Distancelanguagelearning/English Web/writing/Academic Writing/class/Unit I/Essay

=Itzel's class=

Brainstorming
The Impact of Acquiring English as Second Language at an Early Stage


 * bilingualism
 * input
 * contexts
 * theories of language acquisition
 * nowadays english language
 * english as l2
 * l1 acquisition
 * exposure
 * how children learn?
 * motivation for learning a language
 * skills

Essay
Acquiring a second language at an early stage, may influence in some aspects (be more specific) of your future life. In this new century is (you are missing a subject) necessarily to know a foreign language, to have a huge knowledge about it, and to apply it in different areas. It is important to mention (Avoiding this phrase makes your writing more academic.) that every day, English is used around world. In fact, it could be said (As a general rule, avoid the passive voice with a non-referential "it" as the subject.) that English is a lingua franca. Because of globalization, English has become a necessity, a tool that allows communication among people from everywhere. Many factors can make children to acquire a second language (awkward, reword this entire sentence), that is why is important to know how children can acquire it.

“Most experts agree that the earlier a child is introduced to a second language, the greater the chances are that the child will become truly proficient in the language” ( Marcos, 2000) (Is this your topic sentence?).When acquiring a second language (English) in early childhood, (Notice how you tend to leave out the subject of the sentence when following a dependent (subordinate) clause. Be careful.) depends of many factors in which children stay in touch with this language. Many people get afraid, (You do not need a comma here. Review comma rules.) when they know that their children are going to acquire English as second language, because of  how they will do it. But there are factors that involve with this actionBold text (Reword this phrase and replace the word "but" with a more academic word.); such as, the context: according to Moon, J. (Review APA on how to cite references. (2005) children have to be exposed to the language, even if in their context is not use it (Awkward, reword.). The variety of input that children receive has to do with the acquisition for this foreign language. The input has to be meaningful; it has to have a great impact of children (Is this your original thought or is this coming from someone else?). Another important factor is the time, (Review comma rules.) when children are exposed to the language. These factors, about acquiring a second language, (Your comma use is making the flow choppy.) can have an impact in children’s future life.

Acquiring two languages, at an early stage can help people in the future. It Is not just about knowing two languages, is more than that, when knowing these languages people have possibilities of growing up in many areas of your life. These could be taken as a big advantage of acquiring two languages, getting a job, knowing about other culture, and interact with people around world. English is more tan structures, that is why Acquiring  English as second language in childhood, can help people in their future.

Marcos, K. (2000, July 26). Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language?. Retr ieved Septemeber 2010 from: http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/second.language.p.k12.2.html

Brainstorming

 * INTRODUCTION
 * MATERIAL FOR ELT
 * AUTHENTIC
 * NON-AUTHENTIC
 * TIC'S IN ELT
 * VIDEO
 * PRACTICAL WAY FOR SS


 * BODY
 * VIDEO
 * TV
 * CABLE
 * SATELLITE
 * DVD
 * ACTIVITIES
 * ROLE PLAYS
 * DISCUSSIONS
 * GAMES
 * SKILLS
 * LISTENING
 * VOCABULARY
 * SPEAKING
 * READING


 * CONCLUSION
 * PRACTICAL WAY TO LEARN
 * FUN
 * INTERESTING

Essay
English learnrs use different kind of material in order to learn and practice with the language. there is authentic and non-authentic material that the teachers may use. Technology use in english is a practical way to hook the students get into the activity. Video is one of the most powerful mass media.

Brainstorming
Improving speaking in English classes.


 * difficult skill
 * students are afraid to speak
 * more L2 practice is needed in classroom
 * strategies for improving speaking
 * real uses of the skill
 * give time to practice pronunciation and fluency
 * teach attitude when speaking
 * kind of activities that can help students develop this skill

OUTLINE: how to improve speaking skill in English learners in the classroom

1. INTRODUCTION:

''':A. Speaking as a skill in English'''

1. Author's definition

B. Need of speaking in the classroom.

1. Real Communication

2. BODY: Suggested Activities to use in the classroom for improving speaking

''':A. Activities for small groups'''

''':B. Activities for big groups'''

3. CONCLUSION: Developing classroom activities

1. importance of speaking in the classroom.

2. Advantages of speaking activities.

Essay
How to improve speaking skills in the classroom

The speaking skill is one of the hardest skills for many English learners. It does not matter if they know grammar or if they possess a variety of vocabulary; L2 students are not able to express their ideas when they are presenting a topic or in a simple conversation with their friends. According to Collins English Dictionary (1991), speaking is defined as follows: “able to speak in a particular language”. One important aspect for English teachers is to find the manner to help students develop this skill in the classroom, so they can be able to use the language successfully. There are different activities for small and large classes that can open the way to improve this skill and help students as well as teachers. First it needs to be defined the use of speaking in the classroom. Baker & Westrup, (2003) state the importance of speaking since the preparation of the Lesson Plan. They mention that all the activities that we use in the lesson plan might be leaded to the practice of speaking by using the language they have just learnt. In that way, the objective can be achieved, and students could use the language in different contexts.

As a teacher it is important to define the type of activities that are going to be used. If the group counts with a few students then you might have half of the solution because it might be a tool that the teacher can use because there is more confidence and freedom to work. The California High School Speech Association’s Curriculum Committee suggests different activities whether for small or large groups. Some suggestions for small groups are the following: Debates: playing cards, with a topic that might not be controversial, it helps students how to flow in debates. There is also the activity called Collaborative Reading groups: where students can discuss about a reading the whole class was interested in and argue its most important points. For large groups there are two main activities that can be put in practice, the first one is named “Spontaneous Argumentation” it helps students to develop a topic that is related to his daily life, E.g. the Curriculum or their plans for future life. There is also the “Informative and Persuasive Speaking” in this activity students can develop their other skills like grammar and writing because they can prepare a topic using outlining, researching and finally presenting the information to the rest of the class. (California High School Speech Association’s Curriculum Committee, 2004).

