Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages - Essay Example

Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages Introduction: The English language has developed into a language of supreme importance due to the process of globalization. “English is now the official or dominant language for 2 billion people in at least 75 countries” (Global envision from lingua franca to global English 2004). Today, the people who speak English as a second language are almost double of those who speak it as their first language. English has developed into a lingua franca in today’s world as it is the communication bridge between diverse cultures and helps establishing ties with people across the globe. Moreover, it is a reservoir of knowledge of various disciplines like communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy and also on the Internet. Most of the developments in specialised fields in the developed countries require the usage of English. The advent of Internet and information technology has further emphasised the importance of English as an international language. In this globalised era, the progress and development of a country, to a large extent, is associated with the usage of the English language. After the Second World War, British idealism spread in many parts of the globe and with the United Kingdom becoming highly developed, the language spoken by most European countries, i.e., English became very popular. Thus, over a period of time English has developed into a prominent language. Because of these reasons, the teaching of English, especially in non-English speaking countries has assumed special significance. With the expansion of commerce and industry, and the advances in technology, geographical distance has become irrelevant and the world has shrunk into a global village. With the opening up of bigger markets, many new job opportunities became available for aspirants in various fields all over the world. So there is such an unprecedented movement of skilled labourers across the globe and most of them seek Europe and USA as their hopeful destinations. The primary requisite for employment is a working knowledge of English. The requirement and proficiency will vary according to the nature of the job. The burgeoning job opportunities in various fields necessitated the aspirants to master the English language. In the filed of education also English is accepted as the most preferred mediums of instruction and interaction between teacher and pupils. Therefore, proficiency in English language has become a primary necessity. Hence to measure the proficiency of language called for certain criteria. Because of these reasons, the teaching of English, especially in non-English speaking countries has assumed special significance. Thus several courses were developed to fulfill the demand for knowledge of the English language to non-native speakers of English. Data Analysis: The sample chosen for illustrating problems faced by non- native users of English viz. a native of Saudi Arabia, whose first language is Arabic. In this long drawn interview, there are several instances in which one can pin down how a non- English speaker falters in the nuances of pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary of English language. With guttural stress on words, his thick pronunciation has made it difficult to comprehend words like ‘spent’, ‘problem’, ‘compare’, ‘primary’, ‘project’, department’, ‘process’, ‘improve’, ‘planning’. He is incapable of pronouncing ‘p’ and instead; it becomes voiced as ‘b’. As is evidenced in the words like ‘sbent’, ‘broblem’, ‘combare’, ‘brimary’, ‘broject’, ‘debratmnet’, ‘brocess’, ‘imbrove’, ‘blanning’. peoplebeoble, first fairest, different dfferenth, things things, university unifairsity, Manchester Manshester, scholarship scholarshib, example examble, management manaigment, many mumy, leadership leadershib, have haf ,improve imbroof, level lefel, development defelobment, adaptation adabtaation, experience  exberience, Singapore  Singafore parks Barks, places blaces,help helb, responsibility resbonsibility. L1First learning language L2Current learning language The conversation with him elucidates that the patterns of L1 on him is so much dominant, subsequently it debilitates him from adapting to the pattern of L2. He falters on three important areas of language: phonological, grammatical and vocabulary. As for the phonological aspects, he has made certain constant errors in use of ‘b’ instead of ‘p’. Furthermore, he fails most miserably in producing pronunciation of ‘v’ turns out be ‘f’, hence the word university is pronounced as ‘unifairsity’. As far the vocabulary is concerned, the speaker has problem with words like ‘critical’, ‘first’ these words are produced incomprehensively as ‘criketal’, ‘fairest’. In some places he has been found thinking for a word to express an idea but he fails to find a word appropriate to the context. A strong vocabulary base is essential for building up language, and as for the subject is concerned, he has amassed words that are mostly used in everyday life. While considering his awareness in grammar, he is getting in with the system while there is still a lot remaining to be adapted. While his thought process deepens, he fails to produce standard sentence structures. His jarred