Source Of Errors In Learning English Language Essay

Source Of Errors In Learning English Language Essay Introduction Errors are integral part of language acquisition. The phenomenon of error has long interested SLA researchers. In a traditional second language teaching situation, they are regarded as the linguistic phenomena deviant from the language rules and standard usages, reflecting learners deficiency in language competence and acquisition device. Many teachers simply correct individual errors as they occur, with little attempt to see patterns of errors or to seek causes in anything other than learner ignorance. Presently, however, with the development of linguistics, applied linguists, psychology and other relevant subjects, peoples attitude toward errors changed greatly. Instead of being problem to be overcome or evils to be eradicated, errors are believed to be evidence of the learners stages in their target language (TL) development. It is through analyzing learner errors that errors are elevated from the statue of undesirability to that of a guide to the inner working of the language lea rning process (Ellis, 1985,p 53) In the field of SLA, there have been three influential approaches to errors with a general movement from approaches emphasizing the product, the error itself, to approaches focusing on the underlying process under which the errors are made. The analysis of error sources has been regarded as a central aspect in the study of learner errors. Researchers believe that the clearer the understanding of the sources of learners errors, the better second language teachers will be able to detect the process of L2 learning. Error Making errors is the most natural thing in the world and it is evidently attached to the human beings. But, how do we define error? There are different definitions of the word as Ellis explains learners make errors in both comprehension and production, the first being rather scantly investigated. All learners make errors which have a different name according to the group committing the error. Childrens errors have been seen as transitional forms, the native speakers ones are called slips of the tongue and the second language errors are considered unwanted forms (George 1972). We use the term error to refer to a systematic deviation from a selected norm or set of norms. According to Lennon (1991) an error is a linguistic form or combination of forms which in the same context and under similar conditions of production would, in all likelihood, not be produced by the speakers native speakers counterparts. On one hand, it was considered to be a sign of inadequacy of the teaching techniques, something negative which must be avoided, and on the other hand it was seen as a natural result of the fact that since by nature we cant avoid making errors, we should accept the reality and try to deal with them. The error-as-progress conception is based on the Chomskys idea that a child generates language through innate universal structures. So, using this symbolic code, one can have access to different pieces of knowledge not as something mechanically learned but as mentally constructed through try and error. The idea is now that the second language learners form hypotheses about the rules to be formed in the target language and then test them out against input data and modify them accordingly. There is an approach which concerns error as being the result of social-cognitive interaction. This means that the error implicitly carries a social norm as well as cognitive process. The error also carries a social and cultural component which makes it different in different societies. Cultural differences in the error Previous research has shown that cultural differences exist in the susceptibility of making fundamental attribution error: people from individualistic cultures are prone to the error while people from collectivistic cultures commit less of it (Miller, 1984). It has been found that there is a differential attention to social factors between independent peoples and interdependent peoples in both social and nonsocial contexts: Masuda and his colleagues (2004) in their cartoon figure presentation experiment showed that Japaneses judgments on the target characters facial expression are more influenced by surrounding faces than those of the Americans; whereas Masuda and Nisbett (2001) concluded from their underwater scenes animated cartoon experiment that Americans are also more likely than Japanese participants to mark references to focal objects (i.e. fish) instead of contexts (i.e. rocks and plants). These discrepancies in the salience of different factors to people from different cultu res suggest that Asians tend to attribute behavior to situation while Westerners attribute the same behavior to the actor. Consistently, Morris Peng (1994) found from their fish behavior attribution experiment that more American than Chinese participants perceive the behavior (e.g. an individual fish swimming in front of a group of fish) as internally rather than externally caused. One explanation for this difference in attribution lies in the way people of different cultural orientation perceive themselves in the environment. Particularly, Markus and Kitayama (1991) mentioned how (individualistic) Westerners tend to see themselves as independent agents and therefore prone themselves to individual objects rather than contextual details. in the second language teaching/ learning process the error has always been regarded as one of the most generally known approaches concerning the error throughout human history is to consider it a negative effect or result, even worth to be punished. According to Corder (1967): A learners errors then, provide evidence of the system of the language that he is using. They are significant in three different ways: first to the teacher, in that they tell him is he undertakes a systematic analysis, how far towards the goal the learner has progressed. Second, they provide the researchers with evidence of how language is learned or acquired. Third they are indispensible to the learner himself because he can regard the making of errors as a device used in order to learn. The sources of error might be psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, epistemic or residing in the discourse structures. Richards(1971),when trying to identify the causes of competence errors he came up with three types of errors: interference errors, which reflect the use of elements from one language to the other, intralingual errors, subdivided into errors due to overgeneralization, or to ignorance of rules restriction, which is incomplete application of the rules, or finally due to the false concept hypothesis, which demonstrate the general characteristics of rule learning and third developmental errors when the learner builds hypothesis about the target language based on limited experience. Assuming a term hierarchy of errors, Burt and Kiparasky (1974) suggest that there is a difference between global