This series of video IS interesting but so informative. The following is some thoughts I had after watching it.
First,nonlinguistic communication, the imparting of the information without using language, has so much for us to look into. As it was mentioned in the video, one reason for the existence of nonlinguistic communication ways is that they are efficient. The same as language, they carry meanings as well. And the meaning that a gesture or some other body language carries vary due to the different situation they are in--it's also culture-, region-based or even group-based. No doubt, body language usually helps understanding. It was kind of interesting to know how body language makes boundaries during a conversation. I didn't realize it before, but as I've heard that, I think that is so true.
Facial expression, another interesting part in the video, gave us some insights on how the different parts of muscle work when having different expressions. One thing I still remember is about eh courtesy and real smiles. What have been described by one of the linguist there really makes sense, but there may be some exceptions like some one always smile with his/her mouth muscle move. Maybe some of the smiles are real, but get misunderstood?
Another thing was in my mind is about the language learning. When the linguists were talking about articulation system when producing certain sounds, it reminded me of the "critical period" theory. Personally, I think there may be a critical period for people to acquire/learn a language. Many people moved here when they were adults and they found there are certain sounds they always have problem to make them sound "authentic". So, the question I had is: Is this partly because their articulation system has been shaped at their age so it is hard for the existing one to make some new sounds they did not produce before?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
English Language Development
A brief view on the historical development of English language is very important to language teachers, I think. This view would give us a peek on how the language we are using now differ from that of many years ago. It also would be helpful if we or our students are interested in reading some literature works that are not translated. Meanwhile, by reading the development of English, we can have a concept on how dialects of English have developed in many areas and how English language was influenced by other languages in the world, and how it adopted foreign words from many other languages. It's kind of interesting to see how languages in the world interact with each other. As far as I know, Japanese has borrowed words,Chinese does that, too. And so does English.
We have so many languages in the world, but why English become the global language? I also think it would be nice for the language teachers to know about the background on this. Giving students some insights on that may increase their motivation in learning English. This is what I found on that:
One of the more remarkable aspects of the spread of English around the world has been the extent to which Europeans are adopting it as their internal lingua franca. English is spreading from northern Europe to the south and is now firmly entrenched as a second language in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark. Although not an official language in any of these countries if one visits any of them it would seem that almost everyone there can communicate with ease in English. Indeed, if one switches on a television in Holland one would find as many channels in English (albeit subtitled), as there are in Dutch.
As part of the European Year of Languages, a special survey of European attitudes towards and their use of languages has just published. The report confirms that at the beginning of 2001 English is the most widely known foreign or second language, with 43% of Europeans claiming they speak it in addition to their mother tongue. Sweden now heads the league table of English speakers, with over 89% of the population saying they can speak the language well or very well. However, in contrast, only 36% of Spanish and Portuguese nationals speak English. What's more, English is the language rated as most useful to know, with over 77% of Europeans who do not speak English as their first language, rating it as useful. French rated 38%, German 23% and Spanish 6%. English has without a doubt become the global language.
We have so many languages in the world, but why English become the global language? I also think it would be nice for the language teachers to know about the background on this. Giving students some insights on that may increase their motivation in learning English. This is what I found on that:
One of the more remarkable aspects of the spread of English around the world has been the extent to which Europeans are adopting it as their internal lingua franca. English is spreading from northern Europe to the south and is now firmly entrenched as a second language in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark. Although not an official language in any of these countries if one visits any of them it would seem that almost everyone there can communicate with ease in English. Indeed, if one switches on a television in Holland one would find as many channels in English (albeit subtitled), as there are in Dutch.
As part of the European Year of Languages, a special survey of European attitudes towards and their use of languages has just published. The report confirms that at the beginning of 2001 English is the most widely known foreign or second language, with 43% of Europeans claiming they speak it in addition to their mother tongue. Sweden now heads the league table of English speakers, with over 89% of the population saying they can speak the language well or very well. However, in contrast, only 36% of Spanish and Portuguese nationals speak English. What's more, English is the language rated as most useful to know, with over 77% of Europeans who do not speak English as their first language, rating it as useful. French rated 38%, German 23% and Spanish 6%. English has without a doubt become the global language.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Play the language game
I think Dr. Smidt was right about the videos that we are watch for the recent three weeks. They are fun and informative. I enjoyed the first two sections at least. Some thoughts popped up in my head after watching the part of “Playing the Language Game”.
At the very beginning of the semester, we had a discussion about if we acquired our language or we learned our language. If my memory serves, it may be proper to say “We acquire our L1, and we may try to learn a L2.” A person who learns a L2 may not able to acquire it, but it is not often for a person to fail to acquire his/her L1.
However, how do children acquire language? It seems that they do it without seeming to learn it? Why can a 3 year-old child speak kind of complicated language but can’t tie their shoes? Obviously, few parents would teach their kids grammar, like syntax when they are at that young age. But they can make correct sentences with the words they know; even they know the 3rd person singular forms of verbs? How do they get that? I agree with the linguists in the video---language is not acquired by imitating. But, is that because they were equipped that in their mind when they were born like the birds can fly without being taught? Or their innate knowledge interacts with the environment that they are in and help them produce new knowledge, as the analogy example in the video? Maybe. Children may do have a system of knowledge they were born with; this system interact with the environment that they are immersed; then, they become able to create the sentences they’ve never heard before. Gradually, their language ability grows and they would eventually acquire it.
At the very beginning of the semester, we had a discussion about if we acquired our language or we learned our language. If my memory serves, it may be proper to say “We acquire our L1, and we may try to learn a L2.” A person who learns a L2 may not able to acquire it, but it is not often for a person to fail to acquire his/her L1.
However, how do children acquire language? It seems that they do it without seeming to learn it? Why can a 3 year-old child speak kind of complicated language but can’t tie their shoes? Obviously, few parents would teach their kids grammar, like syntax when they are at that young age. But they can make correct sentences with the words they know; even they know the 3rd person singular forms of verbs? How do they get that? I agree with the linguists in the video---language is not acquired by imitating. But, is that because they were equipped that in their mind when they were born like the birds can fly without being taught? Or their innate knowledge interacts with the environment that they are in and help them produce new knowledge, as the analogy example in the video? Maybe. Children may do have a system of knowledge they were born with; this system interact with the environment that they are immersed; then, they become able to create the sentences they’ve never heard before. Gradually, their language ability grows and they would eventually acquire it.
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