Strangely enough, listening in my native language can sometimes be a source of anxiety if I'm not engaged in what is being said. In such a case, I have a hard time paying attention to everything that's being said, but, most of time, I'm able to catch what's salient or pertinent in the message.
In relation to second languages, especially in relation to Japanese, my experience was pretty coherent to what the class reading have posited. I'd first recognize the language was something other than my own, then I'd isolate words, then phrases and, sometimes, I'd understand the gist. However, I'd only understand the gist if I spent a little while contemplating what has just been said.
I remember getting anxious for Japanese when a peer would speak to me and wait for answer while I was still trying to figure what had just been said. During my first few weeks in Japan, I used to get large headaches from trying to process, filter and retain all of the information that was coming my way, but eventually it died down. On the other hand, I would feel anxious to Spanish only when there are certain words I wasn't familiar with and then I was expected to give a comment or answer. Usually, I understand pretty instantaneously unless it's a different dialect of Spanish like Argentinean, for example.
In the classroom at FIU, we were only tested on listening skills for homework exercises using a machine and then a test. It never really felt fair because we usually spoke in English in the classrooms and we weren't given enough exposure to the language.
In the classroom Ristumeikan University, if I didn't listen then I'd have no idea what was going on. (The classes were taught only in Japanese) I thought this was better to regards in forcing us to train our ears, but cross linguistic analysis between Japanese and English may have been more beneficial.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Corrective Feedback
Whenever instructors corrected my mistakes, it was never one feeling that was provoked. For example, in my Japanese FIU class, my instructor always corrected mistakes that pertained to a lesson we were immediately covering in class or grammar we had covered in previous classes. She did not go over every mistake. She pointed out grammatical errors that were really salient and interrupted smooth communication of meaning.
However, my Japanese instructor in Japan would sometimes provide corrective feedback, but mostly just gave a puzzled look when I said something erroneous. Unfortunately, sometimes I was aware of the mistake and other times I did not notice it. For the times I didn't notice, he'd spend a few seconds waiting for some type of answer, realized I wasn't sure what to say and then moved on to the next student or part of the lesson.
My Spanish teacher in high school corrected every single one of my mistakes, but my college Spanish teacher corrected very few of my mistakes (I'm not sure whether it was because I was better at Spanish or if that was just her style). The latter teacher tended to correct my pronunciation (again, maybe a sign my Spanish was actually getting better. Otherwise, she was sending me the wrong message).
As we have learned, providing corrective feedback is "a dynamic and individual process, and sometimes the immediate effect of feedback will not be observed." In comparison to handling vocabulary and grammar, we must take into consideration that one method is not enough and each individual is more respective to some methods (types of feedback) than others. As such, we must keep in mind that the SLA is a gradual process and we must express this to our students. If we send the message that's it's not okay to make mistakes, then they may never want to even try to speak the language ever again.
It's through mistakes/errors that we learn, no matter what discipline, and it's through discovering the gap between the target form and the erroneous form on their own that they are much more likely to retain the information. Therefore, it's not necessary to correct every mistake every student makes not only because not all errors are the same, but the students may be capable of self-correcting.
However, my Japanese instructor in Japan would sometimes provide corrective feedback, but mostly just gave a puzzled look when I said something erroneous. Unfortunately, sometimes I was aware of the mistake and other times I did not notice it. For the times I didn't notice, he'd spend a few seconds waiting for some type of answer, realized I wasn't sure what to say and then moved on to the next student or part of the lesson.
My Spanish teacher in high school corrected every single one of my mistakes, but my college Spanish teacher corrected very few of my mistakes (I'm not sure whether it was because I was better at Spanish or if that was just her style). The latter teacher tended to correct my pronunciation (again, maybe a sign my Spanish was actually getting better. Otherwise, she was sending me the wrong message).
