The Study Of Error Analysis | Essay

The Study Of Error Analysis | Essay S.P. Corder is the parent of the scientific method that focuses on the errors learners make. He is considered as one of the main exponents of Error Analysis and that actually became a recognized part of applied linguistics. In Corders article (1967), entitled The significance of learners errors, the author investigates error analysis from a completely different perspective. Whereas, before Corder, errors used to be seen as defects that needed to be eliminated without giving too much attention to their role in second language acquisition, with Corder we begin to see how errors are indispensable for the learners themselves. In fact, according to Corder, errors could be regarded as a device the learner uses in order to learn the language. He states, we interpret his incorrect utterances as being evidence that he is in the process of acquiring language (p. 165). Lightbown and Spada (2006) agree with Corders claim that error analysis sights to discover and describe different kinds of erro rs with the intention of understanding how students attain a second language. Corders argument that learners errors are signals of actual learning is supported by another researcher of error analysis, James M. Hendrickson (1978), who points out, not only do all language learners necessarily produce errors when they communicate, but systematic analysis of errors can provide useful insights into the processes of language acquisition (p. 388). Thus, they both celebrate the fact that errors are significant and essential in the study of Second Language Acquisition. Corder demonstrates that not only do errors play a crucial role to the individual who can learn from these errors, but also to the teachers as they are able to track each students progress, and even to the researchers as they demonstrate how a language acquired and what strategies the learners use. Related to this, is the concept of how many errors are due to the fact that the learner uses structures, which derive from the native language. In Corders view, the possession of ones native language is facilitative, as errors in this case represent evidence of ones learning strategies. Dulay and Burt (1974) in their study maintain the same idea. In other words, they endorse that the childs errors are not indicators of faulty learning nor a need for instructional intervention (p. 135). To put it succinctly, they emphasize that making errors is vital in the learning process, and learners need to know the kind of errors they utter. Hence, before moving on the next notion that Corders article researches, it is essential to report the distinction that the author makes between systematic and non-systematic errors. Unsystematic errors occur in ones native language; Corder calls these mistakes and asserts that they are not significant to the process of language learning. On the other hand, he defines errors the systematic ones that are likely to occur repeatedly and that are not recognized by the learners. Such insight plays a significant role in linguistic research, and in the way linguists look at errors, understand them, and apply their outcomes to improve language competence. Moreover, Corder suggests that when a learner makes an error, the most efficient way to teach him/her the correct form is not by simply giving the correct answer to him/her, but by introducing a self-correctability criterion, in which the learner has to discover and find the correct linguistic form. In this way, learners should be given ample opportunities and sufficient time to self-correct. The standard way of thinking about error correction is that its purpose is to improve learners accuracy and language acquisition. I have always believed that providing students with immediate corrective and constructive feedback would have helped them acquire a new language better. When I was in high school, I used to think that it was the teachers responsibility to offer us, learners, corrections of our errors and that we were supposed to follow teachers instructions firmly. However, as a teacher, I have a totally different point of view. I support the idea that the audio-lingual approach to teaching a language is helpful in the sense that we learn grammar through memorization of dialogues and drills, but I find Corders argument of making language teaching in a more humanistic and less mechanistic way to be more persuasive. With this new trend comes the idea of learners different needs and styles. I currently learn basic Cantonese and Spanish through behaviorist theory. I am not yet a fluent speaker of those two languages but I put more efforts to acquire these language strands via repetition and mimicry. Although I find this to be an interesting and fascinating learning process, on closer examination I admire the idea that language teaching now follows more modern theories, which take into account students needs and wants. Because students are different from one another, they may react differently to their teachers error correction. Therefore, it is extremely critical that we, as language teachers, create a safe and supportive classroom environment in which our students can feel confident and at their ease about expressing their thoughts and ideas freely without suffering the threat or embarrassment of having each one of their incorrect language utterances corrected. As Mark R. Freiermuth (1997) advocates in his essay, errors are inevitable in the language classroom, but they should be addressed in a rational and consistent manner (p.6). In conclusion, although the study of error analysis is still quite speculative as we do not have a well-defined answer for who should correct the errors, when they should be corrected, and how they should be brought to the learners attention, we should keep in mind that there are techniques and strategies for error correction that we ought to implement in our classrooms. Interestingly, as I mentioned earlier, Corder views errors deriving from the learners L1 not as inhibitory, but as something that could aid to their learning growth, whether the learners are children or adults. As we studied in this class, many could count as factors for the L1 transfer errors in the acquisition of English. Among these are age, motivation, intelligence, time of exposure to the target language, place and purpose of learning English. Those can surely influence SLA and in some cases they can obstruct communication. It is our job, therefore, to provide our students with constant support and guidance, and ensure a pleasant and growing ambience.

Ethical Egoism And Psychological Egoism

Ethical Egoism And Psychological Egoism In Platos Republic and in Rachels Egoism and Moral Skepticism, both authors address two important facets of human morality: epistemologically objective. Ethical egoism is a normative claim, which states that moral beings ought to do what is in their best interests. Psychological egoism, on the other hand, is a descriptive claim that all moral beings can only act in their own self-interests, even when appearing to act in the interests of others. The difference between both claims lies in the fact that one is a normative claim and the other is a descriptive claim. A normative claim involves judging what people should do and creates a moral standard. A descriptive claim then, essentially describes the actions of moral beings and creates a moral standard based off their behavior. Due to the relatedness of both claims, I must first clearly distinguish the key features of each argument. In Glaucons Challenge Plato creates a long dialogue between Socrates and Platos brother, Glaucon. In his dialogue, Glaucon supports the view that people only act justly because they will believe it will help them attain beneficial ends for themselves and argues that human beings are not ethical egoists but rather psychological egoists. In Rachels essay, he attempts to distinguish between what psychological and moral egoism are and how inevitably neither are justified. Therefore, by drawing on the arguments from Glaucon and the claims discussed by Rachels, I will disprove the claim of ethical egoism and prove that human beings can, in fact, act solely for their own self-interest. First, I will begin by examining Glaucons Challenge on ethical and psychological egoism. In Platos Republic, Socrates raises the issue of whether goodness and virtue are truly worthwhile for the individual. In Gyges Ring, Socrates presents a story where a man named Glaucon discovers a ring, which makes him invisible. In it, he poses the question of whether we would act justly, despite the fact that we could get away with immoral conduct. In essence, he asks whether we should live a life of virtue. Next he asks us to imagine if two such rings existed, where a virtuous man and rogue each received one of the rings. Glaucon claims that the rogue would naturally use the ring for his own personal pleasure with no moral constraints. As for the moral man, Glaucon suggests that he will act no better than the rogue. He defends this position by claiming that no one has enough will to resist the temptation to do things for their own self-interest. In this argument Glaucon asks why there is any r eason for a moral person to act any differently from an immoral person. While his argument appears sound, critics argue that some acts appear to be unselfish in nature. As well, critics arguing for ethical egoism also state that we must desire things other than my own self-interests in order to get self-interests. Therefore, if we derive self-interest from playing soccer, unless we desired, for our own sake, to play soccer, we would not derive some self-interest from playing. However, if our self-interests consist simply in the satisfaction of self-regarding our interests, then human beings are still regarded as psychological egoists. Psychological egoists such as Glaucon claim their points using two arguments. The first being simply that the life of an unjust person is much better than the life of a just person. The second argument being that for psychological egoism, selfless actions always create self-satisfaction in the moral agent and this produces a pleasant state of conscious ness. Therefore, the action performed by the moral agent is really done to create an enjoyable state of consciousness rather than to aid the interests of others. Using such arguments, Glaucon is able to rule out situations such as altruistic behavior or motivation by thoughts of duty alone as proves for ethical egoism. Second, I will examine Rachels essay on ethical and psychological egoism. In his first argument Rachel suggests selfless actions are really just done voluntarily and that the agent is really just doing what they wanted to do. An example used by Rachel would be if Mr. Smith stayed behind to help a friend rather than go on vacation. While this may appear altruistic, what is really happening is that Mr. Smith wanted to stay behind to help his friend more than he wanted to go on vacation. In this way, his action is no longer selfless but rather selfish since he was only doing what he wanted to do. By examining Mr. Smiths decision from a different view, it is clear that what appears to a voluntary act of kindness is really just an act out of self-interest. His second argument for psychological egoism is that unselfish actions always produce a sense of self-satisfaction for the moral agent. Therefore, any selfless action by the moral agent is only unselfish at a sort of superficial level. Rachel uses a story where Lincoln once expressed this debate in describing the position between ethical and psychological egoism. In this story, Lincoln and a fellow passenger are discussing how all men are prompted by selfishness in doing any good. As they pass over a bridge in their carriage, both hear a sow yelling for help as her pigs are about to drown. Lincoln then gets out of his carriage and saves the pigs, then returns to his carriage. His companion remarks 1Abe, where do selfishness come in on this little episode? Lincoln then replies, Why bless your soul, that was the very essence of selfishness. I should have no peace of mind all day had I gone and left them. Lincoln uses the incident with the suffering sow in order to show that his altruistic act was done out of his belief in psychological rather than ethical egoism. Had he not helped the sow, he would have had no peace of mind all day while riding with his companion. Instead, he selfishly saves the pigs in order to hel p himself. Rachel attempts to refute this claim by stating that it is the object of any action rather than the personal desire that will determine whether an action is unselfish or not. Ethical egoists, on the other hand, argue that even though altruism is possible to act on, there is no reason why anyone should act selflessly. Rachels is able to refute this by arguing that no reasons are required in performing actions that help others. However, since all human beings innately do not care about the effects of their actions on others, this arguments premise is incorrect. Therefore, it is clear that the view of ethical egoism as a moral standard of what people ought to do is clearly incorrect since no matter what situation is produced, the moral agent will always act in their self-interest and that any positive outcomes on others is just a positive consequence. Thus, no matter what situations are presented to argue that moral beings ought to do what is in their best interests, it has been shown that all moral beings can only act in their own self-interests, even when appearing to act in the interests of others. In conclusion, after examining Glaucons Challenge from Platos Republic and Rachels essay on ethical egoism, it is clear that Glaucon was correct in stating that there is no reason for man to be moral. 1 Gendler, T., Siegel, S., Cahn, S. M. (2008). Egoism and Moral Skepticism. The Elements of Philosophy: Readings from Past and Present (p. 235). Oxford : Oxford University Press.

