Introduction. There are a lot of countries in the world and the number of languages is more. One of the most important languages is English. It is the official language of 53 countries. Its role is unlimited. What role does it play in our lives?
The purpose of the study. In this regard, the aim of this study is to get acquainted with some peculiarities, methods and techniques of learning a foreign language (for example English) into a secondary school in rural areas.
Subject: Some peculiarities of studying English in secondary school in rural areas.
Relevance: Half a century ago English was just one of the international languages, accepted in the world. As the time passed, the role of English in the society has significantly increased. Nearly every adult in the world dreams to learn the basics of spoken and written English. On top of that, they want their children to know conversational English well. There are many reasons for that [1].
First of all, wherever we travel people know this language. Whether it’s a European country or Asian and African, everywhere people will understand you if you explain what you are looking for in English.
Secondly, nearly all businesses in the world are done in English today. Basically every field requires the knowledge of this language. The students know that English plays a great role in education and their future career. The professionals know that if they learn English at least to intermediate level, they can get a significant pay raise and rapid career development.
Thirdly, a lot of books and periodicals are written in English. Most Internet sites and pages are composed in English. And, it goes without saying that all computer programs and applications use the English language. From the very start of computers introduction in the society English was used as the basic language. Many famous films and songs are also in English. This list can continue endlessly, but the most important thing is that everyone in modern society understands how important English is.
Mission studies: Important is spotting of the English languages.
Object and subject of study: concept «English language».
Supposition: For centuries English has been one of the most commonly used languages in the world.
English is widely used in TV, cinema, radio, and library. A huge amount of literature is written in English. All this makes English the most important language in the world.
Novelty: The role of English language grew in the process of time. It is very difficult to learn English, but it opens a new perspectives. English differs greatly from other languages.
Literature review: There are a lot of rules in English concerning grammar, phonetics, morphological peculiarities and punctuation. It is rather difficult to analyze 12 grammatical tenses. Grammar and lexicology should be studied thoroughly, especially rules.
Location of the study. For a deeper study of the issue we had to handle not only the available Russian and foreign literature from the library of my school (Municipal budget educational institution secondary school № 1 Askino municipal district Askino region, Republic of Bashkortostan), but some articles artistic and educational nature of the Internet Inter-settlement Central library of the municipal budget institution of culture «District club-library system» of municipal district Askino region Republic of Bashkortostan.
The theoretical part of the question
1) The role of English in Modern Society. Nowadays English takes an important role in people’s life. Recently, it has become the international language. Half a century ago, English was just one of the foreign languages along with other ones [2]. Why should we study English?
First of all, it’s career. Nowadays, it is preferable to speak English fluently to get a prestigious and well-paid job. It is connected with a fact that large corporations have dwellers abroad, so they should be in touch with them to sign projects, making contracts are all in English.
Secondly, trips abroad. It is known that young people are eager to visit many countries in order to study traditions and customs. It all helps to enrich their knowledge.
Thirdly, learning. You can enter any University abroad. Your English will give you a chance to study in any country. Before going there it is better to get a CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) or FCE (First Certificate in English) certificate.
Fourthly, books. While reading books in the original language you’ll get a great pleasure. Translated versions can differ a bit from those of original. Sometimes it is impossible to depict all the emotions and true thoughts of characters.
Here are just a few examples from everyday life, showing application of knowledge of English on an international scale.
(1) Most pages on the Web. That's over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! It's amazing that learning just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet.
(2) Books — on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and books translated from other languages. Whatever you're interested in, you can read about it in English!
(3) The press. Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You don't have to search for Time, Newsweek, or the International Herald Tribune!
(4) Science. English is the key to the world of science. In 1997–2007, almost 95 % of the articles in the Science CitationIndex were written in English. Only about 50 % of them were from English-speaking countries like the USA or Britain.
(5) News reports. Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the world.
2) Communicate with people. We like to call English «the language of communication». Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to use English to talk to each other. About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it. About 80 % of the world's letters and postcards are written in English. Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English. For example, the Olympics and the Miss World contest. Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main language of Organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and TheEuropean Free Trade Association [3].