As we have learned, providing corrective feedback is "a dynamic and individual process, and sometimes the immediate effect of feedback will not be observed." In comparison to handling vocabulary and grammar, we must take into consideration that one method is not enough and each individual is more respective to some methods (types of feedback) than others. As such, we must keep in mind that the SLA is a gradual process and we must express this to our students. If we send the message that's it's not okay to make mistakes, then they may never want to even try to speak the language ever again.
It's through mistakes/errors that we learn, no matter what discipline, and it's through discovering the gap between the target form and the erroneous form on their own that they are much more likely to retain the information. Therefore, it's not necessary to correct every mistake every student makes not only because not all errors are the same, but the students may be capable of self-correcting.
Learning Grammar
Learning vocabulary can be integrated with multiple forms of input like pictures, graphs, illustrations, video, sound and acting it out. However, with grammar, not as many visual forms of input can be implemented. For example, showing the meaning of "in," "on" and "at" through pictures and video is a very tough task to accomplish (however, there are exceptions including specific vocabulary and grammar lessons involving TPR). Although studies show that vocabulary and grammar is best learned/retained via deeper levels of processing, the methods in which we go about teaching each can quite be different.
For me, learning grammar is best done by myself when I can analyze patterns and similarities/differences between the target language and English. However, class instruction is also integral so I can clear up any misunderstandings. Whenever we were taught grammar and asked to repeat seconds after it was introduced, it never stayed in my head as long as it would if I worked with by myself for a while.
As a teacher, I would like to use more explicit instruction than implicit instruction especially for the types of grammar that seem complicated to students and need more time to explain. By using grammar via context (children's stories, poetry, newspaper, etc.) or natural discourse, I would like to demonstrate how the full range of the grammar can be utilized. Also, we can introduce grammar one aspect at a time, keep meaning in focus (meaningful principle), use both oral and written input, use processing instruction, conscious raising, co-constructive tasks, and more.
Just like everything we teach in the classroom, we always have to use multiple strategies that engage the students while keeping individual learner differences in mind (such as field-dependent and field-independent learners).
For me, learning grammar is best done by myself when I can analyze patterns and similarities/differences between the target language and English. However, class instruction is also integral so I can clear up any misunderstandings. Whenever we were taught grammar and asked to repeat seconds after it was introduced, it never stayed in my head as long as it would if I worked with by myself for a while.
As a teacher, I would like to use more explicit instruction than implicit instruction especially for the types of grammar that seem complicated to students and need more time to explain. By using grammar via context (children's stories, poetry, newspaper, etc.) or natural discourse, I would like to demonstrate how the full range of the grammar can be utilized. Also, we can introduce grammar one aspect at a time, keep meaning in focus (meaningful principle), use both oral and written input, use processing instruction, conscious raising, co-constructive tasks, and more.
Just like everything we teach in the classroom, we always have to use multiple strategies that engage the students while keeping individual learner differences in mind (such as field-dependent and field-independent learners).
Teaching Vocabulary
I can safely say that "the best way to teach vocabulary" does not exist as one specific technique, but as an accumulation of a variety of methods that supplement each other. These methods depend on the circumstances which include, "the objective and purpose of the vocabulary lesson . . ., the target language, available materials, the level and knowledge of the students, the teacher's and students' personality, the teaching approach, and above all the nature and the content of the vocabulary itself" (Brandl, 95). Using these factors as the foundation, we can then proceed to implement theories of language acquisition as well as research done in the classroom.
Because we know that language learning is a cognitive process and our we process/encode information via various ways, we apply a variety of language theories in the classroom. We also know that the mind utilizes dual coding which refers to both the verbal and imagery that our brains contain. Interestingly enough, we remember images better than words. Therefore, methods that involve introducing vocabulary through multimedia have proven to be more beneficial than simply learning words without corresponding images. As teachers we can present input in an interactive way keeping spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity in mind. Students learn better when the word and picture are presented next to one another on the page and when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively.
Also, besides making use of concepts such as the coherence principle, realia and TPR, our goal should be to promote deeper level of processing by "asking students to manipulate words, relate to other words and to their own experiences" (Brandl, 83). Ultimately, like many other methods of teaching, by employing a variety of engaging methods, we are able to better reach the students, and they will have a better chance of learning and retaining the information because we learn in various ways by accessing/implementing different parts of our minds.
Because we know that language learning is a cognitive process and our we process/encode information via various ways, we apply a variety of language theories in the classroom. We also know that the mind utilizes dual coding which refers to both the verbal and imagery that our brains contain. Interestingly enough, we remember images better than words. Therefore, methods that involve introducing vocabulary through multimedia have proven to be more beneficial than simply learning words without corresponding images. As teachers we can present input in an interactive way keeping spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity in mind. Students learn better when the word and picture are presented next to one another on the page and when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively.
Also, besides making use of concepts such as the coherence principle, realia and TPR, our goal should be to promote deeper level of processing by "asking students to manipulate words, relate to other words and to their own experiences" (Brandl, 83). Ultimately, like many other methods of teaching, by employing a variety of engaging methods, we are able to better reach the students, and they will have a better chance of learning and retaining the information because we learn in various ways by accessing/implementing different parts of our minds.
Classroom Management
I have never taught before, but I will be teaching ENC 1101 next semester and I plan to teach English as a second language overseas. Because I'm taking a course in pedagogy (for writing and rhetoric) as well as this class in methodologies (for teaching a foreign language), I feel prepared to handle class management within the US albeit "lesson plans may not go exactly according to plan". However, relative to teaching overseas, I feel a certain level of nervousness and excitement. I realize that teaching methods and school curriculums can be quite different across the world. Also, I have to keep in mind various cultural differences as well as teacher/students relationships when conducting a lesson in the classroom (and outside the classroom). Hence, I'll have to find some balance to classroom management that not only adheres to my own beliefs, but to the beliefs/regulations of the setting I will work in and the people I will work with.
My approach to classroom management is to be clear of my expectations of the classroom (have hard copies for the class to read as well as say them aloud), establishing a mutual respect between teacher and student on day one via class discussion (ask them about their expectations about the class, me and each other) and to make sure they are there to learn (ask them to share their motivations for learning, while sharing my motivations for teaching).
Whether I teach ENC or English as a second language, I also want to implement the idea of a student-led classroom when appropriate. I believe by asking the student questions about the topic at hand (directing them in a sense, but no spoon-feeding them answers), having them reformulate their ideas and argue/discuss these same ideas with one another, they will learn a great deal more than simply having me lecture in the front of the classroom for unnecessary, prolonged periods of time.
If I face misconduct, I have to adhere to the rules of the institution I am working at and control the situation in a manner that is as calm and collected as possible. If the misconduct is in the form of verbal abuse, I believe the situation is manageable in several ways, e.g. asking the student to leave the classroom and try to prevent further problems by establishing a relationship with the student. I believe if students are treated with respect and spoken to as such, they'll generally redistribute the positive back to the teacher.
However, if that fails and the the verbal abuse becomes truly detrimental to the teacher as well as other students' learning or the misconduct extends to physical abuse, campus authorities need to be notified immediately and students should be let out of class for their own safety.
My approach to classroom management is to be clear of my expectations of the classroom (have hard copies for the class to read as well as say them aloud), establishing a mutual respect between teacher and student on day one via class discussion (ask them about their expectations about the class, me and each other) and to make sure they are there to learn (ask them to share their motivations for learning, while sharing my motivations for teaching).
Whether I teach ENC or English as a second language, I also want to implement the idea of a student-led classroom when appropriate. I believe by asking the student questions about the topic at hand (directing them in a sense, but no spoon-feeding them answers), having them reformulate their ideas and argue/discuss these same ideas with one another, they will learn a great deal more than simply having me lecture in the front of the classroom for unnecessary, prolonged periods of time.
