Beyond semantics: Moving language in foreign language learning
Peter Lutzker Presented by Negin Maddah
Slide 3
Part one what we know There are the range of research published
every year in areas related to foreign language learning and lots
of research that influence the teaching of foreign languages. In
this chapter it will be argued that the paradigmatic example of
such research is provided by a core body of findings in the study
of linguistic-kinesic behaviour. Together with related research
from the fields of gesture studies, neurology and psychology, these
findings will be considered with respect to their significance for
teacher education and materials development.
Slide 4
Traditional approaches to foreign language learning: language
consists of vocabulary and grammar. In a broad range of fields from
linguistics to psychology the previous perspective has been changed
and the entire physical/gestural embodiment of language is viewed
as intrinsic to all perception and expression.
Slide 5
Non-semantic dimensions of language with respect to the
perception and expression of emotions is so important for
psychologists. As Daniel Golmane writes : people`s emotions are
rarely put into words; far more often they are expressed through
other cues. The key to intuiting another`s feelings is in the
ability to read nonverbal channels, tone of voice, gesture, facial
expression and the likeone rule of thumb used in communications
research is that 90% or more of an emotional message is
nonverbal.(1995, pp. 110-11)
Slide 6
The actual meanings of words constitute only one aspect and
more information transferred through unconscious physical movements
while speaking and listening. The positional shifts and gestures of
the entire body demonstrating both cultural and individual
variations and are tied to gesture, body language, facial
expression, vocal qualities and micro-kinesic movements co-occuring
with the single speech sounds. These factors are more decisive than
the words themselves. As Goleman explains:
Slide 7
Indeed, when a person`s words disagree with what is conveyed
via his tone of voice, gesture, or other nonverbal channels, the
emotional truth is in how he says something rather than what he
says. And such messages_ anxiety in someone`s tone of voice,
irritation in the quickness of a gesture _ are almost always taken
in unconsciously, without paying specific attention to the nature
of the message, but simply tacitly receiving it and
responding.(1995,p. 111, italics in original)
Slide 8
Neurological research examining the interaction of the
hemispheres of the brain in understanding and creating language
shows the significance of non-semantic levels of meaning. In vast
majority of the humans the left hemisphere of the brain is decisive
for both the articulation and comprehension of language, but
through assessing the effects of strokes which damage parts of the
right hemisphere, its significance in conveying and perceiving
emotional dimensions of speech has become clear.
Slide 9
With damage to the right hemisphere of the brain utterances may
sound emotionless. Strikingly enough, even when the left hemisphere
have remained fully intact, patients who have suffered right
hemisphere lesions often evidence more profound difficulties in
their communication with others than those with left hemisphere
lesions.
Slide 10
Oliver sacks writes of patients with left hemisphere lesions:
Something has gone, has been devastated, it is true_ but something
has come, in its stead, has been immensely enhanced, so that_ at
least with emotionally-laden utterance _ the meaning may be fully
grasped even when every word is missed.[] In this, then, lies their
power of understanding _ understanding without words, what is
authentic or inauthentic. (ibid., pp. 81-2)
Slide 11
The largest amount of non-semantic information is conveyed
through movements and the human body is capable of making thousands
of positional shifts per second. Scientists base their observations
of human movements to speech on the careful analysis of slow-motion
films that enable them to perceive undetectable movements made
while speaking and listening. The results show that while two
people are talking to each other there is an exchange of 2500-5000
and up to 10000 bits of information per second.
Slide 12
After first establishing individual units of micro-kinesic
movements, it was possible for researchers to perceive entire and
overlapping organizations of movements consisting of synchronous
movements of the entire body to speech. The results show that there
are also unconscious movements of the entire body of the listener.
So the analysis of films showed both self-synchrony and
interactional synchrony.
Slide 13
Newborn infants showed similar patterns of entrainment to
speech which could be distinguished from their reactions to all
non-speech sounds. Through repetitions of these patterns with
specific sounds, the specific linguistic-kinesic patterns of
behavior are formed. These patterns in newborns points to the
presence of an innate capability of perceiving language-specific
speech sounds and intonation, coupled with an integrated sensory-
motor capacity of accompanying speech sounds with language specific
movements. Parallel to this, the infant is also perceiving the
visible kinesic and gestural language of her environment. So when a
child begins to talk, we are not witnessing the beginnings of
language acquisition, but a relatively advanced stage in a complex
ongoing process.
