Towards an ecology of language learning

Susan George

MODERN MAN

POST MODERN PERSON?

What is language?

SOUND + MEANING

What do I want you to do?

to feelto do

to reasonto dreamto sing

in another language

Your teachers have all had:

an educational philosophy

explicit/implicit goals

implicit description of grammar and social action

ideas which they take for granted

My educational philosophy

to make you wantto do

to knowto ask questions

to ask yourself questions

I try to create an organizational structure so that… (1)

you find YOUR PATH not MINE

you have a structure within which to work

you internalise a model of language

I try to create an organizational structure so that… (2)

you have tools to examine language so as to reproduce it

you reinforce your knowledge of language by its use in different contexts

I hope that…you will learn by doing in order to

know thingsknow self

enjoy discoveryask theories questionsNOT just apply them

My goals depend on my perception of the nature of language acquisition and use (1)

the relationship between the two hemispheres of the brain

the use of reason and emotion

the activation of the long term memory

YOU… LANGUAGE

REASON AND EMOTION (1)

YOU… LANGUAGE

REASON AND EMOTION (2)

HOMER… REASON AND

EMOTION

My goals depend on my perception of the nature of language acquisition and use (2)

you use different abilities to reinforce your knowledge

you reflect on your own conventions

you gain intercultural competence through your difficulties

You learn a language: (1)

Connect the dots in the followingdiagram to find out why...

You learn a language: (2)

not only for instrumental use but to go outside your frames,to riskto go beyond the limits of your worldto argue and interactto look at yourselves from the outsideto see yourself in an intercultural global world

I look for a description…

which will help you to predict problem areas

which uses ethnographic materials for language learning

which permits a variety of texts and media

Frequentanti path

a portfolio: analysis of your language learning path (before & after the

course), a recipe + commentary, a story or analysis of a narrative text, a

report of an empirical research,a cd with 3 songs of your history

+ oral exam on portfolio with a colleague in January

Non-frequentanti path

Written exam:recipe + commentarysummary of argumentation from an Obama or Tannen textstory + commentary

Listening exam+Oral colloquio

Phonology, dictation/cloze test of Obama's speeches, jazz chants

ColloquioDiscussion of male-female

interaction &cross-cultural awareness in the

analysis of three films