Any business looking to expand into a foreign market is likely to benefit from a translation service. While there are plenty of online or free services that can help to translate text into a foreign language, they can’t always be relied on to give anywhere near 100% accuracy. If you really want your business to succeed, you will find that a professional service is the most effective option.
Let’s take a look at four reasons to use this type of service:
Accuracy
There is much less risk of experiencing the embarrassing errors when using a translation service. Any poorly translated text can have a negative impact and make your business look bad. The online translation tools are a quick and efficient option to get an idea of the meaning of a short piece of text in a foreign language, but cannot be relied on to translate a large portion of text or a complete website. Also, many of these tools have difficulty with translating words that have several meanings and unable to use context to make the right choice.
Qualified
The trained linguists have studied translation and have the knowledge to easier provide the accurate translations. They are able to deal with words that have several meanings and also cultural issues in the texts. Also, their past training will mean that they are fast and efficient at completing the work. On occasion, translation software may be partly used to help with consistency issues and to work faster.
Specialized
Many of the translators offer their services in a specific area of business or industry. It will certainly benefit to use one of the specialists if hoping to have complex text translated that has a lot of industry specific terms and phrases. While a general translator can be used, they will likely find it more difficult to translate the text with a lot of medical, financial or similar technical information.
High-quality
Any translating service that is a full-size business or an individual freelancer will have proper terms and conditions in place. This will make the entire ordering and translating process as smooth as possible. This can include issues related to confidentiality, copy, text type, delivery, and payment options. Any quote offered by the professionals will always highlight the terms and conditions to make it really easy to understand the service offered.
Overall, if you are looking to translate text for your business into a foreign language, a professional service is essential to avoid making your brand look bad.
Parents invest in sending their kids to attend Mandarin class because many believe that it is an important language of trade that will benefit their children’s career opportunities in the future. Economist Albert Saiz finds that native English speaker graduates who speak a second language, on average, earn 2 per cent more than those who don’t. Different foreign languages attract different language bonus – the more in demand a foreign language is, the higher the language bonus.
Knowing the language of our major trade partners is an asset. Graduates with foreign language skills will greatly improve their career opportunities at home and overseas. They would also improve their academic opportunities by having a chance to study at overseas educational institutions, an excellent experience to broaden their horizon and enrich their resume. Graduates with international experience are valued by employers. It’s not just people who work in international trade or diplomatic services who would reap benefits from having foreign language skills. Jim Rogers, a successful businessman, urges people to learn at least one Asian language because it will give them a competitive advantage. He himself sent his children to learn Mandarin at an early age to future-proof them.
The benefits of learning Mandarin for kids do not just lie in future opportunities. Studies support that children who are bilinguals or multilinguals are academically ahead of their peers. Learning a second language helps improve children’s academic performance, especially in English and Mathematics. According to a research, languages such as Chinese expresses mathematical concepts more clearly and thus making it easier for small children to learn maths. Children who learn Mandarin are also reported to perform better in identifying musical pitch and hence may perform better than their peers in building musical skills. This is not a surprise since Chinese is a tonal language. Learning the language will naturally train children to be able to identify the different tones. In essence, all the skills children are gaining through the process of learning a foreign language can transfer meaningfully to other areas in life.
Children who learn a foreign language are also shown to have better problem solving skills, creativity, and multitasking skills. This is not a surprise since children are required to think in a different way while learning to speak a foreign language. This mental training delivers multiple cognitive advantages to young learners, in addition to having advanced cross-cultural skills and linguistic skills.
Sign up your kids to learn Mandarin online with Asian Language School, where learning is made fun in each lesson.
More and more ESL students are now learning English online. There are many online schools and platforms that connect students from all over the world with English tutors. If you’re planning on taking online English lessons, now is the time to do so.
Study anytime, anywhere
To start, learning English online gives you freedom in terms of time and location. You can have an online English class in the evening after a busy day in school or at work or sign up for weekend lessons. Time is very flexible. It’s always up to you. Though many are signing up for evening classes, there are also available tutors during the day to help you.
The best part is you can use any device you have including your phone. Many lessons are done through Skype, Zoom, Messenger, WeChat and more. However, it’s imperative that you have an excellent internet connection. Many tutors would ask you to come online a few minutes before class to ensure you’re internet is working fine. If you’re really serious about learning English online, it’s a must that you also invest on quality headset and external microphone.
