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Rizkia Mustikaning Putri
Richard Skiba
skiba [at] melbourne.starway.net.au
Interference may be viewed as the transference of elements of one language to another at various levels including phonological, grammatical, lexical and orthographical (Berthold, Mangubhai & Batorowicz, 1997). Berthold et al (1997) define phonological interference as items including foreign accent such as stress, rhyme, intonation and speech sounds from the first language influencing the second. Grammatical interference is defined as the first language influencing the second in terms of word order, use of pronouns and determinants, tense and mood. Interference at a lexical level provides for the borrowing of words from one language and converting them to sound more natural in another and orthographic interference includes the spelling of one language altering another. Given this definintion of interference, code-switching will now be defined and considered in terms of its relationship to this concept.Crystal (1987) suggests that code, or language, switching occurs when an individual who is bilingual alternates between two languages during his/her speech with another bilingual person. A person who is bilingual may be said to be one who is able to communicate, to varying extents, in a second language. This includes those who make irregular use of a second language, are able to use a second language but have not for some time (dormant bilingualism) or those who have considerable skill in a second language (Crystal, 1987). This type of alteration, or code switching, between languages occurs commonly amongst bilinguals and may take a number of different forms, including alteration of sentences, phrases from both languages succeeding each other and switching in a long narrative. Berthold, Mangubhai and Bartorowicz (1997, pg 2.13) supplement the definition of code switching thus far with the notion that it occurs where ‘speakers change from one language to another in the midst of their conversations’. An example of code switching, from Russian to French, is “Chustvovali, chto le vin est tiré et qu’il faut le boire” meaning ‘They felt that the wine is uncorked and it should be drunk’ (Cook, 1991, pg 65). Further, Cook (1991) puts the extent of code switching in normal conversations amongst bilinguals into perspective by outlining that code switching consists of 84% single word switches, 10% phrase switches and 6% clause switching.
There are a number of possible reasons for the switching from one language to another and these will now be considered, as presented by Crystal (1987). The first of these is the notion that a speaker may not be able to express him/herself in one language so switches to the other to compensate for the deficiency. As a result, the speaker may be triggered into speaking in the other language for a while. This type of code switching tends to occur when the speaker is upset, tired or distracted in some manner. Secondly, switching commonly occurs when an individual wishes to express solidarity with a particular social group. Rapport is established between the speaker and the listener when the listener responds with a similar switch. This type of switching may also be used to exclude others from a conversation who do not speak the second language. An example of such a situation may be two people in an elevator in a language other than English. Others in the elevator who do not speak the same language would be excluded from the conversation and a degree of comfort would exist amongst the speakers in the knowledge that not all those present in the elevator are listening to their conversation.
The final reason for the switching behavior presented by Crystal (1987) is the alteration that occurs when the speaker wishes to convey his/her attitude to the listener. Where monolingual speakers can communicate these attitudes by means of variation in the level of formality in their speech, bilingual speakers can convey the same by code switching. Crystal (1987) suggests that where two bilingual speakers are accustom to conversing in a particular language, switching to the other is bound to create a special effect. These notions suggest that code switching may be used as a socio-linguistic tool by bilingual speakers.
From the above discussion, it may be concluded that code switching is not a language interference on the basis that it supplements speech. Where it is used due to an inability of expression, code switching provides a continuity in speech rather than presenting an interference in language. The socio-linguistic benefits have also been identified as a means of communicating solidarity, or affiliation to a particular social group, whereby code switching should be viewed from the perspective of providing a linguistic advantage rather than an obstruction to communication. Further, code switching allows a speaker to convey attitude and other emotives using a method available to those who are bilingual and again serves to advantage the speaker, much like bolding or underlining in a text document to emphasise points. Utilising the second language, then, allows speakers to increase the impact of their speech and use it in an effective manner.
To ensure the effective use of code switching there are however two main restrictions, as developed by Poplack (1980), cited in Cook (1991). The first of these is the free morpheme constraint. This constraint suggests that a ‘speaker may not switch language between a word and its endings unless the word is pronounced as if it were in the language of the ending’ (Cook, 1991, pg 65). The example given by Cook (1991) to illustrate this constraint is creation of the word “runeando” in an English/Spanish switch. Cook suggests that this is impossible because “run” is a distinctively English sound. The word “flipeando”, on the other hand, is possible since “flip” could be a Spanish word. The second constraint is referred to as the equivalence constraint. This constraint is characterised by the notion that ‘the switch can come at a point in the sentence where it does not violate the grammar of either language’ (Cook, 1991, pg 65). The example Cook uses to illustrate the equivalence constaint is a French/English switch with the suggestion that switches such as “a car americaine” or “une American voiture” are both unlikely as they are wrong in both languages. A switch “J’ai acheté an American car” (I bought an American car) is possible as both English and French share the construction in which the verb is followed by the object.
Other researchers (Di Sciullo, Muysken & Singh, 1986; Berk-Seligson, 1986; Sankoff & Poplack, 1981) have also worked on generating similar specific linguistic constraints on patterns of code switching, with a general view to contributes to the work on language universals. On this basis, constraints provide a mechanism whereby two languages may be integrated together without causing interference in the conversation between two bilingual speakers.
A varying degree of code switching may also be used between bilingual conversationalists depending on the person being addressed, such as family, friends, officials and superiors and depending on the location, such as church, home or place of work (Crystal, 1987). The implication here is that there are patterns which are followed reflecting when it is appropriate to code switch with regard to addressee and location. These patterns are the established norm for that particular social group and serve to ensure appropriate language use. Milroy (1987) is a further proponent of this proposal with the observation that bilingual speakers attribute different social values to different codes, or languages. Since a different social value is associated with each code, the speaker considers use of one code more appropriate than the other with different interlocutors. Milroy (1987, pg 185) presents an example of perceived appropriate use of a given language over another with regard to the conversational participant, by stating:
.. in the West of Ireland, Irish/English bilinguals will switch to English not only in addressing an English-speaking monolingual, but in the presence of such a person who in Bell’s terms is an auditor – that is, a person ratified as a participant in the interaction (Bell 1984b:172)
A similar study was carried out by Gal (1979), as cited in Milroy (1987), who concluded that the participant in the conversation is the variable to which the others were subservient in a study of code switching. The notions of Gal (1979), Bell (1984) and Milroy (1987) suggest that code switching occurs naturally and unobtrusively such that it is not an interference to language but rather a verbal mechanism of presenting an individuals’ social standing with regard to a particular conversational participant. As such, code switching performs a socio-linguistic function.
Code switching may also be considered in relation to language acquisition. A number of theories have been postulated as to how an individual attains language and these will now be outlined. The first to be considered is that of Chomsky (1972; 1975; 1979) where he suggests that language acquisition takes place as the brain matures and exposure to the appropriate language is obtained. Chomsky also suggests that people are aided by innate universal language structures and as children learn, they realise how to express the underlying universal structure according to their particular culture, as described by Bootzin, Bower, Zajonc and Hall (1986). From this point of view, addressees in conversations serve as facilitators of language development by means of exposing students to cultural elements required to express the universal structure appropriate to the cultural and social requirements of the individual. This biological theory is not accepted by behaviourists who suggest that language acquisition is a verbal behaviour which is an example of operant conditioning, as advocated by Skinner (1957). Behaviourists argue that individuals are reinforced by their own speech which matches the reinforcement of providers of affection during childhood. Further, grammatically correct constructions get desired results so the individual tends to repeat them. A point to note here is that the theories rely on exposure to appropriate samples of the language. The same is true when acquiring a second language.