What gives this communication to man? Let's try to answer this question from two different points of view from different angles.
(1) Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send e-mail to interesting people. Learn about their life and culture.
(2) Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go — English is spoken in more than 100 countries. Ask directions, have a conversation, or... ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday!
3) Push your career forward. If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it!
In turn, according to [4], a deep knowledge of the English language opens up additional opportunities before each of us.
(1) Put «excellent knowledge of English» on your CV (Curriculum Vitae). Get your dream job, and earn more money.
(2) Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If you're going to read about technology, you'll probably have to do it in English.
(3) Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles! For example, in the future we plan on studying at University; writing academic articles and publications in International scientific magazines with high citation index, participate in International scientific conferences and symposia.
(4) Be a world-class businessman (or woman). It's simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English — to contact other businesspeople, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc.
(5) Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, and visit academic centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines.
(6) Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better — and become a better employee.
(7) Learn new skills for your job. The section «Get access to knowledge» explains how English helps you learn.
Command of English language opens new knowledge in the study of culture anywhere in the world.
English lets you feel the culture of the world like no other language. With a good knowledge of the English language, you can do wonderful things. Let's consider them.
(1) Watch American and British films in the original. Once you try it, you'll never go back to dubbed versions!
(2) Read great books. Every famous book was written in English or it was translated into English. There are an amazing number of titles — from classic plays like Hamlet to modern thrillers like Jurassic Park.
(3) Enjoy English-language music more. Believe us: music is much better if you can understand the words.
On the other hand, English is one of the easiest languages in relation to learning with the training. Simple alphabet — no special symbols such as «é» or «ä». Easy plurals — simply add «s» to a word. For example, one car, five cars; one telephone, two telephones... There are very few exceptions.
Words are easy to learn. In French, it's «la fille» and «le chien». In German, it's «das Mädchen» and «der Hund». In English, they're just a girl and a dog.
The short words well-used in order to save time. Most of the basic words are short: run, work, big, go, man. Long words are often shortened: sitcom = situational comedy, fridge = refrigerator, OS = operating system. As you can see, speaking English saves you time.
Words don't change. But in many languages, one word has many forms. For example, (1) English: The man is blind = German: Der Mann ist blind; (2) English: This is a blind man = German: Das ist ein blinder Mann; (3) English: I see a blind man = German: Ich sehe einen blinden Mann.
Call everybody «you». You can say «Do you speak English?» to your friend or to your teacher. In other languages, you have to use the right word for the right person. In English, everybody is equal.
English is everywhere. You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You don't have to learn from boring textbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English is especially important because it increases your desire to learn.
English words in Russian are also of great importance. In recent years new English words appear in Russian. Pronouncing such words as «компьютер», «плеер», «гамбургер» we don’t even think about their origin. Borrowed words that appear in Russian can be explained by the influence of foreign culture.
A practical part.
In conjunction with the subject teachers of our school, we have studied some linguistic features. Consider the main points.
1) Phonetics: (1) If we speak about Standard English pronunciation we can notice that there are no palatalized vowels; (2) Assimilation and dissimilation are rare things in English; (3) Strong reduction of vowels.
2) Morphology: (1) Approximate length of words; (2) One of the characteristic features of English is short words; (3) The result of the number of short words in extracts.
|
Author |
Total the number of words |
The number of monosyllabic words |
The percentage |
|||
|
Thomas Babington Macaulay [5] |
150 |
102 |
113 |
54 |
75 % |
53 % |
|
Charles John Huffam Dickens [6] |
174 |
123 |
126 |
76 |
73 % |
62 % |
|
Percy Bysshe Shelley [7] |
136 |
102 |
103 |
68 |
76 % |
67 % |
|
Alfred Tennyson [8] |
248 |
162 |
199 |
113 |
82 % |
70 % |
The first vertical lines are the result of all counted words; the second lines are the result of when repeated words are counted as one word.
As you see in the table, the number of short words prevail, but there are long words, such as, «individualization», «ant establishmentarianism» (the longest word in English is «honorificabilitudinitatibus» — 27 letters).