Though you can literally take online English lessons anywhere, you have to make sure you stay in a quiet place during lessons. You want to hear what your tutor is saying and not be distracted by the noise of the TV or music playing in the background. If possible, stay in your room where you can have all the peace and quiet you need to concentrate on your lesson.
Learn with experts
Not anybody can teach English online that’s why many platforms are only hiring certified and experienced teachers like ESL Hub which only connects students with real-life teachers who are passionate about teaching. Online English tutors are equipped with the knowledge and skills as well as the expertise in conducting lessons online using technology. Most importantly, they are professionals who will guide you every step of the way.
Affordable one-on-one lessons
Online English lessons are very affordable. Students have an option to enroll in as many classes as they want. Many online tutors offer hourly lessons and they can be done anytime of the week and as many hours as you want. This beats going to language schools where you have to sit for an hour or so with other students. With online tutoring, you’re guaranteed of one-on-one lessons. You have your tutor’s undivided attention too!
There are many tutorial companies that offer their services on the internet. To start, you can check out ESLHub and sign up for a FREE trial lesson today!
It can be hard to look for a good translator, especially if you have no idea how to judge their grip on the language you want to translate your content in. After all, if you knew that language, why would you pay for someone for translation services?
Regardless of the reason you want to look for one, you can follow the tips given below to find a good professional. Read on.
Shortlist the Candidates
First of all, you need to decide whether you need a translating company or a freelance translator. Generally, it depends on the type of work you need a professional for. For events, it’s better to go with a company. On the other hand, if you have a few legal documents to translate, we suggest that you choose a native speaker of the target language.
Screen the Translators
Once you have put together a short list of potential candidates, your next move is to screen them based on their fluency, experience, and qualifications. For instance, you can ask them to take a translation test. This will give you a pretty good idea of their skills.
Besides, you can get in touch with the chamber of commerce, hotels, and bureaus, for instance, for references. Based on your list, you can go to their websites for translators. Make sure you ask for references as well.
Certification
If you have decided to go with a company, make sure you check their ISO certification and Language Service Provider (LSP). The translation company needs to follow strict procedures for excellent results. So, we recommend that you go with a company that is certified.
Experience
Whether you are going to hire a freelance translator or company, the experience of the employees is of paramount importance, especially in the relevant field. Aside from this, make sure the translator is experienced and skillful. Their success rate should also be high. You can consider a lot of aspects to make sure your choice is right.
The test will help you determine how quickly they reply and how accurate their replies are. Keep in mind that this is really important if you are going to hire the services of a great translator for translating your legal documents. You can’t afford to make mistakes in legal documents.
Discuss their Fees
Once you have found the right person, make sure you negotiate the fees. Remember: translation is specialized work. So, be ready to pay more if you want to enjoy high-quality translation services. The fee of the professional depends on a lot of factors, such as the type of translation and the translator’s skills.
What you need to do is develop a positive business relationship with the pro as you are going to work with them for several months or years. You are going to hire another person since your grip on the target language is not strong enough. So, it’s important that you communicate with the translator openly, which will ensure the job is done well.
Hope these tips will help you hire the right translator.
The King James Bible (1611) is among the most influential books in the world. Many words are archaic and have not been in use since the work’s first printing. Although many English-speaking readers and English Language School (ELS) students run into problems understanding words and their meanings, the KJV is still read today by a majority of evangelical Christians.
One of the most fundamental problems in reading the KJV are the words “thou” and “ye”. Both mean “you” when it’s used as a subject, but the difference between is “thou” is singular and “ye” is plural.
THOU: “Thou” is used throughout the Bible. It is the singular subject meaning “you”. Some examples come from the 10 Commandments: Thou shalt not steal- You will not steal (Exodus 20:15). Thou shalt not kill.- You will not kill (Exodus 20:13). Thou shalt not commit adultery.- You will not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Or… thou shalt eat the herb of the field;..you will eat the herb of the field (Genesis 3:18).
There are many “Thou shalt”s (You will) and “Thou shalt not” (You will not, or You won’t) because God was instructing people morally how to act. So, get used to reading “Thou shalt”. In the past tense, thou is used with the verb + “th”: “Thou” is almost always used in the present tense with a verb’s medieval form such as: Thou art, thou speaketh, thou doeth, thou goeth, thou seeth, thou drinketh, thou sayeth.
