Essays on Speaking

The purpose of this research is analyze the reaction and general perception of the proposed media announcement on the legalization of all illegal individuals that can prove that they have been residing in the country for the past 20 years and consequent grant of the U.S. citizenship given that these individuals did not commit any crimes for the period of 5 years after legalization. The analysis used closed-question survey, suggesting to talk in favor or against of the governmental proposal. The survey was conducted among randomly selected sample of twenty individuals. The survey was completed in full by all ...

The essay ‘Why and When We Speak in Spanish in Public?’ by Myriam Marquez, is a voice for bilingual people who are often made to feel guilty and ashamed of speaking in their native tongues in public. She explains why and when she speaks in her native language, Spanish, in public and argues that it is absolutely fine to speak in Spanish with those who know the language; however it is definitely rude when there is an only English speaking person present in the group. Marquez clearly brings out the acceptable and unacceptable aspects of the use of one’ ...

Religious studies:

Introduction
Charismatic theology
Research shows that a large number of self identified Christians in the world form part of the charismatic theology. This Christian theology is one that involves the practices as well as the beliefs that are similar to those of the Pentecostals and are mainly characterized by the use of spiritual gifts. The theology is mainly associated with is termed as baptism with the Holy Spirit and involves the empowerment of Christians with evidence seen through speaking in tongues. The charismatic theology which involves the charismatic Christians are associated with works involving use of spiritual gifts by, ...

Cross-cultural decision making skills have been recognized to be increasingly vital to military and defense operations (Johnson &Friedland, 2009). The day-to-day operations of international military forces, in their interaction with different cultures as they work overseas, require intercultural competence to make decisions that are both appropriate and culturally sensitive (Johnson & Friedland, 2009). Cross cultural competency (3C) is accomplished through three unique steps: Cultural self-awareness, suspension of judgments and biases, and the development of skills that fit within domains of a new culture (Selmeski, 2009). Already, educational measures are being implemented by military colleges to promote 3C in military personnel for the sake of global operations (Selmeski, 2009; Abbe, Gulick & Herman, 2007). Knowledge of a foreign language is already considered a critical means of accomplishing the third step of developing skills fitting within the domains of a new culture (Abbe, Gulick & Herman, 2007).

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) is considered the principle institution for foreign language instruction in the Department of Defense (DOD). DLIFLC is the Defense Department’s primary foreign language center of excellence since 1947 (Valceanu, John 2001). It offers resident courses at the Presidio of Monterey in 23 languages that accommodate approximately 3,500 Soldiers, five days a week, seven hours per day. Courses last between 24 and 61weeks, depending on the difficulty of the language.

Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is taught within three Middle East schools and considered by DOD as one of the eight critical languages for US national security. There are 98% of the Instructors who are native speakers. Aside from classroom instruction, the faculty also writes course materials in the Curriculum Development Division, designs the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT), and conducts Oral proficiency Test (OPI) at the end of each course (Defense Language Institute 2011). Students must pass a series of examinations that test their listening, speaking, reading and writing proficiency in the languages they are pursuing (Valceanu, John 2001).

To further advance student knowledge and fluency in a particular language, DLIFLC has designed an iso-immersion program at an off- site facility. Students spend from one to three days in an isolated environment, with their instructors, and are not allowed to speak English. This forces them to restructure their thinking and operate completely independently of their native language, creating a more realistic scenario for speaking in Arabic in a defense language context. The program consists of real-world exercises, from bargaining for food and clothing at a market place, to going through customs, or making hotel reservations. DLIFLC also sends a number of students on 30-day in-country immersions to Egypt and Jordan for further authentic, Arabic language training.

DLIFLC also sponsors Language Training Detachments (LTD) at multiple sites throughout the continental United States, where DLIFLC instructors teach language sustainment and enhancement courses; these are short-term courses with an accelerated schedule based on specific military requirements. However, when it comes to the 16 month basic course, one of the challenges is to maintain the students’ focus. They are young with many other interests and activities in which they would rather be doing than studying Arabic (Valceanu, John 2001).

Statement of the Problem

The problem is the scarcity of research on effective yet rapid new instructional strategies for learning Arabic language as a second language for American students. There are more studies investigating the complicated structure of the Arabic language while exploring the challenges of teaching Arabic (Strout, Erin 2006), and the aspects that might influence the learning environment in the classrooms; however there are few studies on how to prevail over those complications.
Researching an efficient Arabic language instructional and assessment methodology for American students, especially military personnel, will result in a qualified soldier linguist in less time than the current Defense Language Institute (DLI) 61 week course. The goal of discovering this method is a continuous effort for professional instructors at DLI and in the field of learning Arabic language in general. This sounds like a purpose or significance.

In general, few studies have introduced new applications of instructional methodology for delivering the Arabic language to American students. Taha-Thomure (2008) stated there remains an unprecedented interest in and awareness regarding the importance of developing and adopting new methodologies in the teaching of Arabic.
In order to fulfill part of the 3C competency principle, it is required that military personnel learn the appropriate skills to interact with natives of a foreign culture in military operations abroad.

Shiley’s (2007) in his study found the followings:

The U. S. military services rely on highly trained linguists to fill critical shortages in the foreign language intelligence fields to ensure sustainment of our Nation’s defense and security capabilities. Given the global issue of terrorism today, it is especially important that we increase our ability to produce military linguists who are highly skilled in listening, speaking, and reading second languages-especially Basic Modern Standard Arabic. (P. 18).
In addition, her study explored and investigated the relationship between personality, when operationalized at the facet level of measurement, and second language learning.
Recent studies, such as Seraj (2010) have investigated varying teaching models to adjust and improve teachers' attitudes towards language instruction in a military setting, and correlations have been measured between teachers' preferences and some demographic variables.

American students historically found to have difficulty with the inanimate plural forms as well as pronominal suffixes and plural constructions (El-Nekishbendy, 1990). On the other hand, Arslanyilmaz( 2007) found that learning tasks in language acquisition promote task completion activities by engaging in authentic, pragmatic, contextual, and functional use of language.

New programs should be implemented to addressed the gaps in the language acquisition research literature that relate to understanding whether, and to what extent, Intensive short-term foreign language immersion programs stimulate the language learning process. Also, to what extent language immersion students begin to recognize growth in their second language development (Savage, 2010). Most important is to discover in what ways students begin to recognize those moments of clarity in their language learning and cultural understanding.

Cloud et al. (2000) argued that the use of only one language textbook or series is insufficient. They recommended that immersion and content-based teachers should consider a textbook as only one of many resources, supplementing it appropriately, in order to provide language instruction that meets the needs of second language learners in content-based classrooms. Thus, According to Lyster (2007), the works required of teachers increases exceptionally as they expand their use of resources. Furthermore, Teachers are required to develop alternative resources and creative ways of counterbalancing language and content throughout the curriculum which is a solution that is proving more and more effective, however the level of creativity expected of teachers, not all teachers can do so.

