A SEMINAR ON SPEAKING SKILLS

Communication is an integral part of human life which is totally unavoidable. They should be able to express themselves inorder to survive and excel in the society. For this purpose of communication they need languages. There are fourfold major language skills. They are :-

Ø   Listening

Ø   Speaking

Ø   Reading

Ø   writing

Among these fourfold functions of language, speaking deserves a special mention. Because 80% of human communication takes place through the medium of speaking. Here, I am trying to analyze what speaking is and how can we achieve the skill of speaking as well as how can we evaluate this. The paper starts by define speaking and later move on to the sub skills and is concluded with the ways or methods to evaluate one’s ability to speak.

Speaking Skills

Communication is an inevitable part of human life. For the purpose of communication we use languages. Language is not something ‘in-built’ in human beings. It is a learned behavior as well as it is culturally transmitted. Language is conventional and human beings tend to acquire language inorder to communicate with their fellow beings.

Hence language is a system of sounds and words. We use both written and spoken forms of language for communication. But we need some special skills inorder to achieve proficiency in language. Those special skills can be called as the fourfold skills of language (LSRW). It is very important to attain these fourfold language skills in learning any language.

Here, our concerned topic is the skill of speaking which comes right after the skill of listening in the fourfold skills of language. It is very important to attain the skill of speaking in learning any language. Because a lion share of the human communication takes place through the medium of speaking. Especially in this modern world of fastest growing technology more importance is given to speaking skills rather than any other language skill.

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information. Speaking is the transmission of communications. It is often spontaneous open-ended and dynamic. Speech as well as written form of language has its own structure, form and skills. There are number of subskills one needs to attain the ability to speak fluently and efficiently. Articulation, Lexis, Grammar etc are some subskills which come under the skill of speaking.

Speaking requires not only linguistic competence but also sociolinguistic competence. For oral communication normally there should be a speaker and a listener who may change their roles in a conversation.

The speech habits, expressions and the knowledge of the speaker about the topic etc have an effective impact on the success of any exchange. He must be able to anticipate and produce what is expected, depends on the particular situation or the context. Turn taking, rephrasing, providing, feedback or redirecting etc are some important factors in determining one’s ability to successfully delivering an exchange.

A speaking lesson should include 5 important elements or it should be comprised of 5 steps. They are:-

Ø   Preparation

Ø   Presentation

Ø   Practice

Ø   Evaluation

Ø   Extension

In a classroom set up dialogues and conversations are the most important and commonly used speaking activities, though a teacher can opt for a variety of many other activities. Some of them are listed below:-

Ø  Imitative

In this task the learner is supposed to imitate the teacher. He can simply imitate simple sentences and phrases said by the teacher. This enables the learner to attain clarity and accuracy.

Ø  Intensive

This also involves repetition of commands or requests. This focuses on specific phonological and grammatical points.

Ø  Responsive

This implies the responses produced by the learner. Yes or no questions are example for this.

Ø  Transactional

This task suggests verbal transactions. Eg: Role- play, debate etc.

Ø  Interpersonal

This promotes the sociolinguistic aspect of the speaker. Role-play, personal interview etc are examples.

Ø  Extensive

This implies lengthy verbal expressions like speech, oral reports etc.

These tasks can be used in both ways, independently or in a sequence. The selection depends on the learner’s needs.

When presenting these tasks the teacher should inform the students about the language function in the context. The teacher should also be careful about not to overload the students with a lot of new materials and a task over another. This may make the student tedious as well as they may get distracted.

Sub Skills

Ø  sound

To get a sound knowledge as well as fluency in English the learner should have a deep knowledge in the sound system of English. The English sound system consists of 12 vowels, 8 diphthongs and 24 consonants. Diagrams, charts etc can be used as equipments to teach the sound system. The teacher is advised to tell short stories and oral reports based on the age and taste of the learners. It will help the students to learn and practice good English with right pronunciation as well as to help them identify different sounds.

Ø  stress

Students should be made aware of the importance of stress in practicing speech. Because it have the ability to change the meaning of a word. A stress will help us to detect whether the word is a noun or an adverb.

