SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012

8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012

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Language Learning(and teaching)

A mimimalist perspective

Andrew Lian

School of Foreign Languages

Suranaree University of Technology

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. (Anas Nin)The universe is made up of stories, not atoms (Muriel Rukeyser)

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look atchange (Max Planck)

2 March 2012


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For some time now

I have been thinking about ways of simplifying mythinking about language learning/teaching in order to beable to think and work more efficientlyLarsen

This is partly because I have an interest in how we canrecognise things with the least amount of information(e.g. recognise a colleague from a silhouette). What isthe minimal amount of information necessary for me torecognise X where X can be a person, an object or anidea? Obviously that information will be different for

different objects but the principle remains the same.

I like to work with simple principles which provideguidance and a solid reference point when the detailsbecome confusing, complex and difficult to manage (as

they inevitably do when you conduct research).


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So I invite you to share

My intellectual journey

Where I hope we can agree on some basicprinciples that I find valuable


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About these principles

They are simpleand

They are few

That makes them manageable

Being manageable means that they are

always availableand thereforecan easily be appliedto any (or many)

situation(s) as an aid to thinking and toreduce confusion


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So here are

Five axioms .

Well not really five axioms (self-evidenttruths) because self-evident truths like self-

speaking data do not existLets say five principle about which we may

all agree on - clear to me of course

We will talk about them in the context oflearning

And they are all based on the human

condition


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Principle #1

Learners are physiological beings we aremade of flesh and blood

The body is systematic all parts connect. Acton one part you act on others. Language ispart of that systematicity


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Principle #1, consequences 2

The world is not sensed directly but ONLYthroughour bodies, throughphysiologicalsystems. We have no choice.

These systems are, as a matter ofprinciple, fragile and input can be distortedor changed. What they report may or maynot be the truth: drugs, injury

We are not able to ascertain directly howany particular person is sensing the world,or themselves or their place in the world

e.g. explaining pain to a doctor, paranoia


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All action, thinking and learning, is necessarilyphysiological and can involve the body as a whole,not just the mind (also said to be physical)

We can act on one part to impact another: low

frequencies for pronunciation, dance, postureAlso right-brain left-brain connections: study

intonation (low-frequency training), you also studygrammar AND you provide sensitivity to chunking.

It seems that by studying intonation, youautomaticallylearn grammar AND comprehension

These studies are not mainstream SLA and the fieldis poorer for it: Guberina, Bourdieu, Latour, Derrida,Foucault, Thierry, Calhoun, Bloom
http://www.suvag.hr/hrv/page.php?cID=novosti&eID=UK_MZShttp://performingtext.qwriting.org/files/2010/08/Bourdieu.pdfhttp://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://bilingualism.bangor.ac.uk/people/GThierry.php.enhttp://www.nyu.edu/ipk/calhoun/http://academicearth.org/lectures/how-do-we-communicate-languagehttp://academicearth.org/lectures/how-do-we-communicate-languagehttp://www.nyu.edu/ipk/calhoun/http://bilingualism.bangor.ac.uk/people/GThierry.php.enhttp://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://performingtext.qwriting.org/files/2010/08/Bourdieu.pdfhttp://www.suvag.hr/hrv/page.php?cID=novosti&eID=UK_MZS


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It is said metaphorically that culture writesitself on us (through practices that we areobliged to adopt so as to conform and livesuccessfully) but did you know that it can

literally do so?

