Professional Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Professional Project - Essay Example An example of a language learner is a Japanese student who migrates to China to do further studies in World history. He has limited knowledge in Chinese language, but finds that all lessons are taught in this language. Undertaking Chinese language lessons will enable him sharpen his linguistic skills and make the learning process much easier. He will also converse effectively with Chinese students and make meaningful social relationships with them. Importantly, he will be able to learn about the differences in Japanese and Chinese cultures and will have an opportunity to fit himself well into the new Chinese culture (Beckett & Haley, 2000). However, he is likely to encounter various kinds of barriers including; Cognitive load Cultural load Language load Learning load This paper examines these barriers in the context of the Japanese student, issues and difficulties in teaching and learning of Chinese language, and the context and strategies available for teachers to overcome these dif ficulties in facilitating effective learning. 2. Barriers to Learning Chinese that may be encountered by the Japanese Student As mentioned, one of the barriers that this student may encounter is cognitive load. This refers to the number of concepts contained in the Chinese text or lesson. As Meyer (2000) explains, the level of cognitive load experienced by a Chinese student is determined by his or her familiarity with the content of Chinese lessons, or with the concepts being taught. The Japanese learner has limited entry knowledge about Chinese language; he will have to be introduced to new, unfamiliar concepts. Additionally, he will have little basis on which to draw conclusions or interpret linguistic clues in order to make informed guesses about the meanings of the tutor’s instructions or text. In other words, the student is likely to experience heavy cognitive load in the learning process. Another barrier that he may encounter is cultural load. According to Meyer (2000) the relationship between language and a learner’s cultural background determines the amount of effort that is needed in the learning process. Usually, the meanings and uses of words are related to their cultural and linguistic settings and often, differ in different cultural settings. The amount of cultural knowledge that is needed for a language learner to understand the meanings and uses of words, which are not explicitly explained to the learner is called cultural load. For instance, the substance water is represented by different labels in China and Japan and also exists in different scenes and settings. Though it exists in both Japanese and in Chinese languages, it has no similar meaning across both languages (Meyer, 2000). Therefore, words may exist in both cultures, but are used in different circumstances and settings. The barrier here is that the Japanese learner is likely to derive meanings and uses of such words from Japanese language and culture, even though they h ave different meanings and uses in China. The Japanese learner is also likely to come across unfamiliar words in text during tutor’s instructions. These words may contain long trail of syllables, they may have cumbersome pronunciations, or the manner in which they may be strung together to form sentences and paragraphs may be