english language proficiency essay

Importance Of English Language Essay

500 words importance of english language essay.

The English Language is becoming more and more common in the world. As a result, increasingly people are dedicating time to study English as their second language. In fact, many countries include it in their school syllabus to teach children this language from a young age. However, the true value of this language is that it helps remove many barriers from our life. Whether it is to find a new job or travel the world. In other words, it helps to progress in life both on a personal and professional level. Thus, the Importance of English Language Essay will help you understand all about it.

Importance Of English Language

Language is our major means of communication; it is how we share our thoughts with others. A language’s secondary purpose is to convey someone’s sentiments, emotions, or attitudes. English is one such language in the world that satisfies both the above purposes. English has been regarded as the first global Lingua Franca. It has become part and parcel of almost every existing field. We use it as the international language to communicate in many fields ranging from business to entertainment.

Many countries teach and encourage youngsters to acquire English as a second language. Even in nations where English is not an official language, many science and engineering curriculum are written in English.

English abilities will most certainly aid you in any business endeavours you choose to pursue. Many large corporations will only hire professional employees after determining whether or not they speak good English. Given the language’s prominence, English language classes will be advantageous to you if you want to work for a multinational organization and will teach you the communication skills needed to network with professionals in your area or enhance your career.

The English Language opens an ocean of career opportunities to those who speak this language anywhere in the world. Similarly, it has turned into an inevitable requirement for various fields and professions like medicine , computing and more.

In the fast-evolving world, it is essential to have a common language that we can understand to make the best use of the data and information available. As a result, the English Language has become a storehouse of various knowledge ranging from social to political fields.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas  

Reasons to Learn the English Language

As the importance of the English Language is clear now, we move on to why we must learn the English Language. First of all, it is a global language. It is so common that one out of five people can speak or understand this language.

Further, learning the English Language can help in getting a job easily. As it has become the language of many fields, it automatically increases the chances of landing a good job in a good company.

In addition, it helps with meeting new people. As it is the official language of 53 countries, learning it helps to break the language barriers. Most importantly, it is also the language of the Internet.

Another important reason to learn this language is that it makes travelling easier. Being a widely used language globally, it will help you connect with people easily. Similarly, it is also essential in the world of business.

It does not matter whether you are an employee or employer, it benefits everyone. Students who wish to study abroad must definitely study this language. Many countries use their schools and universities. So, it can offer a good opportunity for students.

Why and where do we need the English language?

• Use of English on the Internet – Because of the tremendous rise of information technology, particularly the internet, English is the language of choice for Internet users. The internet has also played an important role in promoting and spreading the English language throughout the world, as more and more people are exposed to it, and English has also become the language of the internet.
• Use of English in Education – English has become one of the majorly used languages to understand, learn and explain concepts from various fields of knowledge. The majority of instructional tools, materials, and texts are written in English. The global educational systems at colleges all over the world need English as a foreign language.
• Use of English for Travel purposes – As we all know, English has been named as the official language of 53 countries and over 400 million people in the world speak English, the English language comes in handy for communicating with everyone when anyone travels around the world be it for tourism, job opportunity, settlement, casual visits, etc.
• Use of English for Communication – The most important function of a language is to allow people to communicate effectively. For many years, English has been the most widely known and valued language on the planet. In other words, English becomes an efficient tool for communicating with people all over the world.

Conclusion of Importance Of English Language Essay

We use the English Language in most of our international communications. While it is not the most spoken language in the world, 53 countries have named it their official language. Moreover, about 400 million people globally use it as their first language. Thus, being the most common second language in the world, it will be beneficial to learn this language to open doors to new opportunities.

FAQ on Importance Of English Language Essay

Question 1: How does the English Language help you get a job?

Answer 1: the  English Language is the language of many things like science, aviation, computers, diplomacy, and tourism. Thus, if you know English, it will increase your chances of landing a good job in an international company.

Question 2: Does the English Language help in connecting with people globally?

Answer 2: Yes, it does. It is because English is the official language of 53 countries and we use it as a lingua franca (a mutually known language) by people from all over the world. This means that studying English can help us have a conversation with people on a global level.

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• Guide to the Cambridge C2 Proficiency Writing Exam – Part 1: Essay

• Posted on 19/04/2023
• Categories: Blog

Are you preparing for the Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) writing exam? If so, you may be feeling a little nervous and concerned about what lies ahead . Let us help put that fear and anxiety to bed and get started on how your academic writing can leave a positive impression on the examiner.

By the end of this blog post, you’ll know exactly what you need to do, how to prepare and how you can use your knowledge of other parts of the exam to help you.

Although you’ll find the advanced writing skills you’ve mastered at C1 will stand you in good stead for C2 writing, there are clear differences in the exam format in CPE. As in Cambridge C1, there are two parts in the writing exam, and understanding what you need to do before you’ve even put a pen to paper is incredibly important. So, let’s go!

What’s in Part 1?

First, let’s look at the format of Part 1:

• Task: essay.
• Word count: 240–280 words.
• Register: formal.
• Overview: a summary of two texts and an evaluation of the ideas.
• Suggested structure: introduction, paragraph 1, paragraph 2, conclusion.
• Time: 1 hour 30 minutes for Part 1 and 2.

Before we look at an example task, let’s look at how your paper will be assessed. The examiner will mark your paper using four separate assessment scales:

• Content – this demonstrates your ability to complete the task, including only relevant information.
• Communicative achievement – this shows how well you’ve completed the task, having followed the conventions of the task, used the correct register and maintained the reader’s attention throughout.
• Organisation – the overall structure of your essay, the paragraphs and the sentences.
• Language – your ability to use a wide range of C2 grammar and vocabulary in a fluent and accurate way.

How can I write a fantastic essay?

Let’s look at an example task:

The key things you’re being asked to do here are summarise, evaluate and include your own ideas, using your own words as far as possible. So, in short, you have to paraphrase. As a Cambridge exams expert, you’ll know that this is a skill you already use throughout the exam.

In Reading and Use of English Part 4, the techniques you are using to make the keyword transformations (active to passive, comparative structures, negative inversions, common word patterns, etc) will show you that you already know how you can say the same thing in other words.

Your ability to do word formation in Reading and Use of English Part 3 is useful here, as you look for verbs that you can change into nouns, and vice versa. This enables you to say reword sentences without losing the original meaning.

You are already adept at identifying the correct options in Reading and Use of English Part 5 and Listening Parts 1 and 3, although the words given are different to the information in the text or audio.

So, be aware of the skills you have already practised, and use them to your advantage!

How should I plan and structure my essay?

Before you even consider writing, read both texts thoroughly . Highlight the key points in each text and make notes about how you can express this in your own words. Look for contrasting opinions and think about how you can connect the ideas together. These contrasting ideas will usually form the basis of paragraphs 2 and 3.

Although there are multiple ways you can organise your essay, here is a tried and tested structure:

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Paragraph 2: Idea 1 with support

Paragraph 3: Idea 2 with support

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

Introduction

Use your introduction as a way to present the general theme. Don’t give anything away in terms of your own opinion, but instead give an overview of what you will discuss. Imagine this as a global comment, talking about how society as a whole may feel about the topic.

Start with a strong sentence. Make your intentions clear, then back up your idea with a supporting sentence and elaborate on it. Use linkers to show how this idea has different stances, paraphrased from the key points you highlighted in the texts.

Follow the same structure as Idea 1, but focus on a different element from the two texts. Introduce it clearly, then provide more support to the idea. Keep emotional distance from the topic – save your opinion for the conclusion!

Here is the opportunity for you to introduce your personal opinion. There shouldn’t be anything new included here other than how you personally feel about the topics discussed. Use your conclusion to refer back to the main point and round up how your opinion differs or is similar.

This is just one example of how you can structure your essay. However, we recommend trying different formats. The more you practise, the more feedback you’ll get from your teacher. Once you’ve settled on the structure that suits you, your planning will be a lot quicker and easier.

What can I do to prepare?

According to the Cambridge English website, ‘A C2 Proficiency qualification shows the world that you have mastered English to an exceptional level. It proves you can communicate with the fluency and sophistication of a highly competent English speaker.’

This means that being a proficient writer in your own language is not enough. So, what can you do to really convince the examiner that you truly are smarter than the average Joe ?

Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!

✔ Read academic texts regularly.

✔ Pay attention to model essay answers and highlight things that stand out.

✔ Always try to upgrade your vocabulary. Challenge yourself to think of synonyms.

✔ Write frequently and study the feedback your teacher gives you.

✔ Study C2 grammar and include it in your writing.

What do I need to avoid?

