The Effect of Grammar Learning on Speaking Ability of Efl Learners Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Grammar Learning on Speaking Ability of Efl Learners Essay Nowadays, one of the hottest issues in the field of foreign and second language learning or teaching is how to converse fluently in the target language. Generally speaking, most of the EFL learners believe that their knowledge in English is nearly assessed by the way they can interact in the target language. They maintain that their linguistic knowledge and their abilities in other skills—reading, writing, and listening—are not that much important. What is significant is their ability in conversational situations. Of course, this belief belongs to lay and ordinary people. Unfortunately, a majority of EFL teachers and instructors follow this point of view in a broader sense, too. These instructors declare that in learning English EFL learners do not have to be trained from the grammatical point of view. Now, the question is that is it really no relationship between the grammatical rules and learning to communicate fluently in a foreign language? The linguistic knowledge in English consists of the ability to analyze and recognize the structural features and components in the language. These abilities are concerned with phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic issues. The building blocks of the communication are grammatical points which make the structure of a language. Before starting to speak many factors and components must be formed in a person’s mind. First, the sounds should be matched with each other to shape different words. Second, these words need to be united together to form phrases, clauses, and at last sentences through which a particular meaning can be conveyed. Considering these facts, we can say that it is probably impossible to communicate in a foreign language without knowing the grammatical rules and structures of the target language. The focus of this paper is to review the literature in order to find any possible relationships between these two elements in the view of other researchers in this field of study. Also, at the end of this article, the opinions of a group of Iranian EFL learners will be presented about this issue to clarify the aim of our research better.

