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The importance of learning foreign languages
Why learning languages is important
Importance of language education
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English is an important language that is should be mastered by people around the world. It is used as a common language or lingua franca which is a language used for communication between people whose first language differ (Holmes, 1992). Increasingly, English is used for many printed information in our daily life. A great deal of the world’s scientific, commercial, economic, and technological information is written and published in English. That is the reason why students of elementary school up to university learn English as second language (ESL) or foreign language (EFL) nowadays.
In the context of ESL/EFL learning process, a class has a really important role. That is the main place where the learners are given many kind of target language
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Sometimes, students do not understand the target language which is used by the teacher. When it is happen, the teacher tries to negotiate the meaning of their utterance but sometimes it does not work. One more problem occurs when we know that every single student has a different linguistic competence. The implication of this problem is teachers have to be really careful in choosing TT that they use in the class. The problems above make the teachers have to explore their proficiency in explaining, asking, or giving instruction to the students.
Some difficulties in using TT make the teachers apt to use some language variations. One of the ways that frequently used is the use of code switching. Code-switching in a school classroom usually refers to bilingual or multilingual setting, and at its most general, entails switching by the teacher and/or learners between the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) and the learners’ main language. Code switching is a practice that enables learners to harness their main language as a learning resource. ( Mamokgethi Setati and Jill Adler in Liaqat Iqbal,
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Basically, the use of code switching in ESL/EFL classroom is still debatable. According to Liu Jingxia (2010), advocates of intralingual teaching strategy, such as Ellis (1984), Wong-Fillmore (1985), Chaudron (1988), Lightbown (2001), believe that teachers should aim at creating a pure foreign language environment since they are the sole linguistic models for the students and that code switching will result in negative transfer in SL/FL learning. On the contrary, researchers in support of crosslingual (code switching) teaching strategy including Tikunoff and Vazquez-Faria (1982), Levine (2003), Chen Liping (2004), etc., argue that L1 (the first language) can promote the learning of TL (target langauge) and L1 deserves a place in SL/FL classroom. Code switching is a good strategy of efficiency in SL/FL teaching.
Facing the conflicting opinions above, the writer try to explore the use of code switching in teaching English to get the clear empirical evidence about how it is used in eleventh grade students of SMA N 1
As a result of many negative stereotypes associated with certain variations of English many students have adapted codeswitching. When this concept came up in the book it made me think about my own language. I realized that I code switch quite often between what is seen as Standard English and African American English or Ebonics. Usually with family or other friends that speak Ebonics I use that Ebonics to communicate, but when I am in school, in a
There so many differences between code meshing and code switching. As Vershawn Ashanti Young theorized the topic between the two. Code switching means the practice of moving back and forth between two languages or between two dialects of the same language Code meshing is a strategy for blending many varieties of language with privileged standard language.
America is home for thousands of cultures and languages. Most people can speak at least two different languages either because of the environment and family or simply by taking another world language class in school. One of the advantages with knowing more than one language is that code-switching becomes a part of you and it happens naturally. In “‘ I Don’t ‘Code-Switch’ to Hide my Identity. I ‘Code-Switch’ to celebrate It,”’ Vaidehi Mujumdar states that code-switching is enriching and exciting based on her personal experience. In “learning How to Code-Switching: Humbling, But Necessary,” Eric Deggans claims that code-switching is valuable and necessary in everyday lifestyle and it is lot more than just being about cultural differences. If one were to put Deggans and
Education has a significant effect on African American variations of code-switching, and whether they are able to code-switch at all. African American who are uneducated will have a difficult time with code-switching. Uneducated African Americans have limited mobility within the society (Seymour & Seymour, 1979). This hinders them from being able to affectively switch between Ebonics and Standard English. On the other hand, those who have higher levels of education are able to code-switch effortlessly. There are instances where an African American can become so emerged in the Standard American lifestyle and reach a point where they can no longer subside to the level of
Translanguaging is a theory that encompasses and focuses on language practices of bilingual people (Celic & Seltzer, 2012). Celic and Seltzer (2012) state that translanguaging is a person’s ability and choice to utilize their home language and their second language as resources to make meaning of the things they encounter in every day life. Translanguaging is one of the theories that influence my theoretical framework of my curriculum. This theory is meant to challenge those myths and assumptions about monolingual instruction and bring the belief that monolingualism is the norm versus bilingual practices as being the norm (Celic & Seltzer, 2012). When a bilingual person is translanguaging they are using both their languages in a strategic manner, which is what sets this apart from code switching. The common underlying proficiency theory developed by Cummins (1991) suggests that the first and second language depend on each other and work together, therefore supporting the translanguaging theory. Cummins (1991) believes that if an ELL gets proper second language instruction, their first language skill will then transfer over when learning the second language. This theory is often challenged by monolingual views of second language acquisition, despite the fact that monolingual practices are not well supported by empirical evidence (Cummins, 2007). Translanguaging creates this idea of dynamic bilingualism. Seltzer (2014), describes dynamic
Code-switching is the switch between two or more languages or dialects, also referred to as codes, that occur when different languages coexist within the same community. I believe that code-switching is part of the everyday life for bilingual speakers in every community, which is very evident in the Hispanic communities in the United States, where code-switching is a part of their identity. When we use the term Hispanic communities we refer to a general community, as there are Hispanic communities from different parts of the Hispanic wor...