Finally, the purpose is that an English learner needs to be able to use the language he is studying and learning in a different set of situations. The importance of speaking skill is as Tillit and Newton-Bruder (1985) argue “Teach students how to perform certain language functions in English by presenting the social rules for language”. Real communication is and must be the objective of English teachers when teaching. And in the planning of the class the teacher must be thinking on the kind of activities students can use with the learnt language as if they were having the situation for real, therefore use those classes and activities  to prove, grade, correct and improve the speaking skill of students and get real learning and real communication in success. (Tillit & Newton-Bruder, 1985)

REFERENCES:

1. Collins English Dictionary-Complete and unabridge, (1991). HarperCollins Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/speaking

2. Baker, J. & Westrup, H. (2003) Essential Speaking Skills, A handbook for English Language Teachers. Great Britain, MPG Books.

3. California High School Speech Association. (2004). Speaking Across the Curriculum : Practical Ideas for Incorporating Listening and Speaking in the classroom. International Debate Education Association

4. Tillit, B. & Newton-Bruder, M. (1985)Speaking Naturally. Cambridge University Press

brainstorming

 * AUTHENTIC MATERIAL/NON-AUTHENTIC MATERIAL
 * movies
 * books
 * idioms
 * coloquial words
 * formal language/informal language
 * the students have to have more conctact with authentic material
 * comertials
 * motivation
 * ss have to have good lexis, grammar, etc but also thay have to be able to communicate with a native speaker.

Brainstorming
(5/20)

constructivism: education,children,teaching techniques,students´ learning strategies, positive points,negative points,methodology,theory,practice.

Essay
Applications of Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism in the Language Classroom

How can children build up their own knowledge and have fun at the same time? A man called Lev Vygotsky developed a method whose methodology allows students to learn by their own interacting with the knowledge in a practical-theorical way; this method is called constructivism and, According to Méndez, (2002) constructivism is: “a theory that intends to explain which the nature of human knowledge is”. The main idea about constructivism according to Vygotsky (1978),lies in the fact that students are able to work by their own, achieving the objectives of the course, teacher is just a mediator whose main function is to give back up to the students when they get stuck. Nowadays many schools use constructivism as part of their methodology to teach, the point of using such method is that students tend to learn in a easy was and at the same time they are having fun making and designed projects by their own, if teacher is good supervising this process the teaching process as well as the learning process are easier to deal with; The method consist in allowing students to interact with the new knowledge by completing certain tasks by their own, the teacher get converted into an advisor checking students progress but without interfering in the process. Vygotsky, (1978) As conclusion, constructivism is a helpful method which helps students to improve their learning and helps teacher to improve his/her teaching of course always having into consideration the teacher skills to deal with the role of advisor and trying to allow students the most of free to deal with the problems in class.

References: Vigotsky,L. (1982,pag:78), mind in society; Harvard University, United States. Vigotsky,L. (1969,pag:124), constructivism; United States.

BRAINSTORMING
ERROR-CORRECTION

why is it important? how it rebounds in a class? what happens when a teahcer corrects a student? when is appropiated to correct a student? how students react or what behaviuor students acquire? what is better students-students or teacher-students?

THESIS STATEMENT: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON ESL CAUSED BY ERROR-CORRECTION

Brainstorming
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN ADULTHOOD:
 * Cognitive processes.
 * Theories.
 * English Language.
 * Motivation.
 * Approaches.
 * Teachers helping Ss.
 * Teaching Styles.
 * Learning Styles.
 * Behaviour.
 * Disadvantages to learn in adulthood.
 * Intrinsic motivations.
 * Extrinsic motivations.
 * Natural way to learn.
 * Didactic and appropriate material for them.
 * Different way to learn from infancy.

CARO'S ESSAY:

“SOME DIFFICULTIES THAT ADULTS FACE WHEN LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE”

It is an accepted and global fact that the younger a student/person is, the easier it is for them to learn a second language Needs a period here. Start a second sentence with.. English Language, .... . It is also proved that It /there is not the same way to learn for (children and adults learn) please change sentence children and adults because children the first ones (instead of children) learn I'd remove the language (It's mentioned before) the language naturally and the others or the last ones, (instead of adults - remove "it" and substitute it with "by") adults learn it following series of gramma r (remove and) and structures already given in stead of "it means" change it by which means,... it means that they learn in a more complex and not natural way for them. There are some differences that we have to take into consideration when learning a language (in stead of "they are" such as:) and they are: cognitive and developmental processes they have to follow in order to learn a language. Maybe the central part of this issue is that every person in the world has to look for their own goals and purposes because (double check your idea) of not learning processes would seem useless. Perhaps one important aspect to consider when teaching English to adults is remove (that you have) that you have to motivate them and contextualize what you are teaching in order to make the learning process more useful, meaningful and with one purpose for students.

(Start the paragraph with the first difference...) In one hand the first difference and probably it may be seen as a disadvantage is that (remove -in) in the “critical period” hypothesis is based on the theories of brain development, A period is needed here. (delete "and")Start as: This theory, ... and it argues that the brain losses cerebral plasticity after puberty and it obviously makes the second language process more difficult as an adult than as a child. So, this first difference talks more about a biological or physical disadvantage than some (delete something) something more delete "about" about cognitive features. On the other hand (remember we need to talk in 3rd person of the singular, the impersonal one)we have the cognitive differences and it is proved that adults have more highly developed cognitive systems and this is just because they are able to make higher order associations when speaking and producing the language (period needed). (delete "and") Start with capital letter and they can also integrate new language input with their already learning experience. (delete and)start with Another... And another aspect that is taken into account is that adults have (I'd say that both have the two term memories it is just that one of them has it better) long-term memory rather than short-term memory and this really helps adults to make learning process significantly (delete "ly"). In stead of "This", "It" This is important to mention that we as teachers can help our adult learners by creating colorful material, motivating them and encouraging them to use the language through some learning strategies.