Ø  Intonation

Intonation will influence the meaning as well as effect of the utterance or speech.

Ø  Rhythm

Rhythm is quite significant in speech. It has an important role in delivering meaning to a sentence.

Ø  Vocabulary

To attain fluency in speaking vocabulary is very important. Reading short stories and other genres of literature will be helpful in improving vocabulary.

Ø  Grammar

A sound knowledge in basic grammar is essential to achieve the quality of fluency in speaking. This helps the learner to arrange and re-arrange the vocabulary he already knows, in an appropriate manner.

Proper pronunciation is very important in speech. For students who learn English as their second language have a great difficulty in learning or practicing proper pronunciation. Practicing Received Pronunciation (RP) is an effective remedy for this.

Teaching pronunciation can be made more easy by imitating good models of speeches, songs etc. Listening to English movies and songs is also effective. Educational games can also be used for the purpose.

Brain storming, role-play, storytelling, drama etc are excellent speaking activities which can be easily conducted in class room set ups.

Evaluating Speaking Skills

There are certain elements which we can use as criteria to evaluate speaking skills. Some of them are listed below.

Ø  Pronunciation

By pronunciation  we can easily understand whether the speaker is a native speaker or not. It is one of the basic qualities one need to achieve in learning language.

Ø  Lexis

Vocabulary  or lexis helps to detect whether the speaker is a native speaker or not as well as their social status and proficiency in language.

Ø  Accuracy

Accuracy is a basic criteria in evaluating one’s speaking skills. Grammar plays the crucial role here.

Ø  Interaction

The ability to respond is checking here. One should be able to listen to what others are saying or what is happening around and should know to respond in the appropriate manner.

Ø  Fluency

Fluency is judged on the base of the ease of communication. Long gaps and pauses in one’s speech indicates the lack of fluency.

These factors denote the totality of one’s speaking ability. Based on these factors we can comprehend or evaluate one’s speaking ability to some extent.

Some barriers to attain speaking skills in classroom context are listed below.

Ø  Large classroom strength

Ø  Lack of individual attention

Ø  Unavailability or inaccessibility of language labs

Ø  The general tendency to avoid learning new words

Ø  Teachers are generally afraid that the process is time consuming

Ø  Writing skill is given more importance than speaking

Ø  Lack of trained teachers with fluency

Ø  The process of training to inculcate speaking skills is highly time consuming. Hence they cannot fit in the syllabus

When it comes to the scoring procedures, we can depend the five point rating scale adapted from Luoma. In this each stage can be matched to scores.

The five-point rating scale is as below:-

Ø  Effective communication and high competency in task performing

Ø  Generally effective communication and competently performed task

Ø  Communication can be said to be effective to some extent as well as somewhat effective competence

Ø  Communication generally not effective and generally poor task performance competency

Ø  Sheer absence of effective communication at all as well visibly poor competency to perform task

Analytic method of scoring procedures implies the comparison of one’s performance with one another learner’s performance. Hence it demands high competency inorder to win or to achieve. One needs to excel inorder to be successful in this method. The level of intelligence is a prominent factor in this method.

In contrast to the analytic scheme, the global impression marking scheme does not judge one learner in relation to the performance of other learners. This scheme sets specific classifications and searches for the sparkle of excellence in every learner, by accepting him as a free person. Individuality plays a vital role here. There is no necessary minimum in this scheme.

Conclusion

Speaking as a part of our daily life is inevitable to anybody except for those who are differently abled and use other means of expressions to communicate. Therefore it is highly significant to acquire the skill of speaking inorder to survive as well as to excel. There are a lot of techniques to attain the skill as well as well as barriers. But we can overcome the hindrances and can master the skill of speaking by following some simple techniques. By examining certain aspects we can evaluate the ability of speaking too. Scoring procedures are also there in relation with evaluation.