Culture is physical too Condon, unborn

Interactional synchrony and self-synchrony

We are constantly interfering with eachothers activities and rhythms Barthes:interference on ones idiorhythms is the

most intimate form of tyranny (i.e. violence)


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So

Its like the Borg in Star Trekwhoassimilate everything. As they say:Resistance is futile.In our case it really isfutile. We have no choice (even if we rebel).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8


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This is a fertile research field

While we may say that we are victims ofour body, we can exploit the body to ouradvantage (brain is not entirely hard-wiredbut plastic) victims of our categorisations

E.g. we can work on one part of the body toinfluence another e.g. posture to influencepronunciation; intonation to influence

grammar; L1/L2 relationships (G. Thierry)Who knows where we can go by focusing

on the body: BILE project

Let our imagination drive us forward


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The important thing is that

While the consequences of Principle #1can be very complicated, the idea isextremely simple: the body exists andestablishes constraints and connections

that we must live with and can exploitWe need to keep this in front of our eyes

in research and learning system design

The area has huge, untapped, potential


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Principle #2

Principle #2 is simple, commonsensical,uncontroversial at least I think it is.

However, it has far-reaching consequences

Principle #2 states that almost all we do isbased on acts of meaning-making

If we do not make somekind of sense of

the world, then we cannot do anythingI am not talking here about identifying the

correct meaning, just meaning even if

wrong e.g. open a window or paranoia


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Principle #2

Now just for fun, consider the followingabout right and wrong meanings


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Principle #2 What does this say?

Inter alia, it says the following:Meaning-making is a culture-bound and

context-bound creation of thecomprehender. It is not found indictionaries (otherwise the non-Britishperson would have been right)

It is a function of the comprehendersmeaning-making mechanisms which needto go beyond the linguistic into areas likeculture and cultural fluency/flexibility


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And

As all is mediated through our meaning-making mechanisms thenWhat we call Knowledgeis constructed on

meaning-making

And what we call Learningis constructedon meaning-making too

And we see the world as we construct it,not as it really is learners build it in theirheads from what they recognise from thesignals around them and this accounts formany misunderstandings and subsequent

poor linguistic or cultural performances


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This raises questions like

How can we act on peoples making-

meaning systems?How can we change peoples knowledge?

Of course, this has implications on howpeople learn (and how we teach)


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Principle #3

The internal meanings that we create ANDLIVE BY are wholly individualandunknowableby others (even ourselves??)

They are influenced by environment:

society, parents, activities (nurture) andnature: genes, disabilities etc.

Meaning-making mechanisms, must

include at very least, our personal logicaland representationalsystems

Thus, once again, everything is perception


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Principle #4

Because of Principle #3, Communication in aprecise sense does not work

Why? Because we are imprisoned in our bodiesand our logical and representational systems

cannot engage in any form of direct thoughttransfer like the Vulcan Mindmeld (yet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyob1DcjV-4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyob1DcjV-4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8


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Principle #4

And maybe one day


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Principle #4

So Principle #4 is: all communication is

necessarily mediated by semiotic systems. Wecan only produce sentences, gestures, othersemiotic acts and try to understand those ofothers (on the basis of our meaning-making

mechanisms) e.g. pain in hospital So how can we function/communicate?


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The answer appears to be in what we call in SLAnegotiation of meaning. I find this term unclear.

A better way to describe it is to say that we seemto be caught in a perpetual interpretive interplay

This is not so much a negotiation of meaningsbut an internalverification, rejection orrefinement of the approximate meanings weprovisionally make, on the basis of our analysis

of a multiplicity of texts(whether purely linguisticor otherwise semiotic) about the same thing.

That way we can triangulate meanings in ourheads, be less approximate and get to yes from

all parties


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Another way to put it is that we try to understandthe same thing in a multiplicity of ways

(reinforces Minskys notion) and At best, then, we work by approximations wherenear enough ISgood enough

This brings us to Principle #5


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Principle #5

Logical and representational systems

(a) are constructed through interaction(by ourattempts to understand in multiple ways) and

(b) consequently, contain our operational history

(world knowledge, strategies and much more) Sadly, our attempts to understand are limited byour current logical and representational systems

Paradoxically, these systems help us understand

(without them we would understand nothing) butresist change. As adults, we are efficientunderstanders of the things we understand:economy of effort has formed us to reject the

unknown/unfamiliar. We know what we know.


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The puzzle is

How do we change this?


