Classical Approaches to Teaching English as a Second Language Essay

During the last hundred years, English has become the most important language in the world. In the contemporary age, learning any foreign tongue has become both fashionable and necessary. But is there a perfect method which can be applied to achieve the appropriate level of English? I have been learning English for more than 10 years, but have never realized that there are so many different techniques and approaches to teach English as a second language. While studying, I have noticed that I had experienced some of them at the primary and secondary school. In this essay I would like to present my personal opinions and reflections about the approaches I encountered, the ways they were presented and exploited by my English teachers. First, I want to concentrate on the Grammar-Translation Method. Personally I think that many teachers use this technique while teaching a foreign language, but they do not even realize it. We may contend that it is the most common method, due to the fact that it is considered to be quite easy. I contend there is nothing more complicated than to give students a passage to translate from one language to another. Is it interesting or challenging for the students? I do not think so. I remember I did a lot of translation at school and that was not my favorite activity. Besides, it was hard for us to find any purpose in them. Apart from that, most of my classmates were simply bored. Sometimes it was too difficult and we had to spend many hours to find the meaning of a particular word in a dictionary. Without a doubt, that was not the way I wanted to learn English. Furthermore, translating a literary text was something entirely useless for me. And although we were rarely exposed to such a t ranslation... ... teacher and gave the commands to the class. Our favorite game was â€Å"Simon says†. It was considered to be quite easy because students did not have to repeat the commands but respond physically. Even when somebody made a mistake and showed something in a wrong way, he or she was not discouraged, because for us it was like playing not learning. In the final analysis, I must admit that I did not come across the perfect method to teach English. Every technique has its advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on the teacher; how and what he/she is going to adopt from a particular approach to his/her lesson. One thing I know for sure: we should not force students to learn a language in a way that is the best for us. To sum up I would like to quote a sentence which I found very interesting: â€Å"If the students don’t learn the way you teach, teach them the way they learn†.

Auden an the Greeks Essay

We would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become, for better or worse, fully human. † this quote is for W. H. Auden, who was a prolific writer and plat write. In this paper I will endeavor to give insight about the author of this quote, the origins of this piece, and what the author meant in writhing it. As well as examples of proof that Auden’s theory was true or not. And finally I will give my opinion whether I feel that Auden quote is correct. To start with a short back ground on the author Wystan Hugh Auden he was born in York, England, in 1907. He moved to Birmingham during childhood and was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. As a young man he was influenced by the poetry of Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, William Blake, Emily Dickinson, as well as old English verse,(http://www. poets. org ). Auden seem to have always had a fascination with the ancient Greeks having been educated at a young age on the teaching of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle . Auden’s love of the ancient Greeks would in later life place him in the category as a Grecophile: ( a lover of all things Greek). This love of Ancient Greek; teachings, and traditions I’m sure this led to Auden’s viewpoint of how the Greeks contributed to modern civilization. In researching Auden’s line about the Ancient Greek’s and their contributions to are modern day society I found that the line is taken from a larger writing entitled: ‘The Greeks and Us’ in Forewords and Afterwords, (W.H. Auden, New York, 1973, p. 32). The Quote is: â€Å"I can think of no better way of indicating what we owe to Greece than drawing distinctions, for of all intellectual acts, that is perhaps the most characteristically Greek. It is they who have taught us, not to think–that all human beings have always done–but to think about our thinking, to ask such questions as â€Å"What do I think? †, â€Å"What do this and that other person or people think? †, â€Å"On what do we agree and disagree? Why? And not only did they learn to ask questions about thinking, but they also discovered how, instead of giving immediate answers to suppose something to be the case and then see what would follow if it were. To be able to perform either of these mental operations, a human being must first be capable of a tremendous feat of moral courage and discipline, for he must have learned how to resist the immediate demands of feeling and bodily needs, and to disregard his natural anxiety about his future so that he can look at his self and his world as if they were not his but a stranger’s. If some of the Greek questions turned out to have been incorrectly put, if some of their answers have proved wrong, that is a trivial matter. Had Greek civilization never existed, we might fear God and deal justly with our neighbors, we might practice arts and even have learned how to devise fairly simple machines, but we would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become , for better or worse, fully human. †(W. H. Auden, New York, 1973, p. 32). In reading this text I begin to understand where Auden’s viewpoint is coming from. The main part of the text and purpose of this paper is still widely regarded as true by many citizens in our country today. That the ancient Greek society of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, still offers much to the modern world. And with out this it would be hard to imagine what our world would be like without their contributions. Auden is agreeing with this philosophy. Auden is basically saying that the ancient Greeks have contributed how we should be looking at things that affect are daily lives, however so many of us do not. This is saying that we should be looking at a subject from not only are own viewpoint, or are initial first thought on the subject, but to be introspective and take the time to contemplate how the world around us may, or may not, see the same set of circumstance. And then taking all opinions into consideration for the final outcome regardless ff that outcome is good or bad. This takes a lot of mentally thought and discipline since in modern society we tend to be less philosophical, most of us say and do what first comes to our minds regardless of what others around us feel or think of the matter, or the eventual outcome of the situation. In my opinion Auden was saying that we can and should apply this to every aspect of are lives whether it is a personal matter, a judgment call, or really anything. The Greeks felt, in my opinion, that you must always think of your fellow man first and place oneself in his shoes, how another would feel and react to a situation taking that in to consideration and basing ones thoughts and actions on that. This sets peoples apart from a reactionary society to a thinking one, and had Greek civilization not existed we may have made our way, however we would certainly not had compassion for our fellow man and their viewpoints, in other words we would have not become fully human. This school of thought can be shown in example by the relationship of the three great ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, theirs was a relationship of a teacher educating his pupils. Socrates schooled his followers, Plato, Aristotle with his vast knowledge and wisdom, the method became known as Socratic. According to Socrates an inquisitive nature was critical in understanding and solving questions. And by posing this to every one from the man on the street to authority figures and taking their opinions into consideration would compel you to the most reasonable and logical answer benefiting all involved in the situation. However not even Socrates pupils always agreed with his teachings. Both Plato and Aristotle disagreed with some of Socrates views and disagreed with one another. One thing that both did agree on was that an open forum of opinions would help you to acquire the best solution to a problem. Whether they agreed with it or not you must listen and always continue to discover from as many sources to come to the correct conclusion. In conclusion my viewpoint on W. H. Auden’s comment: â€Å"Had Greek civilization never existed†¦ we would never have become fully conscious, which is to say that we would never have become, for better or worse, fully human. That yes indeed, after researching what he was referring to and the trying to look at it from the perspective of the ancient Greeks that using critical thinking, and excepting all shades of opinion whether you agree with them or not and allowing them into your decision making process this is the most effectual way of deducing a question. In this I agree, however I find the modern world we are living in that few of my fellow humans take little or any of this into consideration. Today in my opinion we speak more often before we think of what we are saying and how it effects other and these peoples viewpoints. To me this is sad, if we thought more about the views and feelings of one another and less about making sure our own voice is heard what a different society we would live in. I would have to say I agree with W. H. Auden that if not for ancient Greece we would not have developed fully in to humans. However I feel that our modern society is growing rapidly away from theses ancient principals.