The question will remain unanswered on how to combine theories into reality that will enable teachers of the Arabic language to promote the oral proficiency skill in a rapid time while overcoming the identified challenges of the language. There remains an unprecedented interest in and awareness regarding the importance of developing, and adopting, new methodologies in the teaching of the Arabic language (Taha-Thomure, 2008).
Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a combination of instructional methodologies/strategies beyond current practices for teaching Arabic language to military personnel attending the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, California. The intent of such instruction is that students (military personnel) will improve their pass rates on the various examinations that test their listening, speaking, reading and writing proficiency in Arabic.

This study will seek to narrow the gap between the previously introduced methods and findings of learning the Arabic language as a second language. It hopes to introduce and portray how to implement and put in application a combination of instructional methodologies in order to accelerate and facilitate the learning of the Arabic as second language. Previous studies have only highlighted the instructional and learning difficulties that the majority of American students face while learning Arabic as a second language. These include the concepts of fluency, comprehension and vocabulary retention, which require a different pedagogical approach from English instruction.

The research objective is to identify those methodologies and explore how Arabic could be efficiently and effectively delivered while overcoming the difficulties in order to promote an enhanced level of oral proficiency in a short time in order to prepare competent linguist soldiers whom can communicate on the ground at the prospective culture.
The study hopes to disclose how to avoid the challenges that occur during the process of learning the language especially at the oral communication level or the speaking skill. It will introduce a new approach for Arabic learning resulting in more rapid and accurate language acquisition. The effectiveness of the “oral interaction positive corrective modeling” concept will be measured aligned with the current student oral proficiency performance at the DLI.

Research Questions

An increasing number of American college-level students seek degrees in the Arabic language or Middle Eastern studies. Other students of Arabic and the Middle Eastern culture include those from the United States government and the military. The DLI Curriculum Development Division designs the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT), and conducts the required Oral Proficiency Test (OPI) at the completion of each course (Defense Language Institute 2011). Language training with the federal government and U. S. military further includes passing a series of examinations testing students’ listening, speaking, reading, and writing proficiency in the language studied (Valceanu, 2001).

Q1: Can the Counseling Oral Interaction Positive Corrective Modeling be implemented to teach rapidly and successfully in order to enhance the competency of Oral proficiency of the Arabic language as a second language?

Q2: Can the incorporation of a process approach to writing , with the Counseling Oral Interaction Positive Corrective Modeling, advances and shorten the learning process of the Oral proficiency skill in teaching Arabic than the current Defense Language Institute (DLI) model?

Q3: What efforts were made to overcome the difficulties that enabled the students to continue using the writing process phase?

Q4: Can an OPI based curriculum overcome the difficulties and challenges found in previous research, which has revealed the learning issues American students face while learning Arabic?

Q5: How can an Arabic Language teacher use theories and findings from prior research to ensure Military students improve their Oral proficiency in a shorter period of time?
These questions support the increasing requirement of the U. S. government and military for highly trained linguists to fill critical shortages in foreign language listening, speaking and reading modalities – especially basic modern standard Arabic (Shirley, 2007). Because of this critical need at the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, answers to these questions will provide a timely resource savings during a time of increasing budget constraints. Furthermore, successful resolution of these issues will contribute to the limited literature, currently existing in this field of Arabic language programs, and quality Arabic language instruction.

These questions were chosen for research because of the continual need to provide effective, quality language learning programs for the United States government and the Department of Defense in the timeliest and cost- effective manner. The outcomes of these research questions expect to prove that the 24 week course not only saves money for the government and military, but also provides a quality Arabic language program that better prepares the student for the cross cultural competencies needed in a defense language context. Further projected and anticipated outcomes of the study will improve America’s national security and transform government language training to meet 21st century requirements.

Definition of Key Terms

Defense Language Proficiency Test-V (DLPT-V). A foreign language proficiency test offered by the Defense Language Institute for the purposes of determining overall language proficiency of foreign languages by native English speakers working in defense contexts. The DLPT-V is the latest iteration of such a test, offering both multiple-choice and constructed response versions of the test (Defense Language Institute, 2012).

Educational Technology. This field has many varied definitions, but for the purposes of this study it refers to any type of technological resource or process that is used for the express purpose of learning and performance improvement. This extends to software and hardware, as well as Internet-based resources and activities that are used for learning (Lowenthal & Wilson, 2010).

Foreign Language (FL). A language that originates and is commonly used in a country not of the speaker's origin (Stern, 1983).

Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR). A scale of language proficiency, which is the default grading scale in Federal occupations for language skill or proficiency. The scale runs from a 1 (elementary proficiency) to a 5 (native/bilingual proficiency) (Herzog, 2012).

Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). An interview-based standardized test used to determine functional speaking ability and language proficiency (Breiner-Sanders et al., 2000).

Task-based language learning (TBLL). A method of language instruction focused on using authentic language and the administration of tasks through the language in question. Components of TBLL include the pre-task, task cycle, and language focus; these strategies are meant to connect language learning with definitive actions to create a more practical learning environment (Willis, 1996).

Brief Review of the Literature

1. Introduction:

The Arabic language is a Semitic language, which is spoken by at least 330 million people around the world. The highest concentration of Arabic speakers live in the Middle East, wich extends from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean. The formal written language is called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), so named because of the appropriation and evolution of new words and phrases that have been incorporated into the original language. This is the version of Arabic that is now commonly taught to native English speakers, particularly in major defense language courses (DLI, 2006). Due to the high military significance of nations in the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, a working knowledge of MSA is necessary for effective interactions with nationals from those areas.

The Arabic language is intricately structured and derivational, and morphology plays an important role in its vocabulary and grammar. In MSA, short vowels are omitted to the level that Arabic letters are written without diacritic signs. This leads to an incredibly complex language with different derivations and morphology than Romantic languages such as English, making it incredibly difficult for English native speakers to learn. Dedicated language learning is necessary to imbue effective Arabic oral language proficiency in native English Speakers, which necessitates solving some of the inherent problems in existing language instruction.

2. Communicative Competencies

Communicative competencies comprise the basic, fundamental language skills needed to convey ideas and exchange information between individuals. These basic skills include the understanding of the times and contexts in which to speak, what to speak about and in what way - the fundamentals of language use (Kamiya, p. 65). This also includes cultural knowledge and interactional order, necessitating an understanding of cultural and social norms within the native culture in which the language is spoken. Second-language acquisition necessitates the instruction of communicative competencies in order to effectively learn how to use the language in a socially acceptable way.
Heath offers insights for use in the dissertation study for investigating any difficulties in the area of Americans learning Arabic. This study specifically addresses the learner and his/her creativity in Arabic communicative competence as it applies toward competently completing both the DLI course and the OPI (Heath, 1987).