In general you have to consider a lot of aspect (make it plural) when teaching adults a second language but the most remarkable aspects (Make it singular) to consider in a lesson is the motivation you are adding to the classes (make it singular), the context and to have always in mind their real purpose to learn the language because through this way you can find meaningful activities and input for adult learners. This is also instead of considerable, to consider) considerable that there is not a matter of biological or brain features (instead of "this" add "it") this is more about personal goals and objectives. To conclude it may be stated that a course that (keep it in simple present) will be able to meet and know the adult learners needs will lead to rapid language learning.

References http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/87-9dig.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050615060545.htm http://ezinearticles.com/?Second-Language-Acquisition-in-Adult-Learners&id=140845

Brainstorming
Education

teaching games how do kids learn? multiple in

Brainstorming
Education

teaching

games

how do kids learn?

multiple intelligences

background

L2

Acquisition

Activities

Motivation

Family environment

Essay
Introduction

The most important thing for children when learning a new language is the environment, if the environment is the correct one, the learning process in the classroom would be easier and more interesting for the children. There are several things that have to be taken into consideration while designing a class for children. The children have to feel motivated, if the teacher achieve this main point teaching it would be easier for children to learn English. In this way, both, teachers and students could create a confident environment. There are several things that teachers can do to create a confident and relax environment to their students; the main point while teaching children is to have them doing different activities, to change from one activity to another. The teachers nowadays have to conscious about it and make their best effort to achieve their goals. The teachers have to think that the best age for learning a language is when people are still young, kids is better, so they have to remember it and act according to this; give students the opportunities to produce the language.

The teachers have to create a confident and relax environment in order to help the students produce and learn this new language (English), so in this way it would be easier for them the learning process. Teaching children is the bigger challenge a teacher can face but if the teacher knows how to do it and find the needed strategies it would be easier for both teacher and students.

elizabeth
===-children vs adults in a second language acquisition -differences similarities -dirict method -activities -strategies -techniques -motivation For many years it has been investigated the acquisition of a second language at different ages. The differences and similarities between children and adults when learning a second language it has become an important topic for linguistics, psycholinguistics, and pedagogies in the last 6 decades. First of all one of the crucial topics it has been the different kinds of methods that it has been used at the different student’s ages. Some of the most controversial and investigated methods that researches relate with the acquisition of a second language with children and adults are natural methods like direct method. Another aspect that is important in this investigation is the use of strategies joined with the correct activities and materials to achieve a successful learning in a second language. In the other hand the central question here is Can it been used the same teaching methods, strategies, techniques for children and adults?. This is the question that will be solved through this essay.

There are a lot methods that we can talk about in second language acquisition but the principal point here is how the researches have wanted to link the acquisition of a second language in  the way in which all the human beings learn their mother tongue; and at this point is when the direct method takes place in this investigation. First of all the direct method is against the traditional method in which a second language is learned with the idea of translating everything into the mother tongue, otherwise the direct method avoids that students think in their first language, it has the assumption that learner have to think directly in the language that they are acquiring;  according to Palmer,H. (1977) “ direct method    Avoids close association between the second or foreign language and the mother tongue,  lays emphasis on speech, follows the child’s natural way of learning a language, teaches the language by ‘use’ and not by ‘rule’, and does not favour the teaching of formal grammar at the early stage.”(p.14). There are many strategies that you can use in order to help your students to learn a second language, actually you can invent or apply your own strategies. It is not the same as the methods that are universal and invented for famous people. One example is when students are learning vocabulary and teacher makes his students to repeat the words; repetition is a strategy that each teacher evaluates if it is effective for his/her group. Another example, and this one has relation with the direct method is to read English books with images in order to help the students to understand what they are reading avoiding the translation of the story  into their mother tongue, but the  central question  is will be effective for children and adults to use books with images, or to repeat the new words they are learning? .

Natural methods, and hundreds of strategies and activities  have  been investigated and will be further investigated in order to avoid traumatic experiences when people learn a second language. Many studies have concluded that the best way to learn English is through the direct method where they must think, read, speak in English avoiding the use of the mother tongue; this aspect is link with the strategies, activities used in the classroom in which teacher have to try his students produce the language by writing, speaking, reading, and listening  in English,  trying to  disconnect students from their first language. During many years for society it has been important the acquisition of a second language and this has been requested for all society’s demands and needs; but also this phenomenon has been involved many people in a big problem for this reason it has tried to be solved studying and inventing methods, techniques and strategies in order to help the people, but this phenomenon has not just finished, there are more things that we still have to discover related to the acquisition of a second language.

Semicolon, period, and comma

Intruductory paragraph

During many years for society  it has been important the acquisition of a second language and this has been requested for all   society’s demands and needs; but also this phenomenon has   been involved many people in a big problem. It has represented a big deal to learn and to be able to produce efficiently a second language; for this reason a lot of important researches and linguistics have investigated and tried to explain ed and discover why does learn a second language is seen as a problem? this shouldn't be a direct question, but an indirect, try to rewrite it check auxiliaries. And why for children is easier to acquire a second language and for adults is more complicated Check the complement of your sentence and move it to the end. . (if you want to have on the other hand, consider the following)First of all, academic psychologies and pedagogies have been interested in the process and development of acquiring a second language through some teaching strategies, methods, techniques at different ages. In the other hand the central questions in this investigation are do children and adults learn a second language in the same way? Can it been used the same teaching methods, strategies, techniques for children and adults? And do you think there are more similarities or dissimilarities between L1 acquisition and L2 learning?

Type your note here.

Brainstorming
Psycholinguistics

how does it help to learn a second language

thoeries on second language learning

thories on second language acquisition

applied linguistics

learning of a second language

applications to teaching

how to apply psycholinguistics in a class

Essay
Language is one of the most important aspects of human language. What would happen if there were not a close relationship between the language and the mind? it is possible that maybe something similar to what happen to the opening utterance, a meaningless extract of language, with no apparent grammatical structure. This is the main reason of existence of psycholinguistics. It can be defined as: “The study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, and understand language" (Trevor.H. 2008. p N/A)

(Retrieved from http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/109461)

Psycholinguistics is the study of language in relation to . the mind. It tries to explain the mental processes that allows humans to make utterances, sentences, or any other form of communication with a meaning and with a correct grammatical structure. It is what enables people to be understood by others who share the same language code.

