Questões de Inglês - Substantivos contáveis e incontáveis | Countable and uncountable para Concurso

Text I

CLT or a task-based approach is not a panacea to language teaching. There are numerous challenges to making communicative language teaching happen. These issues have to do with the choice of content, context, specific skill areas (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, etc.), and particular learning tasks that determine a curriculum. 

These choices are tightly linked to questions about what it means to ―know‖ a language, to be proficient in a language, and what communicative abilities entail. While the literature on language teaching has attempted to provide answers to such questions, there are no universally accepted standards. The proficiency and standards movements have attempted to provide some guidelines, but they often remain broad in learner performance descriptions. This ultimately makes assessment of individual learners‘ communicative ability challenging, and it essentially leaves judgment of learner progress up to the teachers. 

Communicative abilities cannot be simply categorized as speaking, listening, reading, or writing skills, as it was done in a traditional four skills approach. For example, when two people talk to each other, the process normally involves speaking and listening skills as well as active communicative strategies such as asking for clarification and adjusting language to make each other understood. The endeavor to teach languages in a way that encompasses all skills, based on an interactive view of language behavior, has posed many challenges on how to go about integrating the four skills effectively in a daily and long-term curriculum. 

The teaching of proficiency and communicative-based skills raises the question not only about content but also about the choice of learning tasks or best teaching practices. CLT does not promote one standardized method or curriculum, but is eclectic in its approach. Being eclectic means it promotes the best or most effective techniques or methodologies. At the same time, the choice of techniques and learning tasks is not an arbitrary decision, but is firmly grounded in principles of learning as they are motivated by research in second language acquisition (SLA) and educational psychology. Learning what constitutes effective ways of learning and teaching initially requires intensive training and in the long run staying in touch with current SLA research findings. 

As a last point, the quality of CLT also often depends on the quality of teaching materials. Unfortunately, only in the most commonly taught languages—such as English, Spanish, French, and German—does an abundance of materials exist to support the development of communicative language abilities over a wide range of skills.

(Source: <http://www.pearsonhighered.com/samplechapter/0131579061.pdf> )

Texto 03

How is English Used as a Lingua Franca Today?

By Maria Khodorkovsky on August 19, 2013

The term lingua franca was first coined in the beginning of the 17th century by the Italians. At that time, it represented a conglomeration of mostly Italian, with a smattering of French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Greek, and Arabic, and was used primarily as the language of commerce. The term literally means “Frankish language”, as “Frank” was a common designation for all western Europeans since approximately the 12th century.

Today, English is a common lingua franca across the globe. According to some estimates, almost 80 percent of English speakers in the world are non-native speakers. Below you will find more information about a phenomenon that bears on language, culture, commerce, and diplomacy. 

Where is it used?

Apart from serving as a useful heuristic in Europe, where a Spaniard, a Frenchmen, and a German might all carry on a conversation in English, English as a lingua franca (ELF) plays an important role in former Anglophone colonies such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, among many others. 

How is it used?

ELF differs from Standard English in a number of ways. Several documented overarching similarities are variances in article usage (or no article usage at all), variances in preposition usage, and novel use of morphemes (such as importancy and smoothfully). Many instances of ELF also incorporate across-the-board third-person singular usage (such as “He go to the store.”), using “who” and “which” interchangeably, and a lack of gerunds. Verbally, noted differences include the omission of some consonants and addition of extra vowels, as well as a general tendency towards efficient communication over grammatically normative English.

Criticisms

While ELF is a widespread and useful mode of communication for many, some scholars and linguists have criticized its proliferation as a form of linguistic imperialism. This term became popular in 1992 with the publication of Robert Phillipson’s influential book of the same name. In it, Phillipson argues that English has long been a tool of submission and cultural domination of colonies. Contemporary critics of ELF cite the problems associated with studying a language in a disorganized, unstructured way. Speakers of ELF may eventually speak both their native language and English imperfectly, leading to issues with effective communication. In spite of these criticisms, ELF continues to flourish in many countries, oftentimes enriching the language with colorful aphorisms and unique turns of phrase.

(Disponível em https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/how-is-english-used-as-a-lingua-franca-today/)

                                                    TEXTO I

                                   English for Specific Purposes

      English for specific purposes (ESP) refers to language research and instruction that focuses on the specific communicative needs and practices of particular social groups. Emerging out of Halliday, Macintosh, and Strevens’ (1964) groundbreaking work nearly 40 years ago, ESP started life as a branch of English language teaching, promising a stronger descriptive foundation for pedagogic materials. In the years since, ESP has consistently been at the cutting-edge of both theory development and innovative practice in applied linguistics, making a significant contribution to our understanding of the varied ways language is used in particular communities. Drawing on a range of interdisciplinary influences for its research methods, theory, and practices, ESP has consistently provided grounded insights into the structures and meanings of texts, the demands placed by academic or workplace contexts on communicative behaviors, and the pedagogic practices by which these behaviors can be developed.

HYLAND, K. “English for specific purposes: some influences and impacts”. In: Cummins, J. and Davison, C., (eds.) The International Handbook of English language education. Springer: Norwell, Mass, 2006.