Language power (LP) is a measure of the ability to communicate effectively in a given language, specifically one that is not native to the speaker.
Current instructional programs throughout the world continue to attempt to teach enrollees how to communicate in a second language – yet they struggle. They struggle because existing methodologies do not typically result in the learner being able to communicate effectively in the new language. The root cause of this global problem is that learners do not reach a sufficient level of "native-ness" in their speech which hurts the learner's career achievements - despite numerous attempts at language instruction policy and practice reform.Dennis, R. (1996). An examination of English as a Second Language assessment tools utilized by adult literacy providers in Pennsylvania. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, 5, 1-13. Language Power consists of two key components: 1) an ability to speak and be understood, and 2) an ability to listen and understand. Individuals with strong language power possess the ability to communicate effectively in a social environment. When non-native speakers engage in oral communication, native speakers of that language recognize sufficiently well-formed speech, in that it is satisfactorily ‘native’ or sufficiently close to what they know as ‘their language’ in order to be completely understood. When non-native speakers listen to a secondary language, they need to be capable of interpreting and processing words that are spoken at real world rates of speech in the manner spoken by native speakers of that language.
Overview Each year in the United States, many students are required to learn a language other than English in their educational careers. Often, after years of study and quite likely earning passing grades on final and college entrance exams such as the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) Oral Proficiency Interview, most students cannot speak at a level that will be understood nor can they understand basic everyday exchanges at conversational speed in the language's native country, as one would encounter when watching television or listening to the radio.Salaberry, R. (2000). Revising the revised format of the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview. Language Testing, 17(3), 289-310.
Language is taught to a level of certain academic competencies, further referred to as academic knowledge (AK): 1) grammatical competence to include proper use of grammar, extensive vocabulary knowledge, and appropriate pronunciation, 2) sociolinguistic competence, which is the proper use of words and grammar depending on social situations and knowledge of cultural politeness, 3) discourse competence – the ability to use the language in various settings, such as a debate or neighborhood gathering, and 4) strategic competence, the ability to use verbal and non-verbal means to communicate, especially during challenging situations.Celce-Murcia, M., Z. Dornyei, and S. Thurrell. (1995). Communicative compentence: A pedagogically motivated model with content specifications. . Issues in Applied Linguistics, 6(2), 5-35.Belcher, D. (2006). English for Specific Purposes: Teaching to Perceived Needs and Imagined Futures in Worlds of Work, Study, and Everyday Life. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 133-156.
Academic knowledge measures are far more prevalent and comprise the majority items we see in formal language assessment. Also known as drill and kill, typical instructional programs continue to focus on rote memorization of vocabulary and grammatical structure instead of practical use of a language – a deficiency in humanization of course material.Kramsch, C. (2006). From communicative competence to symbolic competence. Modern Language, 90, 249-252. Furthermore, there is a lack of appropriate materials in an academic setting, driving teachers to create home-made course materials for class.Tomlinson, B. (2012). Material development for language learning and teaching Language Teaching, 45(2), 143-179. A study by Houston (2005) demonstrated that students learning Spanish valued "survival-skills" learning (ability to function in a social environment) more than academic knowledge of a language.Houston, T. (2005). Outcomes assessment for beginning and intermediate Spanish: One program's process and results. Foreign Language Annals, 38(3). Moreover, teachers report lack of time and resources to practice a language within the classroom to strengthen competency.Latha, V. and P. Rajan. (2012). Non-native Student’s Communication is Affected Due to the Lack of Pragmatic Competence. English Language Teaching, 5(2).Roca-Varela, M. and I. Palacios. (2013). How are spoken skills assessed in proficiency tests of general English as a Foreign Language? A preliminary survey International Journal of English Studies, 13(2), 53-68.Roever, C. and T. McNamara. (2006). Language testing: the social dimension. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16(2), 242-258.
Vocabulary items are quite common and take many forms. From simple flash card type exercises to more complex matching games and standard multiple choice, over the years test makers have employed a variety of ways to test the student's understanding of the meaning of a single word. This item type may be useful to increase the total number of words a student understands, however, it is not an indicator of communication competency unless the item combines either identification of real world audio or oral production that connects the speaker to the real world. Second only to vocabulary items in number are grammar items. These items are typically found in written form, on paper or on the computer screen, and typically present the student with a multiple choice selection to fill-in-the-blank or complete/replace language items in a sentence with the response that is grammatically correct.
