7 The Second Language Learners

Dr Harleen Kaur

Content

Introduction
Origin of Communication
General and Technical Communication for Second Language Learner
Barriers to Communication for Second Language Learner
Effective ways of Communication for Second Language Learner

Learning Outcomes

Features of Communicative writing
Communication Cycle
Tips to improve Communication skills for Second Language Learner

Introduction

The second language learners do not speak fluently because of the lack of confidence, lack of proper English speaking atmosphere at home, basic Education in Non English Medium School etc. Improper command over Vocabulary & ideas of learners make them think that there is no need of learning English. But a second language learner should learn Language like a new born baby and start by listening, speaking, reading then writing and one should always speak without fear and learner should think that nobody is PERFECT so making mistakes is a normal way of learning. One should try to follow the given below formula to learn second language:

Before knowing more about the second language we should know about communication and language. The famous British linguist MAK Halliday explained that the use of language, which is the most powerful means of communication, varies according to the region and subject matter of the speaker or writer. Dialect means the language of a region and register refers to the subject matter. It is followed by the language of science and technology, trade and commerce, these three are different registers. It is the need of this professional world where technocrats are required to express themselves in an astute manner to grab the opportunities. This paper unravels the difference between the general and technical communication. People talk, converse, write

letters describing events and express their emotions and feelings. There is no hard and fast rule about communicating the ideas and feelings.

When language is the tool of communication then what’s the need of communicative English. These questions can be very well answered by examining the meanings of the words communication, professional and technical. According to The Concise Oxford English Dictionary there are four meanings of the word communicate:

a) share or exchange information or ideas

b) Convey (an emotion or feeling) in a non verbal way

c) Pass on (an infectious disease)

d) Transmit heat or emotion

Second Language Learner should know the characteristics of language because language can be:

Abstract: As one word depicts many meanings until written with proper context, so it becomes difficult for the second language learner to derive the exact meaning. The second language learner should co relate the word with its exact meaning before interpreting.
Arbitrary: There is no logical relationship between a word and its meaning. It is very difficult to find why any rule is applicable and why any word is called so. The second language learner should be acquainted with the vocabulary and its usage and the Syntax.
Creative: Everyday many new words are added in the Dictionary and many new words are created by adding prefix or suffix. For e.g. Smoke + Fog=Smog, Break + Fast=Breakfast. So, the second language learner should always keep himself updated for comprehending the meaning accurately.
Redundancy: A word is interpreted by different individuals in different senses. For e.g. if one says school, everyone thinks of his or her own school. It could be a multistory building or a single storey building. So, the second language learner should not reach any particular conclusion without getting the exact analysis.
Restricted: Many a times we are not able to encode our thoughts into words. Whenever we are full of emotions, maybe positive or negative, we run short of vocabulary or words. At times words are not enough to express our feelings. So, the second language learner should know how to overcome the restriction of language.

I.A. Richards, a great critic and teacher of language, propounded the idea that science makes statements and poetry pseudo-statements. When a scientist says that he observed ten thousand of stars, he makes a statement, but when a poet writes that he saw ten thousand stars at a glance he makes a pseudo-statement. In fact, he means to say that he saw a large number of stars whereas the scientist observed exactly ten thousand stars. The language of literature is marked by figures of speech and ambiguity, but the language of science is plain, unambiguous, clear and exact. Language is the most important tool invented by human being. It enables them to express their ideas and emotions emphatically. Man can communicate even without using a language. A little baby cries when he is hungry, here communication is taking place without language. Nevertheless, man needs language to express his views because he has a vast number of finer ideas to express than any other living being. Any person can express many ideas at a time with the help of language. It is an important aid for socialization for it spreads unity round the globe.

People of different castes and creed, who are basically Second language learners, can share their views with one another by the means of using a common language.

Origin of Communication

The seeds of technical communication are endorsed to Ancient Greece, the Renaissance and the mid 20th Century. However, we can see a clear trend towards the professional field from the First World War in which the need of technology-based documentation, manufacturing, electronic and aerospace industries strengthen the budding of Technical communication. In 1953, two organizations concerned with improving the implementation of technical communication were founded on the East Coast of the United States: the Society of Technical Writers and the Association of Technical Writers and Editors. Afterwards they merged in 1957 to form the Society of Technical Writers and Editors.

On the basis of the above observation, we can say that Technical Communication started with the development of trade and technology and it became a worldwide accepted fact that all the technocrats/managers need to communicate in plain English in a clear and lucid style. Technical Communication is related to trade and commerce. It includes all the official documents. It is a medium which is used to inform, instruct or persuade.