and local errors. They say: Global mistakes are those that violate rules involving the overall structure of a sentence, the relations among constituent clauses, or, in a simple sentence, the relations among major constituents. Local mistakes cause trouble in a particular constituent, or in clause of a complex sentence. They claim that global errors are more serious and rank higher in the error hierarchy than local ones, and they should be corrected prior to all others in language classrooms. Accordingly, errors in tense and aspect are regarded as local errors. They may be minor errors, for they may not cause grave breakdowns in communication. However, they are extremely common mistakes among second language learners of English and very much worth investigating since tense and aspect represent one of the most essential parts of English grammar. Corder (1967) goes a step further to propose different terminologies for these two kinds of errors and stresses that we must make a clear distinction between mistakes and errors; the former refers to non-systematic performance errors of chance circumstances, whereas the latter can be defined as the systematic errors of the learner from which we are able to reconstruct his knowledge of the language to date. In the following discussion, the analysis focuses on competence errors: There are two major approaches to analyzing errors committed by a target language learner. Contrastive Analysis (CA), Error Analysis (EA). Theoretical base of CA lies in Behaviorist Learning Theory; while the EA is closely related with the emergence of Interlanguage Theory (Ellis, 2005) Behaviorist learning theory accounts of errors: The behaviorist learning theory illustrates the TL learning is a mechanical process of habit formation. Habits entail over-learning, which ensures that learning of new habits as a result of proactive inhibition. Thus, the challenge facing the L2 learner is to overcome the interference of L1 habits. Basing on the habit formation, contrastive analysis sought to identify the features of the L2 that differed from those of the L1 so that learners could be helped to form the new habits of the L2 by practicing them intensively. Most errors made by L2 learners were the result of differences between L1 and L2 structure. (Martin 1996) Interference, the CA insists, is the result of unfamiliarity with the rules of a TL and psychological causes, such as inadequate learning (Swan, 2001). Transfer can be positive or negative: linguistic features of the L1 that are similar to those of the TL will facilitate learning (positive transfer); those aspects of the L1 that are different to the TL grammatical and phonological system will hinder SLA and cause the learner to make numerous production errors(negative transfer). Thus difference between the L1 and L2 create learning difficulty which results in errors, while the similarities between them facilitate rapid and easy learning (Ellis, 1985 cited Corder). According to behaviorist learning theory, both types of transfer are the outcome of automatic and subconscious use of old habits in new learning situations (Dulay, Burt Krashen) Rod Ellis (1985) assesses, errors, according to the theory, were the result of non-learning, rather than wrong learning. By comparing the L1 with TL, differences could be identified and used to predict areas of potential errors. The idea of the error as an effect to be avoided has been especially supported by behaviorism, being considered an obstacle to language learning. To them error has been a symptom of ineffective teaching or as evidence of failure and they believed that when they occur they are to be remedied by provision of correct forms; that is to say, use of intensive drilling and over-teaching. It was also believed that interference takes place whenever there is a difference between native mother tongue and the target language. A hypothesis based on Lados suggestion in linguistic across cultures where he states in comparison between native and foreign language lies the key to ease all difficulties in foreign language learning (Lado, 1957) 2. Interlanguage (IL) theory accounts of errors (i) Selinker (1972) coined the term interlanguage to refer to the systematic knowledge of an L2 which is independent of both these learners L1 and the target language. The term has come to be used with different but related meanings: To refer to the series of interlocking systems which characterize acquisition To refer to the system that is observed at a single stage of development To refer to particular L1, L2 combinations. Other terms that refer to the same basic idea are approximate system and transitional competence. (ii) Interlanguage is the type of language produced by second and foreign language learners who are in the process of learning a language, whose errors are caused by several different processes. These include: Borrowing patterns from the mother tongue. Extending patterns from the target language Expressing meanings using the words and grammar which are already known from Richards, Jack et al (1992). (iii)Interlanguage refers to the separateness of a second language learners system, a system that has a structurally intermediate status between the native and target language. Interlanguage is neither the system of target language nor the system of the native language, but instead falls between the two; it is a system based upon the best attempt of learners to provide order and structure to the linguistic stimuli surrounding them. By gradual process of trial and error and hypothesis testing, learners slowly and tediously succeed in establishing closer and closer approximations to the system used by native speakers of the language. (iv)Rod Ellis (2005, 54) views Error Analysis as being based on emergence of IL theory, that is known to be used to explain effectively the errors committed in SLA processes. Slinker (1972) tried to find a way to explain the errors that some students make, have nothing to do with their foreign language; for example a Spanish speaker, an Arabic speaker and a Japanese speaker might all make the same mistake in English which was not related to their respective languages. According to Slinker, L2 learners go through a process of making and testing hypotheses about the target language. They begin with knowledge about language in general, gained from their native language, and move toward the target language. Bit by bit, they readjust their mental model of the new language, improving their communicative competency in that language. Successful hypotheses become mental constructions that correspond to the rules of the new language. Brown(1993) viewed ,truly successful students make the journ ey to a high level of competency in the target language, while less successful students become fossilized somewhere along the IL continuum. For around 35 years Selinker has viewed learners errors as evidence of positive efforts by the learner to learn a new language. This view of language learning allowed for the