1. SOCIETY AS A LANGUAGE LABORATORY : LIBRARY
FOR LEARNING ENGLISH
INTRODUCTION
“Man is dependent on society for protection, comfort; nurture, equipment, opportunity
and the multitude of define services which society provides. He is dependent upon society for
the content of his thoughts, his dreams, and his aspirations even for many of his melodies of
mind body. His birth in society brings it’s the absolute needs of society itself.”
“MacIver and Page”
Language, our primary tool of thought and perception, is at the heart of who we are as
individuals. Languages are constantly changing, sometimes into entirely new varieties of
speech, leading to subtle differences in how we present ourselves to others. This revealing
account brings together eleven leading specialists from the fields of linguistics, anthropology,
philosophy and psychology, to explore the fascinating relationship between language, culture,
and social interaction.
In order to create quality educational opportunities for students, teachers and other
school personnel need to hostly asses their perception and attitudes about the experience of
learning another language and adapting to a new culture. Skilled educators working with
second language learners from diverse cultures pay attention to the research and writings of
prominent scholars in the field of second language education, linguistics and multicultural
education. Language is the most overt expression of culture and most of the learning process
both in school and in the home, is carried out through language.
SOCIETYAS A LANGUAGE LABORATARY
Language is the most overt expression of culture and most of the learning process both
in school and in the home, is carried out through language. The child must relate and
accommodate what has been learned in the home to the language and culture of the school.
For the child whose language and culture matches that of the school, this can be, in itself, a
challenge. For students whose linguistic and cultural fabric is different from that represented
in school, the task is monumental. When we recognize that our succeed in life depends to a
high degree on our educational experiences, we realize that we must use the home language
and culture of the child as tool for cognitive development in the curriculum so as not to
deprive these populations of full participation in the educational process.
2. One of the most essential concepts in understanding second language learners is that
there are different aspects of language proficiency. In our efforts to teach students English,
we also cannot ignore the value of their primary or home language and culture. As educators,
however, we must recognize that language and culture are inseparable. They both contribute
not just to the development of personality, but also to the manner in which the individual, and
indeed given society, interprets reality.
One of the best ways for schools to become familiar with their students language,
cultural and experiential backgrounds is through family and community involvement in the
educational process. School should begin involving parents in their child’s education upon
enrolment. Learning a new language and living in an unfamiliar culture can be very
demanding and stressful for people. Language, our primary tool of thought and perception, is
at the heart of who we are as individuals. Languages are constantly changing, sometimes into
entirely new varieties of speech, leading to subtle differences in how we present ourselves to
others. This revealing account brings together eleven leading specialists from the fields of
linguistics, anthropology, philosophy and psychology, to explore the fascinating relationship
between language, culture, and social interaction.
Learning specially about the language and culture background of you student is a good
way to get started in making your teaching more multicultural. Even without bilingual
programs, teachers can learn strategies to promote students development in their primary
language. By incorporating student’s language and cultural backgrounds, the learning
environment becomes more real to them.
The exact nature of the relationship between language, society and culture has
fascinated and continues to fascinate people from a wide variety of backgrounds. That there
should be some kind of relationship between the sounds, words and syntax of a language and
the ways in which speakers of that language experience the world and behave in it “seems so
obvious as to be atruism”. Though, despite such a far-reaching statement, scholars in the field
of linguistics and later on of sociolinguistics for quite a long
period of time have been discussing social and cultural aspects of language functioning. Let
us consider the first one, According to theoretical manuals in sociolinguistics there are
several possible relationships between language and society. One is that social structure may
either influence or determine linguistic structure and behavior. Certain evidence may be
adduced to support this view: the aggrading phenomenon whereby young children speak
differently from older children and, in turn, children speak differently from mature adults;
studies which show that the varieties of language that speakers use reflect such matters as
their regional, social or ethnic origin and possibly even their sex (gender).A second possible
relationship is directly opposed to the first: linguistic structure and behavior may either
influence or determine social structure. This is the view that is behind the Whorfian
hypothesis. A third possible relationship is that the influence is bi-directional: language and
society may influence each other.
LIBRARY FOR LEARNING ENGLISH
The library exists to provide a range of learning opportunities for both large and small
groups as well as individuals with a focus on intellectual content, information literacy, and
the learner. In addition to classroom visits with collaborating teachers, the school library also
3. serves as a place for students to do independent work, use computers, equipment and research
materials; to host special events such as author visits and book clubs; and for tutoring and
testing. School libraries function as a central location for all of the information available, and
a school librarian functions as the literary map to the resources and materials found within the
library.
A library functions as an opportunity for educators to work with librarians in support of
a resource center for the students to be able to safely access the internet for both school work
and interacting with each other. In her article, The library media center program is a
collaborative venture in which school library media specialists, teachers, and administrators
work together to provide opportunities for the social, cultural, and educational growth of
students. Activities that are part of the school library media program can take place in the
school library media center, the laboratory classroom, through the school, and via the school
library’s online resources.
THE SCHOOL LIBRARY COLLECTION
School libraries contain books, films, recorded sound, periodicals, realia, and digital
media. These items are not only for the education, enjoyment, and entertainment of the all
members of the school community, but also to enhance and expand the school’s curriculum.
As we know English is the most common language used to communicate with people around
the world. Some people have to study it to go to college and university, others just learn it to
be able to understand the English so that they can travel to any place and share their thoughts,
ideas and knowledge easily. We also know that many people can read and understand it but
unable to speak fluently and write their thoughts clearly. Many language scientists and
teachers have been doing research on how to build a effective tool for everyone to learn other
languages easily. For right handed people the language center is Left Brain and for left
handed its right brain. So they examined right or left brain of volunteers with the help of PET
scanning and divided them into different groups .Those candidates who just watched movie
without active participation for several weeks could not improve speaking skill significantly.
The other group who watched same movie several times improved speaking skill a little bit
more. But those participants who were active in writing and speaking with others improved
their skills very significantly. The fact that every participant’s brain activity examined by
PET scanning at the end of experiment was equal. So learning language, probably, depends
on individual basis rather than the activity of our brain. It’s really hard for most of the people
with age above twenty five years to learn new things and incorporate and use it rapidly.
Perhaps, our neuronal system in brain is very rigid to learn new things. But once it gets many
repetition or hard work , it gets moulded to any shape to receive the new things.
4. CONCLUSION
As an individual without any society is a figment of imagination, in the same way to
think of a society without individuals is purely imaginary and utterly unreal. Society is a
dynamic entity. It may be noted here that this entity or society has its own political,
economic, cultural and religious ideologies according to which it provides more and more
opportunity to individuals to develop their various powers and capacities to the fullest
possible extent. Language is the most overt expression of culture and most of the learning
process both in school and in the home is carried out through language. One of the most
essential concepts in understanding second language learners is that there are different
aspects of language proficiency.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=GyEBVOyFDoKE8Qet9YGIBg&gwrd=ssl
#q=society+as+language+lab.
2. http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/languageslinguistics/sociolinguistics/
language-culture-and-society-key-topics-linguistic-anthropology.
