LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Learning Foreign Language



[Name of the Institute]

Table of Contents

Part 12

Introduction2

Discussion2

Perception that Younger is Better3

Choice of Approach5

Increasing Pressure to Teach Young Learners Foreign Languages10

Conclusion13

Part 215

Introduction15

Analysis17

Appearance17

Educational Value17

Language Learning Potential18

Approach to Teaching and Learning20

Type and Variety of Activity22

Relationship with the Issues24

Conclusion25

References27

Appendix31

Learning Foreign Language

Part 1

Introduction

This part analyse the three main issues with respect to English learning among the Greek-Cypriots. Learning from the Western University pointedly emphasizes that graduates acquire the knowledge and understanding to think critically, draw conclusions and analyze information (Marinova,2000,9-34). Academic staff is working to encourage independent learning and universities expect students' progress through the complex process of change in their own observations, the learning and epistemological beliefs "(Wood,1998,33-64). This can cause a major shift in the learning process for students, because they make the transition from previous education and the university environment.

As the student population in higher education has become more culturally and linguistically diverse, is a particular challenge for higher education institutions and academic staff to support the transition of these students and facilitate learning within and between programs (Wood,1998,33-64). The foreign Cyprus learner faces a significant difficulty in learning English language due to their less exposure to the language and the various issues concerning language study. The three main issues that will be discusses here will be:

Perception that younger is better

Choice of approach

Increasing pressure to teach young learners foreign languages

Discussion

Perception that Younger is Better

The notion of this critical period, according to Marinova-Todd, Marshall and Snow (2000), was first introduced by Penfield and Roberts in 1959. Generally, this critical period has often been claimed to begin from the age of three until roughly around pubertal stage, although some researchers argue it could end even before learners reach this pubertal stage (Whitehead,2002,69-80). According to this critical period hypothesis (CPH), it is argued that SLA can be rather easy and usually meets with a high degree of success if the learning commences during the critical period. If this period is over, it is most likely that learning is often difficult and cannot guarantee a desirable level of achievement Whitehead (2002) who developed the brain plastic theory likewise argued in support to this CPH that younger learners have a 'cellular receptivity' to language learning, which enables them to find it easier to acquire language. They pointed out that the earlier the children start learning a language, the more likely that they can achieve a native-like pronunciation.

Marinova-Todd, Marshall and Snow (2000) research that have been used to support the existence of "critical period" for second language acquisition, researchers have described the common arguments as insufficient. Marinova-Todd et. al. attributed to the widespread use of these arguments to three fallacies: the first is the misinterpretation of results. This occurs, for example, when we conclude that the fact that children who start learning early end achieve higher performance than older learners indicates that children learn more easily. The second fallacy is the error in the attribution of results (Marinova-Todd et. Al., 2000). This commonly occurs from studies on the neurophysiology of ...