Session2Processesof2ndLangLrngandMethods Rev 9-6-11

8/4/2019 Session2Processesof2ndLangLrngandMethods Rev 9-6-11

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Processes of Second Language Learning andSecond Language Instructional Methods

Session 2 & 3 Methods in TESOL PreK-12

Hunter College MA in TESOL, David Patterson 1


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What are our beliefs about language learning?

Reflection Activity: Decide which of these you think is research-based andwhich of these is myth.


The younger the child, the more skilled he or she is at acquiring asecond language.

The more time students spend in a second language context, thequicker they learn the language.

Once they can speak it, the child has acquired the secondlanguage.

All children learn languages following the same pattern.

Older generations of immigrants learned without all thespecial language programs that immigrant children receive now

Second language learners will acquire academic English faster iftheir parents speak English at home.


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The younger the child, the more skilled he or she isat acquiring a second language.

This belief often grows out of the "critical period hypothesis, whichstates that children are superior to adults in learning secondlanguages because their brains are more flexible, or their cortex ismore plastic than that of older learners. (The corollary hypothesis isthe "frozen brain hypothesis," applied to adult learners.)

Experimental research in which children have been compared toadults in second language learning has consistently demonstratedthat adolescents and adults perform better than young childrenunder controlled conditions.

One exception is in the area of pronunciation, although even heresome studies show better results for older learners. But we arentvery good at teaching phonology at the moment.

Children may be more motivated to learn because of social orpsychological reasons, but their requirements for communicationmay be lower.



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The younger the child, the more skilled he or she isat acquiring a second language.

What are the implications for the ELL teacher?

Teachers should not expect miraculous results from children who arelearning English as a second or other language in the classroomcontext.

It may be more difficult for some young children, since they donthave access to the memory techniques and other strategies thatmore experienced learners can use in acquiring vocabulary and inlearning the grammatical rules of the language.

Children might not have fewer inhibitions or be less embarrassedthan adults when they make mistakes in a second language. Ifanything, children are likely to be more shy and more embarrassedbefore their peers than are more mature adults.

Children from some cultural backgrounds are extremely anxiouswhen singled out and called upon to perform in a language they arein the process of learning.



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The more time students spend in a second languagecontext, the quicker they learn the language.

This notion is the rationale behind "structured immersion," aninstructional strategy in which children from languageminority backgrounds receive all of their instruction in Englishand have the additional support of ESL classes and content-

based instruction tailored to their language abilities. Studies show that more time on task does not necessarily

lead to greater gains versus maintenance bilingual programs.

Oral communication skills may be acquired over one to threeyears, but it may take up to four to six years to acquire the

level of proficiency for understanding the language in itsinstructional uses.

Early withdraw of the native language does not help studentsacquire English at faster rates.



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The more time students spend in a second languagecontext, the quicker they learn the language.


Teachers should be aware that giving language minority children thesupport of their home language, where this is possible, is not doingthem any disservice.

The use of the home language in bilingual or ESL classroomsenables the child to avoid falling behind in school work, and it alsoprovides a mutually reinforcing bond between the home and theschool.

The home language acts as a bridge for children, enabling them toparticipate more effectively in school activities while they are learningEnglish.

Over the long run, children in bilingual programs will acquire asmuch English as children who have more L2 exposure at an earlierage. Furthermore, if the child is able to acquire literacy skills in thefirst language, as an adult he or she may be functionally bilingual,

with unique technical and professional career advantages.Hunter College MA in TESOL, David Patterson 6


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Once they can speak it, the child has acquired thesecond language.

A child who is proficient in face-to-face communication has notnecessarily achieved proficiency in the more abstract andacademic language needed to engage in many classroomactivities, especially in the later grades.

The Canadian educator Jim Cummins cited research evidencefrom a study of 1,210 immigrant children in Canada indicatingthat it takes these children much longer (approximately five toseven years) to master the cognitive language skills requiredfor the regular English curriculum than to master oralcommunicative skills.

