Introduction:
Recent trends in teaching English as a second language have stressed the importance of teaching communicative strategies and the functional use of language. The teachers must make efforts to teach learners how to perform certain language functions in English by presenting the social rules for language use. Second language learners need information about sociolinguistic rules that may differ from their own culture.

Action and Interaction: Steps in crafting the skills of communication:
The ACTION involved in teaching English to non-English speaking students, in an environment that is culturally different, is a challenge in crafting the skills of communication, for acquiring a second language.

 At the beginning, English, for the non-native speakers appears like a barrage of strange sounds, noises, letters, words and structures. It is interesting to observe the efforts which are made in getting control of one’s tongue around some of these strange sounds. The first faltering attempts made by the learners are nothing but steps of communication skills, taken in a direction, for a journey-from their own little world-to reach distant lands and cultures, where multitude of opportunities are lying open for them to explore, exploit, enhance knowledge and to bridge the cultural gaps. This journey will become interesting, easy and informative to them if the ‘communicative functions’ or the ‘underlying aspects’ of the language are being taken care of from the very beginning.

Globalization of English and UAE:
Globalization of English is making an impact in UAE. The government has embarked upon a comprehensive national project to revamp public education in the country. According to this project many public schools will gradually start teaching Mathematics and Science in English. The project ‘Schools of the Future’ (Arabic: ‘Madares Al Ghad’) was implemented gradually in the beginning of last August and includes 20 schools in grades 1 to 5, 10 schools in grades 6 to 9, and 20 schools in grades 10 to 12. Mathematics and Science will be taught in English from grade I in these selected schools. The project aims to finish by 2011 and the rest of the schools will be part of the Ministry of Education’s agenda to be included in the project. According to the Minister of Education Dr Hanif Hassan “We aim to eliminate foundational courses that enable students to enter their first year at university. There should be direct transition from high school to university”.

Some Arab private schools follow the Ministry of Education curriculum and are allowed to add materials or subjects upon approval of the ministry. In these schools, the language of instruction is Arabic, with the exception of English language. However, some schools are now incorporating English for Science subjects. Some other private Arab schools follow the American or British curriculums, but the medium of instruction for subjects like: Geography, History and National Studies is Arabic to grade 9. Arabic and Islamic Studies in these schools are also taught in advanced Arabic until grade 12 but other subjects are taught entirely in English at the upper secondary level. (Source: Gulfnews Staff reporter-Siham Al Najami 10/19/2007)

Efforts in the direction of crafting language skills in a bilingual school:
In league with the government’s effort to enhance education, Islamic School for Training and Education, Dubai, a private Arabic medium school, implemented an educational programme where the first three days of the week English would be used by all students and staff both in the classroom and outside during breaks. The students must try to express their personal needs, feelings, experiences and learning through English. They are encouraged to read, to watch, to listen and to take part in the process of language development skills. The morning assembly, on these special days, is conducted in English. The students present short speeches, jokes, news, conduct interviews and march-past drills all in English.  Everyday one period has been set aside for a special activity when the classroom will attain the environment of a meeting-room. Here one student is elected as Chairman to conduct the proceedings, another will act as Secretary, who will note the proceedings and maintain the record. Students come out with suggestions of topics for discussion. Any of the suggested topics which get the majority vote will be chosen for a discussion. All the proceedings are to be in English. The students enjoy this activity very well. It is interesting to note their efforts to speak in English.

The authorities at this school have equipped the classrooms with computers, books, tape-recorders and library etc. There is a special room with projectors where CDs are played to help in language development skills.  The efforts are paying, as the students are beginning to use situational expressions to fulfill their needs. Certificates for their good performance in developing their language skills are awarded to them periodically for their encouragement and as a reward picnics are arranged as an appreciation of their progress.

The seating arrangement in the classroom is also different. The desks and chairs are arranged rectangular, all students sit facing one another to discuss their lessons. The teacher guides them with setting up the lesson exercises. The students are allowed to be in charge of their own learning. This kind of participation helps to gain confidence in using the language. They are also encouraged to practice real-life situations, for example, buying snacks at the school canteen. A student takes the responsibility and writes a list of the food items needed by his friends and the amount given by each of them. He buys the food for them and returns any balance amount, if any, to them. This activity helps the students to communicate about their needs and also helps them in sharpening their skill in maths. This sense of participation in classroom activities, outside in the playground and school canteen often leads to an increased sense of confidence in using the language. There is good number of situations where realistic simulations of communication can be performed. Addressing the teachers and elders in proper ways benefits in having a successful exchange of communication and is very vital in social and cultural contexts.

