THE TREASURE CHEST FOR A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER

An Integrative Approach

       Teaching a foreign language is a wonderful and an endless adventure. It represents a long journey where teachers expect not only to help their students achieve their academic goals, but also to have the chance to enjoy their own job. First of all, they get ready with all the tools they consider can be useful for their journey. For instance, they get their linguistic competence as well as the methodology that best help their students develop their competences. Then, they start looking for the activities and materials that will contribute in the learning of the different topics. Nevertheless, during the journey they realize that teaching is not that easy and that it requires getting aware of other important issues. What they need is to go in search of the TREASURE CHEST that will help them get a handle on every situation related to the students and their learning process. So, if you are a foreign language teacher you must find this chest in order to come across with the eight spheres that contain important teaching and learning insights.

     Once the TREASURE CHEST is open, you will find the first sphere containing an important aspect to have in mind in the learning process: THE AFFECTIVE FACTORS. The affective states of the students are the major factors intervening in language learning. On account of this, teachers need to free their students from inhibitions so that they can freely interact and use the language. This is possible if teachers build up trust and understanding between themselves and their students. So, more positive than negative feedback; more praise than criticism might be the first step. According to Stephen Krashen (1982) and his AFFECTIVE FILTER HYPOTHESIS, affective variables can act as a mental block, also termed AFFECTIVE FILTER, and prevent comprehensible input to be absorbed. When the learner is unmotivated and lacks confidence the affective filter goes up. When the learner is not anxious the filter goes down. Adults are more likely to have a higher affective filter due to events that occurred in adolescence. (Krashen, 1982).

     After having found the first sphere, you will see the second one. It contains the psychological theory called the BEHAVIORISTIC APPROACH. This approach lies within language acquisition is environmentally determined, that the environment provides the learner with language, which acts as a stimulus, to which the language learner responds. All learning is the establishment of habits as a result of reinforcement and reward. When responses to stimuli are coherently reinforced, then habit formation is established (Skinner, 1986). It is highly probable that most foreign language teachers take account of this theory because they usually implement new activities and techniques in their classes. Thus, if the response of the students is positive, they continue implementing those activities and techniques; otherwise, they will be discarded. In this way, teachers identify what kind of stimulus they must provide for the benefit of the learning.

     The third sphere includes the SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY proposed by Lev Vigotsky who highlights the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition (Vigotsky, 1978). He points out that individual development cannot be understood without reference to the social and cultural context within which it is embedded. Therefore, higher mental processes in the individual have their origin in social processes. Another important aspect in this theory that facilitates and guides the learning process is the fostering of the MKO (More Knowledgeable Other). It refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. In this case, teachers, adults, and peers can be very helpful in the learning process, so as to assist the child in the developing of their skills. Additionally, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is an important principle in this theory and it is integrally related to the concept of MKO. It refers to the difference between what a child can achieve independently and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner. On account of this fact, teachers must promote collaborative activities such as pair work and group work where less competent children develop their skills with help from more skillful peers.

    
     UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR AND THE INNATENESS HYPOTHESIS is enclosed in the fourth sphere. Noam Chomsky talks about the existence in the human brain of a Language Acquisition Device. According to this theory there are grammatical rules which are common to all human languages, so language acquisition would be difficult or even impossible without an innate grammar. It is a well known fact that, some languages have certain grammatical features in common, namely nouns and verbs. In addition to this, foreign language learners tend to deduce the rules of the foreign language by resorting to their native language in order to communicate their ideas. At this point teachers can assist their learners to understand the differences between the first and the second language and that some structures are not the same in both languages. Therefore, learners must be careful not to transfer all messages from their first language to the second language because they might commit some errors. The greater the differences between the two languages, the more negative transfer can be expected.

     The fifth sphere is related to Jerome Bruner and his CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY. His theoretical framework is based on the theme that language development comes about when the social support network of the child works in conjunction with innate mechanisms. This is what Brunner calls Language Acquisition Support System (LASS). He also refers to the spiral curriculum that takes account of how the most effective learning occurs. According to Brunner (1960) learning is more successful with early exposure and subsequent scaffolding of more complex concepts that occurs over earlier developing ones. Certainly, this concept of scaffolding is really beneficial in the design of any curriculum, being that teachers can decide what concepts must be introduced at the beginning of the learning process and which ones at the end. Consequently, this process can facilitate language learning in a more coherent way.