The word communication in Technical Communication is related to the first two meanings which are given above. The word Technical means “of or relating to a particular subject, art or craft or its techniques.” The other meaning is “involved or concerned with applied and industrial sciences.” Thus, technical communication is a form of communication to convey, share or exchange of information of ideas in a particular subject, especially applied and industrial sciences.

Nonverbal Communication for Second language learner

Non-verbal communication includes the overall body language of the person who is speaking, which will include the body posture, the hand gestures and overall body movements. The facial expressions also play a major role while communication since the expressions on a person’s face say a lot about his/her mood. On the other hand gestures like a handshake, a smile or a hug can independently convey emotions. Non verbal communication can also be in the form of pictorial representations, signboards, or even photographs, sketches and act those paintings. Non verbal communication becomes a supporting aid for the second language learner because it is a worldwide accepted fact that, “Action speaks louder than words.” We often go with the non verbal communication more than the verbal content so it helps the second language learner to communicate more effectively.

Types of Communication Based on Style and Purpose

Based on the style of communication, there can be two broad categories of communication, which are formal and informal communication that have their own set of characteristic features.

Formal Communication for Second language learner

Formal communication includes all the instances where communication has to occur in a set formal format. Typically this can include all sorts of business communication or corporate communication like official conferences, meetings, written memos corporate letters etc. Formal communication can also occur between two strangers when they meet for the first time. Hence formal communication is straightforward, official always precise and has a stringent tone to it.

When it comes to second language learners, formal communication becomes more necessary for them as not being the native speakers of the language, they are hesitant. So, the second language learner should know all the nitty-gritty of formal communication.

Informal Communication for Second language learner

Informal communication includes instances of free unrestrained communication between people who share a casual rapport with each other. It does not have any rigid rules and guidelines. Informal conversations need not necessarily have boundaries of time, place or even subjects for that matter since we all know that friendly chats with our loved ones can simply go on and on. This type of communication helps to raise the confidence of the second language learner and makes him communicate more effectively and precisely.

General Communication and Technical Communication for Second language learner

The term ‘communication’ includes both general communication and technical communication. General communication means the kind of verbal and non-verbal communication which is made in daily life. People talk, converse, write letters, describe events and express their emotions and feelings. There is no hard and fast rule about communicating the ideas and feelings. Technical communication, on the other hand, is specific. It is related to the specific field of knowledge. There is a special use of language in this kind of knowledge. Although most of the writers have considered technical writing specific to science, technology and business management, we cannot say that writing a play, a novel or a book on Economics or Political science is non- technical. In fact, writing becomes technical when it is highly specialized. All research papers are technical whether they belong to literature, humanities, social sciences or pure sciences. The main reason is that technical writing is well planned, concise and it uses technical terms which are defined and universally accepted. For example, the terms bull, bear, debenture and liquidity have a special meaning in Economics and Commerce and similarly critical, sublimation and compound in science. The terms empathy, climax and denouement are specific to literature and literary criticism. In short, technical writing is extremely skilled and specialized and is written and read by professionals and specialists. So, the second language learner should be well aware of both types of communication and their practical usage.

Importance of Technical Communication for Second language learner

An organization will run smoothly if there is a perfect co-ordination between its different wings. For this, it is essential that there is no communication gap. In the days of computer, internet, website, e-mail and fax, any delay in sending and receiving messages will jeopardize the functioning of a corporate. Among the different levels of communication, Interpersonal, Organizational and Mass communication are of utmost importance for Second language learner. For day to day activities interpersonal communication between the peer group and the superior official is of utmost importance. Now-a-days, officials submit their daily reports to the head of the section. Conferencing has been rather common. Colleagues discuss problems and future plans in the conference hall. These Multinational companies which have branches all over the world have definite days and hours of conferencing. All the heads of the branches of different countries do video conferencing on their computers, desktops or laptops. They review the past activities, confer the present condition and plan for the future.

Mass communication has gained momentum in the present era. All companies promote their items in newspapers and on television. When a new product, say a can, a refrigerator, a motorcycle or an electronic gadget is launched, there is wide publicity in newspapers and on television, besides; pamphlets and sales letters are circulated. Professional (technical and business) communication is on the other hand, highly specialized. For example, a pilot while flying a plane communicates with the control room of an airport in a specialized language, a language which consists of a number of words used in aeronautics. This language is unintelligible to the common man. Similarly, when a doctor reports to his senior about the condition of a patient, his/her language is highly professional or technical. That’s why the role of Technical communication becomes more prominent for the second language learner.

