Language Changes in Teaching Adult Literacy - Coursework Example

Language Changes in Teaching Adult Literacy: The Vocabulary of the Technological Age How important is cross-cultural knowledge in the area of adult literacy, and can the English language be properly taught as a second language without knowing the cultural aspects of a student’s background? It used to be considered a simple matter to teach English as a second language. The culture of the individual learning English was not considered, only grammatical issues. But words have different meanings in different cultures, simply because of the way a word is used and what it means to the listener. The phrase “it loses something in translation” is only too true. With the shift to understanding the importance of culture in teaching English as a second language, teachers are faced with new challenges when teaching adults. Language is complex, far more than just making language and grammar choices. For instance, try translating the phrase “Linguists have been interested in several aspects of language variations” into Spanish, and then translating the Spanish back to English: Los lingüistas han estado interesados en varios aspectos de la variación de la lengua. The translation reads: “The linguists have been interested in various aspects of the variation of the tongue.” That might be quite true because the tongue has a great deal to do with forming words, but it isn’t the phrase that was originally translated. Translation is one of many specific factors that influence language change. What else must be taken into consideration in an analysis of change? An effort will be made to investigate factors such as cultural variation, social networking, ethnicity, communication in a family-unit and technological advances, as they relate to teaching and learning a different language. The Meaning of Cultural Variation in Language Changes Looking back at the history of the English language over the past hundred years, pronounciation, spelling and meaning have changed very little, but the number of words has greatly increased because of the industrial revolution and the advent of a technological society. Also, military history, with wars throughout the 1900s, made military language very much a part of the century (Wilton, 2005). In Great Britain, the variances of language, i.e. accent, dialect, variety and register, are especially evident in different sections of England. American English has its own regional dialects, as well as different spelling, pronounciation and meaning for many English words. In Australia, both accent and dialect, as well as several words unique to the continent, make the English language distinctive there. For people from Asian countries, a whole new concept of teaching English has been necessary. For these cultures, English must be taught as a tool for communication rather than using a traditional grammar-translation method. In cases where students have been allowed to listen without threat of evaluation it has been found to improve their ability to learn English, but this is only a beginning, and many more areas will have to be explored for ESL in Asian languages (Ranard & Pfleger, 1993). Interaction between student and teacher, with the teacher focusing on meaning more than grammar, changes the way the teacher of adult literacy approaches an assignment. In Japan, language and culture are so intertwined, it is necessary for the teacher of English to approach the task by determining the student’s place in society before any attempt is made to begin instruction. Not only are there different Japanese words for different levels, there are different methods of communicating for insiders and outsiders, those considered members of a family unit, at home or at work, and those outside the unit, for instance those working for one corporation communicating with someone from another corporation. Once an instructor has taken on the task of teaching a second language, he or she should know how language and culture are intertwined. The Influence of the Social Revolution on Social Networking In the 21st century, language must be viewed as world communication rather than regional communication. The English language, considered the dominant language for many years, is not always spoken in other countries. The 20th century has been an age of instant communication, where in developed countries around the world, television watchers have seen events as they are happening. As new words and concepts are added to the English language, not everyone has access to public information. Therefore, when those people are trying to learn the English language, certain word concepts may not be part of their language, depending on the social amenities available to them. Ethnicity Because of the need for international communication, the English language has always been a learning priority for non-English speaking immigrants who settle in English-speaking countries. Until recently, the emphasis in learning a second language was on universal cognitive processes, but recent research has determined that learning a “second language is not simply a skill set acquired through persistence and practice” (Potowski, 2001). It involves complex social interactions and power differentials that have received little attention in the past. There is little doubt that language in a social context is related to the culture of origin, a concept that until recently was seldom if ever considered. Regional Aspects of Language Changes With so much unrest in the world at the present time, it is not surprising that the immigrant population in different countries has increased drastically, with a world divided into rich countries and third-world countries. Pursuing the American dream or looking for better opportunities in the urban areas of Great Britain, pockets of ethnicity have grown up in American and British cities and have increased the need to teach English as a second language on a regional basis. According to Joan Swann, Director of the Center for Language and Communications at Open University, the study of regional variation in English is sometimes called dialectology (2006). Through a survey performed in the 1950s, researchers were able to establish geographical boundaries between different dialects and their original origins. Traditionally dialectology has been focused mainly on rural locations, with