Don’t overuse the same linkers. Practise using different ones and not only in essays. You can write something much shorter and ask your teacher to check for correct usage.

• Don’t constantly repeat the same sentence length and punctuation. Long sentences may seem the most sophisticated, but you should consider adding shorter ones from time to time. This adds variety and a dramatic effect. Try it!
• Don’t be discouraged by your mistakes – learn from them! If you struggle with a grammar point, master it. If you spell something incorrectly, write it again and again.
• Don’t limit your English studying time. Do as much as possible in English – watch TV, read, listen to podcasts, or meet with English speaking friends. English time should not only be reserved for the classroom.

What websites can help me?

The Official Cambridge English page, where you can find a link to sample papers.

BBC Learning English has a range of activities geared towards advanced level learners.

Flo-joe has very useful writing practice exercises that allow you to see other students’ writing.

Writing apps and tools like Grammarly can improve your writing style with their feedback and suggestions.

Don’t forget about our fantastic C2 blogs too!

Passing Cambridge C2 Proficiency: Part 3 Reading and Use of English

Passing C2 Proficiency: A Guide to Reading Part 5

Passing C2 Proficiency: A Guide to Reading Part 6

Guide to the Cambridge C2 Proficiency Listening Test

Guide to the Cambridge C2 Proficiency Speaking Test

Looking for further support?

If you’re interested in preparing for the C2 Proficiency exam but don’t know where to start, get in touch with us here at Oxford House today! We offer specific courses that are designed especially to help you get ready for the exam. Let our fully qualified teachers use their exam experience to guide you through your learning journey. Sign up now and receive your free mock test!

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

lie ahead (pv): be in the future.

stand you in good stead (id): be of great use to you.

adept at (adj): have a good ability to do something.

thoroughly (adv): completely.

tried and tested (adj): used many times before and proved to be successful.

back up (pv): give support to.

round up (pv): summarise.

settle on (pv): choose after careful consideration

average Joe (n): normal person.

discouraged (adj): having lost your enthusiasm or confidence.

pv = phrasal verb

adj = adjective

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Improve your English pronunciation by mastering these 10 tricky words

• Posted on 05/04/2023

5 Spelling Rules For Comparative And Superlative Adjectives

• Posted on 03/05/2023

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English Language Proficiency and Development

Photo: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary by Daniel F. Runde and Erin Nealer

Published February 23, 2017

Proficiency in English is a critical component of a successful modern society. English is the third most spoken and most widely taught language on the planet. Commonly used in over 100 countries by more than 300 million people as a first language and by over 600 million as a second language, English is a “ global language ,” the “ lingua franca of the modern era .” English skills are necessary for any country to fully benefit from global commerce; access the latest science, technology, and innovation; and exert influence in the world. Over 20 percent of published literature is in English , followed by approximately 10 percent in Mandarin and German respectively. The United States, in partnership with other Anglophone countries, should do more to further the use of English abroad, especially in parts of the world where English proficiency is not currently strong and in strategic geographies such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia.

Other languages once considered the lingua franca included Greek and Latin, but some experts believe that English is “ too widespread and too deeply entrenched to die out ” the way those languages eventually did. French was the lingua franca of literature and diplomacy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and is still a prevalent language in parts of Europe and Africa. The negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles in France after World War I was conducted in French. By the end of World War II, however, English replaced French as the international language of science, technology, diplomacy, and business. For example, the Bretton Woods negotiations establishing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were conducted in English. Fast-forwarding to the prevalence of English on the Internet , the English language’s role as a lingua franca can be seen as further solidified in the twenty-first century. Today, even in some former French colonies, English classes have overtaken French classes in schools.

The Benefits of English Language Education

There are several strategic benefits to English proficiency. First, English is the language of business, growth, and economic prosperity. The operating language of Deutsche Bank , the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and even the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is English . Multinational corporations in China report exponentially higher salaries for employees fluent in English, and the elite French National School of Administration expects graduates to be able to conduct business in English as well as French. With one out of four people on the planet at least proficient in English, the commercial benefits are also significant. The ability to communicate with the broadest customer base possible requires proficiency in English, and cross-language negotiations in a shared third language can be more successful than relying on either company’s native tongue.

Second, English is the language of education and research. Nearly half of all scholarly journals are published in English. In 2015–2016, a record number of international students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education— over 1 million —compared to about 300,000 U.S. students studying abroad. English language skills are required to study in U.S. institutions, as well as in many highly regarded schools in Europe, Australia, and around the world.

Third, there are geostrategic benefits to English proficiency. Countries that want to orient their broader relationships toward the West require a broad base of English proficiency. For example, Ukraine would like to orient itself to the West—away from Russia. At present, nearly 30 percent of Ukrainians speak Russian, while English fluency is less common. A much bigger base of English speakers would help Ukraine to reorient its international position.

Middle-income countries, in particular, would benefit from using English as a stepping-stone toward economic progress. The United States currently has 47 Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and dozens of Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs); English proficiency could help a middle-income country negotiate and comply with a trade agreement that catalyzes economic growth and job creation . The British Council has published a report that cites language barriers as an obstacle to growth for one out of five businesses surveyed. With less than 1 percent of the study’s respondents confident enough in Russian or Chinese to conduct business, a strategic approach to educating business owners in a common language—English—would enable international competition and cooperation.

Brazil, for example, seeks to escape the middle-income trap . In order to do this, Brazil will need to shift away from its commodity-focused economy toward a knowledge economy with greater capacity in the sciences, research, and technological innovation. In order to accomplish this, Brazil will need to increase English education and proficiency.

Similarly, both social and economic progress in El Salvador would benefit from higher levels of growth in its formal economy. For the nascent tourism industry to grow, El Salvador needs a greater number of fluent English speakers. El Salvador is a growing a call center hub for North America. However, without significantly higher English proficiency, that nation cannot make full use of this strategic opportunity.

For countries with severely lagging English proficiency—the Middle East and North African countries are generally at the bottom of the English Proficiency Index list—a clear strategy tailored to each country’s needs is critical. English training should be considered a mandatory component of technical training for government officials and a key part of education reform funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), multilateral development banks, and other donor organizations.

Teaching English and an Anglophone Partnership

There are several U.S. government programs supporting English language education. With a budget of $410 million for fiscal year 2016 , the Peace Corps is one vehicle through which the United States promotes Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) abroad. TEFL programs make up the majority of the Peace Corps’ education programs, which account for 37 percent of all Peace Corps volunteers’ work. TEFL education includes, in many cases, adult education as well as primary and secondary school lessons.

The U.S. Department of State also has programs for teaching English abroad. The Office of English Language Programs (OELP) is part of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). OELP programs have a budget of approximately $43 million each year , which goes to various grants, scholarship programs, and teacher training programs that foster the spread of English proficiency. These programs are a form of U.S. soft power; sending educated, talented teachers abroad demonstrates the United States’ commitment to education while opening new avenues for communication and cooperation, thus aiding in the socioeconomic success of the developing world.

English education occurs mostly during primary and secondary school , alongside the study of the national language or languages. Currently, the United States indirectly supports improving basic education through development assistance provided by USAID, which endeavors to improve the quality and quantity of English language classes, as well as through the various teacher training programs previously mentioned. New technologies can supplement—but not yet entirely replace—traditional classroom learning. Apps such as Duolingo or Busuu are increasingly popular, but they do require access to the Internet and smartphones. Distance learning through videoconferencing is also an option, but it still requires access to the Internet, technological tools, and trained, competent teachers.

The for-profit private sector has an important role to play. Successful for-profit programs, including technologies like apps or videoconference classes, could be scaled up with the help of government support. English First , which sends English teachers to over 300 locations in Indonesia, Russia, and China, is one such private company that already has significant reach. Public-private partnerships with corporations that need skilled, English-speaking workforces are a good place for this kind of scaling up to start.

In theory, the United States could identify areas of collaboration with the Anglosphere, especially the United Kingdom. However, in practice there are limitations on the scope of this cooperation due to fundamentally different guiding principles. The British Council , for example, provides English classes but charges a fee. Furthermore, Australian and Canadian English-teaching programs are less developed than State Department and Peace Corps programs, which makes cooperation challenging. But that could change with some high-level attention from Anglosphere governments.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture both work with networks of schools, adult education centers, cultural organizations, and online tools in order to promote the study of French and Spanish. Understanding how France and Spain encourage the study of French and Spanish, respectively, could be a worthwhile strategy for the U.S. government to replicate when cooperating with other Anglophone countries on English education efforts abroad.

