| > | | | | letters: "hop."English easily absorbs new words from |
| This article on the English language, by certified TEFL | | | | other languages and cultures. Just think of "salsa," |
| (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher | | | | "smorgasbord," "taboo," "wampum," and "pajamas," for |
| Barbara Freedman De Vito, discusses the strong | | | | starters. When necessary, English also seems to revel |
| points and peculiarities of the English language, and | | | | in inventing entirely new lexicons of words, such as for |
| their ramifications for learning English. I really like the | | | | new technologies like the Internet. Internet is full of |
| English language. I've been speaking it all my life, but it's | | | | colorful and amusing imagery from "the web" to |
| not until I became an English teacher, teaching English | | | | "spidering" and "click on the mouse," let alone such silly |
| as a foreign language, that I really started to | | | | sounding words as "googling," "blogging," and "WIKI." It is |
| understand how it functions and to appreciate both its | | | | a riotously "living" language and this flexibility has helped |
| richness and its versatility.I believe that, at an | | | | English become such a widely used international |
| elementary level, English is easier to learn than some | | | | language.I also love English because colorful wordings |
| other languages. A beginner can form good basic | | | | and vivid imagery abound in both old and new |
| sentences without knowing a lot of complex | | | | expressions. I picture tall sailing ships and Errol Flynn |
| grammatical forms. English verbs don't have many | | | | films when I hear someone say, "She passed her |
| different endings to memorize before one can | | | | exam with flying colors." Think of other expressions, |
| express the simplest of thoughts.Another strong point | | | | too, such as "That makes my skin crawl," "It sent |
| is that English does not, as a rule, have masculine and | | | | shivers up and down my spine," "He's got his head in |
| feminine nouns and there are no changing forms for | | | | the clouds," "She's full of get up and go," and "They're |
| adjectives to slow a learner down. For instance, in | | | | head over heels in love."English even has a strong |
| French you must memorize a number of verb endings | | | | sense of whimsy, and so lends itself to delightful |
| and match adjectives to nouns before you can | | | | combinations of alliterative phrasings like "the whole kit |
| verbalize even the simplest ideas, but a novice does | | | | and caboodle," or "footloose and fancy-free." It's also |
| not need to study English for long before being able to | | | | chock full of amusing words that are especially for |
| construct good basic sentences.English has a mix of | | | | children. Think of "choo-choo train," "puppy dog," "kitty |
| vocabulary with Germanic roots and vocabulary with | | | | cat," or "do the hokey pokey." Fun-loving authors have |
| Latin or French roots, allowing speakers of numerous | | | | added to the festivities by feeling free to invent their |
| European languages to recognize and understand | | | | own words, just for the pleasing sound of them, from |
| many English words. Although sometimes the | | | | Edward Lear's "Dong with the Luminous Nose" to Dr. |
| meanings are no longer the same in the two | | | | Seuss's "Sneeches with stars on thars." J. K. Rowling |
| languages, they are often still similar enough to serve | | | | has invented an entire vocabulary of her own to use in |
| as an aid to comprehension and to help a learner get | | | | the magical world that she has created for Harry |
| the gist of texts.Once English learners have reached a | | | | Potter. The so-called "language of Shakespeare" has |
| more advanced level, they become exposed to | | | | contributed much literature and poetry to the world, |
| additional structures that reveal some unexpected | | | | plus other beautiful expressions of thoughts through |
| complexities in the language. For example, the uses of | | | | the abstraction of words. As someone who writes |
| the present perfect tense can be quite confusing. On | | | | stories for children, I'm also fond of simple jingles and |
| the other hand, English verb forms allow for a | | | | fun forms such as Mother Goose rhymes.Now that I'm |
| wonderful element of subjectivity and point of view in | | | | an English teacher, I try to unlock many of the |
| expressing attitudes towards events. Consider "I've | | | | mysteries of the English language for students who |
| just lost my glasses" and "I lost my glasses an hour | | | | have other languages as their mother tongues. In doing |
| ago." Both are fine, but your choice of one or the other | | | | so, I've taken a much closer look at the language |
| reflects your attitude toward the situation. Do you | | | | myself, in all of its complexities and inconsistencies, all |
| want to emphasize the consequence of losing your | | | | of its rules and abundance of exceptions to its own |
| glasses? If so, then choose the former, the present | | | | rules, in its enormous vocabulary and subtleties in |
| perfect tense. If you prefer to focus on when the | | | | shades of meanings. Whenever possible, I try to give |
| glasses were lost, then use the latter, the past simple | | | | my students the logic behind the grammar, so that |
| tense.English can be wonderfully expressive. Because | | | | they can gain a deeper understanding of the thought |
| it has accumulated vocabulary from many different | | | | processes behind our many ways of looking at time, |
| languages, there are far more words to choose from | | | | rather than just have students randomly memorize |
| than some other languages offer. You can discuss a | | | | rules.To put English into perspective and make |
| topic at length without ever repeating yourself or | | | | allowances for its many idiosyncracies, I try to briefly |
| overusing a specific word. You can choose from an | | | | explain the history of English and the many historical |
| array of words with similar meanings to find the most | | | | influences that have affected it, from a series of early |
| perfect match in meaning and connotation to suit the | | | | invasions of the British Isles, by people such as the |
| thought that you want to express.Sure, you can simply | | | | Romans, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans, to later British |
| walk down the street, but you can also stroll, march, | | | | Empire building around the world, and then to America's |
| amble, trot, mosey, shuffle, skip, run, race, promenade, | | | | melting pot of cultures and languages from the world |
| lope, slink, fly, zip, crawl, gallop, whiz, zoom, or careen | | | | over. With each new group has come an infusion of |
| down the street. A cursory glance reveals that the | | | | new vocabulary. Some element of comprehension of |
| English section of my bilingual dictionary is considerably | | | | that historical perspective can explain to students both |
| larger than the French portion. The enormity of English | | | | the richness of expression and vocabulary that English |
| vocabulary allows for precision and economy of | | | | possesses, plus the maddening inconsistencies in |
| expression. Ideas and instructions can be concisely | | | | English spelling and pronunciation. I'm no authority on |
| stated. When viewing multilingual signs and equipment | | | | other languages and I'm not saying that English is the |
| usage manuals, the English version is frequently shorter | | | | best language in the world but, as I've taught English to |
| than that of many other languages. To take a simple | | | | others over the years, my own appreciation of it has |
| example, in French it takes four words, "sautez a | | | | grown immeasurably and I've really come to love it. |
| cloche pied," to express what English does in just three | | | | |