The special books prepared by the school, for language learning, are progressive in nature: Alphabet, words, short sentences, long sentences, short and long compositions, letter writing, report writing, mathematical skills etc. reflect real-life situations which help in developing general ideas about things and their properties. The students read, understand, discuss and practice writing with these books. It is like learning to cope with a total environment. Skill in presenting a stimulating environment to encourage children’s conversation is the professional need of the language teachers. Students can learn effectively if there are opportunities for talking and listening, to reason and work out problems. A feeling of satisfaction is attained through efforts successful in the self expression and pleasure at doing things in language.

Linguistic aspects of language:
 A brief account of the linguistic aspects of language is discussed by taking recourse to two sources: (1) An article by David Wilkins (1976) and (2) Some part of the chapter- Communication- from the book Gimson’s Pronunciation of English (2001).

David Wilkins (1976) in an article entitled: Current developments in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language, writes about the skills (conventions) of language use, the functions (things we do) of language, and to express the meanings of functions. A brief idea of the above mentioned concerns will help us in teaching English as a second language:
A convention of use- Wilkins explains ‘the conventions of use’ by considering a simple example of the function of warning.  The noun warning and the verb to warn does not mean that one knows how to warn somebody about something. The act of warning does not actually involve very often the use of the words ‘warn’ or ‘warning’ at all. If somebody is walking with you along the pavement and you see that there is a bus coming, you do not say to them ‘I’m warning you that if you step off the pavement in front of that bus you will be knocked down’. The convention is very simple. You say ‘look out’ or ‘stop’ or something of that sort.
Functions (things we do) of language- It is used to express judgments, to pardon, to command, to instruct, to agree, to contradict, to apologize; it is also used for reporting, informing, discussing, suggesting, also to question, to answer,  to refute,  to protest; it is used to classify, to generalize, to greet, to sympathize etc.
Meanings of functions-A combination of grammar and vocabulary enables us to get to the meaning of the communication made. Concepts play a very important part in language. Any sentence in the language inevitably involves us in expressing such notions as who is responsible for the action, who it is who is actuallyacting, what it is that the action represents, and what it is that is done: who or what it is that is affected, by what means the action has been carried out, with what result the action has been performed. The facts of language are very complicated, Wilkins further explains, that language teachers should be aware of recognizing the complexity of facts. There is no one-to-one relationship between the forms of language which we teach and the meanings of language, including concepts. Any one form actually expresses a great variety of meanings, and if carefully identified, any one meaning is often expressed by a whole variety of forms. 

Gimson’s Pronunciation of English (revised edition 2001) also emphasizes the function of the spoken medium as a form of communication. It is characteristic of human beings to communicate to their fellow beings messages concerning every aspect of their activity. In the chapter on Communication, the acquisition of the framework of spoken language (development of speech) by children is explained as follows:

“Children learn from a very early age to respond to the sounds and tunes which their elders habitually use in talking to them; and, in due course, from a need to communicate, they begin to produce themselves the recurrent sound patterns with which they have become familiar…. They begin to make use of speech; and their constant exposure to the spoken form of their own language, together with their need to convey increasingly subtle types of information, leads to a rapid acquisition of the frame work of spoken language”. (p.3)

It takes a number of years to master the sound system used in their community. Sounds in relation to speech are concrete and measurable reality. Sounds in relation to abstraction made in our minds, appear to reduce the number of infinite number of different sounds to a ‘manageable’ number of categories. In the first, concrete, approach, sounds are dealt with relation to SPEECH; and at the second, abstract, level the concern is with the behaviour of sounds in a particular LANGUAGE. . An utterance, an act of speech, is a single concrete manifestation of the system in action whereas several utterances (different on concrete and phonetic levels) perform similar action, that is, they are same on the systematic language level. Further, after the basis of a first language has been consolidated, and later in life when second language is introduced, learners will be subjected to resistances and prejudices deriving from the framework of their original language. As they grow older they will require a great deal of conscious and analytical effort for the acquisition of a new language. Language as a system is defined as follows:
 
              “A language is a system of conventional signals used for communication
              by a whole community. This pattern of conventions covers a system of
              significant sound units (the PHONEMES), the inflexion and arrangements
              of ‘words’ and the association of meaning with words” (Cruttenden, 2001).

