It is good to look at advantages for starting to teach children a second language over adults learning a language. They are willing to try and make mistakes; adults do not want to do that. They have spent more hours a day learning a language and they take the time to learn the language before speaking it. The children are taught the formal language and errors are overlooked more where adults are wrong they are told they were. I think that it would be better to learn at a younger age. I took two classes in college and felt that it was so quickly and only meet three times a week. I was scared to make mistakes and had more of a foreigner. This chapter really opened my eyes up to what I can do to help and understand my students’ needs. I like that there are different ways to teach the students and know that they will make mistakes as they continue to develop their target language. I like that we can someway predict errors and help them put forward. I would like to see a check list or questionnaire to have parents fill out basted on mistakes as they learned their first language. Is there any? I is not very interesting listening to my students as they a talk. I am now listening more to what stage they might be in. This has really opened my eyes to why my students make mistakes. This is good and now it is easier for me to not want to try to fix or point out all their mistakes. To see why they continue to make mistakes even when I have helped them. I wish I would have known this a long time ago. I see that when it comes to developing vocabulary the best way to help my students to expose them to as much vocabulary as I can through reading. This I love doing and I always allow them to translate it to Spanish to help them figure out what it is in Spanish if needed and with my bad pictures to also bridge the gap and help them understand. I also know see why doing group work is more important for second language learners, it will allow them time to use their speech acts with others and help them be more successful learners. I only saw group work as a way of driving me nuts but if I whelp my student then I need to do it. The chapter on individual differences was very interesting. Once you break down each reason why students might do better at learning and research that they have done to see why has helped me see that there are more than one reason why students do not have success. What I need to do is look on adding different ways to help students succeed and for me I really need to work on adding several different ways to teach one skill.
Chapter 2 and 3 in How Languages are Learned also discusses how a second language is learned and why there may be differences. In this book, I like the different activities because it makes me really think about what I think I know…as a young child is learning a first language at home, they may have different learner characteristics and learning conditions then those who are learning a second language who may be older and in a different place. I see how cognitive maturity or metalinguistic awareness may be beneficial to older learners of a second language. I took 2 years of French in high school and 1 year of Spanish in college. I think that I understood these languages and how they related to my L1, yet I never spoke the languages because I was afraid of making mistakes. The questionnaire at the beginning of chapter 3 would be one I could give to my students. I would be interested to see how they answer some of the questions. It is stated that understanding the relationships between individual characteristics, social situations and success in second language learning is a challenge. For myself, I was motivated to learn a foreign language in high school, yet I only used the language in the classroom. If I were to go back to high school, I probably would have picked Spanish to learn because of where I am at now in my life. Even though I did take Spanish for a semester in college, it was a requirement, and again, something I didn’t think I would need. In my classroom, my students had to learn English for school. Now with the Dual Language program, they are building their foundation of Spanish before learning English. I think the success of the second language in the Dual program will be high because of the learning environment and the age of the students.
This week my group is presenting on chapters 2 and 3 in Lightbown and Spada. While not required to blog on these chapters I did not some thoughts I felt worth writing about in attempts to share. Reading chapter two in Lightbown and Spada was enjoyable. I feel as the information from our readings in Saville-Troike helped give me a strong foundation of background knowledge. For example, Lightbown and Spada started the chapter discussing the fact that second language learners are bound to make errors in their second language. Another discussion that was looked at in both books was the issue of learning a second language and age.
The portion of developmental sequences was interesting only because I myself am not strong grammatically. So to see the development of a second language learner has me stopping to think about my own development. I feel that my strongest influence on my development was my peers or interactions I had with people.
Vocabulary was something we had discussed in class. I’m still amazed that an educated adult knows 20,000 words. Also, that a second language learner could have a conversation with someone with as little as 2,000-3,000 words. Which when looked at is only 10% of what an educated person knows of their own dominant language.
Chapter 3 brings up the discussion of intelligence. In France research showed that intelligence was not linked to one’s oral production skills. Which for me means I still may be able to speak a second language, just not read and write it. Of course learning styles and personality also play a role in ones/my learning of a second language.
I would have to argue with the authors when they write not all anxiety is bad. In my case anxiety makes me forgetful when testing, or speak extremely to fast when presenting information in front of a group. I’m not certain when have anxiety would be good, although I could understand the motivation one could be given it the attempt to not feel anxiety.
This chapter discusses language and the brain, which is a fascinating subject for me. I learned about brain research and the learning of languages when my husband began a doctoral program with Loyola about eleven years ago. He read Teaching With the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen. One of the things he discusses and is similar to chapter 4, is that learning L1 occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain and learning L2 occurs in the right hemisphere especially if the learning is at separate times.
Chapter 4 also explores differences in age, sex, aptitude, motivation and personality, to name a few, when acquiring language. Age is critical in learning language. We saw this in class with the movie about Genie and the brief mention about Victor. This is called the Critical Hypothesis Theory. Age plays an important role in the learning of L2. Motivation can be a factor in learning L2. Work, travel, or being a part of the virtual community online are a few reasons for learning another language.
The section about personality was interesting. The chart on page 95 is very relevant to my experience with some of my students. Some of the students I work with are not risk takers, they are too shy, or in general are anxious about their education, which may affect the learning of L2. I think an interesting study would be on one in which students identify themselves as introverted or extroverted and then research conducted on their language learning ability.