But, in the past tense, thou is used with the verb + “st”: Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? (Genesis 20:9-10)
Thou is used with possessive adjectives: thy (your) or thine; and direct and indirect objects: thee (to you): And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. (Exodus 2: 9)
But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. (Genesis 6:18.)
YE: This means “you” in the plural form. It follows the modern forms of verbs, possessive adjectives, and direct and indirect objects. The verbs also follow most of today’s verb forms.
“Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” (Genesis 19:8).
“And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.” (Genesis 34:9-10)
Whenever Jesus speaks to His disciples, his crowd of followers, or the Pharisees, He always said, “Ye” to them: Ye are the salt of the earth… (Mathew 5:13) or Ye are the light of the world.(Mathew 5:14). But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; (Mathew 6:33)
Remember for now that “thou” represents the singular “you” and the “th” is present in all forms including: thou, thy, thine, thee + verb endings. The plural “you”, or “ye” in all of its forms starts with a “y”: ye, your, you.
In “Comprehending the King James Bible, Part 2” more explanations about the difficulties of reading this work will be discussed.
As online Quran learning is a rising trend, a number of online Islamic academies are offering different facilities to all who eager to learn Quran. It is such a different experience as compared to the traditional classroom environment. A learner has the complete freedom to schedule the classes as per the convenience without moving anywhere.
So, for all those parents who want security for their female kids can take advantage of online Quran courses. It will surely prove to be the most effective in a number of ways. Let discuss one by one:
Eliminates The Hassle of Travelling
Females usually find traveling the most difficult part of their lives. This is the biggest concern of every woman. Most of the times, they have to stand in the crowd in a local conveyance in the desire to reach the Islamic Institute. Also, most of the females live in the area where the transportation problem resides the most.
One does not need to deal with such problems in online Quran classes. From the comfort of the home, a student can learn Holy Quran online. All in all, online Quran learning makes the whole process interesting for all.
Reduces The Security Concerns
Another challenge that female students have to suffer while attending offline classes is the security concern. A female kid or adult might be living in an area where it is not secure to travel alone or move freely outside. With all those security reasons, parents don’t allow their girls to attend the regular offline classes.
Online Quran classes are completely different from the conventional classes. It allows the students to learn the Quran from anywhere at any time. The whole learning environment at online Islamic academies is secure for all.
Lowers the Expense of Home Tuition
Most of the parents prefer home tuition for their female kids. Getting a Quran tutor to come to home might prove to be a more expensive option. They might charge a double fee for teaching the Holy Quran. Also, a tutor who is coming to your home has a chance of missing a class due to traffic or some health issue.
But in case of online Quran education, there is nothing happen like this. There is a number of online Islamic academies that offer affordable Quran courses at the most convenient time.
Finding A Qualified Quran Tutor
Finding a good Quran tutor offline might take your huge time. Maybe days, weeks, or a few months. Whereas, in online Islamic academies, you will get the well-qualified Quran tutors that have years of experience in teaching the Holy Quran. They teach students as per their needs and requirements.
Well, if it is about your female kids, then get them registered for online classes. This will surely bring the advantage of choosing the right tutor.
Helps In Saving A Lot of Time
Time-saving is also one of the priorities for the females as they also have to manage with the household chores. An individual taking online Quran classes means one is choosing a smart way to save time. There is no need of traveling long distance as one can learn Quran at home.
All in all, online Quran classes bring a lot of benefits for female kids and adults. From enjoying the secure home environment to paying a low fee, an online Quran class is a flexible option for many. All you need is to choose the certified Islamic institute those are offering unparalleled, affordable education to thousands of students worldwide.
Whether you are a female kid or adult, our Quran tutors at Studio Arabiya will help you learn Quran in a friendly manner. We take learning online to the next level by providing online classroom arrangements, organized courses, qualified teachers to ensure your education is taken care of. We not only take care of your education and make sure we are giving you the best opportunity to learn Arabic & Quran!
