Chapter 4

Q: Language acquisition vs. learning? (pp.46-47)

Q: What are the characteristics of parents’ talk? (p.46)

The input hypothesis Input "i+1“ ("i" : the learner's interlanguage, "+1" : the next stage of language acquisition) The acquisition–learning hypothesis Improvement in language ability is only dependent upon acquisition (a purely subconscious process) and never on learning(a conscious process). The monitor hypothesis Consciously learned language can only be used to monitor language output; it can never be the source of spontaneous speech. The natural order hypothesis Language is acquired in a particular order, and that this order does not change between learners, and is not affected by explicit instruction. The affective filter hypothesis Learners' ability to acquire language is constrained if they are experiencing negative emotions (when the affective filter goes up). (Krashen 1982)

Q: What are the differences between children acquiring L1 and you learning L2 in a classroom? (pp.47-48)

What are the problems we have in English education in Korea? Discussion topic What are the problems we have in English education in Korea?

Grammar Translation Method “What is taught is learned” Medium of instruction: mother tongue Emphasis on reading & writing

Audiolingual Method Speaking and listening competence preceded reading and writing competence. Use of L1 is highly discouraged in the classroom. The development of language skills is a matter of habit formulation. Students practice structured patterns of language through structured dialogues and repetitive drills until response is automatic. The emphasis is on having students produce error free utterances.

Communicative Competence Grammatical competence: words and rules What words do I use? How do I put them into phrases and sentences? Sociolinguistic competence: appropriateness Which words and phrases fit this setting and this topic? How can I express a specific attitude (courtesy, authority, friendliness, respect) when I need to? Strategic competence: appropriate use of communication strategies How can I express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use? Discourse competence (Canale,1983) Cohesion/ Coherence How are words, phrases and sentences put together to create conversations, speeches, email messages, newspaper articles?

In an ideal Communicative Language Teaching… Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of communicative competence. Language techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes. Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques. Students ultimately have to use the language, productively and receptively

Usage vs. use Usage the ability to produce correct sentences, or manifestations of the linguistic system. Use the ability to use the knowledge of the rules for effective communication.

Task-Based Language Teaching Language learning is believed to depend on immersing students not merely in “comprehensible input” but in tasks that require them to negotiate meaning and engage in naturalistic and meaningful communication.

Activities and tasks can be either: those that learners might need to achieve in real life: those that have a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom. Information-gap activity Opinion-gap activity Reasoning-gap activity Project work

Q: What are the problems we have in English education in Korea?