Language, Learning, and Teaching PDF

Language, Learning, and Teaching  Different Schools of Thought  Method and Postmethod Era 1  Structural Linguistics (1940- 1950)  Application of scientific observation of human languages  Publicly observable responses  The lin...

Language, Learning, and Teaching  Different Schools of Thought  Method and Postmethod Era 1  Structural Linguistics (1940- 1950)  Application of scientific observation of human languages  Publicly observable responses  The linguist’s task is to describe a language  Reductionist view (language is a system of rules; the sum of all units equals the whole)  Language is made of different elements (syntax, semantics, phonetics, etc.)  The creation of structural drills and pattern practice. 2  Behavioral psychology - Publically observable responses - Scientific Method (The scientific method involves careful observation coupled with rigorous scepticism, because cognitive assumptions can distort the interpretation of the observation.) - Classical and operant conditioning - Empiricism (something which is not testable, does not exist) 3  Classical vs. operant conditioning In classical conditioning, the stimulus comes before the behavior to develop a relationship between the two. In operant conditioning, the behavior comes first and the negative or positive reinforcement comes after. 4 Classical conditioning (Pavlov) 5 Operant conditioning (Skinner) 6 Operant conditioning 7 Operant conditioning 8 Generative linguistics (Chomsky- 1960s) Chomsky: Language is a set of definite rules that can help us create unlimited sentences. Originated from the work of Ferdinand de Saussure (1916); -Parole (what Skinner ‘observes’ and what Chomsky calls ‘performance’) -Langue (akin to the concept of ‘competence’, or the underlying unobservable language ability) 9  Which one is important for generative linguists? Competence vs. performance Descriptive linguists such as Chomsky and de Saussure chose to study ‘LANGUE’ and ignored ‘PAROLE.’ Why? Performance is full of errors and cannot represent the mental abilities of the speakers. 10 Cognitive psychology (a move from description to explanation) Cognitive psychologists asserted that meaning, understanding, and knowing were significant data for psychological study. Focus on ‘why’ instead of ‘what’. Instead of focusing rather mechanically on stimulus-response connections, cognitivists tried to discover psychological principles of organization and functioning. 11  Constructivism Cognitive version (Piaget, 1954) Learning is developmental process that involves change, self-generation and construction, each building on prior learning experiences. Social version (Vygotsky, 1978) Social interaction and discovery Zone of Proximal Development 12  Piaget vs.Vygotsky Piaget stressed the importance of individual cognitive development as the main factor. Biological timetables and stages of development were basic. Social interaction only triggers development at the right time. Vygotsky rejected the notion of predetermined stages and maintained that social interaction can help cognitive development. 13  Method and postmethod Methods are too prescriptive and top-down. Postmethod era emphasizes a bottom-up approach that is context specific and flexible Particularity (i.e., students’ needs and context) Practicality (i.e., encouraging teachers to theorize from their practice and to practice what they theorize) Possibility (i.e., socio-political consciousness that learners bring with them to the process of language learning) 14  First Language Acquisition  Theories of first language acquisition  Practice and frequency  Competence and performance  Imitation 1  Behaviorism A behaviorist might consider effective language behavior to be the production of correct responses to stimuli. Children should produce linguistic responses that are reinforced. Classical and operant conditioning are important. 2  Challenges of behaviorism Poverty of stimulus: Children are not exposed to rich enough data within their linguistic environments to acquire every feature of their language, but all children reach a fluent level of language proficiency. Creativity: Children produce utterances that have never been heard before (e.g., colorless green ideas sleep furiously). 3 Mediation Theory Osgood’s mediational theory is a psychological model developed by Charles Osgood in the 1950s that seeks to explain how attitudes are formed and how they influence human behavior. This theory is based on the idea that people do not respond directly to stimuli in the environment, but rather that these stimuli are mediated by different cognitive components that determine the way in which they are perceived, processed and valued. 4  The nativist approach Nativist theorists argue that children are born with an innate ability to organize laws of language, which enables children to easily learn a native language. They believe that children have language-specific abilities that assist them as they work towards mastering a language. The child creates a hypothesis and then tests the hypothesis 5  Challenges of nativist approach Parallel distributed processing: Learning a language is not linear, learning one rule and then another, but our brain can attend to many things at the same time (imagine driving). Connectionism: Experience leads to learning by strengthening particular connections (Competition Model) Emergentism: A property is emergent if it is a novel property of a system or an entity that arises when that system or entity has reached a certain level of complexity (there is no LAD). 