Alptekin (2002) discusses the notion of communicative competence that suggests native-speaker competence is the metric by which communicative competence is decided. In addition, he argues that this particular norm creates an unrealistic and utopian model for language learning that makes it impossible for SLA to be considered complete or sufficient. Native speakership is said to be a myth of linguistics, and infers that the native-speaker's culture is the mainstream, as is its language. Considering language in this way is said to be constrictive and unhelpful for those learning second languages, and as a result new notions of communicative competence are required. In order to achieve communicative competence for language teaching, the following would have to be adhered: creating successful bilinguals that celebrate knowledge between cultures, and offering both domestic and international contexts as settings where non-native languages are used in instruction. This creates a more tolerable and reachable means of achieving communicative competency (Alptekin, 2002).

3. Importance of Language Teaching as it Relates to Culture

In a military context, defense language instruction is an important tool to understand and interact with individuals and groups in foreign cultures. Language anthropology is a crucial part of studying contemporary cultures; in both native and non-native cultures, second language acquisition allows for a greater understanding of global cultures, permitting deeper immersion and more effective interactions with foreign language speakers. As the Middle East is an area with high military pertinence and sensitive cultural tensions, effective Arabic language instruction will provide officers with cultural sensitivities and greater understanding of diplomatic use of defense language.

Jones, D., Shen, W., Granoien, N., Herzog, M., and Weinstein, C. (2005) demonstrate the need for live Arabic speakers in a military context due to the inadequacy found in most Arabic machine translation units. Educated native-English speakers were given versions of a Defense Language Proficiency Test for Arabic which were run through machine translation units, and asked to read them. The accuracy of these MT units was enough to pass Level 2 performance, but not Level 3. With this in mind, it is clear that machine translation is still not preferable to live, thinking and Level 3-proficiency Arabic speakers for defense language contexts; this further underscores the need for effective language learning in the DLI and other locations (Jones et al., 2005).

Albert (2001) discusses language anthropology in terms of using language to study a contemporary culture - in this instance, using contemporary France as an example. Discursive practices found in evidence can help to enlighten students on how a culture or nation-state is created - examining its language shows the linkage between the way language is practiced, how this language is perceived by others, and what it says about their sociopolitical contexts. In this way, a learner can learn more about the nature of a society by examining language anthropology (Albert, 2001).

Custar (2011) examines the effects of English Language Learners (ELL) in American high schools to demonstrate the link between oral proficiency and academic achievement in SLA. There is a significant achievement gap to be found between those ELLs with poor oral proficiency and those who are native speakers or have high oral proficiency, demonstrating the need for fluency in a language, even an L2 language, to communicate and perform well academically. Furthermore, the competencies that are learned through SLA may create skills that improve academic achievement; either way, Custar (2011)’s research discovered a positive association between oral language proficiency and academic achievement.

4. Age Variables

One of the most prescient problems in Arabic language learning is the age of the student undergoing instruction. Depending on the age and type of student (military/civilian), there are a number of unique stressors that are present (Morreale, 2011). Furthermore, the age of the student is important in determining proficiency of their first language, which plays a substantial role in the efficacy of second language acquisition and instruction. A happy medium must be found between students mature enough to handle the stresses of Arabic language instruction and young enough to display the enthusiasm for the material (Morreale, 2011).

Al-Dali presents applications for the dissertation in reviewing if the age of the U.S. student learning Arabic has a factor in identifying problems in the training process particularly in the design of the DLI shorter course. Al-Dali also points to the fact that the competency of the first language should have consideration in teaching any second language toward competencies upon finishing the second language study. This point opens valid implications for teaching Americans Arabic and his/her competencies in English (Al-Dali, 1996).
Morreale (2011) demonstrates the particular stressors and anxieties present in non-military personnel, focusing on university students studying abroad. The importance of immersion in foreign culture is emphasized, as study abroad students are shown to have less stress and anxiety in the language learning process than those who have not experienced immersion in a target culture. The experience of foreign culture immersion as a language learning tool is shown to dramatically improve motivation in SA participants, as they are able to more easily place vocabulary and grammar in proper societal and cultural contexts (Morreale, 2011).

Fischer’s study provides relevant examination and conclusions for the dissertation research toward a rapid Arab language program for Americans. Fischer’s study group derived from the DLI program at the Presidio at Monterey and clearly aligns with the dissertation intent toward the same type of DLI group. His findings determined factors for consideration in the dissertation study directed at the means for conducting the DLI and OPI exam face-to-face compared to the distance modalities in determining the success of the testing face-to-face and on the telephone compared to face-to-face versus the desk top computer (Fischer, 2004).

Americans are not the only culture to have trouble learning Arabic. Sicard (2001) examines an experiment taken in Montpelier to teach Arabic in local secondary schools. These efforts were also put in place to bring language learning to younger children, and to offer greater social integration between Arabic speaking students and native French speakers. The pupils, due to their enthusiasm, as well as the increasing demand for Arabic language instruction, are encouraged to continue the Arabic language learning initiatives. This helps to create the correlation of youth having a great enthusiasm for learning new languages, and the community support such initiatives can receive (Sicard, 2001).

In a military context, learning Arabic is particularly important. Nichols (2010) describes the desire for formal Arabic language instruction found in very high numbers in Iraq War veterans. In essence, narrative research strongly indicates that cultural and linguistic experiences in Iraq are determined by those who are there in a military situation to be quite important to their successful interaction and operations there. Those encountering Arabic language speakers without proper instruction often wish to learn more about the language later, in order to provide further enlightenment as to Arabic cultural and language norms (Nichols, 2010). If this type of instruction is applied to military personnel before their deployments, more positive and productive cultural interactions (as well as effective military operations) can be attained.

5. Accessibility of Universal Grammar

Universal grammar refers to the applicability of common grammatical and vocabulary terms and trends in different languages. The concept is used frequently to refer to the ability for language learners to tap into commonalities between native and foreign language. UG is then used to gain a better understanding of the second language. Curricula and second language instruction must tap into this universal grammar to create an effective gateway for native English speakers to effectively learn Arabic. A strong focus on both grammar and vocabulary instruction in SLA courses is conducive to improving universal grammar in students (Al-Qadi, 1991).

Al-Banyon’s research into universal grammar acquisition among adult English speakers learning Arabic is less likely than among the younger learners. In his study, “The Accessibility of Universal Grammar in Language Acquisition: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective” the results of his study directly provide considerations for application in the dissertation research, particularly, since Al-Banyon determines the adult American (English speaker) has less access to the universal grammar in language acquisition that prompts the likelihood of the learner facing conditional issues in the “functional computation of components in the bilingual brain/mind (Al-Banyon, 1996)”.

In his study, Al-Qadi (1991) research findings revealed that second language teaching/learning programs often focus only up on the grammar leaving the acquisition of vocabulary at an unsatisfactory level. This failure of language programs to give the learner prompts for acquiring more vocabulary words is a valuable operant for consideration in the dissertation focus to design a shorter, yet comprehensive Arabic language study for American learners (Al-Qadi, 1991). The need for vocabulary acquisition in post-secondary level language learning courses, and that web-based components to SLA learning can be equally effective at imparting vocabulary acquisition, oral proficiency development and other attributes of SLA onto students has been established (Isenberg, 2010).

