Of all language skills, speaking seems to play a crucial role in effective communication. Most scholars agree that as one of four major skills necessary for effective communication, speaking needs to be developed along with other skills. For language learners, understanding the spoken utterances as well as giving appropriate responses are absolutely essential. Some scholars have even mentioned speaking as the most essential skill required for communication (zaremba, 2006). Penny Ur (1996) argues that this is, at least in part, due to the fact that foreign language learners are most of all interested in becoming native-like speakers of a second or foreign language. Nunan (1991) asserts: "Success is measured in terms of the ability to carry …show more content…
English teachers spend the majority of class time on reading and writing practices and little attention is paid to speaking and listening. According to (zhang,2009) students in an English as a foreign language (EFL) environment have few oppor¬tunities to speak English outside of the classroom.(p.32)
This is even more tangible in Iranian schools and language institutions where reading comprehension and grammar are developed at the expense of speaking and listening and it is quite evident from the lack of enough well-designed activities for improving speaking in their syllabi. To compound the problem, students’ issues with regard to speaking seem to have been neglected or in some cases ignored. Today, there are a great number of language learners who refuse to speak a foreign language and choose to remain silent simply because they feel anxious when they try to speak. Horwitz and Cope (1986) found that language learners expressed more anxiety over speaking than any other language skill. Several other researchers have also found that speaking a foreign language can potentially provoke anxiety and needs to be dealt with in an appropriate manner so
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Through attention to one’s thoughts and feelings in this way, one can become more aware of them, and consequently, more able to manage them. People who are more mindful are less likely to experience psychological distress, including depression and anxiety. There are some researches that show mindfulness contributes to lower psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety (Baer2003; Brown & Ryan2003). According to Kabat-Zinn(2006), mindfulness is defined as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, at the present moment and non-judgmentally’
Total lack of research on speaking anxiety and language in Iranian learners’ mindfulness calls for research in this area to shed more light on potential obstacles that they face in learning a foreign language and use it communicatively. The present study aims at determining the relationship between mindfulness, willingness to communicate and speaking anxiety. In this study, close attention will be paid to mindfulness, willingness to communicate in a foreign language and their relationship with Iranian learner’s speaking
“Let Them Talk!” written by Wayne E. Wright is an article that focuses on the idea of promoting English Language Learners (ELL) oral-language skills in the classroom instruction time to improve their literacy and academic achievement. Too often are an ELL’s speaking and listening skills overlooked and not given enough attention to, even though it is one of the most important parts of communication. Wright encourages teachers working with ELL students to allow time for the student to adjust, not to pressure them into their language development, respect their various stages, bring them into whole class and small group discussions, correct simple language errors in speaking that impeded comprehension, and have them interact and communicate in the classroom for meaningful purposes.
Most people who grow up with a foreign language spoken in there house grow up with an advantage in society. This advantage can only occur once the individual learning that foreign language also learns the dominant language spoken in that country. Once both of these languages are learned and mastered, the individual has now placed them se...
English Language Learners range from Newcomers learning survival English and developing foundational literacy skills to Long-Term English Learners who have had 6 years or more of their education in English yet continue have significant language gaps. These students may speak English with little or no accent and still lack the vocabulary, grammar and grade level literacy to be successful in school. English language learners may remain silent in the classroom as they adjust to a new school, environment, and culture unless he is a native language comrade to interact with. The English language learners are concerned about decoding verbal and non- verbal communication as well as understanding the social culture framework of the school. Most of the time English language learners are observing during instruction, trying to repeat words used by others, memorizing simple phrases and sentences, tired by midday or be frustrated attending long lectures unaccompanied by visual and gestures, relying on first language translation used peer translation or bilingual dictionary, as the students begin to learner they become more involved in the classroom, they can respond non-verbally to commands, statements, and questions in simple form. As their oral comprehension increases, they begin to use simple word and phrases and may use English spontaneously. They can understand short conversation on a simple topic when reading students can understand a narrative text and authentic materials, although they will be below
The language was the most difficult obstacle for me. Learn a new language is always a difficult phase, I personally didn’t felt the same self-steam, and I still don 't. When I speak in Spanish, I speak really fast, the tone of my voice changes, I have more confidence. However, with English is never the same, as much as I learn it, it will always feel awkward. In the reading, “Silence”, by Maxine Hong Kingston, this quote discusses about being silent, how you always have that fear inside when speaking another language. The quote
“In my teaching, I do not usually make reference to the home language of the ELL students I have in class, and I also do not allow my students to speak in their home language in class. I offer practical advice to the ELL students who wish to maintain their home language, but allowing students to speak in their home language at school does not help the students learn English.” (Shim, 2014, p. 47)
A major proportion of class time is taken up by teachers talking in front of the classroom(Nunan & Bailey, 2009). No matter what teaching strategies or methods a teacher uses, it is necessary to give directions, explain activities and check students’ understanding (Richards & Schimdt, 1985). This clearly emphasizes the importance of teacher talk in language classrooms. Walsh (2011) claimed that teacher talk is more important in language classroom than any other classroom since in this context the language being used by teacher is not only the means of acquiring new knowledge; it is also the goal of the study.
