Questões de Concursos Inglês

Read the text, and analyse the assertives that are introduced.

The field of English language instruction for non-native speakers, commonly referred to as Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), has experienced significant changes in recent times, due to the emergence of technology and the use of novel pedagogical methods. Conventional approaches, characterised by a focus on memorization and repeated grammar drills, are being replaced by dynamic and interactive methodologies that accommodate a wide range of learning preferences.

The integration of technology has emerged as a prominent transformation in the field of ESL instruction. Digital platforms, such language learning applications and online courses, provide customised learning experiences that may adjust to the unique pace and skill level of each individual learner. The utilisation of gamification is employed to transform the process of language acquisition into an enjoyable and captivating endeavour. In addition, the utilisation of online forums and virtual classrooms enables individuals to engage in real-time communication with native speakers, therefore providing them with valuable opportunities for meaningful language practise.

Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is an increasingly prominent pedagogical technique that has garnered significant attention and recognition. This approach facilitates the integration of English language acquisition with content-based instruction, so students acquire English proficiency by actively interacting with academic topics such as science, history, or literature. The implementation of contextual learning not only enhances the relevance and engagement of the language learning process, but also facilitates the organic acquisition of intricate vocabulary and concepts by students.

Task-Based Learning (TBL) places emphasis on the utilisation of language as a means to achieve certain objectives. Within Task-Based Language (TBL) classes, the conventional approach of introducing a language element followed by practise and production is substituted with the use of activities that require students to employ English in a genuine manner. This may encompass the resolution of problems, the execution of tasks, or the enactment of role-playing scenarios. These activities possess a high level of motivation and accurately reflect the usage of language in real-world contexts.

Flipped Classrooms is a pedagogical approach that combines online and in-person learning, wherein students are assigned to review instructional materials, often in the form of video courses, outside of the classroom, and subsequently participate in interactive activities during class time to consolidate their understanding. This technique facilitates increased engagement during classroom sessions and affords educators the chance to deliver focused assistance in areas requiring the greatest attention.

Cultural Immersion programmes, which involve placing students in English-speaking situations, have been demonstrated to significantly enhance language competence. This approach facilitates learners' exposure to the language within authentic contexts, fostering the acquisition of colloquial idioms and idiomatic use, which are frequently omitted in conventional instructional materials.

In summary, the contemporary approaches to ESL instruction are distinguished by a transition towards enhanced authenticity, interactivity, and individualization in the learning process. Through the use of technology and the implementation of novel pedagogical approaches, educators have enhanced capabilities to adequately equip students for practical English communication in real-life scenarios, making the learning experience more efficacious and pleasant, and at the same time recognising the cultural context meaning in the process of language acquisition.

(Available in: https://www.skylineuniversity.ac.ae/knowledge-update/from-different-corners/. Adapted.)

Read the text to answer the question from.

It happens that the publication of this edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary comes 250 years after the appearance of the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, compiled by Samuel Johnson. Much has changed since then. The English that Johnson described in 1755 was relatively well defined, still essentially the national property of the British. Since then, it has dispersed and diversified, has been adopted and adapted as an international means of communication by communities all over the globe. English is now the name given to an immensely diverse variety of different usages. This obviously poses a problem of selection for the dictionary maker: which words are to be included in a dictionary, and thus granted recognition as more centrally or essentially English than the words that are left out?

Johnson did not have to deal with such diversity, but he too was exercised with this question. In his Plan of an English Dictionary, published in 1747, he considers which words it is proper to include in his dictionary; whether ‘terms of particular professions’, for example, were eligible, particularly since many of them had been derived from other languages. ‘Of such words,’ he says, ‘all are not equally to be considered as parts of our language, for some of them are naturalized and incorporated, but others still continue aliens...’. Which words are deemed to be sufficiently naturalized or incorporated to count as ‘parts of our language’, ‘real’ or proper English, and thus worthy of inclusion in a dictionary of the language, remains, of course, a controversial matter. Interestingly enough, even for Johnson the status of a word in the language was not the only, nor indeed the most important consideration. For being alien did not itself disqualify words from inclusion; in a remark which has considerable current resonance he adds: ‘some seem necessary to be retained, because the purchaser of the dictionary will expect to find them’. And, crucially, the expectations that people have of a dictionary are based on what they want to use it for. What Johnson says of his own dictionary would apply very aptly to The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD): ‘The value of a work must be estimated by its use: It is not enough that a dictionary delights the critic, unless at the same time it instructs the learner...’.

(Widdowson, H. Hornby, A.S. 2010. Adaptado)