White (1985) discusses a 'logical' problem involved with second language acquisition that allows for the possibility of universal grammar. Second language learners face a problem when needing to determine every single complexity of adult grammar in their second language of choice. However, White argues that there are certain innate principles that orient the learner to the extent where they may excel at SLA. Once these principles are learned, as part of universal grammar, research suggests that they acquire complex knowledge of the second language that exceeds the input they have received. Teaching implications for this framework involves putting in more than just positive input to an L2 student in order to pick up on universal grammar; the complexity of the specific L2 grammar must be identified before finding ways to connect it with the L1 grammar (White, 1985).

6. Problems Teaching Arabic to American Students

In order to have effective Arabic language instruction, the current trends in the field must be determined. The existing issues with Arabic language learning among American students, both military and civilian, must be improved upon in order to create more effective defense language curricula. The major problems found in most Arabic instruction include a lack of motivation, lack of engagement with the material, anxiety and stress, among others (Smith, 2009; Uddin, 2009; Elkhafaifi, 2005). These issues, both with student personality and instruction type, exclude students of some study styles and limit the success rate of defense language courses.

According to Zouhir (2010), English-speaking students learning Arabic have difficulties with the phonics, syntax and with structuring words. Zouhir emphasizes that her study reveals “not enough” has been researched by educators about the issues that affect learning and teaching Arabic among American students. Her research aligns with the focus of the dissertation for identifying the problems for American students learning Arabic in determining/creating the faster time version of the DLI Arab language program (2010).
Smith (2009) describes the importance of motivation in long-term language achievement; native English speakers find the effort and the desire to persist in language learning to a greater extent than is minimally required of them in a university setting. Education programs, particularly involving L2 language learning, are shown to have greater efficacy when the primary source of motivation is changed over time and internally regulated by the learner along with long-term goals (Smith, 2009). This has the effect of creating more effective language learners, and must be emphasized in new language learning programs regardless of context.

Uddin (2009) examines the importance of role play and storytelling in the process of SLA; using such techniques such as these have been shown to be effective in creating greater competencies for SLA students. Role play helped their communicative skills, including vocabulary enhancement, and made students more fluent in indirect vocabulary. With the help of storytelling, the students had occasion to make full use of their vocabulary, creating the process of independent learning within the students with regards to their SLA learning. At the same time, this was shown to only be beneficial to intermediate and advanced-level learners; elementary-level learners did not have the basic vocabulary to participate effectively in role-playing and storytelling activities (Uddin, 2009).

Shirley (2007) studied the relationships between personality and SLA - while individual differences and learning are known to exist, this has been studied little in terms of learning the Arabic language in a defense context. Military students studying Basic Modern Standard Arabic at the DLIFLC were studied based on their personality traits and their proficiency learning BMSA; the NEO-PI-R domain level personality measures were used as a metric to quantify certain traits that could be linked to better or worse language proficiency. The results supported the notion that certain personalities were more suited to learning BMSA at the DLIFLC, allowing for the possibility of greater selection criteria for candidates to learn Arabic as an L2 language (Shirley, 2007). There have also been shown to be tremendous issues in creating standardized tests for Arabic language proficiency (Winke and Aquil, 2006).

Elkhafaifi (2005) discusses the role of anxiety and stress as a role in classroom performance in an Arabic language learning classroom. The presence of stress and anxiety is shown to have tremendous detrimental effects on the efficacy of language learning classes for native English speakers learning Arabic as a second language. Approximately 1,320 hours of intensive instruction in structured programs are required for notoriously difficult languages including Arabic; compared to 480 hours for learning French or Spanish, this makes Arabic a comparatively difficult language to learn for a native English speaker. Far too many students learning Arabic give up after approximately one year of study, frustrated at lacking communicative competence. Innovative methods to address these stressors and anxiety causes - stemming from the difficulty and reputation of the language - must be addressed in order to create more effective teaching methods (Elkhafaifi, 2005).

7. Efficacy of Preparatory Courses for Learning Languages

In order to address the problems found in most Arabic defense language instruction, preparatory courses of many different kinds have been developed. These initiatives demonstrate unique designs for defense language courses which seek to increase the oral language proficiency of students (St. Pierre III, 2008; Bustamante, 2009). Selection processes and scaffolding learning environments are also initiatives commonly used in defense language environments to determine adequate candidates for language instruction and offer well-constructed curricula toward that end (Hughes, 2010; Alm-Lequeux, 2001). These preparatory courses are also designed to address the common problems of motivation and confidence in foreign language learning; consequently, effectively conducted prep and pilot courses appear to be the most likely method for improving defense language instruction.
St. Pierre III explains the focus of his study specifically measures the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s (DLIFLC) Introduction to Language Studies (ILS), the language learning success through its preparatory course. The benefits of this study in support of the dissertation work gives validity to the focus of designing a DLI shorter Arab language program and provides critical implications for consideration to the efficacy of the proposed program (St. Pierre III, 2008).

Vakilifard (2008) denotes the need for expository text comprehension in second language acquisition - this is said to be one of the most influential components of understanding an L2 language and applying it in an effective manner to practical life. A concept map-based intervention was applied to a French second language learning course in order to improve their overall scores and gain greater comprehension of informative texts. However, this strategy proved ineffective in inferential comprehension (Vakilifard, 2008).
Bustamante (2009) measured the effectiveness of TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) pilot courses for basic Spanish language learning. This has been shown to have a tremendous effect on motivation and confidence in results among students - the majority of students had a positive reception and increased comfort level with the pilot program, which involved reading out loud, standardized writing assessment involving spontaneous writing, and other diverse methods (Bustamante, 2009). This demonstrates the efficacy of an interdisciplinary, innovative program with high student involvement in L2 learning courses.

Currently, the US Air Force Academy employs a selection and placement policy in order to allocate the more "appropriate" students into either Chinese, Arabic or some other strategic or defense language. Their current policy models involve measuring first language ability, motivation variable, student choice, and other factors. These factors were evaluated in order to discern the predictive model that would get the students who have the highest aptitude for becoming effective learners of Arabic. The most important factor, it has been found, is motivation; L2 teaching initiatives must tap into motivation and create the most ideal environment for defense language learners (Hughes, 2010).

Alm-Lequeux (2001) demonstrates a scaffolded learning environment to teach indirect speech, using the Internet to increase cognitive readiness and create a more effective second-language acquisition program. Internet-based education like this is said to extend the user's contact with the language in question, as well as its culture - in order to meet the Zone of Proximal Development, a virtual community can be created that allows for further language learning and exposure. This model is shown to be effective in teaching indirect speech in SLA, following a Vygotskian approach (Alm-Lequeux, 2001).