In the past two decades, many philosophers, spiritual leaders, and psychological transitions have accentuated the importance of the quality of consciousness for the maintenance and enhancement of well-being. One of the characteristics of consciousness that has been discussed in relation to well-being is mindfulness. In concentration with the psychology discipline, mindfulness meditation practices have been increasingly used to treat a majority of pain, stress and anxiety-related conditions and also, increasing well-being. The ideology of mindfulness meditation has core roots in Buddhist philosophy and other pensive traditions where awareness and conscious attention are actively cultured (Brown, Kirk Warren,2003).
Public speaking is one of the most under rated skills learned in school, yet is one of the most valuable. The way you communicate shows a lot about you, and can influence other’s opinions of you. In every profession communicatiis important. Good communication skills, no matter what you plan to do in life, will help you out greatly and improve your chances against a harsh job market. I am majoring in Business Administration and Law, and communication is one of the biggest parts of business and law, yet communication is hardly ever taught in business classes for my major. I think that a communications class like public speaking, for example, should be not just for a college class, but taught in high school and middle school as well. I believe several classes would allow anyone to become an expert speaking. The only way to fully learn public speaking is to get up in front of people and talk to them. One can not learn public speaking from a book.
The behavioural approach is closely linked to behaviour psychology and guides the individual towards learning a language through direct interaction which people who speak the language. The natural behaviour of learning a language is linked to first listening to the language before gradually beginning to pick works, building sentences and eventually attempting conversation (Littlewood 2002). This requires for there to be a positive stimulus which keeps presenting the learning with opportunities to hear words, learn them and reply. It’s also the responsibility of the tutor of stimulator to re-enforce the individual confidence through encouragement, acknowledgement and polite corrections. The tutor or stimulus is a very important aspect linked to learning a second language but it’s also important to remember the individual must be able to bond with the educator to secure the required response while
Living in the present allows me to live and tend to my thoughts and emotions that I often suppress or ignore. Working as a school counselor, I think that I will use mindfulness to help students with anxiety, behavior problems, and depression. I hope to use mindfulness in the future as I teach students how to use mindfulness in their own lives so that they can exist in the present and connect their mind with their body. Through using mindfulness in sessions with students and possibly in the classroom setting, I will give them a tool to help manage and become more self-aware of the thoughts and emotions they experience so they can learn how to better tend, express and manage them. However, without practicing mindfulness myself I would not have understood its power in the work of my client’s
Language is a tool for people communicating; with its development and increasing diversity, people gradually become unsatisfied by using language, as a communication method, barely to understand, instead, they are eager to interpret. They would like to know a person’s personality through his or her language speaking; they are more intended to judge others through the superficial language skill. An invisible standard continuously forms that people who have a higher language skill deserve more respect and may lead more self-confidence. However, this fact is highly controversial due to various sources which depict the correlation between language, especially English competence, and a person’s self-competence.
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language that goes to his heart.” ‒ Nelson Mandela. Since the 1960’s learning a second language has decreased by 30 percent in today’s society. People who wish to learn an additional language often do so to communicate with people who reside in different countries. With an increase in today’s globalization, it is forcing companies throughout the world to break the language barrier. However, with the advancement of technology, numerous citizens find it unnecessary to learn another language, as a translation is at the tip of their fingers. The methods of learning a foreign language can differentiate between people. Nevertheless it has been
Speaking is a natural ability given to most reluctant individuals. Since the beginning of time, it has been assumed that we have a right to speak and use words, thus we naturally begin our development of language during the early stages of live. After years of grasping and perfecting our vocabulary and language, it seems unnecessary to study the purpose of our development. Why, then, should we study “oral communication?” There are many purposes, benefits, and institutions that branch from oral communication. Of course, communication is the basis of interaction with other individuals through the use of expressions and words; however, through studying oral communication, one can take the words and expressions being used and apply them to his or her own life. After all, the most effective and useful knowledge is applied knowledge.
“DA-DA!” Who would have known that a simple word like that could be so powerful and strong enough to make a grown man like myself cry. In every job setting, a great way to represent ourselves is through communication. Communication is stemmed from the act of speech, in which plays a huge role, not only at a workplace but in reality as well. Speech is simply a higher form of communication between two or more people. Great speech practices may enhance a person’s opportunity of moving up within the company he or she works for, as well as venturing off to higher positions in a professional field. Having the ability to speak well is closely related to the ability to listen well. Speaking well in a professional setting can cause one to stand out over others more and help interpret a great first impression of who that person is.
The issue focused on importance of learning of foreign languages. Many people ask "Why should I learn foreign languages?" Learning a foreign language takes assiduity and free time. In order to understand this importance we need first to understand benefits of knowing and learning foreign languages. I offer several groups of these benefits below, which may help to convince you to take the plunge, if you need such persuasion. One groups of benefits represent economic and practical reasons, others have intellectual and even sentimental content, but whatever reasons you choose, you will have a clear idea of why learning foreign language so important and how it can help to motivate you in your studies.