BlackBoard assignment 1

Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons.  ~ Aldous Huxley

It is said that language is one of the things that distinguishes us from animals; thanks to language – no matter what language – we have been able to build society. Language enables communication, traffic, travel, trade and so on. Language can be quite elegant, we express feelings of friendship or offer diplomatic solutions and calmness.

However, language is one of the greatest gifts we have, it can be something really ugly at the same time. For example: language is often used in schools for bullying. My mother always told me that ‘hard words break no bones’. I know by experience that hard words break no bones indeed, but hard words are very well able to break one's heart. That is why I have to agree with Aldous Huxley: thanks to language we have been able to distinguish from the ‘brutes’, but bad use of language can cause a lot of damage as well.

It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water.  ~ Franklin P. Jones

What Franklin Jones calls ‘a strange world of language’ is the thing that appeals to me a lot: the manner of speaking. I think that Jones expresses two ways of saying that one is about to get into trouble or is in trouble already in a rather funny way, since he actually says that if you look at a manner of speaking literally, language can add a lot of humour to everyone who understands it.

In my opinion he actually expresses that knowledge of a language, to prevent misunderstanding in a conversation, is wanted. If one of the discussion partners doesn’t understand the deeper meaning of what is said by the other, strange things can happen.

To really know a language you have to understand the manner of speaking. Knowing a language does not only exist of having a wide range of vocabulary and an understanding of grammar. Once one is not able to deal with the matter of speaking that is common, one can really get into hot water. Ouch!

I must honestly say that I think it is very hard to write down my own addition here in just one sentence. A lot of what I think of language is said by the wise men and women whose quotes are already listed. I just love language. What appeals to me most of all in learning and/or teaching a language is the understanding of humour. Humour makes your day brighter as far as I am concerned. Having a way with words just to make one smile – either someone else or yourself – is brilliant.

Language… Obviously it is very important to me since I want to become a teacher of language in the future. I just could not do without it.

BlackBoard Assignment 2

Can you learn a language? (If yes, that implies there is a cognitive process). How do you do that? What would be the difference between learning and acquiring a language?

I am absolutely convinced that you can learn a language. I am studying to teach English, a second language to most Dutchmen. If a language could not be learnt, teachers of language would be unneeded, wouldn’t they? Besides that, I believe that there are so many speakers of a second or even a third language all over the world, that one could easily presume that a language can be taught and learnt.

Acquiring a language is another kettle of fish. I think it is wonderful when one is able to communicate in a second or even third language, but acquiring a language is so much more than that. I believe that acquiring a language means that after you have learnt a language – meaning you have a wide range of vocabulary and you have a good knowledge of grammar – you are able to feel it too. According to my Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary ‘to acquire’ means ‘to gain something by your own efforts, ability or behaviour’. It isn’t something that comes ‘naturally’, that is produced by genes. So one will be able to acquire a language but I believe that this is a stage that comes after one has learnt something. In my opinion, acquiring a second or third language means reaching a near-native level.

Source: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7^th edition, page 13.

BlackBoard assignment 3

Language users can use language creatively: they can express combinations of words that are unique. Is it possible to learn to be creative? What do you think?

I believe that one is very well able to learn to be creative. To some of us it comes naturally, to others it does not. To most people it is very logical to think in certain patterns. These patterns have proved themselves beneficial and that is why people hang on to them. Thinking creatively means that one has to ‘think out of the box’, think ahead of these patterns. There are lots of websites and institutions that offer a training course to learn how to think creatively and how to benefit from this new skill.

I think that when someone is able to learn a language and to use this language in a creative way, we can truly speak of ‘acquiring a language’.

BlackBoard assignment 4

Where does language come from? Developmentally, dialogue comes before monologue, both for the human species,and for the human individual. Explain, including possible consequences for L2 (Second Language) teaching.

I think that language does not exist of speech or the ability to pronounce and combine words alone. I believe that nonverbal communication is very important too. Maybe that is where it all started, before a form of spoken language was developed: expressing what one meant to ‘say’ by behaviour, facial expressions and movement. Nonverbal communication has no use at all when one is by oneself. There is no one to watch and to understand or interpret what is actually expressed.

Once spoken language was developed, one could start having monologues as well.

For a teacher of a second language or for teachers in general I believe that knowledge of nonverbal communication is very important. Not only to express what is meant by the teacher, but to interpret what is meant by the pupils or students who are taught.

Besides that it has been proven to be very effective that when learning new vocabulary, pupils should be able to learn from each other by looking at each other’s behaviour in the classroom. Dialogue is very important to practise and repeat new vocabulary.