     The sixth sphere brings the COMPREHENSIBLE OUTPUT HYPOTHESIS. The originator of this hypothesis is Merrill Swain (Swain, 1985) who claims that the way of acquiring a language is not merely as simple as “understanding the message” as Krashen (1985) states in his Input hypothesis. In other words, the development of the communicative competence of the learner does not merely depend on comprehensible input: the output of the learner has an independent and indispensable role to play. The exposure to the target language plays an important role in this hypothesis because the learner is “pushed” to communicate and to produce a comprehensible output in order to be understood. It is probable that foreign language learners produce incorrect utterances in the process of communicating with native speakers. However, native speakers do not care about minor inaccuracies if the message is understandable; they attend to meaning rather than form. Furthermore, through the social practice learners can monitor their output and ask for clarifications in order to improve their speech and overcome the gaps in the communicative competence.

     The seventh sphere keeps an important aspect in foreign language learning: THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE. The learner not only needs to get the structure of the language, but also to use the language in a real life situation. Widdowson (1983) points out that a competent language user should possess not only knowledge about the language, but also the ability and skill to activate that knowledge in a communicative event. The components of the communicative competence are grammatical, textual, functional, and sociolinguistic and they are immersed in the following four abilities: listening, reading, speaking, and writing.

     Finally, the last sphere contains the INTERACTION HYPOTHESIS. Michael Long (1996) claims that the development of language proficiency is promoted face to face interaction and communication. In addition, this theory claims that the effectiveness of comprehensible input is greatly increased when learners have to negotiate for meaning. This occurs when there is a breakdown in communication which interlocutors attempt to overcome. Thus, the participants in a conversation resort to some strategies such as slowing down speech, requests for clarification, and paraphrasing so that the interaction can progress.

     As a result of having found the eight spheres, you as an English teacher have a clearer picture of what learning a foreign language implies and the role you play in this process. If you take these revelations into account, you will perform better in your teaching adventure.

REFERENCES

·       Krashen, Stephen D.  Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning.  Prentice-Hall International, 1982.

·       Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

·       Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

·       Chomsky, Noam, 1986. Knowledge of language: its nature, origin and use.

·       Praeger, New York.

·       Widdowson, H. G. (1983). Learning Purpose and Language Use. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

·       Long, L. (1982). Native Speaker/Non Native Speaker Conversation in the Second

             Language Classroom. In M. A. Clark & 1. Handscombe (Eds.), On TESOL

            '82 (pp. 207-225). Washington, D.C. U.S.: Teachers of English to Speakers

·       Swain, M. (1985). Communicative Competence: Some Roles of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output in its Development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, MA.: Newbury House.

“How to Master Successfully any Language of the World”

                                                            A view from an English Teacher

     Mastering more than one language is one of the dreams many people have had from long ago. In order to fulfill this dream, some people prefer a self study course, whereas there are others who are in favor of getting into a course where there is the chance to interact with others. Dmitry Slomov is a language learning consultant who became multilingual by carrying out his own method. He points out that anyone on earth can master perfectly a few languages, and as a matter of fact he started learning languages by himself. Actually, he is the author of the book How to Master successfully any Language of the World in which he shares a practical reference for language learning. This book has important insights in the way people can learn quickly and effectively a foreign language, but some of these insights have their downside if they were accomplished in an educational setting.

     According to Slomov (2012), it is more than important to learn a language gradually, and it would be more than difficult for a beginner to try to learn with materials and techniques for the advanced level. As far as I am concerned, learning a foreign or second language by levels of proficiency would be beneficial in a classroom. Actually, students from public schools do not learn a foreign language in this way and consequently the academic results are not very favorable. As students are not classified according to their performance, there are students with different levels in a class and most teachers use the same materials and techniques with all of them. Hence, students do not advance well in their learning process and remain in the same level until they finish school.

     Additionally, the author highlights the importance of drilling when learning a foreign language. Slomov states that drilling brings the learner to perfection, due to the fact that people have drilled words in their native language through their whole lives. Thus, every word, sentence, and paragraph whether oral or written should be memorized and repeated, so as to acquire both the vocabulary and the structure of the new language. From a theoretical framework, the Audiolingual Method lies within learning in this way, through the imitation of the language patterns either oral or written. Nevertheless, there is no place for the creative part in this approach where learners resort to their cognitive abilities such as thinking and analysis. Furthermore, this method turns learning into something mechanical and boring where opportunities to interact and interchange ideas are not provided in the classroom.

