KM Study Guide II Flashcards
(165 cards)
0
Q
assimilationist teaching
A
teaching that expects people to give up their native languages and to become speakers of the majority language of the country
1
Q
allophone
A
alternative pronunciations of phonemes in a particular language that never affect the meaning
2
Q
creole
A
a new language created when children acquire their parents’ pidgin language as their first language, for example Hawaiian creole and Guyanese creole
3
Q
critical period hypothesis (CPH)
A
the claim that human beings are only capable of learning language between the age of 2 years and the early teens
4
Q
decoding versus codebreaking
A
processing language to get the ‘message’ versus processing language to get the ‘rules’
5
Q
dialect
A
a particular variety of a language spoken by a group united by region, class etc. It is usually seen nowadays as a matter of different vocabulary or grammar rather than of accent.
6
Q
diphthong
A
a type of vowel produced by moving the tongue as it is produced from one position towards another, for example in English /fear and / low. It may correspond to one or two written letters.
7
Q
dyslexia
A
Children with developmental dyslexia have problems with reading but not usually with other areas of development
8
Q
élite bilingualism
A
either the choice by parents of bringing up children through two languages, or societies in which members of a ruling group speak a second language
9
Q
fricatives
A
A type of consonant in which the air escapes through a narrow gap created between lips, teeth and tongue, as in /f/ fine, /s/ sign, /v/ vine, etc
10
Q
glottal stop
A
a speech sound made by closing the vocal cords and then releasing them, as in a cough
11
Q
immersion teaching
A
teaching the whole curriculum through the second language
12
Q
intonation
A
the change of pitch used in the sound system of language, i.e. John? versus John! Sometimes intonation refers specifically to the use of change of pitch to show attitude
13
Q
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet)
A
Internationally agreed phonetic alphabet for writing down the sounds of languages in a consistent fashion
14
Q
larynx
A
voice box or Adam’s apple, which vibrates when voiced phonemes are spoken
15
Q
linguistic imperialism
A
means by which a ‘Centre’ country dominates ‘Periphery’ countries by making them use its language
16
Q
mental lexicon
A
speakers of a language store all the words they know in a mental dictionary or ‘lexicon’ containing many thousands of items
17
Q
Minimalist Program(me)
A
the current version of Chomsky’s Universal Grammar theory, as yet only partially developed, which tries to reduce grammar to the minimum possible principles
18
Q
morpheme
A
the smallest unit in the grammar that is either a word in its own right (free morpheme) cook or part of a word cooks (bound morpheme ‘-s’).
19
Q
morphology
A
the study of how sounds make meaning
20
Q
multilingualism
A
countries where more than one language is used for everyday purposes
21
Q
nasals
A
consonants created by blocking the mouth with the tongue or lips, lowering the soft palate (velum), and allowing the air to come out through the nose, as in English /m/ mouse.
22
Q
parsing
A
the process through which the mind works out the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence
23
Q
phonetics
A
The sub-discipline of linguistics that studies the production and perception of the speech sounds themselves is called phonetics and contrasts with phonology.
24
phonology
the study of sound units (e.g.: consonant and vowel sounds; dialects)
25
phrase structure
links all the parts together in a structure like that of a family tree. Example: The Noun Phrase Sidney Bechet combines with the Verb Phrase played the soprano, to get the sentence: Sidney Bechet played the soprano.
26
pidgin
created by speakers of two different languages for communicating with each other
27
plosive
A speech sound made by blocking the air-stream completely with the tongue or lips, allowing the air to burst out after a brief moment, as in English /t/ tea or /b/ bee
28
pragmatics
large language practices (eg: apologizing, refusing; how we use different language when negotiating a transaction at a bank and buying fruit at a store)
29
pragmatic competence
Chomsky's term for the speaker’s ability to use language for a range of public and private functions, including communication
30
prescriptive grammar
grammar that ‘prescribes’ what people should say rather than 'describes' what they do say
31
semantics
word/sentence meaning (e.g.: the subtle difference in meaning between the verbs “need” and “want”)
32
structural grammar
teaching term for grammar concerned with how words go into phrases, phrases into sentences
33
structure-dependency
a restriction on movement in human languages that makes it depend on the structure of the sentence, rather than on its linear order. A principle of Universal Grammar.