Cummins and others speak of the "linguistic facade, wherebychildren appear to be fluent in a language because of their oralskills but have not mastered the more disembedded anddecontextualized aspects of the language.



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Once they can speak it, the child has acquired thesecond language.


Teachers and other staff need to be cautious in exiting children fromprograms where they have the support of their home language.

Exiting children who are not ready for the all-English classroom may beharmful to the children's academic success. Cummins has argued that itis inappropriate for programs to exit children into an all-Englishclassroom on the basis of language assessment instruments that taponly oral communication skills.

Teachers need to be aware that an ELL may be having languageproblems in reading and writing that are not apparent if the child's oral

abilities are used as the gauge of English proficiency. It is conceivable that many of the problems that children from minority

language backgrounds have in reading and writing at the middle schooland high school levels stem from limitations in vocabulary and syntacticknowledge in the second language.



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All children learn languages following the samepattern.

There are two issues here: The first relates to differences amonglinguistically and culturally diverse groups, and the second todifferences among learners within these groups.

Schools in America emphasize the language functions and styles of talkthat predominate in mainstream families, where language is used to

communicate meaning, to convey information, to control social behavior,and to solve problems. In the upper grades, especially, the style of talkis analytic and deductive. Children are therefore often rewarded forclear and logical thinking.

There are also differences within groups in how children react to school

and learn. Some children are outgoing and sociable and learn thesecond language quickly because they want to be like their English-speaking peers. They do not worry about mistakes, but use limitedresources to generate input from native speakers. Other children areshy and quiet. They learn by listening and by attending to what ishappening and being said around them. They say little, for fear of

making a mistake. Hunter College MA in TESOL, David Patterson 9


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All children learn languages following the samepattern.


Many culturally and linguistically diverse children enter school withcognitive and social norms that differ from those that govern themainstream classroom.

Effective instruction for children from culturally diverse backgrounds

requires a variety of instructional activitiessmall group work,cooperative learning, peer tutoring, individualized instruction, and otherstrategies that take the children's diversity of experience into account.

Many of the important educational innovations in current practice, suchas untracking and mixed-age grouping, are the direct result of teachersadapting their teaching to the challenge posed by children fromculturally diverse backgrounds.

Teachers need to be aware of how the child's experiences in the homeand in the home culture affect values, patterns of language use, andinterpersonal style. Children are likely to be more responsive to ateacher who is sensitive to their culture and its behavioral patterns.



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Older generations of immigrants learned without all thespecial language programs that immigrant childrenreceive now

Like present-day immigrants, many earlier immigrants had troublein school. In 1911, the U.S. Immigration Service found that 77% ofItalian, 60% of Russian, and 51% of German immigrant childrenwere one or more grade levels behind in school compared to 28%of American born children.

The level of education needed to get a job has changed.

Many earlier immigrants came from Europe, from cultures thatwere similar in many ways to mainstream U.S. culture. It waseasier for them to assimilate into American society because, oncethey abandoned their home language, they looked like any other

American. Today, many immigrants have clear physical attributes that mark

them as different from white Americans. Long after they havelearned English and acquired jobs in this country, they are stillsubject to discrimination.



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Older generations of immigrants learned without all thespecial language programs that immigrant childrenreceive now


Teachers should remember that all language learners have struggledover time but the stakes might be much higher now, since there arefewer good jobs in the U.S. that dont require a higher degree ofacademic language function.

When people have been left to sink or swim, or learn the language ontheir own, their progress often fossilizes, or stops developing, at apoint that may be far beneath what is needed for professional andpersonal achievement as an adult.

A lack of explicit language development support may have a particularlydramatic impact on children who wish to attend college, and who needto demonstrate sufficient academic English language skills by the timethey are in their late teens.

Many immigrants who did not receive support in school dropped out ofhigh school.



