ANALYSING AND INTERPRETING DISCIPLINE BASED LANGUAGE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES
English for specific purposes (ESP)
is a sphere of teaching
English language
including Business English, Technical English, Scientific English, English for
medical professionals, English for waiters, English for tourism,
English for Art Purposes, etc. Aviation English
as ESP is taught to pilots, air traffic controllers
and civil aviation
cadets who are going to use it in radio communications. ESP can be also considered
as an avatar of language for specific purposes.
English for Specific
Purposes has been developed to meet the needs of those learners who intend to
use English in professional contexts and for professional purposes. Languages
for specific purposes, or, in this case, English for Specific Purposes can be
dealt with from at least two perspectives: on the one hand, from a didactic
perspective, as ESP is a sphere of language teaching. On the other hand, we
must approach the issue of specialized language(s) from a linguistic viewpoint,
as English for Specific Purposes is a peculiar segment of language, with its
major component – terminology, to which some authors add the science specific
grammar, i.e. linguistic issues and particularities
The first major issue is connected to the plurality of names given
to what we call here English for Specific Purposes. In English several terms
are used, among which specialized languages, special languages, specialized
communication, technical English, scientific English, English for special or
specific purposes-ESP, English for Occupational Purposes, Professional English or,
more recently, Academic and Professional Languages.
Historical Background Of English For Specific Purposes
The history of
the ESP (English for Specific Purposes) movement can be traced back to the
1960s, though several books and materials designed to teaching English for
specialists in different fields (especially business and economics) were
published even in the first decades of the 20th century.
There are four important phases in the history and development of the ESP
movement.
The first phase
covers the 1960s and 1970s, when teaching ESP focused on the sentence-level.
The needs analyses that were carried out concentrated on the lexical and
grammatical features of professional registers, such as the language of
engineering or the language of law. Researchers discovered, among the most
striking characteristics of EST (English for Science and Technology), for
instance, the extensive use of Present Tense Simple, of passive constructions
and of noun compounds. In what Business English was concerned, the focus was on
the rules of writing business letters, rules that stated the use of a set
format, formulaic expressions, a limited set of vocabulary and conjunctions.
“After careful analyses of identified spoken or written discourse,
practitioners organized their grammar-based curricula around the features of
these special registers.
The
late 1970s and early 1980s brought about the second phase in the career of ESP,
in which the sentence level analysis and the focus on grammatical forms started
to integrate rhetorical functions as well. In 1981 Tarone et alii (1981)
published a study that intended to examine the function and frequency of
passive voice within astrophysics. When comparing the functions of passive
structures in these astrophysics journal articles with active voice, they
practically performed a rhetorical analysis, stating that passive voice was
used by the scientists/authors of the articles when “a. they are following
established procedures rather than discussing their own procedural choices, b.
they are discussing others’ work in contrast to their own, c. they are
referring to their own future research, or d. they wish to front certain
information in sentences.” Tarone et alii were pioneers of rhetorical analysis
in ESP, as they did not simply state that a particular feature (namely the
passive voice) was frequently used in a certain type of text, but they also
asked why this specific item was employed, identifying different rhetorical functions.
Moreover, they started to take into consideration the differences within larger
ESP registers, as they did not refer to the whole range of scientific
disciplines, to English for Science, but to a particular branch of it, i.e.
astrophysics. Thus, in this second phase the focus of register analysis became
more rhetorical, and, when talking about understanding language use in ESP,
mere counting of grammatical and/or lexical features was not enough any longer.
The third phase of the evolution of ESP integrated
the discoveries of the previous two phases (linguistic features and rhetorical
elements), as the focus was on the target situation and the oral communication
students may need in different professional contexts, which led to the
implementation of the so-called notional-functional curriculum. The main
pillars of this notional-functional approach were: the communicative purposes
(or functions) of the speaker, the setting for language use and the mode of
communication and the keyword of the whole approach is the functional nature of
communication. Therefore in Notional-Functional Syllabuses, instead of having
textbook units which are organized grammatically.
The
fourth phase started in the second half of the 1980s.If earlier the focus had
been on the discourse and its grammatical features, on the communicative
situation or the communicative purpose, now the attention shifted to the
strategies used by learners to acquire the language (the contribution of
psycholinguistics). Hutchinson and Waters (1987) were the first who claimed
that the needs analysis had to include issues like the measurement of the
learners’ existing knowledge, their interest in the materials presented, the
learners’ modalities of storing and retrieving information and their active involvement
in curriculum design.
More recently, lexicographers and terminologists
have started to focus less on the didactic aspects and more on the problem of
specialized languages, this time the main question being not necessarily how to
teach specialized languages, but what such languages look like. Raquel Martinez
Motos (2013) seems to opt for a new term, Academic and Professional
Languages.
The first decade of the 2000s can be called the society
of knowledge, as “one of the defining features of this society is
interdisciplinarity. And (it) is also characterized by a tendency toward
specialization. As a result, both interdisciplinarity and specialization have a
great influence on what has been named as Academic and Professional Languages.
Thus, the term Academic and Professional Languages is the most recent term with
which we refer to what has been called technical language, special language,
specialized language, language for specific purposes, professional language so
far. “This term, coined by Alcaraz, refers to the type of language used by
specific knowledge communities or groups of professionals, such as chemists,
lawyers, physicians, etc. that share similar values and institutions that use
the same genres and terminology to communicate. We are aware of the lack of
consensus among scholars regarding the boundaries of concepts transmitted by
other terms such as ‘Language for Specific Purposes’ or ‘Specialized Language’.
In order to avoid any controversy, the term `Academic and Professional Language`
will strictly be used here to refer to any type of language used in specialized
communication, in an academic or professional setting and characterized as
having a restricted number of users.”
Elements of An Effective ESP Classroom
ESP concentrates more on
language in context than on teaching grammar and language structures. It covers
subjects varying from accounting or computer science to tourism and business
management. The ESP focal point is that English is not taught as a subject
separated from the students' real world (or wishes); instead, it is integrated
into a subject matter area important to the learners.
ESP combines subject matter and
English language teaching. Such a combination is highly motivating because
students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their
main field of study, whether it be accounting, business management, economics,
computer science or tourism. Being able to use the vocabulary and structures
that they learn in a meaningful context reinforces what is taught and increases
their motivation. The students' abilities in their subject-matter fields, in
turn, improve their ability to acquire English. Subject-matter knowledge gives
them the context they need to understand the English of the classroom. In the
ESP class, students are shown how the subject-matter content is expressed in
English. The teacher can make the most of the students' knowledge of the
subject matter, thus helping them learn English faster. For effectively
implementing the programmes of ESP we should consider the following factors
too;
Setting Goals and Objectives
Arrange the conditions for learning
in the classroom and set long-term goals and short-term objectives for
student’s achievement. Knowledge about students’ potential is central in
designing a syllabus with realistic goals that takes into account the students'
concern in the learning situation.
The responsibility of the teacher
A teacher that already has
experience in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), can exploit her
background in language teaching. She should recognize the ways in which her
teaching skills can be adapted for the teaching of English for Specific Purposes.
Moreover, she will need to look for content specialists for help in designing
appropriate lessons in the subject matter field she is teaching. As an ESP
teacher, you must play many roles organize courses, set learning objectives,
establish a positive learning environment in the classroom, and evaluate
student s progress.
Organizing Courses
We have to set learning goals and
then transform them into an instructional program with the timing of
activities. One of the main tasks will be selecting, designing and organizing
course materials, supporting the students in their efforts, and providing them
with feedback on their progress.
Creating a Learning Environment
Teacher’s skills for communication
and mediation create the classroom atmosphere. Students acquire language when
they have opportunities to use the language in interaction with other speakers.
Teacher can structure effective communication skills in the classroom. In order
to do so, in teacher – pupil interaction , try to listen carefully to what they
are saying and give your understanding or misunderstanding back at them through
your replies. Good language learners are also great risk-takers , since they
must make many errors in order to succeed: however, in ESP classes, they are
handicapped because they are unable to use their native language competence to
present themselves as well-informed adults. That is why the teacher should
create an atmosphere in the language classroom which supports the students.
Learners must be self-confident in order to communicate, and teacher have the responsibility to help build the
learner's confidence.