Americans Must Still Learn Strategic Languages

The spread of English as the modern lingua franca does not undercut the importance of English speakers learning other strategic languages. Americans in particular should consider the importance of learning a second language; only 58 percent of middle schools offered foreign language instruction as of 2008. Just as the ability to communicate in English has value for those in developing countries, fluency in a second language such as Spanish, French, Chinese, or Arabic enables English speakers to better understand international issues and opportunities.

In the United States, learning Mandarin as a second language is increasingly popular; at the undergraduate level, Chinese language class enrollment has increased 51 percent since 2002 . While Spanish and French remain the most-studied languages at the undergraduate level in the United States, they have both experienced falling enrollment ( down by approximately 8 percent from 2009 to 2013), while Chinese has seen a 2 percent increase in enrollment. The Chinese government is encouraging the expansion of language training through Hanban , an affiliate of the Chinese Ministry of Education that has partnered with K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, in the United States to support Mandarin Chinese language classes. Schools that have partnered with Hanban receive $10,000 per year for the three-year partnership to train teachers and provide materials. China’s Ministry of Education is clearly investing in teaching Mandarin; the U.S. government should consider similar partnerships for English classes abroad. In 2010, over 750,000 people took the Chinese government’s official language proficiency test , and the government reports 40,000 students enrolled in over 330 official language-learning centers worldwide.

English instruction abroad can no longer be considered a “neocolonial” undertaking that devalues the non-English-speaking culture. Given the current state of global and economic affairs, the United States should not have any hesitancy in encouraging the spread of English, as English proficiency must be considered a mutually beneficial skill that promotes integration of more countries into the global economy, fosters international understanding, and contributes to U.S. interests in peace, security, and economic development.

Daniel F. Runde holds the Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis and is director of the Project on U.S. Leadership in Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Erin Nealer is a research assistant with the CSIS Project on U.S. Leadership in Development.

Commentary is produced by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions. Accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in this publication should be understood to be solely those of the author(s).

© 2017 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.

Daniel F. Runde

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How important is English language proficiency for academic success?

Date Published

27 February 2024

Written by Jasmin Silver, independent educational consultant and researcher

Jasmin has over 12 years of experience in the education sector and specialises in enhancing language teaching and learning through the application of research.

As an admissions professional, you want to recruit applicants who will thrive in their studies, make a valuable contribution to the academic community in your institution, and overall have a positive student experience. Making informed admissions decisions is crucial to this aim.

The role of English in admissions decisions

The number of courses taught in English is on the rise and so too are the number of international applicants wishing to study at English-speaking universities. In these contexts, an important decision is whether an applicant’s level of English is suitable for the programme. Getting these judgements right ensures that students have the best chance of success in their programme and that your institution maintains its standards and reputation for high-quality education.

Key questions to support your admissions decisions

To make informed decisions, knowing the answers to these questions will be key:

• How important is English language proficiency for future academic success?
• What impact does language proficiency have on student experience?
• How can your institution effectively assess and support your applicants’ language proficiency, at the admissions stage and beyond?

This article brings together some of the latest research into this area to answer these questions and help you make the right admissions decisions.

English proficiency linked to academic success

Higher education programmes taught in English naturally need students to have a certain level of language proficiency to be able to succeed academically. In these courses, English is a vital tool needed to understand and engage with the course content. A student’s English proficiency level is therefore likely to have a big impact on their academic success.

“a recent study found that English language proficiency was the strongest predictor of academic success for students”

In fact, a recent study found that English language proficiency was the strongest predictor of academic success for students enrolled on a Business Administration English-Medium Instruction (EMI) course in Turkey (Curle, Yuksel, Aizawa, Thompson, & Rakhshandehroo, 2024). Similarly, several studies have found that international students in English-speaking institutions who have higher IELTS band scores tend to be more successful in their studies than those with lower scores (Stigger, 2019).

So let’s explore lessons from the academic experiences of international students at English-medium institutions. We’ll also look at the factors that enable them to learn and thrive academically.

Barriers to understanding

Research suggests that international students’ level of language proficiency has a significant impact on:

• their ability to understand lectures (Zhou & Thompson, 2023)
• the time and effort needed to grasp content (Breeze & Miller, 2011)
• their emotions: lower levels are linked to more frustration and anxiety (Breeze & Miller, 2011).

The role of working memory

Key challenges for international students with lower levels of English proficiency are identifying key points and key words in fast, connected speech as well as being able to organise their knowledge in lectures (Zhou & Thompson, 2023).

The authors of this study suggest this has to do with the increased demands on working memory that students with low levels of proficiency face. The limited capacity of working memory means students’ attention is mainly dedicated to deciphering individual words rather than to deeper understanding of the learning content.

Academic reading

Another key feature of many higher education courses is the amount of academic reading students are expected to do as a source of input for their learning of course content. In a recent study of an EMI context in Japan, academic reading was seen as one of the most challenging skills for students (Aizawa, Rose, Thompson & Curle, 2023).

Previous studies suggested that reading difficulties may be largely due to the number of unfamiliar words, particularly technical and academic words, included in academic texts (e.g. Uchihara & Harada, 2018).

This has caused pressure on faculty in some institutions to choose alternative, less difficult reading texts for their classes, which has led to concern about the effect this will have on the quality and depth of learning (Moore, Morton & Price, 2010).

Participating in the course

Many students with lower levels of speaking proficiency report finding it difficult to express themselves and participate in discussions with other students and lecturers (Yildiz, Soruç & Griffiths, 2017). For example, in a study of Chinese international students with low levels of speaking proficiency at a Canadian university, students reported significant and wide-ranging difficulties participating in their academic and social lives, including:

• not being able to communicate well enough with peers and lecturers to ask for help with academic difficulties
• as a result, spending excessive amounts of time studying on their own leading to exhaustion and burnout
• experiencing emotions such as frustration, embarrassment and shame (Xing & Bolden, 2019).

Academic writing

Writing is often a key skill needed to succeed academically, with many courses assessing students’ progress and achievement using extended pieces of writing such as essays, dissertations, and theses. In addition, the process of academic writing contributes to the development of thinking and understanding necessary to succeed (Abouzeid, 2021). Research suggests that key challenges in academic writing for those with lower levels of English proficiency include:

• use of grammar, vocabulary and specific terminology (Abouzeid, 2021)
• clarity and cohesion, expression and grammar (Uitdenbogerd, Lynch, Harland, Thevathayan, Hamilton, D’Souza & Zydervelt, 2018).

The study mentioned above by Uitdenbogerd et al. (2018) was carried out with international Computer Science PhD students in an Australian institution. The authors found that students were distracted from the main focus of their programme – research – by English writing challenges, and that this also had a big impact on their supervisors. These supervisors reported spending a lot of time and effort editing their students’ work, leaving less time to focus on the content of the students’ writing.

Assessments

Whether in speaking or writing, having lower levels of English proficiency limits the extent to which students can demonstrate their learning. Indeed, studies suggest that these students are disadvantaged in assessments due to not being able to sufficiently demonstrate their knowledge (e.g. Alhamami, 2021).

Other success factors

The international students with lower levels of proficiency participating in Xing & Bolden’s (2019) study reported feeling strong negative emotions, as mentioned above. These emotions may affect students’ motivation in the course, having negative effects on academic success (e.g. Curle et al, 2024).

The effect of proficiency on confidence is also an important factor. Another recent study by Brunsting, Smart & Bingham (2022) reported that students with higher IELTS scores reported feeling greater levels of English language confidence at university, which in turn led to less academic stress. The authors also suggested that this may have contributed to these students receiving more social support from other students. These factors would also likely influence academic outcomes.

Other non-linguistic factors which may interact with English proficiency to affect academic success are self-efficacy, self-regulation, goal-orientation and support from peers and institutions (Zhou & Thompson, 2023; Soruç, Pawlak, Yuksel & Horzum, 2022; Aizawa, 2024).

Implications for admissions professionals

As English proficiency is likely to play a significant role in the success of international or EMI students at your institution, it is important to have valid and accurate assessment which gathers information on candidates’ language levels when making admissions decisions.

Tests of English which are more academically oriented, such as IELTS Academic, will give you more helpful information about applicants’ ability to thrive in their studies than more general tests of English.

Even when using an English proficiency test such as IELTS, which includes tasks that are designed to introduce students to what they’ll encounter at university, there may still be discipline-specific language and skills which cannot be assessed practically or reliably in such a test. Due to the challenge this presents it is important that in-sessional support is offered to students speaking English as a second or foreign language. This would ideally be created in collaboration with subject faculty to ensure support is appropriately tailored to the programme.

Further guidance

For guidance on setting minimum English language standards for admissions, a good starting point is the information provided from reputable test organisations (e.g. IELTS band guidance ).

