Competencias comunicativas V

First, it must be considered the definition of phonology. This says that it is the study of the sound systems that make up a language. As well as there are different languages with similar sound systems, there are some others that are totally different; each one has its particular sounds that make up, as it was already said, their own sound system. When learning a language, students have to deal with several challenges. One of them is the phonological differences; that is to say, learning to recognize, classify and produce the sounds of the language that is being learned. These may be different from the ones in the student’s mother tongue, which will make it a more difficult challenge. Regarding teaching and learning, there are tips for the teacher and learner of a different language. One of them is finding a phonological chart with all of the language sounds in it; this will help the teacher (make their students understand) and the learner (realizing the phonological differences and making easier the way to pronounce those sounds), trying to focus on the ones more different from the mother tongue. In conclusion, learning a language can be done with dedication and practice.



How Phonological Differences affect Second Language Acquisition?

What are Phonological Differences between Languages?
Phonology is the study of the sound systems that make up language. Every language uses different sounds to make up their entire sound system. Some languages share many similar sounds. For example, Spanish and Italian share many similar sounds and therefore have a similar phonological makeup. On the other hand, there are many languages that do not share as many similar sounds. For example, English and Mandarin Chinese have many sounds that are different; thus, they are very phonologically different from one another.
How do Phonological Differences Affect Language Acquisition?
When a student decides to begin learning a new language, he is faced with many challenges. One challenge is learning to recognize, classify and produce the sounds of the language he is learning. If the sounds of the language he wishes to learn are very different from the language he has grown up speaking, acquiring the new language will be more of a challenge than if the second language is phonologically similar to his first language.
For example, the English sounds "r," "l," and "th" are often roadblocks to many students who are trying to learn English; many English learners find these sounds challenging because these sounds simply do not exist in their mother tongue.
Phonological Differences: Tips for Teachers
As a teacher, how can you help your students tackle the phonology of the language you are helping them learn? First, make a phonological chart of the language. Doing a simple Internet search on the language you are teaching--for example, "Spanish phonology," will bring up web pages that will include descriptions, even charts, of all of the sounds in the Spanish language.
Once you have identified the vowel and consonant sounds of the language you are teaching, create large flashcards with each sound written on them (you can write the sound using the letters that the particular language uses to write that sound). Write the sounds that are different from English (or from the students' mother tongue) in a different language. As you go through the flashcards with the students, either introduce them to words that use that sound, or have a native speaker of the language share words that use that sound.
Spend extra time focusing on sounds that are phonologically different from the students' first language. If they are at a more advanced stage of language learning, have the students listen to a brief, slow dialogue in the language. Ask them to listen for words that contain a particular sound. Once they are able to recognize the sounds they are hearing in the language, students will have a much easier time understanding the language, and learning to produce it themselves.
Phonological Differences: Tips for Students
What is the best way to learn the phonology of a language that is very different from your first language? Start by reading a phonology of the language you're learning, if one has been written. Seeing a chart of the sounds in the language, as well as reading (or better yet, listening to) example words, will be a huge help in learning to recognize and produce the language's sounds.
Once you have overviewed the phonology of the language you wish to learn, try listening to a dialogue, or watching a brief film clip, in the language. Listen intently for a particular sound. Try to pick out words containing a sound. When you are able to pick out and recognize the sounds being spoken, try mimicking them until your voice sounds more like that of the native speaker.
Although it is challenging to learn a language with a very different phonology from your own language, it can be done with dedicated study, careful listening, and much practice at pronunciation!

Taken from: http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/76062.aspx#ixzz1FBN1os74

Session 4

This study went through over 1,600 marginal and end comments written on 110 first drafts of essays by 47 university ESL students, considering the pragmatic goals for, and the linguistic features of each comment. Drafts of each essay were examined observing the influence of the first draft commentary of the students’ revisions whether the changes made in response to the teacher’s feedback improved the essays. The author thinks that a significant proportion of the comments led to substantive student revision, and there were particular types of kinds and forms of commentary that were helpful. The final results suggest of several important implications for L2 writing instruction and for future studies on vital but neglected topic.

Session 3

Schenker, in her article “Smart House”, assures that in the future, houses will be networked making people’s life easier and comfortable. The electronic devices will be connected to internet and will have special chips to control activities like housework, communications, shopping, bills or people’s social life, the disadvantages of having a networked home do not seem to be significant. People will have to pay some dollars for the extra chips, the internet connection and the security measures to protect the system against cyber pirating. People will not pay for maintenance, given that the services will repair themselves. The author concludes that the money will not mean much considering the benefits of having a smart house.

In all honesty, the first time I saw these picture I thought about one Word: Implicature. The reason for this is that I did not see the clouds at first; I just saw the shadows behind them, and if we remember “pedagogía de la gramática” a little, we will remember that Implicature is what it is behind the actual words that someone says. And most of the times, when people look t these picture, they just see the clouds, not what it is behind them. Similar to this, people usually understand what it is right on the surface of someone’s words, just a few try to go further. I expect some comments about this post, I can imagine them already. But we were asked to put the first word that it came to mind when looking at this picture and that is what it is in my case.

Paraphrasing

The simple definition of paraphrasing is to express some author’s ideas through different words. It is important to keep in mind that when an author is trying to paraphrase a text, the actual point of the text must not be changed. The way to express the same ideas might be using synonyms, or changing some structures within the sentence.

Exercise 1
1. Despite their massive size, elephants are known for being agile.
Answer: Even though elephants are such huge animals, its reputation of being quite nimble speaks by itself.
2. Because elephants consume up to 500 pounds of food a day, they are able to strip a forest bare in no time.
Answer: Elephants can finish with a forest in a very short period of time, provided that they eat an average amount of food of 500 hundred pounds a day.
3. Over the centuries, lions have been used in art to represent power and magnificence.
Answer: lions represent majesty and power. This idea has been used through many years of history.
4. Lions are social animals with one dominant in each pride.
Answer: As well as in every social group, lions have a dominant individual, which is always a male.
5. George Washington Carver was a dedicated teacher, in addition, he was known as a talented artist, musician, and researcher who made valuable contributions to his people and his country.
Answer: one remarkable person in was, without any doubt, George Washington Carver. He loved education and teaching. Also, its reputation as an artist, musician and passion for research made him a well–known character to The United States.
6. Archibald McLeish, known for his poetry, was appointed head of the library of congress by President Roosevelt in 1939.
Answer: in 1939, President Roosevelt put Archibald McLeish in charge of the library of Congress, given that his work as a poet was really well thought of.
Exercise 2
1. Main idea: Many people have troubles because the lack of water.
2. Main idea: oil fields are always wanted, despite most of the times there is not enough to make an actual profit.
3. Main idea: Quakers are a religious group which dedicates to help people around the world.
Exercise 3

Students’ Rights (summary)

It is well-known that when the decision/making process in education is done, students’ opinions are never included; this should be obviously reconsidered; starting now. This question is raised: who knows better than students what a university should do for them? Taking our own campus as an example, our principal problem is the selection of the faculty members. As it was already said, students should be taken into account when hiring professors, choosing what materials will be used, and what schedules will be offered; nevertheless, this never happens. Decades ago, students were not afraid of expressing themselves, why are they, now?

http://www.rhlschool.com/read6n4.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/paragraphs.htm

I saw some articles about some interesting topics, I I found them quite interesting and probably very useful for us. check them out