6  Functional approach A functional approach asserts that we need to learn how to choose our language to meet the particular needs of a situation. The importance of social context and performance (e.g., ZPD). A functional approach looks at how language enables us to do things in our daily lives (e.g., apologizing). 7 7 Which one is more important? Competence or performance? Competence refers to one’s underlying knowledge of a system, event, or fact. It is the nonobservable ability to do something—to perform something. Performance is the overtly observable and concrete manifestation, or realization, of competence. It is the actual doing of something: walking, singing, dancing, speaking. 9 What is wrong with Adam? Adult: Now Adam, listen to what I say. Tell me which is better to say: some water or a water? Adam: Pop go weasel. 10  Comprehension vs. production We can generally concede that for child language, most research evidence points to the superiority of comprehension over production. Children seem to understand “more” than they actually produce. 11  Nature vs. Nurture? Principles and parameters Having “explained” language acquisition by means of the LAD, we have to admit that we have little scientific, genetic evidence thus far of such a “device”. Common features shared by all languages are principles and those that are language- specific are parameters. 12  Does imitation work? Child: Nobody don’t like me. Mother: No, say “nobody likes me.” Child: Nobody don’t like me. [eight repetitions of this exchange] Mother: No, now listen carefully; say “nobody likes me.” Child: Oh! Nobody don’t likes me. 13  Practice and frequency Do you agree with this claim? “The relative frequency of stimuli is of little importance in language acquisition”. Practice does not make perfect, but does make better. 14  Age and Acquisition  Critical period hypothesis  Different versions of CPH  The younger the better or the older the better?  Lateralization  Significance of accent  Age and language teaching methods 1  CPH: a sensitive period A biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire. Initially the notion of a critical period was connected only to L1 acquisition; In recent years, a plethora of research has appeared on the possible applications of the CPH to L2 contexts. 2  Hemispheric lateralization There is evidence in neurological research that as the human brain matures, certain functions are assigned, or “lateralized,” to the left hemisphere of the brain, and certain other functions to the right hemisphere. Intellectual, logical, and analytic functions appear to be largely located in the left hemisphere, while the right hemisphere controls functions related to emotional and social needs. 3  Lower and higher order processes We are left with some support for a neurologically based critical period, but principally for the acquisition of an authentic accent, and not very strongly for the acquisition of communicative fluency and other higher-order processes. 4  Strong and weak versions of CPH Sensitive periods (weak) are special time- windows in early development where experience has a profound effect on the brain, while critical periods (strong) are a special case wherein experience is absolutely required at fixed developmental periods for subsequent normal function. 5  Equilibration “Progressive interior organization of knowledge in a stepwise fashion.” That is, cognition develops as a process of moving from states of doubt and uncertainty (disequilibrium) to stages of resolution and certainty (equilibrium) and then back to further doubt that is, in time, also resolved. And so the cycle continues. 6  Affective considerations  Egocentricity  Inhibition  Language ego  Attitude  Peer pressure 7  Language ego The child’s ego is dynamic, growing, and flexible through the age of puberty. Thus a new language at this stage does not pose a substantial “threat” or inhibition to the ego, and adaptation is made relatively easily as long as there are no undue confounding sociocultural factors such as, for example, a damaging attitude toward a language or language group at a young age. Then the simultaneous physical, emotional, and cognitive changes of puberty give rise to a defensive mechanism in which the language ego becomes protective and defensive. The language ego clings to the security of the native language to protect the fragile ego of the young adult. 7  Total Physical Response The founder of the Total Physical Response (TPR) method, James Asher (1977), noted that children, in learning their first language, appear to do a lot of listening before they speak, and that their listening is accompanied by physical responses. 9  Total Physical Response Like other methods of the twentieth century, TPR had its limitations. It was especially effective in the beginning levels of language proficiency, but lost its distinctiveness as learners advanced in their competence. But today TPR is used more as a type of classroom activity, which is a more useful way to view it. No verbal response was necessary. Many successful communicative, interactive classrooms utilize TPR activities to provide both auditory input and physical activity. 