Conclusion

It is absolutely necessary, in a globalized military, to teach cross cultural competency to those who will be interacting with others of a different culture (Abbe, Gulick & Herman, 2007). Increased interaction with Arabic cultures in military operations, for example the US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, make it more pressing than ever to provide military personnel with the skills needed to successfully and peacefully interact with native Arabic speakers. The problem is many educators, linguists and scholars in the field of teaching Standard Arabic language need to continue to conduct research identifying specific difficulties Americans encounter throughout their learning of Arabic in the classroom (Duarte& Carmen 2008) while other studies explore the challenges of teaching Arabic (Strout & Erin 2006).

Investigating the Relationship between Creativity and Communicative Competence Strategies among Bilingual and Bi-dialectal Adolescents (TESOL)” offers insights for use in the dissertation study for investigating any difficulties in the area of Americans learning Arabic. “The Age Variable: An Investigation of English Acquisition Among Arabic-Speaking Intermediate-Level Students in the State of Kuwait” presents applications for the dissertation in reviewing if the age of the U.S. student learning Arabic was a factor in identifying problems in the training process particularly in the design of the DLI shorter course. Fischer’s “Comparing Face-To-Face and Distance Modalities in Conducting Arabic and Russian Speaking Proficiency Testing” study provides relevant examination and conclusions for the dissertation research toward a rapid Arab language program for Americans.

Al-Qadi’s research “Acquisition of English Derivational Morphology by Arab Speakers” findings reveal that second language teaching/learning programs often only focus on the grammar and leave the acquisition of vocabulary at an unsatisfactory level. Al-Banyon’s research into universal grammar acquisition among adult English speakers learning Arabic is less likely than among the younger learners. According to Zouhir, English-speaking students learning Arabic have difficulties with the phonics, syntax and with structuring words. St. Pierre III explains the focus of his study specifically measures the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s (DLIFLC) Introduction to Language Studies (ILS) the efficacy language learning success through its preparatory course.

Some of the primary issues discovered in the research involve problems with stress, anxiety and motivation - regardless of context; whether it is in a university or defense language setting, often language learners have difficulty handling the pressure associated with learning a second language. Their motivation decreases along with their confidence, and lower efficacy results in their learning. As a result, dramatic changes need to be made to existing curriculum, involving improved methods to increase motivation and lower anxiety/stress.
In a defense context, predictive models do help to target appropriate candidates for defense language learning, in languages like Chinese and Arabic. However, the responsibility falls to defense language instructors to create and apply a curriculum that fully engages the students and increases their oral proficiency and vocabulary. These activities must involve interdisciplinary and diverse activities that involve immersion in the target culture, along with web-based and role- playing elements. This would equip these students, soldiers and officers more adequately for life while deployed in Arabic-speaking countries, thus creating more effective mission outcomes and greater interaction with the host culture.

An Art and How to deal with it

We always have to speak to people time to time, whether in a team meeting or presenting something to a group of people. The outcome of this can be good or bad. It only depends on the way you represent your ideas to others. Normally Public Speaking is a face-to-face interaction between individuals and a group of people for the purpose of communication. It can be in front of people you may know or it can be in front of strangers also. So in many cases it creates nervousness and anxiety in a person speaking to others. This is ...

This paper aims at providing a comprehensive and an analytical interview between the author and the ESOL student. It will discuss the steps and the strategies that are associated with the learning of language. This report paper shall contain a summary of the interview, discussion of the relevant theories and how they apply. The paper will also contain an interview journal. The paper shall be organized as follows: introduction, subject/ context of the interview, hypothesis, method, findings, discussion and finally conclusion.

Introduction

Just to begin with, I would like to emphasize that in this discussion, I am interested in determining ...

A Summary of My Observations

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<Institutional Affiliation>

Context and Focus

This documentation includes two parts of my observation. The first one is observing class and its students while taking their Speaking Class. I paid attention on the behavior and how the students responded during the discussion of their assignments in the class. The second part of this documentation is to look at the other side of the fence, that is, from the perspective of the teacher. I observed how the teacher conducted her class, what her approaches are and how the students responded to her methods. Based from this, I will draw ...

Speech Critique

Introduction
Critique about something or somebody is a process of positive, independent, critical, and unbiased evaluation for better and systematic analysis and interpretation. In order to express or write the critiques of something, one has not only to examine the event or the person very carefully, but also to discover the various aspects that are important for its complete understanding. So, it makes good sense to understand that critiques can be regarded as the useful interpretation of a particular subject. As far as this writing is concerned, I would discuss the critiques of the public meeting which I attended ...

Dr. Raul: I use public speaking when I give presentations at conferences and seminars, when I teach classes, in meetings, and in debates at the University Senate and committees.

YOU: How do you overcome your fear of public speaking?

Dr. Raul: By the time I started teaching, I didn’t have a lot of fear by that point. I had been through teacher training, dealing with a lot of issues like psychology of learning and behavior. We had public speaking courses. I was well trained before I got in front of a class. However, as an undergraduate during my first public speaking course, I blanked out and froze and ...

STEP 1: Identify a Project With Internal Motivation

- What does the project entail? Describe the steps, needed materials, who is involved, etc.
The project that I am embarking is to master the skill of public speaking. Public speaking always enamored me since I was a child but had a terrible fright of speaking in front of a group of people. I almost faint when I need to get on to a stage even when there are no people in the audience! I am aware that I have intense stage fear and words fail me when I need to speak in front of a group of people. ...

Throughout American history, different ethnic groups have faced different challenges. The Native Americans obviously were treated very differently than the Irish, for example, and the Chinese were particularly singled out for treatment which included banning them from attaining citizenship at all in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. African Americans obviously also suffered greatly, not only during slavery but also after its abolishment, and with even greater difficulties being accepted by white society even to this day given their appearance and a complexion that was impossible to hide. Yet other groups attained wide acceptance, including Germans, English, and Scots. ...

Reading: In the first week, students will ask and answer questions about the salient details of a text. For example, students may be read to from the Corduroy series, a series of children's books about the adventures of a stuffed bear, and be asked questions based on the text. They may interact with a stuffed bear to personalize their experience of the story.
Writing: Students will learn the basics of simple sentence construction using objects, subject, articles, and verbs (for example: The boy kicked the ball). They will use word banks to guide their sentence writing.
Speaking and Listening: ...

Abstract

Many of the US companies are trying to enter international markets, outsource the manufacturing processes, and become international. Such activity needs certain knowledge from the company’s managers and all those colleagues that will participate in communications with the foreign partners. Spain has a very rich history and culture and therefore there are many aspects that US business people should learn before starting to work with Spanish partners, suppliers or customers. The economic situation, business etiquette and traditions in Spain are different from the US ones. This is mostly caused by the relaxed rhyme of life in this country ...