You should also contact your test provider to discuss in more detail how the test tasks relate to your courses. This will help you to make better decisions on minimum English language standards and better determine in which areas students are likely to need extra language support.

• Abouzeid, R. (2021). Aligning perceptions with reality: Lebanese EMI instructor perceptions of students’ writing proficiency. English for Specific Purposes , 63 , 45–58.
• Aizawa, I. (2024). Tracking the first-year experience in English medium instruction: A pre-post study of transitional challenges. English for Specific Purposes, 73, 20–32
• Aizawa, I., Rose, H., Thompson, G. & Curle, S. (2023). Beyond the threshold: Exploring English language proficiency, linguistic challenges, and academic language skills of Japanese students in an English medium instruction programme. Language Teaching Research , 27 (4), 837–861.
• Alhamami, M. (2021). English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in computing undergraduate programs. Education and Information Technologies, 26, 6549–6562
• Breeze, R. & Miller, P. (2011). Predictive validity of the IELTS Listening Test as an indicator of student coping ability in Spain . IELTS Research Reports Volume 12.
• Brunsting, N., Yu, Q., Smart, J. & Bingham, W. P. (2022). Investigating linkages between international students’ English language proficiency, social-contextual outcomes, and wellbeing in U.S. universities . IELTS Research Reports Online Series, No. 4/22 . British Council, Cambridge Assessment English and IDP: IELTS Australia.
• Curle, S., Yuksel, D., Aizawa, I., Thompson, G. & Rakhshandehroo, M. (2024). Academic success in English Medium Instruction programmes in Turkey: Exploring the effect of gender, motivation, and English language proficiency. International Journal of Educational Research, 123 , 1–12
• Moore, T., Morton, J. & Price, S. (2010). Construct validity in the IELTS Academic Reading Test: A comparison of reading requirements in IELTS test items and in university study . IELTS Research Reports.
• Soruç, A., Pawlak, M., Yuksel, D. & Horzum, B. (2022). Investigating the impact of linguistic and non-linguistic factors on EMI academic success. System, 107 , 1–15.
• Stigger, E. (2019). The Correlation between IELTS scores and international students’ academic success: A literature review. BC TEAL Journal, 4, 84–94.
• Uchihara, T. & Harada, T. (2018). Roles of vocabulary knowledge for success in English-Medium Instruction: Self-perceptions and academic outcomes of Japanese Undergraduates. TESOL Quarterly, 52 (3), 564–587
• Uitdenbogerd, A. L., Lynch, K., Harland, J., Thevathayan, C., Hamilton, H., D’Souza, D. and Zydervelt, S. 2018. IELTS: Student and supervisor perceptions of writing competencies for a Computer Science PhD . IELTS Research Reports Online Series, No. 1 . British Council, Cambridge Assessment English and IDP: IELTS Australia.
• Xing, D. & Bolden, B. (2019). Exploring Oral English Learning Motivation in Chinese International Students with Low Oral English Proficiency. Journal of International Students , 9 (3), 834–855.
• Yildiz, D., Soruç, A. & Griffiths, C. (2017). Challenges and needs of students in the EMI (English as a medium of instruction) classroom. Konin Language Studies , 5(4), 387–402.
• Zhou, S. & Thompson, G. (2023). Exploring the role of English proficiency, self-efficacy, and motivation in listening for learners transitioning to an English-medium transnational university in China. System, 113 , 1–13
• Accessibility
• Legal & policies

2024. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council; IDP IELTS; and Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Strong English Proficiency in General Paper Essays: A Key Ingredient for Success

A Level General Paper (GP) is a subject that demands critical thinking, analytical skills, and eloquence in expressing ideas. You may be wondering whether a good command of the English language is a guarantee of an A grade in GP essays . There is no doubt that English is essential. However, it is not the only factor that determines success in this subject. In this article, we will look at the importance of English language skills in GP essays and important tips that contribute to the achievement of excellence.

Understanding the Importance of English Proficiency

A good grasp of the English language is very important when writing GP essays. Being skilled in English helps students express their thoughts clearly, use many different words, and make their sentences sound smart. This skill lets them communicate complicated ideas well, which makes their essays better.

Also, being good at English is crucial for using correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. These things are needed to make an essay organized and well done. If an essay has lots of mistakes and is hard to understand, it won’t be able to share its message well. So, English is a key part of writing good GP essays.

Beyond Language: Developing Critical Thinking Skills

While a strong command of English provides the foundation, the essence of GP essays lies in the development of critical thinking skills. GP essays require students to critically analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources. Proficiency in English can help convey these analyses clearly, but the ability to think critically and engage deeply with the topic is equally, if not more, important.

Students need to develop the skill of identifying key arguments, evaluating evidence, and presenting well-reasoned counterarguments. These skills allow students to demonstrate a nuanced understanding of complex issues, showcasing their ability to think critically and independently. A thoughtfully constructed argument, supported by evidence and logical reasoning, can significantly enhance the quality of the essay, leading to a higher grade. According to Kelvin Hong, Chief Tutor of Ace GP Tuition , “It is the strength and logic of a student’s arguments that usually make or break their essay. This is why we focus a lot on effective argumentation in our weekly GP classes.”

Effective Research and Source Integration

In addition to critical thinking , doing good research and using sources are important for a great GP essay. Students have to find sources that make sense and are trustworthy, take out the useful information, and put it in their essays smoothly. Being good at English helps with understanding and explaining hard sources, so students can use different ideas and expert thoughts in their essays.

Also, English skills help with giving credit to the sources and showing where the information came from. This makes sure the essay is honest and doesn’t copy other people’s work. When the essay has good research and reliable sources, it makes the arguments better and shows that the student can talk about serious ideas the right way.

Structural Organization and Coherence

A well-organised essay with a clear structure and logical flow of ideas is essential for effective communication. English language skills enable students to form coherent paragraphs, ensuring that each idea flows smoothly into the next. Logical organisation enhances the readability of the essay and allows examiners to follow the argument effortlessly.

Here is a simplified format and GP essays can vary in complexity and structure depending on the specific topic and requirements. It’s important to adapt your format and content to the specific essay prompt and guidelines.

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2 Chapter 2: Language Proficiency and Communicative Competence

• Language proficiency is multidimensional and entails linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural factors.
• As students learn a second language, they progress at different rates along a continuum of predictable stages.
• CAN DO Descriptors depict what students can do with language at different levels of language proficiency.
• Communicative competence involves more than linguistic or grammatical competence.
• Native languages, cultures, and life experiences are resources to be tapped and provide a solid foundation for learning language and content.

As you read the scenario below, think about English language learners (ELLs) you may know. What are their language proficiency levels? How is instruction planned to address their different content and language needs? Reflect on how knowledge of their English language proficiency might help teachers better address their unique needs and tap their strengths.

Scenario Rudi Heinz’s head was swimming: state content standards, national content standards, state English language development standards, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) English language proficiency standards, WIDA [1] standards, district mandates, mandatory curriculum. It was becoming overwhelming to try to fit all of the different and sometimes conflicting objectives together into a coherent lesson. “How can I possibly teach all of this? Why do I have to worry about English language development standards anyway?” moaned Rudi to himself. “That’s the English department’s job—or the ELL teacher’s job—not mine! I teach history!” Suddenly the picture of a bumbling juggler (with himself in the lead role) trying to add one more item to his routine sprang into his mind. Like many others, Rudi was a creative guy with a passion for teaching. Sure, stress affected his ability to be creative, but he refused to give up. He drew courage, strength, and inspiration from the memory of the smiling and inquisitive faces of Roman, Marina, Yelena, Augusto, Faridah, and Kumar. Rudi turned once again to the history and English language proficiency standards spread out before him. Each one of his English learners was a unique individual with specific strengths and weaknesses in both language and content. These diverse needs made lesson planning challenging, but his ELL kids were counting on him to find a way to communicate with them. Rudi was determined to do just that.

STOP AND DO

To assist you with the pronunciation of many foreign names, visit How to Say that Name.com. Many names are available with audio files by native speakers.

STOP AND THINK

Think about the English learners you know. What information do you already have that would help to inform the strategies you can use to meet their instructional needs? What information do you still need to obtain?

Language Proficiency

Language proficiency can be defined as the ability to use language accurately and appropriately in its oral and written forms in a variety of settings (Cloud, Genesee, & Hamayan, 2000). Kern (2000) developed a broad conceptual framework for understanding language proficiency that includes three dimensions of academic literacy: linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural. To be proficient in a language requires knowledge and skills using the linguistic components. It also requires background knowledge, critical thinking and metacognitive skills, as well as understanding and applying cultural nuances, beliefs, and practices in context. Finally, being proficient in a language requires skill in using appropriately the four language domains—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—for a variety of purposes, in a variety of situations, with a variety of audiences.

