Learners Profile Analysis - Essay Example

Assessment task instructions TES803A Task Language Profile Language Profile of (add your learner’s here) learner’s Min Kim Assessment Instruments and Tasks Recording CD- interview Grammar, Reading, Listening and Writing task - VIVA Language School in Brisbane (level- elementary) Personal Information and Language Learning Goals The learner is a Korean by descent, and has been living in Australia for the past one month. He is a qualified electricity engineer, having completed his education in the said field from University of Korea. His main aim of coming to Australia was to better his English language skills. Language Proficiency The Korean word order is subject – object – verb; because of this agglutinative structure of the language the Korean speakers attribute considerable significance to the pause in a sentence structure to facilitate better comprehension. The things which should be taught to Min for improving his language proficiency shall include verb and subject agreement, verb tenses, correct pronunciation of words, and a wider vocabulary. This can be done by reading activities which will enable him to learn new words, correct his pronunciation and intonation, and check his comprehension. I believe that Min’s English skills can be further improved by exposing him to other English native speakers. Thus, activities should be complemented with daily interaction with other Australians. On the basis of the tests carried out on him covering various aspects of his language learning efficiency it could safely be ascertained that the learner possesses satisfactory skills of elementary level which includes reading, writing, speaking as well as listening skills. so would you say he is elementary level for all skills, some skills, do you agree with Viva language school? Listening for gist Being only a beginner, Min’s listening skill still needs improvement. During conversations, he shows interest yet he often cannot comprehend some of the questions being asked.- but can he understand the gist or not? Some words still required to be repeated over and over again. Often times, choosing simpler and more familiar words aid him to understand and respond more quickly during interviews. However he does understand the overall meaning of the conversation. for specific information please tell me about Min specifically. did he understand specific infor or not? Usually, sometimes, never (I do not have any source to find out how Min fared in the other tests. I only have his reading and writing test samples, but writing on something that I do not know is apparently difficult. I haven’t even heard how he speaks nor have any idea about his listening skills. However I have tried to incorporate some of the findings in the task.) For non English speakers, listening is a relatively tough job, which is mainly because of the variation in intonations and word stress which is quite different compared to other languages. Also the individual skill levels count, like a good vocabulary, and frequent contacts with the native English speakers. Such factors help in adapting to the sounds, intonations, stress and pronunciations of the English language. Some English words are pronounced differently in Korean language which sometimes makes it difficult for the non native speakers, like Min, to grasp specific information from conversations, often leading to misinterpretation of the conversation. Similarly in case of the learner under study, Min, he was able to grasp the overall meaning of the conversations, although he did experience certain levels of difficulty in deriving the specific meaning of certain conversations. for detailed understanding again! please give me some more specific answer for Min. your writing is too general. The factors like good grasp of certain frequently used words help in grasping the information being conveyed and attention to details leading to better comprehensive skills among the non – native speakers. Familiarity of everyday words helps a great deal in understanding the details of information during a conversation. The learner, Min, was able to understand and comprehend the information which included use of everyday words such as words related to shopping – groceries, for transportation – bus, tram, cabs etc, as well as asking for directions. Again factors like good vocabulary, attention to details, grasping and understanding the implications of various sounds and pronunciations of certain words help in extracting the details of the information that is being transmitted either through verbal or written communication. His understanding of the basic words used in everyday conversation is satisfactory, but it has still room for improvement. Speaking Min’s English speaking skills is limited by his narrow vocabulary. His sentences are often comprised of simple words put together as he would speak them in Korean. It should be noted that sentence formation in Korean is very much different than it is in English. During the interview, it is also observed that he is still having troubles in long and short vowel distinctions. As Koreans use rising and falling intonation for emphasis in their conversation, Min also has the tendency to do this in highlighting his points. Also, he has the habit of pronouncing words which ends in consonant with i so that fish becomes pi-shi (f is not used in Korea) and bus becomes bu-si In general, the interviewee seems to be quite conscious about his skill which limits his answers to short phrases. He should be commended for his aim to perfect his speaking skills yet his biggest problem is on verb and subject agreement as well as correct tense. fluency Fluency in speaking a language is largely dependent on the vocabulary of the speaker. A large vocabulary often translates into better hold of the language and hence leads to fluency. In the