Language issues for study in the United States

1
Language issuesfor study in the United States

• Things about English which you may not have
  learned in English classes

2
Four different language skills

• Passive
• Reading
• Understanding
• Active
• Writing
• Speaking

3
Common problems for international students in the
US

• Reading
• too slow
• you know technical vocabulary only in Chinese
• Understanding
• listening for a long time is tiring
• less formal levels of language
• limited vocabulary (both technical and daily
  life)
• regional accents

4
Common problems for international students in the
US 2

• Writing
• lack of practice
• using grammar (not just recognizing it)
• you know technical vocabulary only in Chinese
• you recognize words but cannot produce them
• Speaking
• same issues as writing
• lack of experience with English presentations
• different levels of language

5
Types of English vary by

• Formality
• Subject
• Spoken vs written
• Regional accent

6
Formality

• vocabulary
• grammar
• writing
• speech

7
Vocabulary - formal language has

• larger vocabulary
• more words from Latin and Greek
• some obsolete words
• Uses fewer vulgar (Germanic) words
• English is a mixed language (grammar is Germanic
  vocabulary both German and French)
• Often there are Germanic, French and Latin words
  in English for the same concept
• The French and Latin words are more formal

8
Grammar - formal language has

• more verb tenses
• more verb modes
• passive very common
• subjunctive still used
• no contractions
• preserves older pronoun and adverb variations
• e.g. who vs whom
• e.g. whence

9
Writing vs speechwritten English is usually

• more concise
• more complex sentences
• does not use contractions (e.g. can not instead
  of can't)
• More formal

10
Levels of language

• Very informal spoken
• Informal spoken
• On-line written
• Formal spoken
• Informal written
• Formal written
• Formal written from 17th century

11
Very informal spoken

• Among family and close friends
• Much slang
• Many contractions
• Often run-together
• Often references sports and TV
• Varies by age, social class and ethnic background
• At intimate or lower social levels often uses 4
  letter words

12
Informal spoken

• Conversations in class and work
• Limited slang
• Standard contractions (won't, can't, ...)
• Simple sentence structure
• Limited verb tenses
• perfective (have) forms less used
• substitutes progressive (going to) for future
  (will)

13
On-line written

• Used for instant messaging and personal email
• similar to informal spoken except
• more contractions
• abbreviations

14
Formal spoken

• Used for lectures and presentations
• Larger vocabulary
• More complex sentence structure
• More formal grammar
• Similar to informal written, but uses standard
  contractions
• Taught in most foreign English classes

15
Informal written

• Informal letters, professional email
• Compared to formal spoken
• more concise
• does not use many contractions

16
Formal written

• Used for books, articles, professional
  correspondence,
• full range of verb tenses
• passive very common
• subjunctive still used
• no contractions
• preserves older pronoun and adverb variations
• e.g. who vs whom
• e.g. whence

17
Formal written from 17th - 18th century

• Used for ceremonial, religious and some legal
  purposes
• Uses older words and grammar forms
• e.g. Marriage ceremony
• With this ring, I thee wed
• in modern English With this ring, I marry you

18
Subject

• Technical terms for specific subjects
• Learning this vocabulary is a large part of
  higher education
• Problem for students who study in other countries
• previous coursework in Chinese will not have
  taught you the English vocabulary

19
Regional accents

• Similar to situation in China
• Basic distinctions
• United States vs. Great Britain vs. Australia
• Within the United States
• Northern mid-West (standard)
• New England and Canada
• New York
• Southeast
• Texas
• Immigrant accents
• Most of West coast is mixed due to immigration

20
Northern mid-West (standard)
21
New England and Canada
22
New York
23
Southeast
24
Texas
25
Immigrant accents

• Chinese
• Spanish
• Indian
• Eastern European
• Middle-Eastern

26
Issues for foreign students

• You may need to retake some courses in order to
  learn the technical vocabulary in English
• Some courses are writing intensive or oral
  intensive. These require much more time for
  non-native speakers
• Some professors require perfect English for
  writing avoid taking classes from them
• They do this because many American students write
  very badly
• foreign students find it almost impossible to get
  good grades in such classes

27
Preparation for foreign students

• Your greatest problems will probably be
• Reading speed
• Writing grammar, active vocabulary
• Listening speed and vocabulary
• Speaking unprepared in-class presentations
• Practice reading interesting (non-class) material
  in English
• Practice listening to podcasts and internet radio
• join English internet chat groups