 

     Regarding to learning new vocabulary, the author indicates that it is not appropriate that people learn “words lists” because they spend much time and energy, as well as having difficulties to remember those words afterwards. He also claims that in life, words are always used in some context and they never come apart from it. In my view, learning new words taking a context into account is more meaningful for students. Thereby, they can associate the new words with images or settings related to a real life situation that will remain in their minds every time they see that vocabulary in a text.

     On the other hand, the author suggests that the dictionary use is a must and there is no place for guesses in language learning. As I see it, this advice could be helpful because the student knows immediately the meaning of a word with the help of the dictionary. Nonetheless, inferring or guessing from context is a good reading strategy when the learner can not use a dictionary, for instance in a test. So, in this case it is practical to use the context in order to deduce the meaning of a new word.

     In conclusion, Dmitry Slomov comes up with significant guidelines for people who want to learn more than one language in an effective way. Teachers can draw upon the advice that best fit their teaching practice and can help their students in the learning process, too. However, most of the advice presented in this book could be appropriate for a self study course than for an educational setting since every student has a different learning style, and what is more, every classroom represents a unique context that requires more than a method.

 REFERENCES

Slomov, D.(2012). How to Master Successfully any language of the World. www.free-ebooks.net/tos.html.
 

 

                    LEARNING SLOVAK: ANOTHER LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE                        

 

     It is wonderful to get in contact with a language that you have never heard. My curiosity aroused when my professor of First and Second Language Acquisition subject told the whole class that we were going to learn Slovak. As a first step, I began looking for its origin in order to know if this language had any similarities both with Spanish or English. Then, I searched some basic Slovak phrases, so as to be prepared when the Slovak teacher arrived the class. At the moment that Sylvia, the Slovak teacher, started the class I remembered immediately the experience I have had both as an English learner and as a teacher.

     Having learned Slovak for 30 minutes brought me some memories about my experience as an English learner. It is quite natural when hearing a language for the first time that you do not understand many things the teacher says; nonetheless, you can resort to your intuition in order to grasp the general ideas from the new language. Noam Chomsky states that all human beings have in their brain a language acquisition device (universal grammar) in which the grammatical rules are common to all human languages. I consider that this may be possible because at the beginning of a foreign or second language learning process, the learner does not hold much vocabulary, but he can make some associations from his native language in an attempt to understand what is being said. Fortunately, the Slovak teacher used the appropriate techniques such as pair work, mimics, and repetition which helped me understand the main topic of the class. Something important to highlight is that as a learner I could enjoy this class and interact with my classmates.                                                              

      On the other hand, this experience also made me reflect on my role as an English teacher.  Something that any teacher should take into consideration is that first impressions are everything in the learning process. I am aware that teachers must create an environment of understanding and trust in their first class, so students feel less inhibited and can participate freely in the different tasks. Returning the Slovak class, the teacher took this aspect into account because she was kind, recursive, and patient at the moment we did not get what we had to do. The more pleasant the first class is, the better impression the students will have in order to continue learning.

     Finally, learning Slovak was such an interesting experience. I could connect the experience I had as an English learner and the whole process I lived till I became a teacher. I remembered that learning a new language is not that easy; nevertheless, teachers have to resort to his intuition and spark in order to make the students keep on learning and can fulfill their competences in the foreign or second language.

References

·       Chomsky, Noam, 1986. Knowledge of language: its nature, origin and use.Praeger, New York.

Research question

How can students who suffer from cognitive deficit develop their oral skills in the English class in a public school?

COGNITIVE FACTORS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

How Can Teachers Strengthen Cognitive Factors in Foreign Language Learning?

    

     Foreign language teachers know from their experience that some students learn a new language more quickly and easily than others. Clearly, some language learners are successful because of their determination, hard work and persistence. However, there are other crucial factors that influence success in learning a foreign language. According to Rubin (1981), there are cognitive factors such as verbal intelligence, phonological processing ability, and long term memory capacity, which strongly influence the students’ capacity to learn a second or foreign language. In order to enhance these cognitive factors, teachers must assist learners with the appropriate strategies, so that they can achieve both their cognitive ability and learning goals.

     First, verbal intelligence is one of the cognitive factors that have to do with words, written and spoken. Howard Gardner (1993) stated that there are multiple intelligences, but people usually tend to use one or two for the most effective learning. His theory proposes that there are at least eight other kinds of intelligence that are equally important in the learning process. Pedagogically speaking, foreign language teachers can help students enhance their verbal intelligence by using the following activities:

     ·         listening to formal and informal speaking

     ·         Oral or silent reading, writing, narrating stories, sequels, poems, drama, jokes,      descriptions,   news reports

     ·         Encouraging debates, declamations, impromptu speech (on current affairs, life, practically everything)

     ·         Starting a newsletter, magazine, Journals

     ·         Conducting mock interviews, chat shows, role plays, dramas, story telling 

     ·         Solve puzzles, crosswords, vocabulary games, tongue twisters

     ·         Preparing and giving presentations 

     ·         Creating slogans, defense, case studies, etc.

