The purpose of this present study is an analysis of lecture which demonstrates how the knowledge of English language history contributes to English education at the university level. The focus of the lecture uses the movie
Romeo +
Juliet (1996) in which characters speak Early Modern English. First, in class, students were asked to write down a series of questions about English that they have wondered over the years since they began studying English. They were then asked to point out the differences between Early Modern English and Modern English, utilizing the movie script from
Romeo +
Juliet. I was able to make convincing explanations in terms of English language history in the following comparisons in the English literature class in early November: 1. Why is the pronoun “I” always capitalized? 2. Why is “went” the past tense of “go” though those words are not related at all? 3. Why are English spelling and pronunciation different? 4. Why do we add “-s” to verbs when the subject is the third person singular? 5. Negative constructions in Early Modern English 6. What is the difference between “you” and “thou” in Early Modern English? Students’ comments after the lecture demonstrated that learning English language history stimulated their curiosity and deepened their understanding of English.
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