I know in the syllabus, it says that we do not need to post a response for the section that we are presenting, but I had a couple of thoughts on these chapters. As I read through the chapters and discussed with my group members, we kept talking about how a common error or learning process was that language learners seem to mix up the parts of speech in their L2. Early in chapter 2, they talked about transfer errors versus interlanguage. I think that many learning conditions that occur are viewed as errors by teachers and learners alike, but really they are part of the learning process. A transfer error is when a person transfers a rule or concept from their L1 and L2 and it causes them to make mistakes in L2. However, interlanguage is pulling knowledge from L1 to be successful in L2. As I read, I kept thinking that these two ideas are very closely related. In order to improve and grow, I would expect my students to learn from their mistakes and use their background knowledge or L1, to celebrate successes.
Additionally, I found it very interesting how much the parts of speech were mentioned in the chapters and examples given about how people might mess up the correct order of parts of speech because it is ordered differently in their L1. The reason this struck a chord with me is because I am a huge advocate for grammar, but we do not have a program in place in our schools to explicitly teach it. I just wonder if it might be helpful for students who are learning English as L2.
L & S Chpt 2-3 Part of chapter 2 focused on the parts of speech with examples of incorrect utterances. The syntax between languages does not always correlate. Some of my students continue to struggle with this aspect of language acquisition when it comes to writing, more so than when it involves speaking. I can commiserate with these students when I look back on my own struggles as an L2 learner. I am in constant reflection/assessment mode as I teach grammar trying to discover what other teaching technique I can use to help L2 learners find success.
Looking at table 3.1, I wonder if my lack of knowledge as an L2 was concentrated on lack of motivation. I had to learn the language and, well, the class was rather dry. I do remember some golden moments that we had fun, but I cannot recall what it was that we did, other than group work. But I CAN still sing the song I was taught in that class. I do believe that age plays a part in the learning process because I know from other studying that the brain is more elastic in the earlier years than later in life. As I read pg 98, I was amazed to discover that later learners scored higher after hundreds of hours of learners versus younger students. As they explain it, the older students use of analysis because of their higher cognitive ability while the younger learners scored well on listening. Something I never thought about!
Session #4- Chapters 2 and 3 Lightbown and Spada I was happy to see some familiar words and ideas in Chapter 2 and 3. I have been so busy preparing for this weekend’s presentation of Saville-Troike’s chapters 3 and 4 that when I finally had time to sit down and read [after doing the report cards and paperwork we all had to do], it was a relief not to have to deal with brand new concepts. The Linguistics sections from Chapter 2 brought back fond memories. ;-) But the difference I found in this book verses the book for our Linguistics class, is that these sections put that Linguistic knowledge into the context of the Second Language Learner. It basically expanded the Linguistics file in my head and made some of what we learned more relevant to me and my classroom. For example in the Pragmatics section, I found it interesting that “interlanguage pragmatics” has predictable stages. I realized that I have been unconsciously moving my students from one stage to another by coaxing them to say “May I go get a drink of water?” rather than the standard, ”Can I drink water?” [I always joke and say, “I don’t know? Can you? Do you know how to press the button, bend over , open your mouth, and sip up the water?” We all laugh together at this silly routine. Basically chapter 3 is an elaboration of Saville-Troike’s “Differences in Learners” [p. 87-97] I was interested to see the role that anxiety plays in SLA. Lightbown and Spada say that anxiety can be “dynamic” not debilitating, that is can “have a positive effect, and even facilitate learning.” I think being a little nervous about speaking another language is a good motivator for practicing what you learned in the first place. I personally experience a lot of anxiety when trying to speak Spanish. I get so nervous that I forget the words that I have practiced over and over. Anxiety about how I will be perceived by other speakers of the language pretty much keeps me silent. I don’t want to sound foolish or unintelligent. I enjoyed reflecting on my own language learning experience at the beginning of the chapter. The questions really helped focus me and help me think about experiences I had in learning Spanish so many years ago.
Chapter 2 spoke of error analysis again and it was stated on page 45, "while error analysis has the advantage of describing what learners actually do rather than what they might do, it does not always give us clear insight into why they do it." I guess my question would be why bother with error analysis? If it doesn't provide any insight into why an L2 learner makes the errors they do, then what is the advantage of studying the errors they make? If we do not know why L2 learners make the errors they do how can this information help us help them? Since this is from 1974 am I to assume the act of error analysis is no longer used?
Chapter 2 and 3 focuses on SLA by reviewing learner characteristics, learner conditions and the use of their new language. It explores the various stages of SLA by reviewing; pre-emergence, emergence and post-emergence. When I sit back and reflect upon my own experience of SLA, I find that I learned more in the summer spent in Mexico at age 7, than I did in high school Spanish classes and college. Even more important, I find that I’ve been able to enhance these skills slowly as I utilize Spanish more in everyday speaking. Not having a strong English foundation in grammar really hindered my L2 learning process. I remember sitting in honors Spanish 5 and not being to truly understand what conjugating a verb meant. In a previous class we had to place our students in groups based on their L2 stages. I found it to be very helpful as I didn’t even realize some of my “higher students” didn’t meet that higher stage. This has allowed me to focus more on listening to my students and attempting to identify errors in their SLA. Doing this allows me to better assist my students and potentially meet their needs better. According to the text, I was able to infer that the key to SLA is to expose my students to various pieces of rich vocabulary and allowing them opportunities to explore and find meaning. Best practices usually rely on problem based learning which entails cooperative learning as well. I’m excited to take this approach at a greater level next year. Even more so with my bilingual refusal students who have not quite tested out of bilingual.
