Language as Communication: Oral and Written Language, Elements and Factors

Lumen Oposiciones Docentes

TEMARIO o LUMEN oposiciones docentes LUMEN oposiciones docentes By Jesús Fernández Temario. Oposiciones Cuerpo de Maestros y Maestras. (Inglés). Andalucía.

Topic 1: Language as Communication

Oral and Written Language. Elements/Factors in a Communicative Situation. Sender, Receiver, Functionality, and Context

INDEX/OUTLINE/TABLE OF CONTENTS I'll show the index below before moving on to the topic.

Introduction and Justification

1. Language as Communication: Oral and Written Language

1.1. Linguistic as a Kind of Semiotics 1.2. Relation Between Oral and Written Language 1.3. Oral Language 1.3.1. Characteristics Related to Production and Reception 1.3.2. Characteristics Linked to the Communicative Situation 1.3.3. Coexistence of Two Systems 1.3.4. The Constraints of Oral Interaction 1.4. Written Language

1. Elements/Factors in a Communicative Situation. Functionality
2. Didactic Implication

Conclusion and Summary Bibliography Lumen Oposiciones Docentes (by Jesús Fernández)Temario. (Tema 1) Oposiciones Cuerpo de Maestros y Maestras. (Inglés). Andalucía.

Introduction and Justification

'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart' by Nelson Mandela. Language forms the first step for good communication, but in a pluricultural society, English as a lingua franca is a must. A good grasp of the English language can be one of the primary concerns when developing our basic written and oral skills. It is not just basic verbal communication that one uses; also used are poetry, prose, and drama. Non-verbal language, on the other hand, includes gestures or visual arts. Language can be used to transmit information, establish relations among people, express or clarify thoughts, play, for creative mental activity, and to gain understanding (Chomsky, 1957). So, we will see the study of language as communication within Linguistics as a branch of Semiotics, focusing on the relation between oral and written language. Then, consider the elements of a communicative situation and its functionality. To explain it clearly, we can use the book 'Telephone' by Mac Barnett, an inspired take on the game Chinese Whispers, where a simple sentence like 'It's time for dinner' is twisted and confused as it passes from person to person, or from bird to bird. We must use the 6 specific skills at school, where pupils' communicative competence (CC) will be boosted with the final tasks of the learning situations to know how playing with words, sentences, and text will do. We cannot forget our laws. LOMLOE 3/2020 modifies LOE 2/2006, art. 17, and the RD. 157/2022 art. 7 and D 101/23 art. 5, and then, the can-do descriptors through the 3 blocks of essential knowledge will be taught with other areas and the CIMA programme, with inclusion, creativity, imagination, and love. Lumen Oposiciones Docentes (by Jesús Fernández) 2Temario. (Tema 1) Oposiciones Cuerpo de Maestros y Maestras. (Inglés). Andalucía.

Language as Communication: Oral and Written Language

Language is a means of communication and conforms to any kind of transmission of information (Jakobson, 1960). For this reason, the processes of learning and acquiring a second language (L2) are associated with interactive practical exercises which promote social communication. This communicative approach is based on the observation of the natural phenomenon of language acquisition. Following Breen and Candlin (1980), Communication: is a form of social interaction; that involves unpredictability and creativity; takes place in discourse and sociocultural contexts; and has a purpose. Then, Language is understood as a system of symbols designed to communicate; moreover, it contributes to the affective and personal balance which enhances the social and cultural integration of people (RD 157/2022).

Linguistics as a Kind of Semiotics

Saussure (1916) called 'Semiology' or 'Semiotics' to the general study of signs. The signs form the codes that permit communication. Then Linguistics is just one branch of Semiology or Semiotics. These signs can be, according to Peirce (1060s) be: 'icons' (relationship of similarity between 'signifier' and 'signified'), 'indices' (relationships of cause and effect), and 'symbols' (conventional representation, word). Language is human beings' capacity to communicate by way of linguistic signs, structured or organised in sentences, phrases, morphemes and phonemes. The interpretation of signs by their users can be seen from a semiotic perspective as having three levels: Syntactic (recognition of the sign); Semantic (comprehension of the intended meaning of the sign); Pragmatic (interpretation of the sign in terms of relevance, agreement) because as Halliday (1970) said, we live in a literate society. Lumen Oposiciones Docentes (by Jesús Fernández) 3Temario. (Tema 1) Oposiciones Cuerpo de Maestros y Maestras. (Inglés). Andalucía.