Although switching languages during a conversation may be disruptive to the listener when the speaker switches due to an inability to express her/himself, it does provide an opportunity for language development. As may be derived from discussion above, language development takes place through samples of language which are appropriate and code switching may be signalling the need for provision of appropriate samples. The listener, in this case, is able to provide translation into the second language thus providing a learning and developing activity. This, in turn, will allow for a reduced amount of switching and less subsequent interference as time progresses. These principles may also be applied in the second language classroom.
Cook (1991) asserts that code switching may be integrated into the activities used for the teaching of a second language. Cook describes the Institute of Linguistics’ examinations in Languages for International Communication test as one which utilises code switching. At beginners level, students may use the second language for obtaining information from material such as a travel brochure or a phone message to answer comprehension questions in the first language. At advanced stages, the student may be required to research a topic and provide a report in the first language. This approach is one which uses code switching as a foundation for the development of a second language learner who can stand between the two languages and use whichever is most appropriate to the situation rather than becoming an imitation native speaker (Cook, 1991).
Cook (1989) provides another method of using code switching as a second language teaching tool through reciprocal language teaching. This method requires students to switch languages at predetermined points pairing students who want to learn each other’s languages. Thus the students alternate between the two languages and exchange the roles of student and teacher. A similar system may also be used whereby the teacher uses code switching by starting the lesson in the first language and then moving into the second and back (Cook, 1991). This makes the lesson as communicative as possible and is similar to the ‘New Concurrent Approach’ presented by Rodolpho Jacobson, outlined in Cook (1991). The approach gets teachers to balance the use of languages within each lesson with the teacher allowed to switch languages at certain key points, such as during important concepts, when students are getting distracted, during revisions or when students are praised and told off. On this basis, switching may be used as an effective teaching strategy for second language learning.
There is however a means for viewing code switching as language interference, particularly from a teaching perspective. Prucha (1983) examines how language usage is determined by consideration of extraindividual and extralinguistic purposes, or social needs, taking a ‘sociofunctional’ approach to the study of language. Prucha is of the opinion that all of linguistic reality is determined by certain purposes, programs or aims reflective of societal needs. As a result, social needs have caused an evolution of language and language communication. This proposition relates to the notion that language acquired by an individual will have an effect on the society in which the individual participates (Clark & Clark, 1977; Winner, 1977; Dodd & White, 1980) as successful societal functioning demands an adaptable, thinking and autonomous person who is a self-regulated learner, capable of communicating and co-operating with others (Birenbaum, 1996). Acquisition of these skills is addressed by Cherryholmes (1993) and others (Percy and Ramsden, 1980; Moore, 1988), with a consideration of reciprocal teaching. Cherryholmes (1993) adapts a definition by Vygotsky (1978) suggesting that cognitive development takes place as students undertake activities in the presence of experts, or teachers, coming to eventually perform the functions by themselves. This allows the student to become autonomous over a period of time whereby the teaching is reciprocated from the teacher to the student. In terms of societal consequence, the teaching-learning activity would then produce individuals who are able to participate in society independently. These concepts applied to reciprocal teaching/learning, as presented by Cook (1991) above, would suggest that a use of code switching in the classroom would provide for a bilingual norm whereby code switching is seen to be acceptable method of communication. Students then would feel comfortable switching languages within normal conversations providing for a bilingual society. In turn, those who were not bilingual may be disadvantaged as they would not be able to communicate as effectively as those who were not. Perhaps a societal expectation of currency is bilingualism and this may be a foundation for the high degree of languages other than English programs existing in all levels of schooling. In this situation the environment is set whereby interference may occur as the societal norm moves to the inclusion of code switching and the degree of bilingualism increases. Interference may occur in this instance by monolingual speakers who attempt to use a second language for a social reason such as solidarity or bilingual speakers attempting to integrate the second language into the first to be understood by monolingual speakers.
However, from another perspective, code switching means that the two languages are kept separate and distinct which creates a barrier to interference. This is on the basis that if an individual code switches, he/she will not try to make up their own variations of the words they are unable to correctly say thus preventing interference at a phonological level. Language would also not be subject to using them out of grammatical context and would not be subject to interference at a lexical level or with orthography.
Code switching may be viewed as an extension to language for bilingual speakers rather than an interference and from other perspectives it may be viewed as interference, depending on the situation and context in which it occurs. This conclusion is drawn from the notions that switching occurs when a speaker: needs to compensate for some difficulty, express solidarity, convey an attitude or show social respect (Crystal, 1987; Berthold, Mangubhai and Bartorowicz, 1997). The switching also occurs within postulated universal constraints such that it may be integrated into conversations in a particular manner (Poplack, 1980; Cook, 1991). On this basis, given that it occurs within a particular pattern, potential for code switching to interfere into a language exists. It has also been outlined above that code switching may facilitate language development as a mechanism for providing language samples and may also be utilised as a teaching method for teaching second languages (Cook, 1989; 1991). Again, scope for code switching to cause interference in a language exists if it is not utilised carefully as a teaching method. It may be concluded then, that when code switching is to compensate for a language difficulty it may be viewed as interference and when it is used a a socio-linguistic tool it should not.
Stephen Ryan
ryamu [at] twics.com
Athenee Francais (Tokyo, Japan)
This article is based on observations and experiments conducted within the Japanese tertiary sector. It takes a very broad look at some of the theory relating to language learning and motivation. It identifies a problem relating to motivation in the Japanese education system and goes on to present possible solutions to the problem. The article then illustrates the possible solutions with a practical example of how movies may be employed in the classroom in a manner which both facilitates language learning and further encourages motivation
As a teacher operating within the ‘motivational wasteland’ (Berwick and Ross 1989:206) of the Japanese tertiary education system I have often felt a kinship with marathon runners hitting ‘the wall’. In my case ‘the wall’ being a sea of drooping eyelids drifting towards the displays of none too carefully concealed mobile telephones. For anyone involved with language teaching there can be few more professionally demoralizing experiences than a class totally lacking in motivation; so much valuable time and energy spent on an, often fruitless, search for stimulating teaching materials. This article is a product of years of such time and energy; as such it aims to share with other teachers a possible avenue which may encourage learner motivation.
Much has been written about motivation and language learning, and a lot of what has been written focuses on the distinction between instrumental and integrative motivation. Motivational factors in Japan are confused by the country’s position on the periphery of the English speaking world and the high, some might say unrealistic, educational demands of a developed economy at the core of the international business system. It is this contradictory position which leads to conflicting aims at the macro level of curriculum planning. As interesting as this may be, it is not our concern here; we are interested in how this contradiction leads to a motivation problem at the classroom level, and how we might tackle this problem. We are interested in the kind of bizarre, yet I suspect far from infrequent, situation which leads to students barely able to articulate their home telephone number grappling with complex texts concerning the morality of genetic engineering. Our interest is curriculum demands which fail to recognize the reality of communicative competence leading to, at best, frustration and, more often than not, antipathy.