Language Domains

There are four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Although these four domains are interrelated, they can develop at different rates and independently of one another. These four domains can be classified as receptive or productive skills and as oral or written. The matrix in Figure 2.1 depicts the four language domains.

Figure 2.1 Language domains. Receptive language refers to the information someone receives through listening or reading activities. Listening. English learners process, understand, and respond to spoken language from a variety of speakers for a range of purposes in a variety of situations. Listening, however, is not a passive skill; it requires the active pursuit of meaning. Reading. English learners process, interpret, and evaluate written words, symbols, and other visual cues used in texts to convey meaning. Learning to read in a second language may be hindered or enhanced by students’ levels of literacy in their native languages. Students who have strong reading foundations in their first languages bring with them literacy skills that can typically be transferred to the process of learning to read in English. Productive language refers to the information produced to convey meaning. The very nature of productive language implies an audience, although not always an immediate audience, as in the case of writing a book or an e-mail. Speaking. English learners engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences in a wide array of social, cultural, and academic contexts. Contextual roles for getting and keeping the floor, turn taking, and the way in which children converse with adults are only a few examples. Writing. English learners engage in written communication in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes and audiences. These forms include expressing meaning through drawing, symbols, and/or text. ELLs may come with writing styles and usages that are influenced by their home cultures. Understanding the different demands of each language domain aids educators in addressing the language learning needs of their ELLs. Note that proficiency in a language may vary across the four basic language skills. For example, think about the times we have heard an adult language learner say, “I can read German, but I can’t speak it at all.” Likewise, some ELLs may have stronger listening and speaking skills, while others might be stronger writers but not as strong when it comes to speaking. When assessing the proficiency levels of ELLs, it is important to take into account an individual student’s performances in each domain.

Rudi Heinz has learned that his sixth-grade ELL student, Faridah, scored at a Level 2 on the state’s English language proficiency (ELP) exam. However, this information provides an incomplete and misleading picture of Faridah’s needs and abilities. To address her language needs effectively, to understand the impact of her language proficiencies in the content areas, and to build on her language strengths, Rudi must uncover Faridah’s individual scores in every language domain and in combinations of domains. Faridah’s cumulative file holds a copy of the state’s language proficiency test, which she completed the previous spring. Here are the scores (on a scale from 1 to 4, with 4 being advanced proficiency):

Rudi felt some degree of success at locating the language proficiency information, but he still wondered what to do next. How are these scores helpful? What do they mean in the real-life context of the busy classroom?

English Language Proficiency

As students learn a second, third, or fourth language, they move along a continuum of predictable stages. Careful observation of and interaction with individual students aids educators in identifying each student’s level of language proficiency. This information is pivotal when planning appropriate instruction for ELLs. State English language proficiency (ELP) standards (e.g., Washington state ELPs at http://www.k12.wa.us/MigrantBilingual/ELD.aspx ) or multistate ELPs (e.g., TESOL’s 2006 PreK–12 English language proficiency Standards, or WIDA’s 2012 English language development standards at https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/2012-ELD-Standards.pdf ) provide helpful guidance for teaching content across the four language domains. TESOL’s five preK–12 English language proficiency standards (see Figure 2.2) can guide teachers in helping ELs become proficient in English while, at the same time, achieving in the content areas.

Figure 2.2 PreK-12 Englis Language Proficiency Standards. Source: PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards by TESOL. Copyright 2006 by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Reprinted with permission.

English Language Proficiency Levels

Students progress through the stages of language proficiency at different rates: some acquire nativelike competency in 7 years, some may take 10 years, while others may never reach that level. Most students learning a second language follow a similar route; that is, certain linguistic forms and rules are acquired early, whereas others tend to be acquired late, as illustrated in Figure 2.3. In other words, while most students follow the same path in learning English, their pace and rate are different depending on a variety of factors, such as native language, familiarity with the Latin alphabet, competence in the native language, age, previous schooling experiences, aptitude, motivation, personality, and other social and psychological factors.

Figure 2.3 Acquisition of English features While many states have developed their own sets of standards and may use four, five, or six proficiency levels or apply different labels for each stage (e.g., beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced, and advanced), the standards outline the progression of English language development in the four domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing through each of the different levels from novice to proficient.

Check examples of state English language proficiency standards for K–12 education on the website for the state of California at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/englangdevstnd.pdf ; Illinois at https://www.isbe.net/Pages/English-Language-Learning-Standards.aspx ; and Texas at http://ipsi.utexas.edu/EST/files/standards/ELPS/ELPS.pdf The English language proficiency (ELP) standards developed by TESOL provide a model of the process of language acquisition that can be adapted by districts and states within the context of their own language leveling system (see Figure 2.4 for these standards).

Figure 2.4 Levels of language proficiency Source: PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards by TESOL. Copyright 2006 by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). Reprinted with permission. The language proficiency levels are not necessarily connected to cognitive functions. Often students may be able to process advanced cognitive tasks and yet not be able to express those understandings in the second language. For example, Level 1 or Level 2 English language learners can still analyze and classify information if it is presented in small chunks and supported visually.

Take a moment to recall the information Rudi Heinz collected about Faridah’s English language proficiency test scores:

Using the information presented in the preceding section, answer the following questions.

• What are Faridah’s strengths?
• How does this information help Rudi plan instruction for Faridah?
• What can Rudi reasonably expect Faridah to understand and do in his ancient history class?
• Is that all there is to learning a language?

Communicative Competence

Pike (1982), notes that “[l]anguage is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a total coherent system of these integrating with each other, and with behavior, context, universe of discourse, and observer perspective” (p. 44). As early as the 1970s, Dell Hymes (1972) put forward a notion of linguistic competence to mean more than mastery of formal linguistic systems. Communication is not only about oral and written language. When we speak, our speech is often accompanied by nonverbal communications such as facial expressions, gestures, body movement, and sighs. The way we stand, the distance between our listeners and us, the looks on our faces, and our tone of voice all influence the manner and content of our communication. While the ability to correctly form words, sentences, paragraphs, and larger bodies of text is an important expectation by schools and educators, the area of communicative competence can sometimes be overlooked. Briefly, the idea of communicative competence is the communicator’s comprehensive knowledge and appropriate application of a language in a specific context. This knowledge helps the communicator know what to communicate and, more important, how, when, and where to communicate something. For example, the following exchange between a principal and her middle school Honduran student includes appropriate grammatical features but much more information than needed:

While Antonio’s grammatical constructions are acceptable, in U.S. settings this may not be the response expected by a principal or teacher because it contains much more information than needed.

• Can you recall any conversations with English language learners and/or their families that are similar to the example involving Antonio above?
• What did you find inappropriate in the example(s) that you recalled?
• Why was that instance from your student (or from his or her family member) inappropriate? By whose standards?

Elements of Communicative Competence

Communicative competence does not apply only to oral language. Communicative competence means competence in all four language domains—both the productive and the receptive. When talking of communicative competence, we need to consider four important elements: grammatical or linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic. Each will be defined below. Examples are provided in Figure 2.6.

• Grammatical or linguistic competencies involve accuracy of language used (e.g., spelling, vocabulary, sentence formation, pronunciation).
• Sociolinguistic competencies entail the use of language in an appropriate manner or style in a given context. These competencies take into account a variety of factors such as rules and social conventions, the status of participants, and cultural norms.
• Discourse competencies involve the ability to connect correctly formed phrases and sentences into a coherent and cohesive message in a particular style. These competencies involve the ability to be a sender and receiver of messages and to appropriately alternate those roles in conversations or written language.
• Strategic competencies involve the development of strategies such as how to get into or out of conversation, break silences, hold the floor in conversations, and deal with strategies to continue communicating when faced with breakdown in communication.

Figure 2.6 Elements and examples of communicative competence.

How can educators model and teach each facet of communicative competence while simultaneously teaching content? Think of specific examples.

