Learning another language is never easy. It requires a lot of effort to become competent in that language. Many things have to be considered to be able to learn well a target language. One question that a learner has to ask himself is what he could focus in learning a language. Vocabulary plays a vital role in learning any language. Vocabulary is “the knowledge of words and their meanings (Nash & Snowling as cited by Hansen, 2009).” With vocabulary knowledge, a person can enhance his/her understanding of the written and listening inputs that he/she encounters. Learning words entails reading and listening, yet, this becomes unattainable without knowing the meaning of the words. As Hazzlitt (1993) says, “if you do not know the word, you can hardly know the thing (p.51).” Also, vocabulary aids in conveying ideas, thoughts and emotions, may it be written or spoken. Hence, vocabulary is an indispensable tool in every language. …show more content…
This makes the country as the fifth English largest speaking country in the world. However, although Philippines is considered as an English speaking country, its English hold is now declining compared to its proficiency before. Philstar.com (2002) reported an article, “Study Shows Filipino College Studes not Proficient in English,” stating that college graduating students’ English proficiency is only at the basic level of working proficiency which means that they could hardly understand native English speakers. Also, Macasinag’s (2011) article “On the Decline of English Proficiency” stated that Filipinos are losing their competitive edge with regard to English abilities and that our claim as one of the top speaking countries may no longer be
The English language is particularly complex in almost all aspects. Many of the words in the English language have different meanings for the same word. This is not unlike the definition of the different levels of usage. McCrimmon defines the three levels, formal, moderate, and colloquial, by their sentence structure, diction, and tone (McCrimmon 193). ¹ Using McCrimmon’s definitions, authors can determine what type of writing is applicable to each of the three levels. For the formal writings, an adequate example of where readers can find it is in a professional journal, and an appropriate place to find an example of the moderate level is in a weekly news magazine. Also, the best place to look for an example of the colloquial level is in certain sections of the newspaper. All of the levels of usage apply to these different types of writings and assist in defining what each level involves.
Presently there is a rising number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering into classrooms all over the country. According to the three research studies that I utilized, there are several varied assessment approaches for teaching ELLs in reading (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). English Language Learners (ELLs) consistently struggle with some aspects of reading because, they lack background knowledge in terms of the generalized text selections, which they are often given (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). The data across all three journal documents agrees that there is an achievement gap where ELLs
The Tropfest films Road Rage (2006) and Lemonade Stand (2012) both represent Australian stories and Australian voices. Both of the films explore the representation of Australians and show many different aspects of Australian culture. The film Road Rage expounds a different more emotional side to the typical stereotype of Australian men. Lemonade Stand also represents Australian culture, through the use of themes such as mateship and the Aussie Battler. Both of the films through the use of mis-en-scene and a variety of different visual and oral techniques show key aspects of Australian culture,
There have been many policies and legal battles when it comes to English Language Learners. For every policy, then will inevitably be a case to challenge it, as it is difficult to define what is truly equitable for every ELL student. Programs for English Language Learners (ELLs) have struggled to get the needed recognition and support from school district offices of our public schools. One piece of legislation that was passed to help end the inequality of education for these students was the Equal Education Opportunity Act or EEOA. The EEOA mandated that all students that are identified as an English Language Learner are to receive individual English only instruction. This is a good start to offering the right kind of instruction that is needed for students who are struggling to learn a second language.
First, vocabulary teaches pronunciation and the definition of words used in a particular language. If you know the meaning of a word, it is easier to use and understand when communicating. I also learned that vocabulary teaches
In addition to the vocabulary in their readings, students have been expected to learn twenty-five new vocabulary words per week. The focus is not on rote memorization of definitions; students must know synonyms, antonyms, and especially how to use vocabulary words in the context of the entire sentence. They study how to choose the right word for their purpose (diction) and analyze the subtleties of language.