Psycholinguistics as it was mentionedis the relationship between the mind and the language people use every day, it is what gives people's utterances a clear meaning,structure and basically, psycholinguists study the “how” of this happening in everybody's head

Brainstorming
"How does affect the use of L1 in L2 classroom"

Thesis statement: The use of L1 has a powerful influenced in L2 classroom because it could be affect or spoil the second language acquisition in a partial or complete way.

A. Why does students use L1 in the L2 class?

B. Is it really necessary to avoid L1 in L2 class?

The influences that L1 has at the moment to learn a second language

A. Positive influence of L1.

B. Negative influence of L1.

Conclusion

A. The options that teacher can apply to avoid or reduce the L1 in L2 classroom.

ESSAY

"How does affect the use of L1 in L2 classroom"

Nowadays most of teachers express the idea of: "Please speak only in English". This idea is a headache of the students especially with beginner students. The use of L1 has a powerful influenced in L2 classroom because it could be affect or spoil the second language acquisition in a partial or complete way. The main explanation according to Harry Meyer (2008) is, “The L1 provides scaffolding that should be gradually dismantled as the students’ progress. Not enough and affective filters may be raised, too much and progress is slowed”. The students use the L1 in order to communicate effectively inside the L2 classroom because they have many language deficiencies.

Brainstorming
teaching methods

language

English

techniques

time

activities

sources

participation

evaluation

material

students' role

behavior

role

teacher talking time

students' interests

lesson plan

interaction patterns

Brainstorming
Translation

L2

Learning

Teaching

Tools

Texts

Masterization

Techniques

Essay
The Translation as a Method of Masterization of the English

How translation method helps to an L2 learner to masterize English Language. The translation is a very useful tool used among the time to solve communication problems of the human being. Is not that easy to be a translator, for that is required to understand a lot of concepts and to develop your English language, for this reason the translation can be used as a method to develop a second language.

There are different types of translations, applications and uses of it and tools that can be used in order to help to the translator to complete his task. A commonly used technique of translation is using predictions for the phrases or sentences, this demands a great use of language that will help to the translator to develop his use of language and composition but sometimes the translated information is not accurate but it keeps the same idea and communicates the same aspects. Other type of translation that is very accurately with the original information translated from a language to another is the word by word translation, this is commonly used in law and other important documents that demands the use of the correct and accurate words in order to communicate a specific statement in order to conserve it’s original value, this will demand the use of a specific vocabulary helping to the translator to learn more about vocabulary “Further the translation method is good for beginners who do not yet have the critical level of vocabulary in their target language for expression. However, they might translate simple text from their target to their native language. The effect is not only increased vocabulary, but most important increase confidence. They feel they could actually be translators at a basic level.” (Sándor G. J. Hervey, p 54). As we mentioned previously the translation is used to help the human to understand and to communicate an idea and it is translated in order to be used as information or as an important document. An important tool that a translator should have with him is a dictionary. When a translator uses a dictionary he is learning more about vocabulary as he is using a trustable reference where he will be able to define unknown concepts.

When a translator is translating from L1 to L2 he will be enriching his vocabulary, his use of language masterizing it and developing skills. Obviously a translator will be learning all the time by doing his task, it will require a high capacity from him by using concepts and words, so for that reason he will be learning and applying new vocabulary. The use of language is without a doubt the most important for a translator. Using the language in a right way will generate a high degree of composition, for that reason if a translator knows how to use his language in order to achieve his objectives, he will be performing his task in an adequate way, at the same time he will be learning more about the use of language. Subsequently with the information that we mentioned before, the translator will be masterizing his L2 and in this way he will be better in his tasks generating a better use of language and increasing his own level.

To conclude, the translation is very useful to make the information understandable for people of other languages. In the case of understanding of English it will be a great method to develop an L2 and it will be very useful as a task or as a learning method. The translation generates a high use of language that goes beyond of the highest level of a learner, so it will generate a masterization of the language in the way that the translator is using the information and how it translate that information in order to develop his second language. As a result the translator will be learning more information as he performs his task, whit this he will be learning all the time about the use of language and it will be very useful to elevate his level of his L2 making him a better translator and developing his own skills

Sándor G. J. Hervey, Stella Cragie - 2000 Thinking translation: a course in translation method

=Ben's class=

Brainstorming
Problems when Learnig L2 collocations communicatively in Mexican University Students (What kind of problems? --Benjamin Stewart 03:10, 2 September 2010 (UTC))

MY THESIS STATEMENT

A very common problem among Mexican University Students when learning English as foreign language is using collocations properly accurately.

Three statements that supports My thesis

•	The most common mistakes that Mexican University students make when using English Collocations properly either in spoken speech or written texts is when distinguishing the correct form in which those words go together (co-occur).

•	L1 collocation patterns interfere with L2 collocational usage.

•	An easier way to correct those mistakes is through applying communicative strategies in the classroom focusing on improving Students’ accuracy.

Essay
Teaching collocations communicatively to Mexican university students

A common problem among Mexican university students when learning English as a foreign language is using collocations properly. Sadeghi (2009) expresses that "collocations are one of the areas that produce problems for learners of English as a foreign language", for example in Iran (Sadeghi's homeland), "a significant part of EFL learners’ problems with producing the language, especially at lower levels of proficiency, can be traced back to the areas where there is a difference between source- and target-language word partners" (Sadeghi, 2009). In Mexico, collocation patterns from the Spanish often interfere with collocation usage in English. For instance; utterances such as; "do a mistake", "depend of", or "consist in”, are quite common.