The Role of Native Languages and Cultures

Native language is the primary or first language spoken by an individual. It is also called the mother tongue. The abbreviation L1 refers to someone’s native language. It is generally used in contrast to L2 , the language a person is learning. Native culture is the term often used to refer to the culture acquired first in life by a person or the culture that this individual identifies with as a group member. Norton (1997) claims that, “[t]he central questions teachers need to ask are not, ‘What is the learner’s mother tongue?’ and ‘Is the learner a native speaker of Punjabi?’ Rather the teacher should ask, ‘What is the learner’s linguistic repertoire? Is the learner’s relationship to these languages based on expertise, inheritance, affiliation, or a combination?’” (p. 418). There is an intimate relationship among language, culture, identity, and cognition. Educating ELLs includes not only focusing on language learning but also on building on students’ native languages, cultures, and experiences. Most English language learners are very familiar with at least one other language and have an intuitive understanding of how language and texts work. This knowledge of their first language (L1) will greatly enhance their opportunities to learn English. Research in this area indicates that full proficiency in the native language facilitates the development of the second language (L2) (August & Shanahan, 2017). Native language proficiency can also impact how students learn complex material, such as what is typically encountered in content-area classrooms (Ernst-Slavit & Slavit, 2007). The key is to consider students’ first languages and cultures as resources to be tapped into and built upon. Thinking of our English learners as “having to start from scratch” is the equivalent of denying the many experiences that children have accumulated before coming to the United States and the vast amount of family and cultural knowledge and traditions that have been passed on to students from the moment they were born. The consequences of denying students’ first language can be far reaching because language, culture, and identity are inextricably linked.

For a useful article on the value of the native language and culture, see “The Home Language: An English Language Learner’s Most Valuable Resource” in ¡Colorín Colorado!, by Genesee (2012), at http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/home-language-english-language-learners-most-valuable-resource . For ideas about how to find out information about students’ cultures, see the section called “Background” in Chapter 3 of this text.

Translanguaging

Translanguaging affords practitioners and academics alike a different way of conceptualizing bilingualism and multilingualism. This perspective views bilinguals and multilinguals not as possessing two or more autonomous language systems, but as users of a unitary linguistic repertoire where they sort and select whatever resources are needed to make meaning and to communicate with others. The term translanguaging was initially used by Williams (1996) to refer to a pedagogical practice where Welsh students would receive information in one language (e.g., reading) and then use it another language (e.g., writing). Some years later, the use of the term was expanded in the United States by Ofelia Garcia (see, for example, García & Wei, 2014; García & Kleyn, 2016) to refer to the language practices of people who speak more than one language. Translanguaging is not code-switching; it is not just going from one language to another. The notion of code-switching assumes the alternation of separate languages in the context of a single conversation (e.g., “ Maria forgot su bolsa ,” where the child uses Spanish to mean “her bag”). According to Garcia (2011), rather than looking at two separate languages, translanguaging avows that “bilinguals have one linguistic repertoire from which they select diverse features strategically to communicate effectively” (Garcia, 2011). The following example by Ernst-Slavit (2018) showcases how demarcations of languages are difficult to make when several languages are used fluidly in one household: If you attended a gathering at the home of a bilingual family, you might only use English while you were there. However, different family members might have used different languages for multiple purposes. For example, if you visit an Indian family (from southeast Asia), you might find grandma busy in the kitchen pulling pans out of the oven and reading recipes in Hindi while the kids are playing video games in English. Mom, Dad, and guests may be speaking mostly in English. However, when Dad speaks to the children he does so in Urdu. And then there is grandpa, watching a Bollywood movie in Urdu that includes regional variants such as Gujarati and Punjabi (p. 10). The above example of translanguaging in action depicts a family using their many linguistic resources in their everyday lives. While Urdu was the home language mentioned in the census and in the children’s school records, in this household there is not one home language but a full range of language practices used fluidly according to the speaker, purpose, and context (Ernst-Slavit, 2018). The use of translanguaging in educational contexts has brought a wealth of both interest and disagreement. Many educators working on issues of language education—the development of additional languages for all, as well as minoritized languages—have embraced translanguaging theory and pedagogy. Other educators are wary of the work on translanguaging. Some claim that translanguaging pedagogy pays too much attention to the students’ bilingualism; others worry that it could threaten the language separation traditionally posited as necessary for language maintenance and development (Vogel & Garcia, 2017). For a study on translanguaging in a third grade classroom, read “Translanguaging and Protected Spaces in a Dual Language Classroom: Tensions Across Restrictionist Policies and Unrestricted Practice” by Kristen Pratt & Gisela Ernst-Slavit (in press).

While waiting in line for a hot lunch, Rafa, a new teacher in the school, overhears Mrs. Holton telling several native Russian-speaking immigrant students to speak only English. What can he say or do to advocate for the students while at the same time maintaining a good working relationship with Mrs. Holton?

Strategies for using the native language in the classroom

Given the wide variety of languages spoken by immigrant students in the United States today, teachers will not know all of the native languages of their students. Yet teachers can still promote the use of native languages in their classrooms. Below are selected approaches for supporting native language development in K–12 classrooms.

• Organize primary language clusters. Create opportunities for students to work in groups using their primary language. This can be helpful as they discuss new topics, clarify ideas, or review complex concepts.
• Label classroom objects in different languages. Labeling classroom items allows English learners to understand and begin to learn the names of objects around the classroom. Labels also assist educators and other students to learn words in different languages.
• Assign a bilingual buddy to your newcomer student. Having a buddy who speaks the child’s first language can be very helpful as the new student learns how to function in the new school and culture. This buddy provides comfort while at the same time guides the newcomer throughout different activities (e.g., calendar, circle time, journal writing) and settings (e.g., bus stop, science lab, cafeteria).
• Support the use of the native language by using classroom aides or volunteers. By using the preview-review approach (that is, the translation of key concepts before the lesson starts, followed by review of the new content), aides or volunteers can enhance the learning opportunities of ELLs.
• Encourage primary language development at home. In today’s diverse world, bilingualism is highly valued. If students can continue to develop their first language as they learn English, their opportunities as bilingual adults will be enhanced. In addition, when students continue to develop their native language, they can continue to communicate meaningfully in the first language with their parents and relatives.
• Use technology. English learners can benefit from using technology for multiple purposes. The availability of graphical, video and audio resources can provide amazing supports for students. For example, discussion boards can create platform for students to be actively engaged using both academic and everyday English in and outside the classroom context. Likewise, searching for cognates on particular content topics might help your students have a prior of understand of the content. While some students might not be ready to produce a well-crafted five paragraph argumentative essay, they might be able to produce an outstanding PowerPoint presentation. For more ideas about technology use in language learning, see the free OER resource CALL Principles and Practice by Egbert & Shahrokni (available from https://opentext.wsu.edu/call/ ).
• Use bilingual books. An abundance of bilingual books in a variety of languages has been published in the United States since the 1980s. These books provide an effective tool for raising students’ awareness about diversity but also for fostering literacy and biliteracy development. Figure 2.6 provides a list of strategies for using bilingual books in the classroom; the list was developed by Ernst-Slavit and Mulhern (2003).

Figure 2.6 Strategies for using bilingual books in the classroom. Adapted from “Bilingual books: Promoting literacy and biliteracy in the second-language and mainstream classroom” by G. Ernst-Slavit and M. Mulhern. Reading Online, 7 (2). Copyright 2003 by the International Reading Association. Reproduced with permission.

Learning a first language is a complex and lengthy process. While learners follow a similar route in learning a second language, the rate in which they acquire the target language varies depending on a variety of linguistic, sociocultural, and cognitive factors. As students navigate through the process of becoming competent users of English, educators’ awareness of their location along the language learning continuum can help them better address the students’ needs and build on their strengths.

For Reflection

• Speaking a second or third language . Do you speak a second or third language? If you do not, do you have a friend who does? Do you or your friend have equal levels of competence across language domains? Think about why some language domains developed more than others.
• Types of writing systems . Look at some of the different alphabets and writing systems for different languages at Omniglot (http://www.omniglot.com/) or at any other website or text. Based on those writing systems, what language do you think would be easier for you to learn? Which one would be more difficult? Why?
• Linguistic diversity . What native languages other than English are spoken by students in your classroom? In your school, district, and state? Jot down a list of what you believe are the top languages in your area and compare it with information you can find about your school, district and state. (For information about the different languages spoken in your state and across the United States, visit the website for the Office of English Language Acquisition at http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/stats/3_bystate.htm ).
• World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium consists of 40 partner states, all using the same 2012 amplification of the English language development standards. You may find the list of WIDA states at https://wida.wisc.edu . ↵

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Essay – examples & model answers | C2 Proficient (CPE)

CPE Model Essay: Advertising

Example exam task:.

Write an essay summarising and evaluating the four key points from both texts . Use your own words throughout as far as possible, and include your own ideas in your answers.

Model Answer (Grade: 4-5)

Example answer:.

The two texts contrast the pros and cons of outdoor advertising, in particular in its latest digital form. Text 1 claims that outdoor advertising, like any advertising, is designed to appeal to potential customers, even creating in them a need for which it promises immediate satisfaction. In this respect, outdoor advertising is the most effective type and digitalisation considerably broadens the ways in which advertising professionals can reach and hence manipulate customers.