Chaucers Canterbury Tales - The Parson :: Parson Essays

The Parson: What He Said and Why The Canterbury Tales offer many characters whose vocation does not match his or her tale. This often provides humor and provokes much thought. Yet Chaucer makes the parson match his tale. This provokes a more serious train of thought. Thus Chaucer shows forth his brilliance in his versatility of subject matter. The first thing one should notice in the Parson's tale is that the Parson refuses to tell a fable. In lines 30-36, the Parson gives his reasoning for a straightforward prose. He will not tell a story mixed with chaff and wheat. Rather, he chooses to tell a tale in nonfiction prose so all can understand with clarity. His object is not so much to tell an impressive story but to show forth what he deems important. Second, he speaks in a respectable medieval manner by calling upon authorities. Whereas the wife of Bath says she will not reference authorities, he does so unashamedly. He references the Biblical figures Matthew, Jeremiah, Solomon, David, Jesus, Job, Hezekiah, Ezekiel, Peter, Jeremiah, Moses, Isaiah, Micah, John, Joseph, Paul, Zechariah, and Luke. In addition he refers to scholars and saints such as Ambrose, Isidore, Gregory, Augustine, Chrysostom, Bernard, Seneca, Basil, Damasus, and Galen. As Augustine has been the most influential person in Church history, Augustine is the most quoted authority he uses. Moreover, he includes a lengthy discussion on mortal and venial sins. He exemplifies many ways one may fall into one of the seven deadly sins. Such offenses include birth control as murder and nocturnal emission as adultery. He also gives guidelines how to prevent those sins. He offers hope to the penitent by setting forth the prescribed method of reconciliation ordained by Holy Church.