Sociological Perspectives On Education

Sociological Perspectives On Education During the nineteenth century the founding fathers of Sociology such as Marx, Comte and Durkheim, wanted to accomplish their political objectives by using scientific methods. They wanted people to be convinced of the validity of their views and felt that the best way to achieve this would be to go about this in the most effective way by means of natural science and research methods. Sociologists thus tried to explain how the social system worked. One of the main areas within a social system is education. All children between the ages of five and Sixteen are obliged to attend school, and during term time school children spend over half their waking hours in the classroom. Education in Britain is free and is provided by the welfare state, it is also compulsory, parents who do not send their child to school are breaking the law. According to sociologists in order to have a fully functioning society the members would ideally have to be educated to carry out their role within that society , or society may fall apart. This essay will include a brief look at the history of education and how it has developed into the system we now have today. This essay will also look at two sociological theories on education; Functionalist and Marxist,. Within each of these theories this essay will also highlight three main perspectives; social class, gender and ethnicity. The 1944 Education Act was a significant piece of social and welfare legislation, it required Local Education Authorities to provide state-funded education for pupils, up to the age of 15, that incorporated, to quote, instruction and training as may be desirable in view of their different ages, abilities and aptitudes. The act was devised by Conservative MP Rab Butler (1902-1982), from this came the introduction of the tripartite system which comprised of; Grammar schools for the more academic pupil, Secondary Modern schools for a more practical, non-academic style of education and Technical schools for specialist practical education. Pupils had to take an examination called the 11-Plus and the result of this indicated which type of school the child would be allocated to. Secondary education now became free for all and the school-leaving age rose to 15. The tripartite system could be seen as a way of dividing classes, as it was usually the children from more affluent families that pa ssed the 11-plus examination. (Bell, 2004; MOC; Murray, 2009). In 1965 comprehensive schooling was recommended by the Labour Government in document called the Circular 10/65. The new comprehensive system suited children of all abilities in contrast to the tripartite system. The school leaving age was raised to 16 in 1973. The comprehensive system aimed to eradicate the class divide from the British education system. (Bell, 2004; MOC; Murray, 2009). The 1988 Education Act saw the introduction to the National Curriculum. All education in state funded school was to be made the same and made sure that all school children received the same level of education. Compulsory subjects were introduced which included maths, English, science and religious education. The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) was introduced to replace O-levels and the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE). This was another way of trying to make state education classless. (Bell, 2004; MOC; Murray, 2009). Over the years theories of education have been in and out of fashion this was mostly due to which political party was in power at the time and the state of the economy as the two are very much linked. During the 1950à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Functionalism was the dominant force within sociology. During the war the education system had been neglected and was seen as been in a pretty poor state. By the 1970s, structural tensions, inflation, economic stagnation and unemployment, meant that Marxism and other critical theories like Feminism and anti-authoritarian Liberals became far more influential. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) The education system was undemocratic, unequal and unfair. Marxists like Raymond Boudon argued that positional theory determined educational success or failure, he is well-known for his studies into of the role of education on social mobility. It was your position in the class structure that gave you an advantage, or a disadvantage, in the competitive world of education. However for Pierre Bourdieu, the working class lacked what he referred to as cultural capital; without which they were doomed to failure. Cultural capital included the valuable cultural experiences of foreign travel, museums, theatre and the possession of a sophisticated register and middle class norms and values. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) The functionalist perspective was the dominant theoretical approach in the sociology of education until the 1960s. When considering education functionalists usually ask questions such as; What are the functions of education? What part does it play in maintaining society? What are the relationships between education and other elements of our social system? A typical functionalist response to such questions sees education as transmitting societys norms and values, for example a child that learns to respect the rules at school he will learn to respect societys rules as an adult. Functionalists believe that various parts of society work together for the mutual benefit of society as a whole so therefore education and the economy go hand in hand and school is preparation for the world of work. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope, 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) Emile Durkheim was one of the founding fathers of sociology and provided the basic framework for functionalist view of education. He believed that for society to operate efficiently individuals must develop a sense of belonging to something wider than their immediate situation. The education system plays an important part of this process. In particular, the teaching of history enables children to see the link between themselves and the wider society. Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who further developed Durkheims ideas. He argued that in modern industrial societies education performs an important socialising function. Education helps to ensure the continuity of norms and values through transmitting the culture of society to new generations. Parsons saw the school as a bridge between the family and the wider society. Within the family the childs status is fixed at birth but in wider society new status is achieved through work, friendships and relationships. (Browne, K, 200 5; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) Parsons also saw that schools prepared children for their roles in adult society through the selection process. Students are assessed and sorted in terms of their abilities and this helps to allocate them to appropriate occupations. Students are also allocated certain occupations in relation to what sex they are, typically girls would be seen as going into more stereotypically feminine roles such as secretaries, hairdressers, beauticians, nurses /care givers or homemakers; whereas boys would be seen as going into more stereotypically masculine roles such as doctors, builders, mechanics, plumbers or firemen. Boys are also seen as being more scientific than girls. However many of these roles are now being integrated by both sexes. Conversely the roles of being care-givers and homemakers are still seen as being innate in females. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) The Marxist perspective on education differs from that of the functionalist. In Marxs words the ruling class rule also as thinkers, as producers of ideas. These ideas justify their position, conceal their true source of their power and disguise their exploitation of the subject class. A French Marxist philosopher called Louis Althusser argued that no class can hold power for long simply by the use of force. The use of ideas provide a much more useful means of control. He also argued that the education system in modern times has taken over the role of the church as the main agency for ideological control. In the past people accepted their status in life and saw it as being Gods will. Nowadays however people tend to accept their status and role within society from the way in which they have been educated. The upper and middle classes are primed to become the ruling class and the owners of industry, the lower classes are primed to become the workforce. They are taught to accept their fu ture exploitation. Althusser argues that ideology in capitalist society is fundamental to social control. He sees the educational process as essentially ideological. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) For Bowles and Gintis, the education system propagated a hidden curriculum where the working classes learnt to know their place, to obey rules and were also socialised to accept that inequality was natural and inevitable. They also claim that education legitimates social inequality by broadcasting the myth that it offers everyone an equal chance. It follows that people who achieve high qualifications deserve their success. So in other words education is seen as a reward system, those who work hard and gain a good education will have access to the top jobs. Bowles and Gintis stated that Education reproduces inequality by justifying privilege and attributing poverty to personal failure. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) Both Marxists and functionalists have been criticised for seeing people as being nothing more than creatures of the social system, thus Bowles and Gintis see teachers as the agents of capital the students as its victims and their situations being shaped by factors which are out of their control. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) In modern day Britain there is a general consensus of opinion that education should be based on equal opportunities. Everyone should have an equal right to develop their abilities to the full regardless of their age, class, ethnicity or gender. However there is clear evidence that in educational terms those who have certain social characteristics are more likely to achieve better results than others, so this shows that there is a distinct relationship between social class and educational attainment. Throughout the twentieth century there is evidence to show that the higher an individuals social class, the more likely they are to have a greater number and higher level of educational qualifications. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) Gender has always been an issue in education. Should both sexes take the same subjects? Do both sexes have the same abilities and aptitude? The introduction of the 1944 Education Act was concerned with enabling free and equal education for all. However there is still a worry that discrimination against girls still takes place throughout the educational system. To feminists this is a reflection of the patriarchal nature of modern industrial society. The school curriculum has become increasingly similar for boys and girls. However, where choice is available, there is still a tendency for girls to choose some subjects and boys others. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) There is no concrete evidence within the education system to prove whether a students ethnicity has any effect on their examination results. Statistics on school leavers and their examination results are a snapshot at one point in time. Individuals may want to catch up on their education once leaving school by attending local colleges. There is evidence to show that ethnic minorities are likely to do this. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) The Swann Report (1985), officially called Education for All, was a government report advocating a multicultural education system for all schools, regardless of institutions, location, age-range or ethnicity for staff/pupils. The report provided clear data on ethnicity and educational attainment, discovering that racism had a causal effect on the educational experiences of black children in the UK. (Griffiths and Hope, 2000). The statistics shown in the Swann Report were drawn from local authorities with a high ethnic concentration. So therefore it could be said that they werent a true depiction of ethnic educational attainment throughout the whole of the country. However due to mass immigration into this country in the last five years some children who come from different ethnic backgrounds are at a disadvantage due to cultural language barriers. (Browne, K, 2005; Griffiths Hope , 2000; Haralambus Holburn, 2008) This essay included a brief look at the history of education and how it has developed into the system we now have today. It also looked at two sociological theories on education; Functionalist and Marxist. The feminist perspective was touched upon when relating education to gender. Within each of these theories essay highlighted three main perspectives; social class, gender and ethnicity. To conclude there are still many barriers to gaining a good education for some of the children in this country due to their class, social stratification, gender or ethnicity. The rich are more likely to get better grades and job opportunities. However some children / young adults may cross the divide and become better educated and move to a high class as an educated adult.

Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs In Ancient Egypt there were over 29 Kings and Pharaohs and over 5 Queens. Some of the most famous kings and queens were: Ramses II, Ramses III, King Tut, Cleopatra, and Nefertiti. Ramses II (reigned 1279-1212 BC), ancient Egyptian king, third ruler of the 19th dynasty, the son of Seti I. During the early part of his reign Ramses fought to reign the territory in Africa and Western Asia that Egypt had held during the 16th and 15th centuries BC. His principle opponents were the Hittites, a powerful people of Asia Minor, against whom he waged a long war upon. The major battle of this war was fought in 1274 at Kadesh, in Northern Syria, was hailed by Ramses as such a great triumph. In 1258 BC a treaty was signed whereby the contested lands were divided and Ramses agreed to marry the daughter of the Hittite king. The remaining years of his rule were distinguished by the construction of such monuments as the rock-hewn temple of Abà » Simbel, the great hypostyle hall in the Temple of Amon at Al Karnak, and the mortuary temple at Thebes, known as Ramesseum. Ramses III (reigned 1182-1151 BC), Egyptian king of the 20th dynasty, a great military leader who repeatedly saved the country from invasion. In the 5th year of his reign, Ramses defeated an attack by the Libyans from the west, and two years later he routed invaders known as the Sea Peoples. In his 11th year he again repelled an attempted attack by the Libyans. Ramses was also a builder of temples and palaces in the tradition of his 19th-dynasty predecessor, Ramses II. His victories are depicted on the walls of his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu, near Luxor. Egyptian records tell of a strike by workers at Ramses's burial site and a plot against the king near the end of his reign. Ramses III was the last of the great rulers and after his death there were centuries of weakness and foreign domination. King Tut or Tutankhamun (reigned 1343-1325 BC), Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, the son-in-law of Akhenaton, whom he succeeded. He became Pharaoh about the age of 9 and ruled until his death; which was about the age of 18. Peace was brought to Egypt during his reign as the worship of Amon, abandoned under Akhenaton, was restored and Thebes, the city sacred to Amon, was again made Egypt's capitol.