Learning collocations involve being aware of natural co-occurrence between words that apparently do not have any relationship beween each one. Thus, students do not have to translate collocational English structures into Spanish word by word or using them in English, following the same natural organizational pattern they use in Spanish to convey the message. Sinclair (1995) explains that there are two models of interpretation: a) " the open-choice principle " and b)"the idiom principle". The first one is "a way of seeing language texts as a result of a very large number of complex choices... Virtually, all grammars are constructed into the open-choice principle” (Sinclair, 1995). The second one is “the idiom principle; it says that "words do not occur at random in a text... To some extent, the nature of the words around us is reflected in the organization of language and contributes to unrandomness" (Sinclair, 1995).

To summarize; improving teaching collocations implies that teachers should raise awareness among learners about collocations, paying special attention to students' accuracy'''.  Therefore; teaching collocations must be tightly related to following the idiom principle in order to fulfill the necessity of applying them in a real context of communication, paying special attention to accuracy rather than fluency in order to improve native-like selection and native-like choice. Since Sinclair mentioned "the nature of the word around us", learners can always take into consideration the purpose of each collocation and the enviromnent where collocations are used in order to learn them meaningfully.'''

REFERENCES

Sadeghi, K. (2009). “Collocational Differences Between L1 and L2: Implications for EFL Learners and Teachers”, TESL CANADA JOURNAL/REVUE TESL DU CANADA, VOL. 26, NO 2

Sinclair, J. (1995). Corpus Concordance Collocation, London, U.K. Oxford

Albyy
Brainstorming

Age in second language learning

age

second language

The Critical Period Hypotesis

young chilldren

puberty

older learners

proficiency

Essay
Alby, you were asked to put in bold the punctuation you want me to grade. Please put in bold only one of each of the punctuation marks. How to create bold text! --Benjamin Stewart 14:03, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Children have the ability to learn more than one language in their earliest years. Some recent studies provide evidence that children learn better in a young age than adults, it is because their brain are still able to use the mechanisms that assisted first language acquisition. Cameron, L. (2001). According with the Critical Period Hypothesis younger learners acquire better pronunciation and accent than puberty or adults; because they have more opportunities to  hear and use the language in environments where they don not feel pressure to speak fluently and accuracy.

The opportunity to acquire better fluently and accuracy speaking than adults; depends of their age. Resent study discovered that the brain activity patterns of early bilinguals, who learn two languages at the same time from infancy, differ for those learners who begin learning language after about 7-8 years of age. Adrian, A. (1990). The point, why this occur it is because young learners acquired language in a natural way, they enjoy what they learn; besides their mistakes are accepted. On the other hand, adults learn English in a more complex way, adults are always embarrassed when they make mistakes; it develop a sense of frustration. Adults are always thinking what they are saying.

Adults and children learn in a different way. Children are able to acquire the language better than adults. Children are great imitators; they repeat what they hear or see; they do not feel shame at all. They never think what they are learning neither how. Everything is a game for them. On the contrary adults always are thinking what they are learning; they do not trust in themselves or enjoy learning. Adults do not get accent `s second language as well as children. To learn since infancy will avoid a lot of problems in Mexican schools.

References

Cameron, Lynne. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Adrian, A. (1990).Introduction to Language and Communication.

Brainstorming
L1 Transfer affect L2 language acquisition

L1 in the classroom

Age

Easy

Learning

Acquisition

New Topic: Motivation affects the learning of English.

Types of motivation

Intrinsic & Extrinsic

Age

Students

Teachers

Classroom

Home

Friends

Job

How detect motivation?

Is there a motivation technique?

Gardner

Essay
Motivation affects the English learning process.

In today's world people have the need to learn a foreign language. Nowadays, most researchers ( Gardner 1993; Ellis 1997, Ericken 1978) agree that motivation is vital in learner's achievements, and detecting motivation is important for learning English. Frequently the lack of it can affect the learning process. In order to solve this there are some important aspects such as knowing the types of motivation, and knowing what teachers can do in order to motivate the students.

Students all around the world have the necessity of learning English. This is because English has become important considering that it is everywhere. However, some students do not have enough motivation for learning it. According to Gardner (1985) there are two main motivations which are “integrative” and “instrumental”. On the other hand, Ellis (1997) mentioned that are four important types such as, "instrumental motivation", "integrative motivation", "resultative motivation", and "instrinsic motivation". In addition, there are several actions that teachers are capable to do. Ericksen (1978) mentions that "Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher's ability ... to maintain the interest that brought students to the course in the first place" (as cited in Davies, 1999). Researchers have indentified some aspects of teaching situation that reinforce students' self-motivation. This will help them to became independent learners. In order to achieve this teachers can do the following:

•Give students possitive feedback.

•Creating taks depending on the students' level.

•Creating a positive environment in the classroom.

•Creating a positive and well-organized plan has an appropriate effect in the students' learning process.

As a conclusion, motivation plays an important role in the learning process. Researchers (Lowman 1984; Lucas 1990; Weinert  1987; Kluwe 1987; Bligh, 1971) mentioned that students have to be conscious about their learning, and know their learning motivations the as the same as teachers. On the contrary, teachers not only require knowing their students motivation. They also have to create the ideal environment in the classroom and a class or classes that motivate students in their learning process, with the objective for having success in the English acquisition.

References:

Davies, B. (1999). Movitating Students. Retrieved on September 7, 2010 from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/motiv.htm

Ellis, R. (1997). Second language acquisition (2nd edition)Oxford university press.

Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

Brainstorming
1.- English, French, German, input, interaction, speaking, listening, produce, language

2.- English, input, interaction, speaking, listening, produce, language, diffrent kind of interactions, face to face, internet, blended.

Essay
Try and you will get it! English learners have been concern with the English Language but they are not able to produce it. In fact, English language learners(ELL) must have certain input in order to produce the target language. The learner will get the infix through magazines, T.V. books, articles, etc. However, English teachers have to be able to promote through learners three sorts of interaction such as; face-to-face, through Internet, and blended.