Evaluating Students
The teacher is a resource that helps
students identify their language learning problems and find solutions to them,
find out the skills they need to focus on, and take responsibility for making
choices which determine what and how to learn. The teacher will serve as a
source of information to the students about how they are progressing in their
language learning.
The responsibility of the student
What is the role of the learner and
what is the task he/she faces? The learners come to the ESP class with a
specific interest for learning, subject matter knowledge, and well-built adult
learning strategies. They are in charge of developing English language skills
to reflect their native-language knowledge and skills.
Interest for Learning
People learn languages when they
have opportunities to understand and work with language in a context that they
comprehend and find interesting. In this view, ESP is a powerful means for such
opportunities. Students will acquire English as they work with materials which
they find interesting and relevant and which they can use in their professional
work or further studies. The more learners pay attention to the meaning of the
language they hear or read, the more they are successful; the more they have to
focus on the linguistic input or isolated language structures, the less they
are motivated to attend their classes.
The ESP student is particularly well
disposed to focus on meaning in the subject-matter field. In ESP, English
should be presented not as a subject to be learned in isolation from real use,
nor as a mechanical skill or habit to be developed. On the contrary, English
should be presented in authentic contexts to make the learners acquainted with
the particular ways in which the language is used in functions that they will
need to perform in their fields of specialty or jobs.
Subject-Content Knowledge
Learners in the ESP classes are
generally aware of the purposes for which they will need to use English. Having
already oriented their education toward a specific field, they see their
English training as complementing this orientation. Knowledge of the subject
area enables the students to identify a real context for the vocabulary and
structures of the ESP classroom. In such way, the learners can take advantage
of what they already know about the subject matter to learn English.
Learning Strategies
Adults must work harder than
children in order to learn a new language, but the learning skills they bring
to the task permit them to learn faster and more efficiently. The skills they
have already developed in using their native languages will make learning
English easier. Educated adults are continually learning new language behaviour
in their native languages, since language learning continues naturally
throughout our lives. They are constantly expanding vocabulary, becoming more
fluent in their fields, and adjusting their linguistic behaviour to new
situations or new roles. ESP students can exploit these innate competencies in
learning English.
LANGUAGE REGISTER
The
term register was first used by the linguist Thomas Bertram Reid in
1956, and brought into general currency in the 1960s by a group of linguists
who wanted to distinguish among variations in language according to
the user (defined by variables such as social background, geography,
sex and age), and variations according to use, "in the sense that
each speaker has a range of varieties and choices between them at different
times" (Halliday et al., 1964). The focus is on the way language is used
in particular situations, such as legalese or motherese,
the language of a biology research lab, of a news report, or of the bedroom.Register,
in the view of M. A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan, is one of the two defining
concepts of text. "A text is a passage of discourse which is coherent in
these two regards: it is coherent with respect to the context of situation, and
therefore consistent in register; and it is coherent with respect to itself,
and therefore cohesive."
In linguistics,
a Register is a variety of language used
for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. It also refers to
the perceived attitude and level of formality associated with a variety of
language. The relationship between the writer's attitude and the variety chosen
is very important in the study of written language. In face to face speech, the
listener can easily interpret the attitude of the speaker by examining the
speaker's tone of voice, facial expressions and overall body language. This is
not possible in writing. The writer has to use speacialized features of
discourse to convey or mask attitudes. It is then the reader's reponsibility to
correctly interpret the writer's attitude, tone and level of
formality. Language Registers range on a scale from most formal to
most informal. For example, when
speaking in a formal setting contrary to an informal setting, an English speaker
may be more likely to use features of prescribed grammar—such
as pronouncing words ending in -ing with a velar nasal instead
of analveolar nasal (e.g.
"walking", not "walkin'"), choosing more formal words
(e.g. father vs. dad, child vs. kid, etc.),
and refraining from using words considered nonstandard, such asain't.
As with other
types of language variation, there tends to be a spectrum of registers rather
than a discrete set of obviously distinct varieties – numerous registers could
be identified, with no clear boundaries between them. Discourse categorisation
is a complex problem, and even in the general definition of "register"
given above (language variation defined by use not user), there are cases where
other kinds of language variation, such as regional or age dialect, overlap.
Consequent to this complexity, scholarly consensus has not been reached for the
definitions of terms including "register", "field" or
"tenor"; different scholars' definitions of these terms are often in
direct contradiction of each other. These various approaches with their own
"register", or set of terms and meanings, fall under disciplines
including sociolinguistics, stylistics, pragmatics or systemic functional grammar.
Types of Language Registers
There are five
language registers or styles. Each level has an appropriate use that is
determined by differing situations. It would certainly be inappropriate to use
language and vocabulary reserve for a boyfriend or girlfriend when speaking in
the classroom. Thus the appropriate language register depends upon the audience
(who), the topic (what), purpose (why) and location (where).
1. Static
Register
This style of
communications RARELY or NEVER changes. It is “frozen” in time and content.
e.g. the Pledge of Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, the Preamble to the US
Constitution, the Alma Mater, a bibliographic reference, laws .
2. Formal
Register
This language is
used in formal settings and is one-way in nature. This use of language usually
follows a commonly accepted format. It is usually impersonal and formal. A
common format for this register are speeches. e.g. sermons, rhetorical
statements and questions, speeches, pronouncements made by judges,
announcements.
3. Consultative
Register
This is a
standard form of communications. Users engage in a mutually accepted structure
of communications. It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users
of this speech. It is professional discourse. e.g. when strangers meet,
communications between a superior and a subordinate, doctor & patient,
lawyer & client, lawyer & judge, teacher & student, counselor &
client,
4. Casual
Register
This is informal
language used by peers and friends. Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms are
normal. This is “group” language. One must be member to engage in this
register. e.g. buddies, teammates, chats and emails, and blogs, and letters to
friends.
5. Intimate
Register
This
communications is private. It is reserved for close family members or intimate
people. e.g. husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, siblings, parent
& children.
TECHNICAL
LANGUAGE
Technical language is any language that laypeople are not
exposed to on a regular basis. This includes legal, medical, taxation,
financial language, etc. It refers to both technical terminology and technical
documents, thereby including vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and
document organization. Technical language can be found in legislation,
contracts, policy, consent forms, and even in newspaper articles. Technical
language have direct relationship with the machine language and programming
language.
Technical language is language that is difficult for most people to
understand because it is connected with one particular subject or used in one particular
job . Technical language refers
to the skills or terminologies that are typically best understood by people who
specialize in that field or area. It is almost impossible to separate strict technical
language from colloquial language.
A scale has been made to classify the different levels of technical language in the area of geography. We are clearly dealing with technical language when the sender and the receiver have the same knowledge about a specific subject e.g. communication between geographers.
A scale has been made to classify the different levels of technical language in the area of geography. We are clearly dealing with technical language when the sender and the receiver have the same knowledge about a specific subject e.g. communication between geographers.
It has been proven that technical language is very
different in style and structure from that of everyday literature,1 and to treat it as separate,
therefore, is appropriate in research. Much of the literature on technical
language thus treats technical terminology and structure as comprising a fully
separate language from, or subset of, everyday English. Technical language
contains lengthy and unfamiliar words composed into lengthy and complex
sentences. The ability to understand technical language is evidently linked to
the ability to read and understand literature in general. More specifically for
technical language, however, are the concepts of legal and health literacy,
which postulate that the literacy skills needed to understand legal and medical
language are different from that of everyday language. This seems probable, as
it has already been proven that technical language is different from everyday
language. Use of Technical language is
for technical writing and technical communication.
Technical Writing
Technical writing is any written form of writing or
drafting technical
communication used in a variety of
technical and occupational fields, such as computer, hardware and software, engineering, chemistry, aeronautics, robotics, finance, consumer electronics, and biotechnology. IT encompasses the largest
sub-field within technical communication. The Society for Technical Communication defines technical
communication as any form of
communication that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:
(1) communicating about technical or
specialized topics, such as computer applications, medical procedures, or
environmental regulations
(2) communicating through technology,
such as web pages, help files, or social media sites
(3) providing instructions about how to do
something, regardless of the task's technical nature.