If I face misconduct, I have to adhere to the rules of the institution I am working at and control the situation in a manner that is as calm and collected as possible. If the misconduct is in the form of verbal abuse, I believe the situation is manageable in several ways, e.g. asking the student to leave the classroom and try to prevent further problems by establishing a relationship with the student. I believe if students are treated with respect and spoken to as such, they'll generally redistribute the positive back to the teacher.
However, if that fails and the the verbal abuse becomes truly detrimental to the teacher as well as other students' learning or the misconduct extends to physical abuse, campus authorities need to be notified immediately and students should be let out of class for their own safety.
Interaction in the Target Foreign Language
Interaction in the foreign language, as Long depicts it, is "beneficial as it leads to the negotiation of meaning". This statement entails a transferring of ideas which lead to some level of settlement between people. Interaction in the foreign language is comprised of a process people undergo to reach an understanding of one another. To apply negotiation of meaning in a foreign language means the learner/speaker needs to clarify, rephrase and confirm his thoughts in order to be understood and for others to understand him. Without this interaction, learning a foreign language becomes a much higher mountain to traverse.
Challenges such as the students' anxiety, shyness, inability to notice feedback, as well as each individual's internal learned capacities are only some of the challenges teachers face when asking students to do conversational activities in the classroom. Teachers can overcome, or at least manage, these challenges by being aware and knowledgeable about their implications. For example, in relation to a student's ability to memorize in the face of distraction, teachers must keep in mind that everyone will not be at the same level. Therefore, by incorporating and interweaving various learning activities, the students may have a higher probability of actually retaining a new aspect of the target language learned in the classroom. However, in a class of 30 to 40 students, lesson plans have to be revised because these challenges can multiply very easily.
In the classes where I have had to interact with classmates, if the teacher wasn't nearby, we would usually revert to English. The students I worked with never felt comfortable speaking the target language and even if we did speak the target language for a little while, someone in the group would break from it and a snowball effect would ensue. It felt frustrating to me because there were times when I couldn't express myself as well as I wanted and other students (sometimes more proficient speakers) would just ask what I was trying to say in English. Without an environment where students feel they have to communicate in the target language in order to be understood, I believe interaction can not be fully realized.
Challenges such as the students' anxiety, shyness, inability to notice feedback, as well as each individual's internal learned capacities are only some of the challenges teachers face when asking students to do conversational activities in the classroom. Teachers can overcome, or at least manage, these challenges by being aware and knowledgeable about their implications. For example, in relation to a student's ability to memorize in the face of distraction, teachers must keep in mind that everyone will not be at the same level. Therefore, by incorporating and interweaving various learning activities, the students may have a higher probability of actually retaining a new aspect of the target language learned in the classroom. However, in a class of 30 to 40 students, lesson plans have to be revised because these challenges can multiply very easily.
In the classes where I have had to interact with classmates, if the teacher wasn't nearby, we would usually revert to English. The students I worked with never felt comfortable speaking the target language and even if we did speak the target language for a little while, someone in the group would break from it and a snowball effect would ensue. It felt frustrating to me because there were times when I couldn't express myself as well as I wanted and other students (sometimes more proficient speakers) would just ask what I was trying to say in English. Without an environment where students feel they have to communicate in the target language in order to be understood, I believe interaction can not be fully realized.
Language Learning Anxiety
I've felt anxious speaking in an L2 in front of others many of times. Whenever I spoke Spanish with my grandparents, I felt comfortable because I knew they weren't judging me albeit they rarely corrected my mistakes. However, with other family members including cousins, uncles and aunts, and even distant relatives, I would try to speak Spanish at first, but always found myself going back into my shell simply relying with a simple smile, laugh or "Si". If that wasn't good enough, I would force out, "Yo entiendo Espanol, pero hablando lo no es facil" (which I know sounds awful, but it's what I work with). Option two involved turning to my parents. They'd say, in Spanish, "He understands you, but he never learned how to speak Spanish properly."