     ·         Initiating vocabulary banks

 

     Second, phonological processing ability is another cognitive factor learners must strengthen when learning a foreign language. Listening is a skill that foreign language learners must develop, so it is important they get the appropriate knowledge of phonology in order to hear, understand, interpret, and produce sounds particular to the target language. Some language theorists point out that teachers can help their learners  grasp the basics of phonology by listening to authentic material such as videos, music (lyrics, songs, and karaoke), dialogues and conversations, as well as tongue twisters, dictation exercises, and spelling bees. Nonetheless, Dimitry Slomov states that learners must focus on pronunciation drills in order to get the correct native accent. Due to this fact, students need an audio recording and an audio recorder by themselves as well as a transcript. After listening the language, it is suggested to repeat phrase by phrase and then to record it. The idea is that learners pay attention to the intonation of the language, so they simulate the foreign language in the same way native people do.

    

    

     Third, it is important to highlight that one of the main goals when learning a foreign language is to memorize as much vocabulary as possible, so as to convey messages. In order to facilitate memorizing and further usage of a word, a phrase or a grammar structure learners should understand its similarities and differences from another word or structure that they already know (Slomov,2012:13). On account of this fact, there is an association between the new word and already known words or sounds, where the new word will get attached to a certain meaning. Slomov also explains that learners need to invent audible similarities which are to be found in similarly pronounced words from their native language, and then they link them to the target word, by means of inventing some situation. This is what is called mnemonics. For instance, you may make the association between žena in Slovac which means ´woman´ and the spanish word ´llena´( which is ´full´in English ). They sound similar and learners can imagine a woman with a big brain and full of ideas .  

     Nonetheless, learners are recommended to use mnemonics just at the beginning of their foreign language learning. A drawback of this strategy is that it can impede the development of speaking skills since learners can only get used with creating images in their minds. Another strategy useful to enhance long term memory is to associate objects, situations, and qualities to a real context. For instance, the word sightseeing can be connected to the word vacation. In this way, vocabulary will be remembered easily because new words are related to a specific topic.

     To conclude, language improvement is possible thanks to the opportunities language learners are given every time they are under the guidance of a language teacher. In addition to this, there are important factors in foreign language learning such as cognitive factors that teachers should be aware of, and in doing so, they are to be respectful and understanding that language learning is a hard endeavor.

 

References

      ·         Rubin, J. (1981). Study of cognitive processes in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 2, 117-31

·       Gardner, H. (1993). Intelligence and intelligences: Universal principles and individual differences. Archives de Psychologie, 61, 169–172

      ·         The Encyclopedia of Informal   Education,http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm

      ·         Slomov, D.(2012). How to Master Successfully any language of the World. www.free-ebooks.net/tos.html.

  

    



APPLIED LINGUISTICS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

How Can Language Teachers Benefit from Applied Linguistics?

   
     Second language acquisition is one of the areas of study of Applied Linguistics. From long ago, linguists have been concerned about how people acquire languages and how teachers can teach them better. According to Schmitt and Celce-Murssia, Applied Linguistics consists in using what we know about the language, how it is learned, and how it is used in order to achieve some purpose or to solve a problem in the real world. On account of this fact, there is a connection between linguistics and other fields such as Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, all of which deal with the issues of language teaching and learning.

   
     When foreign language teachers start their career, they need to get familiar with the form of the target language. In this way, they can handle the linguistic structures that comprise the target language such as syntax, semantics, morphology, pragmatics, phonology and phonetics. Nonetheless, the knowledge teachers get from the language is not enough. One of the most difficult aspects dealing with teaching is to choose the proper methodology and didactics which best suit the needs of the learners. Despite this, teachers must take other aspects into account such as language learning processes. A theory that deals with these processes is Contrastive Analysis proposed by Robert Lado (1957). He states that foreign or second language learners tend to compare linguistic features between their mother tongue and the target language. The similarities (positive transference) between both languages will ease the foreign or second language learning, but the differences (interference) between the two systems can hinder the learning of the foreign or second language. This theory can help English teachers understand the internal mechanisms people use to process a foreign or second language. Taking this into account, teachers must attempt to improve language teaching and to foster language learning through the appropriate instruction and language exposure. In this case, it is needed to make use of authentic materials and resources in the classes in order to help learners reduce their mistakes progressively.