current case of the Korean learner, his vocabulary is limited to usage of everyday words hence the sentence structure often consists of several break ups, where the sentence is broken down into several short sentences which is again a transliteration of the Korean language into English. Considering these factors, the fluency of the learner under consideration could be marked as average or moderate. accuracy could you talk about Min more specifically please? For a language to be accurate, a good grasp of the grammar is essential and unavoidable. Min’s understanding of the English grammar is, at this stage, of introductory level. Most of the sentences he uses during conversations are short and simple. He doesn’t attempt using larger and more complex sentences as yet which is mainly due to his limited vocabulary as well as inadequate grammar skills. Joining sentences using conjunctions as well as using periods / appropriate pauses during conversations is still difficult for him. The structure of the Korean language being different as compared to that of English, the non native speakers often tend to rely heavily on their native forms of sentence construction. This usually leads to the formation of inaccurate sentences. Again the accuracy levels, considering this factor in mind, Min, could be labeled as a moderate learner. cohesion and coherence could you speak about Min directly and give specific examples? Cohesion and Coherence refers to the intelligibility of the sentence structure and the use of proper vocabulary. Min uses short and simple sentences to convey his messages. The vocabulary of the Korean language mainly consists of indigenous words and loanwords which could be attributed to their contacts with speakers of other languages. The sentence structure is largely composed of a breakup of short simple sentences. He does so, in order to clearly convey his message across to the listener. Besides using longer and more complex sentences is a difficult task for him, as his vocabulary isn’t much developed at this stage and using complex sentences could hamper the message to be conveyed and create more confusion. Thus he prefers to stick to the usage of short simple sentences using words with which he is familiar as well as comfortable. The word order is reflective of transliteration from the Korean language to English, e.g. “I was started baseball about six years old”. The use of vocabulary is limited to the usage of basic words. High skills are rarely displayed in Min’s writing styles. intelligibility please write about how much you can understand when he speaks or is his pron or grammar too weak to be understood. (I am myself not aware about how he speaks as I have never heard him speak, which explains my general style of writing) Intelligibility could be attributed to the grasping power of the non native speaker, i.e., the ability to grasp the details and intricacies associated with the foreign language. The learner interviewed for the purpose of this study showed exceptional learning skills, considering the duration of his stay in Australia. The learner has just completed one month in the country and has shown remarkable language learning skills, which when studied in the light of his English speaking background in his native country which is almost negligible, is quite commendable and worthy of appreciation. His speech is quite clear and the listener can easily comprehend, with understandable level of difficulty, the message intended to be conveyed by him. But most of the basic words he knows are pronounced quite clearly and effectively. The only problem in his speech could be the stress levels given on words which might sometimes mislead the listener about the actual mood of the learner and the exact purpose of the message being transmitted. Reading In terms of reading, Min’s accuracy is still low and limited by the Korean’s use of a different set of character for reading and writing. As with speaking, his reading still needs lots of improvements especially on his vocabulary.(why would he need pron . for reading ?)(that was a typo, my aplogies). His accuracy is low but enough for a native English speaker to understand while speed is already moderate. His reading comprehension is better than I expected as he can easily answer questions from the article studied. However, it is also noted that he can read some words but still cannot understand them. Using dictionary aids him in understanding deeper and more complicated words. for speed The reading speed depends on the learner’s grasp of words and to a certain extent the vocabulary, as unknown and foreign words often tend to halt the process of further reading where the learner often has to pause to understand the foreign word and relate it to his existing knowledge and understanding. As the vocabulary of the learner chosen for this study was found to be limited, his reading speed is largely affected by the fact leading him to read that particular word / sentence over and over again to better understand the message intended to be conveyed. for accuracy Certain basic words related to everyday use are easily understandable and the learner finds it easier to comprehend the information being transmitted. Thus the words of everyday usage and common knowledge which the learner is already familiar with add to the accuracy in interpreting the message being conveyed in the reading passage. But this accuracy is often compromised when foreign or unknown words are encountered by the learner. for gist The learner’s knowledge of the commonly used words mainly comprising of words of daily usage, helps him in interpreting the message that is being conveyed on a broader perspective. He is able to get a general idea of the message although attention to detail is often compromised owing to his limited vocabulary. for specific information The interpretation of