Just recently, I picked up some SparkNotes Spanish guides to start practicing on the side. When I tried to use one of the new verbs I learned with my father, he reiterated what I said in his robotic gringo accent. And when I stated I wanted to practice with him, he did the same thing but ended with a chuckle. After talking to him more sincerely, I think he's started to come around...
In relation to the classroom, I never really felt anxious speaking Spanish or Japanese. When it came to Spanish, I was actually one of the better students but for some reason, it never stuck with me for too long. On the other hand, the last time I spoke Japanese was about 2 years ago and I've been able to retain a decent amount, but I've noticed it's become harder to conjure up certain words.
In order to diminish language anxiety in the classroom, I think teachers should explain it's okay to make mistakes and that we all make mistakes. It would be interesting to hear an anecdote or two of the teacher's own mishaps in learning another language. Of course, there will be students who grasp syntax faster or are able to speak with better pronunciation, but as long as the students feel that they are learning together, holistically as a group of individuals, a positive atmosphere of learning can take shape.
By making the classroom a place where the students, especially older students, have no fear of being judged; by explaining knowledge in a second language does not reflect one's intelligence; and by asking and sharing why these students want to learn (setting common ground, understanding and mutual repspect), the path to diminishing language learning anxiety will grow.
Just recently, I picked up some SparkNotes Spanish guides to start practicing on the side. When I tried to use one of the new verbs I learned with my father, he reiterated what I said in his robotic gringo accent. And when I stated I wanted to practice with him, he did the same thing but ended with a chuckle. After talking to him more sincerely, I think he's started to come around...
In relation to the classroom, I never really felt anxious speaking Spanish or Japanese. When it came to Spanish, I was actually one of the better students but for some reason, it never stuck with me for too long. On the other hand, the last time I spoke Japanese was about 2 years ago and I've been able to retain a decent amount, but I've noticed it's become harder to conjure up certain words.
In order to diminish language anxiety in the classroom, I think teachers should explain it's okay to make mistakes and that we all make mistakes. It would be interesting to hear an anecdote or two of the teacher's own mishaps in learning another language. Of course, there will be students who grasp syntax faster or are able to speak with better pronunciation, but as long as the students feel that they are learning together, holistically as a group of individuals, a positive atmosphere of learning can take shape.
By making the classroom a place where the students, especially older students, have no fear of being judged; by explaining knowledge in a second language does not reflect one's intelligence; and by asking and sharing why these students want to learn (setting common ground, understanding and mutual repspect), the path to diminishing language learning anxiety will grow.
SLA Theory Informing Teaching Methods
In regard to conducting foreign language learning classes, SLA theories complement teaching methods in every sense of the word. They enable the teacher to gain a better understanding of how language is acquired or learned, and to apply that knowledge to the classroom. Throughout the last several decades, theories of how language is learned have been implemented in the classroom with mixed results, but results nonetheless. For example, Behaviorism is reflected in the Audio-lingual Method in which the key to language learning is enforced via persistent practice, memorization and habit formation.
Perhaps, to some extent, students under these circumstances have been able to culminate something intelligible and insightful to say, but learning solely under this umbrella proved to have some flaws. Specifically, learning a language is not just regurgitating a drill that had been instilled by the classroom or otherwise. Instead, learning a language and exhibiting productivity with it incorporates identifying points of similarity between one’s language and a level of reflection “about whether certain features seem to ‘belong’ to the target language” (Lightbrown & Spada, 35).
By reviewing different theories and methods for language teaching, teachers become aware and informed about theories/methods that make sense for themselves and for their classroom. Without this knowledge, a teacher may be somewhat inept and, in a sense lacking perspective. However, I believe the more theories/methods a teacher knows and is able to intermingle, the better the teacher can apply them to the classroom and provide a learning environment for the classroom that’s flexible, adaptable and open to ideas.
Learning Styles
From the several language classes I've taken in the class, I've noticed I am more of a learner who is willing to make mistakes, looking at a foreign language and noting similarities/differences to my own, listening to others and trying to to pay attention to meaning as much as possible. Along with these styles, I also use flash cards and attempt to connect intricate sentences on paper (when saying it aloud, I would get confused quite quickly in the beginning).