Lightbrown and Spada Chapter 2 and 3 One area that stuck out to me in Chapter 2 was when it said “a learner needs to have many meaningful encounters with a new word before it becomes firmly established in memory.” I find this is true with my students. I am constantly reviewing and helping with new vocabulary words. I also liked the list that is on page 62. I found it interesting that it says kids need to have words like friend, town and more explained to them if they have not had any schooling. I understood that they would no words off the second list because of commercialization. Such words like hamburger, coke and internet are known because of the everyday use of these words around the world. I guess it then goes back to you learn language socially first before academically. I found chapter 3 full of information regarding when and how learners learn a second language. A lot of time was spent talking about the age of a learner. I did not put my youngest son in the dual language program in the district last year because of many reasons, but I keep wondering if I didn’t make a mistake. I hold out hope that I did not. He will take Spanish in junior high and high school, but just won’t learn it at an earlier age. I find that my oldest daughter is picking up Spanish from school. I just wonder if she will lose what she has learned if no one is speaking to her this summer. I found the research about how students before the age of 15 were able to pick up a second language. I also think that because she is highly motivated, she will be able to learn Spanish at a much quicker pace. Even in the chapter it talks about anxiety and learning. I do think there is a correlation. I think that if you have high levels of anxiety, you will not do as well at the task. The same with learning a new language. You will not be able to learn the language if you have high anxiety.
I enjoyed reading chapters 2 & 3 and reviewing how language is learned. Reading about learner characteristics made me think about both my students learning English and me learning Spanish. I see the interference of Spanish when students speak English, and I can see in the student’s face that they know it is wrong, but do not know how to say it correctly. It’s important in these instances to encourage and coach students so that they don’t ‘shut down’ and give up and avoid talking all together for fear of embarrassment. I’ve met some students that are painfully shy and rarely speak outside of asking to use the bathroom or ‘drink water’. I can relate to this situation, and the fact that some adults find it stressful to speak when learning a second language, because they don’t want to make a mistake or sound ignorant. This was exactly my feeling when learning Spanish in college, and is how I feel today when I try to speak to parents in Spanish. It’s noted again that errors are a good thing; they are a sign of learning and developing knowledge of the language structure, and an attempt to construct sentences and meaning. As people build their vocabulary, they build their confidence with the ability to select different words to get their point across. It’s important for L2 learners to have a solid understanding of most words so they can focus on reading and talking and not on figuring out which word to use. Being bilingual is such a positive asset, and there are many different things (learning styles, personality, attitudes, motivation, age) that affect learning: it is important to encourage those that are in the process of developing this skill.
One of the things discussed in Chapter 2 was second language learner’s vocabulary. I think it stands to reason that success with new vocabulary is tied to the frequency with which the word is seen, heard and understood. On page 62, it states that Paul Nation reviewed a number of studies suggesting that a learner needs to have many meaningful encounters with a new word, perhaps as many as 16 times, before that word is firmly established in their memory. Table 2.5 on that same page shows examples of English words that may be easy or difficult. At first glance, one might assume that the one syllable words in the first column would be the easiest to learn, however, upon further reading and explanation, it makes perfect sense that words like hamburger and Coke, which are considered international vocabulary because they are borrowed from other languages. In addition, the words in column 3 are cognates, therefore if they understand the word in their L1, then they would understand the work in their L2.
At the beginning of Chapter 3 there is an activity that asks you to reflect on your language learning experience. I can see using this questionnaire with my students to gain a better understanding of their own levels of understanding about themselves as a 2L. This chapter talked a lot about how students acquire a second language. There are many components to this such as learning styles, personality, attitudes and motivation, identity, beliefs, and age. These all play a part. One of the things that I sometimes see the students struggling with is their identity in regard to their ethnic background. I am hopeful that with our district’s Dual Language program that their attitudes will begin to change. In my classroom I will hear students speaking Spanish to each other, and then when they think I am watching, they stop, and act ashamed. I certainly do not want them to feel that way. I understand that some of my bilingual exits and refusals may need the support from their classmates, especially at the beginning of the year. I try to make them feel comfortable using Spanish if they need the added support. I just tell them that I have only one rule about speaking Spanish in the classroom. They are not allowed to talk about me in Spanish! They usually laugh, and I hope that sets them at ease.
Teaching writing has always been a window into a child’s mind. While they may not be able to express with detail the images they have in their heads, their writing is a clue to where they are in L1 and L2 acquisition. I really like how the Lightbown and Spada not only deliver information in writing but they understand that learners need visual representations sometimes to solidify their learning. After seeing the chart on the acquisition of grammatical morphemes, I can now see why and how my students range in their writing abilities. I’ve always known that some of their errors are due to SLA, however, I can see at which step they are in the sequences of understanding morphemes. By understanding that in SLA students will first learn the Progressive –ing, then aquire auxillary articles, irregular past, and regular past, third person singular, and possessives I can begin to engage in conversations with students why they may the errors they do. This is a very powerful tool. So often teachers just correct their students writing but don’t show them why they make the mistake and how to understand the process of correcting them. For example, many of my students “play around” with possessives. They add an apostrophe /S/ for each plural word. I can now see at what stage they are at with the grammatical understanding and show students how to transfer their learning. What a powerful tool kit they would have if we all knew how to explain their process of learning to them. Not ever student is ready for they same instruction or mini lesson at the same time. If we give them strategies to work with these lessons they will be more successful.