possibilities of learners making deliberate attempts to control their own learning and, along with theories of cognitive processes in language learning. Errors are indispensable to learners since the making of errors can be regarded as a device the learner uses in order to learn. A modern definition of language transfer is provided by Slinker (1992): language transfer is best thought of as a cover term for a whole class of behaviors, processes and constraints, each of which has to do with CLI (Cross Linguistic Influence), the influence and use of prior linguistic knowledge, usually but exclusively native language knowledge. Selinker (1992) pointed two highly significant con tributions that Corder made: that the errors of a learner, whether adult or child, are not random, but are in fact systematic and are not negative or interfering in any way with learning a TL but are, on the contrary, a necessary positive factor, indicative of testing hypothesis. In 1994 Gass and Slinker defined errors as red flags that provide evidence of the learners knowledge of the second language. The learners developing knowledge of second language may have characteristics of the learners native language, characteristics of the second language, and some characteristics which seem to be very general and tend to occur in all or most interlanguage systems. Interlanguages are systematic, but they are also dynamic, continually evolving as learners receive more input and revise their hypotheses about the second language.L2 learners process through an interlanguage, which is an independent knowledge of L1 and L2 system. Interlanguage Is systematic, because the learner selects the rul es systematically, learners bases plans on the rule system, in the same way as the native speaker bases on the internalized knowledge of L1 system. (iv)One of the crucial contributions of IL was its underlying assumption that the learners knowledge is integrated and systematically reorganized with previous knowledge of the native language. By a gradual process of trial-and-error or hypothesis testing, learners slowly and tediously succeed in establishing closer approximations to the system used by the native speaker of the language. The characteristics of IL are described by many researchers as follows: Permeable, in the sense that rules that constitute the learners knowledge at any one stage are not fixed, but are open to amendment(Ellis1985:50) Dynamic, in the sense that L2 learner slowly revises their variable interim systems to accommodate new hypothesis about the TL system. Systematic, in that L2 learners IL is rule-governed, that is, the learner bases his performance plans on his existing rule system much the same way as the native speaker bases his plans on his internalized knowledge of the L1 system. The variable shape of interlanguage The concept of interlanguage has had a major impact on the field of second language acquisition, studies on interlanguage focus on the linguistic and psychological aspects of second language acquisition research. I will first outline how the interlanguage assumption developed .since the interlanguage concept is not only important for the development of the students grammar system; I will then explore how it applies to other components of language. I will also focus on the consequences of the concept for the teacher and his work in the classroom. Before the 1960s language was not considered to be a mental phenomenon. Like other forms of human behavior language is learnt by processes of habit formation. A child learns his mother tongue by imitating the sounds and patterns he hears around him. By approval or disapproval, adults reinforce the childs attempts and lead the efforts to the correct forms. Under the influence of cognitive linguists this explanation of first language acquisitio n was criticized. Language cant be verbal behavior only since children are able to produce an infinite number of utterances that have never heard before. This creativity is only possible because a child develops a system of rules. A large number of studies have shown that children actually do construct their own rule system, which develops gradually until it corresponds to the system of the adults. There is also evidence that they pass through similar stages acquiring grammatical rules. Through the influence of cognitive linguists and first language acquisition research the notion developed that second language learners, too, could be viewed as actively constructing rules from the data they encounter and that they gradually adapt these rules in the direction of the target language. However wrong and inappropriate learners own language system, they are grammatical in their own terms, since they are a product of the learners own language system. This system gradually develops toward t he rule-system of the target language. The various shapes of the learners language competence are called interlanguage. This draws to the fact that the learners language system is neither that of his mother tongue nor that of the second language, but contains elements of both. Therefore, errors need not be seen as signs of failure only, but as evidence of the learners developing system. While the behaviorist approach led to teaching methods which use drills and consider errors as signs of failure, the concept of interlanguage liberated language teaching and paved the way for communicative teaching methods. Since errors are considered a reflection of the students temporary language system and therefore a natural part of the learning process, teachers could now use teaching activities which did not call for constant supervision of the students language. Group work and pair work became suitable means for language learning. A brief review of approaches to analyses of errors Contrastive Analysis (CA) Contrastive analysis is an approach generated from behaviorist learning theory. Through CA applied linguists sought to use the formal distinctions between the learners first and second languages to predict errors. The basic concept behind CA was that a structural picture of any language could be constructed which might then be used in direct comparison with the structural picture of another language. Through a process of mapping one system onto another, similarities and differences could be identified. Identifying the differences would lead to a better understanding of the problems that a learner of the particular L2 would face. (Corder , 1983). CA stresses the influence of mother tongue in learning a second language in phonological, morphological, lexical and syntactic levels. It holds that L2 would be affected by L1. Here, language is taken as a set of habits and learning as the establishment of new habits, a view sprung from behaviorism, under which langu age is essentially a system of habits. In the course of language learning, L1 learning habits will be transferred into L2 learning habits. Therefore, in the case of L1 transfer into L2, if structures in the MT have their corresponding