Faced with this situation, what is a teacher to do? I would suggest that a teacher has three options.
A good illustration of our problem can be found in the use of film in the classroom. Students will often express an interest in using movies as a medium for language learning, then proceed to sleep through any movie shown. Such a case presents a nice little cameo of our wider problem; the original intent is both worthy and genuine, but when limited linguistic competence is faced with a dense input of L2 material, boredom is often the result. The challenge for the teacher becomes; how to harness the original good intentions with tasks that are possible, tasks that set a clear goal and leave learners with a sense of achievement upon their completion.
To illustrate possible classroom applications of our approach it might be appropriate to present a typical example.
Group Profile
In this case the group has expressed an interest in watching movies in English. The teacher’s task is to manipulate this enthusiasm in a way that develops a positive attitude towards language learning. The challenge is obvious; if learners can tackle tasks related to a full-length movie then their confidence and self-esteem will be boosted, on the other hand the teacher is aware that a full-length movie is way beyond this group of learners, and there is a danger that showing it may prove counter-productive. In such a case the key lies in the successful exploitation of raw materials, in the construction of challenging yet achievable learning tasks.
Obviously such a project requires a massive investment of time. Does the return merit such an investment? At a basic level the students should enjoy such an activity making them more positively disposed towards language learning, if not immediately then perhaps at some time in the future. Anything which helps to remove negative attitudes to language learning should not be undervalued. The activity gives learners a clear goal, and a goal that is achievable; there are no right or wrong answers, as long as the script fits the scene. Learners are encouraged to use the linguistic tools they have available to solve an immediate problem. The activity also practices both extensive and intensive listening skills, in addition it allows student to use the non-verbal clues which make video such a rich medium for language learning.
We started by painting a very bleak picture of the monolingual teaching environment, perhaps the case was overstated a little. Nevertheless there can exist a clear motivation problem. The signals can be confusing for learners; constant news of internationalization and the global economy point to English language skills being essential, yet daily social interaction, often backed by strong historical and cultural factors indicate otherwise. This is a contradiction which can run throughout the system, from the highest planning levels through to the classroom . Our challenge as teachers is to somehow bridge that contradiction by developing materials and tasks which take into account both the high expectations and the low motivation. Our challenge is to foster and develop motivation by providing clear goals and achievable tasks using raw materials which might otherwise be beyond the linguistic capacity of our learners.
Marsha Rosenberg
Reprinted from: The Ambassador, The American School in Japan Alumni & Community Magazine
Spring 1996The idea of raising bilingual children is both appealing and possible for more and more families these days, and growing up with more than one language certainly has its advantages in today’s global village. Yet bilingualism really isn’t something that simply happens. Raising kids to be successful in more than one language requires some careful planning and learning about bilingual language development.
The reasons for choosing to raise kids with two or more languages are as varied as the families themselves. Even the word “bilingualism” has different meanings for different families. For some families, having the ability to listen in two languages but speak in just one may constitute bilingualism, while other parents expect their kids not only to be bilingual, but also literate in both languages. Whatever the goals for developing bilingualism in each family may be, success appears to depend on whether a “language plan” has been worked out in advance. Families who take the time to consider how their kids will develop two languages, and who make the necessary commitments to bilingual language development, tend to be more successful in raising bilingual children.
If you’re thinking about bringing up your children bilingually, it’s a good idea to clarify your own definition of bilingualism. Language proficiency can be evaluated in terms of listening, speaking, reading and writing. You could also add a fifth area of speech and language, in which a person is able to use one or both languages for reasoning, to your definition of bilingualism. A person may speak only on language but have listening comprehension in two languages. Another may listen and speak in two languages but reading and writing ability in only one.
The term balanced bilingualism is used to describe individuals who possess about the same fluency in two languages, while semilingualism refers to those who have deficiencies in both languages compared with monolinguals. These deficiencies could be in a reduced vocabulary, incorrect grammatical patterns, difficulty thinking or expressing emotions in one of the languages, etc. Few people are truly balanced bilinguals in both languages in all situations. One language is usually dominant. This dominance may be different for listening and speaking or for reading and writing and usually changes over time.
At any rate, it’s most useful to define for yourself what type of bilingualism is important and necessary in your family, within your community and culture, in order to pan a strategy for raising kids with the ability to use more than one language.
Most of us are able to learn a second language at any time in our lives. And, thought no critical age for bilingual language development has been found, kids do tend to develop more native-like pronunciation when bilingualism begins before adolescence. Two types of childhood bilingualism have been define. The first is simultaneous learning of two languages, which tends to be affect by four key factors:
The second type of childhood bilingualism is called sequential or successive bilingualism. This happens when a child has one established language before learning a second language, whether in preschool or later (the age of three usually separates simultaneous and sequential language learning). Some kids and adults, of course, usually learn a second language formally through school or language classes.Families who take the time to discuss their goals for language development often see their kids acquire higher levels of language skills in both languages. Parents need to talk about how bilingualism will be achieved for their children, looking at what language strategies will be used by each parent, what is being taught at school, and what areas need to be emphasized outside of school.
Experts stress separating the languages to make language acquisition easier for kids. When kids are learning two languages at the same time parents need to work out language strategies that emphasize boundaries between the languages. For example:
Consistency is key in early language learning. If you mix languages in the same conversation, young kids experience difficulty separating vocabulary and grammar into the appropriate language. The child may learn the “mixed” language as one hybrid language.Parents also need to consider how to strike a balance between the languages. If a child attends school in one language all day and has only a short time to hear the other language at home, it’s likely the school language will develop more easily than the home language. Parents have to plan for additional time spent using the home language in a variety of situations and with a variety of speakers. Rich language experiences in both languages are essential for good bilingual development.
The quality of the language interaction is also very important. The language used shouldn’t be too complex and parents should learn to expand their child’s language as well as give encouragement and approval. Parents need to be good listeners and good language models by introducing rich vocabulary and varied conversations. Providing books, music, and even videos in both language is also important.
Parents should also be aware of individual difference among children. Each child learns language at his or her own speed. This is related to a variety of factors, such as:
Knowing two or more languages truly gives kids so many advantages in life. Bilingual kids have the advantage of knowing two cultures, of being able to communicate with a wider variety of people, and of possible economic advantages in their future. Research has even shown advantages in thinking skills among bilingual individuals. But deciding to raise bilingual kids is a decision that should be carefully considered as it affect children for the rest of their lives. Parents need to consider the child’s self identity, self-esteem, schooling options, as well as social factors when planning for bilingualism. Becoming bilingual is a special gift parents can offer their children, but the gift must be planned and presented with care for it to be well used and appreciated.
J. Doug McGlothlin
jdmcglothlin [at] gol.comChildren learn new languages very easily, almost too easily. Most adults find foreign languages quite difficult. They must toil and struggle and put in long hours of hard work to make even small gains in their ability in a new language. But a child seems to just pick it up out of thin air. To a child, it is all play and no work. And, to make it even more frustrating for the adult learner, the results of a child’s language play are superior to the results of an adult’s language struggle. It does not seem fair.
One commonly held theory to explain this phenomenon is this: God has given young children a magical ability to learn new languages. This ability slowly disappears, and is completely gone by the time an adult begins the task of learning a new language.