 

   
     Linguistics is also connected with other fields such as Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics that have important insights in learning a foreign or second language. Neurolinguistics deals with the processes involved in language which take place in the brain of human beings. Besides, it is interested in studying the phenomena related to mental illnesses which interfere with language understanding and production. In educational settings, teachers should have sound knowledge of how the brain works, as well as the possible causes and consequences that language disorders have in the learning process. When teachers become aware of these kinds of problems, they are able to implement different and appropriate strategies that address these disorders in order to foster the learning. However; language is not just influenced by what takes place in the brain, but also by external factors which affect the linguistic competence, the linguistic performance, and the communicative competence of both speaker and hearer. For this reason, it is important to highlight the influence psycholinguistics has in second or foreign language learning.

     Psycholinguistics is interested in the way in which the mind deals with language, including matters such as how language is stored in the mind, and how language is understood and produced in real time (Bauer, L.2007). Foreign language teachers must be aware that mental representations differ from speaker to speaker and not every individual processes and understands language the same way. Due to this fact, teachers must emphasize on the quantity and quality of interaction the students have in order to achieve the communicative act. The former is related to the amount of time students are exposed to the spoken and written language in the classroom. The latter refers to how effective teaching is or has been as well as to how meaningful the type of material has been.

    To sum up, Applied Linguistics deals with practical problems and issues in language teaching and learning. Foreign language teachers can take advantage of the knowledge and insights gained from scientific investigations into the nature of language. As a result, they can solve some of the problems which may come up in the planning or implementation of language teaching programs. Besides, these professionals can enrich their teaching when they become aware of the processes and the conditions inside and outside the learner, so that language understanding and language production can spring in a more effective way.

References

·         Schmitt, N. & Celce-Murcia, M. (2002) “An Overview of Applied Linguistics” In An Introduction to Applied Linguistics, ed. Schmitt  N., London: Arnold
·         Lado, R. (1957) Linguistics across Cultures, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
·         Lado, R. (1964) Language Teaching: A Scientific Approach, New York:McGraw-Hill.
·         Bauer, L.( 2007). The Linguistics Student´s Handbook. Edinburgh: Edinburg University press.



TEACHING: THE MERGING OF TWO POLES

Is Teaching an Art or a Science?

    
     Teaching can be considered as a combination of both art and science. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, art is a skill required by experience or study and an occupation requiring knowledge or skill. Science is defined as the systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation (Collins English Dictionary). Taking these definitions into account, both art and science can be interrelated in the field of teaching. Hence, educators draw on their skills, so as to put into practice their knowledge about the subject matter, theories, and methodologies that best fit the needs of the students.

    An important goal for most teachers is to bring about an effective student learning. Through observation teachers can realize about the problematic situations that come about in the classes, and then they draw upon the experimentation in order to change the variables that need some treatment such as misbehavior, lack of interest, cognitive difficulties, and the like. So, in this way teaching can be understood as science; nevertheless, educators also need to resort to their creativity and imagination for the purpose of complementing the teaching-learning process. For instance, in the case of foreign language teachers, they are required to make use of the appropriate techniques and skills for bringing about the interest of the students, as well as helping them develop their communicative and cognitive abilities. Additionally, teachers resort to their creativity and intuition in order to solve those unexpected situations that can come up in the course of a class. In this case teachers need to improvise and deal with those particular situations that were not taken into account in their plans. The art of teaching involves not only knowing what to do and how to do it, but also knowing when to do it, and in what situations not to do it (Magestro, 1994). It is this kind of thinking process that takes teaching from a scientific base to an art form (Magestro, 1994).

      To conclude, teaching can be seen both as an art and as a science, moreover both imply discipline and enthusiasm in order to get better outcomes. First, reflection must be undertaken in the teaching-learning process in order to identify the behavior or the conditions that require some changes. Second, teachers should keep their “spark” and improve their skills for being able to shape their “work of art” by using the tools and the methods required. As a result of this process, they can appreciate their masterpiece: the learning of the students.

 

References 

·       Magestro, P. (1994). Tribute to Madeline Hunter. Educational Leadership, 51(7) 83

·             http://www.merriam-webster.com/
·             www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/w
·            http://eportfolio.uophx.edu/eportfolios/MAED/TED/rubric.html