structures in the TL and L1 habits can be successfully used in the L2, learners would transfer similar properties successfully used in the L2, learners would transfer similar properties successfully and that would result in positive transfer. Contrastively, in the case of negative transfer or interference, certain elements of the MT have no corresponding counterparts in the TL, L1 habits would cause errors in the L2 and learners would transfer inappropriate properties of L1. CA places the environment as the predominant factor in SLA, while learners are believed to play only a passive role in accepting the impositions of the environment. We must not forget that there are numbers of errors made by language learners seem to be unrelated to the learners na tive language. According to SLA researchers non-interference errors were more pervasive in learner performance than CA were ready to recognize. Dulay and Burt (1973) studied the errors made by Spanish-speaking children learning English as an L2 and claimed that all of the learners errors had collected, 85% were developmental (non-interference), 12% were unique and only 3% were results of L1 interference. Primary tenets of CA are: Prime cause of difficulty and error in foreign language learning is interference coming from the learners native language. Difficulties are chiefly due to differences between the two languages The greater the difference s, the more acute the learning difficulties will be The results of a comparison between the two languages are needed to predict th e difficulties and errors which will occur in learning the target language What needs to be taught is discovered by comparing the languages and subtracting what is common to them. (Corder, 1981) 3. Error analysis (EA) It is defined as the study of linguistics ignorance, the investigation of what people do not know and how they attempt to cope with their ignorance, by James (2001).Error analysis was first introduced by Fries (1945) and Lado (1957) who have claimed that foreign or second language learners errors could be predicted on the basis of the differences between the learners native and second languages. They have also suggested that where the aspects of the target language are similar to those of the learners native language, learning will be easy; otherwise, it will be difficult and second language learners are expected to make errors .The field of error analysis in SLA was established in the 1970s by S. P. Corder and colleagues. A widely-available survey can be found in chapter 8 of Brown (2000). Error analysis was an alternative to contrastive analysis, an approach influenced by behaviorism through which applied linguists sought to use the formal distinctions between the learners first an d second languages to predict errors. Error analysis showed that contrastive analysis was unable to predict a great majority of errors, although its more valuable aspects have been incorporated into the study of language transfer. A key finding of error analysis has been that many learner errors are produced by learners making faulty inferences about the rules of the new language. This is the examination of those errors committed by students in both the spoken and written medium. Corder, who has contributed enormously to EA, writes this: The study of error is part of the investigation of the process of language learning. In this respect it resembles methodologically the study of the acquisition of the mother tongue. It provides us with a picture of the linguistic development of a learner and may give us indications as the learning process. Error analysts distinguish between errors, which are systematic, and mistakes, which are not. Corder(1967) made use of Chomskys the competence versus performance distinction by associating errors with failures in competence and mistakes with failures in performance. In his view, a mistake occurs as the results of processing limitations rather than lack of competence. It signifies L2 learners failure of utilizing their knowledge of a TL rule. They often seek to develop a typology of errors. Error can be classified according to basic type: omissive, additive, substitutive or related to word order. They can be classified by how apparent they are: overt errors such as I angry are obvious even out of context, whereas covert errors are evident only in context. Closely related to this is the classification according to domain, the breadth of context which the analyst must examine, and extent, the breadth of the utterance which must be changed in order to fix the error. Errors may also be cl assified according to the level of language: phonological errors, vocabulary or lexical errors, syntactic errors, and so on. They may be assessed according to the degree to which they interfere with communication: global errors make an utterance difficult to understand, while local errors do not. In the above example, I angry would be a local error, since the meaning is apparent. From the beginning, error analysis was beset with methodological problems. In particular, the above typologies are problematic: from linguistic data alone, it is often impossible to reliably determine what kind of error a learner is making. Also, error analysis can deal effectively only with learner production (speaking and writing) and not with learner reception (listening and reading). Furthermore, it cannot account for learner use of communicative strategies such as avoidance, in which learners simply do not use a form with which they are uncomfortable. For these reasons, although error analysis is still used to investigate specific questions in SLA, the quest for an overarching theory of learner errors has largely been abandoned. In the mid-1970s, Corder and others moved on to a more wide-ranging approach to learner language, known as interlanguage. Error analysis is closely related to the study of error treatment in language teaching. Today, the study of errors is particularly relevant for focus on form teaching methodology. EA emphasizes on the significance of errors in learners IL system, Brown (1994) may be, carried out directly for pedagogic purposes. Carl James (1998) viewed, EA developed out of the belief that errors indicate the learners stage of language learning and acquisition.th learner is seen as an active participant in the development of hypotheses regarding the rules of the target language just as a young child learning the first language. Errors are considered to be evidence of the learners strategy as he or she builds competence in the target language. These errors are defined as global which inhibit understanding and local which do not interfere with communication. Error analysis has been criticized as being an inefficient tool for studying the way second language learners develop their target language. It is argued that error analysis deals with the learners productive competence rather than the receptive one, and it is also an imperfect instrument for categorizing errors and explaining them. In the