specific information by the learner is average. Owing to his short stay in the country the learner displays an exceptional grasp of the language; however his learning skills still has enough room for improvement(how?). Deriving proper meaning out of the information conveyed is of utmost significance as it leads to a better interpretation of the conversations with the native speakers. An increased amount of exposure to the language shall help him in familiarizing with the language and pick up the talents required of him in comprehending the specific information being conveyed during a conversation. strategies In order to better the accuracy, speed and other similar skills the learner needs constant exposure with the language which could be done by conversing with the native speakers on a frequent and regular basis. Improving (how?) listening and reading skills on a simultaneous basis too could prove helpful in accelerating the learner’s ability to grasp details and polish his English speaking skills. The listening skills could be improved by using several customized softwares available freely on the internet, listening to online radio stations, as well as reading audio books that are available in the market for the purpose. English films could also be used as an language resource that could help in enhancing the learner’s listening skills. Watching news reports that the learner is already aware of, might help him concentrate on the speech as well as use of language and vocabulary and thereby enrich and improve his listening skills. Writing Min’s writing skills considerably improve when he consults his dictionary in order to express his ideas. However, without this aid he tends to use only familiar words which are often inaccurate for the purpose. He can write short simple sentences and interestingly tries to vary sentence structures. Min’s writing style is to build the paragraph by making sure that contents are cohesive and that they contribute to the whole piece. It is notable that he writes his experiences using time as the most important element in structuring his ideas. Min has a huge problem in using correct tense. In his past tenses, he also needs to learn how to derive the past tense from the present. For example, instead just adding ed to stay to form the past tense, he change y to i and added ed. His grasp of verb and subject agreement is also lacking. Phrases and sentences should also be distinguished as he keeps on writing sentences without complete thought. Enriching his vocabulary with new words will also enable him to write better paragraph with more depth. speed The learner’s writing is speed is quite good as compared to his speaking / listening skills. However, the attention to detail in connection with the sentence construction needs more improvement. accuracy Accuracy in writing is again average, owing to his limited vocabulary. The sentence construction is short and simple yet full of grammatical mistakes. The learner’s writing style displays his weaknesses especially in the grammar, often confusing in the choosing the correct tense in his writing. This affects the accuracy of his writings handwriting The learner’s handwriting is legible and could be easily interpreted. The font used is quite small and is written in a simple non cursive style. This makes it easier to read what is written. spelling rules The learner sticks to using only the known words which are simple and short leaving little room for spelling errors. This makes the existence of spelling mistakes a rarity his writings. spelling strategies The only comprehensible spelling strategy displayed by the learner is sticking to known words which are usually consisting of short and simple everyday words. This plays a significant role in eliminating the chances of spelling errors and hence making it easier for the reader to decipher the message intended to be conveyed. Discourse and Genre range Discourse refers to the learner’s use of verbal expressions in speech as well as in writing, the overall ability to indulge in lengthy conversations, narrate or discuss events, and displaying the reasoning skills, while genre is concerned with the writing style of the learner. In the case of the learner under consideration, his ability to indulge in long and meaningful conversations is limited to the topics with which he is familiar with and his style of writing shows the strong liking towards usage of time related events. Function and Pragmatics could you speak about Min specifically please The term pragmatic especially used in connection with the learner’s language learning skills, implies his ability to comprehend the information transmitted by other native speakers and derive logical meaning out of such conversation. Min is comfortably able to understand the language especially if the messages transferred during conversations are short and uses words with which he is aware of. Interpretation of the dialogues conveyed is inevitable for a language learner as it helps in avoiding any misunderstanding often leading to uncomfortable situations for the learner. Min’s language learning skills, are of introductory level and thus he is able to understand basic conversation which involves use of everyday words such as asking for directions, asking for specific information etc. Syntax and Morphology Syntax, here, is mainly associated with the learner’s knowledge about applying the rules of grammar and other elements of sentence structure to form legitimate grammatical sentences. Morphology on the other hand is an inevitable and significant branch of linguistics that emphases on the patterns of word formation. The learner has average grammar skills and the understanding of the words is limited to those of everyday usage. noun forms The use of impersonal pronouns corresponding to the use of words such as it or they, is absent in the