34
submersion teaching
extreme sink-or-swim form of assimilationist teaching in which minority language children are simply put in majority language classes
35
syntax
how we use grammar to structure sentences (e.g.: parts of speech, sentence types)
36
tone
Usually tone means a unit of pitch change for a given language, English having about seven tones. Sometimes tone is used to contrast a tone language where tones are used to show vocabulary differences such as Chinese and an intonation language where tones show attitudes.
37
Universal Grammar
Sometimes Universal Grammar refers to the aspects of language that all languages have in common. In the Chomskyan sense Universal Grammar refers to the language faculty built in to the human mind, seen as consisting of principles such as structure-dependency .
38
Phoneme
a unit of sound Linguists represent speech sounds between two forward slashes: /s/ This is the sound equivalent of “ssssssss.”
39
Allophones
different phonemes (but with the same meaning) For example, all three of the alternate sounds for the letter “s” (below) mean the same thing: plural. /s/ (as in cats) /z/ (as in cars) /es/ as in churches So we say that the phonemes /s/, /z/, and /es/ are allophones.
40
Diphthongs
two sounds heard when you say them (eg: /oi/ in boy and /ow/ in cow)
41
Aspiration
an explosion of air caused by a combination of phonemes eg: /pit/ (sounds like p – h – i – t) (vs: spit - the p is not aspirated)
42
Assimilation
in rapid speech, many words sound different than in slow speech. Assimilation is concerned with one sound becoming phonetically similar to an adjacent sound. One type is regressive assimilation, where a sound is influenced by the sound which follows it. Another type is called progressive: where a sound takes on characteristics from a sound which precedes it.
43
Flapping (a kind of assimilation)
a process by which rapid speech affects the phonemes we hear (one letter seems to become another) eg: Say butter slow: /buter/ Say butter fast: /buder/ (The voiceless /t/ becomes a voiced /d/ in rapid speech – This is the most commonly assimilated sound.) More examples: water, rotting, putting – the /t/ is assimilated into the flapped /d/
44
Deletion
in rapid speech, we sometimes delete entire phonemes eg: Wednesday is pronounced /wensday/ (This accounts for many of the odd spellings found in English and difficulties in learning how to spell.)
45
Epenthesis:
the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially to the interior of a word. There are two types: excrescence (if the sound added is a consonant) and anaptyxis (if the sound added is a vowel). eg: /sumpthing/ /warmpth/ lenkth/ /athelete/
46
Metathesis:
phonemes are “swapped” eg: /aks/ (I need to aks you a question; "comfterble" for comfortable.) Many languages have words that show this phenomenon. The process of metathesis has altered the shape of many familiar words in the English language.
47
Morphology
the study of the smallest units of meaning.
For example: /s/ functions as a phoneme and morpheme It makes words plural (cats) and possessive (Chris’s) so it has meaning.
How many morphemes are in the word "elephants"? 2 morphemes: elephant (1) and s (2)
48
Free Morphemes:
are stand-alone words (run, cat, Chris)
49
Bound Morphemes:
are attached to words (suffixes, derivations –tion,- ize,-al, and root words). They cannot stand alone and have meaning.
50
Affixes
are either prefixes or suffixes (they're a type of bound morpheme)
51
Root words
are all bound morphemes – cannot stand alone and mean anything eg: the root word “ann” from the Latin, meaning “year” and “tele” from the Greek, meaning “to send”
52
Communicative Competence
our knowledge of the appropriate use of language in a variety of social genres – we acquire it through experience eg: using the word sweetie during a job interview reveals one’s communicative incompetence
53
Sociolinguistics
study of variation within a culture and between cultures eg: doing business in Japan vs. US: “We’ll think about it” in the US means just that, but in Japan it means NO.
54
Idiolects
individual speakers’ verbal tics (uh-huh, or repeating phrases)
55
Sociolects
language variations used by subcultures, speech communities - functions to reveal who is an insider
eg: teen talk (phat, bling-bling, shnizle)
eg: jargon (workplace terminology)
56
Hypercorrection
in immigrant communities, second generation corrects their parents’ misuse of language
Example:
1) In NJ, many immigrant groups lacked the sound /er/ so they pronounced girl as /goil/.
2) Their children noticed something was wrong with this pronunciation and dropped /goil/ from their vocabulary, using girl instead.
3) But they hypercorrected their parents’ misuse of the /oi/ sound. This resulted in the second generation pronouncing anything with /oi/ in it as /er/.