There are some options for making learners practice the target language in a natural way.First, is face-to-face interaction. In fact, human beings have the need of being listen and as a matter of fact they need to communicate. Learners of English language have the commitment to express what they feel. Sometimes when there is an opportunity to sepak with a native speaker of the target language the learner just make some signs with hands and shoulders letting know that the learner is not capable in producing the target language. For this reason the teacher, besides of has taught only theory it is important the practice. Ramani (1987), argues: "Teachers often take up extreme positions, either deferring totally to theory or rejecting out of hand as irrelevant to classroom issues" For this reason, teachers must promote interaction inside the classroom with the whole students. Teachers should give a topic in order to let learners discuss about it and let learners give their different points of view. Secondly, internet is another option for practicing interaction with the target language. Nowadays, technology has advanced, the communication through electronic devices, such as; cell phones with internet service, lap tops, Play Station Portables (PSP) and many more electronic devices of common use. As a result teacher must be able to make classes including this important tool preparing some activities in which learners being able to inetarct with people around the world with speakers of the target language. On the other hand if learners are not familiarize with interaction through internet because they do not like computers or prefer using computer for doing other things but not for interaction with other people around the world teacher may use interactions blended, it means; using fifty percent of interaction face to face and fifty percent on internet, in this way this kind of interaction will be dynamic.

Finally, you do not have to worry if you as learner of English Language still you cannot produce the target language, you should taste to interact face to face with a native speaker or it can be inside the classroom with your partners, friends, parents, and with people who is able to produce the target language. However if you are little shy to face a person and speak to him or her you should interact through Internet or if you are an enthusiastic person you should try blended interaction.

Eugenius, S (1991) 'A place for Second Language Acquisition in teacher development and in teacher education programmes', Language Acquisition and The Second/Foreign Language Classroom,  28: 1, 25 - 29.

Abbas, Andrea and Mclean, Monica(2003) 'Communicative Competence and the Improvement of University Teaching: Insights from the field', British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24: 1, 69 — 89.

Escamilla, A. (2008) Serie didáctica/ diseño y desarrollo curricular (competencias básicas), Barcelona: GRAO. Págs. 52 – 61.

Brainstorming
(Topic)Communicative Competence in advanced level

Speaking is the last ability developed as a native and non-native speaker.

Face to face communication implies not only linguistics features, but also body language. The use of collocations and idioms.

Social background.

Type of discourse.

Artificail vs Real language.

Possible Hook: We should recognize that there is more to producing and understanding meaningful language -to communicating - than knowing how to make or recognize correct sentences,Cook (1989).

Cook, G. (1989). Discourse. Oxford:University Press.

Essay
Communicative competency based on advanced learners of English

Communicative competency among English learners is an important reason because is the main goal in learning a second language. As it is know competency in a foreign language takes into consideration several reasons. Nowadays, English teachers should consider: the type of interaction, the work place, and academic setting. However, there are many characteristcs that illustrate this main goal among foreign learners. In addition to being able to communicate in a language recognizes practice and exposure. Hymes (1971) argues that, likely to be institutionalized for saying all kinds of inappropriate, irrelevant, and uninteresting things. Being a communicative competent involves much more.

Nowadays, learners´ competencies are demanding considerably as a consequence of several aspects. According to Cook (1989)says that, what matters is not its conformity to rules, but the fact that it communicates and is recognized as coherent. In addition of what Cook says that, is merely right because as we see in the previous information about Hymes is that, finally textbooks and common English courses only provide limit situations. Similarly, non real situations do not deliver intercultural competencies ― ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Byram M., Nichols A., and Stevens D. (2001) argue that, interacting with others is an excellent way to harmonize with linguistics aims in order to transfer a coherent cultural learning experience. However, English learners ask for factual enviroment in which they really interact with different context, place, and people. To make matters worse, advanced English learners require also the use of collocations as a complement. Using collocations let learners to sound more like a native speaker and permit them to be part in different discourse types and finally to share information among several cultures.

To sum up, communicative competency is a considerable aspect in foreign languages. What matter is not being like a native speaker but it concers to development of certain aspects. For advanced English learners need care about the frecuency use of collocations, knowledge about culture, and of course characteristics of discourse types; as a consequence of teaching methods. However, learners are the ones who should ask teachers to promote factual activities related to cultural competencies and collocations in order to make them real in learning a second language.

References

Byram M., Nichols A., and Stevens D. (2001). Interucultural Competence in Practice. Great Britain: Cromwell Press Ltd.

Nadja, N. (2005). Collocations in a Learner Corpus. Philadelphia, PA, USA: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Cook, G. (1989). Discourse. Oxford: University Press

Brainstorming
L1 pragmatic transfer

can pragmatics be taught?

the importance of L2 pragmtatic competence

how does L1 pragmatic competence influence the development of L2 pragmatic competence?

do children acquire L2 competence faster or better than adults?

what is pragmatics?

what is competence?

Why is pragmatic competence important during the learning process?

How do students develop L2 pragmatic competence?

Final Essay
How teachers and students promote the development of a pragmatic competence when learning a foreign language.

The development of pragmatic competence is really important when learning a foreign language. To use the language accurately involves many skills that students need to perform; such as the pragmatic competence that Thomas defines as “...the ability to communicate effectively and involves knowledge beyond the level of grammar” (1983) But how can teachers engage students to develop a pragmatic competence? (Answer the question instead of asking it. --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) What students can do to develop this ability? And why is this competence important when learning a foreign language?

Teachers can (Notice how removing this modal makes your writing more assertive and academic. --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) engage students into the learning of pragmatics through different ways (Missing punctuation. --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) for example: Tello (2006) considers that authentic input is an important element so that learners become familiarized with the foreign language use. In contrast, Grossi (2009) considers interaction an essential element that helps learners to find out how to utilize the language in real contexts and situations. Although, (Remove punctuation. --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) the participation of the teacher is not enough, learners can develop their pragmatic competence by taking advantage of different opportunities to use the language inside or outside the class.