Bibliography

Viswanath, Harsha; Sajitha(2014).English Language Teaching Approaches And Skills. Dept of English, Milad-E-Sherief Memorial College. Kerala

Dr.Sivarajan, K; T.V.Ramakrishnan, K.Mridula (2012). English Language Education. Calicut University. Calicut

Webliography

http://teachingmonster.com/benefits/articles

http://www.skillsyouneed.com

http://area.dge.mec.pt/gramatica/whatspeakingis.html

SEMINAR

PSYCHOLINGUISTIC                                   PRINCIPLES




                                        JITHIN P MTHEW
                      ENGLISH




INTRODUCTION
     
     Psycholinguistics or the psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable human beings to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. Psycholinguistics in simple words can be defined as a marriage or bond between psychology and linguistics which finds application in education and therapy.
        To teach a language effectively, the teacher should bear in mind some important principles of language teaching. These necessary principles are called psycholinguistic principles in language teaching. Psycholinguistics is an interdisciplinary field. It investigates the mental mechanism underlying language processing. It includes how to perceive words, and store them in the mind, how to understand a sentence, how to learn to read, how language and writing system influence mental organizations. To teach a language effectively, the teacher should bear in mind the following important principles of language teaching.




Importance of Habit Formation and Intensive Practice
   
  As Palmer says, “language learning is essentially a habit forming process, a process during which we acquire new habits.” When the child learns a foreign language, he has already acquired the habit of speaking his mother tongue and his muscles of speech are set in a particular way. Since the sound of the new language are different from his mother tongue, the child has to keep at bay the habits of speaking his mother tongue and has to cultivate a fresh set of habits. For this purpose, the child needs sufficient practice and drill. In fact constant and accurate practice is the basis of habit formation. Language is a skill subject and not a knowledge subject. Like other skills as dancing and painting sufficient practice is needed in language learning also.
     In most classrooms we find that the pupils are not given any practice in using the language. Consequently, though they may read English for a number of years, yet they do not have grasp over the fundamentals of the language. It is important for the teacher to help the student to master the sound and structure of the language. The pupils should establish the pattern practice.
     The teacher should always remember the value of repetition at regular intervals of time for the reinforcement of items and their permanent retention by the pupils. With the passage of time, pupils tend to forget things. It is important, therefore that their knowledge is brushed up every now and then. The pupils should be exposed to the new language for the maximum amount of time in the classroom. The use of mother tongue should be minimized. The mother tongue in fact should be used only when absolutely essential.


Oral Approach To Language Teaching
     The Importance of oral work in learning a language is now increasingly recognized. Language is primarily speech: written symbols are secondary. So in teaching language, listening and speaking come first, reading and writing next. If a person has command over the spoken word, he has a sense of achievement which is an incentive for further progress. Language becomes real and meaningful for him. It facilitates reading and writing. If the child knows the spoken language, he has only to learn the written symbols for reading and only to learn spelling for writing.
     E C. Kittson remarked that, “learning to speak a language is always by far the shortest road to learning to read and to write…” By using the language as speech the pupil will cover something like twenty times as much ground in a given time as he would by doing written exercises. The acquiring of a language is the acquiring of an art, the art of expressing oneself in that language: this art like every other art must be acquired by practice that is by using the language. The most satisfactory manner of using the language from the practical point of view is as speech, and it is also theoretically, the most natural; it follows therefore, that a language should be learnt by speaking it.

Teaching Basic Sentences and Graded Patterns
     Since language is a structure, pupils should be taught basic sentences and graded patterns. Practice alone enables the learner to acquire the habit of speaking the language.


Situational Approach to Language Teaching
     A foreign language should be taught in situations, which is the natural way in which the child learns his mother tongue. Items of vocabulary and structure should be taught in appropriate situations. The teacher should show the various objects either by presenting them actually before the class or by bringing pictures or by drawing on the blackboard. He should be fully conscious of his surroundings and should make full use of them.                  
     The teacher should point to the objects not only in the classroom but also outside it, like the sky, the sun, the building, the road etc. The teacher should perform actual actions and also make the pupils to do likewise for as many action words as possible like, sitting, standing, reading, writing, walking etc. the quality words such as tall, small, big, hot, cold etc. may similarly be demonstrated. Conversation should be encouraged because, they present in context different kinds of sentence structures.