This gives students the words they need to know in order to communicate in a proper way. The two different types of vocabulary are oral and reading; oral is words that are used while speaking or notice when listening and reading is the words that are noticed in text. This concept is important because when children start to speak, they eventually start to understand and notice words in text. Also, it is important for them to understand the meaning of the words in order to understand the text the are reading. This is why the teacher in my class has the children become familiar with the books and reading them by going over the words and their meanings, so they can understand the story in general and they’d be able to sequence things more
Many are aware that language and vocabulary is very important to English Language Learners (ELLs), but something many are unaware of is the importance of vocabulary as an effective method of teaching ELL student’s mathematics. Success in today’s word for ELL students means understanding our society so that they can fit in. It is best said by Roberts (2009), “Mathematics tends to be a gatekeeper and a sieve for sorting students for future success, life experiences, and incorporation into society”.
In most college level English classes, students learn to generate various types of essays. These essays give the students an opportunity to enhance their writing capabilities. The Composition instructor also has a chance to critique the students writing. This particular English course allows students to create exemplification, cause and effect, and comparison and contrast essays.
If I say that I am currently employed with a major petroleum distribution center, you may think that I am a highly qualified person making limitless amounts of money. However, I am using the power of language to merely say that I work at a gas station making minimum wage. Great historical figures throughout history have used the power of language, the ability to use words to their advantage, to inspire people to unite under one common cause and to change the world.
English is an international language which is used officially all around the world. Anybody who wants to make connections with the world we live in should learn English. I had English language classes in my secondary and high school years. I also took some private English learning courses throughout summers in my country, Turkey. However, I could not improve my English effectively as all Turkish students in Turkey. I fully agree that English will be learned most efficiently in the boundaries of an English-speaking country not in the home country because of some cases. Therefore, I came here, USA, to learn English better after graduation from my university.
Although vocabulary is the sub-skill of a language, it plays a very important role in language learning and teaching. In fact, vocabulary is central to language and is of paramount importance to language learners. On the other hand, words are the building blocks of a language that are used to label objects, actions, and ideas. In other words, people cannot convey the intended meaning without knowing vocabulary. It is widely accepted that vocabulary is a very important part in English language learning because no one can communicate in any meaningful way without vocabulary. As McCarthy (1990) stated, the single, biggest component of any language course is vocabulary. Nation (1990) also affirms that vocabulary can be considered as the most important element in language learning because Learners think that many of their
Vocabulary plays a significant role in English as second language learning process. For the majority of English as Second Language(ESL) learners, the ultimate goal of learning the language is to understand (read and listen) and communicate (write and speak) with little difficulty and the lack of sufficient vocabulary may be the constraint of such goal (Folse, 2004). As the bedrock of English and as well as language, vocabulary also facilitates the development of other language skills: lexical richness leads to the progress in the use of language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing skills (Nation, 1994). Reversely, The improvement in such skills may enhance learners vocabulary size as the exposure to more learning materials improves the capacity to acquire new vocabulary. (The importance of learning vocabulary/ why vocabulary?)
In contemporary society the Standard variety of English is the most commonly used as it is respected and associated with a higher prestige. Its usage is also advocated by prescriptivists who believe that it is the ‘correct’ and only variety that should be used. Standard English is usually seen in formal settings, where its usage is necessary for official and public purposes. However, contextual factors play a vital role in determining the most appropriate variety to be used, which is supported by the Principle of Appropriateness. Certain contexts where a non-standard variety is necessary are in social media settings and in communities of different ethnicities, where they are undeniably required to create solidarity between speakers.
“In the world were over seven thousand languages have exisisted, one language had become dominate. This dominant language is English.” “In the majority of countries throughout the world speak English as their second or first language, no longer just America or England.” English has taken many forms, American English, the Queen’s English, Australian, Canadian English, and several others. Even American English has taken several types of English, Jersey English, East Coast English, West Coast English, Southern English, slang English, and Ebonics. All of these languages have major variants between them, but are all of them are still understood aboard. Without English the world couldn’t operate,