Finally (Missing punctuation. --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) it is important to mention (Remember we want to avoid these types of phrases. --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) that this competence will be (Will be important? Is it not important now? --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) important in the language learning process, since it will help learners to use and interpret the language correctly. However, the development of this competence is not going to be only the task of the teacher, also students will need to participate in order to find strategies or skills that will allow them to use (What's missing? --Benjamin Stewart 02:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) language appropriately in any circumstance or context. So let's start developing a pragmatic competence!

References


 * Thomas, J. (1983). Cross-cultural pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics, No.4, 91–112.

pragmatics (pp. 189–229). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
 * Kasper, G. (1989). Interactive procedures in interlanguage discourse. In W. Oleksy (Ed.), Contrastive


 * Kasper, G., & Schmidt, R. (1996). Developmental issues in interlanguage pragmatics. Studies in second language acquisition. No.18, 149-169.


 * Grossi, V. (2009). Teaching pragmatic competence. Compliments and compliment responses in the ESL classroom. Vol 24, No.2, 53-62


 * Tello, Y. (2006). Developing Pragmatic Competence in a Foreign Language. Theoretical Discussion Papers. Vol. 1, No. 1, 1-14.

Brainstorming
Living with Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Nightmare

Illness

Low Self -esteem

Appearance

Social Phobia

Depression

Defects

Stress

Anxiety

Pursuit of perfection

Essay
Body Dysmorphic Disorder ( BDD ) is a pychological condition that negatively affects a person's life . Everybody wishes they could change something about their appearance. However, people with BDD are in great danger of developing more serious conditions because of an excessive concern about their body image. Some common conditions that a person may develope are: eating disorders  and  plastic surgery addiction. It is important to understand this disease in order to avoid other pathological diseases that are a product of it.

People with BDD have a poor image of themselves. This situation leads them to be excessively preoccupied with their appearance thinking that they look ugly, deformed and even abnormal, when in fact they look normal. In spite of this, they are always trying to get rid of their physical defects. For example, they may think they are too fat so they start dieting or they decide to have a liposuction. However, in accordance with Phillips (1996),patients with BDD are rarely satisfied with the results of these methods, so it is very common for them to develop some kind of eating disorder, for example anorexia and bulimia, or to develop plastic surgery addiction.

Nowadays, an increasing group of people is developing Body dysmorphical disorder. The exposure to a superficial society, among other factors may be one of the main reasons for it. But even when being concerned about physical appereance may seem normal, people with BDD are in great danger. In more serious cases the results of untreated BDD are tragical. Feusner (2008), found that an 80 percent of those suffering from BDD have suicidal thoughts. Therefore the symptoms of this disease should not be ignored.

Phillips, K. (1996). The broken mirror. New York: Oxford University Press

Feusner, J. (2008). Visual Information Processing of Faces in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2010;67:197-205.

Brainstorming
APPLYING LEARNING STRATEGIES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (Please write in upper and lowercase letters, Vero. --Benjamin Stewart 03:07, 2 September 2010 (UTC))

Language Learning Strategies

What are learning strategies?

What are some of the most common learning strategies used by L2 learners?

How to apply some strategies?

Direct Strategies
 * memory
 * cognitive
 * comprensation

Indirect strategies


 * Metacognitive
 * Affective
 * Social

MEMORY STRATEGIES
 * Creating mental linkages
 * Applying images and sounds
 * Reviewing well

SOCIAL STRATEGIES
 * Asking Questions
 * Cooperating with others
 * Empathizing with others

Thesis Statement
 * Effective social strategies among children are important when learning a second language.

(Hook) Now it is easy to learn a second language.

(Hook) It is easy to learn a second language.

Essay
Effective social strategies for children

Learning a second language is easy for children. Some people think that learning a language is difficult and even sometimes it is thought that learning means to memorize each word in the language in order to be able to communicate. There are learning strategies which help children to learn easily a second language. They just need to focus on what they like, that is, working with others. That is why effective social strategies among children are important when learning a second language.

Asking questions, cooperating with others, and empathizing with others are useful social strategies which might help children to learn a second language. When practicing a second language such as English, students should elicit information from the teacher, that is to clarify any kind of doubt learners sometimes have. Not all of the children are able to ask questions to the teacher, so they prefer to ask other students. This is a way students use since learners trust each other. Giving examples is great when asking questions since children would reinforce the knowledge. Cooperating with others is another useful strategy when learning. According to Oxford ( 1990) working with peers to solve a problem, pool information, check notes, or get feddback on a learning activity are useful to accomplish the language learning. Empathizing with others is another effective strategy. According to Cohen (1998) children tend to learn easier when classmates explain them what they just learnt, for example, any topic or any grammar structure. Activities among children are effective when learning. Students may have activities such as dialogues with other children and team work help learners to remember certain aspects of language.

By applying effective social strategies with children, they start having a better relationship between each other since the previous learning strategies help students to learn by interacting with people. Children become more confident with themselves and learn a second language. Effective strategies such as: asking questions, cooperating with others, and empathizing with others make students feel more comfortable with themselves when learning and in this way they become better students.With motivation students develip those strategies and in this way they would acquire the language faster and easier.

References

Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies, What every teacher should know. Heinle & Heinle Publishers. P1.

Cohen, A. (1998). Strategies in Learning and using a second language. Longman P4.

