Lightbown & Spada Chapter 7
I want to start off by saying that this chapter was interesting but simple. It basically summed up the book and discussed how each theory and idea plays out in the real world but here is how I stand on this particular chapter: Isn't this what we've been doing all semester? We have been discussing all of these theories and ideas in our own view and now we are given the views of Lightbown & Spada. This may be relevant to our studies but in my opinion what they are telling us we have already discussed in length in the classroom and in our blogs.
That being said... I have to agree with most of what they talked about. They seem to understand, just as we do, that most theories have some kind of validity to the individual learner depending on how the learner learns (that sounds funny). Though there are some that are less valid than others, it is hard to say that any specific theory wouldn't work because each individual learns so very differently and with that we have to accept that a learning theory that may not work for us may work perfectly for them.
Canagarajah
As far as this article is concerned (watch as I knock down another one) I felt pretty much the same way as I did about Lightbown & Spada Chapter 7 and the end of the article, after all the discussion of certain issues and current topics, as of 2006, was "inconclusive"...
What out article writer seems to be discussing is the evolution of any issue/pedagogy/idea, in this case being TESOL, and he is basically giving us the 411 on how the issues have grown, which we have also been discussing in class (sort of).
On that note, it's not like he doesn't make some good points about the growth of TESOL and how we are continuing along certain trends and laying aside others for new information in the field of teaching speakers of other languages, it just seems to be telling me that "hey, we've progressed". Well, I suppose that is what would be expected.
Maybe I'm being too harsh or not getting what is supposed to be gained but in my mind our reading just summed our course work from two different sources.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Saville-Troike and Lightbown & Spada
Saville-Troike
Our reading this week was something I, surprisingly, hadn't thought much about in my TESOL classes. We discuss the SLA theories and the different methods of teaching but, what really stuck out to me in this chapter is the discussion on how to teach an L2.
What do I mean by that? Well, it's not a discussion on strategies or games to play or academic exercises for teachers to use. It's a discussion on the different items L2 learners need to have academic competence and/or interpersonal competence. My initial thoughts on teaching have been vague at best. I suppose we all have those feelings of going out into the teaching world and having these great students that are so enthusiastic to learn and knowing exactly what to do to teach them well. Well, either way, that's how I've generally viewed things, through a thoroughly unrealistic lens. I never really thought about what these kids would actually need to learn and I didn't think much about where I would have to start to get them to the point of communicative competence.
This chapter has changed a few things for me in that respect because I am starting to see that I cannot just go into a classroom and know exactly what to do and how to teach. There are so many basic things in English that I take for granted that I never would have thought to teach. Maybe this makes me a bad teachers or way too optimistic but this chapter blew all that out of the water. See, what I find in this chapter is that it's not all about the theories we learn or the ways to create a fair and safe classroom. That's only the half of it. Outside of those things, we as teachers have to understand what our students need to be competent when they try to communicate outside of the classroom or we haven't done our jobs correctly.
What also struck me as I was reading was that all the things the students need to learn, need to be taught in a way that they can process it and use it to their advantage. I cannot, for example, teach a class of 2nd graders about the morphological differences between their native tongue and English in those terms. Each of these points of knowledge has to be morphed into something that can process at their age, grade, and level of proficiency.
This may seem like a 'oh, well, duh. How could you not have realized that' moment but, in my case, I honestly never viewed it that way. Even through my own years of learning Spanish from the bottom-up processing method, I didn't look back and wonder how I'd gotten to where I am now with the language. Moving on, since I seem to be rambling.
The final part of this chapter that I felt hit home for me was the separation that needs to be done in catering to students. What they learn depends on how they will be using the language in their future and based on what they need the language for changes everything about what they learn. For example, the different vocabulary that goes along with academic competence in comparison with interpersonal competence. Second language learners have so much variety in their needs as far as learning goes but if they have the motivation for it then so can we.
Lightbown & Spada
This chapter then delved into the different theories on how to teach in the ESL classroom and what works effectively and what doesn't. There were six different approaches, each studied and analyzed.
1. Get it right from the beginning
2. Just listen... and read
3. Let's talk
4. Two for one
5. Teach what is teachable
6. Get it right in the end
Their discussion is based on what is the most effective between the six but in my opinion I see each as having their own merit. I would say that each should be used at some point in the classroom because each gives the student something different whether that's repetition, conversation, or reading activities; each holds it own value in the classroom. Generally, what they found was that communicative approaches worked best in effectiveness, which I agree with concerning my own L2 learning of Spanish and how much I learned being abroad, but the grammar and repetition done before I left for study abroad had it's own uses concerning my precision within the language which helped make me more comfortable when I was finally placed in a setting where English was just not an option.
That is generally how i feel about that. Super long post.. oops.
Our reading this week was something I, surprisingly, hadn't thought much about in my TESOL classes. We discuss the SLA theories and the different methods of teaching but, what really stuck out to me in this chapter is the discussion on how to teach an L2.
