MILITARY SCIENCE ACADEMY Contrastive Linguistics

POST GRADUATE DEPARTMENT Winter 2022

END-OF-TERM EXAMINATION PAPER

Programme: MA – English Studies

Course: Contrastive Linguistics
Examiner:
Term: Winter 2022
Semester: 2nd semester
Date/%/Points: January 2023
Remarks: - This is an open book examination
- Students should submit their paper on the deadline.
- Plagiarism is not allowed

Student SURNAME, First Name: VŨ THẾ DƯƠNG

______________________________
Student ID-Number

Evaluation:
Achieved Points / %: ………………………………………………………………………

Remarks:

Signature Examiner: ______________________________

Contrastive Linguistics 1
MILITARY SCIENCE ACADEMY Contrastive Linguistics
POST GRADUATE DEPARTMENT Winter 2022

1. Describe the concept of contrastive linguistics. Explain how the understanding

of this concept benefits your teaching process (max. 200 words) – 30 points
Contrastive linguistics is an approach to linguistics that aims to
find the similarities and differences among two or more languages on a
variety of levels (phonology, grammar, semantics, …). However,
contrastive linguistics does not stop at listing dissimilarities, the
approach further seeks to apply those findings for the improvement of
other fields, such as translation or language pedagogy. As a teacher,
understanding this concept allows me to realize the existence of a
language gap, the lack of equivalents among two or more languages.
While there exists quite a large gap between English and Vietnamese,
which raises the difficulty for a Vietnamese learner to acquire English as
L2, this knowledge also helps me envision and better prepare for the
challenges my students may come across during the lessons. In short,
contrastive linguistics highlights the gaps between languages, which can
cause problems for learners, so that teachers can plan ahead for effective
teaching methods.
2. Explain the concept of interlanguage. How can we utilize this concept in the
classroom practice (max. 200 words) – 30 points
Interlanguage can be explained as the remnants or fossils from L1,
which surfaces upon the use of L2. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that a
person’s mother tongue, his/her main language, will affect the process of
acquiring a new language. Though learners will quite certainly make this
kind of mistakes, it falls on the teachers to actively remind them until it is
no longer a habit. Personally, I notice my students tend to forget about
verb formation, because there is no such thing as verb formation in
Vietnamese. I also believe this concept proves that there should be a
balance in promoting fluency over other aspects of a language. For
example, some private schools focus too much on improving a kid’s
fluency in English, forgoing grammar or pronunciation, which causes a
fossilization of L1, or interlanguage, to remain in the use of L2. When
these mistakes have become a habit, it can be quite challenging to fix. So
as a teacher, I will try to pay attention to repetition of mistakes caused by
my students, and to correct them in time before they become fossilized.
3. Which part in the course do you find most useful and how can you make use of
this part in your classroom (max. 300 words) – 40 points

Contrastive Linguistics 2
MILITARY SCIENCE ACADEMY Contrastive Linguistics
POST GRADUATE DEPARTMENT Winter 2022

While all the knowledge I gain throughout the course has proved
to be very fruitful for my teaching career, I am deeply impressed by two
main points. First, it was about how the lessons were delivered. During
the set of the course, there were quite a few online lessons, and these
online lessons have provided me with many methods to hold an online
classroom. It can be said the COVID pandemic has forever changed how
we approach teaching. The traditional classroom is no longer the norm, it
is the rise of online classes, and I was quite confused on how to conduct
an online lesson. However, the course has been truly eye-opening,
especially with the way the lecturer holds the class through Zoom.
Second, this concerns the concept of contrastive linguistics. While this
subject was a part of our curricula during the bachelor course, not until
now did I understand its application. As mentioned in the previous task,
this knowledge will certainly aid me in preparing a plan for future
lessons. To conclude, my harvest after the course has been bountiful, and
I have come out of it a better teacher.

Contrastive Linguistics 3