大学英语阅读素材1.docxVIP

Language barrier/wiki/Language_barrier/wiki/Language_barrierLanguage barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other. It may also be used in other contexts.Language barrier and communicationTypically, little /wiki/Communicationcommunication occurs unless one or both parties learn a new /wiki/Languagelanguage, which requires an investment of much time and effort. People travelling abroad often encounter a language barrier.People who come to a new country at an adult age, when language learning is a cumbersome process, can have particular difficulty overcoming the language barrier. Similar difficulties occur at multinational meetings, where interpreting services can be costly, hard to obtain, and prone to error.In 1995, 24,000 of the freshmen entering the California State University system reported English was their second language; yet only 1,000 of these non-active speakers of English tested proficient in college-level English (Kahmi-SteinStein,1999). Numbers such as these make it evident that it is crucial for instruction librarians to acknowledge the challenges that language can present. Clearly use of English is a key complicating factor in international students use of an American university library. Language difficulties impact not only information-gathering skills but also help-seeking behaviors. Lack of proficiency in English can be a major concern for international students in their library use as it relates to asking for and receiving assistance. Lee (1991), herself a former international student, explains that international students tend to be acquiescent and believe that school is the one place in the English-speaking world where they should be able to compete on an equal basis. International students are receptive and strongly motivated. For international students, concerned with proper sentence structure and precise vocabulary, this alterat