Putting
Language Teaching Pieces Together
By Prof.
Jonathan Acuña Solano
Monday,
April 27, 2015
Twitter:
@jonacuso
Post 155
The
classroom seems to be a great place to start one’s language learning, but the
fact is that it is never enough. Learning a second language is a complex process that involves an infinite number of variables that cannot
be accounted for or even covered within the boundaries of a classroom. To
succeed in his/her field, a language instructor needs to fully comprehend what
learning entails: Understanding differences between the L1 and L2, the purpose
behind a student’s desire to learn a second language, and comprehending what
the teaching of a language encases.
Since
SLA implies multiple variables that directly affect the student as well as the
teacher, the language instructor needs to know and understand the most relevant
differences between the student’s L1 and the target language. Within a
monolingual context in which students in class speak the same language, the
teacher should know what some of the predictable linguistic situations are
bound to happen in class are. Based on what is meant to be covered –according to
a course outline or curriculum-, they system in which the target language
operates needs to be somehow explained to learners: its phonemic structure, the
way discourse is built to convey meaning, the semantic differences that
students can face if language interference comes along the way, etc. Knowing
some of the variables behind language learning can make one’s teaching smoother
and more profitable for one’s students.
If
variables are important when teaching and learning a foreign language,
visualizing student motivation to acquire the target language is also a must.
If dealing with adult learners, one gets to understand that they may have
extrinsic motivation related to work readiness and/or performance. Helping students
materialize those motifs can be a way to satisfy their learning expectations
while they are sitting on one’s class. On the other hand, learners can also
walk into one’s classrooms with a high intrinsic motivation to learn the target
language. Potentiating their inner desire to master the language can also lead
to profitable language learning that students can later on experience in their
day-to-day life. Discovering those motivational pieces is also part of being a language teacher.
Once
the motivational puzzle has been put together, comprehending what language
teaching encases is transcendental, too. The first important differentiation a
language teacher must make is that language and communication are not the same
thing. Regular dictionary definitions tend to confuse both terms since language
incases communication, but also phonology, proxemics, phonetics, semantics,
non-verbal communication, and so on. All of these elements cannot be put aside
when a language class is planned; they must be included as part of the language
learning continuum that takes place within the classroom every time one gets together
with the students. Instructor’s necessity to profoundly comprehend what
language and language teaching encompass is part of the multi-variable, complex
process that acquiring a second language implies.
SLA
studies, theories, and teaching paradigms contribute to the understanding of
what teaching and learning a language is. One’s “understanding of the
components of language will determine to a large extend ‘how one teaches’ a
language” (Williams & Burden, 1997). By this time, one does not need to
understand that one needs to become a “master linguist” (Williams & Burden,
1997); this simply makes one reflect upon the necessity of going beyond our
pedagogical and/or andragogic training to explore what is involved in the
learning of a foreign language, how linguistics
fits into one’s teaching beliefs and practices to benefit language learning in
class.
As
outlined here, language instruction and learning also need to be backed up by
some sort of methodology or theory of instruction. As pointed by Bruner (1966b
40-41, quoted by Williams & Burden, 1997), the “theory instruction” should
include: 1) the necessary experiences to foster learning, 2) the ways in which
knowledge is going to be conveyed for learners to grasp, and 3) the most “effective
sequence” in which the subject-matter needs to be introduced. With all these
elements in mind, one can become a great teaching practitioner with lots of
fulfilled, satisfied, motivated learners.
Williams,
M. & Burden, R. (1997). Psychology for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment