Language learning and Acquisition

Language acquisition vs. language learning

There is an important distinction made by linguists between language acquisition and language learning. Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct. In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication. The emphasis is on the text of the communication and not on the form. Young students who are in the process of acquiring English get plenty of “on the job” practice. They readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates.

Language learning, on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners. In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writing.r A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English language but may not be able to speak or write correctly.

First Language Acquisition

Language acquisition is the process whereby children acquire their first languages. All humans (without exceptional physical or mental disabilities) have an innate capability to acquire language. Children may acquire one or more first languages. For example, children who grow up in an environment in which only English is spoken and heard will acquire only English as their first language. However, children who grow up in an environment in which both German and English are spoken and heard equally will acquire both German and English as their first languages. Acquisition occurs passively and unconsciously through implicit learning. In other words, children do not need explicit instruction to learn their first languages but rather seem to just "pick up" language in the same way they learn to roll over, crawl, and walk. Language acquisition in children just seems to happen.

Second Language Learning

Language learning, in contrast to language acquisition, is the process whereby humans past the critical period learn second languages. All humans have the ability to learn additional languages although, just as with other areas of study like math or science, some people are better at learning second languages than others. Older children and adults may learn one or more second languages. For example, a woman who acquired French as a child and learned English as an adult would have one first language (French) and one second language (English). Similarly, a man who acquired Japanese as a child and learned English and Spanish as an adult would also have one first language (Japanese) but two second languages (English and Spanish).

List of Countries by English Speaking Population

(click column header to sort results)

Country	% English Speakers	Total English Speakers
United States	94.2	298,444,149
India	10.35	125,226,449
Pakistan	49	92,316,049
Nigeria	53	82,941,000
United Kingdom	97.74	63,962,000
Philippines	56.63	57,292,884
Germany	64	51,584,000
Bangladesh	18	29,398,158
Canada	85.63	28,360,240
Egypt	35	28,101,325
France	39	25,500,000
Italy	34	20,300,000
Ghana	66.67	18,000,000
Australia	97.03	17,357,833
Thailand	27.16	17,121,187
South Africa	31	16,424,417

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

English is an international language, spoken in many countries both as a native and as a second or foreign language. It is taught in the schools in almost every country on this earth. It is a living and vibrant language spoken by over 300 million people as their native language. Millions more speak it as an additional language.

English is spoken habitually in the United States, the British Isles, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of South Africa, Liberia, and many territories under the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It is estimated that 300 million people speak English as a second language, and an additional 100 million people use it fluently as a foreign language. As a rough estimate, 1000 million or one billion people around the world have some knowledge of English, either as a native language, as a second language, or as a foreign language.

English is the associate official language of India which has over 1000 million (over billion) people. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and many other nations which were ruled by Britain continue to use English both as an optional medium of instruction in their schools and as one of their official languages. The islands of the Philippines continue to use English as an important tool for education, administration, and for mass media purposes. English is the chief foreign language taught in the schools of Europe, South America, Asia and Africa.

Even though some nations which were ruled by the French continue to teach French as their most preferred second language, English is gaining ground even in these countries. In the former Soviet Union, Russian was the dominant language. Since the break of the Soviet Union, the Central Asian Republics have been rapidly introducing English in their school system as a second or foreign language. In Russia itself, English is gaining ground as the most popular second language. In Japan too, English is the most favored second or foreign language.

Outside Europe, English is the predominant language of international commerce. Although the United Nations and its various agencies have more than one language for transaction, more often than not, English comes to be chosen as the preferred language of communication between the participating member-nations.

All this has happened within the last one hundred years. The ascendancy of English as the most preferred language began two hundred years ago with the colonization of North America, Asia, and Africa by Britain. The Industrial Revolution in Britain, its ever-expanding maritime power, development of material wealth, progress in scientific research and consequent power, all helped the spread of English, even as Britain marched as a great empire. In the Sixteenth Century, English was spoken mostly in England, southern Scotland, and small areas of Wales and Ireland. There were only about two to three million people speaking it as their native language. At present one in seven in this world speak English either as a native language or as a second language.