10  The Natural Approach One of the claims of Krashen’s (1982) theories of L2 acquisition was that adults should acquire a second language just as children do: They should be given the opportunity to “pick up” a language, and shouldn’t be forced to “study” grammar in the classroom. A major methodological offshoot of Krashen’s work was the Natural Approach (Krashen & Terrell, 1983). 11  The Natural Approach The role of the teacher: to provide comprehensible input. TPR activities are used at the beginning levels of language learning. Because learners did not need to say anything until they felt ready to do so, and because the teacher was the (sole) source of the learners’ input, the method bore only mild resemblance to child language acquisition. 12  Human Learning  Respondent and operant conditioning  Punishment and reinforcement  Ausubel‟s Subsumption Theory  Rote vs. meaningful learning  Humanistic approaches to learning 1  Respondent vs. operant conditioning: Pavlov vs. Skinner Skinner was a neobehaviorist: he added unique dimension to behavioristic psychology. Skinner contended that Pavlov‟s respondent conditioning was inferior to operant conditioning in which one “operates” on the environment. Here, the importance of a (preceding) stimulus is deemphasized in favor of rewards that follow desired behavior. 2  Operant behavior »‫«رفتار بیدلیل‬ According to Skinner, if parents ignore crying (when they are certain that it is operant crying), eventually the absence of reinforcement will extinguish the behavior—perhaps Skinner wasn‟t a model parent! According to Skinner, the events or stimuli—the reinforcers—that follow a response both strengthen behavior and increase the probability of a recurrence of that response. 3  Punishment What about negative reinforcement? Skinner believed that punishment “works to the disadvantage of both the punished organism and the punishing agency.” Punishment can be either the withdrawal of a positive reinforcer (such as food, a hug, or a smile) or the presentation of an aversive stimulus (say, a harsh reprimand). Skinner felt that in the long run, punishment does not actually eliminate behavior, but he did concede that mild punishment may be necessary for temporary suppression of an undesired response (Skinner, 1953). The best method of extinction, said Skinner, is the absence of any reinforcement whatsoever. However, the active reinforcement of alternative responses hastens that extinction. 4  How do you connect operant conditioning to language learning? Step-by-step reinforcement and controlled practice; Programmed instruction: It was structured to allow individual learners to proceed at their own pace, mastering a body of knowledge through small steps. 5 Punishment vs. reinforcement: can you name some others? 6  Ausubel’s Subsumption Theory: a critique of behaviorism David Ausubel (1968) was among the first educational cognitive psychologists to frame a theory of learning that was understandable, practical, and applicable to classrooms and teachers. Simply put, he described human learning as a meaningful process of relating (associating) new events or items to already existing cognitive structure (Ausubel, 1965). 7  Subsumption Meaningful learning, or subsumption, may be described as a process of relating and anchoring new material to relevant established entities in cognitive structure. As new material enters our perceptual field, it interacts with, and is appropriately subsumed under, a more inclusive conceptual system. Meaningful learning is best understood by contrasting it with rote learning. Ausubel described rote learning as the process of acquiring material as “discrete and relatively isolated entities” (1968, p. 108) that have little or no association with existing cognitive structure. 7  Example of subsumption and rote learning Subsumption: When a child learns the concept of ‘hotness’. Rote learning: Most of us, for example, can learn a few necessary phone numbers and postal codes by rote without reference to cognitive hierarchical organization. 9 Rote learning 10 Meaningful learning 11  Obliterative forgetting We cannot say, of course, that meaningfully learned material is never forgotten. But in the case of such learning, forgetting takes place in a much more intentional and systematic manner because it is actually a continuation of the very process of subsumption by which one learns. Forgetting is really a second or “obliterative” stage of subsumption, characterized as “memorial reduction to the least common denominator.” 12  More elaborations on forgetting Because it is more economical and less burdensome to retain a single inclusive concept than to remember a large number of more specific items, the importance of a specific item tends to be incorporated, or subsumed, into the generalized meaning of the larger item. In this obliterative stage of subsumption, the specific items become progressively less identifiable as entities in their own right until they are finally no longer available and are said to be forgotten. 