book Error and Interlanguage written by Pit Corder, he stated that various classifications of these error systems have been developed by error analysis researchers, three of which can be helpful for the teacher and are as follows. Pre-systematic; errors occur before the language learner has realized any system for classifying items being learned; the learner can neither correct nor explain this type of error. Systematic; errors occur after the learner has noticed a system and error consistently occurs; learner can explain but not correct the error. This classification relies on three major groups: (1) interference errors; (2) intralingual errors; (3)development errors. Interference errors are caused by the influence of the native language, in presumably those areas where the languages differ markedly. Intralingual errors originate with the structure to TL itself. The complexity of language encourages over-generalization, incomplete application of rules, and the failure to learn conditions for rule application. Development errors reflect the students attempt to make hypotheses about the language from the native language. Post-systematic; errors occur when learner is consistent in his or her recognition of systems; can explain and correct the error. The following steps are distinguished in conducting an EA: collection of a sample of learner language; identification of errors; explanation of errors; error evaluation (Ellis cited in 2005) Richards (1971) focused on the intralingual and developmental errors observed in the acquisition of English as a second language and further classified them into four categories: (i) Overgeneralization; covering instances where the learners create a deviant structure on the basis of his experience of other structure of the TL. (ii)Ignorance of the rule restriction, occurring as a result of failure to observe the restrictions or existing structures (iii) Incomplete application of rules, arising when the learners fail to fully develop a certain structure required to produce acceptable sentences (iv) False concepts hypothesized, deriving from faulty comprehension of distinctions in the TL. from the analyses of errors to the practice of error correction We know that in traditional classroom instruction is laid on accuracy, errors frequently corrected because the teacher thinks the error as a thorn in his/her flesh. Yet with the understanding of IL theory, the role of error correction has changed. Errors are considered natural products in language learning and in fact reflect the modes of learners developing system. What are the sources and causes of Errors? The following factors are identified as the source and causes of Errors Mother tongue interference Wilkins (1972) observes: When learning a foreign language an individual already knows his mother tongue, and it is this which he attempts to transfer. The transfer may prove to be justified because the structure of the two languages is similar-in that case we get positive transfer or facilitation- or may prove unjustified because the structure of the two languages are different- in that case we get negative transfer- or interference. Loan Words

Friday Night Lights Essays -- Movie Film Football Essays

Friday Night Lights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? Recent newspaper headlines include such items as coaches abusing student athletes; fathers of athletes murdering coaches, and mother’s disabilitating cheerleading candidates to assure their daughters make the cheerleading team. In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have on a small city in Texas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel begins with preseason football in the heat of a Texas summer. The players and coaches practice over 4 hours a day in 100-degree weather. The media is affecting every player pushing for a state championship and college scouts at every practice. A star player named Boobie Miles is in the spotlight and is expected to attend and earn a scholarship to a large state college. The community cannot wait for the season to start to see the greatest team in Texas history, continue the winning tradition of the Permian Panthers. In one of the first games, Boobie Miles sustains a serious injury and will likely play again. Coach Gary Gaines, the head coach, had almost every play setup up for Boobie and will have ...

Crocs Company Essay

I have chosen crocs company to make the report that required in my first assessment. I choose this company because I am interested to make analysis about this company. In my opinion this company is unique. Based on (Wikipedia crocs), Crocs, Inc. is a shoe manufacturer founded by 3 friends – Scott Seamans, Lyndon â€Å"Duke† Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr. They produce and distribute a foam clog design acquired from a Quebec company called Foam Creations. The shoe had originally been developed as a spa shoe. The first model produced by Crocs â€Å"The Beach† was unveiled in 2002 at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show in Florida, and sold out the 200 pairs produced at that time. After a great success selling the 200 pair of Crocs â€Å"the Beach† spa shoe, George realize the potential and try to go beyond the 200 pair. Every pair of Crocs Shoes is from a material called Crosliteâ„ ¢. Croslite is a made from the company’s PCCR (Proprietary Closed-Cell Resin). It is not plastic nor rubber and it is a closed-cell in nature and anti-microbial (eliminates that foot odor). The special Patented Closed Cell Resin (PCCR) warms and softens with your body heat and molds to your feet. The Crocs European styling of the orthotic heel, built-in arch support, and tarsal bar position your feet for ultimate foot comfort and health. Say No to Painful Shoes and Hallo crocs Crocs, Inc, a world leader in innovative casual footwear for men, women and children, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2012. Crocs offer several distinct shoe collections with more than 300 four-season footwear styles. All Crocsâ„ ¢ shoes feature Crosliteâ„ ¢ material, a proprietary, revolutionary technology that gives each pair of shoes the soft, comfortable, lightweight and odor-resistant qualities that Crocs fans know and love. Crocs fans â€Å"Get Crocs Inside† every pair of shoes, from the iconic clog to new sneakers, sandals, boots and heels. Since its inception in 2002, Crocs has sold more than 200 million pairs of shoes in more than 90 countries around the world. The brand celebrated reaching $1 billion in annual sales in 2011. Marketing Concept have 4 elements that briefly explain what the marketing concept is; Customers Orientation, Competitor Orientation, Inter-functional Coordination and Profit Orientation. In Crocs Inc. Marketing concept is implemented to help the organization identify and give the customer need and want while also trying to achieve their organizational goals. I will explain more about the marketing concept that have been applied by Crocs Company. Customer Orientation