many more. This would facilitate the students to learn different words and hence, can improve the vocabulary of the students. Besides, the reading the text, the students are also required to analyze the reading of their peers. The analyzing of the texts would also let the student to understand the meaning of the context and hence, would be able to interpret the same. Moreover, reading of texts from a book is of no use, if the reader is unable to understand the meaning from the text (Virginia Department of Education, 2012). Planning for increasing the proficiency level of the students in English also comprises of developing the writing skill. The students are required to understand the English grammar through following the grammar books. It is also essential that the instructors provide a proper guide to the students in the understanding grammar. The instructors are required to explain the different aspects of grammar of the language. Moreover, the instructor also needs to provide practice task for the improvement of grammar of the students. The students are also required to be guided with the adequate structuring of the sentences with proper punctuations and also with the correct spelling and appropriate use of words. This can be done by the practice task instructed by the teacher in the class as well as home task. The legibility is also important in developing the writing skill of the students. If the words are well written adhering to grammar along with appropriate use of punctuation, spelling and many more, but the words are not legible then the whole process is of little importance. Thus, it is important to develop a good and legible handwriting. This is again can be improved by the repeated practice with the handwriting papers (Virginia Department of Education, 2012). Planning is also required to be made in overall communication development of the students. This comprises of the conducting of interview session with students in English. This would facilitate the students to be more proficient in speaking the language. Moreover, group or individual presentations before the class would also promote the communication skill of the students (Virginia Department of Education, 2012). Through adequately adhering to these steps, the students would be able to suffice their individual needs of attaining proficiency in English. The students would be more effective in communicating n English. Furthermore, through the learning of English it would also facilitate towards the development of the students ability to interact with other in efficient manner. Hence, it would lead to the personal development of the students (Virginia Department of Education, 2012). E. Assessment of Learning In order to determine the effectiveness of these plans in developing the English learning of the students, there is a requirement of the periodic evaluation of the students. The tests can be conducted in the form of reading test. It should also include the writing tests, in which the maximum priority should be given to appropriate use of grammar, punctuation, spellings, vocabulary, legible writing and many more. In addition, there should be inclusion of grading system during the interview sessions as well as in the presentation sessions (Macaro, 1997). References Byram, M. (1994). Teaching-and-learning Language-and-culture. The United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters. Evans, M. (2009). Foreign language learning with digital technology. London: A&C Black. Littlewood, W. (1994). Foreign and second language learning: language acquisition research and its implications for the classroom. The United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Macaro, E. (1997). Target language, collaborative learning and autonomy. The United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters. Nasr, R. T. (n.d.). Language: an introduction. The Teaching of English to Arab Students: 1-138. Virginia Department of Education. (2012). Standards of learning documents for english – adopted 2010. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/english/ Read More