This paper critically evaluates Creese and Blackledge’s (2010) study of translanguaging as a pedagogical tool. Among plethora of investigations into language use in multilingual classrooms and society, Garcia (2009) demanded to review linguistic database related to Bilingual Education to articulate the true demands of bilingual learners. Thus, Garcia (2009) developed a new approach, founded on code-switching concept, namely translanguaging, a process in which bi/multi-linguals can have comfort to express their thoughts through an intermingling of languages without worry about being alien to their social-cultural environments. Garcia and Wei (2013) elucidated the differences between code-switching and translanguaging. Code-switching refers to
Bokamba (1989) defines Code-Switching (CS) as “the mixing of words, phrases and sentences from two distinct grammatical (sub)systems across sentences boundaries within the same speech event” (p.278). Auer explains that in CS, “the contrast between one code and the other … is meaningful, and can be interpreted by participants, as indexing (contextualizing) either some aspects of the situation (discourse-related switching), or some feature of the codeswitching speaker (participant-related switching)” (1999, p.310). However, CS is not “a display of deficient language knowledge: a grammarless mixing of two languages. Instead it is a phenomenon through which its users express a range of meanings” (Liu, 2008, p.4). “The purpose of CS seems to be to symbolize a somewhat ambiguous situation for which neither language on its own would be quite right” (Walwadkar, 2013, p.46).
In that moment I experienced code-mixing while I was explaining my topic. The class started, I spoke and while I was explaining my point of view my brain started to think in English, subsequently, I was not able to speak a complete sentence in Spanish. Literally, I mixed English and Spanish to create every sentence I said. My brain could not remember how to say words as “environment”, “aware”, “concerned” and some other words that event though I know them in Spanish, they were not in my mind at that time. And another case, but this time about code-switching, happened to me just three days ago when I went to a convention of languages where people who to practice the different languages they know. The reason I went was to try Portuguese but there were not people in the table that language. Under those circumstances, I sat down with the people who was speaking in English, next to the ones practicing French. Two hours later, a person who knew English and Portuguese arrived and sat down next to me. When I was speaking to him in Portuguese, a person that was speaking French turned his head and started to speak with us in the language we were using. This caused finding myself speaking in three different language groups; I was speaking with the English group, speaking Portuguese with other two persons, and Spanish too with some French. There I was speaking three languages at the
Introduction Wardhaugh, (2006) pointed out it is possible to refer to a language or a variety of a language as a code. Code can be used to refer to “any kind of system that two or more people employ for communication” (p.87). Therefore, the term code is used instead of language as a neutral term in order to avoid arousing emotions. He also argued that people can and should shift, as the need arises, from one code to another. People, then, are usually required to select a particular code whenever they choose to speak, and they may also decide to switch from one code to another or to mix codes even within sometimes very short utterances and create a new code in a process known as code-switching.
Andrew Sampson states that total proscription of mother tongue is detrimental to some extent, suggesting that code switching of mother tongue and English, under a good strategy of control, is useful for academic needs and even communicating purposes by concluding, “The results of this study suggest that code-switching is not necessarily connected to learners’ ability level and rarely signals an unwillingness to communicate in L2, but rather serves communicative classroom functions such as expressing equivalence, discussing procedural concerns, floor holding, reiterating concepts, and forming group relationships” (302). Code-switching not only improves the learner’s proficiency in English, but also allows the students to learn. In most cases, English language is meant for English-speaking students’ at level L2 or L3. Therefore, teachers should help non-native English-speaking students to code-switch in their communications. Code switching would improve the learner’s ability to identify his or her mistakes and correct those mistakes while she or he continues to learn English. At the same time, if possible, the teachers might use code switching to illustrate particular concepts and subjects. In other words, the teachers themselves can use the learner’s L1 or any other language to explain concepts or offer examples on the subjects in the learner’s L1. However, the teachers should avoid using oversimplified English words and vocabularies. This is because such approach would not help the learner to perfect his or her English
In the twentieth century, the avoidance of the using L1 in classrooms dominated teachers’ minds; as well it was implemented in many policies and guidelines of language teaching (Cook, 2001). Thornbury (2010) listed a set of arguments against using L1 in L2 classrooms mainly for that the translation of L2 into another language will play negative effects on students’ learning process. He pointed out that the use of L1 will result learners to have a cognitive dependence on their mother tongue at the expense of developing independence TL learning. Although the two language systems are not equivalent in many aspects, students may have an awareness of the notion of equivalence of the two languages if translation serves to convey meanings. Some argue that the use of translation to convey the meaning of the TL is more efficient and more memorable. However, Thornbury (2010) sees the opposite. He stated that the simple and direct way of translation will make L2 knowledge less memorable since the process lacks mental efforts in working out meanings.
The English language teacher is still the main person in the classroom from which students derive many of their language experiences. Therefore, teachers need to remain vigilant in the manner in which they use the language. Teachers who are bilingual speakers may often opt to alternate between languages for particular reasons or do so unconsciously. There are teachers who believe that in English language teaching, code–switching should be avoided, meanwhile others perceive code-switching as being a helpful teaching strategy in understanding components of the target language which is sometimes English. Irrespective of the opinions by teachers about which aspect should be favoured, it is crucial that the reasons which influence code-switching by teachers in English language learning classrooms be studied. This will assist other educators in making a better determination of whether to include or exclude code-switching in the language teaching process.
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
All methods in language teaching are a pre-designed set of description of how the teacher should teach the learner and how the learner should learn obtain from a specific theory of language and a theory of language learning. These theories are attain from the parts of linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and are the origin of theory and applying in language teaching. Language teaching methods is divided into many methodologies. For example: The Direct Method, Grammar-Translation Method, Audio-Lingual Method, Total Physical Response, Audio-Lingual Method, The structural Method etc. Each method has its own rules, history, and different from one another. For example: The direct method was the reply to the disapproving with the