Critical Analysis of an Issue in Second Language Curriculum Development - Literature review Example

Critical analysis of an issue in second language curriculum development Student Name: Institution: Date: Identification of the issue The ability of a person to speak or write well is a learned or culturally transmitted skill that cannot be naturally acquired, but achieved through various practices within the formal learning settings (Brown, 2000). This clearly indicates that speaking and writing skills are practiced and learned based on experiences. However, academic writing demands conscious efforts and involves more practice in composing, creating and analyzing ideas. It cannot be doubted that students speaking and writing in their second language (L2) face social and cognitive challenges in their attempt to acquire a second language. This requires the second language writing instructors to consider the strategy as well as language skill development whilst dealing with such students. The main issue is identifying errors involved in speaking and writing different aspects of a second language acquisition in regard to the theories of a basic writing process. It is relevant to argue that the significance of writing process as a key pedagogical tool for ensuring that learners understand the second language can be considered appropriate only if linguistic development is the ultimate goal. This means that learners should be capable of receiving satisfactory and effective feedback on their errors in regard to their speaking and writing skills. By considering it as an important ground for academic inquiry, it can be argued that teaching of speaking and writing skills to the second language learners should be placed at the center of the field of composition and rhetoric. This requires the instructors to involve in constant identification of the nature of texts as well as the processes that the second language writers engage in to make their final texts. It also involves analyzing the specific field of language learning in which learners depend on cognitive and emotional factors in mastering a given linguistic code (Ellis & Barkhuizen, G. (2005). It is worthy noting that teachers of writing to second language learners cannot responsibly serve their students without referring to these two intersecting aspects. Therefore, social and cognitive factors greatly affect the learning of a second language. For example, social factors provide the view that learners differ in their levels of second language learning particularly in their ultimate conversational and writing proficiencies. Studies indicate that instrumentally motivated learners become more interested in learning a particular language for certain reasons such as passing exams or winning a job. Based on this theory, therefore, it can be argued that if the learning of a second language can take place in a different community from the targeted native or language speakers, it means that integrative motivation will be more beneficial. However, if it is practiced among the community of native speakers, then it is obvious that instrumental orientation will be considered the most effective motivational factor. It can be concluded that the motivations, attitudes and goals of learners can suggest reasons as to why some second language writers are always on top of others in their performance (Kaplan, 2002). A review of some literature that discusses the issue It is important for the writing teachers to be well-informed of how the instrumental motivation amongst the second language students can affect the quality of their lessons. Carson (2001) argues that if learners consider writing tasks as being useless, then they will approach to the writing skills in a careless manner. This implies that such learners will be inattentive to rhetorical and errors concerns but highly motivated students will take their writing tasks more seriously and will make careful expressions. It is quite clear that when second language learners are motivated to learn the language their level of proficiency increases, and thus the learners develop positive attitudes toward their writing tasks. However, second language learners may continuously create errors in their writing due to social reasons such as inadequate integrative and instrumental motivation to enhance learning, developing negative attitudes towards the second language and the wide social and psychological distance that may exist between the learners and the targeted culture (Carson, 2001). The growing expectation from English Teachers In this twenty-first century, it can be noted that instructing the second language skills to adult students who since their birth have been speaking their native languages is increasingly becoming a complex matter for teachers. Researchers argue that the complexity has been as a result of the increased globalization and revolution of the Internet technologies. The two have expanded the use of English across the world (Warshauer, 2000). This suggests that participating in the interconnected technological, geopolitical as well as economic activities of international communities, requires a person to be fluent in English. It means that the fluency of English should be beyond the spoken language to also include different applications of written language. Since the cultures of English-language among other people are basically literacy-driven in particular digital-literacy driven, it means that pursuing English involves understanding written English (McKay, 2002). This enables the learners in acquiring skills within this language code and creates the possibilities for their enhanced life chances (Cushman, Kintgen & Rose, 2001). Therefore, it is relevant to point out that career options or curriculum development in the field of English-language teaching need a promising and foreseeable future particularly for the teachers of writing skills. Although this analysis is basically focused on issues related to the acquisition of the language writing skills, it should be noted that the teaching of a second language a part from English will remain a significant aspect of the school or college curriculum different countries. Nettle and Romaine (2000) examined that the aspect of second language writing is a significant field affecting the lives of a huge population of students at institutions across the world. This is simply because such students are required to submit high quality texts in the language they are not native speakers but acquired through classroom learning. How classroom interaction develops the learner’s speaking skills The need for classroom interaction has become popular phenomenon in the learning settings for second languages. Today, a number of researchers argue that through class interaction, skills and knowledge of the second language learners can be created and developed. This clearly explains why the roles and responsibilities of teachers have shifted to the facilitators of both learning and teaching processes (Hedge, 2000). Based on these ideas, it can be argued that learners of a second language must be allowed to apply the language in various aspects of communication rather than teaching them only how to learn dialogues or memorize pattern practices. For that matter, it is relevant to mention that classroom interaction is one of the best pedagogical approaches to not only developing the skills of learners, but also to enhance their capacity to learn new languages. The argument for classroom interaction as an educative strategy for enhancing the speaking skills for second language learners is based on the need to understand the contexts in which it is normally used. For example, the learner-learner and learner-teacher interactions where negotiations are made to understand the meanings and feedback provided in learning different aspects of the language. It is important to note that classroom interaction concerns more with verbal exchanges between teachers and their respective learners. Thus, teachers should allow their learners to involve in more talking so as stimulate their speaking. The main task of teachers as far as teacher-learner classroom interaction is concerned is to involve all of the second language learners in interactive activities. This means applying the necessary teaching strategies so as to get each and every student to talk. From the communicative approach point of view, it can be noted that English has become an important language in today’s world. Teachers are required to use significant methods in order to meet the dynamic needs of second language learners where a different language is used for communication (Harmer, 2001). In order to use communicative approach, therefore, researchers argue for the need to ensure communicative competence as a way of fostering learning as well as creating a successful classroom interaction (Hedge, 2000). Hedge identified the varying aspects of the language as its syntax, lexicology and phonology which are directly related to the knowledge of grammatical structure, spelling and pronunciation. This provides the view that classroom communicative competence helps second language students to only participate effectively in class, but also learn from respective classroom experiences. Ellis and Barkhuizen (2005) examined the negotiation of meaning as verbal exchanges that take place when a person speaking seeks to control the communication breakdown. The authors argued that negotiation of meaning should be considered as focal discourse structure. It is important for the learners in a second language classroom or learning settings to ensure that their linguistic sayings are more comprehensible to enable other learners within the class to make useful engagements with them in their interactions. According to Mackey, Alison (2007, p. 12) use of the repetitive, interactive, segmentation and rewording processes, learners’ attention can be drawn to create meaningful relationships as well as provide them with extra time to fully encode the meaning of a language. Research indicates that oral feedback plays an integral role in interaction and promotion of the learning process in general. Interaction where feedback is involved means that learners will pay more attention to different forms of errors to make the necessary adjustments. This implies that for interaction to be considered effective in developing the speaking skills, the second language learners must be in a position to notice their speaking errors and identify them for immediate correction. It is relevant to point out that attention is highly needed in learning a second language because through feedback, learners can correct and encourage each other to be attentive to errors. Feedback from teachers may differ with the learner’s feedback simply because teachers use different strategies for correcting speaking and writing errors. In summary, the role of feedback in interaction should also be regarded as of crucial importance in acquiring a second language skills and knowledge (Mackey, 2007). Personal evaluation of and response to these discussions Based on the relevant literature discussed, it is quite clear to me that writing second languages proves to be a complex process. I strongly support the idea that because learners of a second language are always less familiar and