Source: ‘Techniques in teaching vocabulary’ by Virginia French Allen.

BlackBoard assignment 5

Do you think language? If so, what language? L1 (your mother tongue) or L2 (for instance English)? What goes faster: thinking or speaking?

Yes, I think language. And it differs in several situations:

• I grew up near Maastricht. My mother tongue is not an actual language but a dialect: Limburgs. This is the ‘language’ that is spoken in our family and which I have learnt since I was a little child. When doing things by myself I usually think in Limburgs.
• I have been living in Tilburg for fourteen years now. My husband speaks Dutch and so do my children. There is no use for them to learn Limburgs, although my husband is able to understand everything I say. When I am with them and I speak Dutch all the time, I tend to think in Dutch.
• During the past school year, I have spent most of my time studying. I must admit that when I study I think in English. I even experience some trouble when I have to switch to Dutch on short notice. Thinking in English and speaking in Dutch gets me into hot water sometimes!

I am a fast thinker. And next to thinking language, I use images as well. Combine this with having feelings – I know that one cannot think feelings but I am convinced that feeling influences thoughts and speech – and there you have it: in my opinion thoughts are faster than speech can ever be.

BlackBoard assignment 6

Do you dream language? What/how do you dream? (How) Do blind/deaf people dream?

Yes, I dream language. I dream my mother tongue: Limburgs. And if I get a bit stressed out over the amount of work I have to do for my study, I dream in English too. But most of the time, I dream images, feelings and sounds. They follow up so quickly that I do not have any language at hand to keep up with those.

I have been reading articles about deaf and blind people’s dreams. After analysing blind people’s dreams, F. Lopes da Silva, professor at Amsterdam University, discovered that blind people experience some sort of ‘virtual dreams’, influenced by their other senses. They can imagine what things look like and that is what they dream about. Deaf people probably do not ‘hear’ any sounds in their dreams, because their brains never learnt to process sounds and thus their brains cannot process this in dreams.

Source: http://www.bartimeus.nl/nieuws_artikel/36765

Personal assignment 7

Read 'Dream Language'. Compare the content with your answer to the previous question. What do you think?

I must say that this article aligns with a part of my answer in assignment 6.

Blencher proposes, contra Freud, that the dream is not exclusively the transformation of latent verbal thoughts but can also be an alternative to verbal thoughts, representing what the thinking mind is capable of when it is not concerned with communicability. Dreaming allows extra linguistic thinking, thinking that extends beyond the bounds of language, with fewer constraints than most waking thought. It is what I experience in a way in the dreams in which I do not dream language, but sounds, feelings and images. I must say that this research, following a century of psychoanalysis and half a century of sleep research must have changed the way that people were looking at dreams. The one thing doesn’t exclude the other,  though. According to Blechner, one is able to dream verbal thoughts as well as having ‘extra linguistic’ dreams.

Note: 'Dream Language' is a text provided to me by Windesheim Hogeschool. If you are interested in reading it, please leave a message in my guest book and I will email the text to you.

Personal assignment 8

Now read ‘What is Language Awareness’. To round off this chapter, describe the relevance of Language Awareness for you as a teacher. (200-300 words)

To me, as a future language teacher, ‘language awareness’ is of course very important. Before I will be able to teach English in a proper way, I will have to become very aware of my own use of language. An elaborate vocabulary or a good use of grammar will not be sufficient. On one hand I have to be able to use the language subconsciously and I have to understand the meaning of words immediately; on the other hand I have to be well aware of the form of words and how they developed in to what we call language. Once I have my way with words, I am convinced that I will be able to teach the language in a fulfilling way. Language of course is a very broad subject. It doesn’t exist of words or grammar alone; words can have different meanings and sentences can often be interpreted in different ways.

I believe that pupils will take language for granted at first. Language is all around and is commonly used, and therefore I feel that awareness in the classroom is very much wanted as well. I understand that pupils have to learn a certain range of vocabulary and a certain use of grammar, before they will be aware of the specific use of language in an everyday situation. In their everyday life they are ‘exposed to’ a wide range of English: in songs, advertisements, films and so on.

I believe that once I can make my pupils understand what is actually said and when I will be able to make them aware of the reason why things are said or written in a certain way – by using specific words in a specific order – I will succeed as a teacher of English. (293 words)

Note: 'What is Language Awareness' is a text provided by Windesheim Hogeschool. If you are interested in reading it, please leave a message in my guest book and I will send the text to you.