Technical writing is performed by a technical writer and is the process of writing and
sharing information in a professional setting. A technical writer’s main task
is to convey information to another person or party in the most clear and
effective manner possible. The
information that technical writers convey is often complex, and it is one of
their main tasks to analyze the information and present it in a format that is
easy to read and understand. A good technical writer needs strong writing and
communication skills. They do not only convey information through text, and
must be proficient with computers as well. They use a wide range of programs
like Adobe Photoshop to create and edit images,
diagramming programs like Microsoft Visio to create visual aids, and document
processors like Mad Cap Flare to design and format
documents. While commonly associated with online help and user manuals, technical writing covers a wide
range of genres and technologies. Press releases, memos, business
proposals, product
descriptions and specifications, white papers, Résumés, and job applications are but a few examples of documents
that are considered forms of technical writing.
Techniques of Technical Writing
Good technical writing is concise,
focused, easy to understand, and free of errors. Technical writers focus on making
their documents as clear as possible, avoiding overly technical phrases and
stylistic choices like passive voice and nominalizations. Because technical documents are used
in real-world situations, it should always be explicitly clear what the subject
matter of a technical document is and what should be done with the presented
information. It would be disastrous if, for example, a technical writer’s
instructions on how to use a high-powered X-ray machine were difficult to
decipher.
Technical writing requires a writer
to extensively examine his or her audience. A
technical writer needs to be aware of his or her audience’s existing knowledge
about the material he or she is discussing because the knowledge base of the
writer’s audience will determine the content and focus of a document. For example, an evaluation report
discussing a scientific study’s findings that is written to a group of highly
skilled scientists will be very differently constructed than one intended for
the general public. Technical writers do not have to be subject-matter
experts (SMEs) themselves and
generally collaborate with SMEs to complete tasks that require more knowledge
about a subject than they possess.
Technical writing must be accurate.
A technical writer, after analyzing his or her audience, knows what they're
trying to communicate. The goal from there is to convey the message in an
accurate and ethical manner. Physical, environmental, or financial
repercussions could result if a writer does this incorrectly. Knowing the
audience is important to accuracy because the language will be tailored
according to what they understand about the subject at hand. For example,
instructions on how to correctly and safely build a bookshelf are included when
purchased. Those instructions are constructed so that anyone could follow along,
as well as accurate details as to where every fastener goes. If those
instructions were inaccurate, the bookshelf could be unstable and result in
falling, and possibly injure someone.
Document design and layout are also
very important components of technical writing. Technical writers spend much time
ensuring their documents are laid out in a fashion that makes readability easy,
because a poorly designed document hampers a reader’s comprehension. Technical
document design stresses proper usage of document design choices like bullet
points, font-size, and bold text. Images,
diagrams, and videos are also commonly employed by technical writers because
these media can often convey complex information, like a company’s annual
earnings or a product’s design features, far more efficiently than text.
Technical Documents
Technical writing covers many genres
and writing styles depending on the information and audience. Technical documents are not solely
produced by technical writers. Almost anyone who works in a professional
setting produces technical documents of some variety. Some examples of
technical writing include:
§
Instructions and
procedures are documents that help
either developers or end users operate or configure a device or program. Examples of instructional documents
include user manuals and troubleshooting guides for
computer programs, household products, medical equipment, and automobiles.
§
Proposals : Most projects begin with
a proposal—a document that describes the purpose of a project, the tasks that
will be performed in the project, the methods used to complete the project, and
finally the cost of the project. Proposals
cover a wide range of subjects. For example, a technical writer may author a
proposal that outlines how much it will cost to install a new computer system,
and a teacher may write a proposal that outlines how a new biology class will
be structured.
§
Emails, letters, and memoranda are some of the most frequently
written documents in a business. Letters
and emails can be constructed with a variety of goals—some are aimed at simply
communicating information while others are designed to persuade the recipient
to accomplish a certain task. While letters are usually written to people
outside of a company, memoranda (memos) are documents written to
other employees within the business.
§
Press releases : When a company wants to publicly reveal a new product or
service, they will have a technical writer author a press release, a document that describes the
product’s functions and value to the public.
§
Specifications are design outlines that describe
the structure, parts, packaging, and delivery of an object or process in enough
detail that another party can reconstruct it. For
example, a technical writer might diagram and write the specifications for a
smartphone or bicycle so that a manufacturer can produce the object.
§
Descriptions are shorter explanations
of procedures and processes that help readers understand how something works. For example, a technical writer might
author a document that shows the effects of greenhouse gases or demonstrates
how the braking system on a bike functions.
§
Résumés and job applications are another example of technical
documents. They are documents that are used in a professional setting to inform
readers of the author’s credentials.
§
Technical reports are written to provide readers with
information, instructions, and analysis on tasks. Reports come in many forms.
For example, a technical writer might evaluate a building that is for sale and
produce a trip report that highlights his or her findings and whether or not he
or she believes the building should be purchased. Another writer who works for
a non-profit company may publish an evaluation report that shows the findings
of the company’s research into air pollution.
§
Case study is a published report about a
person, group, or situation that has been studied over time; also :
a situation in real life that can be looked at or studied to learn about
something. For example, an individual's challenging situation at his or her
workplace and how he or she resolved it is a case study.
§
White papers are documents that are written for
experts in a field and typically describe a solution to a technological or
business challenge or problem. Examples
of white papers include a piece that details how to make a business stand out in
the market or a piece explaining how to prevent cyber-attacks on businesses.
§
Web sites : The advent of hypertext has changed
the way documents are read, organized, and accessed. Technical writers of today
are often responsible for authoring pages on websites like “About Us” pages or
product pages and are expected to be proficient in web development tools.
Tools for Technical Writing
The following tools are used by
technical writers to author and present documents:
§
Desktop publishing tools or word processors : Word processors such as
Scrivener, Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Open Office Writer are used by technical writers
to author, edit, design, and print documents. Since technical writing is as
much about the page’s layout as it is the written language, Desktop Publishing
tools such asAdobe FrameMaker and LyX are also used by Technical Writers. These programs function similarly to
word processors but provide users with more options and features for the
document’s design and automate much of the formatting.
§
Help authoring tools are used by technical writers to
create the help systems that are packaged with software products, delivered
through web browsers or provided as files users can view on their computers. When writing instructional procedures
for incredibly complex programs or systems, technical writers will use these
tools to assist them and simplify the process. Adobe RoboHelp, MadCap Flare and HelpNDoc are a few examples of Help Authoring
Tools.
§
Image editing software : Often, images and other visual elements can portray
information better than paragraphs of texts. In these instances, image editing
software like Adobe Photoshop and GIMP are used by technical writers to create
and edit the visual aspects of documents like photos, icons, and diagrams.
§
Collaborative software programs :.Because technical writing often involves communication
between multiple individuals who work for different companies, it can be a
collaborative affair. Thus,
technical writers use Wiki Systems like MediaWiki , eXo Platform and Atlassian
Confluence and shared document
workspaces like Microsoft
SharePoint and Google Docs to work with other writers and
parties to construct technical documents.
§
Web development tools : Technical writers’ jobs
are no longer limited to just producing documents. They must now also produce
content for company’s corporate and other professional web sites. Web Development Tools like Adobe Dreamweaver are standard tools in the industry
that technical writers are expected to be proficient in.
§
Graphing software : In order to portray statistical
information like the number of visits to a restaurant or the amount of money a
university spends on its sporting programs, technical writers will use graphs
and flowcharts. While programs
like Microsoft Excel and Word can create basic graphs and charts, sometimes
technical writers must produce incredibly complex and detailed graphs that
require functions not available in these programs. In these instances, powerful
graphing and diagramming tools like Microsoft Visio are used to effectively organize and
design graphs and diagrams.
§
Screen capture tools : Technical writers commonly use
Screen Capture Tools like Camtasia Studio and Snagit to capture their desktops. When
creating instructions for computer software, it’s much easier for a technical
writer to simply record themselves completing a task than it is to write a
lengthy series of instructions that describe how the task must be performed.
Screen capture tools are also used to take screenshots of programs and software
running on user’s computers and then to create accompanying diagrams.