sentences that are improvised are meant to elucidate his thoughts. On certain instances he fails to produce concord pattern (i.e. subject, verb and object pattern). It is obliviously evident in his rejoinder to one of my questions “I think there’s different….because I think in my country when I write it some researches or some…Some articles…we use the different “Wair”…uhhh different methodology” (Lines 23-25 of transcription of recorded speech.) It is difficult to decipher what he means to say unless one follows the train of his thoughts and the interviewee’s facial expressions. Implications of students continuing language development Pragmatic Competence: It is very important that the subject understand the correct use of meanings he comes across. The first “focus on meaning’ refers to the actual dictionary meaning or specific grammatical usage. The second sense of focus on meaning relates to pragmatic meaning that is relating to the act of communication. “To provide opportunities for subject to attend to and perform pragmatic meaning, a task-based (or, at least, a task-supported) approach to language teaching is required.” (Ellis, Rod. 2005). Although it is important for the subject to deal with both types of meaning, literal as well as communication, the pragmatic meaning is more significant as it is an important vehicle for expressing one’s thoughts and ideas to others and it helps create fluency in the English language. Only when the subject acquires pragmatic meaning can pragmatic competence also develop. The first implication is the lack of proper phonetics and pronunciation on the part of the subject. This is because he does not have a previous familiarity with the English language. The past experience of the subject, his cultural background, his family settings and socio-economic status all may not have contributed to his playing a positive role in his educational pursuit. Further, he may not be in good health and may have hearing difficulties. “Problems hearing differences in speech make ESL learning problematic. Chronic diseases, including depression, may cause elders to lack energy and have the stamina to participate. Perceived memory problems and poor memory require multiple repetitions and cause a longer time to acquire the skills, causing discouragement. In general, there is less English proficiency in individuals who immigrate at older ages”, (Learning to Read as Adults) Implications for teaching in language classrooms: He may be able to speak out words and read but will not have any understanding of the matter read. He may not able to make deductions from lessons given and react in a critical way, and also, in certain cases, he may be unable to dwell coherently on any important matter. His prior state of knowledge of the English language may also be considered to be a barrier to development since little, or no previous knowledge or acquaintance with the English language may pose some difficulties in the classroom setting. It may become necessary for the teacher to repeat the question several times, but even then, although the subject may have comprehended the question, he would not be in a position to answer them in a cohesive manner .In this case, since the subject has a very low English proficiency, it is first and foremost important to have knowledge of his areas of weaknesses. Nowadays, “Student-oriented learning, rather than teacher-directed instruction is increasingly becoming the focus of research in second or foreign language teaching” (eric.ed.gov) and it may be used in this case also. The teacher should provide inputs and seek feedback from the subject. .In this particular instance, the native is a non-English speaking, the subject should be taught in a way understandable to him. Like in every other branches of knowledge, there are three main components: linguistic knowledge, that is learning of the different meanings of English words and phrases; conceptual knowledge, that is comprehension of the concepts of English language both concrete and abstract and more importantly, connecting the new knowledge with existing knowledge and experience. In some cases, all that is required to learn new English words and phrases is to link it with previously learnt concepts. Finally, the procedural knowledge being the method of application of knowledge, in this case of the subject from Saudi Arabia, in his script, Arabic, the letters are written from right to left, whereas all other languages are written from left to right. The change in procedure would initially create some confusion in the mind of the subject. The application of the procedure learnt by the subject into his daily life is also equally important. The strategy for teaching would be to blend content and language by giving words to increase his vocabulary, and using the 3 R’s, Reading, Writing, Recitation and also listening with attentiveness. Talking aloud also helps learning process since through this method the hearing and assimilation of hearing in the brain also gets increased. Similarly, the subject should also speak aloud in order to gain confidence and improve his command over the English language. Since the major area in which he lacks is speech production it is essential to first attempt to remedy that deficiency. Through speech production the language level of the subject