This theory is attractive for two reasons. First, it explains the phenomenon. Children learn a new language easily and adults do not because, according to the theory, the magic is limited to childhood. And second, this theory helps adult learners to accept their fate. With the magic gone, they find it a little easier to buckle down to their difficult studies, knowing that now there is no other way for them to learn a new language.
But before we accept this theory in its totality, that is, before we accept the proposition that this magic of childhood completely disappears in a an adult, we should observe in detail how a child learns a new language. If the theory is true and all the magic has fled from an adult, we will at least have observed the magic as it functioned in the mind of a child. This, in and of itself, should make a very interesting study. But if some of the magic of childhood remains in the mind of an adult, we might learn some secrets for waking that magic up and using it to make our task of language learning more enjoyable and more productive.
As the father of three children, I have the opportunity to observe in detail the language development of these children. But because the burden of parenthood rests not in observing the intricacies of language development, but rather in changing diapers, getting the food into the mouth before it gets onto the floor, wiping the food off the mouth and off the floor, and on and on, the details of language development often happen without being observed by the parents. So my wife and I, in an attempt to more closely observe the development of the spoken vocabulary of our second son, Colin, put a sheet of paper on our refrigerator door. When we would hear him use a new word, we would try to write it down on that sheet of paper, along with its meaning and the date it was first used. We did not attempt to keep track of his listening vocabulary, nor did we put a word on the list unless we heard him say it without any prompting. What follows is that record of his early speaking vocabulary.
No words with understandable meaning were detected in his spoken vocabulary during this period. He did his share of babbling, and he was able to understand a number of our simple commands, but we could not understand anything he said.
We chose the end of December as the date to end the recording of his vocabulary for three reasons. First, it seemed to be a convenient time. Second, Colin was beginning to play with words and word sounds, repeating and changing what he heard around him in such a way as to make it difficult to know what he was using as a meaningful word, and what he was just using as an interesting sound. And third, the new words were beginning to appear at a rate that was hard to keep track of.
One comment needs to be made about the words in his vocabulary that have no linguistic relationship to their English counterpart. Colin has the proper English word in his listening vocabulary. We have tried to use the correct English words when speaking to him, and he hears them and understands them. But when he speaks, he translates them into his own language.
Roughly speaking, the process of language learning can be divided into two parts. The first part of this process deals with how the new language comes to the learner. In other words, it is concerned with the language environment that surrounds the student. The second part deals with how the learner comes to the new language. It is concerned with the different strategies that the student uses in his attempt to increase his language skills. With this division in mind, let us first look at a child’s language learning environment, then take a look at the different strategies that he uses to help him learn the new language. Please note that in the following sections, I have presented my observations about Colin’s language environment and learning strategies as if they were true of all children. I am assuming that Colin is a normal child, and that normal children are sufficiently alike in their language learning to be able to safely make this generalization. But the reader is warned that this is an assumption, and he is welcome to replace “a child” and “the child” with “this child” where he thinks it is more appropriate.
Below are ten features of a child’s language environment. They have been selected because they are important elements in the language environment of the child, and because they are often missing from the language environment of the adult learner. They deal primarily with the language that the child hears, not the language that he produces.
First, no pressure is brought to bear upon the child as he learns the new language. There are no tests. There are no grades. And there is no standard that the child must meet in order to be approved by his parents. Though the parents might feel pressure to help their child develop his language skills more rapidly, they cannot transfer this pressure to the child as a motivating factor in his language learning. Children just do not respond to this kind of pressure.
Second, there is all the time that the child needs to learn the language. There is no given period of time in which the child must learn or fail. Rather, there is enough time even for the child who takes a rather leisurely pace in his learning.
Third, there is no possibility of escaping into a language that the child already knows. It just cannot happen. Though he has no external pressure to study, there is no bell to let him out of class and no vacation when he can get away from the new language.
These first three points relate a child’s motivation to continue learning. Tests, grades and the pressure of time help to keep an adult at his language learning task, and when these motivating factors are removed, progress often comes to a halt. But a child who does not have these pressures also has no way of escaping from the new language. He must continue to learn if he is going to ever understand anything.
Fourth, the language a child hears is not sequenced by grammar or vocabulary. No one decides when he is ready to hear a new word or a new construction. Parents do not use a textbook or a word frequency study to help them decide how to speak to their children.
Fifth, there is lots of repetition in the language around him. He does not go from one chapter to the next, always having to deal with lots of new material. Rather because daily life contains lots of repetition, the language a child hears reflects that repetition.
Sixth, both the words and the world around the child are new. Thus, his learning of the new language coincides with his discovery of the world, and the curiosity that he has toward the world becomes a powerful force in his language learning.
These last three points deal with the order or sequence of learning. In a normal foreign language class, the textbook or the teacher decides the sequence of the material. Fortunately for a child, he does not have a textbook to provide this sequence. Instead, his environment provides two ways that his language learning can be naturally ordered. The first comes from the natural repetition in his life, and the second comes from the natural order of his interest in the world. In other words, though a child’s language environment might seem too rich, too unstructured and too confusing, the environment does contain within itself the ability to tell the child where to begin and how to proceed.
Seventh, all the language is spoken in the context of the world around him. The new language is not a translation of something he already understands in another language. And the new language is not a secret code that must be translated into another language to reveal its hidden meaning. Rather, the language that he is learning is related directly to the world around him. It is always presented as a living language.
Eighth, the child has lots of opportunities to listen to the new language as it is spoken by native speakers. Here there is considerable variation. Some children have more language around them than others. But even those children who spend relatively less time listening to the new language still get lots more listening opportunities than an adult studying a foreign language from a textbook while living in a culture that does not speak the language that he is studying.
Ninth, the language environment of a child gives him many opportunities to speak the new language and be understood. His parents and older brothers and sisters are native speakers of the language, so that when he speaks, he can immediately get the reinforcement that his words deserve.
And tenth, much of the language he hears is simplified especially for him. When a person is speaking to a young child, he does his best to get across his meaning in language that the child can understand. Because the child can communicate by his actions how much he understands, the speaker can tailor his language to the child’s level. This is quite different from listening to a radio or tape, and to a lesser degree, it is different from listening to a person speaking to a group. It is very personal, and the many small problems of communication can be quickly detected and solved before they become real hindrances to learning.
This finishes the list of the main elements of a child’s language environment. In this list, one can immediately see how rich a child’s language environment really is. He has no pressure, and all the time in the world! He has the language all around him, and his teachers are native speakers who live with him (and love him)! He does not have to study from a textbook in a classroom! Rather his private tutors use the world around him as his textbook! It is a situation that any adult learner of a foreign language should truly envy. But there is more to the magic of a child’s language learning ability than his language environment. Let us now look at ten important language learning strategies that a child uses to help him so easily master his native language.
First, a child is not in the least interested in language for its own sake. In fact, a young child never focuses his attention upon language at all. He is too interested in his toys, in his playmates, and in the things that he can find that are not to be played with. Language is always of secondary importance, and all of his early language learning is peripheral learning. To a child, the value of language is measured by its ability to help him better enjoy his primary interests. If he breaks all the imaginable rules of grammar and pronunciation, and yet gets the response he wants, he feels as if he has been completely successful. In Colin’s case, this explains why he is perfectly happy to use words and constructions that he does not hear from anyone else’s lips. He has continued to use the words wow, eehu and gaga precisely because we understand what he means. They function for him, and that is all he cares about.