LANGUAGE OF ICT RESOURCES
ICT
(Information and Communication Technology) has been used in
almost all fields of life, including in education. In education,
computer technology has become so essential that the government put ICT as one
of the curriculum . The utilization of ICT in education has
recently started to appeal the potential and significant
progress . It has become a major issue in education world and has been
used from preschool through to university that could facilitate students and
teacher in teaching and learning process. ICT has been publicized as
potentially powerful enabling tools for educational change and reform. The
technology in this era has been grown up not only from the quality but also the
efficiency. They are moving fast without any limit from every product. The need
of technological innovation has brought the communication revolution and rapid
development of technological application in teaching and learning. Language
plays a dominant role in the encoding of ICT enabled resources for learning.
Language in the form of programming language plays a significant for building
platform for ICT resources.
The English language is sometimes described as
the lingua franca of computing. In comparison to
other sciences, where Latin and Greek are the principal sources of
vocabulary, Computer science borrows more extensively from
English. Due to the technical limitations of early computers, and the lack of
international standards on the Internet, computer users were limited to
using English and the Latin alphabet. However, this historical limitation is
less present today. Most software products are localized in numerous languages and the use of the Unicode character encoding has
resolved problems with non-Latin alphabets. Some limitations have only been
changed recently, such as with domain names, which previously allowed
only ASCII characters.
The computing terminology of many
languages borrows from English. Some language communities resist actively to
that trend, and in other cases English is used extensively and more directly.
The early computer software and hardware had very little support for alphabets
other than the Latin. As a result of this it was difficult or impossible to
represent languages based on other scripts. The ASCII character encoding, created in
the 1960s, only supported 128 different characters. With the use of additional
software it was possible to provide support for some languages, for instance
those based on the Cyrillic alphabet. However, complex-script languages like
Chinese or Japanese need more characters than the 256 limit imposed by 8-bit
character encodings. Some computers created in the former USSR had native support for the
Cyrillic alphabet.
The wide adoption of Unicode, and UTF-8 on the web, resolved most of
these historical limitations. ASCII remains the de facto standard for command interpreters, programming
languages and text-based communication protocols. The syntax
of most programming languages uses English keywords, and therefore it could be
argued some knowledge of English is required in order to use them. However, it
is important to recognize all programming
languages are in the class of formal languages. They are very different from any
natural language, including English.
Many application protocols,
especially those depending on widespread standardisation to be effective, use
text strings for requests and parameters, rather than the binary values
commonly used in lower layer protocols. The request strings are generally based
on English words, although in some cases the strings are contractions or
acronyms of English expressions, which renders them somewhat cryptic to anyone
not familiar with the protocol, whatever their proficiency in English.
Nevertheless, the use of word-like strings is a convenient mnemonic device that
allows a person skilled in the art (and with sufficient knowledge of English)
to execute the protocol manually from a keyboard, usually for the purpose of
finding a problem with the service.
Many personal computers have a BIOS chip, displaying text in
English during boot time. Keyboard shortcuts are usually
defined in terms of English . English is the largest language on
the World Wide Web, with 27% of internet users. Web user percentages usually focus
on raw comparisons of the first language of those who access the web. Just as
important is a consideration of second- and foreign-language users; i.e., the
first language of a user does not necessarily reflect which language he or she
regularly employs when using the web.
English-language users appear to be
a plurality of web users, consistently cited as around one-third of the overall
(near one billion). This reflects the relative affluence of English-speaking
countries and high Internet penetration rates in them. This lead may be eroding
due mainly to a rapid increase of Chinese users. First-language users among
other relatively affluent countries appear generally stable, the two largest
being German and Japanese, which each have between 5% and 10% of the overall
share. Given the enormous lead it already enjoys and its increasing use as
a lingua franca in
other spheres, English web content may continue to dominate even as English
first-language Internet users decline. This is a classic positive
feedback loop: new Internet users find it helpful to learn English and
employ it on-line, thus reinforcing the language's prestige and forcing
subsequent new users to learn English as well.
Certain other factors (some
predating the medium's appearance) have propelled English into a majority
web-content position. Most notable in this regard is the tendency for
researchers and professionals to publish in English to ensure maximum exposure.
The largest database of medical bibliographical information, for example, shows
English was the majority language choice for the past forty years and its share
has continually increased over the same period. The fact that non-Anglophones
regularly publish in English only reinforces the language's dominance. English
has a rich technical vocabulary and many IT and technical professionals use
English regardless of country of origin .
Generally speaking, English is the universal language on
the Internet, but it has no official status, and it will never have. The
reasons for the position of English are the imperialism and economical and
political importance of English-speaking countries. Linguistically, English is
extremely unsuitable for international communication, and the actual wide use
of English tends to polarize the world into Internet users and Internet
illiterates. The position of English can only be altered by major world-scale
political and economical changes .
Role of English is an un avoidable one in the creation of
different type of educational websites and contents in electronic format.
Modern classrooms were evidenced by lots influence ICT and its facilities.
Majority of the educators use English for e-learning material preparation and
transmission. English is the language used for the preparation of tutorial
lessons in CDs and DVDs. Majority of the educational application softwares were
also built in English because of its wide usage. Though English is accepted as
a universal language , every one prefer to create and transmit ICT resources in
English language. So the role of English language is remarkable one in the
construction and use of ICT resources .
SCHEMA THEORY
The
term "schema" was first used in psychology with the meaning of
"an active organization of past reactions or experiences”. It assumes that
written text does not carry meaning by itself. Rather, a text only provides
directions for readers as to how they should retrieve or construct meaning from
their own previously acquired knowledge. The theory of Schema can be used to
help guide students to comprehend a text from the global point of view.
Therefore, the roles of Schema theory in comprehension cannot be ignored. According to schema theory, people
make sense of new experiences and the world by activating the mental
representations or schemata stored in their memory. New experiences and
information are interpreted according to how it fits into their schemata.
Information that does not fit may be misunderstood or miscomprehended.
Schema
theory deals with the reading process, where readers are expected to combine
their previous experiences with the text they are reading. Since each reader
has different background knowledge, it is culture specific. Schema theory was
developed by the gestalt psychologist Bartlett who observed how people, when
asked to repeat a story from memory, filled in details which did not occur in
the original but conformed to their cultural norms” formalize the role of
background knowledge in language comprehension as schema theory, and claim that
any text either spoken or written does not itself carry meaning. The very
important role of background knowledge on reading comprehension is noted by
that a reader’s comprehension depends on her ability to relate the information
that she gets from the text with her pre-existing background knowledge.
Concept of Schema
A
schema (plural: schemata) is an abstract
structure of knowledge, a mental representation stored in memory upon which all
information processing depends. It may represent knowledge at different levels,
e.g. cultural truths, linguistic knowledge or ideologies. They are mental
templates that represent a person’s knowledge about people, situations or
objects, and which originate from prior knowledge or experiences.
A
schema may be perceived as a structure consisting of a series of spaces, some
of which are filled and others empty. When faced with a situation or trying to
comprehend something new, the appropriate schema is activated and used to
infer, produce or accommodate new information for the empty slots. If the input
is assimilated into existing schema without making any changes, it is called
“accretation”; “tuning” on the other hand takes place when the existing schema
is inadequate and needs to be modified; while “restructuring” is the process of
creating new schema. Activation of schema can take place from the whole to the
part, that is ‘’top-down’’ or it may be ‘’conceptually driven’’ from the parts
to the whole, that is "bottom-up" and also known as "data
driven".
Types Of Schema
1.
Social Schema
Social
schema is generated by an event ,that consists of a script and scenes, props ,enabling conditions , roles and outcomes . Social cognition
researchers are particularly interested in studying what happens when the
schema activated conflicts with existing norms.
2.
Ideological Schema
Ideological
schema is generated by attitudes or opinions on relevant social or political
issues, for example abortion and ecology.
3.
Formal Schema
Formal schema is related
to the rhetorical structure of a written text, such as differences in genre or
between narrative styles and their corresponding structures. In other words, formal schema refers to the knowledge
of the ways in which different genres are presented, with reference to Richards
et al. They point out that schema or macro- structure refers to file underlying
structure which accounts for the organization of a text or discourse. Different
kinds of texts and discourse are distinguished by the ways in which the topic,
propositions, and other information are linked together to form a unit. This
underlying structure is known as formal schemata. For example, the schema
underlying many stories is: story=setting (state+state) +episodes (events)
+reaction. That is, stories consist of a setting in which the time, place, and
characters are identified, followed by episodes leading towards a reaction.
