Mokh, Y. A.

Sergina, S. V.

English

Library of National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute"

Mokh Y.A. 
A senior teacher 
Sergina S.V. 
A teacher 
NTU “KPI” 
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING 
The emphasis from an early stage in Council of Europe projects on 
successful communication skills, motivated by increasing opportunities for 
interaction and mobility in Europe, remains important, but globalization and 
internationalization pose new challenges to social cohesion and integration. 
Language skills remain essential if individuals are to benefit from opportunities in 
employment and mobility but they are also necessary to participate actively in the 
social and political processes which are an integral part of democratic citizenship 
in the multilingual societies of Council of Europe member states [1]. 
There is the distinction between communication in its various aspects and 
the means by which this communication is realized. 
The word communication has two parts, COM which means together and 
UNI which means one, so communication normally involves at least two people, 
me and the other, being brought together into one shared space. Obviously, for 
communication in which we are involved, we are one of the key components; so 
also is the other, - the person(s) with whom we are communicating, called the 
interlocutor(s). But the shared space is also important; both partners must be on the 
same wavelength. So, it is not just who the partners in communication are in 
general that is important, but what each is thinking, feeling, remembering, etc. at 
the moment of communication. 
The first aspect of communication is the details of the contexts in which 
communication takes place – the where and who. We generally think of situations 
as associated with particular places, such as home, street, school, bank, post-office, 
etc. However, these can be grouped together into broader domains – private, 
public, work, educational, etc. Within each of these domains there are different 
institutions, for example, the family in the private domain, the school authorities in 
the educational domain. In each domain and for each institution, there are different 
people and different objects involved (in school, for example, teachers, classmates, 
on the one hand, and books, school furniture, on the other). We know all of this is 
the case, but what we may not realize is that certain critical elements of the 
language we use can vary considerably, depending on where communication is 
taking place and who is involved.    
A second aspect of communication is the theme or topic. In the personal 
domain, possible themes are: personal identification, house and home environment, 
daily life, free time and entertainment, travel, etc. Within the theme of free time 
and entertainment there are the sub-themes of leisure, hobbies and interests, radio 
and TV, cinema, theatre, sport, etc. Sport can be subdivided into the places where 
it takes place, the people involved, the event in question, the actions, such as 
playing, watching, etc.  
Another aspect of communication is the tasks involved and the purposes 
each partner in the communication has. It is almost impossible to list all the 
possible tasks one could perform using language. 
The final aspect of communication is communicative language activities. 
This refers to how one is involved in a communicative act: whether one is 
producing a text on one’s own (speaking or writing), receiving it without changing 
it, (listening or reading), interacting with someone, or passing on messages for 
someone. 
We have looked so far at some aspects of communication. We may feel that 
we are using the same language all the time, but each of these aspects can change 
in some way the nature of the language we use. 
There is very little consensus among researchers about how languages are 
learned. Neither is there agreement among teachers and course material writers 
about the best way to teach language. It makes sense, therefore, to keep an open 
mind on different approaches to learning.  
There are some practical suggestions for language learning:  
• Learners should use a range of techniques for learning vocabulary. They 
should not simply think that words can be learned once and for all. Words need to 
be worked with intensively in order for them to remain in our long-term memory 
[2]. 
• Learners should increase their exposure to their new language.   If we 
count up the number of hours of contact our learners have with the target language 
in the classroom, we will find that it will be very little compared to what they 
would get if they were in the country where it is spoken. Learning language in 
many classrooms is still like being drip-fed; learners get only a small amount of 
nourishment. They will need to increase their exposure to the new language by 
every means at their disposal outside of the language classroom [2]. 
• They should use language meaningfully with native speakers through 
receptive processing. If they are not in direct contact with speakers of the 
language, meaningful use may have to be confined to receptive processing 
(listening or reading). This receptive processing will provide them with very 
important linguistic data. Reading a text in a foreign language when we already 
know the topic makes the words and grammar more readily understandable. This 
does not necessarily mean that learners will learn these words and this grammar 
immediately, but at least, having met them in context, formal study of them will be 
more meaningful. Reading, listening to radio, and watching television should be a 
major part of any language learning program [2]. 
• They should use language meaningfully with native speakers through 
productive and interactive processing. With modern technology, it is now possible 
for many learners to enter into direct contact with native speakers of the language 
they are studying. Our learners no longer have to wait to go to the country where 
the language is spoken or to wait for an answer to your letter to get in touch with 
native speakers. They can chat on the Internet with people of their own age and 
interests. This is bound to make a major difference to language learning. It is 
especially important in helping them to get in touch with the social aspects of 
language use at first hand [2]. 
• They should reflect on their language learning. Being aware of what they 
are doing as they learn a language is also generally regarded as being helpful to 
learning. Reflecting on the strategies they use as they learn, and evaluating their 
effectiveness, will allow them to alter or improve them. Keeping a journal of their 
learning is one way that may enable you to do this more effectively [2]. 
In most classroom learning environments learners do not take an active role 
in decisions about what is to be learned or how. Teachers, course books, syllabuses 
and examinations dictate much of what has to be learned, yet learners are the ones 
who have to do the learning. They only ones who can ultimately decide what is 
best for themselves. It is important, therefore they be allowed and encouraged to 
develop their independence, that they can make decisions about their own learning. 
So, language learning has become a major issue in the new Europe. It is 
important that it is done in the most effective manner possible. 
Bibliography: 
1. A Common European Framework of reference for Languages: Learning, 
teaching, assessment. Council of Europe (2001). Cambridge University Press.  
2. SCRIVENER, J. 1994. Learning Teaching.  Heinemann. 