This Customer Orientation is mostly about how the organization understands their core customers, their target buyers and their consumers in the industries. This people play a great part to them in creating the ideal product to the optimum valued. Based on the Crocs mission statement â€Å"Bring profound comfort, fun and innovation to the world’s feet â€Å". Crocs do their research what customer need and want. They value their customer toward comfort, fun and innovation footwear. They treat their customer so much better that they make their shoes according to what customer want in their feet. Crocs have made research and collect various types of information that may help them to satisfy their customer needs. That why Crocs have made various types of shoes that cater to all their customer’s need. The Croslite material that make it possible. Crocs defined Croslite as Ergonomic, lightweight, comfortable and odor resistant. Who ever thought that having an ugly shoe can make our feet feel absolutely relax? Well, Crocs did and it was a success. Crocs shoes do not only give absolute comfort like other shoes or stylish appearance but it gave more. No more foot odor, no more aching feet, no more heavy shoes and say Hello to better Healthy Shoes. (crocs, 2013) Crocs have launched an advertisement called â€Å"Feel The Love by Crocs†. In the television commercial for Crocs footwear, the actress wearing black high-heel shoes enters an apartment building and with tired climbs a flight of stairs. When she opens the door, two small red animated characters based on the Crocs original clog model, with stubby arms and legs and blinking  ventilation holes representing eyes, scamper toward her like puppies. The characters cling to her ankles and then, as she sits on the couch to read her mail, they remove her shoes, massage her feet, and then slip a new style of Crocs flats onto her feet. â€Å"Meet Croslite,† says a voice over toward the end and lastly says â€Å"the loyal, loving, good-for-you technology, in every pair of Crocs.† It was a great TV commercial that shows how Crocs understand their core customer, buyers and consumer’s needs and wants. Crocs knows that most of us will have a tiring day and it is a hassle to walk back home with an uncomfortable shoes. The advertisement wanted to deliver that Crocs is the ideal footwear to wear anytime anywhere. Besides that, another example of Crocs is Customer orientation is developing a shoe called † Crocs Prepair Flip† that focus on Athletic like runners and cyclists, etc. The flip-flop enhance recovery after athletic activity thus help lower muscle exertions can provide an improved opportunity for blood flow and fatigue relief, creating greater recovery potential after a hard sporty activities. This doesn’t focus on the athletics but to the customers that like to do sports. This shows that rather than they focus on general customer need them also specific to certain group of customer needs. Like in this Crocs Prepair case, they focus on the active runners, cyclist or other types of sports that might causes some of feet damage like fatigue or muscle exertions. Crocs have proven that they are Customer Orientation organization. (crocs, 2013) Competitor orientation Competitor Orientation means an organization that look at how its competitors are able to satisfy their buyers, customer or consumers. The organization should collect information about their competitor strategy and in the same time making their competitors as their benchmark for either short term or long term marketing strategy. Crocs major competitor is Decker’s, NIKE and Timberland. This major footwear brands have been around for many decade compared to Crocs that is consider as a â€Å"baby† in this Industries. But, to compare the success of crocs to them is actually same. The thing that make  these other competitor different from Crocs is they have the experience and well-known to the world. Crocs have collected some information of their competitor. Based on an article found from the internet called The Strategic Move of Crocs, Inc, 2009, Crocs have identified their competitors and what their competitors are doing in the industries. Crocs also realize that the global casual footwear and apparel is a highly competitive industry. Every competitor is competition with each other’s. In relating Crocs with its Competitor, I will be using Nike to make comparisons with crocs. (HOOVERS) Well-known Brand Name Nike began in the 1971 sold its functional running shoes to the jogging set, but then quickly expanded its offerings to include all athletes in virtually every sport. The shoes were customized to handle the rigors of the individual sport. Nike also expanded its line to be fashionable and cool to wear even when its wearers weren’t sweating. Compare Crocs and NIKE, NIKE has been in the global casual footwear and apparel industry since 1964. It is not surprising if Crocs has a long way to go and face many problems before they are on par with the well-known large companies around the world like Nike. But the potential is very good as Crocs is appear as category-dominant shoes. Even both are different in age but both brands are equally well known to the customers. Who in the world does not know Nike or Crocs? Both have carved a name their brand name in the mind of the customers when they think about shoes. (NIKE,Inc) Inter-functional coordination Inter-Functional Coordination means the people in the organizational that help in developing a marketing plan to achieve the organizational goals and satisfy the customer need and wants. The cooperation within the individual in the organization plays a part in this Marketing concept. In 2007, Crocs acquisition a Designer/manufacturer of sandals for beach/action sports called Ocean Minded. In the acquisition, Ocean Minded is introduced by Crocs  and helping Ocean Mind to boost up their product. Ocean Minded mission statement is; To become the global leader in sustainable lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories whilst ensuring that the four pillars of the Ocean Minded brand – Quality, Authenticity, Responsibility and Community – resonate throughout our company, products, associates and actions. This brand helps Crocs to boost up their social responsibilities toward their employees, their organization, the customer, the environment and to the world. Crocs, Inc. and its founders continue to live the Ocean Minded lifestyle by actively leading beach clean-ups, and supporting and educating customers on the importance of leaving the ocean and all waterways in better condition than when they were found. Thus this shows that not only Crocs is Inter-functional coordination but also a responsible organization that wanted to help another brand that sole purpose to keep the world a better place. (crocs, 2013) Profit orientation Profit orientation Profit Orientation means a term used to describe a business that operates under the primary objective of making money. Although most commercial enterprises have