Let me start by saying that the Lightbown-Spada book is a more enjoyable read. I think terms are explained more easily with less technical jargon which is appreciated to one who is grappling with an array of theories and terminology. Many points in chapters two and three hit home with my teaching experience, but one that I had been oblivious to, before taking these ESL classes was the learner's willingness to communicate (WTC). I had often thought I had a number of painfully shy students. I never paid attention to race, until reading this and thinking over the years that I haven't had too many shy white or black students. They have mostly been Hispanic. WTC helped me to understand the anxiety some of my students must feel when trying to communicate in L2, and not come off as dumb or unintelligent. I am realizing more and more that I need to encourage my L2 learners that being bilingual is an asset. I need to encourage them that their L1 is important and I am here to help them become more comfortable with L2. Just this morning during our end of the year assembly, I was presenting awards and certificates to many of our deserving students. Being a school with an 80+ percentage of Hispanic students, one can imagine the names on the certificates. I would say their was some “anxiety” on the part of some of my L1 colleagues as we paused and hesitated before attempting to read out loud, to the whole school, some of the Hispanic students’ names. I am comfortable speaking in front of large crowds, but I found my voice tapering off into a mumble at the end of some of those names. I think I was experiencing WTC!
The words communicative competence caught my attention in chapter 2. It discussed vocabulary, pragmatics and pronunciation. This is my second year to teach 6th grade students. The majority of my students speak English as a second language. When teaching writing, I tell my students, “what you think you can write, what you write you can speak.” I often have students share their writing. This current group of students has been extremely shy when sharing their writing aloud. At first, I was surprised to see the students’ simplistic writing and word choice. Now, I understand that this is where they are developmentally with learning L2. I feel my students did make gains with their writing as the school year progressed. However, they still have much work to do with L2 vocabulary in order to truly be at grade level of an L1 speaker. I need to be patient and continue modeling writing and encouraging them to speak in front of their classmates. For myself, I try to speak Spanish each day to the women who work in the lunchroom at McKinley. I have often thought that if I study Spanish vocabulary words, I would be able to converse more with these women. They have gotten better about speaking slowly and repeating phrases so I can copy. I know “un pocito espanol” and I plan to study Spanish over the summer.
As I think about second language acquisition, I find myself believing that there is also a Critical Period for learning a second language. As we have seen the impact of language development and through the cases of Genie and Viktor, both had become limited in the way in which they could communicate. As we age, changes occur in our brain that has an effect on how our language develops. I can also see how the Critical Period can have an effect for second language learners. But I also see how environment and opportunities play an important role as the second language is being developed. When it comes to many our second language learners, students lack the opportunities to practice English because of the language not being spoken enough in the home environment due to parents and other family members not speaking the language. While at school students may practice and learn to speak English in non-academic settings as they socialize with peers. The lack of language development in English will have an impact on their academic proficiency. English more or less becomes instrumental to them.
In Chapter 2, as I read the Negations stage, I believe my 4th/5th graders are at a stage 4. I hear a lot of them say things like "I didn't went to Kindergarten here", or I didn't went to school yesterday". In class today, somebody mentioned that negation is a form of interlanguage. I agree. It is a language that students are using while they are reaching their 2nd language. It may not be grammaticaly correct, but it is ok, because they are at least trying.
It's funny, because right after I read the section on "reference to past", I overheard a parent in our building as she was talking to our secretary. She was referring to a phone call that she was going to make today and she referred to it as making the call "yesterday". I agree with Hulstijn and Laufer about teaching vocabulary. "Learners are fully engaged in activities that require them to attend carefully to the new words and even to use them in productive tasks". I see this in my students when we meet in guided reading groups. They are responsible for finding at least 2 interesting or unfamiliar words in their reading assignment. We discuss the words in our group and give examples. Students really enjoy learning new words. One group was a "literature circle" and one of the assigned jobs was a "word wizard". There are always 2 people that want this responsibility. Their job is to tell us what they thought the word meant, what the actual dictionary meaning is, and give a synonym. This can be a challenging job, but one they thoroughly enjoy.
Communicative, content-based, and task-based language teaching occurs in my classroom (as I am sure it does in all U-46 rooms). Students work together in pairs during Making Meaning as well as Being a Writer, and they work in groups during Guided Reading and Science. These student centered activities I find to be an effective teaching strategy.
When I read about an how adults are often embarrassed by their lack of mastering of the language in Chapter 3, I was reminded of the parents at my school. There have been many times when I am speaking to a parent and I think they understand me, but in reality they are just nodding or agreeing with me. This happens with the kids too. When I was growing up, my grandmother did not speak any English and I know that she was often embarrassed as well. She would however admit that she did not know English.
I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded that we are all "wired", the concept of universal grammar, that language learning is innate in people. That no matter what language we speak, we have the cognitive ability to understand the language rules. Children know more than they are taught and or through imitation. To build on their ability to learn the language theyneed the positive evidence to build and correct them. Language development is not a direct correlation to the input they are recieving. Their mind begins to take the imput triggers and develop their language. I have seen many examples of children taking what they know and transferring it to the new language. For example, many of my bilingual students will take the verb go and instead of saying went will say something like this. "He goed over there." That is taking what they know and transferring it over, never having heard another adult say the word, goed.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to look at advantages for starting to teach children a
ReplyDeletesecond language over adults learning a language. They are willing to
try and make mistakes; adults do not want to do that. They have spent
more hours a day learning a language and they take the time to learn
the language before speaking it. The children are taught the formal
language and errors are overlooked more where adults are wrong they
are told they were. I think that it would be better to learn at a
younger age. I took two classes in college and felt that it was so
quickly and only meet three times a week. I was scared to make
mistakes and had more of a foreigner.