Are you looking for affordable online Quran classes? If yes, then start your course with Studio Arabia. Here is the full information https://studioarabiya.com
Nowadays, most scientific papers are published in English. English has effectively become the language of science. Historically, Latin, French and German were the leaders. The commonality among them is that they are all spelled in Latin alphabet. Thus, written system, instead of spoken language, might actually be of significance. Usually, their widespread use in science is attributed to economic, political, scientific, technological status of and colonization by the countries in question. However, it will be a different story since we consider written language as the foundation of science.
In my articles “language – the core of science” and “writing systems define their own sciences”, we state that writing systems are the foundation of science and sciences of different writing systems differ in quality and capability. Now we go on to study how the writing systems differ in potential and strength in building science. This paper addresses basic aspects of strength. It provides a basis for analyzing the scientific strength of different writing systems.
Keep in mind that science is founded on the textual mind.
Strength of science is determined by writing system
First, we need to clarify – in what the advancement of science should be assessed. Science is in the text itself. It should not be assessed by non-texts, not by incidental discovery, not by chance, but by the systematic property of writing system, which makes the human world sustainably advancing. Text constrains the scientific mind – not what you think how advanced science the texts should represent, but the texts support and limit the advancement of science. That is why scientists’ achievements are judged by his publications, which explain not only what they have discovered, but relations to existing works. That is, the discovery is based on the existing texts.
Secondly, the texts are objective and not altered by individual will and desire. The legibility of a writing system has fundamentally affected its capability in establishing sciences, regardless of a person’s intention and endeavor. This is also a more basic level than the disciplines and branches. Texts’ visual characteristics constrain a person’s mind in organizing and processing them. That is an objective factor. Individuals might possess varying levels of capacity in processing texts. That is a subjective factor. Objective factor affects all people using the system. For the same person, legible system is easier to process. Hence, the visual feature of texts determines a writing system’s scientific strength.
Let’s focus on the visual characteristic of texts and reading. A page of text contains two dimensions of symbols. The layout of a page can be identical for various writing systems. The symbol shapes are the basic difference between writing systems. In an instance, our eyes focus on one or a few words – a short sequence of symbols, performing the intensive textual thinking. Our investigation concentrates on visual feature of symbols and their sequence.
Aspects of strength
During reading, texts are taken into the eyes in a sequential manner, currently mainly in left-to-right, right-to-left or top-down directions. Symbols are connected sequentially to build up a sentence and more. Fitness for sequential reading determines the scientific strength of a writing system. The following aspects are the basis for evaluating the fitness[1].
1.Sequentiality
We had previously discussed that vertical reading restricts the expansion of texts, while horizontal reading facilitates sequential expansion of texts. Due to horizontal reading, the number of symbols for alphabets is reduced to dozens. The simplification of symbols is good for sequential expansion when adjacent letters combine to form words. On the contrary, complex symbols (characters) don’t form natural connections. Instead, they are composed of internal components.
The complexity of symbols can be examined during reading. In complex symbols, such as Chinese characters, you often need to pay attention to sub-character components which affect the meaning of the characters. With disruptions and pauses for focusing on internal components, the reading is not genuinely sequential, because the components inside a character are not in a sequence in the direction of reading, nor are they with those in the following character. In genuine sequential reading, there is little sub-symbol information; and symbols are recognized easily without pausing and extra attention.
Better sequentiality means better connectivity between symbols, the components of the science that we study. Sequentiality underscores science’s accumulativeness and cause-result reasoning.
2.Clarity of symbols
Clarity of symbols leads to clarity of symbol sequence, i.e. words, etc. Symbols should have salient visual features easily recognized and remembered, not complex, not containing strange shapes or features too mild to discern, such as a small dot inside a big character. The usual composing shapes are round, rectangle, straight line, hook, curve, etc. The symbols should be similar in size and of evenly distributed form. There should be little information that requires effort for recognition.
Symbols are the building elements of science. Their being clearly read permits our minds to investigate and remember the things with certainty.
3.Differentiation between symbols.
Distinctions between symbols are important for symbols not be mistaken as another. Good differentiation facilitates reading, because for similar-shaped symbols extra effort is needed to figure out which symbol is being read. The difference should be of the shape itself instead of alteration of the same shape. For example, “b” and “d” are different shapes. A vertical line and a vertically tilted line are alterations of the same shape. If treated as two separate symbols, they are easily confused as each other. The difference should be on the main part of the symbols. For example, the “i” differ with “j” more than differ with the symbol of two dots on the cap of “i“. Diacritics and ligature also hinder the differentiation between symbols.