Second, a child does not let language that he does not understand confuse him. When he hears something he does not understand, it disturbs him about as much as water disturbs a duck’s back. This is related to the fact that language is never the center of his attention. So he just does not care about what he cannot understand.
Third, a child enjoys the repetitive events of his life, and uses this enjoyment to help him learn the new language. These repetitive events give the child a sense of security and order, and as he begins to understand the order in the events of his life, he also begins to understand the order in the language that is associated with those events. Conversely, rare events rarely leave much of a mark on a child’s language ability. For an illustration of this, one only needs to look at the words that appear on Colin’s vocabulary list, and compare it to the words that did not make it.
Fourth, a child uses his primary interests to help him learn the language related to those interests. Whatever captures his attention captures it all. He focuses his attention on that one thing, excluding the rest of the world for that moment in time. And thus, the language associated with his object of interest is brought to the front and center, and all the rest of the language around him is temporarily pushed back into the shadows. This can be illustrated from Colin’s speaking vocabulary by looking at one of his earliest words, eye. When I would lie down on the couch, Colin would lie on my chest and use his hands to play with my face. His first point of interest was my eyes. When I would try to redirect his interest in my eyes, interest that he expressed by putting his fingers in my eyes, to some other part of my body, he would have none of it. He wanted to touch my eyes, not my ears or my hands. And because his interest was so strongly focused on my eyes, he learned that word first.
These last three points are closely related. They deal with how a child focuses his attention. He does not simply let the language pour over him and slowly ooze into his mind. Rather, he is very selective about the language he pays attention to. An adult learner tends to become first confused then discouraged when he receives too much new information at one time. He tries to take in all that is presented to him, often with the result that he does not learn any of it well. Because of this, special care must be taken not to present too much at one time to an adult learner of a foreign language. The excess causes the adult learner real problems. But a child never tries to take in all that is around him. He is the one who is in control, and he selects what he likes best, ignoring the rest. A child is very picky about the language he listens to, just as he is often very picky about the food he eats. But precisely because he is so effective in shutting out what does not interest him, his mind is not cluttered or divided, and he can bring to bear the full resources of his mental facilities for the purpose of learning what he has selected. This ability to focus on the material at hand while effectively excluding the rest is a very important ingredient in learning.
Fifth, a child directs his attention to things that are easy to understand. He does not think about the world economy or foreign cultures. He thinks about the people around him, and the things around him. And these things can easily be given a name. One of the interesting features of Colin’s vocabulary is the lack of verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. The words are mostly nouns. Late in the list, some verbs appear (read, walk), and one adjective (hot), but the great majority of his first words were simple nouns that were easy to learn from context.
Sixth, a child possesses a natural desire to call an object by its name, and he uses that natural desire to help him learn the language. He receives real joy from just pointing out something and calling it by name. He never thinks it is stupid or silly to say something that others might consider obvious. For him, it is delightful. When Colin learned the words for star and moon, he would point them out to us at every opportunity. He could not play with them or eat them, but he loved to call them by name.
Seventh, a child uses his natural desire to participate in the life around him to help him learn new language. He wants to do what he sees others doing, and when that includes language, he want to speak it too. Here a child often says things he does not understand at all. He is simply imitating others. He has learned that in a given situation, a word or phrase is always used, so he tries to use it too. In Colin’s case, his word dodeedah illustrates this point. We did not try to teach him the word thank you. He was too young to learn it then. But we had taught his older brother how and when to say thank you, and were (and still are) trying to get him to use it more consistently. So Colin, in his attempt to imitate those around him, felt that he should say a word when he received something. At this point in his language development, most of his sounds were still babble, so he merely selected one set of sounds from his babble and elevated it to the position of a word to say after receiving something. His words hi and bye bye were also first learned in this way.
Eighth, a child adds words to his speaking vocabulary more easily if he already knows how to pronounce them. In other words, he can attach a new meaning to a sound sequence that he already knows more easily than he can learn both a new meaning and new sound sequence. For example, Colin’s words for nail and snail, which are both pronounced as nail, became a part of his speaking vocabulary at about the same time. They had both been in his listening vocabulary for quite a while, but it was not until he had learned to say the word nail for nail that he was able to point to the picture of a snail in one of his books and give it a name. He used related sounds to help him learn. Another example of this comes from the Colin’s word for tree and the name of one of his friends, Julie. Julie and Colin have not spent a lot of time playing together. He has other friends that he has spent more time with. But he learned Julie’s name first because the sound of it is related to a word that he already could say, tree. Duwee has become his word for both tree and Julie.
Ninth, a child immediately puts to use the language he is learning, and uses his success in communication to build up his confidence. He does not try to store up his knowledge for use at a later date. He applies it in context as soon as he can. And every time he uses a piece of language successfully, it is reinforced in his mind and his confidence grows. And this confidence encourages him to use the new language even more, thus bringing him more success, more reinforcement, and more confidence. This confidence cycle built upon successful usage of the language is difficult to establish and keep going in an adult learner. But a young child is able to get it going and keep it going in the face of a lot of obstacles. All of the learning strategies mentioned are important, but this one, it seems to me, must be one of the most important. A learner without confidence is in trouble from the very beginning, but one who possesses the confidence that comes from success, even when the success is limited, can overcome a host of other learning problems.
And tenth, a child brings tremendous ingenuity to the task of learning a new language. He has no fear of failure. He is not inhibited by what others might think. He just plunges in head first, attacking the problems with all the resources that he has. Just one of the many places where a child’s ingenuity is evident is in the associations he makes between objects and words. Many of these associations are obviously wrong (to us), but he does not know they are wrong and he does not care. He sees the world through different eyes, and orders it in different ways. Who can say that our ordering of the world is any more logical than a child’s? For a child, why should the word train be any better than the word gaga? After all, gaga more closely represents the sound that you hear when a train is approaching the railroad crossing where you happen to be waiting. And why should the word airplane be any better than the word dayday? When we see an airplane in the sky, it is soon leaving us, so why not call it a dayday (which came to mean good bye by a similar application of ingenuity)? Colin’s ability to use language in this way is not at all exceptional, as any parent can testify. But because this ingenuity is common among children, it is no less wonderful, and no less important in helping them to learn their first language.
This concludes the list of learning strategies. It also concludes my observations on how a child begins to learn his first language. To end this report, I will make one comment and ask one question. First the comment: God has certainly endowed the young child with the magic of a rich environment in which to learn his first language and the magic of a wonderful ability to acquire that language from his surroundings. Now the question: Is this magic limited to childhood, or does some of it remain long after childhood has ended, waiting to be used again, this time to help tame a foreign language?
Lin Hong
zhangyllh [at] hotmail.com
Guangdong Foreign Language Normal School (Guangdong, China)
Students may wish to play games purely for fun. Teachers, however, need more convincing reasons. ‘Teachers need to consider which games to use, when to use them, how to link them up with the syllabus, textbook or programme and how, more specifically, different games will benefit students in different ways (Khan, J.1996).’ The key to a successful language game is that the rules are clear, the ultimate goal is well defined and the game must be fun.Below are some questions which we might consider as we choose a game:
This is a guessing game played by teams to practice numbers.