Abstract

English is a global language that started in Europe but has been adapted by other countries as a lingua franca. It is a language that is mainly used for communication between and among people. Just like any other language, English contains the four language skills that need to be mastered in order for an individual to manipulate the language for fluent communication. The four language skills include reading, listening, speaking and writing, the learners find them difficult, and this affects their education and communication. The focus is to explore strategies that help in the development of the four language ...

Speaking difficulties of International students

The number of students who travel to other countries for education has increased considerably in recent years. Immigrant students join courses in order to learn English so that they can communicate with the local people, settle in a new country and study the subjects of their interests. Students expect that the courses should not only provide the knowledge of English language but also offer tips that would prepare them in every way to settle in a new culture. They expect to get knowledge about manners and etiquettes of the new country and serve as finishing schools. This renders the ...

DateYour name Course name Abstract for Research Project Oct 18, 2014

                                                                Abstract
The United States of America currently does not have an official language. Nevertheless, many advocates are vouching for the officialization of English in a federal level. This would mean that border states will not be able to make their immigrants more welcome. A Constitutional amendment is being fought over and over, and legislator have tried to pass this project through every official channel, but it hasn't been successful so far. Children of immigration would suffer even more because officializing English would mean the end of bilingual education programs, as well as difficulties businesses, federal services and other entities. ...

Heath offers insights for use in the dissertation study for investigating any difficulties in the area of Americans learning Arabic. This study specifically addresses the learner and his/her creativity in Arabic communicative competence as it applies toward competently completing both the DLI course and the OPI (Heath, 1987).

Alptekin (2002) discusses the notion of communicative competence that suggests that native-speaker competence is the metric by which communicative competence is decided. Alptekin argues that this particular norm creates an unrealistic and utopian model for language learning that makes it impossible for SLA to be considered complete or sufficient. Native speakership ...

Book Review:

Baron, Naomi. Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. New York: Oxford
“Language in an Online and Mobile World” by Naomi Baron is a thought-provoking book on the way that language changes in the online and mobile world. It also tells us the ways in which the new technologies affect and influence our speaking and writing. She tells us that there many ways this could happen, but that it is not what we would expect. There is more to language and the online and mobile world than what we think and Naomi Baron writes about this well.
...

Candidate: Ian Keith Sinnott

Degree: E900‐Doctor Of Philosophy
CRICOS code: 006244J
Campus: Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
Finish Date: 25/032016
Enrolment Category:Off‐Campus / Full‐Time
Associate Supervisor(s): Dr. Rod Nielsen and Dr Alex Kostogriz
Thesis Title: Evaluating the impact of Instruction of English through the use of the iPad on the English Foundations Studies Program at Abu Dhabi Men’s College [ADMC], Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates.

Colloquia: First year confirmation

Ethics: This project will require ethics clearance
Chapter One
Context of the Research
1.1 Background of the study
Technology has augmented learning in the classroom setup in terms of coming up ...

Over the years, immigrants have found their way easily to the United States. The level at which immigrants are increasing in the United States is alarming which has led to the creation of law that will govern immigrants. As immigrants infest the nation, the cultures in the societies become more with each growth of the population. The United States is said to have the greatest number of different cultures. The immigrants include, Asians, Africans, Europeans and the Hispanics from the neighboring South and North America continent.
One significant immigrant population group in the United States is the Hispanics. The ...

Over the years, immigrants have found their way easily to the United States. The level at which immigrants are increasing in the United States is alarming which has led to the creation of law that will govern immigrants. As immigrants infest the nation, the cultures in the societies become more with each growth of the population. The United States is said to have the greatest number of different cultures. The immigrants include, Asians, Africans, Europeans and the Hispanics from the neighboring South America continent.
One significant immigrant population group in the United States is the Hispanics. The Hispanics have ...

Speaking a second language is one of the most important skills that an individual can have in the business world today. Because of the increasingly globalized nature of the world, more and more business is taking place in a variety of languages; individuals who speak a second language are at a definite advantage in the world of business. However, research suggests that the advantage of speaking a second language is not merely a practical advantage; there are definite cognitive and social benefits that the individual who studies or speaks a second language gleans from the process. Most theorists believe ...

While the literature and interest in bilingualism in education in the Middle East remains new, it is widely practiced across the world either by design or by a complete accident. Many literatures ignore or only mention the Middle East in passing, possibly due to the perception that the Arab world homogenously used Arabic, and are even hostile against English, French, Germany and others. Karmani (2005) and Karmani and Pennycook (2005) in Gallagher (2011) deconstruct the evolution of rhetoric and attitudes towards English, which was inevitably associated with the US activities in the Arab world, besides the perceptions that is ...

Learning to speak in public is not as easy as it may seem. Some studies have suggested that many people would rather die than have to speak in front of a group. It is often placed at the top of a list of top ten global fears. For this reason, perhaps, it is comforting to have a textbook to help those of us brave enough to make the attempt learn how to do it more effectively. These kinds of texts help to alleviate fears by teaching techniques, strategies, and how to think critically about topics that might come up ...

Introduction

The development of English as a first or second language comprises four strategic domains. These include listening, reading, speaking and writing. An English language learner can either attend classes to learn the language from a teacher or tutor or may simply learn through association with frequent English as the way children learn language from their parents and peers. In the class contexts, learning of English required skills from the tutor as well as other learning materials like audio-visuals that are meant to reinforce written or spoken words from the teacher. The learning of English focuses on a few critical ...

The workplace of today is very different from what it was a few decades ago. Today, globalization and technological advances mean that a lot of companies have transnational business and have businesses and centers spanning the whole globe. The complex immigration patterns and the increased movement of people across national and international borders for professional reasons mean that there is a lot more diversity at the workplace. Therefore, the typical twenty first century workplace sees a wide range of ethnicities, cultures, races and linguistic capabilities in its workforce. With such diversity, it has become increasingly important for workplaces to ...

I. Introduction
In comparison to other industrialized nations, the United States does not place nearly as much educational emphasis on bilingualism or multilingualism. However, within the United States, there is a growing demand for bilingual and multilingual individuals at all levels of industry, from the lowest levels of customer service to the highest levels of government. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of government, industry, education, and society in regards to language education and policy in the United States and other English-speaking countries. It will investigate the ways in which other countries support and encourage ...

When people’s emotions change, their body language, voice and facial expression changes, as well. Not a lot of people can pick up the changes in pitch, tone and volume. These are important factors to consider when analyzing the emotion of someone you are speaking to, especially if the conversation is over the phone (Gobl, Christer, and Ailbhe Nı́ Chasaide 189). Voice quality plays a vital role in communicating emotions, attitudes, reactions and moods. By knowing or understanding these things, an individual will be able to judge the emotion of someone that they are talking to.
When you are ...

Chapter 1

- Why are communication skills important to your career?
Communication skills for one on one communication help one in taking a job interview. It enables you to be brief and interesting, but yet convincing increasing the chances of securing a job. Oral communication skills are very important in the job market as being a good communicator enhances the way you communicate with your co workers as well as the public.
It helps one to learn how to speak to his audience such as in court, at work, in school among others.
It equips the leaner with communication skills that ...

