Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

Philosophy of Language Teaching Children are taught to read and write, yet learn spoken language without intervention. If Chomsky (1957) correctly observed that we are born with an innate ability to acquire language, why develop methods schooling a natural ability? Second Language Acquisition (SLA) may be impeded due to loss of this facility after puberty, dubbed the critical period (Bell, 2009, p. 52). Yet if linguist David Crystal (1987) correctly estimates that an adults vocabulary more than doubles in a lifetime, perhaps the dilemma has more to do with social, environmental, and motivational factors than loss of brain plasticity. Conceptualization of learning People learn best by doing, a principle popularized at the time I was studying for my Masters Degree in Education at the University of Hawaii and coined: active learning (Bonwell & Eison, 1991). A companion approach promotes student-centered learning environments (Land & Hannafin, 2000) that focus on students needs, abilities, interests, learning styles, and fosters self-sufficiency. The currently popular Communicative Approach to Language Teaching (CLT) shares similar principles, including task-based learning, interactive exercises, realistic content, student motivation, forging autonomy, and teachers performing as facilitators (Brown, 2007, pp. 46-47). I believe these principles embody the natural learning environment experienced by children learning their first language and can also be effectively employed in SLA. One addition is a motivational effect I label desperation to communicate, embodied in the strong internal desire children exhibit to communicate which I believe surmounts the overwhelmingly complex cognitive burden of acquiring language. Motivation for youngsters might involve satisfying base physiological, conservational, and social needs (Maslow, 1970). While adults may share these experiences, foreigners waiting at Customs for example, guiding learners towards a more integrative orientation (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003) acting as co-creators in the target language has persistence and may transcend the plateau effect that impedes fluency. One measure of motivation is the speakers willingness to communicate (MacIntyre, Baker, Clement, & Conrad, 2001).

Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

Conceptualization of teaching Effective learning is accomplished by teachers who assume the roles of facilitator, motivator, and mentor. The facilitator provides a rich, active learning environment with ongoing communication opportunities, authentic context, and multisensory stimulation. Reliance on peers spreads communication opportunities and provides ample experience scrutinizing rudimentary language in order to achieve understanding, a socio-pragmatic process dubbed negotiating (Bell, 2009 p. 32). Producing authentic language builds experience, improves attitude via relevancy, and boosts confidence. A student-centered environment is tailored to accommodate students varying learning styles such as those described in Blooms Taxonomy of Learning Domains (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill & Krathwohl, 1956). Catering to multiple intelligences as elaborated by Gardner (2000), necessitates delivery of instruction in a variety of formats, not just verbally as lists of information or rote learning (Gagne, Briggs & Wager, 1992). Scaffolding higher-order cognitive functions suitable for adults (Piaget & Inhelder, 1958) such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation requires interacting with language using problem-solving activities, self-directed discovery, collaborative projects, and creative role-play. Facilitating a multi-sensory environment involves use of multi-media formats such as video, computer animation, and Internet technologies that empower abstract thought. And not just children but adults benefit from integrating physicality into the classroom with activities such as wordmatching and diagramming. The teacher as motivator strengthens positive attitudes towards learning by providing a comfortable environment suitable for interacting, risk-taking, and negotiating. One models a relaxed and supportive attitude, provides appropriate but not overbearing feedback, and designs clear instructional objectives with adequate practice to ensure student success. Intrinsic motivation grows as students enjoy elevated confidence and self-image. Promoting risk-taking is especially important, as SLA learners must overcome the anxiety of sounding child-like and ambivalence over their cultural identity (Bell, 2009, p. 55).

Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

Students develop strategies to overcome fear by working through situations employing artificial anxiety where students are compelled to use language, thus recreating the desperation effect alluded to earlier. Activities such as inferential questioning, withholding answers, improvisation, and role-play strengthen students willingness to communicate. Identity issues are diffused by promoting an integrative rather than separate ego that celebrates the linguistic, cultural, and social contributions of inclusive languages. The teacher as mentor supports learner choice in a student-centered environment and provides ongoing guidance, reinforcement, and remediation. In addition to language skills, the mentor helps students develop strategies to continue growing outside and beyond the classroom. By promoting SLA as a lifetime skill, students relinquish the concept of achieving perfection and instead embrace opportunities to exercise their linguistic skills to negotiate meaning with others. Implementation This sample lesson exemplifies how the roles of facilitator, motivator, and mentor are implemented to promote active learning, induce willingness to communicate, and create a student-centered learning environment. Students write a few words in reference to a childs portrait with no further direction. Many guess the picture is me, and that the context is the past tense. I write the form of used to on the board, model with a humorous comment: I used to have short hair, and prompt each student to make a similar expression. Through inferential questioning students are forced to create, thus avoiding rote repetition. Using words they wrote earlier provides an anchor to relieve the anxiety of improvising. The atmosphere is relaxed and the social focus is on myself, not the students. When a student utilizes a negative form I diagram it on the board as an example of didnt use to. The emphasis is learning through example and use, not explanation. Understanding is reinforced with an engaging short video portraying celebrities as children and adults. In pairs, students select a celebrity and write two representative sentences which are read aloud. Here students have more choices yet appreciate peer support. Interactive

Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

communication is practiced as they negotiate choices and write responses. Answers are read aloud, with increased error correction. After confirming understanding with a written information-gap exercise, knowledge builds with the addition of still. Note cards bearing verbs and adjectives are distributed to students who quickly compose sentences with used to and still. Students exercise cognitive evaluation and deduction in selecting a positive or negative form based on the card. Higher anxiety is balanced with fewer choices, and supportive feedback is provided throughout. I prefer to withhold an answer when a student struggles, encouraging risk-taking and independence. It is also another instance of generating anxiety followed by reassurance. For the terminal objective, students research a celebrity on the Internet. Should they choose someone from their home country, social integration is applauded. To balance the degree of reading and writing in the task, students present the project verbally along with a childhood picture. Feedback is written so as not to interfere with the enjoyment of the presentations. Reinforcement is accomplished through a collaborative truth or lie game where students describe an activity or quality pictured on a card. Pictures are used to force students into forming original concepts and internalizing the task. Participants judge truthfulness of the I used to statements with points awarded for correct guesses. High-level cognitive skills involving evaluation, deduction, and elaboration are employed. Motivation to succeed is not dependent on the reward, but is completely intrinsic from the enjoyment of fooling one another. As this a knowledge-transfer exercise not an assessment exercise, no error correction is provided. Students negotiate meaning themselves by demonstrating willingness to communicate in order to accomplish the game. Vocabulary lapses are corrected cooperatively. The ability to creatively form language, ask for help, improve meaning, and confirm understanding are all lifelong skills that promote learning beyond the classroom.

Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

Success in SLA was once measured in fluency, but now may be measured in fluidity. As the number of second language speakers of English outpaces native speakers, it is far more likely communication will succeed based not on accuracy, but on willingness to negotiate understanding. This is reflective of the status of English as the global lingua non franca in an ever-shrinking technological world. Living in Hawaii, positioned at the doorstep of Asia yet immersed in English as the primary language, I continually find myself as a native speaker in situations where I am compelled to negotiate meaning. For all practitioners of English, this represents the new idiom.

Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

References Bell, N. (2009). A students guide to the MA TESOL. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals; Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay & Co. Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ERIC Digest. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, The George Washington University. Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. White Plains: Pearson Education. Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic structures. The Hague/Paris: Mouton. Crystal, D. (1987). How many words?. English Today, 3(04), 11-14. Gagne, R. M., Briggs, L. J., & Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of instructional design. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Gardner, H. E. (2000). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York: Basic Books. Land, S. M., & Hannafin, M. J. (2000). Student-centered learning environments. Theoretical foundations of learning environments, 1-23. MacIntyre, P., Baker, S., Clement, R., & Conrad, S. (2001). Willingness to communicate, social support, and language-learning orientations of immersion students. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 23, 369-388.

Chris Khonngam AL6000 Philosophy of Language Teaching 12/02/12

Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, Motivation, and Second Language Learning: A MetaAnalysis of Studies Conducted by Gardner and Associates. Language Learning, 53(1), 123. Maslow, A. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row. Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1958). The growth of logical thinking. New York: Basic Books.