My learning styles haven't really hindered me. I recall when I was learning Japanese, at first when I retrieved a particular vocabulary word, the image of how it looked and what it meant would come to me in the form of an index card. Interestingly enough, it came to a point where I would think of a common word, like a "watch", for example, and I would utter it in unintentionally in Japanese. When I studied abroad in Japan, I tended to get headaches after long periods of deciphering what my native Japanese friends were saying (while listening to them, I focused on their vocabulary, syntax, body language and intonation and then translated it to English). I felt like my brain was being squeezed for juice like an orange and filling up at the same time with more oranges. After a weeks though, the headaches stopped.
I believe all kinds of affective, cognitive and metacognitive factors can influence teachers consciously or unconsciously. Whether they realize it or not, their primary goal of teaching may be because of of instrumental motivation (to have a paying job), how they process information can be different from how their students do so and the traces of beliefs that have been instilled by them by previous (language) teachers may influence their behavior in the classroom.
If a teacher is anxious or nervous while teaching in front of the class, this may affect the authority they project to their students which, in turn, causes the students to doubt their teacher's "teaching" ability. A teacher with said behavior may detach himself from the students, leave them isolated in group work and busy himself by recollecting his compsure. (I've experience this from the student's point of view).
Side note: I just wanted to make a note of what occured while grading online posts this week for ENC 1101 - Writing and Rhetoric. I had a student, among several others who share the same view, concerned about her writing in English because English is her second language. She is having trouble with placement and use of prepostions as well as overall sentence structure. On top of that, she did not like reading and had confessed to to have more of a critical (scientific method) type of mind.
In order to help, I suggested reading books that contain side by side translations of English and Spanish. Specifically, I recommended reading the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Even though she'd rather read a genre more akin to a scientific journal, I told her it may be beneficial to dissect how syntax, grammar and meaning is changed, if at all, from Spanish to English and vice versa. I believe this may help her in having a better grasp of how English works.
My learning styles haven't really hindered me. I recall when I was learning Japanese, at first when I retrieved a particular vocabulary word, the image of how it looked and what it meant would come to me in the form of an index card. Interestingly enough, it came to a point where I would think of a common word, like a "watch", for example, and I would utter it in unintentionally in Japanese. When I studied abroad in Japan, I tended to get headaches after long periods of deciphering what my native Japanese friends were saying (while listening to them, I focused on their vocabulary, syntax, body language and intonation and then translated it to English). I felt like my brain was being squeezed for juice like an orange and filling up at the same time with more oranges. After a weeks though, the headaches stopped.
I believe all kinds of affective, cognitive and metacognitive factors can influence teachers consciously or unconsciously. Whether they realize it or not, their primary goal of teaching may be because of of instrumental motivation (to have a paying job), how they process information can be different from how their students do so and the traces of beliefs that have been instilled by them by previous (language) teachers may influence their behavior in the classroom.
If a teacher is anxious or nervous while teaching in front of the class, this may affect the authority they project to their students which, in turn, causes the students to doubt their teacher's "teaching" ability. A teacher with said behavior may detach himself from the students, leave them isolated in group work and busy himself by recollecting his compsure. (I've experience this from the student's point of view).
Side note: I just wanted to make a note of what occured while grading online posts this week for ENC 1101 - Writing and Rhetoric. I had a student, among several others who share the same view, concerned about her writing in English because English is her second language. She is having trouble with placement and use of prepostions as well as overall sentence structure. On top of that, she did not like reading and had confessed to to have more of a critical (scientific method) type of mind.
In order to help, I suggested reading books that contain side by side translations of English and Spanish. Specifically, I recommended reading the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Even though she'd rather read a genre more akin to a scientific journal, I told her it may be beneficial to dissect how syntax, grammar and meaning is changed, if at all, from Spanish to English and vice versa. I believe this may help her in having a better grasp of how English works.
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