Different genres have different structure. Lack of such kind of knowledge also
contributes considerably to the problems in reading comprehension.
4.
Linguistic schema
Linguistic
schema includes the decoding features a person needs in order to understand how
words are organized and fit together in a sentence . Linguistic schema refers to the knowledge about
vocabulary and grammar. It plays a basic role in a comprehensive understanding
of the text. Eskey (1988) claims that "good readers are both decoders and
interpreters of texts, their decoding skills becoming more automatic but no
less important as their reading skill develops". This is because that
"Language is major problem in second language reading, and that even
educated guessing at meaning is no substitute for accurate decoding". In
other words, successful comprehension of any text is impossible without
effective decoding skills.
5.
Content schema
Content
schema refers to knowledge about the subject matter or content of a text. Content schema refers to "background knowledge of
the content area of the text". It contains conceptual knowledge or
information about what usually happens within a certain topic, and how these
happenings relate to each other to form a coherent whole. It is an open-ended
set of typical events and entities for a specific occasion. For example, schema
for going to a restaurant would include information about services, menus,
ordering dishes, paying the bill (giving a tip), and so on .Content schema are
largely culture-specific. Therefore, cultural schema is usually categorized as
content schema.
Schema Theory And
Artificial Intelligence
The
American cognivist scientist in artificial intelligence, Marvin
Minskyis credited for having re-introduced the schema construct
into psychology in the 1970s when he came across Bartlett’s work while trying
to simulate human abilities, such as perceiving and understanding the world,
with machines. He developed the frame construct as a way of representing
knowledge in machines and conceived it as interacting with incoming knowledge
from the world. According to him, each frame consists of a series of slots that
accept a certain range of values; if none exist, these are filled with default
values.
Modern Schema Theory
The
greater understanding on thought processing and memory that evolved with the
appearance of computer programming and simulation of human cognition, led to
the resurgence of the concept of schema. It was later further developed in the
1980s into an explicit psychological theory of the mental representation of
complex knowledge by the cognitive psychologist David Rumelhart . The
educational researcher Kenneth Goodman (1967:127)also made important contributions
with his findings which led him to conclude that reading is a “psycholinguistic
guessing game” that involves interaction between thought and language.
Schema Theory and
Education
The
educational psychologist Richard Anderson is accredited with having
introduced schema theory into the educational community in 1977. Research
carried out by him found that comprehension and in turn memory and learning
depend on the student recurring to or bringing to bear the appropriate
schemata. Following Piaget’s ideas, he argues schema can be thought of as
assimilation, and schema change as accommodation of knowledge. However, without
some schema into which the knowledge can be accommodated, the situation or
experience is incomprehensible and of little pedagogical use. These ideas were
considered revolutionary because reading ceased to be considered a matter of
simple word recognition; instead, attention was placed on the reader's role in
the process of comprehension. In current schema theory reading is considered an
interactive process between the reader's background knowledge and the text.
Since these early days, schema theory has proven useful in many other
disciplines and has been used for discourse analysis, marketing, music and
more.
CONCEPT OF DISCOURSE
Originally
Discourse has roots in the Latin language. The term assumes slightly different
meanings in different contexts but in literature discourse means speech or
writing normally longer than sentences which deals with a certain subject
formally in the form of writing or speech. In other words, discourse is the
presentation of language in its entirety while performing an intellectual
inquiry in a particular area or field i.e. theological discourse or cultural
discourse.
According to Foucault “Systems of thoughts composed
of ideas, attitudes, and courses of action, beliefs and practices that
systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of which they speak.”
In linguistics, discourse refers
to a unit of language longer
than a single sentence.
More broadly, discourse is the use of spoken or written language in a
social context. It refers to "the discipline devoted to the investigation
of the relationship between form and function in verbal communication".
Discourse is one of the four systems of language, the others being vocabulary,
grammar and phonology. Discourse has various definitions but one way of
thinking about it is as any piece of extended language, written or spoken, that
has unity and meaning and purpose. One possible way of understanding 'extended'
is as language that is more than one sentence. In the classroom Areas of
written and spoken discourse looked at in language classrooms include various
features of cohesion and coherence, discourse markers, paralinguistic features
(body language), conventions and ways of taking turns.
Discourse denotes
written and spoken communications.
Discourse is a conceptual generalization of conversation within
each modality and context of communication. As discourse,
an enouncement (statement) is not a unit of semiotic signs,
but an abstract construct that allows the semiotic signs to assign meaning, and
so communicate specific, repeatable communications to, between, and among
objects, subjects, and statements. Therefore, a discourse is composed of
semiotic sequences (relations among signs that communicate meaning) between and
among objects, subjects, and statements.
Classification of Discourse
Discourse can be
classified into four main categories namely:
1. Exposition
The main focus
of this type of discourse is to make the audience aware about the topic of the
discussion. Definitions and comparative analysis of different ideas and
beliefs are examples of discourse exposition.
2. Narration
Narration is a
type of discourse that relies on stories, folklore or
a drama as
a medium of communication. Stage play, story, folklore etc. are narrative discourse
examples.
3. Description
It involves
describing something in relation to the senses. Descriptive discourse enables
the audience to develop a mental picture of what is being
discussed. Descriptive parts of novel or essays are descriptive
discourse examples.
4. Argument
This type of
discourse is based on valid logic and, through correct reasoning tries to
motivate the audience. Examples of argumentative discourse
include lectures, essays, and prose.
5. Literary Discourses
It is a type of
literary conversation which focuses on the expression of feelings, ideas,
imaginations, events and places through specific rhymes and rhythms.
6. Poetic Discourse
Poetic discourse
makes use of common words in appealing ways to presents feelings and emotions.
The mechanism of poetic discourse involves certain steps starting from
different sources, then entering mental process, mental realization and then
finally into a finished product as poetry.
7. Expressive Discourse
Expressive
discourse does not involve the presentation of facts or the motivating of
others but is rather a reflection of our emotions which form the foundation of
our expressions. This is a form of basic or entry level discourse and is
beneficial for beginners in the field of literature or other fields. It
primarily deals with generating ideas with no concrete source. Examples are
academic essays and diaries.
8. Transactional Discourse
The basic aim in
this kind of discourse is to convey the message in such a way that it is
clearly understood without any confusion. Whatever is said has no ambiguity.
Everything is clear for the reader. Usually this type of discourse is in
active voice.
DISCOURSES IN VARIETY CURRICULAR COMPONENTS
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
In order to help fulfil the educational goals and
objectives of the school system, the board strives to provide instructional
materials that will enrich and support the curriculum and enhance student
learning. Instructional materials should be representative of the rich diversity
of our nation and appropriate for the maturity levels and abilities of the
students. Instructional materials constitute all materials, whether print,
non-print, digital or any combination thereof, used in the instructional
program. For purposes of this policy, instructional materials will be divided
into two categories: textbooks and supplementary materials.
TEXT BOOK
Learning
materials control learning and teaching. Text book determines the components
and method of learning . They control the content, methods and class room
environment of teaching learning process. A text book is a specially written
book which contain selective and systematic knowledge. It is not a bare
statement of knowledge but is armed with various teaching learning devises to
fulfill the desired educational goals. The subject matter receives a rich
collection of pedagogy.
A text
is an extended structure of syntactic units [i. e. text as super-sentence]
such as words, groups, and clauses and textual units that is marked by
both coherence among the elements and
completion ... [Whereas] a non-text consists of random sequences of linguistic
units such as sentences, paragraphs, or sections in any temporal and/or spatial
extension. A naturally occurring manifestation of language, i. e. as a
communicative language event in a context. The surface text is the set of expressions actually used; these
expressions make some knowledge explicit, while other knowledge
remains implicit,
though still applied during processing. A text is a unit of language in use. It
is not a grammatical unit, like a clause or a sentence; and it is not
defined by its size. A text is best regarded as a semantic unit; a unit not of form but of meaning.