This chapter really opened my eyes up to what I can do to help and
understand my students’ needs. I like that there are different ways
to teach the students and know that they will make mistakes as they
continue to develop their target language. I like that we can someway
predict errors and help them put forward. I would like to see a check
list or questionnaire to have parents fill out basted on mistakes as
they learned their first language. Is there any? I is not very
interesting listening to my students as they a talk. I am now
listening more to what stage they might be in. This has really opened
my eyes to why my students make mistakes. This is good and now it is
easier for me to not want to try to fix or point out all their
mistakes. To see why they continue to make mistakes even when I have
helped them. I wish I would have known this a long time ago. I see
that when it comes to developing vocabulary the best way to help my
students to expose them to as much vocabulary as I can through
reading. This I love doing and I always allow them to translate it to
Spanish to help them figure out what it is in Spanish if needed and
with my bad pictures to also bridge the gap and help them understand.
I also know see why doing group work is more important for second
language learners, it will allow them time to use their speech acts
with others and help them be more successful learners. I only saw
group work as a way of driving me nuts but if I whelp my student then
I need to do it.
The chapter on individual differences was very interesting. Once you
break down each reason why students might do better at learning and
research that they have done to see why has helped me see that there
are more than one reason why students do not have success. What I need
to do is look on adding different ways to help students succeed and
for me I really need to work on adding several different ways to teach
one skill.
Chapter 2 and 3 in How Languages are Learned also discusses how a second language is learned and why there may be differences. In this book, I like the different activities because it makes me really think about what I think I know…as a young child is learning a first language at home, they may have different learner characteristics and learning conditions then those who are learning a second language who may be older and in a different place. I see how cognitive maturity or metalinguistic awareness may be beneficial to older learners of a second language. I took 2 years of French in high school and 1 year of Spanish in college. I think that I understood these languages and how they related to my L1, yet I never spoke the languages because I was afraid of making mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThe questionnaire at the beginning of chapter 3 would be one I could give to my students. I would be interested to see how they answer some of the questions. It is stated that understanding the relationships between individual characteristics, social situations and success in second language learning is a challenge. For myself, I was motivated to learn a foreign language in high school, yet I only used the language in the classroom. If I were to go back to high school, I probably would have picked Spanish to learn because of where I am at now in my life. Even though I did take Spanish for a semester in college, it was a requirement, and again, something I didn’t think I would need. In my classroom, my students had to learn English for school. Now with the Dual Language program, they are building their foundation of Spanish before learning English. I think the success of the second language in the Dual program will be high because of the learning environment and the age of the students.
This week my group is presenting on chapters 2 and 3 in Lightbown and Spada. While not required to blog on these chapters I did not some thoughts I felt worth writing about in attempts to share. Reading chapter two in Lightbown and Spada was enjoyable. I feel as the information from our readings in Saville-Troike helped give me a strong foundation of background knowledge. For example, Lightbown and Spada started the chapter discussing the fact that second language learners are bound to make errors in their second language. Another discussion that was looked at in both books was the issue of learning a second language and age.
ReplyDeleteThe portion of developmental sequences was interesting only because I myself am not strong grammatically. So to see the development of a second language learner has me stopping to think about my own development. I feel that my strongest influence on my development was my peers or interactions I had with people.
Vocabulary was something we had discussed in class. I’m still amazed that an educated adult knows 20,000 words. Also, that a second language learner could have a conversation with someone with as little as 2,000-3,000 words. Which when looked at is only 10% of what an educated person knows of their own dominant language.
Chapter 3 brings up the discussion of intelligence. In France research showed that intelligence was not linked to one’s oral production skills. Which for me means I still may be able to speak a second language, just not read and write it. Of course learning styles and personality also play a role in ones/my learning of a second language.
I would have to argue with the authors when they write not all anxiety is bad. In my case anxiety makes me forgetful when testing, or speak extremely to fast when presenting information in front of a group. I’m not certain when have anxiety would be good, although I could understand the motivation one could be given it the attempt to not feel anxiety.
This chapter discusses language and the brain, which is a fascinating subject for me. I learned about brain research and the learning of languages when my husband began a doctoral program with Loyola about eleven years ago. He read Teaching With the Brain in Mind by Eric Jensen. One of the things he discusses and is similar to chapter 4, is that learning L1 occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain and learning L2 occurs in the right hemisphere especially if the learning is at separate times.
ReplyDeleteChapter 4 also explores differences in age, sex, aptitude, motivation and personality, to name a few, when acquiring language. Age is critical in learning language. We saw this in class with the movie about Genie and the brief mention about Victor. This is called the Critical Hypothesis Theory. Age plays an important role in the learning of L2. Motivation can be a factor in learning L2. Work, travel, or being a part of the virtual community online are a few reasons for learning another language.
The section about personality was interesting. The chart on page 95 is very relevant to my experience with some of my students. Some of the students I work with are not risk takers, they are too shy, or in general are anxious about their education, which may affect the learning of L2. I think an interesting study would be on one in which students identify themselves as introverted or extroverted and then research conducted on their language learning ability.