Result: generation one: girl = goil, third = thoid generation two (hypercorrection): girl = girl, oil = erl, toilet = terlet
57
Linguistic Relativity
Does one’s language limit or broaden their experience of life?
58
The Whorf Hypothesis (1956)
Linguistic Relativity: Does one’s language limit or broaden their experience of life?
Yes, it does. eg: Because Inuits have several hundred words for snow they have a broader and better appreciation of their world.
59
Descriptive Linguistics
Linguistic Relativity: Does one’s language limit or broaden their experience of life?
is the counterargument: says that although one’s vocabulary may be limited, it can grow and expand through experience – Therefore, all language varieties are equal.
60
Phonetics
the study of sounds made in the production of human language.
61
Articulatory Phonetics
studies how sounds are produced in the vocal tract.
62
Acoustic Phonetics
studies sound waves produced by human language (e.g. voice identification technologies)
63
Difference
Phonetics involves the concept of difference.
64
Difference between the representation of sounds and letters
In English, as in many languages, there is often a difference between how sounds are spoken and how they are represented in writing.
A sound is represented by a letter in brackets or forward slashes. For example, [b] /b/stands for the "buh" sound made by the letter "b". The sound at the end of the word "cats" is represented as [z].
65
Homophones
words that are pronounced alike but spelled differently.
```
Examples include:
there/their/they're
bear/bare
led/lead
to/two/too
```
66
Purpose-Specific Writing Systems
In China, different writing systems are used for different purposes. For example, for messages sent by telegram, characters are converted into numbers then translated back into Chinese characters upon receipt.
67
Syllabary Systems
The Japanese use a syllabary system, in which each syllable is represented by a symbol.
68
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
represents the actual sounds of human language.
69
Speech as Secondary
The organs used for speech evolved to enable humans to breathe and eat. As a result, some linguists refer to speech as a "secondary" or "parasidic" function. The primary function of the vocal cords is to keep food from entering the lungs.
70
Voiced consonants
make your throat vibrate.
By placing your hand on your larynx (voice box) you can feel this vibration
Ex: /b/ /d/ /g/
All vowel sounds are voiced (long and short)
71
Unvoiced consonants
are created just in the mouth: : /p/ /t/ /k/
72
Difference between pronunciation of consonants and vowels: Consonants
You make these sounds using different combinations of: lips, teeth, tongue, and throat.
Air is blocked (partially or completely) as it passes from the lungs through the vocal tract.
Pronounce these consonant sounds: /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/
73
Difference between pronunciation of consonants and vowels:
| Vowels
You make these sounds by changing the position of your tongue and shape of your mouth
Pronounce these (long) vowel sounds: /A/ /E/ /I/ /O/ /U/
74
Place of Articulation
where sounds are made in the mouth
75
Places of Articulation:
| Labial
With the lips
| /f/ /v/ /m/ /w/
76
Places of Articulation:
| Bilabial
With two lips
/p/ /b/ pin, bin
77
Interdental
between the teeth
/th/ in thin and these
78
Alveolar
with alveolar ridge, at top of mouth behind teeth
/t/ /d/ /n/ /s/ /z/ /l/ /r/
79
Palatar
with roof of mouth /sh/ (ship) /tsh/ (witch) /dz/ (gy
80
Velar
with soft palate
| /k/ /g/ /ing/
81
Glottal
in the throat
/h/
82
Manner of Articulation
characteristics of sounds (quality of sound produced)
83
Stops
air released through mouth, not nose
/p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/
pat, tap, dog, king, go, bat
84
fricatives
vibrates the air
/f/ /v/ /th/ /s//z/ /sh/ /h/
fat, valley, thin, that, sat, zap, ship
85
Nasals
out the nose
/m/ /n/ man
86
Liquids
fluid air /l/ /r/
luscious, lugubrious
87
Glides
evaporating air
/w/ wuh, wuh, wuh
88
Descriptive Grammar
describes a language – the way that people use it – w/out judging whether the utterance is correct or incorrect
89
Prescriptive Grammar
concerned with correct usage
90
Gerund
verb with –ing attached to it – functions as a noun
e.g.: I like running. Thinking is my favorite thing to do.
91
Antecedents
the person or thing that defines the pronoun in a sentence e.g.: Joe worked in the post office and he enjoyed it. (Joe is the antecedent.)
