The Issue of Immigrants Lacking Necessary Support to Learn Foreign Languages
The issue of immigrants lacking necessary support to learn foreign languages has been widely discussed on different platforms. The article provided focuses on a Chinese family who after moving to Canada finds itself unable to communicate effectively in English and therefore seek ways through which they can learn English. According to the article, every institution has the responsibility of ensuring that immigrants are inducted into the society and failure of institutions to take up this responsibility is one of the major factors leading to the immigrant language problem.
The Process of Learning Foreign Languages
The process of learning foreign languages as explained in the article is divided into two phases which are the backstage and the front region. These two phases introduce and give newcomers experience in public speaking. The backstage consists of numerous activities which are meant to introduce the foreigners to the new language and facilitate their interaction with people of the host community (Han, 2009). According to the church context given by the article, the backstage consisted of gyms, multiple Sunday schools in English and Mandarin, cell groups and bible studies. All these religious services serve a significant role in teaching new languages to foreigners.
The front region consists of regular programs which are usually rehearsed and is meant for people with proper communication skills and command over languages. These programs which are run in both English and Mandarin are conducted by people who have a good understanding of the languages besides fluency. The Chinese couple described in the article progressed from the first stage to the second stage whereby they could now lead worships, prayers and conduct preaching sessions (Han, 2009). Their progression from the back to front stage shows that they had undergone the learning stages and now had a perfect understanding of the two languages.
Instituting Language Learning in Schools
In school set up, learning institutions should come up with a systematic process of induction for foreigners whereby they should put up programs to promote interaction with the hosts. The process of learning new languages should be divided into the backstage and front stage phases. The backstage phase will mainly focus on giving the foreigners acquaintance with the foreign languages which can be achieved through interactive activities such as group discussions and sporting activities. As illustrated in the article this will be an effective way of learning a new language than attending language classes (Han, 2009). The completion of the backstage phase which will generally be filled with interactive tasks the students can now be ushered to the front stage.
The front stage will be mainly for those people who already have an understanding of the foreign language as it will give them experience in public speaking. This phase will predominantly nurture their fluency in speaking and boost their confidence. This will entail leading presentations, delivering speeches and conducting class discussions. The foreigners will be able to gain a proper understanding through the practice and experience provided by these activities. Every department should have a responsibility of teaching new languages to foreigners, and therefore this approach should be adopted by every department. The combined efforts of all the departments will facilitate a fast and efficient learning process for foreigners than attending language classes (Han, 2009). As presented in the article the process of learning new languages is gradual, and learners should be given different responsibilities as they continue with the process.
References
Han, H. (2009). Institutionalized inclusion: A case study on support for immigrants in English learning. Tesol Quarterly, 43(4), 643-668.
