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Similarities and differences between spoken and written language
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1.0 Introduction.
The intention of this report is to highlight the differences between speaking and writing English in a variety of contexts. Whilst both are valuable forms of communication, the differences between them can be traced back to the origin of humanity. Speech is an inherent genetic capability that most humans are born with the possibility of producing, whilst, as Bright, 2015, explains, writing is a fairly recent invention in our evolutionary story that has rules to be followed (p.1, para. 2). The difference between these uses of language is not simply genetics, but how they are used comparatively in daily life within similar contexts. This can change depending on social status, culture and the relationship between those communicating. How the use of both speech and the written word changes according to need to be either formal or informal is called ‘register’. The contexts that will be explored in this text will be within the classroom and within the family home. The aim of this report is to emphasise that the meaning of words can be changed depending on the situation in which they are being used and by who, and how.
2.0 Classroom context.
An essential part of learning for children within a classroom context, especially in the early years, is how to adapt their language to be in the correct register for use within an educational context. This skill must be explicitly taught by educators, so that every child is able to understand what is expected of them and no one child is at a disadvantage through the misuse of Standard Australian English.
2.1 Speech.
2.1.1- Student to student-
Students communicating with each other in a classroom environment generally use very informal speech in keeping with the vernacula...
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...s likely to be heavily colloquilised and written in a version of restricted code. Generally, the style would be very informal and not employ the use of correct grammar, punctuation or sentence structure. It is in this instance that our writing becomes more like “speech written down” (cite).
For very young children, a note to a parent may not follow any of the correct grammatical rules, but will be understood easily by the parent. For example, a four year old may write ’me love Dad and today I make blow bubbles for kindy’. This type of note is written in a restricted code with no formal structure, but will generally understood by the parental recipient.
Adult-adult- use the example of dinner in oven to explain how writing can be taken out of context to seem angry or terse and say how an x as a symbol could completely change the tone of the piece of writing.
We need to adapt our verbal communication accordingly to the different situations. Working on a learning activity it is important that the children are focused and that we deal with any distractions
...ion in Australian schools: national plan for languages education in Australian schools 2005–2008. Retrieved 14, 2011, from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/languageeducation_file.pdf
Another difficulty cultures deal with is language and the way people speak. In some cases, people struggle to belong by making changes in the way they speak the English language just to be assimilated. They attempt to use words and letters, as well as body language that fit in the norm; all in an attempt to denounce their original intonation and style of pronunciation. One ...
Despite growing up amidst a language deemed as “broken” and “fractured”, Amy Tan’s love for language allowed her to embrace the variations of English that surrounded her. In her short essay “Mother Tongue”, Tan discusses the internal conflict she had with the English learned from her mother to that of the English in her education. Sharing her experiences as an adolescent posing to be her mother for respect, Tan develops a frustration at the difficulty of not being taken seriously due to one’s inability to speak the way society expects. Disallowing others to prove their misconceptions of her, Tan exerted herself in excelling at English throughout school. She felt a need to rebel against the proverbial view that writing is not a strong suit of someone who grew up learning English in an immigrant family. Attempting to prove her mastery of the English language, Tan discovered her writing did not show who she truly was. She was an Asian-American, not just Asian, not just American, but that she belonged in both demographics. Disregarding the idea that her mother’s English could be something of a social deficit, a learning limitation, Tan expanded and cultivated her writing style to incorporate both the language she learned in school, as well as the variation of it spoken by her mother. Tan learned that in order to satisfy herself, she needed to acknowledge both of her “Englishes” (Tan 128).
Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Burroughs, N. F., Kearney, P., & Plax, T. G. (1989). Compliance-resistance in the college classroom. Communication Education, 38, 214–229.
During this experience I was also exposed to students who spoke both formal and common registry. The observation exposed that the students choose to speak to one another in common or informal register. Common register included slang and coded words that only students used. There was clear interplay of exchange between professionals who use formal registry and students who speak in common registry. My observ...