92
Interrogative pronouns
```
Who are those people?
Whose dog is that?
Whom is she speaking to?
What are they doing?
Which one should I buy?
```
93
Demonstrative pronouns
That is a nice suit.
This is a nice suit.
These are fine shoes.
Those are fine shoes.
94
Indefinite pronouns
Everyone is here.
Everybody is here.
No one is here.
Nobody is here.
95
Transitive verbs
require an object
| e.g.: Chris writes books in the morning.
96
Intransitive verbs
e.g.: sleep (Sleep cannot be transitive.)
97
Infinitive form of a verb:
to be, to walk, to see
| e.g.: I need to work today. I like to work on writing
98
Predicate adjectives
when adjective follows a state of being verb
| e.g.: He looks sick. He seems tired. She is joyful. She is nice.
99
Adverbs
answer: how (sloppily), where (here, there) , to what degree (very, hardly), when (now, later, yesterday)
e. g.: The cat runs here and there. I painted the house neatly. I am very happy. I want it finished now.
100
Coordinating Conjuctions
and, but, nor, for, or
101
Correlating Conjuctions
either/or
both/and
neither/nor
102
Subordinating Conjuctions
when since because
103
Appositive phrases
are offset with commas, further describe nouns
eg: Mr. Dobbs, our teacher, is here.
That car, a brand new Toyota, is what I want.
104
Simple Sentences
Simple sentences are straightforward.
105
Compound sentences
One sentence contains a subject and verb, and the second sentence contains another subject and verb.
106
Complex sentences
If the sentence has an independent clause and a dependent clause, it is complex.
107
Compound complex sentences
If the sentence has two independent clauses and a dependent Complex clause, it is compound and it is complex.
108
Determiner
term for an element preceding a noun in a noun phrase. EXAMPLE: the, that, two, a, many, all, etc.
109
Definite determiners include the definite article the, demonstratives (this, those, etc.), possessives (his, John's), question words (which), and quantifiers (all, etc.)
include the definite article the, demonstratives (this, those, etc.), possessives (his, John's), question words (which), and quantifiers (all, etc.)
110
Indefinite determiners include
a(n) and numerals like two, and many.
111
Article
class of determiners that identify a noun’s status. (the, a, an)
112
Demonstrative
a determiner used to indicate spatial, temporal, or discourse location. It functions as a modifier of a noun, or a pronoun.
Examples: These Those, This, That
113
Quantifier
a determiner that expresses a number or amount - functions as a modifier of a noun or pronoun.
Examples: All (All are welcome; All these people) Five, Many, Some
114
Modal Verbs
behave very differently from normal verbs. A good way to remember them: You use "not" to make modal verbs negative.
EXAMPLE: He should not be late.
Common Modal Verbs: Can, Could, May, Might, Must, Ought to, Shall, Should, Will, Would
115
Universal Grammar Theory
For fifty years, linguist Noam Chomsky has strongly argued for the hypothesis that children have innate, language-specific abilities that both help and hinder language learning.
116
Catherine Snow
language learning results only from general cognitive abilities
They stress the importance of interaction between first language learners and their surrounding communities.
117
Nativist linguistic theories
hold that children learn through their natural ability to organize the laws of language.
Although they cannot fully utilize this talent without the presence of other humans, this does not mean that the child requires formal teaching of any sort in order to acquire language.
118
language acquisition device (LAD)
According to nativist theory, when the young child is exposed to a language, their LAD makes it possible for them to deduce the grammatical principles, because the principles are innate.
119
Universal Grammar
all languages have the same basic underlying structure.
without a propensity for language, human infants would be unable to learn complete sentences in a “language impoverished environment" (a human environment where complete sentences are the exception.)
120
Social interactionist psychologists
Catherine Snow at Harvard
who study parent-child interaction, point out that children do not have to deduce the principles of language from impoverished and ungrammatical scraps of talk
121
child directed speech (CDS)
shown that speech to young children is slow, clear, grammatical, and very repetitious, like traditional language lessons.
122
Adults impact of language acquisition
Social-interactionists like Snow theorize that adults play an important part in children's language acquisition.
However, some researchers claim that the empirical data on which theories of social interactionism are based have been over-representative of middle class American and European parent-child interactions.
Various anthropological studies of other human cultures suggests that many, if not the majority of the world's children are not spoken to in a manner akin to traditional language lessons, but nevertheless grow up to be fully fluent language users - because of the LAD.
123
The Critical Period Hypothesis
(supports nativism)
Linguist Eric Lenneberg states that the crucial period of language acquisition ends around the age of 12 years.
He claims that if no language is learned before then, it can never be learned in a normal and fully functional sense.
124
Detractors of the "Critical Period Hypothesis"
argue that the lack of language acquisition in later life may be due to the results of a generally abusive environment rather than being specifically due to a lack of exposure to language.
125
Cognitive theory
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
Language acquisition is viewed within the context of the child's broader intellectual development. A child first becomes aware of a concept, such as "size" and only afterward do they acquire the words to convey that concept.
126
consistent order of mastery of the most common morphemes in a language
Example from English:
first: -ing
then: in and on
then: plural -s
last: forms of the verb to be.
127
Motherese
Recent studies show that mothers use a special register of language, dubbed motherese, to talk to their children. Motherese, just like other social registers, is highly structured.
Characteristics of motherese:
- sentences are shorter (4 or fewer words)
- speed slower
- use of more clarificational features than in speech between adults
- more questions, attempts at getting feedback from the child.
- expressive element (intonation)
- reduplication: choo-choo
- use of special words, especially for toys, bodily functions: bunny, kaka
128
fatherese
more demanding of information, using more direct questions and a wider vocabulary than motherese.
129
Stage of language acquisition
At birth, the infant vocal tract is in some ways more like that of an ape than that of an adult human. As the infant grows, the tract gradually reshapes itself in the adult pattern.
During the first two months of life, infant vocalizations are mainly expressions of discomfort (crying and fussing), along with sounds which are by-products of reflexive actions such as coughing, sucking, swallowing and burping.
Newborns can distinguish speech from non-speech within a couple of months of birth, and infants can distinguish speech in their native language from speech in other languages.
During the period from about 2-4 months, infants begin making "comfort sounds", typically in response to pleasurable interaction with a caregiver. The earliest comfort sounds may be grunts or sighs, with later versions being more vowel-like "coos".
Laughter appears around 4 months.
130
Stages of LA: Vocal Play
During the period from 4-6 months, infants typically engage in "vocal play", manipulating pitch (to produce "squeals" and "growls"), loudness (producing "yells"), and also manipulating tract closures to produce friction noises, nasal murmurs, "raspberries" and "snorts".
131
Stages of LA: Babbling
At about seven months, "babbling" appears. The sounds are stop-like and glide-like. Fricatives and liquids are more rarely heard. Repeated sequences are often produced, such as [bababa] or [nanana]. Both vocal play and babbling are produced more often in interactions with caregivers, but infants may also produce them when they are alone. No other animal does anything like babbling. It has often been hypothesized that vocal play and babbling have the function of "practicing" speech, helping the infant to gain control of the motor systems involved
132
Stages of LA: One Word (Holophrastic) Stage
At about ten months, infants start to utter recognizable words to express pleasure or distress connected with an object. The recognizable words involve naming: "duck" while the child hits a toy duck off the edge of the bath (distress); "sweep" while the child sweeps with a broom (pleasure); "car" while the child looks out of the living room window at cars moving on the street below (pleasure); "papa" when the child hears the doorbell (pleasure).
133
Two Word Stage
During the second year, word combinations begin to appear: Doggy bark, Baby water, Hit doggy
134
Telegraphic/Multi-word stage
24-30 mos.
In the early multi-word stage, children who are asked to repeat sentences may simply leave out the determiners, and often pronouns. "I can see a cow" repeated as "See cow" "The doggy will bite" repeated as "Doggy bite" (similar to the “two-word stage”)
The pattern of leaving out most grammatical/functional morphemes is called "telegraphic" and so people also sometimes refer to the early multi-word stage as the "telegraphic stage.”
135
Acquisition of grammatical elements
At about the age of two, children first begin to use grammatical elements("is", "was"), verbal tense and agreement affixes ("-ed" and '-s'), pronouns ("I", "she"), and determiners ("the", "a").
The process is usually a somewhat gradual one, in which the more telegraphic patterns alternate with adult-like forms: Her climbing up the ladder there. (24 months). Me'll have that. (30 months).
Studies have shown that children who regularly omit grammatical elements in their speech, nevertheless expect these elements in what they hear from adults; their sentence comprehension suffers if the grammatical elements are missing.