Relation Between Oral and Written Language

Among all the communication codes, written and oral language is the most efficient for the transmission and reception of information, thoughts, feelings and opinions. But written and oral language are different processes: whereas we learn to write through formal instruction, speaking and listening come naturally along different stages of the child's evolution. The main distinction between discourse and writing is speech uses the form of the movements of precision produced by the vocal organs while writing uses graphic symbols that are marks on the surface, normally done by hand using an instrument. However, in Primary Education we have to understand the relationship between speech and writing in seven main points of contrast, according to Crystal (1987):

1. Discourse is dynamic and limited in time. The writing skill is static and permanent and needs space. The writer is apart from the reader.
2. Spontaneity and speed in most of the discourses enhance the building of fragile structures, with a lot of repetitions and simple sentences. On the other hand, the writing enhances careful organisation and complex structures.
3. The presence of extra-linguistic resources such as facial expressions and gestures helps the understanding of oral language. In writing, lack of visual contact means that participants cannot rely on context to make their meaning.
4. The unique characteristic of speech includes the major part of prosody. The intonations, the sound, the tempo, and the rhythm, provide highly efficient suggestions. The writing unique characteristics include pages, lines, capital letters, space organisation and various aspects of punctuation. Those characteristics make written language more difficult to learn than oral one.
5. Many words and constructions are characteristic of speech in its informal way (nonsense vocabulary, slang and contracted forms). In writing, there is subordination, and specific vocabulary, Lumen Oposiciones Docentes (by Jesús Fernández) 4Temario. (Tema 1) Oposiciones Cuerpo de Maestros y Maestras. (Inglés). Andalucía. never used in speech.
6. Speech is suited to social or 'phatic' functions, where casual and unplanned discourse is used by the prosody and accompanying non-verbal features. Writing is suited to the recording of facts and communication of ideas, using memory.
7. About error production, in discourse exists the opportunity to re-think the sentence while it is in progress. However, written mistakes cannot be erased.

Traditionally, writing had a principal place. Nowadays, speaking functions and writing are interrelated. However according to Harmer (2003): 'Oral language always precedes written form' (historical supremacy: Speech goes back to human beginnings whereas writing is relatively recent. It was first invented by the Sumerians, in Mesopotamia, around 3200 B.C.). Throughout history, there have been several views to explain language acquisition such as Skinner's Behaviourist (stimuli-response-reinforcement), Chomsky's Mentalist (L.A.D.), Vygotsky's Interactionist (input & innate mechanisms), and Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition (1985) with the hypothesis of 'Low Affective Filter' and 'Comprehensible Input', with oral and receptive before written and productive language According to structural aspects, written language tries to imitate oral one. If we consider our Genetics, we are ready for oral language from birth. Therefore, oral language is more functional in our daily lives. Another difference is Universality. Humans everywhere can speak. But before the Sumerian invention, people were non-literate, and many languages lacked a written form. Regarding acquisition, children automatically learn to speak but have to be taught how to read. The spoken language is Ephemeral, Dynamic, Auditory, and structured in time. The written one, on the other hand, is Permanent, Static, Visual, and structured in space. The permanence of writing allows repeated reading and close analysis. Lumen Oposiciones Docentes (by Jesús Fernández) 5Temario. (Tema 1) Oposiciones Cuerpo de Maestros y Maestras. (Inglés). Andalucía.

Oral Language

Linguists such as Chomsky (1957), Halliday (1970) and Hymes (1972) have highlighted the importance of the development of communicative knowledge better than the own structures of language. They have emphasised the importance of another dimension of language: the functional and communicative dimension. The actual methodology of teaching Foreign Languages is mainly based on the principles of the Communicative Approach because the most important objective is to get to use the Foreign Language to communicate in real-life situations. Montijano Cabrera (2000) suggests a basic pattern to put into practice the teaching of oral communication and expression:

• Presentation -> Reproduction -> Semi-guided Tasks -> Free interaction

Presentation: is the stage of assimilation in which pupils have to learn by listening to observing through videos and songs. To speed up the process of speaking, teachers can provide useful or prefabricated phrases. They can learn these as blocks of sounds as they did in their first language, like jolly phonics group 1 with letters s-a-t-p-i-n. Reproduction (Controlled Practice): it is followed by mechanical manipulation and the constant use of some structures. So, pupils acquire basic rules and sentence patterns as new linguistic habits. SPEAKING FOLDERS Tasks (Guided or Semi-Guided): it is paramount the create a relevant and meaningful situation. We must select situations adapted to the level of linguistic knowledge of our pupils (comprehensible input+1), their experiences, and diversity. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR TEA? Lumen Oposiciones Docentes (by Jesús Fernández) 6