and how well he is able to make himself understood to the interviewer is gauged. In this case we find that the subject is persevering hard to put his thoughts across but is lacking coherence which means that his output is very low. For speech production to be correct, he must be able to speak clearly and in an audible voice and should adjust the pitch of his voice. A soft, inaudible voice needs to be improved by creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere, because if the teacher is demanding it would further worsen the situation and the subject would become more tense and excited. .The teacher should be encouraging and should aim at creating the need for the subject to speak out and he should be interacted with a favourable disposition. “Adult learners need specific preparation and ongoing assistance to overcome common problems of speech production, which can include some or any of the following: Inaudible speech ,failure to project voice adequately, rapid, incoherent speech, unclear diction, reluctance to speak at all, hesitant and faltering speech, predominant use of non-English sounds, failure to adhere to the intonation patterns of English, incorrect word stress, lack of stress-timed sentence rhythm” ( Speech Production ) The subject in this case suffers from incoherent and unclear diction. Sometimes some words are not said and there is incoherence of structuring of phrases. In this case the repetition of the correct pronunciation and diction has to be made and the subject has to be asked to repeat it over and over again. He should be taught to speak simple sentences aloud. In this particular instance it is also observed that the subject has a natural disinclination to speak and often stutters while speaking. This may be due to the insecurity or unwillingness to interact. It may also stem from the fact that he does not have necessary self assurance to carry out a conversation with an authority in the English language. In this case it is very necessary to judge the way the subject reacts to suggestions. “Unattached students may also be feeling reluctant, fearful and self conscious at first, resulting in extremely hesitant and faltering speech” (Speech Production). This attitude of the subject may be removed by the following method of teaching: Teach new vocabulary items, including some common words with difficult sounds and let the subject listen and repeat each item several times. When the subject seems confident with the easy items, give additional repetitions of the slightly more difficult words. Then call out items at random, and ask him to identify it as he repeats it, point at items at random and encourage him to call out the word. In the next stage, revise the same items by calling them out one at a time and asking him to point at the corresponding picture or object. As confidence builds, he should be able to identify most of the objects. This exercise would allow him to identify things and objects and he can also learn new English words to add to his vocabulary. The above method of teaching of identifying pictures and objects would add to his level of confidence and also constantly practice with new objects and pictures after mastering the earlier ones. This stems from the basic premise that anybody trying to master a foreign language would, at the beginning stages, be hesitant and circumspect and it is the bounden duty of the teacher to put him at ease and attend to the student with patience and empathy. The pronunciation of the words and syllables of the English language also determines the level of understanding and competence on the subject. In this case we find that he has problems with the letters “v” and “p”. This may be due to two reasons the first being that these alphabets do not exist in the subject’s native language, or the sound may vary, without changing the meaning of the word, in the subject’s native tongue and he adapts the same principle to English also. The method to be adopted for correction of pronunciation would be on the basis of constant repetition by the subject till it is perfect. However it may be said that the subject has learned the letters representing sound and certain letter combination often used for certain sounds, he could make up a total list of different words of the same sound like dear (deer), meat (meet), son (sun).The difficult words should be broken up into parts and their pronunciation studied separately. For instance the word ‘process’ could be learned by ‘pro’ and ‘cess’ separately, same is the case with ‘development’ could be split into ‘dev’, ’lop’ and ‘ment’. This would increase his pronunciation and also vocabulary. The difficult words could be practiced separately and should be practiced regularly on a continuous basis till it is mastered by the subject. Another important aspect is the attitude observation method in which the teacher explains certain words through pictures, cartoons, caricatures of certain prominent figures and icons. The various words that go along with it like cheerful, smiling, happy, elated, and such other emotions are explained to the subject. “The 4 key ‘attitude’ words can be presented in written form, on flash cards for example, and the students can match the correct written card to each picture. It is essential that they can: understand the word b match the