English was well established as the dominant language in North America in the 17th Century. But its rapid growth was in the 19th Century.

Latin was the main medium of education in western Europe throughout the Middle Ages. French was the language of diplomacy for four centuries, from the 17th to 20th. And yet, at present there is not a single language which can be compared to the position occupied by English as the international language. This is so, even though more people in the world speak Chinese than English as their native language. Spanish may claim a large number of native speakers, but neither Spanish, nor French, nor Russian, nor Chinese can even come close to the level and variety of uses to which English is put in the world.

English is learned everywhere because people have found out that knowledge of English is a passport for better career, better pay, advanced knowledge, and for communication with the entire world. English is also learned for the literature it possesses, and for the variety and rich experience it provides. English has replaced French as the language of diplomacy. In this computer age, English is bound to expand its domains of use everywhere. Everyone wants to appropriate English as their own.

In the Indian subcontinent, English became the dominant language of communication among the educated classes after the famous Minute of Lord Macaulay in 1833. For an insightful discussion on the progress of English as the dominant language of communication among the educated classes in India, see the monograph on the subject by Professor Ranjit Singh Rangila, et al., Bringing Order to Linguistic Diversity: Language Planning in the British Raj in Language in India.

ORIGINS OF ENGLISH

English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. Within this family, English is a member of the Germanic branch. The Germanic branch may be divided into three groups or subdivisions: East Germanic which consisted of Gothic, now an extinct language; North Germanic under which we include the Scandinavian languages; and West Germanic which consists of High German, Low German, Frisian and English.

Three tribes settled in England. These were the Angles, the Jutes, and the Saxons. The Angles came from Denmark, the Saxons were from Holstein in the south, and the Jutes were from the north. These and the Frisian were worshippers of Ing. Linguistic and religious associations between these tribes resulted in a bundle of related dialects, which we presently call English.

  

A] Aims and objectives of teaching English at secondary level

The following are the main objectives of teaching English at secondary level.

·         To develop knowledge and understanding of Grammar.

·         To develop abilities to make use of the grammar in own writing English.

·         To understand the meaning of English passage.

·         To develop interest in reading English passages/ literatures.

·         To develop self study habit.

·         To enhance competencies in writing essays and gist of the passage in own words/ language.

·         To develop their insight and favorable attitude towards English language.

·         To developing the understanding about rules of grammar and their use in writing English.

 B] Aims and objectives of teaching English at Higher secondary level

·         Motivate students for more studying English language.

·         To encourage for composing poems and writing essay.

·         To develop the ability for grasping the theme of poem or English passage.

·         To encourage the students for writing the meaning or theme of poem or passage in their own words.

·         To develop the ability of appreciation of ideas and criticizing the thinking.

·         To develop the creativity of the students related to verbal ability and reasoning or fluency of language.

·         To develop the ability of understanding of other school subjects.

·         To develop the mastery of language for expressing his ideas, feelings and experiences.

·         To develop the ability of evaluation and analysis of language components.

·         To develop the values, moral and character of the students.

Objectives of teaching English

Dr .b. s. bloom-“educational objectives are the desired goal or outcome at which instruction is aimed”

Objectives means have a purpose for very short time where as aim is achieved with a longer time.

2] Characteristics of good objectives

·         Objectives should be based on psychological principle.

·         They should be according to the content of the teaching.

·         They should fulfill the needs and interests of students.

·         They should be according to the age and mental level of the students.

·         They should be helpful in changing the behaviour of students.

3] Objectives of teaching English

The objectives of teaching English in India must be quite different   from those which are considered necessary for an English child. L.A.C. strong one said ,” For us who speak it  English , English is everything,  English is what we say and what we think. English is our relationship to other people, our friendship, our truth, and untruth our character, English is not a subject, English is our life.” But this is not true for us in India, because the main aim of teaching should be to help children to get practical command of English. So that it may be useful to them in everyday life.