13  Cognitive pruning When you prune a tree, your aim is to eliminate unnecessary clutter and to clear the way for more growth. Mixing metaphors and switching to the building block analogy, one might say that at the outset, a structure made of blocks is seen as a few individual blocks, but as the mind begins to give the structure a perceived shape, some of the single blocks achieve less and less identity in their own right and become subsumed into the larger structure. Finally, the single blocks are lost to perception, or “pruned” out, and the total structure is perceived as a single whole without clearly defined parts. 14 Rogers’s Humanistic Psychology: social and interactive nature of learning Rogers‟s humanism a radical departure from the scientific analysis of behavioral psychology and even from strictly cognitive theories. Rogers was not as concerned about the actual cognitive process of learning because, he felt, if the context for learning is properly created with due attention to students’ affective states, then they will learn everything they need to. 15  Key features of Humanistic Psychology  Social and interactive nature of learning;  Subjective experiences are important;  The whole person is important (emotions are also important, not just cognition);  Nonthreatening environment;  The focus is away from „teaching‟ and toward „learning‟;  Learning how to learn;  Teacher is the facilitator;  Rejection of the „banking‟ concept of education. 16 17  Individual Differences  Styles vs. strategies  What are different learning styles?  What is self-regulation?  Communication strategies 1  Styles vs. strategies Styles are general characteristics of intellectual functioning (and personality type, as well) that pertain to you as an individual, and that differentiate you from someone else. They are consistent and rather enduring tendencies or preferences within an individual (visually oriented, tolerant of ambiguity, etc.) Oxford and Ehrman defined L2 learning strategies as “specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques... used by students to enhance their own learning”. They vary within an individual. 2  Learning styles Learning styles might be thought of as “cognitive, affective, and physiological traits that are relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment”. Field independence vs. field dependence (sensitivity) Random (nonlinear) vs. sequential (linear) Global (big picture) vs. particular (attention to details) Inductive vs. deductive Synthetic (integrative) vs. analytical (systematizing) Concrete (attention to physical, literal) vs. abstract Impulsive vs. reflective Left-brain vs. right-brain dominance Ambiguity tolerance vs. intolerance Visual vs. auditory vs. kinesthetic modalities 3 Field Independence vs. Field Sensitivity FI= the ability to find those hidden monkeys; A field independent (FI) style enables you to distinguish parts from a whole, to concentrate on something (like reading a book in a noisy train station), or to analyze separate variables without the contamination of neighboring variables. Too much FI may result in cognitive “tunnel vision”: you see only the parts and not their relationship to the whole. You can’t see the forest for the trees. FS= You perceive the whole picture, the larger view, the general configuration of a problem or idea or event. It is clear, then, that both FI and FS are necessary for most of the cognitive and affective problems we face. 4  FI vs. FS Affectively, persons who are more predominantly FI tend to be generally more independent, competitive, and self-confident. FS persons tend to be more sociable, to derive their self-identity from persons around them, and are usually more empathic and perceptive of the feelings and thoughts of others. 5  FI/FS and language learning Some studies concluded that FI is closely related to classroom learning that involves analysis, attention to details, and mastering of exercises, drills, and other focused activities. FS style, by virtue of its association with empathy, social outreach, and perception of other people, yields successful acquisition of the communicative aspects of a second language. 6  FI vs. FS 7 How fast can you find the 12 items? 8  Which one is you? FI students favor deductive lessons; They favor natural sciences, math and engineering FS students favor inductive lessons; They favor social sciences and education 9  Left-Brain and Right-Brain Dominance 10  Left-Brain and Right-Brain Dominance learning LB dominant L2 learners preferred a deductive approach to teaching, while RB dominant learners were more successful in inductive techniques. Stevick (1982) concluded that LB dominant second language learners are better at producing separate words, gathering the specifics of language, carrying out sequences of operations, and dealing with classification, labeling, and reorganization. RB dominant learners, on the other hand, appeared to deal better with whole images, generalizations, metaphors, emotional reactions, and artistic expressions. 11  Ambiguity Tolerance Some people—those that are ambiguity tolerant (AT)—are relatively open-minded in at least entertaining ideologies, events, and facts that contradict their own views. Others, more closed-minded and dogmatic, tend to reject items that are contradictory or incongruent with their existing system. In their ambiguity intolerance (AI), they wish to see every proposition fit into an acceptable place in their cognitive organization, and if they do not, they are rejected. 