Differentiation between symbols are the basis for differentiation between words. During research, an individual must distinguish among the things he/she is studying, distinguish his/her work from others’ and existing works, without ambiguity.
4.Combination of symbols
Words are usually formed by a symbol sequence of variable lengths, separated with each other by space. Several symbols might combine to form sub-word units. If the symbols are not complex, the eyes usually take a few of them as a unit for processing, which are often smaller than a word. This demonstrates texts are built from smaller units up to bigger ones within a fixation. Multisyllable words are good examples as they have syllables as sub-word units. To improve legibility, it is better for sub-word units to have features that distinguish themselves from each other. For example, a symbol of the sub-word unit might be specially shaped that serves as a marker for the symbols as a unit.
A word is the basic unit of meaning, instead of visual processing. Clarity and distinction of sub-word units are important for the recognition and formation of words, expansion of vocabulary, the correlation between words and division of meaning. That certainly facilitates research.
5.Other aspects: sentences, punctuation, page layout etc.
Words are arranged to form sentences, paragraphs and pages. The markers of larger portions of text include capitalization of the first letter of a sentence, punctuation, wider space between paragraphs, bold fonts in subheadings, table of contents, titles etc. These features are common for many alphabetic systems. Non-alphabetic systems might also have similar treatments. These aspects are important in building up the texts larger than words and aiding interpretation. But they are not so basic as the above four. And it is easier for a system to adapt to those of other systems, because these are in a relatively macro (less detailed) level of thought. The adaptation doesn’t need to alter the symbol shapes or words, which are deeply rooted in people’s minds.
Helped by these markers and features, scientific details are wrapped up into articles, theses and books. They help construct the properties such as hierarchy, order, emphasis, grouping, and summarizing.
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These aspects are basic for assessing the degree of analyticity, accuracy and establishment. The non-optimal systems’ science is imprecise, ambiguous and susceptible to alteration. Their sciences are prone to processing errors. Daily conversation might seem easy for every system to express, but for advanced scientific matter in hundreds of books, rigorous grammar and complex vocabulary have to be supported by a legible system.
Conclusion
The wonderful world we live in is empowered by science and technology, which is founded on writing systems. The basic distinctions between writing systems are aspects such as sequentiality, visual feature of symbols and their combinations. Different writing systems vary in these aspects, leading to their varying degree of strength in founding science. That would also lead to different advancement level of the societies.
[1] Refer to the first three properties listed in my paper “language – the core of science”, namely sequential, clarity, compactness and simplicity, which are the most basic properties. They determine the latter properties.
There are hundreds of scripts and thousands of written languages in the world. Some of them vary greatly in visual feature and legibility. All the writing systems play a vital role for the people to learn, communicate, and to create. Unfortunately, most people haven’t realized the legibility of a writing system correlate with the its capability of founding science, which constrains their mental power in sequential processing of visual information.
We proposed five aspects for assessing the scientific strength of a writing system in the recent article “scientific strength of writing systems – the aspects”. In this paper, we give analyses of the visual features of some major writing systems, regarding the first through fourth aspects[1]. They could be only briefed, given my limited knowledge of most of them. We focus on their visual characteristics solely, without referring to whatever sounds they might represent.
Let’s start from the complex Chinese characters in the east, and end at the simple Latin letters in the west, two extremes among the most widely used. Together, languages written in their variants cover the vast majority of the world’s population.
1. Chinese
Due to vertical reading, Chinese characters are enclosed in blocks, and growing complex internally. Apparently, the complexity is not good for reading, as radicals and strokes are not readily recognized and often neglected during reading, although a complex character might look clear when focused upon. Consecutive characters are not by themselves connected into bigger units, albeit people intend to use double or multiple-character words.
Traditional Chinese has more internal complexity while simplified Chinese uses more multiple-character words. They both suffer in the first through fourth aspects, with simplified Chinese to a less extent.
2. Kana
Kana, with two forms – hiragana and katakana, has their origin in Chinese characters, limiting the number and form a set of symbols of less complexity. Still, the symbols retain some trace of Chinese characters, emphasizing internal shapes, neglecting interconnection and differentiation. The strokes are not easily discerned, reducing the clarity of and the connectivity between symbols. Some strokes are separate, making the symbols less coherent units. The differences between many symbols are subtle.