136
Over-regularization (progress backwards)
It is common for children to over-generalize the rules of grammar they know. If they learn the past tense of walk is walked, they may produce forms like "bringed," "goed"; If more than one bottle is bottles, then they may over- regularize to produce "foots," "mouses," etc.
At this stage, the child's speech may actually become less correct than it was earlier, because of over- regularization.
This over-regularization, like most other aspects of children's developing grammar, is typically resistant to correction
137
Underextensions and Overextensions
Young children often use words in ways that are too narrow or too broad: "bottle" used only for plastic bottles; "teddy" used only for a particular bear; "dog" used for lambs, cats, and cows as well as dogs. These underextensions and overextensions develop and change over time.
138
Rate of vocabulary development
Early words are acquired at a rate of 1-3 per week. There is often a spurt of vocabulary acquisition during the second year. Rate of vocabulary acquisition accelerates in the third year and beyond: an average of 10 words a day during pre-school and elementary school years.
139
continuum of learning
predictable and sequential stages of language development, in which the learner progresses from no knowledge of the new language to a level of competency closely resembling that of a native speaker.
140
Stage I: The Silent/Receptive or Preproduction Stage
This stage can last from 10 hours to six months.
Students often have up to 500 "receptive" words (words they can understand, but may not be comfortable using) and can understand new words that are made comprehensible to them.
This stage often involves a "silent period" during which students may not speak, but can respond using a variety of strategies including pointing to an object, picture, or person; performing an act, such as standing up or closing a door; gesturing or nodding; or responding with a simple "yes" or "no."
Teachers should not force students to speak until they are ready to do so.
141
Stage II: The Early Production Stage
The early production stage can last an additional six months after the initial stage.
Students have usually developed close to 1,000 receptive/active words (that is, words they are able to understand and use). During this stage students can usually speak in one- or two-word phrases, and can demonstrate comprehension of new material by giving short answers to simple yes/no, either/or, or who/what/where questions.
142
Stage III: The Speech Emergence Stage
This stage can last up to another year.
Students have usually developed approximately 3,000 words and can use short phrases and simple sentences to communicate.
Students begin to use dialogue and can ask simple questions, such as "Can I go to the restroom?" and are also able to answer simple questions. Students may produce longer sentences, but often with grammatical errors that can interfere with their communication.
143
Stage IV: The Intermediate Language Proficiency Stage
Intermediate proficiency may take up to another year after speech emergence. Students have typically developed close to 6,000 words and are beginning to make complex statements, state opinions, ask for clarification, share their thoughts, and speak at greater length.
144
Stage V: The Advanced Language Proficiency Stage
Gaining advanced proficiency in a second language can typically take from five to seven years.
By this stage students have developed some specialized content-area vocabulary and can participate fully in grade-level classroom activities if given occasional extra support.
Students can speak English using grammar and vocabulary comparable to that of same-age native speakers.
145
Comprehensible Input Theory
A concept endorsed by most language acquisition theorists is Stephen Krashen’s "comprehensible input" theory, which suggests that learners acquire language by "intaking" and understanding language that is a "little beyond" their current level of competence (Krashen, 1981).
For instance, a preschool child already understands the phrase "Get your crayon." By slightly altering the phrase to "Get my crayons," the teacher can provide an appropriate linguistic challenge— offering new information that builds off prior knowledge and is therefore comprehensible. Providing comprehensible input requires a constant familiarity with the ability level of students in order to provide a level of "input" that is just beyond their current level.
146
Comprehensible Output Theory
This concept to include "comprehensible output."
According to several studies, providing learners with opportunities to use the language and skills they have acquired, at a level in which they are competent, is almost as important as giving students the appropriate level of input (Swain & Lapkin, 1995).
147
Affective Filter Hypothesis
another concept that has found wide acceptance with both researchers and ELL instructors (Krashen & Terrell, 1983).
This theory suggests that an individual’s emotions can directly interfere or assist in the learning of a new language.
148
Difference from leaning other subjects
According to Krashen, learning a new language is different from learning other subjects because it requires public practice. Speaking out in a new language can result in anxiety, embarrassment, or anger.
These negative emotions can create a kind of filter that blocks the learner’s ability to process new or difficult words. Classrooms that are fully engaging, nonthreatening, and affirming of a child’s native language and cultural heritage can have a direct effect on the student’s ability to learn by increasing motivation and encouraging risk taking.