Barriers Occupational barriers for adults The decision to hire someone for a company position may be, to some degree, dependent on the individual's ability to speak a language effectively. In the majority of cases, similar standardized tests are used as a screening mechanism with adults who are ESL learners. One such test, Speaking Proficient English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) has been used to place ESL learners in appropriate classes and support curriculum improvements. SPEAK, through research and examination of the test, does not realistically measure oral communication competency, leading to invalid results of language fluency and capability to use English in an occupational situation.Flores, N. (2006). Multicultural communication: assessing, facilitating, and evaluating competency-based oral interactions. Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association1992: Chicago, IL.
The European Union (EU) recognizes the importance of a multilingual and diverse work force; proficiency testing programs, such as the Common European Framework of Reference used in the United Kingdom, gauge potential employees not only on fluency of a second language, but competency.Chetty, D. (2006). Speaking the language. Training Journal 2009, 39. Many potential employees may arrive for an interview and, although have scored high on English proficiency tests, are unable to communicate at a level that gains them a job in an English-speaking nation.
Cultural barriers of language Approximately 18% of the US population speak a language other than English, with 11% representing foreign-born individuals. Culture plays a role in how a person learns a language and communicates what they have learned and is substantially social in context.Huang, J., E. Dotterweich, and A. Bowers (2012). Intercultural miscommunications: impact on ESOL students and implications for ESOL teachers. . Journal of Instructional Psychology, 39(1). Moreover, lexical and grammatical pieces of language are strongly cultural, leading to a level of language complexity.
Three paradigms can be considered when examining non-native speakers in a US culture: 1) communication apprehension, 2) self-perceived communication competency, and 3) social inclination to communicate. Insufficiencies in oral communication courses for English as a second language learners and appropriate curriculum contribute to the lack of oral communication competencies.Burroughs, N. (2008). Raising the Question #10 Non-Native Speakers of English: What More Can We Do?. Communication Education, 57(2), 289-295.Ozdener, N. and H. Satar (2008). Computer-mediated communication in foreign language education:use of target language and learner perceptions. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 9(2). These apprehensions contribute to the failure of some foreign students. In a qualitative study among Chinese graduate students, 94% of students reported their academic experience was negative and not enjoyable due to tremendous language barriers.Huang, J. and V. Rinaldo (2009). Factors affecting Chinese graduate students' cross-cultural learning. . International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 4(1). Additionally, study abroad programs were thought to be a cure all for language and cultural barriers. However, students often arrive in their host countries linguistically underprepared.Kinginger, C. (2011). Enhancing Language Learning in Study Abroad. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 58-73.
Language power theory Language Power, further referred to as Language Power Theory (LPT) is the study of actual communication ability. Communication ability is the competence to speaking to be understood and listening to understand. LPT draws from and supports ideas from language knowledge, understanding there is a pragmatic and social structure that needs to be in place for successful language learning ...since conversation is the most fundamental means of conducting human affairs.
Academic knowledge vs. language power Academic Knowledge is what students obtain in traditional language programs in traditional educational institutions. For largely historical, political and commercial reasons these traditional programs center on the course's book. This can be considered book learning because the lack of available, cost-effective technology leaves no other option but to begin learning a language by reading it.Eskenazi, M. (2009). An overview of spoken language technology for education. Speech Communication, 51, 832-844.Guarda, M (2012). Computer-mediated communication and foreign language education Journal of eLearning and Knowledge Society, 8(3), 15-27.
Conversely, Language Power traditionally develops with no book at all, nor any presumption of an ability to read. This is how we all learn our native language. Infants learn to speak their native language because they learn it ‘through their ears’ as a cognitive process, not through a book.Maftoon, P., H. Hamidi, and S. Sarem (2012). The Effects of CALL on Vocabulary Learning: A Case of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners. BRAIN: Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence & Neuroscience, 3(4), 19-30.Vandergrift, L (2006). Second language listening: Listening ability or language proficiency?. The Modern Language Journal, 90(1), 6-18. To compare the efficacy of these two methods is revealing, in most cases, individuals come fully to master their native language resulting in high degrees of LP while only a fortunate small percentage of learners are able to obtain high levels of language power when learning a second language via traditional methods.
Speaking to be understood