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Second language learners will acquire academicEnglish faster if their parents speak English at home.

Research shows that it is much better for parents to speak intheir native language to their children. This language will bericher and more complex, and it will benefit the student

academically.

It doesnt matter in what language basic concepts aredeveloped. Children will eventually translate that learning toEnglish. So if a child is being read to in native language,

parents will spend more time discussing the story, and asking

questions. Students who serve as translators for their families may have

a powerful, though unconscious, social motivation to learn

English more quickly because they have become a vitalresource for their families well-being.



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Second language learners will acquire academicEnglish faster if their parents speak English at home.


Teachers should encourage parents to read in both languages if theycan. But if they cannot, encourage parents to read in their nativelanguage, and reassure them that this has no impact on thedevelopment of their childs second or other language. Neverinstruct a

parent to speak only English at home. Teachers should urge parents to purchase their children many books in

both languages, and to ask questions about what their children arereading in whatever language they are able.

Teachers should encourage parents who do not know English tobecome the student in the home, asking their children to translate

words or phrases of L1 texts to English. Teachers should actively encourage parents to continue to deepen their

childs L1 literacy, with the understanding that concepts and ideas fromone language will translate into another, and the native languagedevelopment will have a demonstratively beneficial impact on the L2.



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What are the key differences between first andsecond language acquisition?


Second Languages are learned in a different way than first language.Unlike first language or simultaneous first-language learning, thesequential learning of languages is influenced by factors like the childstemperament or motivation. Learning often roughly follows four stages.

The Four Stages of Sequential Second Language LearningStage I: Home Language Use

For a period of time, children may persist in using their first or nativelanguage even if others do not understand them.

Stage II: Silent Period

After children realize their first language is not working, they enter asilent period in which they barely speak and rely heavily on nonverbalmeans to communicate with others. The younger the child, the longerthe silent period may last.


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What are the key differences between first andsecond language acquisition?


Stage III: Telegraphic & Formulaic Speech

Children will start to speak in the new or second language. In thisstage, they will only speak in small utterances (e.g., Me Down) orby repeating the words of others.

Stage IV: Productive Language

Children are now ready to express their own thoughts andconstruct their own sentences. In the beginning, these sentencesmay be very basic or grammatically incorrect; however, this

improves over time.


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What is important to know about schools as contextsfor learning English?


There are two aspects of language proficiency: BICS and CALP. These twoaspects were formally defined as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills(BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) by Canadiansecond language researcher Jim Cummins in 1981.

BICS is often referred to as conversational Englishthe surface language we use

to communicate in everyday real-life situations which are not cognitivelydemanding. Native speakers use conversational English to talk informally withteachers, other adults, and classmates in the school setting. Although there areindividual differences, research shows that second language learners frequentlydevelop native-like conversational skills within one to two years.

CALP is often referred to as academic English. Academic English is the proficiency

required by students to read, write, and learn in the content areas (e.g., science,social studies, etc.) at an appropriate grade level. This aspect of languageproficiency is much more critical to a students academic success and takes aslong as five to seven years to develop. Educators sometimes mistakenly assumethat students with fluent conversational English no longer require languageinstruction.


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What is the role of the native language in learning thesecond language? The Common Underlying

Proficiency


The term common underlying proficiency (CUP), named by Cummins, is usedto refer to the cognitive/academic proficiency model that underlies academicperformance in both languages. Consider the following research data that supportthis principle: In virtually every bilingual program that has ever been evaluated, whether

intended for linguistic majority or minority students, spending instructional timeteaching through the minority language entails no academic costs for students'academic development in the majority language.

An impressive number of research studies have documented a moderatelystrong correlation between bilingual students LI and L2 literacy skills insituations where students have the opportunity to develop literacy in both

languages. It is worth noting that these findings also apply to the relationshipsamong very dissimilar languages in addition to languages that are more closelyrelated, although the strength of relationship is often reduced (e.g. Arabic-French, Dutch-Turkish, Japanese-English, Chinese-English, Basque- Spanish).