no sugar :: essays research papers

Throughout Australian history a racist attitude towards Aboriginals has been a significant issue. From the moment the early settlers arrived on our shores and colonised, the Aboriginals have been fighting for the survival of their culture. The Aboriginals haven been take in and dominated to bring them in line with an idealistic European society. These themes have been put forward by Jack Davis in his stage play, No Sugar, the story of an Aboriginal family’s fight for survival during the Great Depression years. Admittedly Davis utilises his characters to confront the audience and take them out of their comfort zone, showing them the reality of Aboriginal treatment. This is an element of the marginalisation that Jack Davis uses through out the play this starts from the beginning where he discomforts the audience by using an open stage. One character that Davis uses through out the play is A.O. Neville, Davis uses him to portray the issue of power, this is a very important issue that is carried through out the play. Through out the play aboriginals are marginalised they are told where to go what to do and how to go about life. The play was staged on a perambulate model, meaning that the action of the play shifts between many locations. There is the town of Northam with the Police Station and two Cells, the Main Street and the Government Well Aboriginal Reserve. Then there is The Moore River Native Settlement with the Superintendent’s office, the Millimurra family’s tent and the Aboriginal camp at Long Pool. There is also the Chief Protectors Office and the Western Australian Historical Society in Perth and an area by the railway line. This allows for marginalisation between the audience and the play. This can be perceived as some what payback by Jack Davis for the marginalisation that the Europeans forced upon the aboriginals. Contrasting dialogue is also found within the play’s Aboriginal cast. It is not uncommon for a character to begin a sentence in English, only to lead in to Nyoongah words as they proceed: GRAN: I’m warrah, gnuny tjenna minditj, and I got no gnummarri. (Act Two Scene Two) This provokes a reaction from white audiences where we rely on hand gesture to comprehend the play, while also begging the question as to why they speak in such a way. Language is used as a symbol for their culture, a culture that is split between white and blacks; this is just one more tactics that Jack Davis uses to marginalise.

Reality Versus Perception in the Kasdan Films, Grand Canyon and Mumford

Reality Versus Perception in the Kasdan Films, Grand Canyon and Mumford All of knowledge is founded on axioms: assumptions that are agreed upon for stability. However, since those axioms are assumptions and cannot be proven without a doubt, nothing ca truly be known with absolute certainly. Still, in order to carry on with life, assumptions have to be made. Knowing this, the task becomes making assumption that are more educated and, given the lack of certainty, ones that matter. Furthermore, the assumption of others can be examined more accurately with this knowledge in mind. The most important of these assumptions, and in many cases points of debate, is the nature of reality. The old world thought the matters of the spirit to be truly real, or ethereal, as opposed to the physical world. The modern period, on the other hand, held that sense perception was the only evidence that was concrete and that reality was only that which could be corroborated by sense perception. This gradual shift that occurred endeavored to transform humanity’s vi ew of reality from the ethereal to the physical. The fact of the matter, however, is that the modern period had no more indubitable evidence for believing in a physical reality than the people before it had for believing in an ethereal reality. As a result, the current time of postmodernism is fragmented in a disarray of those two realities and countless variations thereof. The world today is trying to figure out constantly what actual reality is, whether it truly is ethereal or physical. This trend can be observed in media to a large degree. The case here is that the Kasdan films Grand Canyon and Mumford are portraying this social struggle in the bifurcation of postmodernism.... ...lso that the reality of events throughout time is variable and relative. The nature of things commonly understood as good or bad are not necessary one or the other, but may change. Reality is a matter of perception. Whether reality is truly ethereal or actually physical in nature is determined, for the duration of life, by the living. Given this, it can also be conceived that no one knows the nature of what is happening to anyone as being positive or negative. No one even knows whether the nature of events is a constant factor, since finding that reality may be variable insinuates also that the nature of anything and everything may also be subject to change. So in truth, this inquisition, in some ways, is back at the starting point. However, there is an advantage in knowing what potential ignorance exists as opposed to being ignorant of that very ignorance.