Types of objectives –

There are two types of objectives of English teaching. They are

1] Language development -

  

2] Literary development   -

1] Language aim –

The primary aim at initial level language decides the personality of individual a mirror which reflects knowledge to develop language skills L.S.R.W

Four aspects of language

Semantics – related to understanding.(Listening)

Phonetics- deals with sound, spelling and pronunciation. (Speaking)

Phonetic cum graphic-(Reading Skill)

Graphic: (Writing Skills)

Specific objectives of teaching English 

In order to make the programme of Teaching Englisheffective, we should first of all identify our objectives we want to achieve. It will help the teacher to apply the correct methods and devices to achieve the particular object at any particular stage. So it is extremely necessary to fix up the objectives of teaching English in the beginning.( Read More Teaching English (TEFL)  )

                With the change of the position of English in the new set up of India, the aims and objectives of teaching English has naturally undergone a change. We have accepted English as a second language. English is , therefore, taught now as a skill subject as opposed to literary subject. So the objectives of teaching English in schools will be the acquisition of linguistic or communicative skills.

                The four skills of the objectives of Teaching Englishare mentioned below:

1.‘Listening Skill’:-

Listening skill means ability to understand English when spoken. Thus the objectives of teaching English is to enable the pupils to understand ordinary daily English speech spoken at a normal speed. They will be trained in grasping what is being said.

2. Speaking Skill:-

                “Speaking Skill” means – “ability to speak English correctly and easily”. The pupil will have a command over English vocabulary and asense of correct intonation and pronunciation. This can be achieved gradually through regular practice.

3. Reading Skill:-

                It means the ability to understand when written. The pupil should achieve the skill to understand simple and non-technical English first, then he is likely to appreciate literary English. 

4. Writing Skill:-

                The students on leaving high school should be able to write correct English. It is expected to them that they should be able to write on matters of their personal experiences, interest and needs correctly in simple English.

                (Each of these four foundation skills has its component parts of speaking English, as for example are pronunciation, intonation, phrasing, stress, rhythm etc. ). Moreover these four linguistic skills are closely related to one another and one assists work towards another. Thus reading assists writing and writing assists reading. These four linguistic skills should be developed in continual interrelation of the language activities of speaking, listening, reading and writing.Read More Teaching English (TEFL)

                The All India Seminar on the Teaching English in secondary schools, held at Nagpur in 1957, recommended that, “within a period of six years of the high school course the pupils should be enabled to attain a working knowledge of English, giving them mastery over about 250 language structures and a vocabulary of 2500 essential words”.

                The objectives of teaching English are to develop in students both receptive and productive capabilities. The students’ role is receptive when he reads or listens and the moment he speaks or writes, the ability becomes productive.

(I) “The main object should be to develop the student’s language sense and linguistic skill and his ability to understand, speak, read and write general English”.

                Pupils should be enabled to attain working knowledge of the language from utilitarian point of view.

(II) The second objective is to develop the capacity of our pupils “to express themselves in English freely, correctly and with proper pronunciation in takes or conversation on ordinary topics”. 

(III) The third objective is to enable pupils to express their ideas of non-technical nature in simple correct English obviously the stress is entirely on expression”.

(IV) The fourth objective is “to generate in the pupils a love for the language and a desire to cultivate it at leisure for pleasure and profit”.

(V) The fifth objective is to teach English as an auxiliary language to maintain communicative skill with other parts of India and outside.

(VI) The sixth objective is to enable pupils to acquire knowledge of fundamental concepts of English grammar.