Muslim and Non Muslim Laws :: essays research papers

Islamic law and non-Muslims Some pro-Israeli opinion cite traditional interpretations of sharia (Islamic law) which requires, among other things, that Muslim territory encompass all land that was ever under Muslim control, as a source for the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since the territory of Israel, prior to being the British Mandate of Palestine, was once part of the Ottoman caliphate, some Islamic clerics believe it is unlawful for any portion of it to remain 'usurped' by non-Muslims. By contrast, pro-Arab opinion points at the pronounced religious tolerance of the caliphates, where Christians and Jews coexisted "harmoniously" with Muslims and were granted limited self-autonomy. Resentment of Israeli Jews, this argument concludes, only emerged as a result from and after the rise of the Zionist enterprise in Palestine. Pro-Israeli views, however, often dismiss this explanation with the argument that Muslim Arab hostility towards Israel is largely derived from the sharia dictation that Jews or Christians are not to be considered equal to Muslims. Pro-Arab commentator view this as running counter to the tradition of tolerance towards "People of the Book" in Islam. They also point towards the long tradition of Palestinian Christians in their resistance to Israel and its policies, including such noted figures as Edward Said and George Habash, and the various Palestinian secular movements such as the PLO itself. In turn pro-Israeli proponents refer to a declining Christian Palestinian population (along with those of most Arab Christians) as, at least in part, a product of Muslim hostility towards non-Muslims, in general. According to a report published in December 2001 by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies think tank.The Christian Exodus from the Middle East (http://www.defenddemocr acy.org/usr_doc/Christian_Exodus.pdf), in December 1997 The Times noted: "Life in (PA ruled) Bethlehem has become insufferable for many members of the dwindling Christian minorities." The report also states that "Christians in the Palestinian territories have dropped from 15% of the Arab population in 1950 to just 2% today." Some Palestinian Christian are of the opinion that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led to the diminishment of their population[[8] (http://christianactionforisrael.org/antiholo/hate_jews.html)][[9] (http://www.amconmag.com/2004_05_24/article.html)]. Ohers, like Abe Ata, a Palestinian Christian, are of the opinion that American Christians have "turned their backs" on them by supporting Israel [[10] (http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/112202/112202r.htm)]. The Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Riah Abu El-Assal, is recorded as being "intemperate in his attacks on Israel"[[11] (http://christianactionforisrael.org/ant iholo/hate_jews.html)]. Many Palestinian Christians have complained about Israel's treatment of them. One such complaint is that Israel does not give Palestinian Christians permission to visit holy places [12] (http://www.