Within a bilingual program, instructional time can be focused on developingstudents' literacy skills in their primary language without adverse effects on the

development of their literacy skills in English.


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What is the role of the native language in learning thesecond language?


Reflection Activity:

A. Read the text (A, B or C) that is handed out to you.Work by yourself and do the best you can to identify the

topic and any key information.

B. Move into a triad with an A, B and C person. Talkin your group to try to figure out the topic and any

key information.


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Language Proficiency as CommunicativeCompetence


The term language proficiency reflects all the grammatical rules governing sounds,word forms, and word order to convey meaning.


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A. Teach language through pictures.

B. Translate sentences from the native

language to the target language, and viceversa.

C. Use imitation rather than rules to teach a

language.D. Teach grammar rules inductively, rather

than explicitly.

Do Now: Which language teaching approaches wouldyou say are contemporary, and which historical?


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Approach Method Technique

Terminology: Approach, Method, Technique

Approach: A model, a reach paradigm, a theory: the broadest of the three.

Method: Set of procedures that set out ratherprecisely how to teach the second or foreignlanguage; one method may be compatible withmore than one approaches.

Technique is the classroom device oractivity and is the narrowest of theconcepts. Some techniques are widelyused and found in many methods (e.g.dictation, imitation, repetition); somespecific to a given method.


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1400s-1800s

Medieval Latin Period Classical Greek & Medieval Latin periods characterized by emphasis on use of

foreign language, these were lingua franca-used in higher learning, business,politics.

Teachers in this time used informal tutoring techniques, crude dictionaries, and

aural/oral emphasis.Renaissance During the Renaissance, formal study of Latin and Greek became possible through

advent of printing press and books. Latin then became object of formal study during the Renaissance, and no longer

lingua franca. Book learning of Latin was then the focus of language instruction in

this time.

Rise of Vernacular Languages As Vernacular forms, such as Spanish, French and Italian rose in respectability,

their use was seen as more and more necessary. Hence, a shift back during the1600s to utility rather than language analysis.


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Johann Comenius (1592 -1670)

The most famous languageteacher of this time period isJohann Comenius, a Czechwho published books about his

teaching between 1631-1658.Some of the rules he espousedwere: teach language throughpictures, use imitation insteadof rules. His views held swayuntil the beginning of the1800s, when the systematic

study of the grammar ofclassical Latin once again took

over in schools and


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What methods have historically been used in ourfield?


Grammar Translation Communicative Language Teaching Audiolingualism Outreach Learning (LAMP)

Community Language Learning (CLL) Total Physical Approach (TPR) Natural Approach The Silent Way Suggestopedia

Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA)(Content Based Teaching)

Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) Lexical Approach


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Translate this sentence intoanother language you know:

O what a happy title do I find,Happy to have thy love, happy todie!But what's so blessed-fair that

fears no blot?Thou mayst be false, and yet Iknow it not.

What are some of the features you see in thislanguage teaching method?


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Features and Principles:

Classes taught in native, not target language Vocabulary taught in isolated word lists Long, elaborate explanations of grammatical rules given Reading of difficult, classical texts Texts not presented in context, but as exercises in grammatical

analysis Little or no attention to pronunciation Reading and writing are major focus

The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice Accuracy is emphasized Teacher does not have to speak the target language

Theory of language learning is that the structures of the foreignlanguages are best learned when compared and contrasted with those

of mother tongue.

Grammar-Translation Method(Early to Mid 1800s)


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What are the qualities of the languageteaching approach you see this teacher

using?


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Features/Principles:

Established in Germany and France around 1900 Known as the anti-translation method

No use of the native language permitted

Lessons focus on speech and listening Pictures and actions used to make meaning clear Fill-in-the-blank exercises (these are still very common today) Focus on everyday vocabulary

Small intensive classes with student-centered topics Grammar learned inductively Literary texts are read for pleasure, not for grammatical

analysis Teacher must have native-like proficiency in target language

Correct pronunciation emphasized

The Direct Method (Berlitz Method)


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using?


