Teaching English as a Second Language

1.     Teaching English as a second or foreign language

There have been serious conflicts in the Middle East, which range from cultural to political differences especially between the Jews and Arabs. A lot of efforts have been brought forward to attempt to bring a truce to the whole thing but it seems a farfetched dream; hence the suggestion to use English, which is a commonly spoken language in many parts of the world, for the purposes of promoting peace in those particular regions. It has been established that using a common language can help in fostering peace, hence the purpose of this paper to examine the degree of the same.

2.      Study objectives

The study aims at fostering understanding between two entities, Jews and Arabs in Israel, by using English as a lingua franca. The purpose is to find out if using the same language can be of importance in bringing the longstanding conflict to an end. This is informed by the fact that countries that have a lot of commonalities such as France, which banned the wearing of headscarf by Muslim women have experienced a peaceful coexistence among their populations.

3.      Hypothesis

Using English as a lingua franca helps in fostering understanding between two entities, Jews and Arabs in Israel.

4.      Methodology

The study will take a qualitative form; first, two tests will be conducted to determine the efficiency of the participants. These will include written and oral tests then their scores will be analyzed to pick those with the highest scores. Then there will be a coexistence program, whereby 5 Arab students and 5 Jewish students leave their original lingua-cultural community for 17 days and encounter interlocutors with American people (Which means people from different linguistic background than their own). English is the only means of communication between both sides who don't share a primary lingua-cultural background. Data will then be collected through interviewing the students who participated in the program about their experiences and use of English, and then analyzed.

5.      References

Ahmad. J. (2011). Pronunciation problems among Saudi learners: A case study at the preparatory year program. Language in India.11, 22-36.

Ansari, A. A. (2012). Teaching of English to Arab students: Problems and remedies. Educational Research, 3(6), pp. 519-524.

Avery, P. & Ehrlich, S. (2012). Teaching American English pronunciation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M. & Goodwin, J. M. (2010). Teaching pronunciation. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

Johnson, M. (2004). A philosophy of second language acquisition .London: Yale University Press.