Your Mother Tongue Vs the English language 26/10/2017

Your Mother Tongue  Vs the English language  26/10/2017

        Foochow, my mother tongue, is a dialect.  It is a sound-meaning version of under-developed language.  In other words, the dialect is based on sounds that associate with meanings.  Compared with the English language, it is like ABC letters to the whole version of spoken and written English.  I guess that all the dialects in this world are like Foochow.  It is your mother tongue that you stay connected round-clock to it even in your sleep if you still use it.  It has limited range of vocabulary and patterns.  You do not even know the forms nor sounds and symbols if you are illiterate to learn it.  You learn it through a lot of repetition and rehearsal of it. 

        It is idiotic to think that you do not need to learn the grammar of the English language if you learn it as a second language and you have to use the language in writing especially.  The written form of English means that you have to show it in black and white.  Grammatical errors will mar your writing even though you have many and really brilliant ideas to share. 

        Grammar is the framework of language.  A full grasp of the grammar does not guarantee you to be able to speak and write at will if you have no idea or not well-informed of the subject matter.  For example, a native English who has no idea about the story of “Magic Monkey”, can he or she speak or write about it? Does it have anything to do with his/er English proficiency?

       Similarly, not being able to speak the English language after years of learning the grammar of English in the classroom has nothing to do with the knowledge of grammar.  It is concerned with the knowledge of the specific information.  For example, I was quite at a loss about what to ask when I wanted to know how to apply for a credit card at a bank when I saw the advertisement encouraging the customers.  It was my first time asking for this specific information. 

Yes, I had the grammar framework but I did not know the right word to use though I had the word at my disposal.  Hence, I asked one of the officer there, “What are the qualifications to apply for a credit card?”  She corrected me saying, “Oh, you mean what the criteria are to apply for a credit card.”  See, I learnt the word ‘criterion / criteria’ years ago but I had never applied in a real-life situation.  I forgot about the words.  Hence, it was not impressive enough for me to retrieve it in time of need.  I was familiar with the words ‘quality, qualify, qualified and qualification’.  In the case like this, the best choice of word, of course, is ‘criteria’ not ‘qualifications’in this context.

        The right choice of words really has nothing to do with Grammar which is about the general rules of forms and functions.  The right choice of words only has something to do with language experiences knowing the right word and its meaning for any specific situation. 

        So, can I say that you are not wasting your time to learn all those grammatical rules to be reinforced with a lot of texts reading?  If learners are not familiar with the forms and functions, I really find it necessary to drill them item by item in isolation and in context.  And  is it advisable for language teachers to create such awareness of how language works in texts?  I really find it necessary to pinpoint out the Subject Verb agreement, tenses used and other word classes in phrases or clauses in a sentence for learners.  These analyses will no doubt help them understand the passage better in one way or another. 

        You may say that reading passages are meant for the understanding of the content or the subject matter.  Yes, first time reading for main ideas, second time reading for specific information and the third time is to connect main points and the details to the title.  You may perhaps analyse the sentences in the third time reading.  If you can understand the meaning and structures of the passage, what more can’t you do? 

        If you have a full grasp of English grammar, a rich stock of vocabulary and you have the ideas or well-informed of the subject matter, are you still tongue-tied or hand-tied to express yourself in English?