Following are the features of professional communication that every second language learner should know:

It is register specific because language has variety and it varies according to its subject-matter. The language of professional communication is specific to the register of professional courses such as science, technology, medicine, management and commerce.
It is direct as it provides utmost clarity to the readers. The main objective of the addresser is to make the addressee understand each and every word. Politicians and diplomats often speak in vague words. Professionals never do so. As they have to abide by what they say or write, they seldom make a vague or ambiguous statement or commitment.
It is plain and simple because the sentences are short and structurally straightforward.

For the sake of precision, brevity and exactness, the addresser uses the well defined words i.e. technical terms. For example, this sentence “Atomic radiation has crossed the danger level” is a part of technical communication. The compound word “atomic radiation” gives us the exact idea of the event. Similarly, the expressions “the market trend is bearish” and “the Sensex dripped by 165 points” are technical as they describe the event briefly and precisely.

So, Technical communication, because of its clarity of language, precision, specificity and professional approach has gained importance for the second language learner and no nation or industry can hope to grow and develop if it does not have an advanced system of technical communication, as no place has hundred percent native speakers. Nicholas D. Sylvester in his book Engineering Education has given data under the title “Engineering Education Must Improve the Communication Skills of its Graduates.” From the data, it is observed;

“75 percent of engineering undergraduates take jobs in the industry, where at least 25 percent of an engineer’s time is spent in the reporting process. As the engineer moves up the managerial ladder, this time can increase to as much as 80 percent.”

On the lack of communication skills, Nicholas observes that

“The engineers who cannot communicate – cannot spell, cannot make a sketch and have difficulty in all phases of life and in communication with others. Students of today need more ability than ever and a key need is to increase the ability to communicate both in speech and graphics.”

Barriers to Communication for Second language learner

Communication aims at perfect understanding between the addresser and the addressee. Any flaw in the message and the media may cause misunderstanding. The flaws in communication are due to certain causes. These causes are called Semantic Gap. Semantic gap may be broadly divided into a) physical and b) human. By a physical barrier it is meant, the barriers caused by the defect in the sound system, internet and website. These barriers can be removed immediately. If there is a defect in the microphone or the transformer, the mechanic will correct it. So far internet and websites are concerned, they are operated by men of high technical skills, and it is their duty to see that the working of the internet and website is flawless.

It is the human barrier which is more important. The reason is that the defect lies in the speaker or writer as the second language learner is at times not able to encode or decode properly due to lack of familiarity with the language. We shall discuss the barriers which are very common to both oral and written forms of communication for the second language learner. They are:

a) Insufficient command of language

b) Little knowledge of the background of the listener or reader

a) Insufficient command of language: As we all know that the words and their organization into sentences are the basic components of language. Words are of two kinds; a) structure words and b) content words. Pronouns, auxiliary verbs, articles, prepositions and conjunctions are structure words. They are so called as they form the structure of a sentence. Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs are content words; these words carry meaning. There must be a proper co-ordination between structure words and content words to form a correct sentence. Besides, the user must know the meaning of the content words she/he is using. Let us take a few examples:

I saw man working in the field.

Here, the omission of the article a is glaring. A listener will confuse man with men.

It’s raining heavily. Don’t go out. You may catch cold, I hope.

Here, the speaker/writer has made a wrong use of the word Hope. She/he should have used the word fear, not hope. Therefore, every speaker/writer should have a good stock of words and sound knowledge of grammar.

b) Lack of required knowledge of the listener’s/ reader’s background: listeners/readers can be broadly divided into three groups according to their background:

(i) High- tech

(ii) Low- tech

(iii) Lay people

i) High –tech readers have the following characteristics:

They are experts in their fields and understand the technical terms used by the addressee fully. Therefore, the frequent use of technical terms and jargons are accepted by them gleefully. If the technical terms, acronyms and abbreviations, are used, they will be rather happy and may get offended if the speech or writing is in layman’s language.
High tech listeners and readers require minimal detail. For them, the language should be precise and standard.
The manuals made for Engineers use a highly technical language, and they cannot be understood by the common people. For example, this sentence is to be read by the doctors and scientists:

Salicylic acid has bacteriostatic and fungicidal actions as well as keratolytic properties.

ii ) Low- tech listeners and readers belong to the other fields of specialization, but they have the working knowledge of the field of the addressee. For example, an electrical engineer has a good working knowledge of mechanical engineering and so has the mechanical engineer of electrical engineering. But there are many terms and acronyms and abbreviations specific to one branch. Therefore if an electrical engineer writes to a mechanical engineer in a high tech language, there will a communication barrier.