What do I mean by that? Well, it's not a discussion on strategies or games to play or academic exercises for teachers to use. It's a discussion on the different items L2 learners need to have academic competence and/or interpersonal competence. My initial thoughts on teaching have been vague at best. I suppose we all have those feelings of going out into the teaching world and having these great students that are so enthusiastic to learn and knowing exactly what to do to teach them well. Well, either way, that's how I've generally viewed things, through a thoroughly unrealistic lens. I never really thought about what these kids would actually need to learn and I didn't think much about where I would have to start to get them to the point of communicative competence.
This chapter has changed a few things for me in that respect because I am starting to see that I cannot just go into a classroom and know exactly what to do and how to teach. There are so many basic things in English that I take for granted that I never would have thought to teach. Maybe this makes me a bad teachers or way too optimistic but this chapter blew all that out of the water. See, what I find in this chapter is that it's not all about the theories we learn or the ways to create a fair and safe classroom. That's only the half of it. Outside of those things, we as teachers have to understand what our students need to be competent when they try to communicate outside of the classroom or we haven't done our jobs correctly.
What also struck me as I was reading was that all the things the students need to learn, need to be taught in a way that they can process it and use it to their advantage. I cannot, for example, teach a class of 2nd graders about the morphological differences between their native tongue and English in those terms. Each of these points of knowledge has to be morphed into something that can process at their age, grade, and level of proficiency.
This may seem like a 'oh, well, duh. How could you not have realized that' moment but, in my case, I honestly never viewed it that way. Even through my own years of learning Spanish from the bottom-up processing method, I didn't look back and wonder how I'd gotten to where I am now with the language. Moving on, since I seem to be rambling.
The final part of this chapter that I felt hit home for me was the separation that needs to be done in catering to students. What they learn depends on how they will be using the language in their future and based on what they need the language for changes everything about what they learn. For example, the different vocabulary that goes along with academic competence in comparison with interpersonal competence. Second language learners have so much variety in their needs as far as learning goes but if they have the motivation for it then so can we.
Lightbown & Spada
This chapter then delved into the different theories on how to teach in the ESL classroom and what works effectively and what doesn't. There were six different approaches, each studied and analyzed.
1. Get it right from the beginning
2. Just listen... and read
3. Let's talk
4. Two for one
5. Teach what is teachable
6. Get it right in the end
Their discussion is based on what is the most effective between the six but in my opinion I see each as having their own merit. I would say that each should be used at some point in the classroom because each gives the student something different whether that's repetition, conversation, or reading activities; each holds it own value in the classroom. Generally, what they found was that communicative approaches worked best in effectiveness, which I agree with concerning my own L2 learning of Spanish and how much I learned being abroad, but the grammar and repetition done before I left for study abroad had it's own uses concerning my precision within the language which helped make me more comfortable when I was finally placed in a setting where English was just not an option.
That is generally how i feel about that. Super long post.. oops.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Perspective
In general the two articles we read were very reactionary. One lead to the other. The idea in the articles was interesting but nothing superbly new to us, though it may have been new to readers who are not in TESOL classes. The idea was that SLA doesn't necessarily have to be a individualistic learning process.
The articles talk about the idea of multilingualism and how that can be accomplished by working in groups, by practicing the target language, and by supporting learners by teaching them in a dialogic manner.
I think this is an extremely important point to make because teaching SLA on individual terms and using methods such as memorization and grammar practice, thought useful, is not the only way an individual can learn a language effectively. We need to practice and become more comfortable with the language or not matter how much grammar we understand, we will be stuck stumbling over our words in embarrassment of messing up something as we speak. Believe me, I know how that works. Learning Spanish has gone about the same way for me. I was taught Spanish from the time I was in elementary school and I attended the Spanish club there but through all those years I was still extremely uncomfortable speaking the language, even though I loved it so much.
What got me out of that fear was traveling and being forced to finally practice the language with some one who couldn't, or refused to, speak English with me. It changed everything. This practice I received made me okay with the mistakes I made, even learning from them as I went along. I see this as an extremely important part of SLA and should be treated as such. Practice and working with others, as these articles point out, makes for a stronger language learner.
The articles talk about the idea of multilingualism and how that can be accomplished by working in groups, by practicing the target language, and by supporting learners by teaching them in a dialogic manner.
I think this is an extremely important point to make because teaching SLA on individual terms and using methods such as memorization and grammar practice, thought useful, is not the only way an individual can learn a language effectively. We need to practice and become more comfortable with the language or not matter how much grammar we understand, we will be stuck stumbling over our words in embarrassment of messing up something as we speak. Believe me, I know how that works. Learning Spanish has gone about the same way for me. I was taught Spanish from the time I was in elementary school and I attended the Spanish club there but through all those years I was still extremely uncomfortable speaking the language, even though I loved it so much.
What got me out of that fear was traveling and being forced to finally practice the language with some one who couldn't, or refused to, speak English with me. It changed everything. This practice I received made me okay with the mistakes I made, even learning from them as I went along. I see this as an extremely important part of SLA and should be treated as such. Practice and working with others, as these articles point out, makes for a stronger language learner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)