the aim of recording old ways of speaking before they die out. The new urban dialectologists have been more interested in the variations on speech (and particularly accent) between different social groups (Urbanwords, 2006). Reading and Learning Online One of many questions in this age of electronics and the Internet is whether variations in speech will be evident as people communicate with each other online. Does dialectology have a place on the information highway. In a paper titled “E-learning and language change,” Hansson and van de Bunt (2004) speak of the filters through which people gain meaning from communication. Perception and interpretation are filtered through emotion, cultural background, geographical location and family background. Acquiring meaning by reading online text must pass through all these filters, even for native English readers. For students learning English as a Second Language, the challenge is even greater to understand what a text is actually saying as it relates to their own language. Bruce (2002) stresses the importance of listening, of understanding the perspective of another, rather than simply filtering meaning through one’s personal knowledge. To meet the challenge of change brought about by new information and communication technologies, the communicator’s willingness to evaluate new facts and try to understand the background of the person with whom he or she is communicating is imperative. In teaching ESL online, knowing the culture and background of the student is necessary to help him or her understand the context of the information being given. Through information gained, the method of teaching based on that culture can better be determined. It is just as important for the instructor to have knowledge of the culture of the student as it is to evaluate the meaning of textual contributions from the student. Identity, Location and Culture Mitra (2002) speaks of the creation of a “globalized” world, where distance is no longer an issue for travelers, and communication is instant through digital technology. A major development with these advances is interaction between people from all over the world, East or West. The world used to be compartmentalized into countries which were concerned mainly with people of a specific ethnic, religious or geographical background. Certainly, knowledge of Eastern cultures in the Western countries was negligible, even though Eastern countries were apt to study Western cultures, albeit, without any input from Westerners. New economic and political conditions have brought about trade partnerships between global companies, but the effort of governments to create a “global community” has yet to be successful. Mitra (2002) states that “human beings are hardwired to be aware of the space they occupy” (par. 3), and creating a specific space for oneself and one’s cultural group is a process followed by immigrants who find themselves in a totally unfamiliar environment. In the meantime, diversity is acknowledged in different geographical areas, but the residents of that area would prefer to see the new settler become part of the culture of the new space. In other words, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” (Bartlett, 1980). In the United States, a test of English is part of citizenship requirements, and there is presently a movement in Britain to add this requirement for citizenship. In this case, the challenge for the teacher of adult literacy will be that much greater. Conclusion There is no longer any doubt that the Internet is here to stay, and every conceivable subject and/or language can be explored by going online. Mitra (2002) considers this an opportunity for the immigrant population, or, for that matter, any group of dispossessed citizens, often powerless in their geographical locations, to make their voices heard, creating a virtual space that belongs to them alone. It is further possible for them to belong to a virtual community, using language that didn’t exist before the Internet, thereby making them comfortable in this environment. This does not change the need to try and understand different cultural concepts, however, with evolving language in a changing world altering our lifestyles and creating a need for more understanding, not less. References Bartlett, John (1980). Familiar Quotations: A collection of passages, phrases and proverbs traced to their sources in ancient and modern literature, Emily Morison Beck, ed., 15th edition. New York: Little, Brown and Co., p. 127-6 (proverb). Bruce, B. C. (April, 2002). A friendly, welcoming attitude toward change, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Vol. 45, no. 7, retrieved 2-5-2006, from http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=/electronic/jaal/4-02_Column/index.html. Hansson, Henrik, and van de Bunt-Kokhuis, Sylvia (August 2004). “E-learning and language change--Observations, tendencies and reflections,” First Monday, vol. 9, no. 8, retrieved 2-5-2006, from http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_8/hansson/index.html. Mitra, Ananda (2002). Creating Immigrant Identities in Cybernetic Space, Wake Forest University, retrieved 2-8-2006, from http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/mpi/Activities/Media%20Practice%20Spring%202002/mitra.htm Potowski, Kim (Winter 2001). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change, Bilingual Research Journal, retrieved 2-6-2006, from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3722/is_200101/ai_n8947709 Ranard, D. A., and Pfleger, M. (1993). Language and literacy education for Southeast Asian Refugees, ERIC Digest, retrieved 2-9-2006, from http://www.ericdigests.org/1994/asian.htm. Swann, Joan (2006). How We Study Language Variation, Word4Word, BBC open2.net [online], retrieved 2-6-2006, from http://www.open2.net/word4word/languagevariation.html “Translation and Meaning” (2006). Multilingual Health Resources Exchange, retrieved 2-9-2006, from http://www.health-exchange.net/translation_meaning.html. Urbanwords: the website of The Dictionary of Urbanism last updated on 26 January 2006), retrieved 2-8-2006, from http://www.urbanwords.info/supplement.php?initial=U. Wilton, David (2005). “A (Very) Brief History of the English Language, wordorigins.org (updated September 3, 2005), retrieved 2-6-2006, from http://www.wordorigins.org/histeng.htm#late Read More