This is a place were English teachers can share games and activities that they have found useful in the classroom. If you know a game or an activity that works well with ESL/EFL students and it is not yet listed here, please submit it.
| You may view the games in two different ways. Each Game on Its Own Page | Many Games Per Page(This Section) |
Number of Submissions: 132
The newest addition is at the top of the page.
Level: Easy to MediumThis is an oral communication activity appropriate for EFL learners in elementary/primary school. (It’s optimal for grades 3-6). This game is designed for practicing “shopping” dialogues and vocabulary.
Materials: “produce” and play money.
Object of Game: To accumulate as many products as possible.
The shoppers are given a set amount of money* (e.g. dollars, euros, pounds, etc.) and begin at a stand where there is an open space.
Students shop, trying to accumulate as many items as possible (each item is 1 unit of currency).
Periodically, the instructor will say “stop” (a bell or other device may be needed to attract attention in some cultural and classroom contexts) and call out a name of one of the products. Students with that product must then put ALL their products in a basket at the front of the room. The remaining students continue shopping. Students who had to dump their products must begin again from scratch (with fewer units of currency).
The student with the most products at the end wins.
Students then switch roles.
*It is recommended giving students as much money as possible since students who run out can no longer participate.
Alternative play for more advanced students: Clerks set the price of items. Shoppers have the option of negotiating the price. There are two winners in this version: The shopper who accumulates the most products and the clerk who makes the most money.
Submitted by: Mike Yough
Level: Any Level
Type of Activity: listening and speaking
Purpose: review question forms previously studied in class
Procedure:
Form two teams (three will work, but two seems to add just the right amount of competitive tension).Explain the game, with a few examples of answers in search of questions. Ask, ‘What’s the question?’, and get students to correctly say the corresponding questions for your answer.
Have two players–one from each team–come to the front. Style it like a game show if you like, with the students standing side-by-side. If you have access to bells or buzzers, it’s even more fun.
Next, read an answer to a question and say, ‘What’s the question?’ The fastest player to respond wins a point for her/his team. New contestants come to the front for a new round.
Rationale: This game forces the students to think backwards a little, so they must provide a grammatically perfect question. All too often, they are used to answering rather than asking questions, so this is challenging and useful as review.
Submitted by: Tim
Level: Any LevelThis activity is used as a “getting to know you”, icebreaker on the first day of class.
This activity works well with substitute teachers also.
The toilet paper is such an attention getter.
Submitted by: Linda LeBlanc
Level: Easy to MediumThe teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student should say a word beginning with the last letter of the word given. The game continues until someone makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word incorrectly, misspell it or come up with a word that has been said already, then he/she is out. The last one remaining in the game is the winner.
This game can be made difficult by limiting the words to a certain category, e.g.. food, tools, or nouns, verbs, etc.
Submitted by: Huang Shufang
Level: EasyDivide the group into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved in a duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend to draw their pistols. Say “how do you say…” and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to give the answer and then “bang bang”, pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He remains standing and the other one sits down. I give 1 point for the right answer and 5 extra points if they manage to “kill” 4 opponents in a row.
Editor’s Note: Instead of saying the word in the students’ mother tongue, it would be possible to use a picture or to say a definition (“What do you call the large gray animal with a long nose?”)
Submitted by: Liz
Level: Easy to MediumPreparation:
Divide the students in to groups of four or five. Then ask the student to make the name for their ships for example with the names of animals, cities, movie stars or let them find their own favourite names.
Ask them to choose the Captain and the Shooter. The captain’s duty is to memorize his ship’s name, so he can reply if somebody call his ship’s name. The shooter’s duty is to memorize the names of the ships of ‘their enemies’, so he can shoot them by calling their ship’s name.
Activity:
Arrange all the captains in a circle, the ships’ crews must line up behind their captains. The shooter is the last crew member in line.
The teacher must decide a lexical area of vocabulary, this vocabulary will be used to defend their ships from the attacks. Every students (except the shooters) must find their own words. The lexical area for example, “Four Legged Animals”. Give the students 1-2 minutes to find as many possible words as they can and memorize them.
Start the game by calling a ship’s name, for example the ship name is “THE CALIFORNIAN”. The captain of THE CALIFORNIAN must reply with a word from the lexical area given, for example he says “TIGER” followed by his crews behind him one by one, “COW”; “SHEEP” until it is the shooter turns and he calls out the name of another ship and the captain of the ship called must reply and his crews must do the same thing. No word can be repeated.
If the captain is late to reply (more than 2 seconds) or his crew can not say the words or a word repeated or the shooter shoots the wrong ship (his own ship or the ship that has already been sunk) the ship is sunk, and the crew members can join the crew of another ship.
The teacher can change the lexical area for the next round.
In the last round there will be two big groups battling to be the winner.
Submitted by: Agung Listyawan
Level: Easy to Medium (Low to low intermediate)Each student is then give one sheet of paper. One student sits at the front of a room. He/she describes a person and the rest of the class draws the person being described.
It is more interesting if the person being described is known by everyone. Once the student has finished describing that person then he/she reveals who it is and each student shows his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious as the impressions tend to make the character in question look funny.
It is a good idea to encourage students to ask the interviewee student questions about who they are describing.
Submitted by: Darrell
Level: Any LevelA good game for large classes and for reviewing vocabulary lessons.
The winner is the one with a correct and clearly written sentence.This is always a hit with kids. For more advanced students, use tougher words.
Submitted by: Thomas D. J-B
Level: Any LevelDraw a target (with points – like a dart board) on the white board or use a cardboard box in the middle of the room. Then, students make paper airplanes and launch them after they answer your question in the form of a sentence. I don’t except my beginners/low intermediate students to form complete sentence so I help them to form correct sentences. To my surprise they will repeat the sentence several times (while I’m helping them) just so they can throw their airplane. For beginner and low intermediate classes, I recommend formulating questions that lead to 1 or 2 types of answers. This allows for better memorization. For example, use CAN/WILL questions and write the beginning part of the answer on the board “I can/will…”. I recommend giving a prize to make the target points mean something, thus peaking their interest.
Submitted by: Ell Saunders
Level: Any LevelWrite out series of categories like professions (doctor, bus driver, etc.), animals, foods, actions (fishing, haircut, etc.) then divide the class into groups of 2. One student draws and the other guesses. Next turn, the guesser draws and drawer guesses. This game works best with the arbitrary stop watch (30 seconds). This is designed for one lesson.
Then for another day take the same categories (or create new ones) and play the same game except students, this time, act it out (no speaking or noises).
Submitted by: Ell Saunders
Level: Any LevelFirst, if you have a large class you have to divide it in 2 teams. then the teacher says a word or a sentence depending on the level for the students to spell. Students should spell these correctly with not even one mistake. The team that has more points is the winner
Submitted by: Revolle Soyer
Level: Medium to DifficultYou, the teacher, may need a dictionary do this activity.
The idea of this game is to let students be creative and practice writing skills.
Then you can have the students to discuss their writings.
Submitted by: Natalia Iglesias from Argentina
To keep this page’s filesize reasonable, we occasionally move things to other pages.