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ReplyDeleteLightbown & Spada, Chapter 2 & 3
ReplyDeleteI know in the syllabus, it says that we do not need to post a response for the section that we are presenting, but I had a couple of thoughts on these chapters. As I read through the chapters and discussed with my group members, we kept talking about how a common error or learning process was that language learners seem to mix up the parts of speech in their L2. Early in chapter 2, they talked about transfer errors versus interlanguage. I think that many learning conditions that occur are viewed as errors by teachers and learners alike, but really they are part of the learning process. A transfer error is when a person transfers a rule or concept from their L1 and L2 and it causes them to make mistakes in L2. However, interlanguage is pulling knowledge from L1 to be successful in L2. As I read, I kept thinking that these two ideas are very closely related. In order to improve and grow, I would expect my students to learn from their mistakes and use their background knowledge or L1, to celebrate successes.
Additionally, I found it very interesting how much the parts of speech were mentioned in the chapters and examples given about how people might mess up the correct order of parts of speech because it is ordered differently in their L1. The reason this struck a chord with me is because I am a huge advocate for grammar, but we do not have a program in place in our schools to explicitly teach it. I just wonder if it might be helpful for students who are learning English as L2.
L & S Chpt 2-3 Part of chapter 2 focused on the parts of speech with examples of incorrect utterances. The syntax between languages does not always correlate. Some of my students continue to struggle with this aspect of language acquisition when it comes to writing, more so than when it involves speaking. I can commiserate with these students when I look back on my own struggles as an L2 learner. I am in constant reflection/assessment mode as I teach grammar trying to discover what other teaching technique I can use to help L2 learners find success.
ReplyDeleteLooking at table 3.1, I wonder if my lack of knowledge as an L2 was concentrated on lack of motivation. I had to learn the language and, well, the class was rather dry. I do remember some golden moments that we had fun, but I cannot recall what it was that we did, other than group work. But I CAN still sing the song I was taught in that class. I do believe that age plays a part in the learning process because I know from other studying that the brain is more elastic in the earlier years than later in life. As I read pg 98, I was amazed to discover that later learners scored higher after hundreds of hours of learners versus younger students. As they explain it, the older students use of analysis because of their higher cognitive ability while the younger learners scored well on listening. Something I never thought about!
Session #4- Chapters 2 and 3 Lightbown and Spada
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see some familiar words and ideas in Chapter 2 and 3. I have been so busy preparing for this weekend’s presentation of Saville-Troike’s chapters 3 and 4 that when I finally had time to sit down and read [after doing the report cards and paperwork we all had to do], it was a relief not to have to deal with brand new concepts. The Linguistics sections from Chapter 2 brought back fond memories. ;-) But the difference I found in this book verses the book for our Linguistics class, is that these sections put that Linguistic knowledge into the context of the Second Language Learner. It basically expanded the Linguistics file in my head and made some of what we learned more relevant to me and my classroom. For example in the Pragmatics section, I found it interesting that “interlanguage pragmatics” has predictable stages. I realized that I have been unconsciously moving my students from one stage to another by coaxing them to say “May I go get a drink of water?” rather than the standard, ”Can I drink water?” [I always joke and say, “I don’t know? Can you? Do you know how to press the button, bend over , open your mouth, and sip up the water?” We all laugh together at this silly routine.
Basically chapter 3 is an elaboration of Saville-Troike’s “Differences in Learners” [p. 87-97] I was interested to see the role that anxiety plays in SLA. Lightbown and Spada say that anxiety can be “dynamic” not debilitating, that is can “have a positive effect, and even facilitate learning.” I think being a little nervous about speaking another language is a good motivator for practicing what you learned in the first place. I personally experience a lot of anxiety when trying to speak Spanish. I get so nervous that I forget the words that I have practiced over and over. Anxiety about how I will be perceived by other speakers of the language pretty much keeps me silent. I don’t want to sound foolish or unintelligent. I enjoyed reflecting on my own language learning experience at the beginning of the chapter. The questions really helped focus me and help me think about experiences I had in learning Spanish so many years ago.
Chapter 2 spoke of error analysis again and it was stated on page 45, "while error analysis has the advantage of describing what learners actually do rather than what they might do, it does not always give us clear insight into why they do it." I guess my question would be why bother with error analysis? If it doesn't provide any insight into why an L2 learner makes the errors they do, then what is the advantage of studying the errors they make? If we do not know why L2 learners make the errors they do how can this information help us help them? Since this is from 1974 am I to assume the act of error analysis is no longer used?
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 and 3 focuses on SLA by reviewing learner characteristics, learner conditions and the use of their new language. It explores the various stages of SLA by reviewing; pre-emergence, emergence and post-emergence. When I sit back and reflect upon my own experience of SLA, I find that I learned more in the summer spent in Mexico at age 7, than I did in high school Spanish classes and college. Even more important, I find that I’ve been able to enhance these skills slowly as I utilize Spanish more in everyday speaking. Not having a strong English foundation in grammar really hindered my L2 learning process. I remember sitting in honors Spanish 5 and not being to truly understand what conjugating a verb meant. In a previous class we had to place our students in groups based on their L2 stages. I found it to be very helpful as I didn’t even realize some of my “higher students” didn’t meet that higher stage. This has allowed me to focus more on listening to my students and attempting to identify errors in their SLA. Doing this allows me to better assist my students and potentially meet their needs better. According to the text, I was able to infer that the key to SLA is to expose my students to various pieces of rich vocabulary and allowing them opportunities to explore and find meaning. Best practices usually rely on problem based learning which entails cooperative learning as well. I’m excited to take this approach at a greater level next year. Even more so with my bilingual refusal students who have not quite tested out of bilingual.