A language is an expression of ideas, thoughts and information. English is a language that can be expressed in written or spoken words and words are nothing but idea units used to signify something. In order to learn English, understanding the words and rules of grammar is essential followed by practicing the things learnt. There can be more than one approach when it comes to learning. Some people prefer verbal learning prior to written, which means learning to speak the language before grasping about the formation of letters and alphabets. This kind of learning is observed in children as ...

And Their Application to Human Computer Interaction

How Addressing the Cognitive Processes Can Improve the Usability of a Software Application
9
3.
Conclusion
10

References
12

1. Introduction
More and more organizations now acknowledge their human resource as their greatest asset. As Laplante (2006) states, “empowering users with IT boosts the bottom line.” However, IT is useless if it’s too complex and complicated to use. It is then important for employees to be provided with tools that they can quickly and easily learn to use and that they can use to effectively and efficiently complete their tasks.
In this age where organizations are seemingly in ...

The introduction of the speech “Faith versus Tradition in Islam” by Mustafa Akyol is decidedly precise and on to the point. He creates a receptive atmosphere by giving the nature and the background of Islam tradition. Akyol evinces the desire to speak with earnestness and sincerity, creating a virtuous identification technique in concurrence with Huff (2008) assertion that ascribes the attachment of the audience and the speaker to better designation of the speaker and establishment of a rapport or a common ground. He highlights the basic ideas ...

Strong leadership and communication skills are vital for many professionals. In particular one needs to communicate well with the clients and the other employees. Unfortunately, schools put great emphasis on examination and academic achievements and disregard equipping students with pivotal skills such as leadership, time management, critical thinking, survival, decision making, communication and public speaking. Public speaking training helps one to build confidence, to manage time and become a good decision maker and is a must for one to compete in the business world and also to be a good leader. It then suffices that a marketer has to ...

Test Evaluation Report

(Insert Institution)
Test Evaluation Report

Introduction

The report is going to address a number of issues in relation to the test meant for administration. The paper will evaluate whether the content covered through the questions asked will attain the intended purpose. It will identify the level that the exam will be relevant either by use of the age or grade levels. It will determine the test’s appropriateness to the candidate’s capability. It will evaluate the practicability of administering the test in terms of its affordability, period, space requirements, specialized supervision and invigilation, and specialized materials and equipment. The ...

Contrary to the belief of most of the people, the USA had no official language in the country. Though federal legislators have proposed making English the official business language of the country, that legislation never sees the face of the approval. The first ‘English Language Amendment’ (ELA) was introduced by the senator of California, S. I. Hayakawa. However, that amendment was rejected by the Congress. Though this proposal of making English the official language of the USA appeared many a time, it never turned into a law (Brice 2013). There is a huge debate on this issue. This paper ...

Part II

As an international student who has been exposed to a number of cultural and social backgrounds, I would like to use my experience and learning in managing that part of an organization which deals with marketing or man-management.
After two years of study at the university, I can confidently say that I can express myself and my ideas clearly and effectively. This is not to say that I can communicate in English very well, but yes, I have definitely improved my English in the two years. I will however, have to concentrate on improving my English to be more ...

In A Room of One’s Own, which is based on lectures she gave at two women’s colleges at the University of Cambridge in England, Virginia Woolf (1928) is trying to answer an unframed question about women and fiction. She says that “a woman must have money and she must have a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”(4). I argue that Woolf is right, but that a woman needs money to stop being just a reflection of a man.
Woolf asks why men write about women. She says that men are attracted to ...

Müjde Gümüșçü Uğurlu

The effects of bilingualism in a minority language on third language acquisition

Abstract
In the area of language acquisition, bilinguals differ from monolinguals in several ways. It is accepted that previous language knowledge is facilitative in developing proficiency in a new language and both the learner’s native and non-native languages can be sources of influence in acquiring a new language. Given the evidence that in some social situations knowledge of a second language is facilitative in learning a third, the paper investigates to what extent knowledge of a widely-spoken but non-official local language can be shown to be facilitative in this way. The students ...

Creating shared value / SCR

Redefying capitalism and reconsidering its role in modern society is rather significant nowadays. Nowadays business should move toward social needs. Only companies which policies are aimed on society, the companies that include corporate social responsibility into their business strategies have an opportunity to become leading companies in any industry. There are several clusters that can help implement the corporate social responsibility program. To such clusters one includes not only small companies, but educational, economic and environmental institutions as well. The shared value theory is not to consume but to help others. For example, a businessman instead of buying a ...

The evident identity of Louisiana as an exceptional yet unique kind of integrated cultures has been captured using many phrases by many scholars. This savory mixture has also been identified alongside its historical dishes, gumbo. Capturing this unique and complex assortment of cultures has eluded many scholars, researchers and anthropologists. Some authors have however come close to identifying this complex assortment describing tradition, folk life and folklores.
A major event labeled Louisiana Purchase that occurred in 1803 played a major role in shaping the future of this state. This marked a major experiment to incorporate the very diverse state ...

Over the years, there has been a massive inflow of the Mexican nationals into the United States of America. This is made easy by the fact that Mexico borders the US to its immediate south. Some of the immigrants entered the US legally, but a portion moves across the borders into the US without any valid documents and still managesto establish settlements as they process the immigration documents. These immigrants, along with Mexican Americans are historically known to occupy a very place in the story of American immigration.
The main reason for migration into the United States was and ...

1 – A

Speech

Speech is an articulated expression that uses sounds in words or units of meaning that people use in communicating others. In addition, speech is the power of speaking. It pertains to habitual manner or style of speaking. When a person speaks without hesitation, without repetition of words or sounds, and with fluency, he has an accurate speech. It implies that speech without errors would be a clear expression of thoughts, ideas, feelings, and perceptions in a voice; using proper intonation, volume and pitch to support expressed meaning. Similarly, in a gestural form of human communication that exist ...

Article Summary

In his speech, Shaub discusses the four developmental phases of the acculturation process of immigrants in America. In particular, Shaub discusses how some immigrants want to be bicultural, that is, to retain their original personality while developing an American one. Shaub further discuss how culture and religion can influence the bi-culturality of Muslims.

Cited Passage

“Imagine groups of related individuals living together in primitive conditions but still developing some kind of coherent culture. In many cases there would come a day when the tribe had to move---perhaps the food ran out or there was some natural calamity. For whatever ...

Associateship in TESOL

Module Three Assignments
1. Classroom scenarios

Situation 1 description: Upper-immediate ESL class, 12 students, all about 20 years old

One newspaper article is passed around the class from left to right so each student gets a turn to read out loud. After this part of the lesson the teacher asks the student’s questions.

The time factor needs to be addressed in the planning for this type of lesson. It would be great to have all the time in the world but information has to be taught inside a strict schedule. Allowing everyone a chance to read is a good idea but should be divided between more of the lessons. I think ...