Christine Canning-Wilson
christine.canning [at] hct.ac.ae
The Center of Excellence for Research and Training, Higher Colleges of Technology (Abu Dhabi)
Video is at best defined as the selection and sequence of messages in an audio-visual context. Considerable confidence is placed in the value of audio-visual aids to enhance the learning of foreign languages, yet there is little empirical data and research to support the proposition that video facilitates in the learning of foreign languages. However, with the amount of time devoted to using video in the Foreign or Second Language (F/SL) classroom, research is warranted to show how audio-visual aids enhance the language learning process. Currently, research over the past two decades, shows that there are several limitations to be recognized when examining results. First, many studies have been done with visual aids and not with actual foreign and second language videos. Secondly, many video studies use intact groups instead of random groups who were studying only one foreign language. Thus, studies using different groups and languages may yield different results than those found in the literature. As Omaggio (1979) points out, to find varied results, researchers would need to ask whether or not the same findings would hold true in different languages.Another limitation on video studies deals with the long-term effects of using video in the classroom. It can be argued that video instruction should be discouraged because there is scant empirical proof to verify comprehension. For example, how can long-run effects of video be measured and how much exposure to video would make a significant difference in the language learning process? In addition to these queries, researchers would need to ask if the visual significantly affects listening comprehension (Mueller, 1980). Research would also need to address how video manifests itself differently than prolonged exposure to a visual aid that does not have an audio component? With such unanswered questions yet to be proven with quantitative measures practitioners must ask themselves if there is sufficient evidence to support continued use of audio-visual aids in the learning of foreign languages to justify the allocation of resources for them in the foreign or second language classroom.
However, in recent years, some of these questions have begun to be addressed, but in limited contexts. For example, Balatova (1994) suggests that unlike a student, who listened in sound only conditions, the use of video and sound conditions were more consistent in their perception of the story, in the sense that difficult and easy passages formed a pattern. The study notes that scenes where utterances were backed up by an action and/or body language and that were relatively shorter, were considered easier to understand by students. Less lively scenes, which involved relatively long stretches of conversation, were labeled as more difficult. These comments illustrate that visual cues are important, since they either facilitated or distracted from understanding. In addition, her research also notes that “It is also interesting to point out that students in the sound-only conditions in the two experiments were less successful in maintaining the interest and concentration in listening”.
Research by Herron, Hanley and Cole (1995) indicates that the visual support in the form of descriptive pictures significantly improved comprehension scores with language videos for English speaking students learning French. The results of the study indicate that extensive listening is facilitated by the richness of the context that visual organizers, such as educational videos, provide. Heron (1994) finds that advanced organizers based on videos helped learners improve comprehension and aid in the retention of information.
A recent large-scale survey by Canning-Wilson (2000) suggests that the students like learning language through the use of videos. One of the results of her survey shows that learners prefer action/entertainment films to language films or documentaries in the classroom. She states although these films may seem to hold student interest, she believes that it could be inferred that student comprehension of the video may be due to the visual clues instead of the auditory components.
Heron, Hanley and Cole also hypothesize that the more meaningful an advanced organizer is the more impact it can have on comprehension and retention. Their results of using twelve different videos with foreign language learners indicates that scores improved when advanced organizers, such as a pictures and/or visual stimuli, are used with the video. Perhaps the findings from these studies can be attributed to the fact that video offers contextual support and/or helps learners to visualize words as well as meanings.
Individuals process information in different ways. The strategies used by one learner are likely to differ from those used by a different learner. It has been proven that what benefits one group of learners may actually hinder the performance of a different group of learners (Bovy, 1981). Issues of the value of video as a teaching tool are often questioned. Omaggio (1979) suggests that “the profession has virtually no empirical basis for promoting the use of visuals as aids to comprehension in the second language; we know practically nothing about how students benefit from visuals” (1979, p.107). Recently, in a lecture on the use of visuals in research, Canning-Wilson (2000) claims that the use of illustrations, visuals, pictures, perceptions, mental images, figures, impressions, likenesses, cartoons, charts, graphs, colors, replicas, reproductions, or anything else used to help one see an immediate meaning in the language may benefit the learner by helping to clarify the message, provided the visual works in a positive way to enhance or supplement the language point. She reports that images contextualized in video or on its own can help to reinforce the language, provided the learner can see immediate meaning in terms of vocabulary recognition in the first language. Furthermore, her research suggests that visuals can be used to help enhance the meaning of the message trying to be conveyed by the speakers through the use of paralinguistic cues.
Additional factors must be considered when looking at video as an instructional medium to teach a foreign or second language. In 1999, Coombe and Kinney stated that “Learners learn primarily because of what they bring to their classroom experience in terms of their perceived needs, motivations, past experiences, background knowledge, interests and creative skills” (1999,p.21). Furthermore, experts suggest that instructional design and cognitive processing considerations are more salient than media used to deliver the instruction (Clark, 1983). Hannafin (1986) suggests that the incorporation of criterion-based questions in video instruction is likely to improve intended learning, but scant empirical data has unequivocally proven this hypothesis. It is important to note that in the late 1980s, Hannafin admitted, “there was no research to support one side over the other, so we are left with logic and common sense to form an initial hypothesis” (Hannafin 1986). In 1994, Balatova¼s studies indicated that visual cues found invideos were informative and enhanced comprehension in general, but did not necessarily stimulate the understanding of a text. It was also found that teaching with video had some affective advantages. If the results of their findings are true and the same results can be replicated, perhaps practitioners will no longer have to rely solely on anecdotal evidence.
What are the practical implications of using video in the classroom? At the most basic level of instruction, video is a form of communication and it can be achieved without the help of language, since we often interact by gesture, eye contact and facial expression to convey a message. Video provides visual stimuli such as the environment and this can lead to and generate prediction, speculation and a chance to activate background schemata when viewing a visual scene reenacted. It can be argued that language found in videos could help nonnative speakers understand stress patterns. Videos allow the learner to see body rhythm and speech rhythm in second language discourse through the use of authentic language and speed of speech in various situations. Videos allow contextual clues to be offered. In addition, video can stimulate and motivate student interest. The use of visuals overall can help learners to predict information, infer ideas and analyze the world that is brought into the classroom via the use of video instruction. In a teaching or testing situation video can help enhance clarity and give meaning to an auditory text; it can create a solid link between the materials being learned and the practical application of it in a testing situation; the video can act as a stimulus or catalyst to help integrate materials or aspects of the language; videos can help manipulate language and at the same time be open to a variety of interpretations.Arthur (1999) claims that:
“Video can give students realistic models to imitate for role-play; can increase awareness of other cultures by teaching appropriateness and suitability; can strengthen audio/visual linguistic perceptions simultaneously; can widen the classroom repertoire and range of activities; can help utilize the latest technology to facilitate language learning; can teach direct observation of the paralinguistic features found in association with the target language; can be used to help when training students in ESP related scenarios and language; can offer a visual reinforcement of the target language and can lower anxiety when practicing the skill of listening.”
Video used in a classroom should be interpretive and to the point. The visual should show reasonable judgement and enhance comprehension, heighten sensory acuteness, and illustrate the target language being used. Practitioners should avoid the use of distracters, over-crowded or violent stimuli. Visuals are ineffective in the learning process when the visual is too small; when the visual or video uses stereotypes; when the visual or video is a poor reproduction; when the picture is to far away from the text illustration; when the video has irrelevant captioning; when the video or visual offers to much information related or unrelated to the picture; when the video or visual is poorly scaled; and when the picture is not esthetically meaningful. A visual cue may be accompanied by a written cue to focus on a lexical item being furnished. Videos can make the task, situation or language more authentic. More importantly, video can be used to help distinguish items on a listening comprehension test, aid in the role of recall, help to sequence events, as well as be adapted, edited or changed in order to meet the needs of the language learner (Canning, 1998).