ReplyDeleteLightbrown and Spada Chapter 2 and 3
ReplyDeleteOne area that stuck out to me in Chapter 2 was when it said “a learner needs to have many meaningful encounters with a new word before it becomes firmly established in memory.” I find this is true with my students. I am constantly reviewing and helping with new vocabulary words. I also liked the list that is on page 62. I found it interesting that it says kids need to have words like friend, town and more explained to them if they have not had any schooling. I understood that they would no words off the second list because of commercialization. Such words like hamburger, coke and internet are known because of the everyday use of these words around the world. I guess it then goes back to you learn language socially first before academically.
I found chapter 3 full of information regarding when and how learners learn a second language. A lot of time was spent talking about the age of a learner. I did not put my youngest son in the dual language program in the district last year because of many reasons, but I keep wondering if I didn’t make a mistake. I hold out hope that I did not. He will take Spanish in junior high and high school, but just won’t learn it at an earlier age. I find that my oldest daughter is picking up Spanish from school. I just wonder if she will lose what she has learned if no one is speaking to her this summer. I found the research about how students before the age of 15 were able to pick up a second language. I also think that because she is highly motivated, she will be able to learn Spanish at a much quicker pace.
Even in the chapter it talks about anxiety and learning. I do think there is a correlation. I think that if you have high levels of anxiety, you will not do as well at the task. The same with learning a new language. You will not be able to learn the language if you have high anxiety.
I enjoyed reading chapters 2 & 3 and reviewing how language is learned. Reading about learner characteristics made me think about both my students learning English and me learning Spanish. I see the interference of Spanish when students speak English, and I can see in the student’s face that they know it is wrong, but do not know how to say it correctly. It’s important in these instances to encourage and coach students so that they don’t ‘shut down’ and give up and avoid talking all together for fear of embarrassment. I’ve met some students that are painfully shy and rarely speak outside of asking to use the bathroom or ‘drink water’. I can relate to this situation, and the fact that some adults find it stressful to speak when learning a second language, because they don’t want to make a mistake or sound ignorant. This was exactly my feeling when learning Spanish in college, and is how I feel today when I try to speak to parents in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteIt’s noted again that errors are a good thing; they are a sign of learning and developing knowledge of the language structure, and an attempt to construct sentences and meaning. As people build their vocabulary, they build their confidence with the ability to select different words to get their point across. It’s important for L2 learners to have a solid understanding of most words so they can focus on reading and talking and not on figuring out which word to use. Being bilingual is such a positive asset, and there are many different things (learning styles, personality, attitudes, motivation, age) that affect learning: it is important to encourage those that are in the process of developing this skill.
Lightbown and Spada Chapters 2 and 3
ReplyDeleteOne of the things discussed in Chapter 2 was second language learner’s vocabulary. I think it stands to reason that success with new vocabulary is tied to the frequency with which the word is seen, heard and understood. On page 62, it states that Paul Nation reviewed a number of studies suggesting that a learner needs to have many meaningful encounters with a new word, perhaps as many as 16 times, before that word is firmly established in their memory. Table 2.5 on that same page shows examples of English words that may be easy or difficult. At first glance, one might assume that the one syllable words in the first column would be the easiest to learn, however, upon further reading and explanation, it makes perfect sense that words like hamburger and Coke, which are considered international vocabulary because they are borrowed from other languages. In addition, the words in column 3 are cognates, therefore if they understand the word in their L1, then they would understand the work in their L2.
At the beginning of Chapter 3 there is an activity that asks you to reflect on your language learning experience. I can see using this questionnaire with my students to gain a better understanding of their own levels of understanding about themselves as a 2L. This chapter talked a lot about how students acquire a second language. There are many components to this such as learning styles, personality, attitudes and motivation, identity, beliefs, and age. These all play a part. One of the things that I sometimes see the students struggling with is their identity in regard to their ethnic background. I am hopeful that with our district’s Dual Language program that their attitudes will begin to change. In my classroom I will hear students speaking Spanish to each other, and then when they think I am watching, they stop, and act ashamed. I certainly do not want them to feel that way. I understand that some of my bilingual exits and refusals may need the support from their classmates, especially at the beginning of the year. I try to make them feel comfortable using Spanish if they need the added support. I just tell them that I have only one rule about speaking Spanish in the classroom. They are not allowed to talk about me in Spanish! They usually laugh, and I hope that sets them at ease.
Teaching writing has always been a window into a child’s mind. While they may not be able to express with detail the images they have in their heads, their writing is a clue to where they are in L1 and L2 acquisition. I really like how the Lightbown and Spada not only deliver information in writing but they understand that learners need visual representations sometimes to solidify their learning. After seeing the chart on the acquisition of grammatical morphemes, I can now see why and how my students range in their writing abilities. I’ve always known that some of their errors are due to SLA, however, I can see at which step they are in the sequences of understanding morphemes. By understanding that in SLA students will first learn the Progressive –ing, then aquire auxillary articles, irregular past, and regular past, third person singular, and possessives I can begin to engage in conversations with students why they may the errors they do. This is a very powerful tool. So often teachers just correct their students writing but don’t show them why they make the mistake and how to understand the process of correcting them. For example, many of my students “play around” with possessives. They add an apostrophe /S/ for each plural word. I can now see at what stage they are at with the grammatical understanding and show students how to transfer their learning. What a powerful tool kit they would have if we all knew how to explain their process of learning to them. Not ever student is ready for they same instruction or mini lesson at the same time. If we give them strategies to work with these lessons they will be more successful.