confident with varying structural elements of the new language as well as its associated rhetorical and cultural changes, it is very possible to make errors in writing a second language. Generally, it cannot be doubted that students writing in the second language will make different grammatical or rhetorical errors in their texts. Therefore, I would recommend that social and cognitive factors as well as learner strategies should enable the teachers of second languages in assessing reasons for learners exhibiting certain writing errors. From my teaching situation point of view, I agree that proficiency, instruction as well as the ability to respond to errors made in the acquisition of a second language have practical implications for the teaching profession. In my opinion, I would argue that even though instructors may view errors in acquisition of second language as part of the language learning process connected to psycholinguistic and situational contexts, the writing of second language learners should be assessed on the basis of static and product criterion. I have also learnt that being well-informed of how the instrumental motivation amongst the second language students can affect the quality of their lessons is crucial for successful acquisition of the language. It is apparent to me that learners who are not instrumentally motivated by their teachers will be inattentive to rhetorical and errors concerns. This provides the view that highly motivated students will take their writing tasks more seriously and will always be cautious to make meaningful expressions. Therefore, I support the idea that when second language learners are motivated to learn the language, their level of proficiency increases. This is because the learners develop positive attitudes towards their writing tasks. It is true that instructing the second language skills to adult students who over time have been speaking their native languages is increasingly becoming a complex issue for teachers. Based on today’s level of globalization and revolution of the Internet technologies, my opinion is that the complexity has been as a result of the two global trends which have in turn expanded the use of English across the world. Since classroom interaction has become popular experience in the learning settings for second languages. It makes me to belief that the roles and responsibilities of teachers have changed to view them as the facilitators of both the learning and teaching processes. Therefore, it is necessary for the learners of a second language to be allowed to apply the language in different aspects of communication rather than being taught only how to learn dialogues or memorize pattern practices. Based on the learner-learner and learner-teacher interactions where negotiations are common to understand the meanings and feedback provided in learning different aspects of the language, it cannot be doubted that classroom interaction is an important educative strategy for enhancing the speaking skills among the second language learners. However, I will argue that classroom interaction can only be considered effective in fostering the speaking skills if the second language learners are able to notice their speaking errors and identify them to make the necessary corrections. In deed, attention is highly required in learning and acquiring second language skills because through feedback, it is obvious that learners can correct and influence each other to be more attentive to avoiding speaking and writing errors. Due to the common grammatical, syntax and pronunciation errors involved in the acquisition of the language writing skills, it is my view that the teaching of all second languages and not only English will remain a significant issue of the school or college curriculum in different countries. As my concluding remarks, I would emphasize that the study of errors in written texts of a second language student is important. This is because analysis enables the teacher or instructor to use the most appropriate corrective measures to help the learner attain higher levels of language proficiency and competency. Therefore, it is crucial for the teachers to understand the causes of grammatical, rhetorical and pronunciation errors among the learners so ensure that effective methods are used to correct the errors. In order to increase the competence and the quality of second language performance among the learners, my recommendation is that teachers or instructors of such students should have the background knowledge of each learner prior to correcting their errors. References Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman. Carson, J. (2001). Second language writing and how it is acquired. Mahwah, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cushman, E., et.al. (2001). A critical sourcebook for Language literacy. New York. Martin Press. Ellis,R. & Barkhuizen, G. (2005). How to analyze Learner Language. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Harmer, J. (2001). Practicing English Language Teaching. Harlow. Pearson Education Ltd. Hedge, H. T. (2000). Teaching and Learning within the Classroom setting. Oxford University Press: Oxford. McKay, S. (2002). Teaching English as an international language, pp.107-123. Mackey, A. (2007). Conversation interaction as a way of acquiring a Second Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nettle, D & Romaine, S. (2000). The shortage of the world’s languages within Oxford and New York cities. Oxford University Press. Warshauer, M. (2000). The changing global state and future of English teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 34, 511-535. Read More