Communication and language learning

Electronic National Technical University &quot;Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute&quot; Institutional Repository (eNTUKhPIIR)

Mokh Y.A. A senior teacher Sergina S.V. A teacher NTU “KPI” COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING The emphasis from an early stage in Council of Europe projects on successful communication skills, motivated by increasing opportunities for interaction and mobility in Europe, remains important, but globalization and internationalization pose new challenges to social cohesion and integration. Language skills remain essential if individuals are to benefit from opportunities in employment and mobility but they are also necessary to participate actively in the social and political processes which are an integral part of democratic citizenship in the multilingual societies of Council of Europe member states [1]. There is the distinction between communication in its various aspects and the means by which this communication is realized. The word communication has two parts, COM which means together and UNI which means one, so communication normally involves at least two people, me and the other, being brought together into one shared space. Obviously, for communication in which we are involved, we are one of the key components; so also is the other, - the person(s) with whom we are communicating, called the interlocutor(s). But the shared space is also important; both partners must be on the same wavelength. So, it is not just who the partners in communication are in general that is important, but what each is thinking, feeling, remembering, etc. at the moment of communication. The first aspect of communication is the details of the contexts in which communication takes place – the where and who. We generally think of situations as associated with particular places, such as home, street, school, bank, post-office, etc. However, these can be grouped together into broader domains – private, public, work, educational, etc. Within each of these domains there are different institutions, for example, the family in the private domain, the school authorities in the educational domain. In each domain and for each institution, there are different people and different objects involved (in school, for example, teachers, classmates, on the one hand, and books, school furniture, on the other). We know all of this is the case, but what we may not realize is that certain critical elements of the language we use can vary considerably, depending on where communication is taking place and who is involved.    A second aspect of communication is the theme or topic. In the personal domain, possible themes are: personal identification, house and home environment, daily life, free time and entertainment, travel, etc. Within the theme of free time and entertainment there are the sub-themes of leisure, hobbies and interests, radio and TV, cinema, theatre, sport, etc. Sport can be subdivided into the places where it takes place, the people involved, the event in question, the actions, such as playing, watching, etc.  Another aspect of communication is the tasks involved and the purposes each partner in the communication has. It is almost impossible to list all the possible tasks one could perform using language. The final aspect of communication is communicative language activities. This refers to how one is involved in a communicative act: whether one is producing a text on one’s own (speaking or writing), receiving it without changing it, (listening or reading), interacting with someone, or passing on messages for someone. We have looked so far at some aspects of communication. We may feel that we are using the same language all the time, but each of these aspects can change in some way the nature of the language we use. There is very little consensus among researchers about how languages are learned. Neither is there agreement among teachers and course material writers about the best way to teach language. It makes sense, therefore, to keep an open mind on different approaches to learning.  There are some practical suggestions for language learning:  • Learners should use a range of techniques for learning vocabulary. They should not simply think that words can be learned once and for all. Words need to be worked with intensively in order for them to remain in our long-term memory [2]. • Learners should increase their exposure to their new language.   If we count up the number of hours of contact our learners have with the target language in the classroom, we will find that it will be very little compared to what they would get if they were in the country where it is spoken. Learning language in many classrooms is still like being drip-fed; learners get only a small amount of nourishment. They will need to increase their exposure to the new language by every means at their disposal outside of the language classroom [2]. • They should use language meaningfully with native speakers through receptive processing. If they are not in direct contact with speakers of the language, meaningful use may have to be confined to receptive processing (listening or reading). This receptive processing will provide them with very important linguistic data. Reading a text in a foreign language when we already know the topic makes the words and grammar more readily understandable. This does not necessarily mean that learners will learn these words and this grammar immediately, but at least, having met them in context, formal study of them will be more meaningful. Reading, listening to radio, and watching television should be a major part of any language learning program [2]. • They should use language meaningfully with native speakers through productive and interactive processing. With modern technology, it is now possible for many learners to enter into direct contact with native speakers of the language they are studying. Our learners no longer have to wait to go to the country where the language is spoken or to wait for an answer to your letter to get in touch with native speakers. They can chat on the Internet with people of their own age and interests. This is bound to make a major difference to language learning. It is especially important in helping them to get in touch with the social aspects of language use at first hand [2]. • They should reflect on their language learning. Being aware of what they are doing as they learn a language is also generally regarded as being helpful to learning. Reflecting on the strategies they use as they learn, and evaluating their effectiveness, will allow them to alter or improve them. Keeping a journal of their learning is one way that may enable you to do this more effectively [2]. In most classroom learning environments learners do not take an active role in decisions about what is to be learned or how. Teachers, course books, syllabuses and examinations dictate much of what has to be learned, yet learners are the ones who have to do the learning. They only ones who can ultimately decide what is best for themselves. It is important, therefore they be allowed and encouraged to develop their independence, that they can make decisions about their own learning. So, language learning has become a major issue in the new Europe. It is important that it is done in the most effective manner possible. Bibliography: 1. A Common European Framework of reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Council of Europe (2001). Cambridge University Press.  2. SCRIVENER, J. 1994. Learning Teaching.  Heinemann. 

http://repository.kpi.kharkov.ua/bitstream/KhPI-Press/39879/1/Mokh_Communication_and_language_2009.pdf

Communication and language learning

Abstract

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Library of National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute"

Electronic National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute" Institutional Repository (eNTUKhPIIR)

Communication and language learning

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Library of National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute"

Electronic National Technical University &quot;Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute&quot; Institutional Repository (eNTUKhPIIR)

Electronic National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute" Institutional Repository (eNTUKhPIIR)