12  Ambiguity Tolerance Advantages and disadvantages are present on each end of a continuum. The person who is AT is free to entertain a number of innovative and creative possibilities and not be cognitively or affectively disturbed by uncertainty. In second language learning a great amount of apparently contradictory information is encountered: words that differ from the native language, rules that not only differ but that are internally inconsistent because of certain exceptions, and sometimes a whole cultural system that is distant from that of the native culture. 13 Too much AT: are you a potato? On the other hand, too much AT can have a detrimental effect. People can become “wishy- washy,” adopting an “anything goes” mentality, accepting virtually every proposition before them, and inefficiently subsuming necessary facts into their cognitive organizational structure. 14  Reflectivity (accuracy) and Impulsivity (speed) Individuals have a tendency to make quick or gambling (impulsive) decisions versus a tendency to make slower, more calculated (reflective) decisions. Reflective or systematic thinkers tend to weigh all the considerations in a problem, work out all the loopholes, and then, after extensive reflection, venture a solution. An impulsive or intuitive style involves making a number of different gambles on the basis of “hunches,” with possibly several successive gambles before a solution is achieved. 15  Self-regulation Self-regulation: The autonomous process of developing awareness, setting goals, monitoring performance, using effective strategies, and holding positive beliefs about oneself. According to Oxford (2011), strategically self regulated learners do the following: Actively participate in their own autonomous learning process Control various aspects of their learning for accomplishing specific goals Regulate their cognitive and affective states Form positive beliefs about themselves Use strategies to move from conscious knowledge to automatic procedural knowledge Select appropriate strategies for widely differing purposes and contexts Make the connection between strategy use and learning outcomes 16  Strategies Strategies are those specific actions that we take to solve a given problem, and that vary considerably within each individual. There are cognitive, metacognitive, and socioaffective strategies. 17  Communication strategies  Avoidance strategies  Compensatory strategies 18  Compensatory strategies 19 Affective Factors in SLA  Self-esteem and its different versions  Attribution theory  Willingness to communicate  Inhibition and language ego  Anxiety  Motivation 1  Self-esteem Self-esteem= belief in your own capabilities to successfully perform an activity. 2  Examples Situational self-esteem could be said to pertain to L2 acquisition in general, and task self-esteem might appropriately refer to one’s self-evaluation of a particular aspect of the process: speaking, writing, a particular class in a second language, or even certain classroom activities. 3  Attribution theory & self-efficacy What do you attribute failure to? High sense of self-efficacy = attribute failure to not enough effort expended Low sense of self-efficacy= attribute failure to external factors 4  Willingness to Communicate Peter MacIntyre defined willingness to communicate (WTC) as an underlying continuum representing the predisposition toward or away from communicating, given the choice. The researchers proposed a number of cognitive and affective factors that underlie WTC: motivation, personality, self-confidence, and intergroup climate. 5  What is application of language ego to language learning? Ehrman (1993, 1999) suggested the significance of thin (permeable) ego boundaries in some students, and thick (not as permeable) ego boundaries in others: The openness, vulnerability, and ambiguity tolerance of those with thin ego boundaries create different pathways to success from those with hard driving, systematic, perfectionistic, thick ego boundaries. 6  Anxiety At the deepest, or global, level, trait anxiety is a more permanent predisposition to be anxious. At a more momentary, or situational level, state anxiety is experienced in relation to some particular event or act. Debilitative and facilitative anxiety We may be inclined to view anxiety as a negative factor, something to be avoided at all costs. But the notion of facilitative anxiety and euphoric tension is that some concern—some apprehension—over a task to be accomplished is a positive factor. 7  Language anxiety Communication apprehension, arising from learners’ inability to adequately express mature thoughts and ideas; Fear of negative social evaluation, arising from a learner’s need to make a positive social impression on others; Test anxiety, or apprehension over academic evaluation. 8  Theories of motivation Behaviorist: the anticipation of reward Cognitive: motivation emphasizes the individual’s decisions, “the choices people make as to what experiences or goals they will approach or avoid, and the degree of effort they will exert in that respect.” Constructivist: places prime emphasis on social context as well as individual personal choices. Each person is motivated differently, and based on the values of the society. 