Location and Description of the Algonkian Indians Essay -- Algonkians

Location and Description of the Algonkian Indians - Algonkian lived in Quebec and Ontario; starting from the Ottawa valley, beneath Hudson Bay and above lower Ontario - the areas in which they lived in were dense woodlands with trees, such as, birch and evergreen; and snow covered the land most of the year. Adaptation to the physical Environment Home - Algonkian homes were called Wigwam, there frames were built out of saplings of tall, young tree trunks which were tied together with narrow strips of bark or root fibers, to form a dome shape - the frame was covered with woven mats or barks, then was firmly tied to the frames - light birch bark were used as covers in the summer and heavy elm or walnut bark was used in the winter Changing Climate - tribes lived in one designated location, but it was common for them to move within that region, depending on the season - during the spring and summer they would shift their homes closer to the water so that they may be able to fish with more ease - while in the autumn and winter they would move near the forest so they would be able to hunt for animals Transportation - on land Algonkians generally walked, but they traveled by canoes in the water - they had two types of canoes - the dugout and birch bark, which were made from hollowing whole trees Clothing - clothing simple yet sturdy - during summer men wore only a deerskin loincloth - women wore an apron or a long wraparound skirt made form the same material - when weather became colder the Algonkian added skin shirts, fur robes, leggings and feather clocks - they also greased the bodies to ward off insects in the summer and keep warm in winter Mode of Substance - Algonkians lived too far north and outside the rice ring for agriculture - they were mainly semi-nomadie bands of hunter -gathers - some southern bands began growing crops in 17th century - they hunted animals using the nich of projectile points made from flints - they were best identified for their skills as hunters who made the best traps and snares, the traps and snares come in many different forms and changed with each season - among the animals hunted were deers, moose, beavers, cariboues, elks and bears. - during the summer groups would gather to fish and socialize - when winter came they separated into small hunting camps of extended families - due to ... ...ench Firearms in 1610 - in exchange for the fur the Algonkians received steel weapons from the French which they used to drive the Mohawks far south of the St. Lawrence River - by 1614 the French shifted their interest on the fur trade from the Algonkins to the Hurons and the Algonkians were reduced to second partners, though they remained in business with the French - Algonkians after the Mohawks gained support of the Dutch and had access to European's weapons lost battles and pretty much went out of site as far as the French concerned - eventually Algonkian set fur trading post along the north end of the Ottawa Valley - the Algonkian remained important allies to the French until the French and Indian war (1755 - 63) - once French were defeated and the British took over, they choose made allies with Iroquosi over the Algonkian - although Algonkians fought along side with the British in the American Revolution in (1775 -83), following the war they were moved out of their homelands to make room for new communes. - finally the Canadian government established ten reserves for the Algonkians to live in but this was only a tiny portion of what once was their original homeland,

Responsibilities and Duties of an HR Manager Essay

uman resource (HR) department deals with wide range of activities from strategic planning level to the day to day operations level. Therefore defining roles and responsibilities of HR manager is a quite complex task so that I would say about few, main function. Human Resources staff members are advocates for both the company and the people who work in the company. Consequently, a good HR professional performs a constant balancing act to meet both needs successfully. Forecasting the labour requirement The HR manager holds the responsibility of forecasting the labour requirement of the organization in the future based on the future level of sales/production level of the organization. The labour forecast may identify the need for need for hiring or firing employees. Recruitment Once the labour forecast is done the HR manager is responsible for recruiting efficient employees for the company that will deliver the best of their abilities. As the recruitment procedure can be quite expensive for the company, it is imperative not to make an error during the process. Selection Selection is the process by which the most suitable candidate is selected from the recruited pool of candidates. Selection is done by carrying out various types of tests and interviews. HR department/manager is responsible of selecting the most suitable employees to fill existing vacancies. Keeping that in mind, an HR manager should possess an eye for searching these talented people for the company’s growth. Induction Induction is the process by which new employees are made familiarized with the organizational environment. Once the employees are selected they need to be introduced to other staff of the organization and they should be given necessary guidelines about the organizational culture and the procedures. Training Once the employees are done with the induction they become an employee of the organization but the skills they possess may not be adequate to carry out required tasks. The need for training arises when the there is a gap between expected level of skills and the current level of skills of an employee. If a there is a training need HR department has to design training programs and execute them. Motivating HR manager is responsible of motivating employees to carry out their duties of a timely and accurate basis. He/she helps inspire employees, build their spirits, and employee motivation to the best of the organization. Organization Development This is again one of the key areas where the HR manager has to execute to the fullest. Development of an organization is a responsibility which includes peculiar organizational culture, making the team more effective by introducing events intervening employees in a formal, and informal way; thus impacting the business. Teamwork and Team Spirit HR manager helps in building a team effective for working under circumstances and makes sure that right people are included in the team, minimizing conflicts and increasing productivity. HR manager decides the team right from the team leader to the lowest ranking employee. Rewarding employees Once the employee performance evaluation is done HR department needs to design good employee rewarding packages to reward well performing employees. These rewards could be of monetary or non monetary in nature. Such non monetary benefits may include: travel allowances, HRA (Health Reimbursement Arrangements), medical, etc. depending from organization. Managing redundancy When the organization decides that thy no longer need the service of certain employee they need to be sent to be given the redundancy notices and have to be paid the redundancy charges. HR department has to manage this process. Managing complains about employees There can be complaints about employees regarding poor performance, bribery, misbehavior and so on. HR department needs to hear those complains and make necessary steps (advising/punishing employees) to solve those issues

