LST415-SURVEY OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS

ASSIGNMENT-PERFORMANCE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
Language basically is a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written
symbols which are used by the people of a particular region.
Language can also be defined as a system of conventional spoken, manual(sign), or written symbols
by means of which human beings as members of a social group and participants in it's culture express
themselves.
1
Some Scholarly definitions of language:
Henry Sweet, a phonetician and language scholar defined language as the expression of ideas by means of
speech sounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering that
of ideas into thoughts.
Another definition by American linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager states that language is a
system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which social group cooperates.

WHAT IS LANGUAGE LEARNING?

Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, and values.
The ability to learn is possessed by humans, some learning is immediate, induced by a single event but
much skill and knowledge accumulate from repeated experiences.The changes induced by learning often
last a lifetime, for example learning a language. The knowledge gained from learning a language lasts a
life time even when the individual rarely communicates with that language.
In today's globalized world, communication often requires knowing more than one language.
Language learning is broadly defined as developing the ability to communicate in a second/foreign
language. It could also be defined as a conscious process, it is the product of either formal learning
situation or a self study programme. Hence, language learning is an integral part of the unity of all
languages.
Language learning is thus an increasingly important focus in education, learning a second/foreign
language can help prepare students for future opportunities.

PERFORMANCE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

Performance describes the observable use of language, it emphasizes on progress of learners.
Performance requires extra linguistic knowledge such as an awareness of the speaker, audience and the
context, which crucially determine how speech is constructed and analyzed. It is also governed by
principles of cognitive structures not considered as aspects of language such as memory, distraction,
attention and speech errors.
Performance of language learning can basically be defined as the ability of the learner of a language
to apply the newly acquired knowledge or skill in communication. In essence, it does not solely involve
the basic knowledge and skills learned, but the capability to apply them. In other words performance of
language learning is the ability to produce and comprehend sentences in the acquired second/foreign
language.

1
 WAYS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

1 WATCH MOVIES IN THE LANGUAGE YOU'RE LEARNING: Watching series on movie

platforms like Netflix may not entirely improve your debating skills or formal register, but it helps you
understand the language better, get used to colloquial conversational forms of the language. Also, you
could try to pick out words that sound highly informal and look for the scholarly/formal counterparts.
2 DEVELOP INTEREST IN NEWS WRITTEN IN THE LANGUAGE YOU'RE LEARNING: Try
to sample a broad range of newspapers, magazines and tabloids in that language, as this would not only
keep you abreast with current affairs but help build and expand your vocabulary in the language.
3 START A VOCABULARIES BOOK OF USEFUL WORDS: Either in a notebook, mobile phone or
computer, start making a list of words and phrases. Everytime you hear or see a word you're not familiar
with in the language you're learning, note it down. Also search for synonyms, sentences and context in
which such word(s) can be used.
4 HAVE CONVERSATIONS IN THE LANGUAGE: Make friends with native speakers of the
language you're learning or with people learning the same language as you and have conversations, this
can help with your speaking skills and sentence construction in the language.