Selection and Grading Language Material
     It is a fundamental principle of teaching that we should proceed from simple to difficult and from more useful to less useful. Accordingly a proper selection and grading should be made of the language material, that is, vocabulary and structure. The principle for the selection and gradation of language items are frequency, usefulness, range, productivity, simplicity and teachability. The material should be selected and graded according to the capacity and level of the students.
     After six years of learning English at the school stage, a school leaver is expected to know about 280 structures and 2500 words. These items have to be selected judiciously and later selection has to be made for language material to be taught in each class. The items may be further graded for teaching


Natural Order of Learning
     The natural order of learning a language is listening, speaking, reading and writing. This is hoe the child learns his mother tongue. He first listens to sounds and then produces them himself. He starts reading the language when he is five or six years old. Then he learns how to write. Likewise, in teaching a foreign language sufficient practice should be provided in listening and speaking the language before teaching the pupil how to read it. It is generally agreed that reading should be introduced after two months of purely oral work. Moreover the language material which the pupil is called upon to read should be the same which he has already mastered orally. Writing comes last of all, and the child should not be asked to write anything which he has not mastered orally or which he has not read. Moreover due weightage is given to all aspects of language, that is, listening, speaking, reading and writing. No skill of language learning should be neglected or over emphasized.


Maintenance of Interest
     The teacher of language should create interest among the pupils to learn the language. This he can do by making his lessons lively and purposeful. Some of the ways of creating interest are adequate use of audio-visual aids like flash cards, pictures, charts, tape recorder,     power point presentations etc. blackboard drawing, involvement of the pupils in various activities to create teaching situations, games in teaching and variety in instructional works. Variety is not only the spice of life, but it is also needed in an English lesson to hold the attention of the pupils.
     The teacher should not do only one type of activity in the class. Ideally, there should be scope for listening, speaking, reading and writing practice in every lesson. Only the emphasis will differ from each lesson. Some lesson will be predominantly speech lessons, others will be reading or writing lessons. Moreover, the activity of the pupil is very important. ‘Learning by doing’ is a good maxim even in the case of English. The main thing is that the lessons should be made interesting so that the students may derive pleasure from their study rather than feel bored. The pupil should not fear the teacher of English. He should be given a sense of achievement. The teacher should acquire standard pronunciation and be familiar with the usage of the language, stress, intonation and rhythm. He should be a model for the learners in the spoken form in the classroom.

Correct Language Standards
     Teach the language as it is used by its native speakers at present and not as somebody thinks what the language ought to be. The only basis of correctness in a language is the use by its native speakers.

Attitude Towards Target Culture
     The teacher should impart to the students a sympathetic attitude towards the culture of the pupil whose language he is teaching.




CONCLUSION
In order to make the teaching learning process fruitful, the teacher should bear in mind the psycholinguistic principles. A teacher who is well aware of these psycholinguistic principles can easily his his/her students to learn a new language. The students should be exposed to the new language for the maximum amount of time in the classroom. The use of mother tongue should be reduced and in fact should be used only when absolutely essential. Practice alone enables the learner to acquire the habit of speaking a new language. The teacher of language should create interest among the students to learn a new language. In short, to teach a language effectively, the teacher should bear in mind the various principles of language teaching or the psycholinguistic principles. To sum up, regular and rigorous practice alone enables the pupils to acquire the habit of speaking a new language.

       
                                                              ASSIGNMENT

                                                    STORING INFORMATION







                                                                                                      Submitted By,
                                                                                                                Jithin P.Mathew
                                                                                                                English Optional

















                         
                        INTRODUCTION

     The ideal of English language learning is to develop all the major skills and the supplementary skills in the most balanced manner so that both linguistic and communicative competencies are nurtured to the maximum level. Education does not simply means transfer of information at all, it means undisputably “learning to learn” from the learner’s point of view. The most important factor for developing study skills is to create a humanistic environment for study and motivate the students in language learning.
     Storing of information is possible mainly through summarizing, note making, note taking and information transfer. Summarizing, note making and note taking are complex functional skills which have several features in common.
   