                Lastly, we may say that our approach in Teaching English  throughout school stage should be balanced and aim at the

English at the school stage must be “to import a practical command or the four basic skills for use in the widest possible range of situation”.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING ENGLISH

The aims of education are not achieved through the study of a subject or two or in a day or a month. Education is a life-long process and it includes the entire spectrum of subjects taught in educational institution through formal as well as non-formal education. The study of all the subjects contribute to the achievement of aims of education and therefore in any scheme of teaching a subject it aims and objectives are of prime

The teacher must know the aims of teaching a particular subject and to do full justice to it is his responsibility. The teacher who does not know the aims of teaching his subject does not what he is doing and also does not realize why he is doing, or the purpose of doing it. And hence the knowledge of the aims of teaching a subject is of paramount importance for the teacher. He must know what he is trying achieve, decide whether the procedure that he follows in the classroom or the method that he adopts and the devices that he resorts to are proper or not .p.gurrey  ,”The aim should usually be decided upon when beginning to prepare a lesson”

Objectives Teaching English:

(A) The objective of teaching English has two main aspects:

(i) Language aspect: Words, sentences, pronunciation, spelling and grammar.

(ii) Literature aspect: Words, sentences, expressing ideas, feelings and experiences.

(B) The English language teaching has four objectives to develop four skills:

(i) Reading, (ii) Writing, (iii) Speaking and (iv) Listening.

(C) The English teaching also has two objectives:

(I) Skill objectives include:

·         To develop the skill of speaking,

·         To develop the skill of reading,

·         To develop the skill of writing,

·         To develop the skill of listening,

·         To enable the students for the use of grammar correctly,

·         To enable the students to analyze the element of language and establish the appropriate relationship among linguistic components.

(II) Cognitive objectives include:

·         To acquire knowledge,

·         To diagnose the weakness of speaking and writing English,

·         To compare and illustrate linguistic components,

·         To classify the elements of English language,

·         To understand the meaning of prose, poetry, story and drama by reading.

GENERAL AND SPECIFIC AIMS OF TEACHING ENGLISH

The aims and objectives of teaching may be divided into two. They are (1) General Objectives and (2) Specific Objectives.

General Aims/Objectives:

(1) To understand written English:

The first objective of teaching English is to understand written English. Teacher should try to help children to understand written English. Students should be made familiar with words and construction of sentences.

(2) To Understand English:

Spoken English is more different from written English to understand. There are many reasons for this they are-

(i) Elliptical usages,

(ii) Unfamiliar in notion,

(iii) Peculiar pronunciation

(iv) Rate at which words are spoken.

To over come these difficulties, it is necessary that children should be given opportunity to hear different persons speaking English. By this, it is possible for a student to get ear training exercise. It will help him to accustom and understand spoken English.

(3) To speak correct English:

Teacher should try to increase the ability of the pupil to speak English accurately, correctly and fluently. It helps them to translate their mother tongue thought into English sentence to speak it. This checks fluency as well as spontaneity.

(4) To write correct English:

Skill in writing has four aspects. The student has to learn:

(i) Formation of letters,

(ii) Spelling of words,

(iii) Selection of right words,

(iv) Construction of sentences.

The aim of teaching English thus should enable the students to express their ideas in simple English.

Specific Aims/Objectives:

Every lesson may not succeed fully in relation to the general aim. If a teacher has only general aim, he will not be able to help his pupils very much in every lesson. So addition to the general aims a teacher should have a definite, clear-cut aim for each lesson.

(a) A specific objective should usually be decided upon when beginning to prepare a lesson. The specific objectives vary from lesson to lesson.

(b) Each lesson has its own objective. So he can initiate right type of activities in the class. It should help him in the planning of his methods of teaching.

(c) It simplifies and focuses the preparation, and impels a teacher and his class to concentrate on the topic to be learnt.

(d) By selecting a single definite aim, the efforts of both the teacher and students are not scattered and dispersed in all directions.

(e) It helps both the teacher and student to go together in the same direction to achieve the same objective.

(f) Particular or specific objective vary from day to day and from topic to topic. The technique of choosing a very limited objective for each lesson is a most truthful aid to an efficient teaching.