Language Learning and Teaching (стр. 46 из 46)

So, while you might exercise a little caution in drawing a tight analogy between Earth's botanical cycles and language learning, you might just allow yourself to think of second language learners as budding flowers—as plants needing your nurture and care. When the scientific flow charts and technical terminology of current second language research become excruciatingly painful to understand, try creating your own metaphors, perhaps! Play the believing game, and enjoy it.

TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION

[Note: (I) Individual work; (G) group or pair work; (C) whole-class discussion.]

1. (G) In the first part of this chapter on pages 274 and 275, Lightbown's (1985) ten generalizations about SLA are listed. In pairs or small groups (if numbers permit) assign one generalization to each pair/group with the task of (a) explaining the generalization further, (b) offering any caveats or "it depends" statements about it, and (c) citing an example or two of the generalization in the language classroom.

2. (G) Likewise (see item 1 above), look at the six "myths" (page 275). In small groups, figure out a(a) why it is a myth, (b) caveats or comments that qualify the statement, and (c) some examples or counter-examples in the language classroom.

3. (I)Review the major tenets of the three schools of thought outlined in
Chapter 1 and referred to throughout the book: structuralism-behaviorism, rationalism-cognitivism, constructivism. Do Krashen's Input Hypothesis and the cognitive models of people like Mclaughlin and Bialystok and Ellis fit the second school of thought? How so? Ask the same questions about Longs Interaction Hypothesis for the third school.

4. (C) Review the five tenets of Krashen's Input Hypothesis. Which ones are most plausible? least plausible? How would you take the "best" of his theories and apply them in the classroom and yet still be mindful of the various problems inherent in his ideas about SLA? How do Larsen- Freeman's caveats about chaos theory and Long's criteria (pages 276 and 277) enlighten your evaluation of Krashen's model?

5. (G) In pairs, each assigned to one topic below, think of examples in learning a foreign language (inside or outside a classroom) that illustrate: (a) HIGs and LIGs, (b) McLaughlin's focal and peripheral processes, (c) McLaughlin's controlled and automatic stages, (d) implicit and explicit linguistic knowledge, (e) interaction as the basis of acquisition.

6. (I/G/C) If you have quite a bit of time, try devising a "model" of SLA that doesn't use prose as much as a visual, graphic, or kinesthetic metaphor. For example, you might create an SLA board game in which players have to throw dice and pass through the "pits of puberty," the "mire of mistakes," the "falls of fossilization," and so on. Or, you could create a chart something like Bialystok's (Figure 10.2, page 285) model. Do this individually, or in pairs/groups, for "homework," then share your creation with the rest of the class.Try to defend your model on the basis of at least some of the criteria for a viable theory presented by Larsen-Freeman or Long (pages 276 and 277).

7. (G/C) Suppose you have been invited to an international symposium on SLA, the goal of which is to devise a theory of SLA. Each person can bring three and only three tenets or generalizations to be included in the theory. In groups or pairs, decide on three such tenets (or, at least, domains of consideration) that you consider the most important to include. Defend your three on the basis of Larsen-Freeman's or Long's lists, if appropriate, found on pages 276 and 277. Share findings with the class and see if the class can create a composite picture of the most important features of a theory of SLA.

8. (I) Consider some of the controversies that have been discussed in this book: innateness, defining intelligence, the Whorfian hypothesis, the strong version of the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, Krashen's Input Hypothesis, and others. Play the believing game with what might be labeled the "unpopular side" of the controversy. How does it feel? How does it help to put things into balance? In what way are both games necessary for ultimate understanding?

9. (I) Go back to the definitions of language, learning, and teaching that you formulated at the beginning of this book. How might you revise those definitions now?

10. (G) Pairs or groups should each make a list of characteristics of a "successful language teacher." What steps do you think you could take to train yourself to be more successful? That is, what are your weaknesses and strengths, and how might you work on those weaknesses from what you know so far about foreign language teaching?

SUGGESTED READINGS

TESOL Quarterly, Winter 1990 issue.

This issue was entirely given over to the scope and form of theories of SLA. Articles by leading theorists (Mclaughlin, Bialystok, Long, Schumann, Spolsky, and others) provided a good sense of issues in theory-making.

Krashen, Stephen. 1997. Foreign Language Education: The Easy Way. Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates.

For a quick, popularized version of Krashen's ideas about SLA, pick up this little 62-page tract written for classroom teachers.

Ellis, Rod. 1997. SLA Research and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Ellis, Rod. 1994. "A theory of instructed second language acquisition." In Ellis, Nick (Ed.). 1994b. Implicit and Explicit Learning of Language.London: Academic Press, (pp. 79-114).

Rod Ellis's proposal for a theory of instructed second language acquisition gives a good picture of his view of the role of input and interaction and implicit and explicit knowledge in SLA. An earlier version of his theory is presented in the 1994 article.

Modern Language Journal, Fall 1998 issue.

This issue consists of six articles on the topic of input and interaction in second language acquisition. Most of these are not difficult, technical reading. The lead article by Gass, Mackey, and Pica offers an informative overview.

Lantolf, James P. 1996."SLA theory building: Letting all the flowers bloom!" Language Learning 46:713-749.

Lantolf presents some tough but rewarding reading on the place of metaphor in SLA theories, with a balanced perspective on theories in SLA and other disciplines.

LANGUAGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE: FINAL JOURNAL ENTRY

[Note: See pages 18 and 19 of Chapter 1 for general guidelines for writing a journal on a previous or concurrent language learning experience.]

•At the beginning of the chapter, nine statements were made that correspond to the previous nine chapters in this book. Choose two or three of those nine (more if you have time), and write about your own language learning experience in relation to the topic.

•What do you think, in your own experience as a language learner, is the most useful aspect of Krashen's Input Hypothesis, and what is the least useful?

•Think of an example in your own learning of each of Mclaughlin's four cells: (1) Focal-controlled; (2) Peripheral-controlled; (3) Focal-automatic; (4) Peripheral-automatic. Write them in your journal in a chart format and comment.

•If you didn't do item 5 on page 297 for class, take on that assignment of creating a largely nonverbal model of SLA.

•Given everything you now know about learning a second language, what are the characteristics of a successful teacher? How did your own foreign language teacher measure up?

•What did you like the most about writing this journal? the least? What benefit did you gain from the journal-writing process?