Difference between Error and Mistake:
Like, an error a mistake is also a deviation
of the norms of the language but is not systematic. Norrish (1983:8) says that
a mistake is an inconsistent deviation that is sometimes the learner ‘gets it
right’ but sometimes wrong. Richards et.al (1985:95) state that mistake is made
by a learner when writing or speaking which is caused by lack of attention,
fatigue, carelessness, or other aspects of performance.
So
we can say that a mistake is made by a learner because he does not apply the
rule (s) that he actually knows.
Motivation:
Like most other fields of learning, in
ELT, motivation is a great key to success. Without such motivation we will certainly
fail to make the necessary effort. So motivation demands a great importance.
Let us know what the motivation is.
At its most basic level, motivation is some
kind of internal drive which pushessomeone to do things in order to achieve
something. Longman Dictionary of Language
Teaching and Applied Linguistics says:
“…motivation
refers to a combination of the learner’s attitudes, desires, and willingness to
expend effort in order to learn the second language”
There are two types of motivation. They
are as follow:
1. Intrinsic
motivation:it comes from within the
individual. Thus a person might be motivated by the enjoyment of the learning
process itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better.
2. Extrinsic
motivation: it is driven by some external factors such asparental pressure, social
expectations, academic requirements, or othersources of rewards and
punishments.
Motivation emphasizes the balance
between the value attached to some activity andone’s expectation of success in
doing it, the learner’s attributions of success and failure, and the role of
self-determination and learners’ effective motivational thinking.
Motivation is generally considered to be
one of the primary causes of success and failure in second language learning.
Audio-visual Aids
There are numerous audio-visual devices
which are used in English language teaching by a teacher to help the learners. The
word “audio” refers to something connected with sound and the recording and
broadcasting of sound such asradio, tape-record, lingua-phone, telephone
etc. The term ‘visual’ indicates something that
are shown in order to help understand or remember information such as black/white board, charts,
diagrams, graphs, cartoons, maps, globes, wall pictures, models, flash cards,
film slides etc. The word ‘audio-visual’ means something that involves
seeing and hearing at the same time, for example,television, projector,
movies, computers, language labsetc.
The audio-visual aids are basically
used in language programme to maintain a high level
of interest in the lesson. They give the necessary variation and a change of stage
in to keep students' attention and interest.
It is also important to converse with
the students at the beginning stages, for example, pictorial materials can
provide students with something to talk about.The use of audio-visual aids
ensuresgreater number of students’ participation in particular tasks with the
teacher either individually or in groups.These aids can be used at all levels
of learning keeping a harmony with students' ages, their intellectual levels, language
proficiency level and socio-cultural background.
To conclude, we can say that to achieve
maximum effectiveness from the audio-visual aids, their use requires a careful planning.
Role play
Role-play or
role playing or simulation, in language teaching, is a drama-like classroom
activity in which students take the roles of different participants in a
situation and act out what might typically happen in that situation. For
example, to practise how to express complaints and apologies in a foreign
language, students might have to role-play a situation in which a customer in a
shop returns a faulty article to a salesperson.
Role-play is
very important for the SL Learners to learn how to manage the real life
interaction. In the classroom, the
students can somehow speak in target language. But, outside the classroom,
speaking in another language is completely different and often students lost
themselves at sea as soon as they step outside the door. Lists of memorized
vocabulary become suddenly useless in real life interaction such as ordering in
a restaurant.
Role-plays
require more imagination of learners and teacher and can be difficult to manage
because they are unpredictable. The initial scenario develops from the students
interacting with each other and can literally go in any direction. This gives
students practice in a familiar environment, and gives the motivation and
involvement where they have to think in English. Role-plays are interesting,
memorable and engaging, and students retain the material they have learned. In
their assumed role, students drive away their shyness and other personal and
cultural inhibitions, making them one of the best tools available for teaching
a second language.
To terminate our
discussion, we can say that role play is very much affective to remove the
inner shyness and hesitation of second language learners. It becomes very much
helpful for the students if it is handled efficiently.
The
difference between written and spoken language
There are many
differences between spoken language, the language which we use in everyday life,
and written language, the literary language. Sometimes speaking in a written
language or writing in a way spoken language may sound odd, strange and
unnatural.
In speaking language
contractions
are usually used such as I’ll or don’t. On other hand, formal
written language does not approve it. Slang words, which are popped in spoken
language, arestrictly prohibitedin written language. Some conventions in
written language are constantly broken in spoken language such as beginning
sentences with ‘but’ or ‘because’
and ending sentences with ‘prepositions’.
Since spoken
language is much more dynamic and immediate, there is less precision in
it. For example, we often hear native English speakers make grammar slips that
they would never make in written language. Mistakes such as ‘How much apples
are left?’ occur when speakers are forming sentences and changing ideas
rapidly.
Written language
is often more articulate and sophisticated than spoken language.
Spoken language
can be more communicative than written language due to extra cues such
as body language and tone.
To conclude, it
must be said that, there are many distinct differences between written and
spoken language. So, in writing, the norms of written language should always be
maintained.
Natural approach or natural method
Natural approach or natural method is a term for a number of language-teaching methods which were developed in the 19th century as a reaction to the grammar translation method.These methods emphasized:
a. the use of the
spoken language
b. the use of
objects and actions in teaching the meanings of words and structures
c. the need to
make language teaching follow the natural principles of first language learning
These methods lead to the DIRECT METHOD.
Direct
methodis
a method of foreign or second language teaching which has the following features:
a. Only the target language should be used in
class
b. meanings should be communicated “directly”
(hence the name of the method) by associating speech forms with actions,
objects, mime, gestures, and situations
c. reading and writing should be taught only
after speaking
d. Grammar should only be taught
inductively (see deductive learning);
I.e.
Grammar rules should not be taught to the learners the direct method was
developed in the late 19th century as a reaction against the grammar
translation method and was the first oral-based method to become widely adopted.
Some of its features were retained in later methods such as situational
language teaching.
Grammar Translation Method
Grammar
Translation Method is a method of
foreign or second language teaching which makes use of translation and grammar
study as the main teaching and learning activities. The Grammar Translation
Method was the traditional way Latin and Greek were taught in Europe. In the
19th century it began to be used to teach “modern” languages such as French, German,
and English, and it is still used in some countries today. A typical lesson
consists of the presentation of a grammatical rule, a study of lists of
vocabulary, and a translation exercise. Because the Grammar Translation Method
emphasizes reading rather than the ability to communicate in a language there
was a reaction to it in the 19th century and there was later a greater emphasis
on the teaching of spoken language.
The difference between test and assessment:
Assessment and testing are
two different things, although they are often used interchangeably. Assessment
and testing allow teachers to see how well they are doing and how well their
students are doing, but they also function in different ways.
Typically tests are done at
the end of a unit, at the end of a semester or at the end of a year to ensure
that all students are learning the same information at the same rate.
Assessments, on the other hand, can be done at any time. Teachers do
assessments after a lesson, after they teach a specific skill.
While tests are set in
formal way usually through a set of exam, assessments are used informally by
teachers in order to know what students understand and what they might need to
spend more attention on.
However, a good teacher uses
both assessments and tests to know whether a student has failed a test because
he isn't a good test taker, or whether he really doesn't understand the
material.
This
paper is prepared for you by Talim Enam, BA (Hons), MA in English.
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