appropriateness in language 
What is meant by appropriateness (or appropriacy) in language use?
Kevin Speck
Word Count: 1407 words.
Date: 12th November, 2014.
Appropriateness of language means tailoring the language you use so it is appropriate for the age, perceived social status, form of communication, and the context of the occasion. These factors by themselves assume that the person you are communicating with is a native speaker of the language. Teachers of English as a second language need to take into account all the above factors, as well as the second language ability and the cultural background of their student. To understand the implications of language appropriacy for second language teaching purposes I have outlined the main issues in sub-categories.
Age: Using appropriate language for children means not only using a vocabulary set that is at the child’s level, but also using language concepts that are appropriate for the child’s age. The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget identified four stages in a child’s development, which include children’s language development. Piaget defined the concrete operational stage as the stage that begins around age seven and lasts until around 11 or 12. During this stage a child can understand problems that are explained in stories, but only if the story explains the problem using facts. If the story uses abstract concepts to make a point then a child will not understand the deeper meaning behind the story. If a story with an abstract meaning is rewritten in simple English, then a child in the concrete operational stage will understand the meaning of the words, but they probably will not understand the abstract problems explained in the story. Language appropriateness for a child means the grammar, vocabulary, as well as the complexity of the information being told needs to be taken into account. For example, if I have an adult ESL student who wants to understand a story in English I can rewrite a part of Shakespeare’s Shylock play in simple
Kevin Speck
Word Count: 1407 words.
Date: 12th November, 2014.
Appropriateness of language means tailoring the language you use so it is appropriate for the age, perceived social status, form of communication, and the context of the occasion. These factors by themselves assume that the person you are communicating with is a native speaker of the language. Teachers of English as a second language need to take into account all the above factors, as well as the second language ability and the cultural background of their student. To understand the implications of language appropriacy for second language teaching purposes I have outlined the main issues in sub-categories.
Age: Using appropriate language for children means not only using a vocabulary set that is at the child’s level, but also using language concepts that are appropriate for the child’s age. The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget identified four stages in a child’s development, which include children’s language development. Piaget defined the concrete operational stage as the stage that begins around age seven and lasts until around 11 or 12. During this stage a child can understand problems that are explained in stories, but only if the story explains the problem using facts. If the story uses abstract concepts to make a point then a child will not understand the deeper meaning behind the story. If a story with an abstract meaning is rewritten in simple English, then a child in the concrete operational stage will understand the meaning of the words, but they probably will not understand the abstract problems explained in the story. Language appropriateness for a child means the grammar, vocabulary, as well as the complexity of the information being told needs to be taken into account. For example, if I have an adult ESL student who wants to understand a story in English I can rewrite a part of Shakespeare’s Shylock play in simple
References: Richards, J. C. & Schmidt, R. (2002). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. London. Pearson Education Limited. Patton Tabors. (2008). One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Early Childhood Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language. Second Edition. U.S.A. Brooks Publishing. Patsy M. Lightbown, Nina Spada. (2006) How Languages Are Learned. Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers. 4th edition. Oxford University Press.