Background:
For the purpose of this assignment, I interviewed Cedrick a 23 year old French student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the intermediate class. Cedrick was born in Lubumbashi. He got his Matric in 2008 and attended university for 2 years before and he 's learning English so that he can continue his studies in South Africa. “The reason I 'm learning English is that I am a french speaker and I wand to study in a english country,” he writes.
Learner style:
Cedrick response positively towards practical sessions. During an interview with Cedrick, he also reenforced this statement by saying that he prefers doing something and/or seeing something rather than just listening. This would suggest that he is mostly kinetic and visual with an emphasis on kinetic. These examples can be seen when asked to physically apply what he 's learned.
Learners four skills:
Observing Cedrick, I 've noticed that he struggles a little in each form, but that his weakest area is reading.
He also struggles with speaking and writing, but both are connected in the sense that he translates directly from French. E.g. “English is much difficult to French.” On www.london-translations.co.uk they describe 4 problems that should be focused on during translation: knowledge of historical events, folk memory, opinions and prejudices and certain accepted norms of behaviour. All the problems I 've listed influence Cedrick. These are not exclusive to my learner, but to all students and languages.
Speaking: Pronunciation appears to be a problem. E.g. “I wand...” He uses the /d/ sound instead of the /t/ sound. In English this would change something that he desires into a thin, straight, hand-held stick. There 's also certain problems that occur with tenses, as I will mention in language systems. Cedrick also makes use of a speaking rhythm that is unnatural in English.
In English phonetics and phonology: a practical course By Peter Roach,
References: www.london-translations.co.uk www.insideout.net Cutting Edge: Upper Intermediate students ' book by Sarah Cunningham and Peter Moor. English phonetics and phonology: a practical course By Peter Roach Class notes