English Education

Every living thing passes through stages of development — whether an embryo or a new teacher. Similarly, language development also occurs in stages. In the first few months of life, babies don’t vocalize much beyond crying, gurgling, cooing, or other minimal random sounds. However, they are taking in enormous amounts of auditory information. This early period provides the foundation for later language development. Within a few short months, babies begin babbling.Linguists suggest that these sounds provide a baby with practice for tongue and mouth movements in preparation for pronouncing words. These precursors to language turn into recognizable distinct words around the age of 12 months, the time when a joyous parent hears the first distinguishable word. Other new words follow in quick succession, usually between ages three and five. In these few sentences, we have described three distinct stages of language development —a silent period, babbling, and first words. While they are commo...

Unlike any other learned phenomenon, humans acquire their first language largely by hearing it and by interacting with speakers in their environment. The same cannot be said about learning to play the piano, learning to ride a bike, learning to write, or any other learned behavior. Three basic theoretical approaches to language learning provide a different lens on the process. Linguistic theory holds that language has a structure that is unique and distinct, and that babies are born with specific language learning mechanisms that enable them to learn language in a relatively short period of time. Chomsky’s work (1965) provided the initial theoretical support for this view. Cognitive theories of language learning state that it is directly linked to stages of cognitive development. We associate the work of Piaget and Bruner with this theoretical lens. Social interactionists, as the label indicates, believe that the key element of language learning resides in meaningful social interaction...

An effective teacher of English learners understands basic elements of language and language development. This is important for two reasons. First, you will actually be able to observe these aspects of language in your students. Second, this information will give you insight and help you understand ways to guide your English learners . At the end of each element of language, you will read why this knowledge is useful for you as a classroom teacher. Please understand that volumes have been written on any single aspect of language that you read about below, should you be interested in exploring any one topic. What you read here are the briefest of explanations. Before you read more, think about your answers to the following questions: How do you define language? What influences how we use language? What is language? How can it be defined? Like the air around us, it’s everywhere, and so much a part of our environment that we may not give it much thought. Minimally, language is a series o...

We already know that languages today are more important than ever . The world in 2011 demands that people be in constant communication . Countries no longer work isolated, on the contrary, they depend on one another. This applies to businesses and companies, social security, governments, etc. If you want to live in society and have the opportunity to grow up, developing and boosting your potential to its limit, you cannot afford to be monolingual , but most especially, you cannot afford not to know English. Language Trainer in Perth             According to Alexis Sheldon , CEO of Language Trainers, a company that specializes in the instruction of languages worldwide: “Students who take up English courses are the ones to whom more doors open once they reach an intermediate level of knowledge. Especially when it comes to business and work, English seems to be the key to progress” .         ...

In this posting, I would like sharing about a reading strategy, Neurological Impress Method (NIM). It is a form of "choral" reading in which the teacher and student read together while simultaneously tracking the words. Originally used with children who had stuttering disabilities, NIM was researched and brought into general use by R.G. Heckelman, PhD in the 1960s and has since been used successfully with thousands of children. Below is the description and the steps of NIM, read and comprehend it! The Neurological Impress Method is intended to increase the reader's fluency (their ability to decode words accurately and automatically, without conscious thought) and to "impress" word memory onto the students' natural thought processes. Other positive effects these activities have with early readers include: v   Aiding students in copying correct pronunciation, inflection, and phrasing v   Increasing self-assurance in reading v   Providing a good model of readin...