Places & Contexts of English Exposure

[Admin]

I really like the 2 opposing concepts of English as something external to be internalized and English as something created internally. While, like many of us, I've naturally thought of it as the first concept, I've been gradually moving towards seeing it as the second concept, and as plurilithic.

On that note, some places & contexts in which I think learners experience English (and in which I experienced it while being a learner) are:

- TV shows/movies (I think these are dominant)
- music lyrics
- the Internet (again, highly dominant context)
- conversations with friends (also L2 English speakers)
- during travels: in stores, restaurants, pubs, hotels/hostels etc. (with speakers of English from different socioeconomic, educational, cultural backgrounds).

I think in these contexts the kind of English found is "non-standard", to different degrees (highly non-standard on the internet or if listening to rap music, for instance), so unlike the kind taught in class; but definitely the kind that learners as users will continue to encounter and employ in the future, as these are the real contexts of use.

[sameerco1971]

My students always ask me about the English words that they encounter in their daily life outside the classroom which are different from what they are learning in books. This gap between textbooks and their use of English in the future, requires the curriculum designers' attention. For example, they ask me about the words related to computer games, English songs, movies and websites they usually visit. The students' interests should be taken into consideration in designing their textbooks.

[Kunlong Jin]

The first time I studied and lived overseas when I was 16, set in a home-stay family where they are all native English speakers (Australian). I found many English words and expressions I learned are from the daily conversation with them. Most of the expressions are quite colloquial. During my stay in that family, I also started to view the American TV series. You can expected that the conversations happened in TV series, in particular comedies, are very informal and causal as well. Well, that two situations/contexts are obviously the two main sources of learning English. But they are quite different from the way I have been taught in school where standard rules are applied to your spoken and written discourse. Teachers will correct your mistakes did in speaking and writing while in real life, nobody actually cares as long as you make sense.
I still found it is quite useful to learn English in a 'life' way now because it is what our life about and 80 percent of our lives are surrounded by personal and social affairs. Academic register is only one part of your journey or memory which you need to employ them whenever they are appropriate.

[Daniel Palmer]

I did a study on second-language acquisition for homestay students, and found that on the whole, students tend to acquire more language from using media or speaking to peers with a shared first language than from interactions with native speakers.

[erenkenny]

I lived with an English family in the UK after studying English for 4 years. I learned more as they guided me every time I went out. That time, I was told if I could understand Eastenders -soap opera and still on- that meant I could say that I learned English. I found followings useful in learning languages:
interacting with native speakers
listening to digital devices (radio, music, podcasts, etc)
watching videos
phone conversations -that's hard for L2 leaerners
newspapers
leaflets
brochures
menus

[andrea scabbia]

Listening to Englishes songs, watching Englishes movies, talking with Englishes friends...

[Tom Le Seelleur Lisburn, NI]

As my ESOL students live (and work) and study English in Northern Ireland - every part of their life could involve having to use or hear or speak, read, write or understand English.

[evarojo]

I always tell my students that they like English more than they think, many of them hate English as it is a compulsory subject at school, as they use it everyday. I even do activities about it with 12-13 years old (first year students at secondary schools in Spain), they write it down in a diary all the English they use outside school and then we share everything. Well, apart from the swearing words they learn through social media and video games they bring loads of expressions from their hobbies: music, tv series, video games, etc. I always joke with them that they are surrounded by English even though we are in a small town in the north of Spain, spooky!

[marian]

I always tell my students how lucky they are because they have many more ways to learn English than we did when we were students (many years ago) back in the 20th century. All the English I could learn with my tutor was coming from books, not even a recording. I remember how excited I felt when I managed to listen to BBC World News on my father's longwave radio receiver late at night. Another way to practise the language was finding a pen-pal.
Now you have everything you want at your fingertips: news, songs, videos, social media where you can chat with people from all over the world, the list is endless.

[tony]

English can be experienced by learners via such medium as TV series, books, music lyrics, news, articles, blog posts, comments on the Internet, etc.

[Ulla]

Learners encounter English on social media, in films and TV series, song lyrics, when they talk to people with whom they don't share a first language (e.g. when travelling). These are contexts that will still be relevant in their future lives. In addition, they will very likely use English in their professional lives as well.
I sometimes amuse my students by telling them how I used to collect every scrap of authentic English when I visited an English speaking country as a student - back home, we just didn't have access to English language articles etc. They are exposed to English much more in their everyday lives than I was when I was a student.

[miabae]

Off the top of my head I can think of:
- the internet
- TV shows
- songs
- books and magazines
- English speaking clubs and language exchange arrangements
- some people sharing the same L1 decide to speak L2 between themselves for more language practice
Of course, all of the above are about highly motivated students or those who have hobbies and would like to explore their area of interest.

[Rachel Dry]

As many others have commented, i often have students bring random words to class and ask for clarification. Often they are idioms or slang they see online. For example BRB and LOL.

When i lived abroad i often acquired language and rules from simply reading everything in my surroundings, e.g. billboards, shop names, bus stop adverts etc. Marketing adverts in supermarkets etc.