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying that the Lightbown-Spada book is a more enjoyable read. I think terms are explained more easily with less technical jargon which is appreciated to one who is grappling with an array of theories and terminology. Many points in chapters two and three hit home with my teaching experience, but one that I had been oblivious to, before taking these ESL classes was the learner's willingness to communicate (WTC). I had often thought I had a number of painfully shy students. I never paid attention to race, until reading this and thinking over the years that I haven't had too many shy white or black students. They have mostly been Hispanic. WTC helped me to understand the anxiety some of my students must feel when trying to communicate in L2, and not come off as dumb or unintelligent. I am realizing more and more that I need to encourage my L2 learners that being bilingual is an asset. I need to encourage them that their L1 is important and I am here to help them become more comfortable with L2. Just this morning during our end of the year assembly, I was presenting awards and certificates to many of our deserving students. Being a school with an 80+ percentage of Hispanic students, one can imagine the names on the certificates. I would say their was some “anxiety” on the part of some of my L1 colleagues as we paused and hesitated before attempting to read out loud, to the whole school, some of the Hispanic students’ names. I am comfortable speaking in front of large crowds, but I found my voice tapering off into a mumble at the end of some of those names. I think I was experiencing WTC!
ReplyDeleteThe words communicative competence caught my attention in chapter 2. It discussed vocabulary, pragmatics and pronunciation. This is my second year to teach 6th grade students. The majority of my students speak English as a second language. When teaching writing, I tell my students, “what you think you can write, what you write you can speak.” I often have students share their writing. This current group of students has been extremely shy when sharing their writing aloud. At first, I was surprised to see the students’ simplistic writing and word choice. Now, I understand that this is where they are developmentally with learning L2. I feel my students did make gains with their writing as the school year progressed. However, they still have much work to do with L2 vocabulary in order to truly be at grade level of an L1 speaker. I need to be patient and continue modeling writing and encouraging them to speak in front of their classmates.
ReplyDeleteFor myself, I try to speak Spanish each day to the women who work in the lunchroom at McKinley. I have often thought that if I study Spanish vocabulary words, I would be able to converse more with these women. They have gotten better about speaking slowly and repeating phrases so I can copy. I know “un pocito espanol” and I plan to study Spanish over the summer.
As I think about second language acquisition, I find myself believing that there is also a Critical Period for learning a second language. As we have seen the impact of language development and through the cases of Genie and Viktor, both had become limited in the way in which they could communicate. As we age, changes occur in our brain that has an effect on how our language develops. I can also see how the Critical Period can have an effect for second language learners. But I also see how environment and opportunities play an important role as the second language is being developed. When it comes to many our second language learners, students lack the opportunities to practice English because of the language not being spoken enough in the home environment due to parents and other family members not speaking the language. While at school students may practice and learn to speak English in non-academic settings as they socialize with peers. The lack of language development in English will have an impact on their academic proficiency. English more or less becomes instrumental to them.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 2, as I read the Negations stage, I believe my 4th/5th graders are at a stage 4. I hear a lot of them say things like "I didn't went to Kindergarten here", or I didn't went to school yesterday". In class today, somebody mentioned that negation is a form of interlanguage. I agree. It is a language that students are using while they are reaching their 2nd language. It may not be grammaticaly correct, but it is ok, because they are at least trying.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, because right after I read the section on "reference to past", I overheard a parent in our building as she was talking to our secretary. She was referring to a phone call that she was going to make today and she referred to it as making the call "yesterday". I agree with Hulstijn and Laufer about teaching vocabulary. "Learners are fully engaged in activities that require them to attend carefully to the new words and even to use them in productive tasks". I see this in my students when we meet in guided reading groups. They are responsible for finding at least 2 interesting or unfamiliar words in their reading assignment. We discuss the words in our group and give examples. Students really enjoy learning new words. One group was a "literature circle" and one of the assigned jobs was a "word wizard". There are always 2 people that want this responsibility. Their job is to tell us what they thought the word meant, what the actual dictionary meaning is, and give a synonym. This can be a challenging job, but one they thoroughly enjoy.
Communicative, content-based, and task-based language teaching occurs in my classroom (as I am sure it does in all U-46 rooms). Students work together in pairs during Making Meaning as well as Being a Writer, and they work in groups during Guided Reading and Science. These student centered activities I find to be an effective teaching strategy.
When I read about an how adults are often embarrassed by their lack of mastering of the language in Chapter 3, I was reminded of the parents at my school. There have been many times when I am speaking to a parent and I think they understand me, but in reality they are just nodding or agreeing with me. This happens with the kids too. When I was growing up, my grandmother did not speak any English and I know that she was often embarrassed as well. She would however admit that she did not know English.
I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded that we are all "wired", the concept of universal grammar, that language learning is innate in people. That no matter what language we speak, we have the cognitive ability to understand the language rules. Children know more than they are taught and or through imitation. To build on their ability to learn the language theyneed the positive evidence to build and correct them. Language development is not a direct correlation to the input they are recieving. Their mind begins to take the imput triggers and develop their language. I have seen many examples of children taking what they know and transferring it to the new language. For example, many of my bilingual students will take the verb go and instead of saying went will say something like this. "He goed over there." That is taking what they know and transferring it over, never having heard another adult say the word, goed.
ReplyDelete