NOTE-TAKING AND NOTE-MAKING
     Note-taking and note-making are related to supplementary skills like referencing, paragraphing etc. They are some of the tasks in language organization set to enable students to function effectively. They are not purely language oriented.
     There is a general conception that they are one and the same. But they are to be viewed in different angles. The difference is with regard to purpose, input and output. A text material spoken or written is the input for note-taking, whereas thoughts are the input for note-making. The purpose of note-taking may be examination, later reference or documentation. But the purpose of note-making is usually to reproduce an essay or to get ready for a speech etc.
     There are two patterns for note-taking and note-making. They are:  (1) the Linear pattern and (2) the Brain pattern. In the Linear pattern points are noted down in horizontal lines and so it is called linear pattern. Tony Buzan in his book Use Your Head (1974) challenges the linear pattern. He argues that we do not think linearly, but we constantly think referring back to the central topic just as different part of the body react in tune to the brain. The various points radiate from the central topic. Hence the brain pattern is the more apt one. We can identify two types of texts- (1) chronological and (2) non-chronological. Narratives, biographies, instructions, processes etc. are chronological and can follow linear pattern. Descriptions, comparison, contrast, argument etc. are non-chronological and therefore the brain pattern is more important.
     Note-making is to be done carefully and systematically as the notes that taken down while research are a record of readings. It is later used to develop essay and to locate information easily. Lack of clarity, use of obscure abbreviations, random jotting of points, illegible writing, etc. render useless the time spent in note taking.
     There are various reasons for making notes such as to note down facts, to contrast similarities and differences, to summarize main points, to help pay attention and to review and revise. There are several methods of taking notes:
Prose or Linear: basically written paragraphs. This type can provide a summary.
Outline: it is more visual and allows for the imposition of structure. It forces the note taker to create main points.
Mind Maps or Patterned: referred to as spider diagram. The note starts in the middle of a page and explode out towards the edge of the page. It is very visual, allows for the structure and displays relationships. They are very useful for review and recall. A lot of information can be condensed into a small area.
Cornell or Split page: it involves drawing a line down the page. The right side is used to record notes. The left side is reserved for key words and main points. It forces the note-taker to select main points. It also provides a basic for self-examination.


SUMMARIZING                          
    A summary is a short statement that gives only the main points of something without its details. Among the several supplementary skills, summarizing is a study skill which students ought to master during their schooling. There are two traditional approaches to summarizing:
The text reduction approach has been very common but is uncreative. In this approach the important parts are underlined and the unimportant ignored. It involves the process of contraction following the structure and phraseology of the paragraphs.
In the paragraph approach, the paragraphs are closely surveyed and the topic of each paragraph is identified. Write one or more sentences which carries the whole meaning in brief, of all the paragraphs.
     Summarizing can be described as “the maximum in the minimum”. It requires comprehension skills, writing skills and specific skills related to the ability to express ideas concisely and precisely. A summary can be of a passage, a letter, a speech, a chapter or a book. Summarizing is just a type of composition. As it requires the use of several skills like comprehension skills and other specific skills related to the ability to express ideas concisely and precisely, it is a highly functional skill which students and adults need to develop.
     Surveying with understanding is to be confirmed before summarizing. We can summarize a written passage carefully by reading it. But this is not possible with a live speech, because we cannot survey the whole speech before it is finished. In such cases first take notes and then summarize. Though summarizing is also type of composition there is a little difference between the two in their inputs. The text types that we summarize can be divided into two types in general:
Chronologically sequenced: that is, narratives, instructions, process, biography etc.
Non-chronologically sequenced: that is, description of a country side, advantages of computers, arguments, comparing and contrasting etc.
     In the initial stages through discussion of the text material for summarizing should be done in the classroom and gradually the students may proceed to independent ways of summarizing.


INFORMATION TRANSFER
     Transfer of information from one medium to another medium.


CONCLUSION
     Study skills are mainly surveying the relevant text material and collecting information with comprehension and retrieving the stock of information and knowledge in proper context. We cannot expect study skills such as summarizing, note-making and note-taking to be acquired biologically, they are to be acquired consciously and purposefully. Study skills have to be developed in any pursuit of knowledge. Study skills in one subject will definitely have its positive influence in other subjects also. The English teacher has a great role in developing study skills in English which will be unconsciously transmitted to other subjects also. General principles and clues regarding study skills can be taught to the students but it will be better, more effective and lasting if the students make out their own methods of study skills.








BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Merlyn (2008), Critical Thinking, Academic Writing and Presentation Skills. Pearson Logman Indian Subcontinent Adaptation.
Dr. Sivarajan, K (2007), English Language Education. Central Co-operative Stores Calicut University.

Seminar & assignment prepared by Karthika Prasad

SEMINAR

STATUS OF ENGLISH

ASSOCIATE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND THREE-LANGUAGE FORMULA

INTRODUCTION

English has status of associate language after Hindi, it is most commonly spoken language in India, the most read and written language. When British started ruling India, they searched for Indian mediators who could help them to administer India. British established in Indian universities based on British models with emphasis on English. Even after Independence English remained main language of India. It still remains as an important language.

            Language Planning for school education in India can be seen more as a question of status planning rather than acquisition planning. The Three-Language formula which emerged as a political consensus on language in school education was a strategy to accommodate at least three- language within ten years of schooling. The Central Advisory Board on Education devised the Three-Language formula in 23^rd meeting held in 1956 with a view to remove the inequalities among languages in India. It recommended that three- language should be taught in the Hindi as well as non-Hindi speaking areas of the country at the middle and High school stages.

ASSOCIATE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

In 1835, British Government in India designated English as the medium of education for schools and universities. Many Nationalist leaders opposed educating English since it would deprive people of national respect. Nationalist motivations were of the opinion that an Indigenous language should be adopted as Official Language. Some people advocated the retention of English since English is the language of law and administration. Pt.Nehru said that English is the window to the outside world and its closure would spell peril for future. The Tara Chand Committee of 1948 recommended the regional language should be the medium of instruction.  In 1950 the language controversy became more intense. With the commencement of our Constitution in 1950 it was decided that English should continue as the official language for 15 years. The controversies grew more intense among the Nationalists.  Thus Article 343 of The Constitution designated Hindi as the Official Language.   But there were continuous protests from the part of Dravidian language speakers from the South for making Hindi as the National language.. The National Integretion Council that led to the Language Act in 1963 finally declared Hindi as the Official Language and English as the Associate Official Language. In 1966, Kothari Commission observed that the adoption of Hindi as medium of education is not possible in non-Hindi areas. Thus English still continuos to be the medium of instruction in technical and scientific, education and public information. It has now become an essential tool of interaction between a foreigner and an Indian.

            Dozens of distinctly different regional languages are spoken in India, which share many characteristics such as grammatical structures and vocabulary. Apart from these languages, Hindi is used for communication in India. The homeland for Hindi is mainly in the North of India, but it is mainly spoken and understood in all urban centers of India. In the Southern states of India, where people speak many different languages that are not much related to Hindi, there is more resistance to Hindi, which has allowed English to remain a lingua franca to a greater extent.

            Since, the early 1600s, the English language has had a toehold on the Indian subcontinent, when the East India company established settlements in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The historical background of India is never far away from everyday usage of English. India has had a longer exposure to English than any other country which uses it as a second language, its distinctive words, idioms, grammar and rhetoric spreading gradually to affect all places, habits and culture.

            English has a special national status in India. It has a special place in the Parliament, judiciary, broadcasting, journalism and in the education system. One can see a Hindi speaking teacher giving instructions to students in English. It is clear that language permeates daily life.

THREE-LANGUAGE FORMULA

The Three-Language Formula was devised by the Central Advisory Board of Education on 1950. They rejected the suggestions put forward by Secondary Education Commission. According to the Secondary Education Commission:

• The mother tongue or the regional language should be the medium of instruction

• During the middle school stage, every child should be taught at least two languages
• At the high and higher secondary stage, only two languages should be studied, one of which should be the mother tongue

ü  Mother tongue or a regional language

ž  One other languge to be choosen from :

• Hindi for non-Hindi speakers
• Elementary English for those who hadn’t studied English
• Advanced English for those who have studied English

The Three Language Formula suggested every student in a secondary school should study:

1.  Mother tongue or

•      A regional language  or
•      A composite course of mother tongue and regional language  or
• A composite course of mother tongue and a classical language
• A composite course of a regional language and a classical language

2. English

3. Hindi

The formula was approved by the Chief Ministers’ Conference in 1961. It later led to the Language Act passed by the Indian Parliament in 1963

ž  The Act provides:

Ø  Hindi shall be the all-India Official Language

Ø  English shall be the Associate Official Language

Ø  The regional languages shall be the languages of administration in the states

Ø  The UPSC examinations shall be conducted in all languages

Ø  The Three-Language Formula should be adhered to in the educational system

The Formula accommodated the interests of group identity, national pride and unity and administrative efficiency and technological progress .It appeared theoretically sound but practically impossible. The major drawbacks are

Ø  Heavily language loaded

Ø  Non-Hindi areas resisted the imposition of Hindi

Ø  Heavy financial burden

Ø  Inadequate facilities and no proper planning

A modified version was later devised by the Kothari Commission. It proposed the compulsory teaching of

Ø  The Mother tongue or the regional language

Ø  The Official Language of the Union or the Associate Official Language

Ø  A modern Indian or Foreign language not covered under 1 and 2

The implications of the Commission’s recommendations were:

• Compulsory study of one language at the lower primary stage (classes 1 to 4)

•      Compulsory study of two languages at the Higher Primary stage(5 to 8The mother tongue or the regional language:

• The official or associate official language

q  Obligatory study of three languages at the Lower Secondary Stage(Classes  8 to 10)

• The official or associate official language

• English as a library language
• One modern Indian language

q  Compulsory study of two languages from the Higher Secondary Stage

• Modern Indian languages

• Modern Foreign languages
• Classical languages

q  At the University stage, no language should be compulsory

Despite of all the revisions the Three- Language Formula remained as a goal for Indian multilingual situation but very impractical.

CONCLUSION

In India, English plays a basic role. The British Colonial administration employed it ad encouraged its use as it wanted to an elite “Indian in blood in colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and intellect”.

In a country in which sixteen national languages and 1632 dialects co-exist, Hindi spoken by one-third population is the official language and English is defined as Associate Official language.

            Since 1950, schools adopted the Three-Language formula which consists of providing education in the regional language, in Hindi and in English. English has maintained a sort of hegemony, in several areas, large number of books and magazines and newspapers are published in English. It’s worth highlighting that English is not only educated people’s prerogative. It also serves as ‘lingua franca’ to cover social and cultural gaps. English continues to occupy a strong position as the medium of instruction in all levels

ASSIGNMENT

INTERFERENCE AND INFLUENCE OF MOTHER TONGuE

Introduction

Language acquisition is one of the most important and fascinating aspects of human development. There are various subconscious aspects of language developments such as metalinguistic, conscious, formal teaching of language in both L1 and L2.

            During the period of 70s and 80s various studies were conducted with first and second language learners showing that phonemes played a role in speaker’s native categories. Three models were prepared to explain the functioning of L1 and L2. The first model talks about the relationship between mature phonological system and speech perception. It analyzes speaker’s L1 phonological system in perception of non-native sounds. Another model that focuses on the issue of L2 segment acquisition is speech learning model. It tries to find out how speech perception affects phonological acquisition by distinguishing the two kinds of sounds. In terms of second language acquisition learner face the same logical problems faced in process of acquiring first language. This learning is interferal both positively as well as negatively by the first language.

Interference and Influence of Mother Tongue

        The second language learning environment encompasses everything the language learner hears and sees in the new language. It may include a variety of situations such as exchanges in restaurants and stores, conversations with friends etc...

            Regardless of the learning environment the learner’s goal is mastery of the target language. The learner begins the task of learning a second language from point zero and through the steady accumulation of the mastered entities of the target language, eventually amasses them in quantities sufficient to constitute a particular level of proficiency.

            This characterization of language learning entails the successful mastery of organizing this knowledge into coherent structures which lead to effective communication in the target language.