9  Different types of motivation Intrinsic Extrinsic Integrative Instrumental 10  Language, Culture, and Identity  What is culture?  Linguistic relativity  Acculturation and enculturation  Four stages of culture acquisition  World Englishes and Imperialism  How to teach culture in the class? 1  What is culture? Culture is a way of life. It’s the context within which we exist, think, feel, and relate to others. It’s the “glue” that binds a group of people together. 2  Stereotypes A stereotype assigns group characteristics to individuals purely on the basis of their cultural membership. A stereotype is almost always inaccurate for describing a particular individual in a culture, simply because of the dynamic, contextualized nature of culture. HELL is where the cooks are British, the mechanics French, the lovers Swiss, the police German, and it’s all organized by the Italians. 3  Linguistic Relativity: Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The linguistic relativity hypothesis, also known as Sapir- Whorf Hypothesis, the proposal that the particular language we speak influences the way we think about reality, forms one part of the broader question of how language influences thought. A commonly cited example of linguistic relativity is the example of how Inuit Eskimos describe snow. In English, there is only one word for snow, but in the Inuit language, many words are used to describe snow: “wet snow,” “clinging snow,” “frosty snow,” and so on. People who speak languages that don't have a future tense save more money. 4 Acculturation and enculturation To acculturate is to take on the culture and norms of a society that is not your own, or is not native to you. This is sometimes done when you move to new place or country. To enculturate is to learn and take on your own native culture and it is a process over time like learning a habit or trait while growing up. 6  Examples of acculturation Some acculturation examples might include:  Eating the foods common in the new culture.  Participating in new holidays and celebrations. 7  Four stages of culture acquisition Stage 1: Initial Euphoria “Honeymoon Stage” Orientation, registration, parties, getting acquainted … Stage 2: Culture Shock. Stage 3: Irritability & Hostility. Stage 4: Gradual Adjustment. Stage 5: Accomplishment & Acceptance. 5  Deculturation Deculturation is to bring about the neglect or loss of particular cultural characteristics, either deliberately or incidentally. 8 Social Distance: Parameters 9  Good learning condition If two cultures are not congruent, the negative attitudes toward each other could work against acculturation. A positive language learning situation would be one in which the L2 group is nondominant in relation to the target language group, assimilation (or at least accommodation) is desirable, and both groups have positive attitudes toward each other. 10  Good vs. bad language learners If learners perceive themselves as either too close or too distant from either the target culture or the native culture, they fell into the category of bad language learners. Successful language learners see themselves as maintaining some distance between themselves and both cultures. 11  World Englishes Learning English in India, for example, really does not involve taking on a new culture since one is acquiring Indian English in India. According to Kachru (2005), the “Indianization” of English in India has led to a situation in which English has few if any British cultural attributes. 12  Linguistic Imperialism A central issue in the linguistic imperialism debate was the devaluing, if not “genocide”, of native languages through the colonial spread of English. 13  Tips for teaching culture 1. Does the activity value the customs and belief systems that are presumed to be a part of the culture(s) of the students? 2. Does the activity refrain from promoting demeaning stereotypes of any culture, including the culture(s) of your students? 3. Does the activity refrain from any devaluing of the students’ native language(s)? 4. Does the activity recognize varying degrees of willingness of students to participate openly due to possible inhibiting cultural factors, such as power distance or collectivism/individualism? 5. If the activity requires students to go beyond the comfort zone of uncertainty avoidance in their culture(s), does it do so empathetically and tactfully? 6. Is the activity sensitive to the perceived (and sometimes deeply ingrained) roles of males and females in the culture(s) of your students? 7. Does the activity sufficiently connect specific language features (e.g., grammatical categories, lexicon, discourse) to cultural ways of thinking, feeling, and acting? 8. Does the activity in some way draw on the rich background experiences of the students in their own culture, as well as their experiences in other cultures? 9. Where possible, does the activity promote critical intercultural thinking and awareness, helping students to appreciate heritages and values different from their own? 10. Does the activity help students to construct their own social identities within an embracing community of practice? 14