Korean language. Instead of using impersonal pronouns, Koreans use demonstratives. The Koreans often represent personal pronouns as nouns, leading to the use of a noun instead of a pronoun in a sentence. Thus the teachers often find themselves being addressed as “teacher” instead of “you”. Example: “Has teacher corrected homework yet?” However, in Min’s case though, he doesn’t use such phrases but there is an inherent tendency to quote thoughts in English as are spoken in his native language. - does this apply to Min too? (obviously I do not have any clue whether Min uses the same or not as I haven’t ever heard him speak so I have once again played safe by generalising the answer and avoided being specific instead of quoting wrong information which might not be true.) adjectives and adverbs could you give some specific examples of Min?? Korean adjectives are either preceded by a noun or another adjective, similar to the English language, or sometimes they follow the subject and behave like a verb. There is no distinction made between gradable and non – gradable adjectives in either of the case mentioned above, that obtains in English. This makes the Koreans more likely to use adverbs of degree and emphasis inappropriately. For example, the sentence “I am very exhausted” becomes something like “it’s a bit impossible”.(source: Learner English: Teacher’s Guide to Interference and Other Problems, Michael Swan, page – 337) The Koreans tend to position their adverbials immediately before the word- irrespective of the part of speech, clause or part of sentence that is being modified. Thus such generalization from Korean to English often leads to incorrect positioning of adverbials in English. Example: I very well speak English. In Min’s case, however such grammatical errors do not exist as he sticks to using short and simple sentences instead. For e.g. he uses two different sentences to convey a common thought. “I was born in Korea. I was born in 1983”, which is depictive of his poor grammar skills associated with joining of sentences. Lexis This term is often used in linguistic studies, to designate the total vocabulary of a language. The learner displays limited vocabulary skills owing to his short span of exposure to the English language. His vocabulary mainly consists of simple and short words that are commonly used in everyday conversations. Variety is rarely found in the usage of his vocabulary. The use of idioms signifies a deep knowledge of the people, their culture as well their literature as idioms often stem from the common phrases used by the locals. A non native speaker with hardly any exposure to the English language is hardly expected to have knowledge of idioms and phrases. Collocation refers to the art of using words side by side or closely together. This again comes from the knowledge and deep understanding of the non native language. Words such as bosom buddies or dead serious that commonly co-occur during conversations are an inevitable part of learning the intricacies of the English language, or any other language for that matter. The learner under consideration does not display such skills at this level. Phonology So what about Min? be more specific please (I could have been more specific but the information provided to me isn’t sufficient enough to derive logical conclusions about his respective skills, I have no idea how he speaks least of all be specific of the information sought to be answered in the section below. Without an audio file, I am helpless to write about the specific manner in which he pronounces certain words. I hope you do get the point and understand my reasoning) The Korean language has a wide variety of vowels and consonants which consists of nine simple vowels and a three series of stops and affricates: plain, aspirated, and glottalized. The Koreans use phonemes of the plain stop series as unvoiced sounds in the world-initial position, and voiced sounds in the intervocalic position while in the final word position it is used as an unreleased sound, e.g. kap (kap) "case or small box" and kap-e " (kabe) in the case." The use of liquid phoneme could be seen as using "r" in the intervocalic position and "l" in the word-final position. For example, tar (tal) "moon" and tar-e (tare) "at the moon." Another significant characteristic of modern Korean is the absence of consonant clusters or liquid sounds in the word-initial position, leading to varied pronunciations of certain English words, e.g., the word "stop" is pronounced in two separate syllables, as (swtop), where the initial "l" or "r" in foreign words is replaced by "n." word stress Be more specific about Min please – Again, I do not know how Min speaks. I haven’t ever heard him speak so writing on such a topic on which I do not have any first hand experience is a little difficult. I could write it if you provide me with specific information about the manner in which he pronounces certain words, as in the absence of such information I am clueless about the content to be included in the paragraph discussed below) Spoken Korean does not employ stress on certain words as is seen most commonly in the English language. Instead, the Koreans mostly use a pronoun to put emphasis on a word / words, which is highly redundant in English, resulting in sentences such as: Valerie, she is my teacher” NRS Rating of the Learner Reading – 2.2 Locates specific information relating to familiar contexts in a text which may contain data in simple graphic, diagrammatic, formatted or visual form. Writing – 2.3 Writes about a familiar topic using simple sentence structure and Minining ideas through conjunctive links where appropriate. Oral Communication – 2.5 Elicits and gives factual information or personal details for the purpose of exchanging or obtaining goods and services; or gathering/providing information. Evaluation Read More