149
BICS and CALP
Another theory that has directly influenced classroom instruction is Jim Cummins’s distinction between two types of language:
basic interpersonal communications skills (BICS)
cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP).
150
Conversational skills vs fluency
Research has shown that the average student can develop conversational fluency within two to five years, but that developing fluency in more technical, academic language can take from four to seven years depending on many variables (language proficiency level, age and time of arrival at school, level of academic proficiency in the native language...)
151
two distinct types of communication, depending on the context (Cummins)
Context-embedded communication
Context-reduced communication
152
provides several communicative supports to the listener or reader, such as objects, gestures, or vocal inflections, which help make the information comprehensible. Examples are a one-to-one social conversation with physical gestures, or storytelling activities that include visual props.
Context-embedded communication
153
Context-reduced communication
provides fewer communicative clues to support understanding. Examples are a phone conversation, which provides no visual clues, or a note left on a refrigerator.
154
Cognitively undemanding communication
requires a minimal amount of abstract or critical thinking.
Examples are a conversation on the playground, or simple yes/no questions in the classroom.
155
Cognitively demanding communication
requires a learner to analyze and contains abstract or specialized concepts.
Examples are academic content lessons, such as a social studies lecture, a math lesson, or a multiple- choice test.
156
General principles for ELL students
(1) Increase Comprehensibility
Drawing from Krashen’s theory of comprehensible input, this principle involves the ways in which teachers can make content more understandable to their students. With early to intermediate language learners, these include providing many nonverbal clues such as pictures, objects, demonstrations, gestures, intonation cues, graphic organizers, hands-on learning opportunities, and cooperative or peer tutoring techniques.
157
2. Increase Interaction
Drawing from Swain’s emphasis on comprehensible output, a number of strategies have been developed that increase students’ opportunities to use their language skills in communication. These include cooperative learning, study buddies, project-based learning, and one-to-one teacher/student interactions.
158
3. Use a student’s native language to increase comprehensibility
A wealth of current research has shown the advantage of incorporating a student’s native language into their instruction. Thomas and Collier, for example, note that using a student’s native language as support "is the most powerful influence on [ELL] students’ long term academic success".
159
Total Physical Response (TPR)
Developed by James J. Asher in the 1960s, TPR emphasizes the use of physical activity to increase learning opportunities and language retention. A TPR lesson involves a detailed series of consecutive actions accompanied by a series of commands or instructions given by the teacher. Students respond by listening and performing the appropriate actions.
160
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning involves student participation in small-group learning activities that promote positive interactions. ELL students can benefit from face-to-face verbal interactions, which promote communication that is natural and meaningful. Cooperative learning is effective when students have an interesting well-structured task such as a set of discussion questions around a story they just read, producing a cognitive map of the story, or inventing a puppet show to highlight character traits.
161
Academic Language Scaffolding
The term "scaffolding" is used to describe the step-by-step process of building students’ ability to complete tasks on their own. Scaffolding consists of several linked strategies, including using visuals, gestures, and demonstrations; and using hands-on learning activities that involve academic language. These strategies are a central part of sheltered instruction methods, but can be used in any classroom context.
162
Native Language Support
Whenever possible, ELL students should be provided with academic support in their native language (Thomas & Collier, 2002). Teachers can use texts that are bilingual or that involve a student’s native culture, can decorate the classroom with posters and objects that reflect the students’ diversity of language and culture, can organize entire lessons around cultural content, and can encourage students to use words from their native language when they cannot find the appropriate word in English.
163
Accessing Prior Knowledge
All students, regardless of their proficiency in English, come to school with a valuable background of experience and knowledge on which teachers can capitalize. One example when teaching a new concept, is to ask students what they already know about a subject or what they want to learn about a topic. Students are more likely to be interested in researching a topic when they begin with their own real questions.
164
Realia Strategies
"Realia" is a term for any real, concrete object used in the classroom. Realia gives students the opportunity to use all of their senses to learn about a given subject, and is appropriate for any grade or skill level. Teachers can use models or semi-concrete objects, such as photographs, illustrations, and artwork. Use of realia can also be an ideal way to incorporate cultural content into a lesson. For example, eating utensils and kitchen appliances (chopsticks, a tortilla press, a tea set, a wok) can build vocabulary while also providing insight into different cultures. Studying clothing items from different cultures is another good example.