A text
is made up of sentences, but there exist separate principles of
text-construction, beyond the rules for making sentences. Text is a set of
mutually relevant communicative functions, structured in such a way as to
achieve an overall rhetorical purpose. Most linguists agree
on the classification into five text-types: narrative, descriptive,
argumentative, instructive, and comparison/contrast (also called expositive).
Some classifications divide the types of texts according to their function.
Others differ because they take into consideration the topic of the texts, the
producer and the addressee, or the style.
Selection Of Textbooks
Textbooks are systematically organized materials
comprehensive enough to cover the primary objectives outlined in the standard
course of study for a grade or course. Formats for textbooks may be print,
non-print or digital media, including hardbound books, softbound books,
activity-oriented programs, classroom kits and technology-based programs or
materials that require the use of electronic equipment in order to be used in
the learning process. State-approved textbooks will be used as the primary
means to help students meet the goals and objectives of the Common Core State
and North Carolina Essential Standards, unless the board approves alternative
materials. The central curriculum committee or a school through its school
improvement plan may submit a request for the use of alternative textbooks. The
request should identify how the committee or school has ensured that the
curriculum will continue to be aligned with the standard course of study and to
meet the educational goals of the board.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Supplementary Materials are
defined as, “any instructional materials which relate to the curriculum and are
available for teacher use and/or student selection. Supplementary materials are
used to provide extension, enrichment, and support to the curriculum.” Supplementary materials are instructional and learning
resources which are selected to complement, enrich or extend the curriculum.
Such resources include, for example, specialized materials selected to meet
diverse needs or rapidly changing circumstances, library materials, digital
resources, the school system’s media collection, classroom collections and
teacher-selected resources for individual classes.
Objectives for Selection of Supplementary Materials
The objectives for the selection of supplementary
materials are as follows:
§ To
provide a wide range of materials that will enrich and support the curriculum,
taking into consideration the individual needs and varied interests, abilities,
socio-economic backgrounds, learning styles and developmental levels of the
students served;
§ To
provide materials that will stimulate growth in factual knowledge, literary
appreciation, aesthetic values and ethical standards;
§ To
provide a background of information that will enable students to comprehend
their role as citizens in society and to make intelligent judgments in their
daily lives;
§ To
provide resources representing various points of view on controversial issues
so that students as young citizens may develop, under guidance, the skills of
critical thinking and critical analysis;
§ To provide
resources representative of the many religious, ethnic and cultural groups in
our nation and the contributions of these groups to our American heritage; and
§ To
place principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in the
selection of material of the highest quality in order to ensure a comprehensive
collection appropriate for all users.
Process and Criteria for Selecting Supplementary
Materials
The responsibility for the selection of supplementary
materials is delegated to the professional staff under the direction of the
superintendent and will be made primarily at the school level with the
involvement of a school media and technology advisory committee. The committee
shall be appointed by the principal and will include the school library media
coordinator, the instructional technology facilitator, teachers and
instructional support personnel representing various subject areas and grade
levels, and parents. Students also should be involved when feasible.
The selection process used by the committee will include:
(1) an evaluation of the existing collection; (2) an assessment of the
available resource and curriculum needs of the school; and (3) consideration of
individual teaching and learning styles. In coordinating the selection of
resources, the committee should use reputable, unbiased selection tools
prepared by professional educators and should arrange, when possible, for
firsthand examination of resources to be purchased. When examining proposed
materials, the committee should consider the following factors:
§ The
material’s overall purpose, educational significance and direct relationship to
instructional objectives and the curriculum and to the interests of the
students;
§ The
material’s reliability, including the extent to which it is accurate,
authentic, authoritative, up-to-date, unbiased, comprehensive and
well-balanced;
§ The
material’s technical quality, including the extent to which technical
components are relevant to content and consistent with state-of-the-art
capabilities;
§ The
material’s artistic, literary and physical quality and format, including its
durability, manageability, clarity, appropriateness, skillfulness, organization
and attractiveness;
§ The
possible uses of the material, including suitability for individual, small
group, large group, introduction, in-depth study, remediation and/or
enrichment;
§ The
contribution the material will make to the collection’s breadth and variety of
viewpoints;
§ Recommendations
of school personnel and students from all relevant departments and grade
levels;
§ The
reputation and significance of the material’s author, producer and publisher;
and
§ The
price of the material weighed against its value and/or the need for it.
JOURNALS
Journal is a daily record of events , occurrences, experiences, or observations. It is also used in the sense of a newspaper
or other periodicals. A creative journal could just be a collection of ideas,
observation, sketches, magazine clippings that could be used to inspire
creative work such as paintings, stories. Journals
store perceptions, ideas, emotions, actions--all future material for essays or
stories. Journals, magazines and newspapers are often referred to as
periodicals or serials because they are published on a regular (daily, weekly,
monthly, or quarterly) basis. These publications are great sources of current,
up-to-date information. Journals and electronic journals will normally contain
well-researched and up to date material. They will often provide more
up-to-date research than text books which take longer to publish. As with
books, articles will often have bibliographies which can direct you to further
information.
Journals are collections of personal writing about or
around a topic or general theme. Entries should be made on a regular basis –
daily or frequently - and are usually kept together in a notebook or folder.
The important thing is to write, the only way for learners to improve their
writing or to demonstrate to themselves that they indeed can write. This is a
general strategy for writers at all levels but is particularly appropriate for
beginning writers. Learners should date each journal entry. Give learners
strategies to use to get the words down when they do not know how to spell;
such as, write down the first letter of the word and draw a line or write the
word as best you can and underline it to remind yourself that it is possibly
misspelled. Model writing in your journal and be willing to share your writing,
but be aware that some learners’ entries may be too personal to share with
others. Journals are not writing assignments to be corrected or graded, but
should be used for communicating and writing practice. The writer may elect to
revise and extend some of the journal entries into more formal assignments
rather than starting from scratch.
Types
of Journals
§ Academic journals are often quite specialised and will be mainly composed of
long articles reporting upon research projects, possibly with some book reviews
or letters commenting on previous research. Articles appearing in academic
journals will often be peer-reviewed - this means the information you find will
often be more reliable as the information it contains will have been checked by
other professionals in the field.
§ Professional journals are similar in most respects to academic journals, but may be
more practice oriented. Some may also be less formal than their academic
counterparts and may include updates and general information for practitioners
in the relevant field. Professional journals may also include some job
advertisements for professionals in that field. Some articles which appear in
professional journals may have been peer reviewed similar to those in more
academic journals.
§ Trade journals will include a wide range of information specific to the
trade sector covered, including product and price information, job
advertisements, scientific or technical articles and reports and possibly
directory information
§ Magazines differ slightly to journals in that their intended audience
is more broad, and so the information they contain is often written for anyone
to understand and more general in scope. As with trade journals, they may
include a lot of advertisements. Their main purpose is to report on current or
recent affairs, but they can often have useful information or opinions
expressed in them.
§ Ejournals or electronic journals and emagazines may be either electronic versions of
existing print journals, or may be journals which only exist in electronic form
and have no print counterpart (such journals may not be refereed and so this is
always worth checking). They have similar advantages and disadvantages to those
of printed journals, although may sometimes be published quicker than their
print counterpart.
§ Dialogue Journals: Dialogue Journals are kept
by two people (teacher and learner, or child and parent) in which a written
conversation over a variety of topics takes place. Learners write informally
about a topic of interest, a concern, a book they are reading, or a topic they
are studying.
§ Response Journals/Reading Journals: In
Reader-Response Journals, learners are asked to respond to some experience and
can take a variety of forms: · Noting new vocabulary words · Writing about the
character they identified with · Making predictions about what might happen
next · Writing about the part they liked · Writing about how the reading made
them feel · Writing about what they would have done in the particular situation
described · Writing about how they could use what they just read about Entries
may be open ended or directed, e.g. what advice would you give the character,
what do you think will happen if this story continued, or how the character is
like me.
§ Double-Entry
Journals: For a Double-Entry Journal, learners divide their journal paged into
two parts. In the left-hand column, they write quotes or notes from their
reading. In the right-hand column, learners write their response or reaction to
the information they have written in the first column.