If video is to be used in the classroom to improve listening comprehension, it should be shown in segments and not as a whole. These segments should be broken down to exploit the macro-listening skills and the micro-listening skills from the audio-component of the video. There is scant, if any, empirical evidence to indicate that videos shown in their entirety improve listening comprehension scores of nonnative speakers of English. For as much as the visual may aid in understanding the scenario or general gist of the film¼s plot, it may detract from the individual messages produced by the speakers. In fact the constant visual stimuli may detract from the auditory component. Empirical evidence has shown that attention spans are lowered when watching videos used to teach foreign languages (Balatova, 1994). As Balatova (1994) states: “The first signs of distraction in those groups appeared after the first minute, and by the end of four minutes, distraction spread all over the groups, while in the video conditions several more students became distracted after six minutes, more students lost concentration after ten minutes and around one third of them kept watching until the end.”
Although video may be a popular tool to use with students, as F/SL educators we must not loose sight of the educational purpose it has in the language classroom. It is suggested that language teachers should ask themselves the following questions before implementing a video lesson with F/SL learners:
Because academic listening tasks are often tested rather than taught, video offers foreign and second language learners a chance to improve their ability to understand comprehensible input. Videos allow teachers to ask both display and referential questions. Video tasks used in the F/SL classroom, can include but are not limited to creating advanced organizers, other visual representations and descriptors.Video tasks should be multi-layered in order to exploit all information and elements contained in the aural and visual texts. Additionally, it is essential that video tasks and lessons be perceived by the language leaner as a challenging and requiring effort. Be sure that students are able to answer questions based solely upon what they see instead of what they hear. Otherwise it is possible to imply that practitioners are measuring their visual literacy and not their ability to comprehend aural input.
With the increase in educational technology, video is no longer imprisoned in the traditional classroom; it can easily be expanded into the computer aided learning lab (Canning 1998). Interactive language learning using video, CD ROM, and computers allow learners the ability to view and actively participate in lessons at their desired pace. It is recommended that institutions and practitioners encourage the use of instructional video in the F.SOL classroom as it enables them to monitor and alternate instruction by fostering greater mental effort for active learning instead of passive retrieval of visual and auditory information.
Abdulvahit Cakir
abdulcakir [at] yahoo.com
Gazi University (Ankara, Turkey)
It has been said that children have a natural musical taste and that play is the only activity that they take seriously. If this is so, teachers should not let song practice or any activity seem like work. They should keep it spontaneous. This has been shown to apply even to language teachers.Acting on the idea that just as the selection of a particular tempo and beat in jazz may convey powerful and varied emotions, stress, and intonation pattern of the spoken language are essential elements for the expression of feelings and the intent of the speakers, Carolyn Graham designed Jazz Chants to teach the natural rhythm, stress and intonation patters of conversational American English. Graham is not the only language teacher to recognize that music can be a wonderful medium for natural language learning, often called language acquisition.
Language teachers in Turkey, for example, have been using English language songs to help children improve their English thorough enjoyable activities. Readers who want to study related theoretical and research support can profit from examining the materials identified at the end of this article. I will present only some of the main supports as a rationale. But my main goal here is to share some songs and activities in the hope that more English language teachers around the world will use such enjoyable and effective means to enhance language learning and acquisition.
Songs, rhymes, chants, and musical games are fantastic materials for the language teacher to use with young learners. They have innumerable virtues. The following are the ones which I like best:
The children are motivated by the music, by the variety of rhythms, by the instrumentation (guitar, contrabass, percussions), by the different voices involved (Masculine, feminine, child, adult) and by the themes (boys/girls, circus, family, animals, etc.).
To cut the long story short, if used properly by the teacher, plays and songs are excellent means whereby children have fun and at the same time acquire a language. Teachers often worry about where to find songs, chants, and rhymes. However, there is no great secret to turning ordinary language into chants. Children find it quite natural to turn almost anything into a chant. You can fit the words to any topic you are doing (Reilly & Ward). For example:
We’re going to the beach (zoo, park, moon, etc.)
We’re going to the beach
Hooray, hooray, hooray
We’re going to the beach
You could even encourage the children to make up a little tune to these words if they want to, and to make up new chants of their own. Another alternative is to take a well-known tune and put your own words to it. For example, using the traditional French tune ‘Frere Jacque’ or a Turkish tune like ‘Postaci’.The following are several suggestions for ELT activities with young learners, including a choosing rhyme, a singing game, a chain dialogue, and two songs. All are well known in the United States. Applied linguists often propose very systematic and theoretically well-based techniques and activities to use with songs and rhymes. In my opinion such strict steps more often than not prove useless since songs vary so much in form, music, words, meaning, rhythm and level. Perhaps we could draw very broad guidelines. Let us listen to the following authentic American pieces and decide ourselves what activities we could do.
Miss Lucy, baby, a, had
was, his, Tiny Tim, name
in, she, bathtub, him, the, put
could, if, to, he, swim, seedrank, he, water, up, all, the
up, soap, he, all, ate, the
to, bathtub, the, eat, he, tried
his, but, go, throat, it, down, wouldn’tcalled, Miss Lucy, doctor, the
Miss Lucy, nurse, the, called
lady, the, Miss Lucy, called
alligator, with, purse, the
Miss Lucy ………. a baby,
His name ……… Tiny Tim,
She ……. him in the bathtub
To ………. if he could ……… .He ……… up all the water,
He ……… up all the soap,
He …….. to eat the bathtub,
But it ………. ………. down his throat.Miss Lucy ………. the doctor,
Miss Lucy ………. the nurse,
Miss Lucy ………. the lady,
With the alligator purse.
The following are some suggestions for teachers of older students at more advanced levels, using songs, musical games or rhymes (adapted from Dumont) though Phillips also proposes a somewhat similar framework for the teaching of songs.
According to Krashen’s input hypothesis, humans acquire language in only one way — by understanding messages, or receiving ‘comprehensible input’. So teaching activities should be designed in such a way as to supply the child with enjoyable and easy to understand input. As is clearly seen in the samples above, songs rhymes and games are wonderful materials in that respect. They are comprehensible, enjoyable, authentic and full of language we need in real life. They are part of our lives and they are around us. All we need do is share them with our students with a little planning before we enter the class.
For further reading concerning young learners one could consult the following sources:
The following cassettes can be used with young learners in many creative ways:
Dalam klasifikasi 1, terdapat 3 model pembelajaran yang bergerak dari pembelajaran yang klasikal, yaitu pembelajaran yang pada umumnya dilakukan guru dengan memberikan materi pelajaran secara terpisah-pisah dan tidak berhubungan sama sekali (model fragmented) hingga model pembelajaran (model nested) yang masih penyampaian materi secara terpisah-pisah, tetapi sudah menampakkan kegandaan dalam hal target pembelajaran yang ingin dicapai seorang guru. Model Klasifikasi
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