Department of Modern Languages
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Browsing Department of Modern Languages by Author "Csajbok-Twerefou, I."
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Item Language Etiquette and Culture in Teaching of Foreign Languages(2017-04-19) Csajbok-Twerefou, I.; Dzahene-Quarshie, J.People learn foreign languages for communication - to be able to speak and understand. In the early stages of the teaching of any foreign language, teachers introduce language etiquette of the studied language for better understanding and appreciation of aspects of the culture. This is partly due to the fact that in many cases language learning starts from “Hello”, or “My name is…” etc., and also there are major differences between the studied and native languages which describe these languages and their speakers. This indicates that language etiquette should be a part of any language teaching and learning process. The learning of foreign languages at any level is characterized by the interplay of many factors such as mother tongue, culture, educational background, psychological factors, among others. A difficult task that faces an instructor is the development of the socio-cultural competence in teaching a foreign language. In the University of Ghana, students have the opportunity to study Russian language and literature as part of the course content. This paper discusses some challenges in the teaching Russian language in the University of Ghana. Analysis shows that irrespective of the fact, that many Ghanaians speak one other Ghanaian language in addition to their mother tongue, and English which is the official language, and some people also speak French, there is a major challenge in teaching Russian in Ghana as a foreign language. Thus, multilingualism is a useful but not sufficient condition for the effective learning of a language. The paper argues that one reason that makes it difficult to teach Russian as a foreign language is the social and cultural differences and the wide geographical distance between Ghana and Russia.Item Language practices of francophone students in the University of Ghana(2017-04-27) Chachu, S.; Csajbok-Twerefou, I.Several middle class francophones have migrated to Ghana for economic, political and social educational reasons. This research project aims at exploring how these category of francophone migrants in Accra, the capital city, manage their language repertoire and the reasons underlying their choices. Most studies in migration have focused on migration outside the African continent (Billiez, 1985; Dustmann, 1999; Haque, 2011). These have mainly been carried out within the domains of sociology, geography and economics with little attention given to the linguistic and sociolinguistic aspects of migration. However, research shows that language plays an important role in the migration process as it contributes to identity, adapting to a new linguistic space, and modifying ones verbal repertoire and even the economic success of the immigrants. This presentation, which is part of a wider study will focus on the language practices of students from francophone countries who are here for their tertiary education. We explore their language choices in relation to school, work, family, and friends and their perceptions and rating of the French and English languages in relation to the local languages that they speak.