While outdoor advertising undoubtedly has an alluring power for customers, I seriously doubt its importance and overall impact. At least from the point of view of a European citizen, everyday exposure to outdoor advertising, digital or not, appears to be minimal. And the cheapness of digital media has to be offset against the continuous need for power to run these media, a fact that renders the term ‘cheap’ short-sighted and unconvincing.

Text 2 argues that traditional, paper–based outdoor advertising was unobtrusive and overall, unimportant. Digital advertising, however, is seen as intrusive, its attractiveness simply boiling down to it being a novelty. People sharing these opinions regard advertising practices, particularly those focusing on the young and those in need of help, as deplorable, especially when it damages the environment at the same time.

I agree with the statements in text 2 as far as the environmental damage and advertising practices, in general, are concerned. However, those practices are not solely dependent on the medium they use. Paper–based outdoor advertising can be just as unwanted and creepingly commercialising as its digital counterpart. The fundamental question is: ‘Do we want to be seduced and manipulated in such a way at all? If people answer ‘yes’, I assume that digital outdoor advertising is just another step that will be followed by yet more intrusive ones

FCE, CAE, CPE

Practice, write & improve, cpe model essays: traffic & motoring.

Essay on Motoring and Traffic Congestion

The need of motor vehicles in the modern world is undeniable. But although the benefits of owning a four-wheeled transportation device are numerous, cars can also generate a lot of problems.

On the one hand automobiles are absolutely necessary for some people. For instance, in theUSA, everybody needs a car to go to school or to go to work. With public transport being slow or simply non-existent, having a car gives people a transport solution. Furthermore,travelling by car also helps people avoid stressful situations. Owning a car means no more standing in crowded buses or fighting with people in the subway.

On the other hand, all those cars in the streets mean facing traffic jams and of course pollution. They create congestion and are one of the principal sources of contamination in the cities. As a respond to this situation, governments are implementing a series of strategies to motivate people not to use their cars so often.

Some of these government strategies involve car sharing and using bikes, while others fine drivers who use their vehicles on certain days or at certain times; but this strategy does notseem to be so efficient. Probably because doing something to avoid a fine, does not involve really understanding the nature of the problem.

All in all, I am of the opinion that cars are indispensable in the current lifestyles and living standards. We cannot disregard the impact they had on facilitating our existence,nevertheless, it is irrefutable that their numbers have reached levels where we must not hesitate to act in downsizing them.

The over-arching theme of these two texts is the use of cars in our society.

The first one adopts a more practical viewpoint on this subject , discussing different alternatives to reduce a very common problem that many big cities have to deal with nowadays, namely traffic congestions. This text makes the point that it is important to find ways to tackle this increasing problem; whether it is through raising people’s s consciousness,setting speed limits, or even using congestion charges. The main point made is that it is important that citizen not use their cars so frequently.

In my opinion, it is very important to try to reduce traffic congestions. However, the first text fails to take into consideration reducing the price of public transport. This would enable people to travel with ease and may encourage them to stop using their vehicles as much as they do now.

The second text is possibly more descriptive. It discusses how people use their own car with complete disregard for the drawbacks that this may bring. People accept drawbacks, such as ever-increasing petrol prices, expensive insurances, traffic jams, etc. However, these negative aspects do not discourage them from getting behind the wheel. The benefits of this far outweigh the drawbacks.

Expensive though it may be, using their own car gives people the freedom and independence that they would not be able to have otherwise. In addition, for some people their car is not just a means of transport, it is also, somehow, an extension of their personality.I am of the opinion that because of our fast pace of life, we have become very dependent on our cars to take us everywhere. This is simply where evolution is taking us.

CPE Example/Model Essays: Teenagers

Example answer (grade: 3).

The impact of the media on teenagers

Nowadays it has become almost impossible to ignore the media due to the fact that most of us spend some daily time either watching television, listening to the radio or surfing the internet. Specially teenagers who spend a significant part of the day exposed to all types of advertisement. Advertisers consider that teenagers are the perfect target, while some people believe that teenagers have changed marketing worldwide. Who manipulates who? That is the dilemma.

On one hand, the marketing and advertisement industry look upon the young generations as the easiest people to influence. Making them believe that certain items are the key to popularity is the strategy they have developed to sell among that generation.

On the other hand, some people believe that advertising responds to young peoples’ desires and not the other way around. It is the energy of teenagers that has had a huge impact on this industry, making it more innovative and creative. The power of young people have push advertising boundaries to become almost an art form more sophisticated and attractive than ever before.

All in all, there has been a revolution in the adversiment industry globally. While some people may be influenced by it, some others may define trends. Ten years ago people were not so worried about material offered by the media. Globalization has changed everything, advertising has become part of our daily lives and it is unavoidable. The temptation surround us, some of us fall for it.

Examiners comments & grade:

Model answer (grade: 3-4).

I have often asked myself whether it is different being a teenager nowadays than when I was that age. Are the problems still the same?

The years between 10 and 20 are certainly a difficult time in everybody’s life because one’s personality is developing and this makes a teenager generally more vulnerable than an adult. I am convinced that when it comes to media it is demanding to deal with for young people today. Advertisements are very prominent in our modern world and teenagers normally spend a lot of hours watching television or surfing the internet, which makes them potential customers. Furthermore, many teenagers have more money to spend than maybe twenty years ago and you often hear about families taking loans for expenses like technical equipment or mobile phone bills for their children. Certainly in the current economic climate many parents face tough decisions especially when it comes to what they can afford for their offspring. The most important point is that teenagers are often an easy target for companies advertising their latest gadgets. Many teenagers will buy it if they just manage to convince them that their product is an absolute ‘must-have’, because the pressure of belonging to a certain group, feeling accepted and not being an outsider is a big issue for a young person.

On the other hand, teenagers are trend setters. They have to create new ideas to be unique or just different from their own parents and this often sets the trend for a whole generation. Being special and fashionable is so important and therefore one needs to spend money on clothes, computers, games or phones to be part of your teenage generation and to find common grounds to make friends and have a fulfilling social life. Personally, I find it quite shocking when reading about the psychological strategies advertising companies use to gain influence on young people to sell a product. They are also often exploiting the creative energy of teenagers and it is almost impossible to escape the world of advertisement.

To conclude, I believe it is not feasible to prohibit adverts for teenagers. Furthermore, parents cannot avoid their children coming into contact with it, but it needs sensible adults helping and supporting teenagers in developing their own personality and sense of taste without the powerful influence of adverts.

Model Answer (Grade: 5)

These texts both deal with the relationship between teenagers and advertising.

The first one focuses on how advertisers exploit young people, taking advantage both of teenage preoccupation with the media and of their susceptibility to peer pressure combined with a wish to appear ‘cool’. The second text is less critical of the relationship between marketing and young people. It presents the young as having a very positive influence on the quality of modern adverts, helping to make them much wittier and more original than ever before. This text maintains that teenagers’ impact on advertising derives partly from their predilection for what is intriguingly new but also, more particularly, from their own creative energy. This energy has been channeled into advertising, raising it arguably to the level of an art form.

While I appreciate the arguments put forward in both texts, I tend to feel more in sympathy with the approach of the first one. I suspect that advertisers are quite cold-heartedly prepared to exploit the youth market, keen to capture the attention – and the cash – of the new generation and well aware of how young people are perhaps more easily influenced than their more cynical elders.

I would accept that advertising can be very creative and I personally often find an advert in a magazine or a TV commercial attractive to look at or enjoyably humorous. It does not seem unreasonable to suggest that many people with artistic talents are attracted into the advertising profession. However, I do not see that as having any direct connection with teenagers. Those who create the most original adverts are certainly likely to be young but in their twenties or early thirties rather than their teens. Moreover the appeal of the more sophisticated advert is surely just as powerful for the older generation as for teenagers.

Concern is often expressed about the negative effects that television can have on young people. As far as I am concerned, the most serious damage that occurs is a result of the constant commercial pressures that vulnerable youngsters are exposed to.

Advertisements every ten minutes or so as children and teenagers watch their favourite programmes are likely to lead them to believe that possessing the latest gadget or item of clothing will bring them happiness and respect from others. To my mind, the result of this can only be a generation whose values are too materialistic for their own ultimate contentment.

This is not to say that all advertisements are lacking in quality. It is not unreasonable, in fact, to consider them as an art form as many are imaginative and make original use of language, music and camerawork. They are indeed often produced by talented young people who find them an appropriate focus for their own creativity.