Typically children begin speaking by twenty-four months and first enter the school system at the age of six. In a society where English is expected as a first language and children are expected to have a firm grasp of comprehension and conversation by kindergarten, children with non-English home languages are at a distinct disadvantage. The focus of traditional classrooms is on English as medium of instruction as opposed to an introductory subject, this means that children without English as a first language are burdened with the task of learning both English in an environment not geared towards teaching it and traditional coursework. The added strain of working to learn a new language and the possibility of having parents unable to help master new English skills can lead to a performance divide in
...are their responses with a peer. Turnbull also suggests monitoring student’s responses and if the student is not showing any signs of understanding the content then adjust instruction immediately and not once the lesson has been given (301). It is also important to inform the child about correct and incorrect responses. This immediate feedback allows the child with language processing difficulties to see when he/she is performing in a desired way and what he/she may need to work on. After giving the student time to process information and formulate his/her thoughts, allow the child to summarize information in his/her own words if necessary. Overall, it is important for the teacher to remember to limit conversation to one person at a time to limit multiple verbal input, and speak slowly and not about too much that can require skills the person has not developed yet.
Writing can be a very difficult process for those who do not know how to go about constructing
“The ways in which people converse with one another can vary greatly from culture to culture. For example, when a teacher asks a direct question, students from some cultures may no...
As a teacher language is the most important tool in order to support student learning. The book Elementary Classroom Management by Kerry Williams discusses how language is an important tool to use “language can be a powerful vehicle for activating thought, and as teachers we need to be aware of the role it is playing” (ref pg. 196). The use of words and tone that the teacher uses to the students is significant in the behaviour of students. For example if a student is displaying
Language plays an important in our lives, for children this is a critical time for them to learn how they can use language to communicate effectively from the when they learn through school and into adulthood. While a child goes through school they are exposed to Standard English, but there are diversities that appear in the classroom for example culture plays a part in language development. Gee and Hayes (2011) stated that there are many things that language can be including; a set of rules, a cognitive experience, a social tool or an object, but overall language is something that changed based on culture and social context. Acknowledging and accepting diversity in the classroom in relation to language and language learning is important
The notion of writing has been defined in many different ways by writers. According to Byrne (1997), “writing is producing a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together in certain ways”. In other words, a writing or a text includes sentences arranged in a coherent and grammatical way to connect the ideas together. In addition, writing is interpreted as the act of expressing ideas, thoughts, and feelings to other people in writing symbols so that readers can
Another concern that some students might have is communication. Some students might not need to have a teacher in front of them and teach the course material to them, to whereas some students might need the te...
People live in the world of communication. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Moore, 1997), communication is defined as, “The activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information”. The significance of communication can be found within the context of a human existing as a social being. As a human being manages his or her life in the course of the interaction between other members of the entire society, communication is inevitable. Communication occurs through the medium of a language and it is presented in two different forms which are written and spoken (Brown & Yule, 1983: 1-10). The importance of spoken performance of a language is becoming more prominent over the written performance capability. It is because the ability to speak a language reflects a person’s personality, self image, knowledge of the world, ability to reason, skill to express thoughts in real-time (Luoma, 2004: ix). These days, due to the global trend of internationalisation, the ability to communicate in English is needed as an essential skill. Whenever the international exchange happens, the use of spoken English entails. However, it is not always an easy task for people who use English as a second language to be able to speak to the level of a native speaker. They have to perfectly understand the sound system of English, have almost instant access to proper vocabulary and be able to place words together intelligibly without hesitation. Moreover, they also have to perceive what is being said to them and need to be able to respond appropriately to acquire amiable relations or to accomplish their communicative goals (Luoma, 2004: ix). Therefore, non-native English speakers encounter these barriers and they are subject to make mistakes often. In relation to this matter, this essay argues that there are socio-cultural factors as well as linguistic factors that affect non-native speakers’ communication in English. It provides analysis of several different situations when the use of spoken English has generated miscommunication problems in regards to author’s personal experience.