Brainstorming
Multiple Intelligences(Topic)

Different types of learning

Gardner’s theory

Bodily/ Kinesthetic, Existential, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Logical/Mathematical, Musical, Naturalist, Verbal/Linguistic, and Visual/Spatial

Importance of the multiple intelligences

Essay
Mayra, you were asked to put in bold the punctuation you want me to grade. Please put in bold only one of each of the punctuation marks. How to create bold text! --Benjamin Stewart 14:07, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

Multiple Intelligences

All human begins are different in several aspects: skills, feelings, ways of thinking, and learning. These differences are also notable when people acquire new information. Each individual has his own style for acquiring something new,not only in the real life but also at school. Gardner's (Use only the author's last name. --Benjamin Stewart 02:37, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) theory says that each person has a different mind that processes information in a different way. In other words, people learn, understand and remember by using other methods. According to Smith M. (2008), Linguistic, Logical-mathematical intelligence, Musical intelligence, Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, spatial intelligence, Interpersonal intelligence, and Intrapersonal intelligence are the list of seven multiple intelligences, the way in which people learn, that Gardner formulated. (Are you referencing someone else? Where's your citation?). These multiple intelligences help teacher in different ways to plan theri classes. (Reword. --Benjamin Stewart 02:37, 14 September 2010 (UTC)).

“However, it has met with a strongly positive response from many educators. It has been embraced by a range of educational theorists and, significantly, applied by teachers and policymakers to the problems of schooling” (Smith, 2008). Teacher has been taking in consideration multiple intelligences for teaching.They take in consideration how students work and learn. In this way they include different activities according to the students’ skills. These activities are appropriated to the students’ profile. Multiple intelligences are also related to the interaction patterns. In a class there are students who do not like to work alone or with another partner. So to know this information is useful for the teacher.

There are different purposes why a teacher should know about multiple intelligences. One of them is that a teacher can plan a class according to the way (Avoid gender-specific language. --Benjamin Stewart 02:37, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) students learn. In this way students are in the class and acquire the new information.Teachera are conscious that students have different style of leaning and that they are liked to the way teachers impart classes.

Smith K. (2008). Howard Gardner, multiple intelligences and education. (06/09/10) retrieved from: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm.

Brainstorming
errors teacher classmates class language 1 language 2 classroom enviroment grammar structures shy talking time language activities

Essay
You were asked to put in bold the punctuation you want me to grade. Please put in bold only one of each of the punctuation marks. How to create bold text! --Benjamin Stewart 14:09, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

USE OF THE LANGUAGE 1 IN THE CLASSROOM

Most of the time students use the language 1 to comunicate in the classroom, because the language learning is a hard task which sometimes be frustating. At the moment students talk, the language 1 interefere with the meaning and undestanding to comunicate in the second language. Sometimes teachers talk in their native language and it generates students use it,too.

Using the activities in the classroom (Watch your spacing between words. --Benjamin Stewart 02:42, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) cause students use language 1 because the teacher cannot monitor each students and realize if they use the second language. When students do not know any word, at the moment to talk, they use the target language. So teacher need to involve to students in activities in which they practice any skill to have better  communication, and teacher can pay attention if they use it.

As a conclusion, most of time use the language 1 in the classroom is fault of the teacher. Teacher should have to motivate students to participate in the class, but they have to ask them (Who is them? --Benjamin Stewart 02:42, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) using the target language.(Watch spacing between sentences. --Benjamin Stewart 02:42, 14 September 2010 (UTC))So, students would be motivated to talk and they can not feel frustated. Also, studnets can acquiere every aspect about the target languale easily.

Brainstorming
use of politeness. is the use of politeness positive or negative? in which cases is important the use of politeness? how important the use of politeness in cartain contexts is? politeness among cultures. different types of politeness

Essay
You were asked to put in bold the punctuation you want me to grade. Please put in bold only one of each of the punctuation marks. How to create bold text! --Benjamin Stewart 14:09, 11 September 2010 (UTC)

POLITENESS PRINCIPLE

INTRODUCTION

Politeness principle is very important to be sociable, to prove this here it is an example that illustrates the use of the politeness principle. Two black males go to a Korean grocery store. Since they enter talking with improper (Find a synonym. --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) language, an employee follows them through the store acting like she is cleaning. One of the two men who wear braids says to the woman “I don’t know why you try to act like you are cleaning up?” the woman just keeps looking at the customers distrustful, the man expressing disgust adds “They always think that we are going to rob”. The two friends pick a beer and they open it in the store and drink, for that reason the other Korean clerk placed in the register shouts them “Hey! Not to drink beer in the store” the other man with red and black shirt responds “Hey man I am going to pay you”. They walk to the register and the woman keeps following them, the man with braids says to her “hey! Look miss, stop follow us around this store, you get on my nerves!” woman responds “hurry up and buy”, the clerk on the register says “just pay and leave” the other man who is wearing red and black shirt responds “I am going to pay you, why do not calm your nerves?!” (Reword your introductory paragraph and keep your hook to a sentence or two. Also, include the main idea, or thesis, of your essay. --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC))

Inspired from the movie “Menace II society” (What is this? --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC))

Is the use of politeness principle flouted in the previous case? In the previous situation the store clerk was following with a distrustful face because she was not agreeing with the behavior of the costumers. She was impulse to follow the customers, in reaction to her proximity one man speak to her with a strong tone of voice imposing her to not follow them and also complaining about the employee distrust. (Too much anecdotal evidence. Add a topic sentence to this paragraph and get right to the examples (i.e., evidence). --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) According to Farlex (You are missing the year. --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) dictionary (2000) polite is to show consideration for others. In the previous case the two men did not showed consideration of the employees by speaking with informal language. This offended the store clerk and in consequence the store clerk responded in a negative way following them showing a negative face. This situation became tense because none of the speakers respected the maxims of the politeness principle.

As a conclusion it can be mention (Do not say, we can say. --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC)) that the politeness principle is very important to be sociable - here is your thesis --Benjamin Stewart 02:48, 14 September 2010 (UTC). To be aware is a must that as politeness is present in all cultures; all cultures have different considerations in positive and negative politeness principles. In this essay was important to get deep on the different factors that complement the politeness principle. Notice that politeness is not always reflected or expressed by speaking forms, but also by non-speaking forms, such as the distrustful face of the employee, the action of follows the customers through the store that later was translated in speaking as “hurry up and buy”.

GUY COOK (1989). English teachers’ discourse. Oxford university press. Note book notes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politeness_theory http://www.glottopedia.de/index.php/Face-threatening_act