Study Skills and Acquisition of English as a Second Language among 8th Standard Students: A Study

Abstract

English is a member of the Indo-European family of languages. This broad family includes most of the European languages spoken today. The Indo-European family includes several major branches; Latin and the modem Romance languages (French etc.); the Germanic languages (English, German, Swedish etc); the Indo-Iranian languages (Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit etc); the Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, etc); the Baltic languages of Latvian and Lithuanian the Celtic languages (Welsh, Irish, Gaelic etc); Greek. In its widest sense; the is now conveniently used to comprehend the language of the English people from their settlement in Britain to the present day, the various stages through which it has passed being distinguished as Old, Middle, and New or Modem English. Yann Martell (2001) English in India has a legacy from the British who colonized the country and their language permeated through some of the most important part of society; the government, the media, the education system, the legal system and gradually the social sphere as well. Furthermore, Yann Mortell (2001) views that, India is a vast nation and in terms of number of English speakers, its ranks third in the world after U.S.A. and the U.K .. An estimated four percent of the population use English and Even though this may seem like a small number that is about forty million people. This small segment of the population controls the domain, which has professional and social prestige. Though it is closer to British English since it originates from that style, with the influx of globalization American English has definitely had an impact on the youth as well as in the professional sphere. However, it can neither be classified as American nor as British English. It intermingled with other Indian languages and emerged with its own district flavor. This had made several scholars realize that it cannot be equated with either. Language so far as we know, is something specific to human, that is to say it is the basic capacity that distinguishes human from all other living beings. Language therefore remains potentially a communicative medium capable of expressing ideas and concepts as well as moods, feelings and attitudes