Education of English Conversation Week 2. Survey: Popular Ideas About Language Learning and Teaching.

Education of English Conversation

Week 2

Survey: Popular Ideas About Language Learning and Teaching

1. Languages are learned mainly through imitation.

"...learners produce many novel sentences that they could not have heard before. These sentences are based on their developing

understanding of how the language system works."

"...imitation may be an individual learning strategy, but it is not a universal characteristic of

language learning."

3. Highly intelligent people are good language learners

"...in natural language learning settings and in classrooms where interactive language use is

emphasized, research has shown that learners with a wide variety of intellectual abilities can be

successful language learners."

5. The earlier a L2 is introduced in school programmes, the greater the likelihood of success

in learning

"When the objective is native-like performance in the L2, then it may be desirable to begin

exposure to the langauge as early as possible."

"Older children are able to catch up quickly to those who began earlier in programmes offering

only a few hours a week of instruction."

"One or two hours a week-even for 7 or 8 years will not produce advanced second language

learners."

6. Most of the mistakes that second language learners make are due to the interference from

their first language

"...the transfer of patterns from the L1 is one of the major sources of errors in learner language."

"Aspects of the L2 that are different from the L1 will not necessarily be acquired later or with more difficulty than those aspects that are

similar."

"Learners from different backgrounds often make the same kinds of errros..."

7.The best way to learn new vocabulary is through reading

"This statement is absolutely true."

"Research evidence suggests that L2 learners benefit from opportunities to read material that is

interesting and important to them."

...in order to successfully guess the meaning of new words in a text, a reader usually needs to know 90% or more of the words in that text."

10. Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time....

"Language development is not just adding one rule after another. Rather, it involves processess of integrating new language forms and patterns in to an existing interlanguage, readjusting and

restructuring until all the pieces fit."

"...presentation and practice of of one structure at a time does not provide learners with an

opportunity to discover how different language features compare and contrast in normal use."

11. Teachers should teach simple language structures before complex ones

"Research has shown that no matter how language is presented to learners, certain

structures are acquired before others."

15. Students learn what they are taught

"...some aspects of the L2 emerge and evolve according to 'natural' sequences of development and learners may be more likely to learn certain

language features when they are developmentally ready."

Krashen

Learning-conscious process of learning about a language (I.e., studying about a language.)

Acquisition-the subconscious process where language is learned naturally by being exposed to it and using it to communicate in real ways.

Krashen- Comprehensible Input

Interaction Hypothesis

During interactions, learners work together to create comprehensible input for each other by:

Making their language more simple. Repetition Comprehension checks. E.g., "Do you understand?" Clarification requests. E.g., "Could you repeat that please?“ Summarizing. E.g., “So what you said was…?”

Comprehensible Output and “Noticing the Gap”

Learners push themselves to be understood by modifying their speech. This pushing may help

the speaker acquire new language through noticing how their language is different from the target language. Hence, students notice a gap

in their language.

Focus on Forms vs Focus on Form

Focus on forms = lessons focused on learning a grammatical form.

Example:

Lesson 1: Present tenseLesson 2: Past tenseLesson 3: Future tense

Focus on Forms vs Focus on Form

Focus on form = using meaning focused activities to illustrate grammatical forms. I.e.,

communication comes first, focus on grammar comes second.

Zones of Proximal Development

Zones of Proximal Development

Promoting Noticing of Language Forms

• Input can be highlighted in some way (bold font/ underlined)

• The input can contain many examples of the target language

• Explicitly teach the new language• Ask students to underline each example of the target

language• Look for patterns or similarities near the target

language• Ask students to create the grammar rule• Create activities where the learners must use the

target structure to complete the task

How does the information in this chapter apply to teaching?

Provide a comfortable and stress free classroom.

Provide lots of comprehensible input. Create opportunities for students interact with

other students. Create tasks and activities where creating

meaning is a major goal.

How does the information in this chapter apply to teaching?

Create tasks and activities which help students notice new language.

Teach students how to 'negotiate for meaning' while speaking. (E.g., “What do you mean? Can you repeat that please? Do you mean...?”

How does the information in this chapter apply to teaching?

Repeat new language throughout the course. Remember that students will not always learn

what we teach and will learn other things which are not the focus of what we are teaching.

Remember that learners do not always learn grammar structures completely at one time. They will not acquire new language structures until they are developmentally ready.