Slide 14
What we think we know- but need to reconsider In recent years
an increasingly broad range of research devoted to specially
examining the significance of gesture in second language classroom
has shown that the gestural dimensions of language constitute a
crucial element in shaping language learning. Considering the above
mentioned researches we understand that vocabulary and grammar _ as
in traditional approach _ play relatively small role in actual
communication.
Slide 15
From a neurological perspective, the focus is placed on
developing specific new language structures and connections in the
left hemisphere, instead of working with the more flexible right
hemisphere. While naturally there are variations between languages
with respect to the meaning and interpretation of non-semantic
forms of expression, there also appears to be a set of consistent
markers in this areas. In particular, the research of Paul Ekman
show that there are both universals of interpreting facial
expressions and language or culture specific gestural expressions
that open up possibilities in foreign language learning. The
application of these non-verbal and gestural dimensions of
communication can be seen in methods like TPR and Suggestopedia and
also in drama based approaches such as those designed by Alan
Maley, Alan Duff and Mario Rinvolucri and more performance-oriented
approaches developed by Gray Carkin, Manfred Schewe, Ruth Huber and
others.
Slide 16
Because of lack of awareness of these findings in the fields of
teacher education and materials development, in most traditional
courses in schools and in adult education, these perspectives on
language and foreign language learning have not been taken into
account.
Slide 17
What we need to find out: Teacher education and the art of
teaching Through a richer and more perceptible communication of
non-semantic levels of language, a teacher will enable her pupils
to attain a higher degree of understanding and expression. These
enable teachers to use a new range of content and materials for
language lessons. With no unfamiliar words and structures, there is
a greater chance of finding and using materials in the foreign
language which interest and move pupils. Such materials will be
readily found in authentic literature.
Slide 18
Using drama in classrooms must be seen more than just addition
of some parts to the curriculum. So teacher helps students
experience the language and directly encounter and learn a foreign
language as a whole. Considering the importance of non-semantic
levels of language, non-verbal levels of communication and using
materials such as drama, teacher education need to be defined a far
more physically, affectively and cognitively engaging process that
requires skills closer to the artistry demanded in the performing
arts. And considering foreign language teaching as an art implies
adopting a requisite framework of knowledge and expression.
Slide 19
In his book of Teaching as a Performing Art, Sarason elucidates
the relevance of his concept of a teacher as a performing artist: A
performing artist is one who uses him or herself to convey an
emotion, or a situation, or imagery intended to be meaningful and
stimulating to an audience. The message whatever the medium, is for
the purpose of evoking in others the I understand and believe what
I am seeing and believing. You have not left me cold, you have
engaged me. [] In the case of the teacher, engagement is a
sustained one; it is not a one-night stand. (1999, p. 6)
Slide 20
Also Sarason elaborates on what he sees as the central issue
facing teacher education: the teacher as performing artist is faced
with a terribly complex and difficult task that all those in the
conventional performing arts confront: how do you put yourself into
a role and then enact it in ways that instruct and move audience,
fulfilling the expectation of the audience that they have in some
way learned something about themselves and their world? They have
been moved, they seek more such experiences. Teachers are not born,
so to speak, with such attributes. It requires a kind of training
which no preparatory program I know has taken seriously, if at all
(ibid., p. 54)
Slide 21
The German author Alfred Doblin(1878-1957) in his
autobiographical reflections has a passage that emphasize the
concept of teacher as a performing artist. The description of his
professor show that he dose not use a method which can be imitated
or learned, the passage raises the question of whether teachers
should not be given opportunities and support in their training to
develop their own possibilities of artistic expression. The
literary critic George Steiner has argued that working towards
performance in this context is the most primary form of literary
interpretation. He also maintains that it is through the medium of
speech that the richness of literature is fully revealed and
perceived.
Slide 22
Through training focused on enhancing the performance of
literature, processes are instigated which have far-ranging
implications not only for the way literature is directly
experienced but also for how it can later be taught. And learning
from professionals is an essential step for teachers. A training in
these processes is significant for teachers of foreign languages to
awakening and maintaining pupils` interest in the material.
