The topic that I really wanted to
discuss for this week’s blog entry is the language learning theories that have
been developed by Stephen Krashen. His hypotheses and theories have been the
most intriguing concepts that we have learning about so far this semester and
after watching the short video clip of him explaining his research, I thought
that it seemed so relevant to real-life language learning.
One reason why I wanted to bring
this particular topic up again was because Krashen’s theories reminded me a lot
of my language learning experience while I was in Granada last semester.
Obviously we had to live with a Spanish host family for five months there and I
would say that I was “lucky” enough to get a family that didn’t speak any
English so I had no choice but to learn the language. According to Krashen’s
acquisition-learning hypothesis, the acquisition of a language is a
subconscious process that happens when the learner is not even aware that it is
happening, nor do they know when they have acquired new knowledge. I believe
that this experience happened to me while I was living in Granada when I
started noticing that I was using new vocabulary and phrases that I had only
heard from my host family around the house that apparently I had picked up on.
I never asked them what it meant or how to use it in a sentence, I just knew it
and it came out of my mouth during conversation. This phenomenon is something
that normally doesn’t happen in schools and in Krashen’s research, he talks a
lot about how acquisition of the target language requires meaningful interaction
during which the learner is focusing on the meaning of something rather than
the grammatical aspects of it. He also distinguishes language learning and
language acquisition; language learning involves formal instruction, which is
less effective than the process of subconscious acquisition. This theory is so
interesting to me because, as I stated above, it happened to me several times
while I was living in Granada, but also I’d like to know how we can make sure
this kind of acquisition happens in the classroom.
I think one way that we can attempt
to teach for acquisition rather than learning would be to speak in the target
language 100% of the time regardless if our students are at that level of
proficiency. Just from hearing the language constantly (in an hour class period),
students will eventually become more comfortable hearing the language and may
have an easier time reproducing the language orally and on paper. Reaching this
level of competence will probably be frustrating to many students but I think
that using the target language all the time is the closest way that we can be
immersed in that languages’ culture without leaving the traditional classroom
and the most effective way we can achieve language acquisition as opposed to
learning.
This is a great way of thinking about learning a foreign language that I really like. I think that being surrounded by the language as much as possible helps the learners become used to hearing the language. This allows them, as you stated, to learn new vocabulary and new grammar "lessons" without even realizing it. When I studied abroad, as well, I felt that the language came much more naturally to me and I learned many techniques for talking and understanding. I think that this is a great idea and very useful to remember in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteI can totally agree with you. When I was in Spain living with a host family, I also began picking up phrases that they used without any explanation. Sometimes I would pick them up so well that I actually didn't know the proper English translation but knew exactly how to use it in Spanish conversation. I definitely agree that speaking in the target language 100% of the time is a good theory of an idea, but I can see how it can be stressful for teachers, especially those who are nervous about their accents and pronunciation. I think that with those teachers, it would be much more beneficial for them to use other authentic materials so that students don't pick up mis-pronunciations.
ReplyDeleteBeing surrounded by the language and acquiring it naturally is the best way to go, in my opinion. That is why it's so important for teachers to speak in the target language as much as possible, no matter how difficult it may be at times. It's our job to expose our students to as much of the language as possible and just like we acquired new vocabulary and phrases in Spain, students in the classroom (no matter how much they dislike being immersed in the language at first) will soon acquire the language just as naturally. I think getting students acquired to the language and comfortable around it is the key to shaping students who aren't afraid to converse with others and are eager to practice their conversational skills.
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