Language Learning - Interview Analysis Assignment

Language Learning - Interview Analysis - Assignment Example This competence involves the knowledge that a listener or speaker has of what makes up accurate, proper, and effective language behaviour in relation to specific goals in communication (Ellis, 1994, p. 47). It is a common desire of students of a second language to understand and be understood by the native speakers of the target language whenever they communicate orally (Bailey, Long, & Peck, 1983, p. 17). Accent, diction, pronunciation, and enunciation are all considered significant elements of smooth and effective communication between a native speaker and a non-native speaker. It is also true that adult students of a second language, who mastered communicative competence in their mother tongue, tend to apply the rules of their mother tongue when trying to communicate using the target language. However, applying rules from one language to another language results in negative transfer (Krashen & Terrell, 1983, p. 53). Previous studies show disagreement among linguists regarding the effectiveness of a formal classroom set-up in teaching adults a second language (Krashen & Terrell, 1983, p. 56). ... iterature Review This study examined whether explicit instructions in the four areas of competence in the English language, namely, phonology, grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatic, would aid students of the second language, particularly native Arabic speakers, in improving their English reading, listening, and speaking skills. Second Language Acquisition During the early 80s, the Input Hypothesis was proposed by Krashen in an attempt to answer questions related to acquiring a second language. He asserts the importance of focusing and understanding the meaning in the content. However, he also mentions that it is not enough. Another study claims that people cannot hear dissimilarities between sounds unless they learn to make these differences. It is therefore saying that people identify sounds based on the manner they produce these same sounds (Ladefoged, 1967, p. 98). However, one should understand that this particular process is not as simple as it sounds. Levelt’s Speech Produc tion Model in 1983 identifies that communication skills requires a process of utilizing words from the lexicon (vocabulary), implementation of grammatical coding (grammar), and then conveying a phonological coding (phonology). Pragmatic competence is acquired after all these processes, coupled with the proper balance of memory and control mechanism, are learned (Ellis, 1994, p. 51-2). Methodology Thorough analysis of errors made by language students aids in identifying teaching areas that need improvement (Corder, 1974, p. 32). Error analysis is utilized for this study, wherein the errors learners made were given focus. Particularly for this research, a native Arabic speaker was interviewed. Fatima has been studying English in the UK for over 4 months. However, it needs to be considered too that