Quantum Entanglement and Bell’s Theorem Essay

In the early 20th century, physicists were in need of a new theory to describe the world of the atom and its components. Newtonian mechanics and Einstein’s theory of relativity worked very well at describing the motion of the planets and stars, but when these theories were applied to the atom, they completely broke down. Max Planck discovered that atoms exchange energy in individual packets of specific energy values. Planck called these energy packets â€Å"quanta†, Latin for â€Å"unit of quantity†, hence the name quantum theory. Two pioneers of quantum theory, Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrodinger, devised mathematical formulas to describe the atom. Two fundamental principles of quantum mechanics emerged from their equations: the uncertainty principle and the principle of superposition. Superposition states that an atom exists in all possible states until it is measured. The uncertainty principle says that you cannot know a quantum particles location and momentum (momentum is a particles velocity,roughly) at the same time. These principles are important because they reduce predictions of physical object’s position from an absolutes to only a range of probabilities. This is very different from the certainty of classical physics. The strangest phenomenon predicted, however, is quantum entanglement. It predicted that when a particle is split in two, it behaves as if it were still joined, no matter how far they are separated. Change one of the entangled particles and the other reacts instantly. These strange properties described by quantum mechanics were unacceptable to Einstein and many other physicists. Einstein felt that quantum theory itself must be a flawed theory to produce such strange predictions. The bizarre behavior and properties of the atom and sub-atomic particles must be attributable to some other mechanisms, he reasoned. Niels Bohr, another pioneer of quantum theory, deflected Einstein’s criticisms and claimed that quantum theory was a sound theory. The problem, Bohr said, was that we need an entirely new set of words and terminology for the theory because the realm of the atom was so different from our everyday experiences. In 1935 Einstein, along with Boris Poldolsky and Nathan Rosen, submitted a famous paper outlining their criticisms of quantum mechanics titled â€Å"Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete? †. The EPR paper, as it is known, included an idea for an experiment that would test and prove who was right, classical physics or quantum mechanics. The test, however, was not thought possible. For 30 years the debate between the classical and quantum views continued. Physicist John Bell brilliantly devised a feasible experiment involving entanglement using individual photons, light filters, and photon detectors. He calculated two sets of equations that predict the results: one using classical mechanics, the other using quantum theory. The predictions of classical and quantum theories give very different results. The theory that matches the experimental data must be the correct theory. It would not be until 1980 that the technology existed to perform Bell’s experiment. I am going to greatly simplify how the experiment works for clarity. When a photon is split, each photon retains complementary properties of one another. That is, if a photon starts as â€Å"AB†, the individual halves of the photon become â€Å"A† and â€Å"B â€Å"(â€Å"B† is complementary to â€Å"A† and vice versa). If we measure one of the split photons as being â€Å"A†, the other must be â€Å"B†. In the experiment, the photon is split and the individual photons race through a path in opposite directions. They each go through a filter that polarizes the photons. Simply put, polarization orients the photon in a certain direction. Imagine the photon as a sphere with a pole through it marking as â€Å"north† or â€Å"south†. Polarization flips the direction of the pole. So, polarized light becomes either â€Å"up† (north) or â€Å"down† (south). In this case, the complement of â€Å"up† is â€Å"down† and vice versa. Our photons can be labeled â€Å"A up† or â€Å"B down†; â€Å"A down† or â€Å"B up† depending on how the filter polarizes it which is completely random. If we were to send a pair of photons on separate and opposite directions without a filter, no polarization happens and the detectors would register â€Å"A† on one and â€Å"B† on the other invariably. Add the filters, and the detectors register â€Å"A up†,†B down†,†B up†, or â€Å"A down†. Since the filters completely randomize each photon’s polarization, one detector could indicate an â€Å"A up† and the other could detect an â€Å"B up† for the same set of split photons, right? The Bell tests show that when when one detector registers â€Å"A up†, the other detector shows a â€Å"B down†. It’s not surprising the â€Å"A’s† are opposite to the â€Å"B’s†, it’s that their polarizations are always complementary, or opposite. How does the other photon â€Å"know† what the other polarization will be and act accordingly? Are they still connected somehow? If not, does one photon somehow send information about its state to the other photon so it can act accordingly? If the photons do somehow communicate, the information they send must travel much faster than the speed of light and violate a fundamental physical law. Whatever the case, it shows our understanding of the universe is incomplete. Bell was a proponent of Einstein’s view of reality and didn’t expect quantum theory to be proven right. After witnessing a confirmation of his theory he said â€Å"I have seen the impossible done†. The phenomenon of entanglement has been demonstrated in experiment after experiment and progressively separating the photons at greater distances. Recently in Vienna, an even more stringent test was completed by Professor Anton Zellinger. The tests have sent split photons from one island to another many kilometers away and had the same eerie result. Our whole description of fundamental reality has to be revised. After the latest confirmation of quantum theory in Vienna, Dr. Zellinger and his colleagues posted a help wanted. They are seeking a philosopher to help understand the profound implications.