Acquiring a generative framework for communication- A focus on the role of a teacher:
There must be a desire to teach on the part of the teacher and a desire to learn on the part of the learner to acquire the generative framework without which no communication can be possible. The broadening of educational goals is increasing the responsibilities of teachers. According to the findings of a study by the American Council on Education (1947), the characteristics that are associated with teaching success include: personal and social adequacy, classroom rapport, professional interest, professional information, subject-matter knowledge, mental abilities and basic skills, general cultural background, experience, training and physical fitness. The difficulties encountered by them in discharging their teaching responsibilities include: motivating learners, diagnosing and correcting learning difficulties, developing learner self-discipline, selecting appropriate subject matter, inculcating good study habits, testing and evaluating learner readiness and progress, and achieving professional and social relationships with administrators, supervisors, fellow teachers and parents.

In a study, conducted by L.D.Crow and A.Crow (1951), about opinions of students concerning teachers and about their personality traits which makes them successful in their profession were as follows: knowledge of subject matter, interest in students, encouragements of students, patience, adaptability,  organization of subject matter, definiteness of aim, accuracy, sincerity, enthusiasm, and friendliness.

Every child needs the help of a teacher in his learning activities who can guide him as to what to study and how to study it, in terms of his learning capacities and his educational goals. A teacher functions as an instructor of learning materials, as a guide, adviser, or director of learner activities, and as a well adjusted person who, by earning his pupil’s respect and admiration, becomes a model to be imitated.

Many study approaches have been and continue to be utilized to discover the personal qualities of a good or well-adjusted teacher. The evaluating techniques include: various forms of personality scales administered to teaching candidates, supervisor ratings of the teacher on the job, pupil’s ratings of their teachers, and teacher self-rating instruments.

As a result of these investigations it appears that the basic characteristics of a good teacher are: good health, above average intelligence (not necessarily mental superiority), emotional stability, integrity, flexibility, adequate speech and language usage, creativity, cheerfulness, sincerity, kindness, cooperativeness and social adaptability, sense of humor, (laughing with pupils rather  than at them), patience, and enthusiasm.

The personal qualities that predispose toward success in teaching are fundamental to the development of the kind of good teacher adjustment that functions successfully in a teacher’s various professional relationships, especially in his pupil-guidance relations. Because of his fine attitudes, he is well equipped (1) to help his pupils develop self-control, (2) to motivate and maintain pupil interest in learning, (3) to evaluate pupil potentiality and achievement objectively and intelligently, (4) to exert a constructive influence on the school and community, (5) to be receptive and sympathetic to the learner’s difficulties, (6) to be a good listener and provide good counseling.

Learning by doing is the proper sort of learning:  A focus on the language learner:
It is important matter for the parent and teacher to understand the relation between practical activities and book learning or between doing things and imagining, thinking and reasoning. The young learner’s imagining, thinking and reasoning are always closely bound up with experience of real things which he can actually see, hear, touch and play with.  The result of actual first hand experience with real things in a play or in helping older people to do the everyday jobs of the neighborhood, the youngster learns names, he talks about his experiences; he asks questions, etc. A sense of satisfaction comes from the self-expression in language by the learner. Opportunities and encouragement to express thoughts, desires, feelings, ideas, and points of view must be provided to the language learner. A learner must be able to reason and work out problems in words. The learner must make efforts to develop skill in the use of written and spoken English. The learner must be provided with opportunities for controlled experience in using language, both in written and spoken forms, with each other, with the teacher, with others, in situations which require them to explain, persuade, defend, attack, summarize, comment, report etc.

And through this INTERACTION, the acquisition of language, the learners will get access to the books which enshrine the thoughts, experiences, vision of great men of the past and to the modern technological world which has brought new directions in education they will begin to become aware of their own particular learning needs and to teach themselves the means of satisfying them.

References:

• Revised by Alan Cruttenden (2001). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English, ARNOLD, London. pp 4-5

• Brochure No. 11, (1947) American Council of Education, Washington.

• L.D. Crow and A, Crow (1951) Mental Hygiene, 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc., pp. 232-233.

• Susan Holden, Editor, English for Specific Purposes (1977), Modern English Publication Ltd. –Article by David Wilkins ‘Current developments in the teachings of English as a Foreign language’ pp 5-7

• Siham Al Najmi, Staff Reporter –Gulf News (10/19/2007) Article ‘Bilingual education hangs in the balance for schools’