some form of profit orientation to motivate employees to maximize revenues, the most successful producers also incorporate a customer orientation into their corporate philosophy to protect the company’s reputation and facilitate client satisfaction with its products. (BusinessDictionary) Profit Oriented organization means a business that main objective to generate profit. There are ways an organization may achieve the greatest profit for their organization while still giving the customer the satisfaction of their products.In Crocs Inc, the company wanted to make money by selling their clog shoes to the customers. Crocs Inc also have some ways to be Profit Orientation; Cheapest Marketing Strategy Crocs were able to build its brand and build momentum with word-of-mouth marketing without traditional high advertising costs. Crocs Inc started their name by using the cheapest way of Marketing. Word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM), also called word of mouth advertising, is an unpaid form of promotion; oral or written. In which satisfied customers tell other people how much they like a business, product, service, or event. Word-of-mouth is one of the most credible forms of advertising because people who don’t stand to gain personally by promoting something put their reputations on the line every time they make a recommendation. (Word-of-mouth marketing, 2013) This strategy is the cheapest way to spread the word about Crocs Brand to the world. Crocs use the social network to market and promotes their product toward their potential customer. Thus, they save up a lot by not having an expensive advertisement or building a billboard that might cost them a lot. Cutting cost Costs were lowered by the elimination of standard box packaging for individual pairs of shoes. They were also decreased by the reduction of stock-keeping units (fewer styles, sizes, etc) and by the use of inexpensive plastic resin material compared to leather and other fabrics. In addition, the plastic resin material allowed Crocs to lower manufacturing costs because the product could be made faster and cheaper using injection molding machines compared to traditional labor intensive methods. This speedy production, also made it possible for Crocs to revolutionize the traditional supply chain approach and make its shoes available to a wide range of retailers and consumers within weeks, not months. By lowering the cost, Crocs can obtain larger amount of profit. This is a great step toward not only to the organization profit margined but helping the other brand realize that Crocs have better ways of managing it cost. This show that Crocs uses the cheapest Marketing Strategy to promote it product, uses the Cheapest distribution Channel to sell their product and cut unnecessary cost to obtain larger amount of profit. Crocs are genius ways of profit orientation  organization. Marketing process consist of 4 step; Situation Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix Decision and Implementation and Control. Situation Analysis SWOT Analysis Strength In Croc Inc, they give not just comfort but by created a material called Croslite, that technologically design to gives each of Crocs Shoe comfort, softness, lightweight, non-marking and odor-resistant. If we think back, Crocs have eliminates most of the problem that we suffer about shoes. When we buy a shoe, we seek comfort, soft and stylish. Plus I always have a problem with new shoe that hurt my feet when I wear it the first time. Well with crocs, they no more painful shoes. The Croslite material ensures that Crocs will never hurt our feet when we wear it. Plus with Crocs, there is no more feet odor. They satisfied the most of customer’s needs, desires and expectation in one material. The product design also unique with many shapes that is very interesting. The price also reasonable based on the material that crocs use to create the product. The product very comfortable and stylish. Weakness Crocs does not have a diversified product offering beyond footwear, which causes revenues to be seasonal (since most of their footwear is worn in summer) and also very cyclical (dependent on consumer spending and performance of the retail sector). Demand for â€Å"Crocs Classic† shoes has been declining over time (from 30% of total sales in 2007 to 16% in 2009) as they transition to a mature product and therefore, revenues are contingent upon the success of new models and fads. Crocs has poor IT systems and depends on manual processes which are not efficient or scalable Opportunities Crocs has the ability to expand through growth in direct to consumer sales and internet sales. Given Crocs’ success internationally, they can continue expanding abroad by reaching untapped markets. In addition, it’s possible that the Crocs â€Å"fad† is in a different part of the fashion trend cycle  abroad and Crocs can even take advantage of further growth in countries where it already has a presence. Lastly, there is an industry movement towards more comfortable and casual shoes, so Crocs has the opportunity to attract new consumers by highlighting the benefits of Croslite. Threats The product of Crocs increase in counterfeit product and highly competitive market. Highly competitive market for example Crocs have to competitive with NIKE. Some retailer with more product differentiation. Decrease in consumer spending resulting from global economic condition poor publicity escalator incident Marketing Strategy The marketing strategy for Crocs is the different target of customer. They do not only focus to one type of customers. Crocs has defines their customers and what they need from Crocs. A) Kids. The Kids which comprised their 23% revenue of sales in 2009, is the number one customers for Crocs. Kids love their Crocs shoes because Crocs’ comfort, easy-on, easy-off style, bright colors and customizable Jibbitz accessories make them ideal for kids. And their low price point and broad size range make them ideal for parents on a budget with fast-growing children. Crocs Inc introduced a fall kids’ collection for school. Kids do love Crocs shoes and they wanted to wear them everywhere even to school. That why this falls collection comes with a â€Å"School Approve† symbol. This â€Å"School Approve symbol comes with meaning of features of closed toes, enclosed heels and non-marking soles that meet typical school dress code. Now kids can wear Crocs everywhere even in school. B) Women. 