Both forms suffer in the first through fourth aspects, to less extent than the Chinese. Furthermore, the mixture of hiragana, katakana and kanji in Japanese makes reading more difficult.
3. Korean
The hangul is hailed as efficient and logical. It is faithful in representing speech by using letters to represent phonemes which form characters in blocks to represent syllables. The letters are relatively simple, systematizing subcomponents of the characters, a merit over traditional Chinese. But the characters still suffer internal complexity problems. To recognize a character, you need to identify multiple letters and apply artificial rules of their combination. Sequentiality is in question. The characters are not supposed to connect by letters. On the other hand, they are too complex to connect with each other easily.
Systematic internal composition helps improve the clarity of and distinction between characters, but still not good enough. It also suffers in the first and fourth aspects.
4. Arabic
The modern Arabic script is written from right to left in a cursive style. Many of the letters share similar shapes. Many share a common base form, and are distinguished by the number and location of dots or other small diacritics. Letters changing in different positions actually increases the number of letters thus harder to memorize and recognize. Letters are joined to form words, such that efforts are needed to separate joined letters during reading. These decrease the legibility of the letters.
It suffers less sequentiality problem, but suffers in the second and third aspects, whilst combination of bigger/higher and smaller/shorter letters might help in the fourth aspect.
5. Devanagari
The Devanagari script, comprising 47 primary letters, some of which are a little complex. The horizontal and vertical lines shared by many letters add to the similarity between letters, although the joined horizontal lines help connect letters. As an alphasyllabary, the script uses diacritical marks to denote non-default vowels. That adds another dimension to consonant letters and complicates recognizability. So do the conjunct consonants. Various rules and features need to pay attention to, increasing the difficulty of reading.
It suffers some sequentiality problem, and also suffers in the second through fourth aspects.
6. Cyrillic
The Cyrillic script looks like the Latin script, particularly in its capital form. Cyrillic uppercase and lowercase letter forms are not as differentiated as in Latin typography. Many Cyrillic lowercase letters are small capitals. Cyrillic writing is at the same level of legibility of all-caps writing in Latin.
Modern Cyrillic letters are simple-shaped with clarity. Most of them are easily distinguishable from others. The letter forms are rarely augmented or altered when forming words. Letters are separate within words while spaces separate words, demonstrating the sequential growth of texts.
It is good in the first through third aspects. But it scores low in the fourth aspect, which is exhibited in lowercase letters of the Latin script.
7. Latin
This paper is written in the Latin script. The majority of the Latin script texts are in minuscule form. There are three segments in lowercase letters – body for all letters, ascender and descender for some. The bodies exhibit characteristic of roundness, which facilitate smooth-running reading. Ascenders and descenders help in differentiating letters. Letters with ascenders or descenders combined with those without help create sub-word units with enhanced recognition, which also facilitate the recognition of words.
Both uppercase and lowercase letters are of simple shapes and evenly distributed variations. The distinction between letters is strong. Minuscules are better for sequential reading, while majuscules are suitable for emphasis.
The script performs well in all four aspects, particularly the written English, which rarely employs diacritics and ligatures.
Conclusion
The surveyed systems display variations in the four aspects. The Latin alphabet appears strongest among the existing systems, laying the foundation of modern science. This survey is brief, aiming to demonstrate our approach and be a starting point for complex analysis.
It appears that writing systems stronger in these aspects usually support more advanced societies, given adequate population, publications and developmental time. The advancement level of a society correlates with the legibility level of its writing system(s). The exact connection and mechanism still need further investigation.
Furthermore, it is unknown if there is a writing system in theory that is totally different and stronger than the Latin alphabet. Will that be invented or evolved from existing ones?
[1] First, sequentiality; second, clarity of symbols; third, differentiation between symbols; fourth, combination of symbols. The fifth aspect (“other aspects”) are not so essential as the first four.
I remember when I for the first time traveled to Germany. I was 20 years old, and the flight from Lima to Munich was very long. I stopped in Paris, and after losing the connection that would take me to my destination, I had to board the next plane. I remember sitting next to a German lady to whom I said a few words in German, and when she answered me the truth is that I hardly understood what she had said to me. I had already taken several German courses in my country, in various schools, and yet I could not understand what that lady was talking about. On that time, I was going to take a German course at the Goethe Institute located in the town of Prien at the shores of Lake Chiemsee, near Munich. After an hour’s flight, I reached my destination and headed to the home of a German friend who lived in Munich. This friend had given me some German classes in Lima.
