Language Competency Varieties - Essay Example

? Patch 3 Introduction Language competency varies from an individual to another based on number of existent factors. Language is an art and just like any other arts, constant practice results in perfection. Among the key factors that affect language competency is the native dialect which one learns from his or her society; this is in most cases referred to as the mother tongue. There are several languages globally, natives tend to know all the rules governing the use of the language, they are therefore proficient in the language and will always perform better in it than in any other. The knowledge of a native language will always present itself in the process of learning a new language. People are, in most cases,compelled to learn more than one language at a time, the existing knowledge of a native language affects both the pace, and level that one learns a new language. Young learners always think in their native language and relay the information in the new language. This breaks a number of semantic rules governing the use of the new language and if not corrected in time, its effect may last to affect how he or she uses the new language. Additionally, the teacher of the new language and his native language influences the manner in which their students learn the new language. In the Western world, students of new language always seek the services of a native speaker of the new language or travel to a country of the new language to learn. In the developing world, students learn second hand languages taught by fellow natives. The teachers therefore break a number of rules and pass the broken languages to their students. This explains why the English spoken in a number of African countries is either pronounced differently or infused will local pidgins. The student in the case study suffers from the influence of mother tongue too. From the way he writes, it is clear that he is not an English native speaker. French sounds like English in a number of ways, some of the French words sound and mean the same to other English words. However, the greatest difference between English and French is the French attach gender to most of its words and sentences. From the write up, it is evident that the writer is trying to keep up with the English language requirements but because he keeps thinking in French, he finds himself attaching a gender to some of the English words. A remedy to this is constant practice and the ability to detach from the use of a native language while learning a different language. It is never possible to abolish the use of the first language especially when learning another but learners need concentrate on the new language and use the semantic rules of the new language. This way, they minimize the number of grammatical mistakes they make on the new language. This also makes the learning a lot faster. Another key factor that affects a learner’s ability to learn and use a new language is age. This factor is debatable but most scholars concur that young learners usually master the rules of a new language faster than older learners do. In young age, people are not preoccupied with other businesses, as is the case in old age. Children will therefore concentrate more on the new language and master it faster. Additionally, this has also contributed to the fact that children interact more with their peers than adults do. It is in these interactions that they learn from their colleagues the new language and the rules that govern the usage of the new language. Despite the faster speed of learning a language at a younger age, it is also evident that young learners have a tendency of forgetting a language that they do not use faster. There is no remedy to this apart from continuous practice and the usage of the multiple languages one learned. The writer in this case is an adult learner. His age is best determined based on the issues he addresses in his article. Some of the themes he struggles to raise are those that children cannot possibly comprehend. Writing is different from speaking. There are people who can speak efficiently but find it hard to write the same language. Writing efficiency is determined by the ability to relay the ideas conceived into written words. This greatly relies on one’s ability to have a proper mastery of the spelling of the words in the new language. The writer has a number of spelling mismatches a clear indicator of his poor mastery of the spelling of the words. His verbs agree correctly with the rest of his sentence structures. In most cases, the fact that he can properly conceive an idea and try communicating it is another indicator of speaker of the language. Learning plan The writer expresses a lot of interest in learning the new language. Through his write up it is evident that he is trying his best. Attitude is the main factor and influence to the study of a new language. With such a positive attitude and the intuition to invest in the process, the learner simply requires a simple learning plan to perfect his mistakes in the language. As stated earlier, all arts require extensive practice. The writer therefore requires engaging in an extensive practice. This involves engaging with groups with other learners. In these groups, the students must make an attempt of perfecting their proficiency in both speech and written language. This is best done through a lot of trial and self-evaluation; the students need to keep constant use of the language despite the numerous mistakes they are likely to make. Study groups give students a chance to interact with others, extensive interaction gives one an opportunity to learn from his peers without the fear of embarrassment. Additionally, the student needs to access a number of support materials that come in the form of books, audio and video disks and any other possibilities available. Accessing a native speaker of English may prove difficult, but such materials as podcasts as freely available on the internet. The learner must therefore make an effort to access materials produced by native speakers and listen to audios produced by such speakers. This way, he learns about how to pronounce certain words correctly and to conceptualize ideas. Reading books strengthens a learner’s spelling abilities. Story books and novels are available in libraries and in bookshops in every city. In reading, the learner must evaluate himself. This is best done either in the presence of a private tutor or in the private study groups. Self-training has been tried and tested but in most cases, it proves difficult. The learners therefore need the services of a tutor. If possible, the learner should study with the guidance of a native speaker of the language, tutors teach in the guidance of a course outline, through this he or she formulates materials that are relevant to every stage of the learning process. The student is an interested learner of the language. Averagely, he is an intermediary speaker of English but an efficient and a native speaker of French. He therefore does not need very detailed materials. The relevance of such study materials is best determined by a tutor. The entire learning process should not last more than eight weeks. From the article, the article is an adult with fully developed cognitive elements of the brain. The stipulated duration of learning a new language is two months, this duration is adequate to develop an average speaker of a language, one who is capable of communicating efficiently and use the language in official platform. Additional knowledge of a language are later taught in institutions of higher learning and are taught in accordance with the course details in collages. Such minor disciplines include literature. With knowledge in such disciplines but in French or any other language, one can possibly apply similar knowledge thereby making it not very relevant in the learning process of a new learner. Disability refers to the deprivation, want of ability or the absence of physical, intellectual or moral power. Disabilities a number of diverse forms but the most common include visual impairments or blindness, hearing impairments and the loss of a limb. Such diverse types of disabilities nullify the need of a standard form of a learning plan for all the disabled. The visually impaired can speak and may never read without the assistance of certain special apparatus. Those with hearing difficulties on the other hand may write but may lack the ability to speak effectively. The neural nerves that serve the speech aspect of the human body is closely tied to that which serves the hearing components. This explains why most of those with hearing disabilities may never speak as well. With adequate training thought, the two may develop some expertise in a language and become very effective communicators through writing. The blind write and read the aid of special technology referred to as Braille. They make small holes that they later trace with the tips of their hands in this special paper as they read. This requires the blind to develop a higher sense of touch to interpret the feel on their hands. The blind have sharp hearing abilities and will always differentiate the voices and tones of people around them. They can therefore become good speakers as well since they take notice of the smallest but very important components of language such as tonal variations. The blind thus require a lot of practice in speech since their writing may always be inconvenienced. Unlike the blind, the deaf and dumb can see but do neither speak nor hear. Their disability is strange and teaching such a group of people the basics of a language may prove more involving than teaching the blind. They have a special type of teachers who specialize in sign language and have the knowledge to give every word of a language into a sign. The deaf on the other hand should develop the ability to transform the visual sign into writable word and record it on their notebooks. This may be difficult especially on children or those born with the disability and may never have had any prior knowledge of any language. For those developing the disability in adulthood, the learning process may be easier since they simply transform the visual signs into the languages they had previously used. Learning is a psychological process that requires full attention of both the learner and the teacher. Any factor that destabilizes the psychological state of either party disrupts the entire learning process and one may never develop the proficiency as stipulated in the course outline. This explains the reason for segregating the disabled for other normal learners. Schools have different characters from different backgrounds some of whom may never understand the difference between the physically normal student and the disabled. This has thus resulted in instances of discrimination and maltreatment. Because of the maltreatments, the disabled feel rejected, unwanted, and may never learn as the rest of the students. Additionally, the disabled require the aid of special technical and psychological training. They cannot therefore interact and learn with the normal students. Other types of disabilities such as the loss of a limb cause psychological problems too but their victims may still fit in the normal learning institutions. The loss of limbs especially in adulthood requires serious readjustments to fit into the system but with adequate assistance, victims of such misfortunes always learn with the rest of the student fraternity. However, the schools just as any other public place must take into consideration the presence of such students and readjust their facilities. Some of these students use wheelchairs and may never use stairs to access some of the learning facilities. The institutions must consider such cases and design the access of the facilities in a manner that does not discriminate against such special cases. The recent legislation stressed the importance of improving access especially for the physically handicapped that learns with the rest of students in normal schools. Segregating those with such disabilities may cause them psychological disturbance since such an act develops the feeling of rejection. Such people are normal apart from a missing limb or two. All their senses function normally and they can therefore access the educational services just as the rest of the students. All they require is for the institutions make their facilities more accessible than they may currently be. Multiple floor buildings require efficient elevators, this way everyone accesses the classes and library equally. The only disability that requires segregation is any that interferes with any of the five human senses. Such people are officially abnormal and require specialized treatment. Such people as the blind, the deaf, the dumb and the mentally disturbed require separate enclosures that serve specifically their uniqueness since some of them such as the mentally impaired may prove injurious to their colleagues. Reference Coffield, F., (2009), All you ever wanted to know about learning and teaching but were too cool to ask, London: Learning and skills network. Appendices (Example) Student initials: P. E Antony The train left the station little minutes to ten. I was scared and did not know what to do, the apprehension associated with visiting a new place gripped me. I started wondering about the people I was meeting and the type of food they eat and the little everything that concerns settling in a new place. I closed me eyes and soon a fell a slep.as though I had not had enough of the psychological torture, my nightmares began. I was already in England, the people around me looked at me like I was an ape, was it so evident that I was not one of them? The weather was tool cold and soon my nose started running, sanding a lone in the train station I felt naked. Every people were all bussy and I did not have any one to ask for anything. Those who stood simply looked at me and walked soo fast past where I was standing. I felt bad and started crying, at twenty crying alone in the cold weather of a train station. I don’t remember for how long I slept but I remember the loud noise. It was the train coming to a stop, so I had arrived to London. Just as it in my dream, the people began looking at my direction some even motioning to me. In the big crowd of on lookers I saw her, it had been long since we last were together. She was beautiful and had gained some wiight. She took me off into a waiting taxi and began explaining to me, the people were all looking for friends and family from France and not just me. Slowly I began realizuing just how wrong I was, me and my little stupid dream. Engalnd is good and the people here love me. Read More