Slide 23
Over the last two decades an approach has been developed in
foreign language teacher education for Steiner Schools in which
artistic qualities are considered as essential realms of
exploration and learning within a teacher`s studies. This has most
clearly been the case in a series of in-service courses in drama,
storytelling, directing, theater clowning and the performance of
literature.
Slide 24
Peter Lutzker in his book, The Art of Foreign Language
Teaching: Improvisation and Drama in Teacher Development and
Language Learning,documented and evaluated the effects of courses
in theater clowning and improvisation taught over many years by
Vivian Gladwell. The findings demonstrated that both in the context
of personal development and transformation, as well as with respect
to helping teachers develop vital skills for the classroom, these
courses had wide-ranging and positive long term effects include an
increased openness to others, more flexibility and fluidity, an
enhanced sense of presence and the ability to perceive more fully
and respond more intuitively.
Slide 25
What we need to find out is whether the types of approaches
which have been developed in the training of foreign language
teachers in Steiner Schools would be equally appropriate for
teachers working outside of Steiner education?!
Slide 26
Part two Materials development for teacher education There are
naturally limits to choose the printed materials when the focus is
on the heightened experience and expression of the language. And
there is a need for materials which can serve as a theoretical
basis for teachers trainers and teachers, as well as provide the
necessary basis for a practical course of instruction. As mentioned
part, teacher`s language training must go beyond the traditional
phonetics courses, and relating to crucial elements such as
presence, voice and gesture. According to Sarason`s understanding
of teaching as a performing art, the analogy to the type of
training and materials required in the study of the performing arts
and particularly the dramatic arts can prove to be relevant and
instructive. Alan Maley`s The Language Teacher's Voice(2000), is a
brief theoretical and practical guide to becoming aware of
developmental possibilities in this area.
Slide 27
A further, highly relevant area would be the development of a
teacher`s improvisational skills. The ability to act and react
appropriately within the inherently unpredictable process of an
unfolding lesson is the skill which has been consistently
emphasized as being ultimately decisive in any given classroom
situation(Eisner, 1985, pp.175-7). The sources in this area are the
seminal works of Keith Johnstone and the traditional of theatre
clowning connected to the work of Jacques Lecoq.(2000)
Slide 28
Another crucial aspect of materials development would be to
give the teacher a repertoire to be able to initiate different
forms of dramatic activities in the classroom. This ability is not
acquired only through reading about it. Within the framework of
such practical studies, a course book setting out and elucidating a
range of different possibilities would be invaluable. A particular
emphasis in such a course book would be on incorporating those
approaches such as Readers Theater and Chamber Theater which were
expressly designed for adapting and transforming prose fiction,
poetry non-fiction texts into a dramatic mode.
Slide 29
There already exists a wealth of scattered material both in
language teaching and in the realm of drama; as part of a teacher`s
training they would need to be offered in a more focused and
unified manner. Like the books of Wallace Bacon and Robert Breen
written in the context of their pioneering work in the Northwestern
University Department of Interpretation. Breen`s book offers a
superb introduction to the possibilities of adapting literature to
be performed as chamber theatre.
Slide 30
As mentioned before, this form of language teacher training
would in crucial respects far more resemble the kind of artistic
training which aspiring actors(or musicians) receive at schools of
the arts, than the classical philological education offered by
universities.
Slide 31
Materials development for the classroom Along with the need for
a teacher`s handbook, a corresponding course book for pupils
consisting of an extensive collection of texts specifically chosen
for this kind of work in foreign language lessons would be
invaluable. In his book Openings, Brian Tomlinson put together a
reader that could function as a model for this kind of
collection(1994). In his book he took excerpts from a broad range
of authentic literature to serve as initial impulses for an array
of suggested creative tasks, both oral and written. Also the
material should include poetry and different types of fictional and
of texts that lend themselves to this kind of work. These materials
also should be clearly targeted to specific age groups.
Slide 32
In conclusion, these kinds of course books could provide a
much-needed basis for the kind of engagement and enjoyment that is
often sorely missed in many foreign language classrooms. And they
would also provide an encompassing and effective basis for foreign
language learning through the physical, affective and cognitive
involvement of the learner_ in and through _ moving language.