A couple of days later I went to Prien where the Goethe Institute school was. The trip was made by train. In Germany, the train is the most widely used form of transport. Almost every town and city have a train station.
The German course lasted four weeks and was semi-intensive since we had classes of four hours a day, from Monday to Friday. In the course the students were from different countries. There were them from Mexico, from the USA, Italy, Switzerland, France, Norway, Vietnam, Japan and other countries. Classes were taught in the morning by a German teacher, who taught us grammar, pronunciation, and writing and listening skills. The good thing about the students was that since they all spoke different languages, the only way to communicate was using the German language. Apart from that when we finished classes, and went out to town, we also had to communicate in German. If we were going to buy it was very good to listen to the seller who spoke to us in German. When we walked along the street we read the signs of the stores and the names of the streets that were written in German. All this meant that we had an immersion in the language we were learning. Also, when we returned to our accommodation, which was in the homes of German families, we communicated in German.
Occasionally one would meet a classmate going to school and we practiced the language on the way. The town of Prien is small and everything is reached by walking. The extraordinary thing about all this, is that one remembers images of everything that could have been lived in those four weeks of the course. But in addition to the images, one also remembers the sound of the German words heard. Not all of them naturally, but many of those German words have remained etched in memory and are acquired, preserved knowledge.
At the end of the course we took an evaluation exam and we were awarded a certificate. The age range of the students was 18 to 60 years old. Some of them had taken the course because they needed it for their work, others, as in my case, for studying later in Germany and the rest because they wanted to learn another language.
Finally, I would like to mention that I did this course when the Internet and online language teaching did not yet exist. Today, with new technology, language teaching has changed because virtual and online courses are widely used, which are also very effective in learning a language.
My name is Enrique Bracamonte. I’m graphic designer graduated from the University of Wuppertal, Germany. I am offering the opportunity to start learning German through courses that consider the way you learn and teach you the easy way. You can access a free introductory course. You only need to visit my website at the following link: http://www.germanlearningsite.com
Language instructions require receptive skills for the emergence of productive skills where the former comprise listening and reading and the latter consist speaking and writing not to mention the relevant presence of viewing skills depending on how instructions are processed in classrooms. Among these four abilities exists the core of learning which is grammar. In a curriculum where grammar is integrated among the four skills, teachers should apply their initiatives based from what abounds in learners’ real world environment.
Every teacher has to be aware or even engage to what learners are interested with taking into consideration the advent of varied forms of social media in creating worthwhile instructional materials out of them without ignoring the principles of what makes a good instructional tool in language learning as well as the standards of utilizing authentic materials.
One of these that the writer was able to conceptualize as possible materials is poetry presented in forms of celluloid. It is called poetry in celluloid because poems are presented through film or video. Poems’ themes that are featured are interpreted in forms of sounds and images such as photos or clips and are emphasized by the passages written in every portion of the video. We can say, it is a movie poetry different from poems that were written traditionally.This video poetry can possibly bring out the principles behind authentic materials in the classrooms.
Poems in celluloid are perceived as possible instructional materials for language skills integration among 21st century learners for they embed criteria stated by Richards (2001) who claimed that authentic materials provide favorable results on learners’ motivation, offer authentic cultural information, expose learners to the language. At these contexts, we can say that contemporary materials and creative styles of instructions suit learners’ timely interests.
To establish proximity with this instructive concept to poetry in celluloid’s entirety, some digital, linguistic and literary features have been observed. The most important features of celluloid poetry in skills integration while learning grammar could be its digital and linguistic aspects.
Poetry in celluloid’s digital aspects allow the use of reading (subtitles/ poetry passages) and even listening (narrations/ dialogues or even the sound related to the poems’ themes) not to mention the advantageous brevity of length when they are viewed or employed in the classroom. When it comes to its linguistic aspects, grammar contents aid in the poems relay of thoughts or meanings. Out of the two receptive skills, productive skills:speaking and writing will be introduced. However, when we speak of skills integration in language learning, it is not necessary that all the four skills are present in the learning process. It may depend on the instructional materials as wells as learning objectives.
