AIOU SOLVED ASSIGNMENT 1 CODE 519 B.ED SPRING 2016

AIOU SOLVED ASSIGNMENT 1 FOR COURSE CODE 519 B.ED.

TEACHING OF ENGLISH COURSE CODE 519 FOR B.ED. SPRING 2016

The solved assignment # 1 for Allama Iqbal Open University course code 519 for students of B.Ed. for the continuing semester spring 2016. This course 519 has four assignment and this is the first solved assignment which is we presenting.

FOR QUESTION # 1-2-3-4 CLICK HERE

Q. 5:- What is the importance of the four language skills in learning a foreign language? Distinguish between the four language skills. (20)

Developmental psychologist Jean Piaget holds the distinction of creating one of the best-known theories of cognitive development. Piaget described cognitive development as a dual process involving assimilating and accommodating knowledge and thought processes. As a child assimilates or transforms details from his environment, he positions them within his existing knowledge bank. On the other hand, when he accommodates environmental details, he adapts his knowledge bank to allow new input. The first two stages of cognitive development occur during infancy and early childhood, and encompass language acquisition.

Cognition: Early Brain Development

Cognition, the mental ability to learn and acquire knowledge, is part of early brain development. Cognitive development encompasses all sensory input. As Master Social Worker (MSW) Angela Aswalt explained regarding Piaget's theory, infants initially learn through instinctive and reflexive behavior. Their earliest cognitive development consists of two major milestones: discovery that they can acquire attention to their needs, typically through crying; and understanding of the 'object permanence" concept--even if caregivers "disappear" from view, they reappear to tend to infants' needs.

Language: Later Brain Development

In contrast to cognition, babies normally develop language somewhere between 12 to 18 months of age. Language acquisition is part of later brain development and builds upon existing cognition. In other words, babies begin to understand concepts and make distinctions between objects and events, prior to acquiring the ability to define them with relevant words. Whereas cognition is initially instinctive, language learning occurs as an acquired skill when babies process what they see and hear around them. Babies begin acquiring language by mimicking words spoken by other people and understanding the connection between the words and the objects or events represented.

Cognition: Ongoing Brain Development

As toddlers progress through early childhood years, between the ages of two to five, cognitive brain development continues. The University Of Michigan Health System (UMHS) determined that cognitive developmental milestones include thinking, reasoning and problem-solving. These milestones range from exploration, tasks such as piecing puzzles together and matching shapes around age two, to comprehension of concepts such as colors and numbers between the ages of three and four. Normally a five-year-old child can correctly name a few colors, count up to 10 or more, begin to understand the concept of time and identify things he uses daily.

Language: Ongoing Brain Development

Language learning explodes during these years, as normally developing children achieve several milestones. As defined by UMHS, from a previous vocabulary of only about a dozen words, two-year-old toddlers acquire a working language of as many as 200 words, including sentences of two or three words. Between three to four years old, children form sentences of four or more words and understand basic grammar rules. By the age of five, children can often recite part of a story, recall their names and addresses, and use longer sentences, including incorporating the future tense.

Listening, writing and speaking skills are important in all subject areas. An individual may falter in one category while succeeding in another. Through education and practice, these three skills can be strengthened and mastered, thus increasing literacy levels. It is important to provide extensive amounts of time for practice during language learning.

Listening Skills

Listening skills enable students to acquire insights and knowledge as well as achieve success in conversing with other individuals. These skills are valuable not only in academia but also in social situations and the workplace. Poor listening skills can lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary questioning. Listening skills can be enhanced through a series of question asking and corresponding note-taking. Individuals can be taught the difference between main points and less-relevant information and ideas. These skills can also be adjusted to pinpoint essential information in the presence of distractions and irrelevant information, much like the case in adult life.

Writing Skills

Writing is a combination of note-taking, outlining, drafting, editing and identifying central ideas to create a beneficial, final product. It can be difficult to develop writing skills without a central idea. To improve writing skills, an individual can create a central idea complemented with an outline to make writing easier. Students often have different levels of listening and computer skills that affect writing ability. Modern technology means most writing is done through a personal computer, suggesting the importance in practicing keyboarding skills. Computers can help in the arrangement of words, sentences and paragraphs as well as make the revision process easier.

Speaking Skills

Listening and writing skills are nicely complemented by strong verbal speaking skills. Learners should be taught to adapt speech to specific situations and particular circumstances. Volume, formality, rate and pronunciation all drastically impact the course of one’s speech. It may also be beneficial for individuals to learn about the differences among various dialects to increase the strength of their own speaking skills.

Interdependence

Writing, listening and speaking skills are all interdependent of one another. Increasing the strength of these skills will help an individual better express her valid ideas she wants to share. To increase the strength of these skills, practices should be incorporated into the classroom or daily routine. Sharing suggestions and ideas among educators or professionals may also be crucial.