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Here again are the 5 principles

1. Learners are physiological beings (the basis forall the other principles)

2. All we do is based on acts of meaning-making3. The meanings that we create AND LIVE BY are

internal, individualand unknowableby others4. All attempts at communication are mediated bysemiotic systems constructed on the basis ofour internal logical and representational systems

5. Logical and representational systems areconstructed through interaction by our attemptsto understand in multiple ways and contain ouroperational history (world knowledge, strategies

and much more)


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Together, these principles tell us that

Meaning / understanding is individual.Learning / teaching must respect this

Personal knowledge is both constructed

and meaning-based and relies on makingthe meaninglessmeaningfulhow todefeat our efficiency? Awareness-raisingthrough tailored multiple discursive

interactions? It is sometimes possible to work on several

systems at once


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There seem to be

3 quasi-universal practical learningnecessities judging from a convergence ofpractice from every thesis on L2 learning Ihave seen:

Exposure to textAwareness-raising of some kind, involving

interaction (external or internal), whether it

is strategy-training, or focus on form orengaging in a simulation or.. Exposure

alone can sometimes be sufficient (rarely)

Time on task/practice I worry about this

S


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So

for L2 learning we now have

5 theoretical principles and3 valued pedagogic necessities (which are

actually consistent with the 5 principles)

Just 8 simple things to remember

A d


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And

What is nice about it is that it does notattach itself to any specific theory ofcurrent SLA fashion

It will make use of anything that works:

behaviorist, cognitivist or whateverOf course, it doesattach itself to a

postmodern view of the world and

Draws on any field: e.g. socioculturaltheory, culture studies, philosophy, theoryof knowledge it is much richer than SLA

(interdisciplinary, like life)

T ki th 8 i l i t


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Taking those 8 simple points

It is possible to construct a great deal

e.g. large and complex rhizomatic systems such asthe one I am researching which consists of: An over-riding theoretical framework (the 8

points mentioned + studies building on them)

A learner-driven operational space A complex IT support infrastructure containing

many systems, including just-in-time IT-basedor human-based support and social networks

Low-level techniques not unlike focus on form butbroader in scope

There is convergent support from studies in 21stcentury skills (e.g. personal problem-solving) and

also other literature (e.g. brain work)

IT


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ITInfrastructure

Only


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Feedback for listening exercise FonF + Minsky

Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France

STUDENT WILL TYPE HERE


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Vous avez la trois Frances


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If it was vous avez you would have heard a [z] sound

between the two words: [vu zave]


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The conventions is not to write France in the plural in these

contexts


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The word(s) in RED do not exist in the expected answer

Try to make sense of the chunk in its context


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Student tries again



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Student tries again

Vous savez il y atrois France

Not bad but a French person is unlikely to say it this way.Listen to the original and

Actually you are missing a word


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Student tries again



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Student tries again

Vous savez que il y atrois France


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Student tries again

Vous savez que il y atrois France

Ae pas mal maisque + il = ???????


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Student tries again



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Student tries again

Vous savez quil y atrois France

Bravo! Continuons!

I hope that


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I hope that

This little contribution to the graduateseminar has helped reduce the notion thatlanguage learning research is essentiallytechnical (it is intellectual), impenetrably

complicated and difficult to handle. Given thehugely varied output in the field one might beforgiven for thinking that it is.

I hope that the identification of some coherent,unitingand easily-agreed-toprinciples mayprovide comfort and the foundations for anintellectual space for L2 researchers and

teachers to exploreand, why not, dream.

These principles are also embodied


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These principles are also embodied

In the following quotes that I inflict on mystudents and colleagues at everyopportunity. I would prefer to rememberthese: they seem to say it all.

We don't see things as they are, we seethings as we are. (Anas Nin)

The universe is made up of stories, not

atoms (Muriel Rukeyser) When you change the way you look at things,

the things you look at change (Max Planck)


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Thank you!

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SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012