77% of Crocs sales in 2009 were from products geared towards adults, and suspect that the majority of those sales are to women. Continued focus on understanding the needs of this segment as well as effectively marketing to it. Crocs introduce the Feel the Love campaign seems to focus on female protagonists Marketing Mix Decision Product The Product that provided by Crocs is a brand new type of casual shoe, it is a clog that partly a shoe and a part sandal. This clog shoe is fun, whimsy, brightly-colored, comfortable and lightweight with perfect balance of functional appeal. Crocs Inc provides various types of shoes for women, men, girls and boys. The clog like shoe look ugly at first but with the appealing bright colors that the come with, it catches the buyers and customers. The bright color catches the attention of customers to try it on. Well, the materials that Crocs shoe made from actually make it far. The special Patented Closed Cell Resin (PCCR) warms and softens with your body heat and molds to your feet. The material eliminates all the shoes problem that we have in life. That what sold it worldwide. The wonder shoes. Pricing Croc wanted their product is accessible to many people so their base price point is RM90. They also eliminated a standard box packaging for individual pair of Crocs shoes. This step help them to lower their cost as well decrease their stock keeping unit. Place When we say The Place in Marketing Mix, there may explain how providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to know. Crocs evolves their distribution in retail by having each stores in every shopping complex, malls and even streets worldwide. But, recently they reduce on retail expansion and focus on others distribution strategies like having Crocs Kiosk and Online Crocs Shop. All the distribution strategies that implemented by Croc is focusing on the customer’s convenient to purchase a Crocs Shoes. There are now no boundaries in distribution. Promotion Last in Marketing Mix is The Promotion, it represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. Promotion comprises elements such as: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. In Crocs Inc., they started their marketing strategies in having a Word-To-Mouth Marketing that is an unpaid form of promotion whereby it may be in oral or written form. It created a buzz that will make other people  satisfaction toward the clog shoe to another person. Crocs Inc spend less in promotion because of the word-to-mouth marketing that is the cheapest way of promotion. When the word get out, the influence people like celebrities like Al Pacino, Faith Hill and Paris Hilton were seen wearing the clogs shoes and with their social class influence the other people to wear one clog shoes. Even US President Bush wear one and he actually loves the clogs shoes. Other than using this word-to-mouth marketing, Crocs Inc also do some discounts, promotion online and public relations. Define marketing and related it with Crocs Inc understand us how Marketing works. It is more than Selling and Advertising a product. The major focus is the Customer Satisfaction towards a product. That why a study have been made and a strategies like The 4P’s Marketing Mix is developed. It is to understand more how marketing works. The company’s growth strategy includes: 1- distributing new and internally developed products through a wide range of channels e.g department stores, specialty footwear stores, sporting goods and outdoor retailers and Cocs website 2- acquisition of small footwear companies e.g Foam Creations in June 2004, Fury and EXO in October 2006, Jibbitz in December 2006, Ocean Minded in February 2007 and Bite in August 2007. 3- expansion into global markets with products distributed through more than 8000 international retail stores sold in about 90 countries. The company was able to realize high margins on its products due to high economies of scale and shift to third party operated facilities (83% of third-party manufacturers in China, Bosnia, Vietnam and Romania). The company faces a lot of challenges. 4- Crocs core competencies are supply chain management and small-retailer level marketing, just in time distribution. Croc has used its core competencies to build a brand familiarity and popularity and to distribute new models and accessories in mid-season. Their supply chain management has helped the company to create a stronger maturity map for their products, and to extend the maturity map through marketing How could Crocs exploit their core competencies in the future? Consider the following alternatives: a.Further vertical integration into materials a.Growth by acquisition b.Growth by product extension (Bogari, 2009) My recommendation Crocs have to focuses more on the shoes. Crocs should refocus its entire organization (design, manufacturing, and marketing) on the unique appeal of its shoes. Realign the distribution model in U.S. We believe that Crocs should reduce its focus on retail expansion and instead recommend migration to the model that has proven Reduce retail store presence. Crocs should carefully evaluate the returns on existing stores, and suspend plans to open new stores. For those stores that are not in key geographic areas and that are not strong performance.

Essay on Lust and Love in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 and...

Lust and Love in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 and Campion’s There is a Garden in Her Face When a comparison is made between There is a Garden in Her Face by Thomas Campion and Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare, the difference between lustful adoration and true love becomes evident. Both poems involve descriptions of a beloved lady seen through the eyes of the speaker, but the speaker in Campions poem discusses the womans beautiful perfections, while the speaker in Shakespeares poem shows that it is the womans faults which make her beautiful. In There is a Garden in Her Face, the subject of the speakers affection is idolized beyond reality and is placed so high upon a pedestal that she is virtually unattainable. Campion†¦show more content†¦Shakespeare realizes the unnatural and exaggerated aspects of such love poems as There is a Garden in Her Face, and wittily writes Sonnet 130 as a look at real love instead of distorted worship. While Campion uses imagery of nature in comparison to the woman in his poem, Shakespeare states all of the differences between nature and the speakers mistress. His mistress has nothing in common with roses, which are so often used to describe Campions subject. She does not have white skin or red lips like the ideal woman of Renaissance poetry. Despite this womans lack of conventional beauty though, it is clear that the speaker loves her with more depth than the speaker in Campions poem. He is more interested in what is beneath the surface. He says he love[s] to hear her speak, even th ough her voice is not like music, because he most likely enjoys the content of her words rather than the actual sound (9-10). The lady of Sonnet 130 is not as far out of reach as the lady of There is a Garden in Her Face. The speaker calls her [m]y mistress, indicating that she belongs to him (1). The woman in Campions poem is referred to as nothing more than her, a far colder and impersonal term. There is no description of the mistress in Shakespeares sonnet as a heavenly creature. This woman, when she walks, treads on the ground(12). She is a regular woman, not as the lady in Campions poem appears to be. She has her faults such as her