word to the picture recognise the word when the teacher calls it out” (Speech Production)This method is effective because it is widely believed that a picture speaks more than a thousand words and through the perception of the picture the subject’s mind, the image is retained by the brain. The words and thoughts pertaining to the pictures are also retained and thus, when the picture is shown later, the thought process is triggered and the words are recollected and recalled. At a later stage the subject may be able to develop his own ideas regarding the pictures, thus expanding the horizons of his vocabulary and thought process. However, for the present stage, it is enough if the simple words spoken by the teacher are grasped, retained and recalled whenever necessary. The next important factor to be considered in this context is that of body language. Although body language does not strictly fall within the purview of language development, nevertheless, nowadays, it is seen as an important tool of business communication and it often helps the listener in understanding the mind of the speaker and what he is trying to speak about. Body language, besides being a social skill, is also considered important in human lives, to emphasize our words, since, body language speaks louder than words; The teacher may display certain body languages symbolizing happiness, sadness, indifference, attentiveness and may teach the subject regarding the link between the two viz. body language and the emotion it symbolises. Later, the subject would have to identify the words suggesting the emotions conveyed by the body language. This task would go on until the subject would be well versed with the emotions and the body language that goes along with it. Initially, it can begin with certain simple cues and later on, upon the subject’s grasping power and level of word retention it could be increased. It is to be noted that the words suggested by the body language should be learned perfectly and it should become a part of the vocabulary of the subject. The rehearsals for the knowledge of words through body language should involve both the teacher and the taught and the knowledge once acquired should become permanent in nature. The most important aspect about body language is that it can be used as a medium of communication even in foreign lands where the respective languages spoken by the speaker and the listener are unknown to each other. Conclusion: Through the above deliberations, it is clear that the subject, a senior Saudi Arabian national, has to undergo major improvement in areas of pronunciation, grammar, grasp of the English language and ability for other people to understand what he is trying to say, or in other words, oral communication skills. Through appropriate guidance, he needs to work on these areas of perceived weaknesses and overcome them. A planned and detailed study on his areas of weaknesses has to be done and constant monitoring of his progress has to be maintained and his progress recorded. A record of the commonly mispronounced words should be kept and monitored separately. In this way it is observed that he may make improvements over a period of time, considering his aptitude and passion for the language and the fact that he is sufficiently motivated to study it. The process of inculcating English language to LEP students is indeed an arduous one, and it tests the patience, forbearance and fortitude of the teacher. However, the teacher and the subject should have positive attitudes and understanding of each other. If the teacher is aware that multicultural diversity and cultural differences do play a part in the learning process, and designs his coaching accordingly, then a large part of the problem is solved. “Collaborative efforts involving bilingual or English-as-a-second-language (ESL) specialists and regular teachers.” (Muir) would improve and enhance learning efforts. The subject must be able to increase his fluency in English language and also communicate logically and coherently. The objective of the teacher should be the integration of English into the mainstream of a non-English speaking subject by suitable verbal techniques which would definitely be beneficial to him. Works Cited Transcription of Interview with a sample from Saudi Arabia (date of interview). Global Envision from Lingua Franca to Global English. (2004). Available from: http://www.globalenvision.org/learn/8/655/ (accessed January 29, 2007). TESOLs Mission, Values, and Vision: Available from: http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=218&DID=220 (accessed January 29, 2007) Marrapodi, Jean: Learning to Read as Adults. ESL Vs Native Speakers. Available from: http://books.google.com/books?hi=en&ir=&id=4UvizqBHRjMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&sig=jNi4NvS5ao9KHYFd-bOGfDqeU8&dq=interference+stage+++ESOL (accessed on January 29, 2007). Home Page: eric.ed.gov (accessed on January 30, 2007) Ellis, Rod (2005). Journal Principles of Instructed Language Learning - Asian EFL Journal September 2005 (Volume 7 Issue 3 Article 1): Available from: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/sept_05_re.pdf (accessed on January 30, 2007). Muir, Maya. Reaching Gifted Kids and English-Language Learners: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Read More