iii ) Lay people are ignorant of technical language. If a speech is given in high-tech or low-tech language, there will be a communication barrier. For them, explanation of technical term is essential. A common example in UP is the use of the abbreviation hi-fi (high fidelity) in the sense of highly fashionable or high flying. Therefore, there is the need of using words from core English (the language used by all people) and explaining the technical terms, jargons, acronyms and abbreviations if used at all, within

Effective ways of Communication

Any learner who is learning English as a second language should know the reasons of miscommunication by which s/he can improve the communication. Any learner should learn any language in its own identity like English should be learnt in English not in any other regional language. Any communication takes place in a cyclic process like:

This process starts with Sender who has ample of ideas to communicate then s/he tries to formulate the ideas in words, then receiver decodes the ideas with the help of language and on getting the message s/he gives feedback or response.

To acquire second language one should use only second language because if a Hindi person tries to speak then s/he will translate the ideas from Hindi to English which takes time and the communication with another native speaker will be delayed. For example, First of all he will think about the idea in hindi like “ye ek seb hai” then he will convert seb into Apple, ek into one, ye into this and tries to make a sentence This is an apple and all this takes time which leaves the speaker into inferiority complex which is one of the reasons of hesitation.

The Second Language Learners should read simple passages which can encourage thought. After reading the passage the students should explain the passage and at last they should give the answers of Questions for clarity & discussion. Learner should pick up an interesting passage from the newspaper or any other textual material then they should discuss the passage with his/her friends. Students should listen to different audio clippings in English either from the lab software or the internet and should summarize the contents of the passage. Students should pick out words from the audio-clippings they heard in which they had difficulty in understanding or pronouncing & should practice them. To understand usage of the new words, learner should form sentences using the newly learnt words or they can take a group of 5-6 words and form a paragraph using the newly learnt words. Students should keep a notebook and write short paragraphs on relevant topics like-their impressions of their first couple of days in college, any current affairs topic they are interested in, about human values etc. These can be evaluated by their friends or teachers and they should write about the same topic in past, present and future tense to appreciate the differences.

One should always use English language in a creative act like writing poems, speak with partner or while speaking s/he can record the conversation which can be evaluated later on. I would like to suggest that one should have a willingness to commit mistakes which shows that s/he is ready to face any situation. This can be scary, but it’s the only way to develop and improve. One can start using the language by talking to strangers in the language, asking for directions, ordering food in restaurant and even trying to crack a joke.

Few tips for good communication for second language learner:

Adopt an audience centered approach: It means focusing on the receiver to make a meaningful communication. A message written while keeping in view the receiver may be understood easily.
Foster an open communication/ Climate: Restricted environment leads to misunderstanding. Hence communication should flow in all directions freely i.e. upward, downward, lateral. There should be fewer links in communication chain in an organization.
Commit to ethical Communication: It means to observe transparency in working. No deceptive tactics should be used for profit. Even negative information should be declared to all.
Create efficient messages: In order to avoid overloading of information on communication network, the number of useless messages, should be reduced, and distractions should not be there. One should be physically, and mentally fit and send meaningful messages .
Improve pronunciation
Work on voice modulation
Work on body language
Read more
Listen more
Interact with qualitative people
Improve on your topic of discussion
Practice meditation & good thoughts
Think and speak
Do not speak too fast
Use simple vocabulary
Expose your ears to as much native dialogue as you can. This includes watching and listening to English language films, TV, radio, and even music
Familiarize yourself with commonly used phrases and patterns of intonation
Repeat the words you hear, aloud
Focus upon the pronunciation of the letters and the intonation
Even listening to and singing along with Western Pop and rock music can produce astounding results!
Try to think in English
For 10 minutes each day, make it a habit to banish your native tongue from all mental activity and construct your thoughts in English
Whenever you have the opportunity, converse in English with your friends or colleagues
It’s no secret. The only way you will gain confidence in speaking, which in turn leads to a more natural sounding fluency, is through frequent usage
Constant practice and rigorous implementation of these ideas will help one to become a good communicator.
Create an open communication environment.
Always keep the receiver in mind
Avoid having too many transfer stations
Do not communicate when one is emotionally disturbed
Be aware of the diversity in culture, language etc
Use appropriate non-verbal cues
Select the most suitable medium
Analyse the feedback
Don’t ever become disheartened because ‘practice makes a man perfect’!

you can view video on The Second Language Learners

Reference

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