§ Learning Logs: Learning Logs are journals in
which students reflect on learning experiences they take part in. They can
respond to questions they have about the experience or content, reflect on how
well they understand the presentation, connect the material to their own lives,
or comment on their interest in the content.
PERIODICAL
Periodical (also called a periodical
publication or simply a periodical literature) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a
regular schedule. The most familiar counter-examples are
the newspaper, often published daily, or weekly. The
most familiar example is the magazine, typically published weekly, monthly, or as
a quarterly. Other examples are newsletters, literary
magazines(literary
journals), academic
journals (including scientific journals), science
magazines,
and yearbooks. Periodicals can be classified into two
types: popular and scholarly. Popular periodicals are, usually magazines
(e.g., Ebony and Esquire). The scholarly
journals are
found in libraries and databases. Examples are The Journal of Psychology and the Journal of Social Work. Trade/professional
magazine are
also examples of periodicals. They are written for an audience of professionals
in the world.
NEWSPAPER
A newspaper is a serial publication containing news, other informative articles and usually advertising. A newspaper is usually printed on
relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. The news organizations that publish
newspapers are themselves often metonymically called newspapers. Most newspapers are
now published online as well as in
print. The
online versions are called online
newspapers or
news sites. Newspapers are typically published daily or weekly. News
magazines are
also weekly, but they have a magazine format.
General-interest newspapers typically publish news articles and feature
articles on
national and international news as well as local
news. The
news includes political events and personalities, business and finance, crime, severe weather, and natural
disasters; health and medicine, science, and technology; sports; and entertainment, society, food and cooking, clothing and home
fashion, and the
arts.
Typically the paper is divided into sections for each of those major groupings.
A wide variety of material has been published in newspapers. Besides the
aforementioned news and opinions, they include weather forecasts; criticism and
reviews of the arts (including literature, film, television, theater, fine
arts, and architecture) and of local services such as restaurants; obituaries; entertainment features such as crosswords,
horoscopes, editorial
cartoons, gag
cartoons,
and comic
strips; advice, food, and other columns; and radio and television
listings (program schedules).
BULLETIN
A brief report, especially an official statement on a matter of public interest issued for immediate publication or
broadcast. It is a brief update or summary of current news, as on television or radio or in a newspaper.
It
is periodical, especially one published by an organization or society.
A
short official statement or broadcast summary of news. It may be a regular newsletter or report issued by
an organization. It is
also in the form of audio type information that enables for the language
development of common people. It is a way of passing important informations.
PICTURES
A picture paints a thousand words, it's true, and pictures are a great way of improving your English, especially if you are a visual learner. According to the ‘Technical Advisory Service for Images’ (2004), the two sides of the brain “have different attributes and respond to different stimuli”. The left side of the brain is “analytical, verbal, sequential, and linear; while the right is visual, spatial, holistic and relational”. Accordingly, the left is more logical and responds better to textual material, whereas the right is imaginative, responding better to visual content. This shows that different learners have different learning styles. There is no doubt that images can be of great importance and relevance to second language teaching, particularly for lower level students. Nevertheless, very few instructors seem to make the best use of pictures in their classes. In a reading session where texts can sometimes be complicated and uninspiring to students, pictures are one of very few aids that teachers can use to grab their students’ attention as well as to motivate them before starting the actual reading. Advantages of using pictures in language teaching are :
A picture paints a thousand words, it's true, and pictures are a great way of improving your English, especially if you are a visual learner. According to the ‘Technical Advisory Service for Images’ (2004), the two sides of the brain “have different attributes and respond to different stimuli”. The left side of the brain is “analytical, verbal, sequential, and linear; while the right is visual, spatial, holistic and relational”. Accordingly, the left is more logical and responds better to textual material, whereas the right is imaginative, responding better to visual content. This shows that different learners have different learning styles. There is no doubt that images can be of great importance and relevance to second language teaching, particularly for lower level students. Nevertheless, very few instructors seem to make the best use of pictures in their classes. In a reading session where texts can sometimes be complicated and uninspiring to students, pictures are one of very few aids that teachers can use to grab their students’ attention as well as to motivate them before starting the actual reading. Advantages of using pictures in language teaching are :
§ It
motivates the learners.
§ It
develops self-confidence.
§ It
gives a comprehensive idea about concepts.
§ It is
a good tool for pre – teaching.
§ It
helps in expanding Students’ General Knowledge.
§ It is
more convenient for teachers in classroom.
§ It
enables for the mastery of different concepts.
§ It
helps the teacher for integrating multiple skills in children.
Techniques for Using Pictures
As mentioned earlier, pictures can be used in
many ways. Here is a closer look at some of the different techniques that can
benefit from using pictures.
1. Reading
1. Reading
Before handing the students the text itself,
a good warm-up activity is to give them a handout containing several pictures
related to the main idea of the article. Students can work in groups and try to
identify who the people or what the objects in the pictures are. By so doing,
students will be more attracted to the topic of the reading and get involved in
some speaking as well.
2. Vocabulary Building or Review
2. Vocabulary Building or Review
For lower level classes (i.e. elementary),
teaching new vocabulary is not the easiest thing to do unless a teacher
translates the word in to the students’ first language. Translating can be
difficult if the students come from several linguistic backgrounds. To minimize
First Language speaking, a teacher can provide the students with pictures that
show the meaning of the words. This can make the class more interesting and the
students can remember the words better than merely translating those words into
their First Language.
3. Speaking and writing
3. Speaking and writing
Apart from reading, pictures can be used in
teaching speaking and writing as well. For speaking, you can arrange the
students into pairs and give each pair two different pictures and ask them to
find 10 differences in the pictures. If you want to focus more on accuracy, you
can ask them to write the differences on a piece of paper
4. Grammar
4. Grammar
The language focus of this technique is the
‘Second Conditional’. Give the students pictures of different locations such
as: bar, landscape, hospital…etc. Then ask the students what they would do if
they were in that location .
5. All Four Skills:
5. All Four Skills:
This activity is very popular because it
involves the students in all the macro-skills: listening, speaking, reading and
writing. Following are the steps that make up the activity. Before coming to
class, the teacher needs to select a short text suitable for the level of the
learners. For example ; There's an island in the middle of a lake. In the
middle of the island there's a house with a big door and four windows on the
ground floor, and six windows on the first floor. There're a lot of big trees
to the left of the house. On the lake, to the right of the island, there's a
boat with two men in it. One of them is fishing. To the left of the lake
there's a hill with a church on the top. It's midday and the sun is in the sky.
- Listening: The teacher then asks the students to draw a picture according to what they hear. An alternative would be to ask two students to draw on the board.
- Speaking: The teacher asks a few students to look at their own pictures and retell the story.
- Listening and Writing: After retelling the story, the teacher then uses the traditional dictation method. The students listen with care and write down on a sheet of paper the text they hear. This is also good for ‘Bottom up’ Listening Skills.
- Reading: After the students have written down the text, the teacher asks them to do peer editing. Students read their partner’s writing and try to locate and correct the mistakes.
- Listening: The teacher then asks the students to draw a picture according to what they hear. An alternative would be to ask two students to draw on the board.
- Speaking: The teacher asks a few students to look at their own pictures and retell the story.
- Listening and Writing: After retelling the story, the teacher then uses the traditional dictation method. The students listen with care and write down on a sheet of paper the text they hear. This is also good for ‘Bottom up’ Listening Skills.
- Reading: After the students have written down the text, the teacher asks them to do peer editing. Students read their partner’s writing and try to locate and correct the mistakes.
Principles in The Use of
Pictures
We should consider the following principles
while using pictures in the classroom ;
§ Selection
of pictures should be according to the mental and age level of learners.
§ It
should be used for the attainment of specific learning outcomes.
§ Presentation
of the picture should be large enough to watch all students.
§ Picture
should give comprehensive idea about the lesson.
§ Teacher
should explain loudly and clearly what each picture is indicating.
§ Presentation
of picture should be unambiguous and judicious.
§ It should be clear and genuine.