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Introduced in 1940s and 50sderived from The Army Methodused in WWII to quickly produce speaker of languages of friends andfoes

New material presented in dialogue form Dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases

Structural patterns taught by using repetitive drills Little or no grammatical explanation Vocabulary strictly controlled and learned in context Use of tapes, language labs

Very little use of native language Effort placed on getting students to produce error-free utterances Tendency to manipulate language and disregard content Teacher only needs to know the structures, vocabulary, etc being

taught that lesson

Theory of learning is from behaviorismstimulus/response;language learning is habit formation

The Audio-lingual Method (ALM)

Wh h li i f h l


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using?


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Introduced in the 1960s

Learning is facilitated by physical objects Teacher hardly speaks; models for students with

Cuisenaire rods sentence structures andvocabulary patterns; small group learning withpeers

Charts to introduce pronunciation models,grammatical paradigms Problem-solving involving the material to be

learned

Teacher models and students imitate; focus onstudent language use, not teacher dominance

The Silent Way


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Which of these approaches haveyou personally experienced as a

language learner? What were your impressions and

what is your assessment of the

effectiveness of the approaches?

Reflection Question


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What methods are currently used to providecontent and language instruction to K-12 ELLs?


The CALLA model (Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach): TheCALLA approach was developed in the 1980s. It represents a variety ofstrategies, techniques, and materials that are specially designed to providestudents access to grade-level core curriculum in English. Its main goal is forstudents to reach communicative competence in L2 in meaningful context only.

CALLA can be used in ESL, EFL, bilingual, foreign language, and generaleducation classrooms.

The SDAIE approach (Specially designed academic instruction in English) orSheltered Instruction. SDAIE is a teaching approach intended for teaching variousacademic content (such as social studies, science or literature) using the English

language to students who are still learning English. SDAIE requires the studentpossess intermediate fluency in English as well as mastery of their nativelanguage.

The SIOP model (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) is a research-basedobservation instrument, begun in 1997, that is used to measure sheltered

instruction and provide a model for lesson planning. Its overseen by the Center for


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What methods are currently used to providecontent and language instruction to K-12 ELLs?


The CBI model (Content-Based Instruction) is a teaching method thatemphasizes learning about something rather than learning about language. CBIhas proven very effective in ESL immersion programs. CBI is often theme-based, and can be used with students at lower proficiency levels. CBI focuseson active student involvement and is seen as motivating, since it is based

around rich, contextualized, real-world content.

The DI approach (Direct Instruction) is a highly structured program that testsand retests what children are learning, always corrects them when they err, andtries to leave nothing to chance. It groups children according to ability, but triesto ensure all children learn the basics. Its often contrasted with whole language

theory.

The Cooperative Learning approach (CL) involves placing students in smallgroups to work on tasks collaboratively. Tasks are typically short-term (usually tobe completed within a single class period) with a common outcome that requiresthe participation of every member of the group. The most effective cooperative

learning techniques should be highly structured, e.g., with defined roles for eachrou member.


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Sheltered Instruction: Making Grade-LevelAcademic Content More Accessible for ELLs

Hunter College MA in TESOL David Patterson 37

Sheltered instruction

It represents a variety of strategies, techniques, and materials speciallydesigned to provide students access to grade-level core curriculum in

English. It is a means for making grade-level academic content (e.g., science,

social studies, math) more accessible for English language learnerswhile at the same time promoting their English language development.

It is recognizes that the complexity of learning a new language and

learning through a new language requires more than ESL support.Attention to academic language is needed in every content areathroughout the day.

The SIOP Model provides a systematic approach for making contentaccessible and for consistently focusing on academic language.

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Session2Processesof2ndLangLrngandMethods Rev 9-6-11