Rebecca Walsh

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology.Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented' The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is subdivided into...  [Read more]

This marks my thirteenth week as a new teacher of sixth and seventh grade students, ages eleven to thirteen. I teach history and my class sizes range from twenty-three to twenty-seven, with a total of one hundred and fifty students throughout the day. As one can imagine, classroom management and discipline are extremely important with groups this size and with children in general. In an effort to improve the effectiveness of my current teaching position and to set the tone for my future ESL/EFL classrooms, I consulted the Phi Delta Kappan, an excellent resource for teachers both beginning their careers and those who are seasoned veterans in the field. Metzger, Margaret (2002). Classroom Management: Learning to Discipline. Phi Delta Kappan 84, 77-84. Metzger is a life-long...  [Read more]

'The acquisition of language 'is doubtless the greatest intellectual feat any one of us is ever required to perform.''Regardless of where we come from in the world we all have the innate ability to use language. In the early stages of our lives we will actively seek out ways of interacting with our parents through various methods such as babbling.Over the past 50 years three theoretical approaches to explaining how early language development takes place, namely, behaviourist, innatist and interactionist approaches.It was Noam Chomsky, who in 1983 proposed that language development should be described as 'language growth,' because the 'language organ' simply grows like any other body organ.The vast majority of people are not exposed to 2nd language learning until they are teenagers...  [Read more]

How important is the student in the process of designing a lesson plan? Once a lesson plan is composed, should the teacher stick rigidly to every step detailed, ploughing through even if students fall behind, miss the point and inevitably lose interest -and faith ?V in what the teacher has to say? Personally, the author believes that the lesson is not the focus of the classroom, rather the student is. If a learning point takes longer than anticipated, then a teacher should hope to be attentive to the needs of the class, adapting the lesson or activities to address difficulties in understanding or to extend the practice of a particularly problematic area. However, it is important to realise that it may not be the topic or focus point that is causing confusion in a...  [Read more]

Humans speak with each other by creating sounds. That is how we communicate with each other. Over the centuries the different languages have created systems of grammar to explain how the words in their languages work. Sometime after that, they began to create systems to explain how the sounds, or phonemes, of the different words work. Two disciplines arose out of this: phonetics and phonology. Phonetics is the study of the sounds themselves. In the world there are a limited number of possible sounds which the human vocal tract can produce. Of these sounds, the distinctive pronunciations of the different languages are produced. But how are theses sounds produced and represented? The answer to this question is the area of study of Phonetics. Generally, Phonetics is ...  [Read more]

I went to France when I was fourteen and I didn?t speak any French. I lived in Toulon where barely anyone spoke English; I was therefore forced to speak French everyday at home and at school. Being surrounded by French resulted in me being able to speak it fluently with no knowledge of French grammar. After ten months, I returned to Australia speaking French as my second language. I continued to study French at school, but in a completely different approach. The lessons were carried out in English and we studied the French news and French current affairs. I learnt a lot more complicated vocabulary and was able to form more complex sentences. I also studied beginner Spanish at school. From the first class, we were only allowed to speak Spanish. This approach...  [Read more]

Faster than global Starbucks addiction, English is sweeping the Planet. With over one quarter of the people on Earth speaking English 4, the language is fast replacing French as the new lingua franca 2. There is a reason that English is considered by some, to be on the fast track to becoming the World?s first Universal language 2. It is simply necessary to be able to communicate with people from around the globe these days. Powered by telecommunications and the internet along with distance breaking inventions such as airplanes 2, the world has become a much smaller place. We can now chat via the Internet with someone in another hemisphere and then go out to lunch with an exchange student who has flown in from another continent at a restaurant where the server is...  [Read more]

How important is the student in the process of designing a lesson plan' Once a lesson plan is composed, should the teacher stick rigidly to every step detailed, ploughing through even if students fall behind, miss the point and inevitably lose interest -and faith 'V in what the teacher has to say'Personally, the author believes that the lesson is not the focus of the classroom, rather the student is. If a learning point takes longer than anticipated, then a teacher should hope to be attentive to the needs of the class, adapting the lesson or activities to address difficulties in understanding or to extend the practice of a particularly problematic area. However, it is important to realise that it may not be the topic or focus point that is causing confusion in a lesson. It may...  [Read more]