American Popular Culture

What is popular American culture? Popular culture is a way of life. It’s a lifestyle of a group of people. The elements of everyday life consist of popular culture. These are the artifacts, institutions, and sorts of a general knowledge of a society, the common knowledge and practices of a specific group at a specific time. Popular culture reflects and influences people’s way of life because it is related to a precise time and place. It is temporary, and new phases take over from former favorites like singers, musicians, artists, media authors. But popular culture is all over the world nowadays. It is almost everything that surrounds us in our society today. It slowly builds up and becomes habits on what we do as we see. Some patterns in my pop culture inventory include photography, films, magazines and cell phones. I simply love photography with the fact that I have many photographer friends. Their photos inspire me in many different ways, such as the outlook to life in an image, the insight of a person through a glimpse of a shadow and such. Films complete me in today’s pop culture. It makes me realize more about life then pop culture itself. Magazines show me the kind of entertainment and celebrities we are surrounded by. It also shows how popularity comes first in today’s society, for almost about everyone. And cell phones are something not many people can survive without in today’s world. It’s the fastest source of communication. The values in which are being communicated by the items listed in my inventory are relevant to society. Photography can change a person’s view on life. Its actions that take place, through different angles, shows you a different look on life, by just looking at one photograph. You do need to let yourself away from the world and get in touch with the picture itself, that is how I see it. Films, movies, shows is the one category that I do follow up in today’s pop culture. Not necessarily all genres of films. I love action, drama, romance and just perfectly made fairytales. I have always believed that movies have an enormous influence in our society and life. The meaning and main plots of each and every movie mean something, weather it may be stupid or a life lesson, there are so many different minded people in the world today that each and every meaning counts. Films are very convenient in today’s society I believe. Magazines, though, may not be fully true about the popular celebrities today, but it definitely shows a lot with its images. The writings may be false, but it certainly shows us the image and lets us decide on our own. It’s a big pleasure to see and decide for yourself. Cell phones are today’s highest communication factor. There are new kinds of cell phones out every other month. The technology is on 24/7 producing newer brands of cell phones and upgrading the old ones. There are people that live off their cell phone, that they cannot take a step out of the house without their cell phone. It’s a responsibility for them. American pop culture does not leave much of an impact on my personal decision making. Because of the fact that I don’t listen to pop culture when it comes to my personal decisions. I have my own values about everything in my life. I don’t let the pop culture decide for me because I believe pop culture is all surrounded by materialism and popularity. I come to believe and realize that today’s pop culture can be the result of most of today’s bad behavior in many aspects of people’s lives. My values come within my culture and from the way that I have been raised. Pop culture has never had an impact on my own personal decision making because I have been very aware of the influence of the pop culture for many years. While popular American culture is our daily cost, we as individuals always have a choice in how much we choose to participate. Most of the time as I make decisions, I do take into consideration of what is going on today, but never let it lead me to an influence to follow in its steps. The patterns in my pop culture inventory teach me something in my life. It influences me to the right roads. It also makes me see realize what I am being surrounded by today. As for my personal decision making, I do what I want to do, when I want to do and who I want to do it with, but never what the media presents.