            Second language learners appear to accumulate structural entities of the target language but demonstrate difficulty in organizing this knowledge into appropriate coherent structures. This appears to be a significant gap between the accumulation and the organization of the knowledge. When writing or speaking the target language, second language learners tend to rely on their native language structures to produce a response. If the structures of the two languages are distinctly different, then one could expect a relatively high frequency of errors to occur in L2 thus indicating an interference of L1 and L2.

            Dulay et al defines interference as the automatic transfer, due to habit of the surface structure of the first language onto the surface of the second language. Lott defines interference as errors in the learner’s use of foreign language that can be traced back to the mother tongue. Transfer is governed by learner’s perceptions about what is transferable and by their stage of development in L2 learning. In learning the target language, learner construct their own interim rules, with the use of their L1 knowledge, but only when they believe it will help them in the learning task or when they have become sufficiently proficient in the L2 for transfer to be possible.

            It appears to be much more difficult for an adult to learn a second language system that is as well learned as the first language. Typically, a person learns a second language partly in terms of the kinds of meanings already in the first language. In learning a second language, L1 responses are grafted on to L2 responses and both are made to a common set of meaning responses. Other things beings equal, the learner is less fluent in L2,  and the kinds of expressions he/she uses in L2 bear tell tale traces of the structures of L1.

            Carroll argues that the circumstances of learning a second language are like those of mother tongue. Sometimes there are interference and occasionally responses from one language system will intrude into speech in other language. It appears that learning is most successful when the situations in which the two languages (L1 and L2) are learned, are kept as distinct as possible. To successfully learn L2 requires the L2 learner to often exclude the L1 structures from the L2 learning process, if the structures of the two languages are distinctly different.

            Beardsmore suggests that many of the difficulties a second language learner has with the phonology, vocabulary and grammar of L2 are due to the interference of habits fromL1. The.The formal elements of L1 are used within  the context of L2, resulting in errors in L2, as the structures of languages, L1 and L2 are different.

            Dechert suggests that the further apart the two languages are structurally , the higher the instances of errors made in L2 which bear traces of L1 structures. In both cases the interference may result from a strategy on the part of the learner which assumes or predicts equivalence, both formally and functionally, of two items or rules sharing either function or form. More advanced learning of L2 may involve a greater number of rules or marking features for distinguishing between the two languages.

            One of the advantages of modern language education is that learner’s errors based on transfer of mother tongue properties into second language production are much less frequent than before, when language teaching took place in the grammar translation tradition. Some researchers have even claimed that children acquire L2 without reference to their L1.

            In the present day language classes, children have lots of L2 input when we are dealing with English as a foreign or second language and when L2 learners both children and adults are in frequent contact with the L2 in the canonical second language context when language learning occurs in the country where this language is spoken. There is more direct L2 input in the classroom via multimedia and internet ad teaching methods and course material have also changed. Nowadays most course material both in L2 can be defined based on a communicative approach to language education. L2 learners come more into contact with real world, get natural L2 input. In such learning environment one does not expect to find L1 influence, especially not for young students.

            The positive impact of mother tongue on second language is seen in acquiring the vocabulary and sentence patterns trough comparison and contrast when there is transfer of learning. The interference can be:

            Linguistic: Certain grammatical forms may persist, certain pronunciation may be used and certain others may not be even heard in the second language as they do not occur in mother tongue.

            Cultural: Foreign language learner is compelled to see the world through eyes of native speaker

            Parental models: Parents who are not knowledgeable in the target language may act as wrong models.

            Time factor: The time when the target language is introduced creates the major problem. Only after the basics in mother tongue have been established, the child has to start anew with fundamentals of another language.

CONCLUSION

First language interferes in the acquisition of the second language and it is applicable universally. While learning L2 alphabetical shapes and structures of first language would create interference. Mediums of instruction would create interference. Mediums of instruction and communication in schools or colleges are mostly held in first language. Monolingual students were better in English receptive vocabulary, reading comprehension and writing fluency. Bilinguals despite being proficient in two languages do not completely excel the monolinguals in reading- writing related skills. The experience or knowledge, which a person has about his mother tongue, would definitely be going to interfere in the learning of second language. There are a number of lexical spaces in mind in which words of particular language gets stored separately. The early identification would help in coordinating appropriate intervention programmes in learning second language without any errors.