Medieval Period of Literature Where Did It All Begin

The term medieval (originally spelled mediaeval) comes from Latin, meaning middle age. It was first introduced into English in the 19th century, a time when there was heightened interest in the art, history, and thought of Middle Age Europe. When Were the Middle Ages? Most scholars associate the beginning of the medieval period with the collapse of the Roman empire, which occurred in 476. Scholars disagree about when the period ends, however. Some place it at the start of the 15th century (with the rise of the Renaissance Period), in 1453 (when Turkish forces captured Constantinople), or in 1492 (Christopher Columbus first voyage to the Americas). Books in the Medieval Period The majority of books from the middle ages were written  in what is known as Middle English, though French and Latin were also used for law and the church, respectively.  Spelling and grammar were inconsistent in these early writings, which can make them hard to read; it wasnt until the invention of the printing press in 1410 that spelling began to be standardized. The literate people of the time were likely in either government or the church. Books (and the parchment itself) were often made by monks, and it was a time- and labor-intensive process. Everything was done by hand, making books very expensive to produce. So, even if a medieval London merchant could read, a personal library of handmade books would have been out of his price range. However, as the middle class grew and literacy expanded in the later middle ages, people might have owned a book of hours (prayer book) produced by professional artisans and copiers. Literature in the Medieval Period Much of the early literature of this period consists of sermons, prayers, lives of saints, and homilies. In secular medieval literature, the figure of King Arthur, an ancient British hero, attracted the attention and imagination of these early writers. Arthur first appeared in literature in the Latin History of the British Kings around 1147. Included in this period is the epic Beowulf, which dates back to approximately the eighth century. We also see works like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (c.1350–1400) and The Pearl (c.1370), both written by anonymous authors. Geoffrey Chaucers work falls into this period as well: The Book of the Duchess (1369), The Parliament of Fowls (1377–1382), The House of Fame (1379–1384), Troilus and Criseyde (1382–1385), the very famous Canterbury Tales (1387–1400), The Legend of Good Women (1384–1386), and The Complaint of Chaucer to His Empty Purse (1399). Another common theme in medieval literature is courtly love. The term courtly love was popularized by writer Gaston Paris to describe the Medieval love stories commonly told to help the noble class  pass time. It is generally believed that Eleanore of Aquitaine introduced these types of tales to the British nobility after hearing them in France. Eleanore used the stories, which were popularized by troubadours, to impart lessons of chivalry to her court. At the time, marriages were seen only as business arrangements, so courtly love allowed people a way to express the romantic love they were often denied in marriage. Troubadours in the Middle Ages Troubadours were traveling  composers and performers. They mostly sang songs and recited poems of courtly love and chivalry. In a time when few could read and books were hard to come by, troubadours played an important role in the spread of literature throughout Europe. Though few of their songs were ever recorded, troubadours helped shape the literary culture of the middle ages.   Other Books Other books produced during this time were law books, calligraphy model books, and scientific texts.