DIAGRAMS
Diagrams are simplified drawing showing the appearance, structure, or workings of
something. Diagram is a schematic
representation. It shows the inter relationship primarily by means of
lines and symbols. A good diagram is highly simplified as only the most
essential elements are shown . It is a plan, sketch, drawing, or outline designed to
demonstrate or explain how something works or to clarify the relationship
between the parts of a whole. Understanding information or ideas
presented in diagrams usually requires a back ground of direct experience. A good diagram must be technically correct
and neatly drawn with proper measures. It is one of the important teaching aid
that helps to present complex ideas in a summarized manner.
GRAPHS
Graphs are pictures that
help us to understand numerical or statistical data in a simple manner.
Classified data can be represented by a variety of graphs in order to give a
visual picture of the distribution. There are many kinds of graphs, each having
special parts. Graphical representation of data is the simplest tool of
communication to a layman. Types of Graphs provides in-depth information about charts
& graphs. Graphs are used in a variety of ways, and almost every industry,
such as engineering, search engine optimization, mathematics, and education.
Following are the different types of graphs;
Pictographs, also called pictograms, are diagrams that
show and compare data by using picture symbols. Each of these symbols
corresponds to a specific quantity and is repeated a number of times. The media
often uses pictographs to compare trends.
Organizational charts, also called organization charts or
org charts, are diagrams that reveal the overall structure of the workforce of
a company. Through an organizational chart, the formal indirect or direct
relationships between the positions in a company are presented. The chart also
shows how different departments are connected.
Organizational charts are types of graphs that depict four types of
relationships: line, lateral, staff, and functional. Line relationships exist
between superiors and subordinates. Lateral relationships exist between
different departments of similar rank. Staff relationships exist between a
managerial assistant and a line manager. Functional relationships exist between
a specialist and a line manager.
An organizational chart is usually shaped like a pyramid,
with the President or Chief Officer in the top rectangle and levels of
subordinates in descending rectangles according to rank listed below. Each
rectangle size corresponds to the level of authority. Thus, superiors have
larger rectangles than subordinates. Peers have equally sized rectangles. Solid
lines between rectangles signify a direct relationship, and dashed lines
symbolize an indirect relationship. Arrows represent the direction of
communication flow between the components of organizational charts.
An organizational chart has its advantages. It promotes
structure in an organization and defines the roles of the management. It also
reveals the parts of a company that need improvement and possibly more or less
employees. An organization chart also has disadvantages. It does not reveal
anything about the managerial style. Moreover, organizational charts needs to
be changed every time an employee leaves or joins the company.
Flowcharts are types of graphs that display a schematic process.
Contemporary flow charts are modeled after the logic behind early computer
games. Businesses often use them to visually depict all the stages of a
project. Therefore, individuals working on a project refer to a flow chart to
see the breakdown of the process and understand the whole picture. A flowchart
can effectively be used as a training tool for employees who are being
introduced to a new project. It also helps in locating and correcting errors in
a project. Even though flow chart use is usually linked to the field of
business, a flowchart can be used for any purpose that involves a
cross-functional process. It can even be used to show driving directions from
one location to another.
A flowchart consists of start points, end points, inputs,
outputs, and routes which are commonly represented by basic symbols that are
labeled. Ovals represent start and end points. Rectangles represent the steps
of a process, and diamonds represent decisions. Diamonds have two routes
stemming from them; one is a true or yes route and the other is a false or no route.
Circles stand for operations; arrow-shaped figures stand for transportation,
while triangles represent storage, and squares stand for inspection. Arrows
linking symbols signify the sequence of a process. While most flowcharts use
shapes as symbols, others use graphics instead.
A
cosmograph is a graph which is used by a cosmographer to map the general
features of the universe. This representation of the heavens and earth tries to
explain the universe without crossing over into the science of astronomy or
geography. So a cosmograph is part of cosmography and what a cosmographer would
use as part of his work.
A cosmograph is commonly used to monitor finances. In
this context, it is used to track the input and output of a business or
organization. Government agencies, for instance, use cosmograph when they want
to make a visual presentation about the money that entered the agency and how
the amounts were used. Components of input, or income, are listed on the left
side of the cosmograph, and components of output, or expenditure, are listed on
the right side. The size of each component on a cosmograph corresponds to its
value. Larger dollar amounts mean physically larger components. Besides
monetary value, an input-output cosmograph can deal with quantity or
percentage.
A cosmograph can also be used to show a comparison
between geographical regions. Publications frequently feature cosmographs that
use different colors to provide information about regions, in respect to a
whole. An example of this type of cosmograph is an illustration of the US map
with each state in blue, red, or purple, reflecting the dominant political
party.
Bar graphs are used to present and compare data. There
are two main types of bar graphs: horizontal and vertical. They are easy to
understand, because they consist of rectangular bars that differ in height or
length according to their value or frequency. These types of graphs serve the same purpose as line graphs: they represent time series data. However,
bar graphs display a change in magnitude, and not in direction like line
graphs.
A horizontal bar graph consists of an x-axis, and a
vertical bar graph consists of a y-axis. The numbers on the axes are known as
the scales. Each bar is represents a numeric or categorical variable. Vertical
bar graphs are best used for the comparison of time series data and frequency
distribution. Horizontal bar graphs are particularly useful when category
labels are long; vertical bar graphs do not provide much space for text labels.
Line graphs are the most popular types of graphs, because they are simple to create and easy
to understand. They organize and present data in a clear manner and show
relationships between the data. They are used for personal, educational, and
professional reasons. Particularly popular in the fields of science and
statistics, they can also forecast the results of data that is not yet
gathered. While line graphs and bar graphs share the same purpose, line graphs
display a change in direction, while bar graphs display a change in magnitude.
Line graphs are used to display the comparison between
two variables which are plotted on the horizontal x- and vertical y-axes of a
grid. The x-axis usually represents measures of time, while the y-axis usually
represents percentage or measures of quantity. Therefore, line graphs are
commonly used as time series graphs that show differences in direction.
Pie
Charts
Pie charts are easy to make, easy to read, and very
popular. They are used to represent categorical data or values of variables.
They are basically circles that are divided into segments or categories which
reflect the proportion of the variables in relation to the whole. Percentages
are used to compare the segments, with the whole being equal to 100%.
To make a pie chart, draw a circle with a protractor.
Then, convert the measures of the variables into percentages, and divide the
circle accordingly. It is best to order the segments clockwise from biggest to
smallest, so that the pie chart looks neat and the variable are easy to
compare. It is also recommended to write percentage and category labels next to
each segment, so that users are not required to refer to the legend each time
they want to identify a segment.
Advantages
of Graphs
·
It
permits easy visualization.
·
The
data can be easily understood just by a
glance over the graph.
·
It
helps in the observation of data with concentration.
·
It
facilitates comparative study of different aspects of a given data.
·
It
helps a great deal in the analysis of
data .
·
It
helps to interpret the data and draw conclusions.
Limitations
of Graphs
·
Presentation
of graph is time consuming.
·
Its
facility for comparative study is limited.
·
Measures
from the graph will not be accurate.
·
The
conclusion draws from the graph will not be precise.
MAPS
The word "map" comes from the medieval
Latin Mappa mundi, wherein mappa meant napkin or cloth
and mundi the world. Thus, "map" became the shortened term
referring to a two-dimensional representation of the surface of the world.
A map is a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between
elements of some space, such as objects, regions, and themes. Many maps are static two-dimensional, geometrically
accurate (or approximately accurate) representations of three-dimensional space, while others are dynamic or interactive,
even three-dimensional. Although most commonly used to depict geography, maps
may represent any space, real or imagined, without regard to context or scale; e.g. brain
mapping, DNA mapping and extraterrestrial
mapping. Cartography or map-making is the study
and practice of crafting representations of the Earth upon a flat surface
(see History of cartography), and one who makes maps is called a cartographer. In addition to location information maps
may also be used to portray contour
lines indicating
constant values of elevation, temperature, rainfall, etc.
General-purpose maps provide many types of information on
one map. Most atlas maps, wall maps, and road maps fall into this category. The
following are some features that might be shown on a general-purpose maps:
bodies of water, roads, railway lines, parks, elevations, towns and cities,
political boundaries, latitude and longitude, national and provincial parks.
These maps give a broad understanding of location and features of an area. The
reader may gain an understanding of the type of landscape, the location of
urban places, and the location of major transportation routes all at once.