But there are not so many long words in English. A great example can be given in shorten forms of words, the Gothic«habaidedeima», and an English word with the same meaning «had».
The next process covers a part of English lexicology — the existence of stronger German stress in borrowed words. According to this the words are reduced. Mora than one syllable is dropped: «vanguard» — from old French«avant-guarde» — «авангард».
Sometimes, changed variants coexist with the original, but they cover different notions: «history» — «история» and «story» — «рассказ». A syllable can be dropped in the middle of the word: «fantasy» is «fancy» — «фантазия».
The lack of inflection tended to the direct word order. The wrong word order, which is called inversion, is rare in English (except questions), than in other German languages. In German inversion changes only the logical intonation in the sentence, but in English it enriches the sentence emotionally.
Direct word order has synthetic meaning, and lacks formal syllabic differences between parts of speech: «she prefers to name him by his name» — «она предпочитает называть его по имени». In the first case «[to] name» — verb «называть», in the second case «name» — noun «имя». Such conversion from one part of speech to another is called conversion in linguistic.
Let us consider some examples of the conversion, based on the work of the author [9].
(1) A noun becomes a verb: «water» — «вода» и «to water» — «поливать»,«wire» — «проволока» и «to wire» — «телеграфировать»; «love» — «любовь» и «to love» — «любить».
(2) Adjectives become verbs: «master» — «искусный, квалифицированный, профессиональный» и «to master» — «овладеть в совершенстве».
(3) Adverbs become verbs: «down» — «вниз» и «to down» — «спустить».
(4) Interjections become verbs: «shush!» — «шшш!»(призыв к тишине) и «toshush» — глагол во фразе «Simon shushed him quickly as though he had spoken too loudly in church», «шикнуть».
(5) Verbs become nouns: «torun» — «бежать» и «the run» — «пробежка», «забег»; «tosmell» — «обонять», «пахнуть» и «the smell» — «запах».
(6) Nouns become adjectives: «winter» — «зима» и «winter month» — «зимний месяц».
(7) Adverbs become adjectives: «above» — «над» и «the above remark» — «вышеуказанное замечание».
3) Punctuation: It is the simplest. There are some differences in punctuation between English English and AmericanEnglish. For example, there isn’t a dot if you write a letter in Great Britain after Mr, Mrs или Dr, but in America they’ll write Mr.Jackson instead of Mr Jackson [10].
4) Spelling: Spelling is the most difficult thing to study among Indo-European languages. There are a lot of letters that are not pronounced in words and vice versa many pronounced vowels don’t have graphical equivalents. While reading, you should keep in mind various exceptions. Students study the written and pronounced form of the words; dictionaries give transcription of words [11].
5) Tenses: Absolutely unique thing represent the times. As you know, the times are the Present, Past, Future, Future in the Past. In turn, according to [12], shapes are divided into the following components:
(1) Continuous — the action takes place at the moment;
(2) Indefinite (Simple) — repeated actions;
(3) Perfect — the action finished up to this point, that is, the result, completeness of the action;
(4) Perfect Continuous — an action which started in the past and continues up to the present.
6) The main dialects: British English and American English. These two dialects are only variants of the same language. There are more similarities rather than differences. It is especially noticeable among educated people, or it is the language of Science. Differences concern the peculiarities of historical and cultural development of two countries, variety of local and regional idioms and expressions, and the influence of Media and Advertisements [13].
Both Americans and Englishmen dislike the languages of each other. According to Englishmen, American English is rude; English English is considered to be the language of politeness. Americans find English English rather hypocritical, they think American English is polite and friendly.
Conclusion
Results: Research work is over. We tried to find out the role (function) of the English language and present its features.
Conclusions: Sure, the study of the language is very difficult; it takes a long time and energy. English language is a part of life of business people. It should inspire us.
Close: Purpose reached. In our opinion, suppose proved too. In our time need to learn English language, because it can be called an international.
Our research proves the great role of English in modern world. Students and school students after studying the results of our research will choose English among all other foreign languages.
References:
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