TEACHING ENGLISH: THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY PEOPLE LEARNING ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE...
And also, the added difficulties faced by high school students for whom English is not their native language, but who must try to learn GCSE (11th. Grade) and / or A Level (12th. / 13th.Grade) certificate level English - while simultaneously having learning to speak, read and write English as an additional language...
Plus - consider the mental gymnastics that teachers have to perform when trying to answer the fair and legitimate questions that arise from this - asked by understandably bewildered students...
A very clever little poem, this one; author unknown, buy my acknowledgment and thanks to that person, and to the person who made the image (also unknown to me)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE: ENGLISH WORDS WITH MORE THAN ONE MEANING - AND HOW THEY CAN BE MISUNDERSTOOD...
OK, so an archaeologist discovers a long lost prehistoric community....
He spends months painstakingly teaching them English.
Then, one day, the archeologist is himself taught a lesson in the difficulties that many people have with learning this language: those pesky words with more than one meaning...
He sees a tribesman entering the village, dragging a huge, thankfully dead, Tyrannosaurus Rex behind him...
'Wow!', the archaeologist exclaims, 'A Tyrannosaurus Rex! Did you kill this ferocious creature?!'
'Yes, me kill', the tribesmen replies.
'But how did you manage to kill this huge, powerful animal?!!', the visitor gasped, incredulously.
'With my club', his host replied, evenly.
'How big is your club?!!' came the astonished retort.
"150 members - plus affiliates...' Mr. Prehistoric droned, as he calmly walked on by...
(My acknowledgment and thanks to whomever it was that made this cartoon - name unknown to me, unfortunately. ).
TEACHING ENGLISH: UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES AND PURPOSES...
Now, you see, this is a good example of how language works in different ways... Creatively, the lyrics to the song 'Horse With No Name', by the band America, work well: painting-in a barren, sparse backdrop; using sparse, stripped down, basic descriptive language - to fit with the mood and feel of the song...
But as an academic presentation on geology, flora and fauna... No. Not really... No... LOL..!
(The cartoonist (and writer, presumably (?) of this cartoon, sign as Wilbur Dawbarn & Rik - my acknowledgment and thanks to them. ). (M).
ENGLISH LANGUAGE: THE ART OF PUNNING...
Amazing Grace is, of course, a much loved Christian hymn; Judy Collins made it a worldwide hit single in 1970.
The opening lines are:
'Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me...'
Here's a good example of surreal / abstract humour - and the grand old satirical art of punning...
(I found this cartoon online. I don't know the name of the cartoonist - but my acknowledgment and thanks to that talented person).
TEACHING ENGLISH: USE AND PURPOSE OF LANGUAGE
Another look at how everyday English language can be understood in different ways... And consequently -
misunderstood, with unfortunate comic effect...
Lesson: always consider the SOURCE of any information, and its USE and PURPPOSE...
(My thanks to Mort (G. Hughes) for the heads-up about this joke (/teaching aid(?)). My acknowledgement and thanks too, to whoever made this image: identity unknown to me).