Eleven Plus Communication

When some of us arrive in a foreign country on holiday with out any prior knowledge of the language we often feel completely lost. Of course we can have access to translation sheets and dictionaries – and even sometimes one of these amazing little machines where you type a word in one language and the translation is offered in a choice of languages. If all else fails we hope we can rely the ability of the indigenous population to be able to speak English with due facility.

When immigrants come to a new country without any knowledge of the home language, then their approach to learning is often one that lacks complete organisation and method. The immigrant has to slowly learn to put the correct name to common and familiar objects – and then build to phrases that allow the ability to communicate.

Bit by bit fluency will grow, especially if lessons are available, until sentences appear. Of course the pronunciation may be almost incomprehensible at times – and the grammar may appear to be insecure but progress will be made.

Working on some aspects of verbal reasoning papers must feel learning a new language at times. A structured approach should help to accelerate learning.