Pglo

2/15/2013 background on transformation of bacteria with pGLO plasmid Experiment #5 Aim: Purpose of this lab is to have plasmid activity transformed Material: Bacteria starter plate, pGLO DNA Plasmid, microcentrifuge tubes, Ice, water bath, CaCl2 Transformation solution, (LB) agar plate, (LB/Amp) agar plate, (LB/Amp/ara) agar plate, Micropipette, and Micropipette tips. Method: Genetic transformation is a procedure which is done by taking genes from one organism and putting them in another organism.A gene is a piece of DNA that instruct for making a new protein and from this protein organism a certain trait. A gene is inserted into an organism in order to change the organism’s trait. This procedure lab is divided into two day lab. On day one, we started the procedure with getting agar plate where HB101 bacteria were growing for 24 hours at 37C. We began by first labeling two microtubes; one with (+pGLO) and second with (-pGLO). 250ul of transformation solution which we used (CaC l2) was transfer to each tubes and placed those tubes on ice.HB101 bacteria single colony was picked by using sterile inoculation loop and immersed into (+pGLO) tube and later immersed into (-pGLO) using same technique. Both time we used different sterile inoculation loop. The tubes were placed back into the ice after mixing well the colony each time. The pGLO plasmid DNA was added by the instructor into (+pGLO) not into (-PGLO) tube and placed the tube back into ice. The tubes were incubated on ice for 10 minutes. Once done incubating both tubes were performed heat shocks at 42 degree C temperature for 50 second.Both tubes were immediately placed into the ice for another 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, 250ul of LB broth was added to each tube and again incubated for 10 minutes at room temperature. Once the incubation was done, we transferred 100ul of cell suspension to the plates which was provided by using the table LB/Amp| LB/Amp/ara| LB/Amp| LB| (+pGLO)| (+pGLO)| (-pGLO)| (-pGLO)| O nce the cell suspension was transferred, cells were gently spread 10 swipes using inoculation loop on the agar and rotated the plate 45 degree. The plates were placed into incubator at 37 degrees by turning he tubes upside down and taping them. Result: