语言知识教学

1. 语言知识教学 绵阳市教育科学研究所 袁伦高 yuanlungao@163.com

2. What’s language knowledge • Could be anything about the target language • Grammar • Vocabulary • the characteristic features of particular text types • Culture • understanding of how the language works in the context

3. Implicit and explicit • Implicit knowledge • acquire and use unconsciously • Pick up on the way of exposing to the language • Explicit knowledge • requires conscious teaching and learning • Implication • Don’t have to teach everything

4. Heavy heritage • Renowned for the explicit teaching of language knowledge • In class, we used to teach nothing but language knowledge • Much is said, but little is done to translate language knowledge into the ability to use the language as a tool • Cramming and rote learning are the most often used method to teach language knowledge

5. How language knowledge comes into being? • Language in its natural form • Flow of sounds • System of written symbols

6. Language in linguists’ eyes discourse paragraphs sentences phrases words Morphemes Relationship phonemes Below included in above

7. Unreliable illusion

8. Progressive process approximation Acquaintance acquisition • accuracy

9. Effective way of obtaining knowledge • scaffold students’ learning of specific language forms by setting well-constructed communicative tasks that naturally lead them to notice and reproduce those forms so that they gain implicit knowledge of them • make this knowledge explicit, for example by discussing the language forms incidentally

10. Meaning-based v.s. form-based • Research has shown that language learners benefit when their attention is drawn to the forms of words, grammatical structures, and texts incidentally, in the context of real messages with meaningful content. Teaching grammatical rules explicitly and expecting students to memorize them is less effective. An important part of a language teacher’s repertoire is knowing how to teach language forms in meaningful and effective ways.

11. Meaning, form and use • Meaning---sugar coat • Form---the medicine • Use---the directions

12. Restrained teacher talk A Wise Old Owl by Edward Hersey Richards A wise old owl sat on an oak. The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard. Why aren’t we like that wise old bird?

13. Keep the explanations brief • A simple comment that the past tense refers to events in the past serves as an adequate explanation. The same holds true of a few comments on the past perfect, or any other structure. A visual diagram and several examples also further highlight the target language.

14. Limit the explanation to the task/lesson at hand • There may be several exceptions to the rule. There may be times when the language isn't used for some situation or with some medium. Yet this is all extraneous information. The teacher wants to provide just enough explanation for the students to practice the language correctly and purposefully.

15. Consider devoting several lessons to a specific grammar or language point • This allows the teacher to address and practice the rules and exceptions, yet not overwhelm the class with too much information. The teacher can also practice different skills/mediums, yet return to the same language point.

16. Address grammar and vocabulary again and again. • The teacher should provide several opportunities to acquire the target language during a course of study. Just because students have studied the target material once doesn't mean they can use it well. By revisiting the target structures, then students who grasped the form have a second chance to grasp the meaning and use of the target structure. Students who grasped the meaning have a second chance for the form and use.

17. Vocabulary

18. Formulaic expressions • expressions that can be used meaningfully in a consistent form in a specific context (without reference to how it might be adapted for other uses )

19. Vocabulary • Where vocabulary is introduced and practised in communicative contexts (rather than in lists), students are likely to see the relevance of learning words and phrases and to be sufficiently interested and motivated to remember them • From receptive to productive

20. A effective tool to help remember words Mind Maps!

21. Mind Maps! Related Category Related Category Related word Related word Related word Related word Word or Phrase Related word Related word Related Category Related Category Related word Related word Related word Related word Related word Related word

22. Mind Maps! Features: • Fast • Little preparation-time • Pictures as prompts • Different colors • Can be used for any topic • Pre-teach vocabulary

23. or Is it easier to remember words in “mind maps” compared to lists?

24. Word Lists vs. Mind Maps Memorize these words in 60 seconds NO WRITING!!! active alive bicycle boat bread build call different foot invite jeans kilometer match shower tennis Theater Thirsty woman

25. Write as many words as you can remember!

26. Look at the mind map for 60 seconds!

27. happy sad Instruments Sounds piano guitar drums soft loud Music People Types classical Guitarist Singer rock pop Pianist

28. Write as many words as you can remember… use a mind map!

29. Grammar

30. Historically, grammar has been considered to be (Hinkel & Fotos 2002):

31. The advent of other approaches: -Direct approaches (audio-lingualism) -Functional approaches -Communicative approaches

32. The Audiolingual Method The audiolingual method focuses on the comprehension of language at a largely mechanical level (Davidson, 1978). Examples of mechanically structured activities might include repetition or substitution. The teacher is in control of the lesson, and students can often successfully participate without any understanding of meaning (Davidson, 1978).

33. Functional Approaches These are usually based on situational language needs (Hinkel & Fotos, 2002). According to Skehan, these activities often follow a “presentation, practice, and production” protocol (cited in Hinkel & Fotos, 2002).

34. Communicative/Humanistic Approaches These methods mimic a natural acquisition of language, for example, how a child acquires L1 (Hinkel & Fotos, 2002). Language is acquired using meaningful input, with no formal grammatical instruction. It is assumed that ELLs will naturally acquire the forms of language when this approach is used (Hinkel & Fotos, 2002).

35. Myth: Grammar structures are meaningless forms (Larsen-Freeman, 1995) - Learning a structure in grammar, is not complete unless its function is explored at the same time (Wagner-Gough, 1975). - There are 3 dimensions to grammar instruction: form, meaning and function/use (Larsen-Freeman, 1995). - Grammar instruction should include the answers to when and why to use any given structure (Larsen-Freeman, 1995).

36. Myth: Grammar acquisition consists of arbitrary rules (Larsen-Freeman, 1995) -Interlanguages (ILs) appear to follow rules, and are systematic (Larsen-Freeman, 1995). This does not mean that an ELL would be using a grammatical structure as a NS would from first exposure, but that they are still moving toward its proper use while forming rules in his/her IL. -Though systematic, this development through an IL may not be linear (Larsen-Freeman, 1995).

37. Myth: Grammar structures are learned one at a time (Larsen-Freeman, 1995) -The acquisition of some structures may depend on the acquisition of others. A simple accumulation of structures, one at time, can lead to a phenomenon known as backsliding. When backsliding occurs, it is because certain elements become omitted in order to make room for new elements (Larsen-Freeman, 1995).

38. Myth: Grammar is acquired naturally, and doesn’t have to be taught(Larsen-Freeman, 1995) - In French immersion programs, where the focus is on meaning alone, students have demonstrated a less than expected understanding of grammar in the language (Harley & Swain, 1984). - Students may develop the ability to convey meaning, without developing proper grammar. Selective form-focused instruction may therefore be necessary to ensure that as language develops, so does grammar (Larsen-Freeman, 1995).

39. Lightbrown and Spada (1990)research (cited in Larsen-Freeman, 1995): -This study looked at 4 (primarily communicative) French immersion classes, each of which incorporated a varying level of form-based instruction in grammar. -Their results demonstrated that the class that never focused on grammatical form performed the worst according to the assessment used. - Part of the reason for this, according to Larsen-Freeman (1995), is that focusing student attention may facilitate learning.

40. Myth: Error correction and negative evidence might be unnecessary when instructing grammar (Larsen-Freeman, 1995) -If errors are not corrected, then overgeneralizations in language tend to occur (Larsen-Freeman, 1995). -Negative evidence might be part of the input that ELLs need, though they may not have needed it to the same extent for their L1 (Larsen-Freeman, 1995).

41. Myth: All grammatical structures are learned in the same way (Larsen-Freeman, 1995) “Any claim to the effect that all acquisition is the product of habit formation or of rule formation, or today, of setting/resetting parameters or the strengthening of connections in complex neural networks, is an obvious oversimplification of a complex process” (Larsen-Freeman, 1995, p. 141).

42. 3 options in language teaching: Focus on Forms Focus on meaning Focus on form

43. Focus on Forms: “Parts of the language are taught separately and step by step so that the acquisition is a process of gradual accumulation of parts until the whole structure of language has been built up…At any one time the learner is being exposed to a deliberate limited sample of language” (Wilkins, 1976, p. 2).

44. Focus on Meaning: The essential claim is that people of all ages learn language best, inside or outside the classroom, not by treating the languages as the object of study, but by experiencing them as a medium of communication… “language is organized in terms of the purpose for which people are learning language and the kinds of language performance that are necessary to meet those purposes” (Wilkins, 1976, p. 13).

45. Focus on Form: “Overtly draws students’ attention to linguistic elements as they arise incidentally in lessons whose overriding focus is on meaning or communication” (Long, 1991, pp. 45-46). “Often consists of an occasional shift of attention to linguistic code features– by the teacher and/or one or more of the students– triggered by perceived problems with comprehension or production” (Long & Robinson, 1999, p. 23).

46. Advantage of Focus on Form: “The learner’s attention is drawn precisely to a linguistic feature as necessitated by a communicative demand” (Doughty & Williams, 1999, p. 3).

47. Arguments against Grammar Instruction: The study of grammar promotes knowledge about language not how to use the language (Krashen, 1983, p. 10). We acquire our first language without any explicit knowledge of grammar (Krashen, 1983, p. 10). The natural order (Krashen, 1983, pp. 12-36) in which languages are learned precludes the influence of instruction. If communicative competence is the goal, then classroom time is better spent engaging in language use (Krashen, 1983, p. 37).

48. Arguments for Grammar Instruction: Without explicit instruction learners’ interlanguage often fossilizes. Grammar instruction may act as an advanced organizer helping learners to notice features of language when they are ready. Learning finite rules can help to simplify an otherwise daunting and complex task by organizing it into neat categories. Older students’ expectation about language learning often includes grammar instruction. Learning grammar structures allows for more creative applications of language. (Lightbown & Spada, 1990, pp. 429-448)

49. Teaching Grammar: Teachers need to consider how to present grammar to their students (approach), what options for dealing with the grammar should be used, and which area they will focus on during practice (accuracy, fluency, or restructuring).

50. Approaches Deductive– teaching through rules (the rule is provided followed by the provision of examples in which the rule is applied). Inductive– teaching through examples (students are provided with several examples from which a rule is inferred).