Teachers should also bear in mind the relevant existence of an additional skill which is viewing skill.Using poetry in celluloid as an instructional tool requires viewing skills to be able to manipulate receptive skills for productive skills’ stimulation and enhancement.
How does skills Integration work in Poetry in celluloid? Here is an example of an activity to illustrate.
Language foci: word modifiers (adjectives /adverbs) Material: Poetry in celluloid: Reference: YouTube Video: Episode 28- A Singer’s Crossover Instruction: Watch the poetry movie (viewing). Recognize the words used in expressing the poem’s idea (reading).
Objectives:
At the end of this session, students are able to: 1.Cite (15) places where the character has crossed over and tell descriptions used in these places (speaking). 2.Identify the modifiers and the words being modified by completing the given table (reading & writing). 3.Write a caption that relates to the theme of the poetry using a phrase that contains a modifier (writing)
To be specific, poetry in celluloid as authentic instructional material can practically offer observable benefits for students’ engagement to language skills’ integration.
1.It can incorporate varied language skills as viewing skills sustain the process. 2.It uses viewing skills as main support while enhancing language learning. 3.Language foci that were integrated in grammar lessons may be placed into practice through skills integration. 4.It may situate learners in a real-world material while they manipulate the language through their receptive and productive skills. 5.It could produce desirable language learning outcomes through purposeful activities or exercises conceptualized by teachers’ creativity. 6.It obviously contains numerous language foci where skills integration can be manipulated through Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) or even through Content-based Language Instructions (CBLI) depending on the material’s nature and nature. 7.Speed reading can also be enhanced due to the passages’ appearance onscreen alongside images in which teachers additionally apply varied dimensions of questions such as literal, inferential and critical. 8.While it is intended for entertainment, the language forms and structure that are embedded could be springboards to explore skills integration not to mention the presence of images and sounds that may stimulate language teachers’ innovation to create more stimulating and effective materials.
Aside from celluloid poetry benefits in skills’ Integration, there are general advantages that it practically proffers to teachers and students’ engagement to language instructions.
Poetry in celluloid’s general benefits to students’ language learning process
1.It entertains while enhancing their order thinking skills out of contents and structures. 2. It caters to varied learning styles or situate them to manipulate multiple intelligence. 3.It brings them into 21st century language learning where digital knowledge is a form of entertainment and at the same time galvanize cognitive learning. This concept links and supports digital taxonomy of objectives’ principles. 4.It can also serve learners’ vocabulary development where brainstorming, affixes, word- structures, relationships and meanings are highlighted. 5.The sounds and images provide further clues to thoughts’ understanding for instance, vocabulary studies and thematic analyses.
Poetry in celluloid’s general benefits to teachers’ language instructions
1.To an innovative teachers’ perceptions, it is an instructional material disguised as vlog or form of entertainment. 2.It could allow language educators in curriculum planning and designing. 3.Teachers can find means to cater to varied learning styles or multiple intelligence of students. 4.They present conformity to teachers’ 21st century language teaching by the enhancement of digital awareness in strengthening learners’ socio-cognition and at the same time increases their learners’ order thinking skills. 5.Teachers have the opportunity to introduce Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) or even through Content-based Language Instructions (CBLI). 6.It can give Independent learning approaches. 7.It can aid teachers in providing interactive teaching environment. 8.Teachers apply theories/techniques in real- life materials. 9.It could motivate students’ awareness through visual and sound representations. 10.It may enable teachers to introduce organizing ideas such as sequencing. 11.Teachers can choose variety of materials suitable to learners. 12.Teachers can apply guided language learning technique by using questions and other possible creative techniques. 13.Teachers are immersed as digital natives where technology becomes a part of pedagogy.
Celluloid poetry found in YouTube could be a contemporary or interesting instructional tools in language. As a digital poetry, it contains sound or music, images and completes messages’ delivery in video form. When it comes to linguistic feature, it possesses passages that follow English grammar rules such as the use of word modifiers, subject-verb agreement, variations of phrases and more. Thirdly, when it comes to literary properties, it tends to showcase literary devices and elements for instance, symbolism, metaphor, simile, foreshadowing, allusion themes, conflicts, settings, characters and more.
Apart from its literary features, the most strikingly relevant components in skills integration while learning grammar are its digital and linguistic aspects.