In my opinion, the answer lies in education. Advertisements are not harmful per se; it is just that we all need to know how to use them. We should take the information that we need from them but we should be aware of the techniques that their makers use with the hope of influencing us to buy things we do not really have any need of. Young people should be taught not only to appreciate the artistic qualities of adverts but also to recognize the tricks that are being employed. Greater sophistication should lead to less vulnerability.

What is your level of English?

English Learning Proficiency Standards and Activities Essay

It is possible to observe that the Common Core State Standards has implied numerous new demands for the English language learning (ELL) students and their teachers (Kibler, Walqui, & Bunch, 2015). After reviewing the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards from Arizona state along with the Common Core Standards’ English Language Arts (ELA) performance objectives, it was decided to create three learning activities (Arizona Department of Education, 2018; Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018). These activities will be connected with the learning objectives at the basic proficiency level (according to ELP Standards), and they will cover the following learning aspects:

• listening and speaking,

Also, language acquisition principles will also be included in the discussion.

Since it was chosen to investigate the objectives for 3-5 grades, it is possible to propose a collaborative discussion activity, in which the students can engage in order to express their ideas and develop the understanding of others. This activity matches the basic proficiency level that is required by ELP Standards (Arizona Department of Education, 2018). Also, it should be noted that collaborative exercises are an excellent representation of the input principle of the language acquisition theory since such activity exposes a child to the active use and comprehension of language (Ambridge, Kidd, Rowland, & Theakston, 2015).

The second language learning domain is reading. According to the Common Core and ELP Standards, there are two primary aspects of proficiency in the area under consideration:

• phonics and word recognition and
• fluency (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018).

Therefore, it is proposed to read aloud grade-level texts in the class in pairs to give the students opportunity to compare themselves. It is also could be considered the combination of two language acquisition principles: monitor principle and input principle because children will actively use the language along with the observation of rules (Ambridge et al., 2015).

Finally, the third activity must be connected with the domain of writing. According to the Common Core Standards, by the 5th grade, a student should be able of producing clear and coherent writing (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018). It is an excellent opportunity to involve students in the discussion of the literary pieces that they enjoy. This activity is one of the better examples of the role of monitor principle because the student should be able to produce a relatively long text without making mistakes, which requires a significant proficiency in grammar (Ambridge et al., 2015).

In conclusion, it is essential to claim that each of the proposed activities is consistent according to the mentioned standards (Arizona Department of Education, 2018). It should also be noted that even though these standards pose significant challenges for both students and teachers, it is possible to use them as the opportunities to evaluate the quality of language learning (Pereira & de Oliveira, 2015). Finally, the acquired knowledge will help the student to succeed in further studying and career-building.

Ambridge, B., Kidd, E., Rowland, C. F., & Theakston, A. L. (2015). The ubiquity of frequency effects in first language acquisition. Journal of child language , 42 (2), 239-273.

Arizona Department of Education. (2018). English Language Proficiency Standards . Web.

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2018). Read the standards . Web.

Kibler, A. K., Walqui, A., & Bunch, G. C. (2015). Transformational opportunities: Language and literacy instruction for English language learners in the Common Core era in the United States. TESOL Journal , 6 (1), 9-35.

Pereira, N., & de Oliveira, L. C. (2015). Meeting the linguistic needs of high-potential English language learners: What teachers need to know. Teaching Exceptional Children , 47 (4), 208-215.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, April 19). English Learning Proficiency Standards and Activities. https://ivypanda.com/essays/english-learning-proficiency-standards-and-activities/

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Bibliography

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Why AI Won't Kill The Beauty Or Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language

ROME — " Wo zui xihuan de shiwu shi shousi , my favorite food is sushi..."

In a recent video, U.S.-based journalist Louise Matsakis can be seen and heard expressing herself in perfect Mandarin. Having only been studying Chinese for a few years, Matsakis is still far from fluent. But in the video, she pronounces every syllable flawlessly and in the right tone, without errors or awkward pauses, just as a native speaker would. The voice was soft but also "slightly alien," she herself acknowledges in an article last month in The Atlantic.

Matsakis had used the HeyGen software, a Los Angeles startup that makes it possible to create deepfake videos, that is, to use artificial intelligence to make real people say almost anything. All it takes is to upload a picture of one's face and some text, which is then matched with an artificial voice and can be translated into more than 40 languages. Matsakis writes that the tool works so well she wonders if all her efforts at learning Mandarin were a waste.

Automatic translation was not always so convincing. The early tools (Google Translate is from 2006) were rather poor, only able to give a general idea of, for instance, of a French or Portuguese website. In 2010, in the Netherlands, a subpoena translated from Dutch to Russian using Translate instructed a defendant not to show up in court when he should have gone. The big leap forward came in 2015, when Baidu (China's leading search engine) put its large-scale neural machine translation service into operation. In just a few years, neural networks, the machine learning systems behind programs like ChatGPT, have improved the quality of machine-made translation, making it significantly more reliable.

Such progress, however, is accompanied in some countries by another phenomenon: a collapse in the number of students taking up foreign languages . In Australia in 2021 only 8.6% of high school seniors had chosen to learn another language, a record low. In South Korea and New Zealand, universities are closing French, German and Italian departments. At U.S. colleges between 2009 and 2021, enrollment in non-English language courses declined by 29.3% , while it had grown steadily in the previous 30 years.

Last September, after a heated debate , West Virginia university decided to eliminate the foreign languages and literatures department, replacing it with an online app. In some cases, even English proficiency is declining: in France, half of children finishing secondary school do not reach the minimum level required (A2) by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a system developed by the Council of Europe.

Beyond the factors that could explain this disaffection -- the pandemic that has fragmented education at all levels, the cuts suffered by the disciplines of the humanities -- it is clear that the younger generation is giving up on learning languages just as machine translation becomes ubiquitous on the Internet (in social media apps, messaging services, streaming platforms).

In the very near future, it may enter the daily lives of billions of people.

Limits of technology

Technology of course has limitations . It works well with English, Mandarin, Arabic and French -- for which there are huge amounts of digitized texts and recorded speeches (almost always transcribed) -- and less well with languages with little online presence such as Swahili and Urdu.

According to most studies in which native speakers have been involved, it does not do well when confronted with literature either: it offers acceptable translations of only about 30% of excerpts from novels (usually simple passages). This is because it is less adept at finding creative solutions that preserve aspects of a book that are difficult to quantify, such as style, rhythm, wit, sensibility.

Teachers' attention should shift from grammar exercises to understanding practices and cultures.

In addition, it may be questionable to employ technology in sensitive situations, for example, to translate interviews of asylum seekers and testimonies coming from conflict zones.

There is also a risk of exaggerating its successes. To promote itself on social media, Jumpspeak, a language learning app similar to Duolingo and Babbel, has made advertisements in which an AI-generated person reads computer-translated sentences: "I struggled with languages all my life. Then I learned Spanish in six months. I was offered a job in France and learned French. I learned Mandarin before I visited China." With each sentence, it switches from one language to another.

Leaving aside the weaknesses and far-fetched promises, we nonetheless can take it for granted that machine translators will far exceed the technical skills of the average language graduate. Then the conclusion shared by many experts in education and linguistics is that teachers' attention should shift from grammar exercises to understanding the practices and cultures embedded in various contexts.

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Angles of slang

Valerie Trapp, another Atlantic reporter, says her approach was roughly this. Spanish was the first language she learned, spending her early childhood in the Dominican Republic, but when she moved to the United States as a child, she practically abandoned it for English.

Back in Santo Domingo as an adult, she found that her Spanish sounded "a little outdated" and that she struggled to express a personality with her peers. To catch up, she dived into slang and self-imposed the study of reggaeton. Quickly, she saw a new level of comfort and colloquialism in her Spanish that she might not get from an app. "Language is not a rigid algorithm to decode. It is fluid, changeable and heterogeneous."

Slang connects us to the current version of a culture.

The creative intricacies of slang challenge machine translation models but uniquely attract our interest. In the essay Slang: The People's Poetry Michael Adams, professor of English at Indiana University, cites a study that measured the brain activity of some people as they read Shakespeare's Coriolanus . The researchers found that when language was used in the play in a more original way, for example if a noun was turned into a verb, the brain became more activated. This expedient falls under what linguists call functional shifting, and is also how slang works.

Slang, in other words, can connect us to a current, if impermanent, version of a culture . For others who may be confronted with learning their family's language of origin, the experience helps to discover unexplored parts of themselves. But all of us should remember what may be most valuable about learning a foreign language is simply how much fun it is.

Like our content? Follow us for more. This article first appeared on Worldcrunch.com It was translated and adapted by Worldcrunch in partnership with INTERNAZIONALE . For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here .