It was late in the afternoon. Hot and stuffy, with a rusty fan whirring around and cicadas buzzing outside, the air was permeated by a sense of disturbance. “Rhino is ‘xī niú’, hippo is ‘hé mǎ’, is it clear now, Lele?” Shaking his head, Lele, a 7-year-old boy who suffered from mental impairment and was learning English from me, failed to understand my explanations of English words in Chinese again. Eventually, I gave up on the repetitive translations and used pictures to illustrate the word meaning, which, to my surprise, turned out to be more comprehensible. Suddenly, the clarity struck me, “Was this English teaching approach with less infusion of mother tongue more time-saving and effective?” It was the moment when I first thought from a …show more content…
The MPhil in Research in Second Language Education strikes me with the similarities it shares with my past experiences: both of them aim to develop a better understanding of the theoretical and practical considerations in the field of second language education. The four modules, focusing on learning, pedagogical, policy and research context respectively, can guide me to recognize and analyze language education further in depth via a systematic framework. Through studying teaching methods across cultures, in particular, I could not only further examine the role that the culture plays in the variation of language pedagogies, but also learn from the essence of each pedagogical approach for future practice. Moreover, as a student who attended a foreign language high school, I am so interested in the research on School Multilingualism and Foreign Language Education hosted by CRiCLE-Net and hope to study how the second language acquisition will, in turn, influence the learners’ self-cognition towards their own language and culture. With all the knowledge and skills learnt, I hope to develop English teaching approaches appropriate for student groups with different characteristics and study how people’s way of speaking has evolved with the globalization in which diverse languages crash and mingle with each other. And in the long run, I wish to devote myself to continuous domestic and international teaching activities, achieving a deeper understanding towards second language education in various pedagogical environments and helping children from all over the world have an access to language
In the passage written by Amy Tan the author uses adjectives and feelings to reveal that an embarrassing experience in her youth changed her prospective on her heritage by showing her she needs to always be reminded of her heritage. One of Amy’s emotions in this passage is she feels embarrassed that her Chinese family that came over would get up to get their while the American would wait patiently for the food to be passed. One thing that made Amy embarrassed was when her dad took the fish cheek and said “Amy your favorite.” Another emotion was she was scared that the boy wouldn’t like their Chinese food or wouldn’t like there Chinese Christmas. But Amy’s fear was realized because the ministers family didn’t eat a lot nor did they talk.
Because all students should have the right to an equal education, ELL’s should have equal access to the same resources that other students have. The whole school should be on board with welcoming, supporting, and making the ELL student’s transition easier (Rance-Roney, 34). Teachers can also make a global community classroom, by doing so, it will create a culture rich environment inviting ELL’s and educating their peers on other cultures. Teachers can also adopt a dual curriculum for the ELL students that support their second language development but also teaches them the required standards (Rance-Roney,
My experience in English 1010 was great. My writing skills were very poor at the beginning of the semester. I did not know how to write correct sentence structure. I had great difficulties making my sentences flow smoothly and clearly. I was not able to edit a paragraph for mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
As a former AP Lang student, I feel that this class has been very beneficial for me in that it has allowed me to apply the techniques and strategies I learned last year toward more relevant subjects. Having the freedom of choosing topics to write about for our various essays made this class more enjoyable than the other English classes that I have taken. AP Lang focused heavily on the techniques of writing solid essays, but instead of writing about useful topics, we analyzed the short stories provided on the exams. Writing a personal narrative essay was very helpful in my college application process and allowed me to employ the same kind of strategies that I learned in class into my college essays.
While at a public speaking, Tan realized that she was using all these large words that her audience understood but her mother did not. “I was saying things like, “The intersection of memory upon imagination” and “There is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus–and-thus…the forms of English I did not use at home with my mother” (Tan 58). Tan’s mother was in the room while Tan was giving the speech and that was when she realized that language could be a powerful tool that can connect each other in different ways. The English language can also bring people together who speak English but not in such a common way. “We were talking about the price of new and used furniture and I heard myself saying this: “Not waste money that way” (Tan 58).
Songnan’s use of the term “you” creates sensuality and a connection with the reader. The author’s writing technique also places the reader into the story. Songnan writes, “soon enough you learn that your hang time… is longer than the other children.” This is the moment Birdie realizes what what she wants to do. This creates a connection with the reader and Birdie’s innermost feeling.
The comparison proves that the mind needs these “two tools” in order for a person to further their knowledge of a language. The author manages to incorporate figurative language into her writing excellently to convince the reader the value of
Becoming bilingual One of my first memories of reading dates back about 13 years. Aged at about 3 or 4 years old, I was still tumbling over small hands and feet, unaware of what to expect when it came down to the very concept of reading, and from whom to expect learning it from. My mother was my greatest influence when it came down to learning the basics of reading and verbal communication.
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American. The author is very fascinated by the language and she believes that the language has the power of emotions, a visual image, a complex idea, and a simple truth. She also believes that there are many different types of “Englishes”.
Having a second language in your background is so impactful on one’s life, providing them with more skills. This is the 21st century and having this skill helps an individual be
A person who speaks more than one language is described as being bilingual. According to the United States Department of Education, “about 21% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home,” (Lowry, 2011). As Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier describe in, “Two Languages are Better Than One,” children who come into school having a first language besides English, tend to struggle. Usually when a child struggles with a particular subject, they are taken out of the main classroom and brought somewhere for a remedial class. But according to Thomas and Collier, in order to help narrow the gap in comprehension, English learners and English speakers need to be kept together in order to be fully enriched in a successful learning
2.0 INTRODUCTION Language development happens both inside the classroom (as part of a formal establishment, school or institute) and outside it. The classroom is generally considered a formal setting, and most other environments informal, with respect to language learning. “In environments where informal language development is adequate, it is possible to regard the formal classroom as supplemental, complementary, facilitating and consolidating”(Van Lier, 1988: 20). For second-language development in such environments the informal settings can be regarded as primary and the formal classroom as ancillary. The L2 lesson then becomes a language arts lesson, focusing on special language skills and cognitive/academic growth, much in the same way
Introduction There are roughly 6500 spoken language in the world today. People mostly spend their life talking and destining and advanced society reading and writing. The use of language is an intrinsic part of being human. It is clear that language and abstract thought are very close to each other but many people think that these two characteristic distinguish human being from animals.
Grammar is a system and structure of language. To me grammar is more than just knowing the rules and standards; it is being able to apply them in writing. Growing up I was taught all of the grammar rules through many grammar worksheets. However, my Pedagogical Grammar class gave me a new outlook on how to teach grammar. I will use strategies learned from my peers, research, experience, and my grammar class to explain how I will teach my students grammar.
Language is an abstract concept which needed by people to communicate. Language has an intrinsic meaning which represents an image and it is also symbolic however not only symbolic. Language is also a complex system and it is creative and productive meaning that you can product many words. Language does not only include objects but also includes all the images and concepts of the world. There is an abstraction of a real world.