Difficulty of learning English for international students

Background

One of the biggest problems facing qualitative research in the field of education is how to be certain that the quality presented by the research is trustworthy. It is often too common to assume that the quality of research presents itself a powerful knowledge that is too convincing in its own right. However, this is not supposed to be the case as qualitative research studies have to be subjected to critical evaluation using criteria in order to justify its value. Whenever qualitative research studies are evaluated for the quality of their value, it helps to eliminate unnecessary criticism ...

Introduction

Gaelic is a Celtic language that includes the speech of ancient Ireland and the dialects that have developed from it, especially those usually known as Irish, Manx and Scots Gaelic. Gaelic constitutes the Goidelic subbranch of Celtic (Dictionary.com, 2012). Scottish Gaelic is very similar to Irish and Manx, which are both Celtic languages. Gaelic also resembles some other languages such as Welsh and Breton. The phonetics of Gaelic are said to be more complicated than English but once a person learns Gaelic, it is easier to figure out how a word is spoken, by its spelling. Currently, the language ...

How does input influence second language learning

Introduction

Input in learning refers to anything that the students are exposed to and may be expected to form some kinds or reactions which can be conscious or subconscious. Input can also be used to refer to anything that can activate the sensory system. There are two types of inputs that are discussed in this chapter. They are very important when a person wants to learn a second language. We are going to base our study on this chapter and the way inputs can aid the learning of the second language. There ...

Body language

Body language is an essential part of communication. Human beings pass most of their communication through body language. The human mind is wired to decipher the non-verbal cues passed by the body before the mind interprets the audio signals produced by the mouth. People can communicate through nonverbal cues without uttering a single word. Body language entails facial expressions, gestures and body posture. The three non- verbal cues make an integral part of the body language. Body language is the most common means of communication; however, body language is understood by few people in the society. There some common ...

Introduction

English is one of the most spoken languages in the world. It has spread from the European countries to other countries and thus it transitioned into a global language. The teaching of English varies within the different levels of education. Today, in most European countries, English is taught as a foreign language for better understanding and fluent communication between and among people. English, just as any other language, has four language skills that one must follow in order to have enough knowledge on it. The four language skills include; listening, reading, speaking and writing. This essay explores strategies that ...

Abortion involves elimination of foetus from the uterus of the mother, right before it becomes viable. Strictly speaking, abortion means putting an end to pregnancy. In some cases miscarriage can also occur, which is also known as spontaneous abortion. People (parents) go for abortion when they do not want a baby and/or have it if both of them are willing to. In many cases a mother wants to have a baby and the father does not and vice-versa. In this controversial case who is an authoritative to make the decision. Should it be the mother who actually carries the ...

It’s important that a leader is in a position to identify and develop not only the talent of his subjects but also his/her own. Talent development is a personal development agenda, which requires one to first, identify his/her talent, set goals to develop the identified talent and be self-disciplined enough to pay the price for the development of the talent.
In my own assessment a great talent that I possess is that of public speaking. This is a talent that I am keen to develop and perfect since it is likely to fast track both professional life and ...

The population of Spanish speakers in America is growing, increasingly interacting with English-speaking populations to contribute to the expanding cultural melting pot of this country. Hybrid languages often result from this clash of cultures, and one that is rising in prominence and usage is ‘Spanglish’, a combination of Spanish and English that is being found increasingly in different Hispanic American communities (Alvarez 483). Because of the greater exposure Latin-American writers and people are receiving through popular culture and media, Spanglish is becoming more well known all throughout America (Morales 2002). As this hybrid language grows in usage, people wonder ...

The Advantages of Learning English in America

English is very useful for everyone and learning it has many advantages in United States of America. Learning English in an English native speaking country is very helpful. When a foreign language speaker studies English in USA, he or she tends to learn English better, faster and in perfect US form. An addition, studying in the United States to learn English has three other advantages like having to practice English for daily activity, native English teachers and general English speaking society.
In the process of learning English in the United States, you can practice the language by talking with ...

Personal Development Profile Analysis

Introduction
Reflecting on my own personal development is sometimes a difficult thing to do; it can be hard to accurately determine how you have improved, what aspects of your work still need improving, etc. However, over the course of my work, I believe I have come a long way from where I have started, and I look forward to continually improving my own abilities. In the beginning, I found myself having difficulty with some aspects of learning, but I have made substantial progress toward increasing the speed of my presentations, being more inclined to think critically while learning, and ...

Book VII - On Shadows and Realities in Education

SOCRATES - GLAUCON
AND now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened: --Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a ...

Chapter 16 Notes and Reflection

Introduction
Chapter 16 of Public Speaking for College and Career is about the art of persuasion, specifically persuasive speeches. Some of the concepts that are explicitly explored in this chapter include persuasive speaking goals, the different types of persuasive speeches and the organization patterns of persuasive speeches.
In simple terms, persuasion means influencing, changing or reinforcing the thoughts, views, beliefs or opinions of people. There are three main goals of persuasive speaking. These are winning over the audience so that they assume your intended view or take an action; knowing and understanding the subject of discussion thoroughly; maintenance of ...

Introduction

Nursing profession is regarded as an attractive career that draws the attention of many students in America. The fact that America has some of the best nursing schools and programs in the world, has compelled many international students to move into the country and enroll as nursing students. International students face numerous challenges in nursing schools, but they have no option other than overcoming the challenges and adapting effectively in the new environment. They are supposed follow rules, norms, and traditions, which govern nursing schools and programs, compete with their counterparts in course work and pass the National Council ...

One may wonder if there is a relationship between Christian heritage and the cultures of English primary speaking nations. Well, there is a well developed relationship between the two abstracts. In fact there are more than enough proofs for the existence of this relationship.
Various aspects of Christianity seem now to be deeply entrenched in almost all the English cultures. One may even mistakenly assume that this aspects are of and themselves inherent of those cultures. However, a careful look at history reveals that these aspects have been heavily borrowed from religion and Christianity is at the fore front.
...

Sam, I am so glad that you were able to find me when you were online. It is so good to hear from you after so many years. I am glad to hear that you have had so many positive things happen in your life, especially your marriage, your children, and a career in which you are happy and successful. It is common that when your children reach elementary school age that families begin to seek a church and a religious foundation. Although I am not really an expert by any means, I am willing to give you some ...

KURDISH SECONDARY STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN

LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Degree
Acronyms
CF Corrective Feedback
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ESL English as a Second Language
FLC Foreign Language Correction
ICEEP International Conference on Education and Educational Psychology
LPLA Logical Problem of Language Acquisition
SLA Second Language Acquisition
TEFL Teaching English as a Second Language
TESOL Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages
The Role of Oral Self Correction to Enhance Kurdish Secondary Students Performance in Learning English as a Foreign Language
1. Introduction
The motivation for choosing oral self-correction as the subject of this essay is from my experience teaching ...