Objectives of teaching English as 3rd language.
Where English is practiced as the 3rd language there is more emphasis on Language development i.e. the LSRW skills rather than literary development which is only a by-product or a later focus.
- To understand English when spoken as in listening, the learner pays conscious attention and tries to imitate and learns the language quickly and more efficiently. 3 subskills are focused on –
- Identifying the gist i.e. skimming
- Listening for specific details. i.e. scanning.
- Identifying emotional and attitudinal tone of the speaker.
- To speak English – Speaking is the ability of providing proper auditory messages fluently.
It is the most important skill as it facilitates the other linguistic skills.
The learner uses content with expression, constructs sentences and combines them with proper intonation, rhythm, stress, etc.
- To understand written or printed English – Reading is a complex activity that opens the door to a world of knowledge. It focuses on the sub-skills of recognizing written symbols, chunking letters into meaningful groups, linking graphical symbols to proper English sounds and assigning meaning to them.
Thus Reading is a mechanical as well as mental activity.
- To write English – This objective is to enable the learner to present the English utterances one has in mind and put down graphic symbols representing the language, at a speed faster than that of drawing the conventional symbols of the writing system.
Once the above skills are mastered then English as a 3rd language moves on to develop the skills of knowledge, comprehension and understanding, followed by interest and appreciation for the language.
