sla position paper final
TRANSCRIPT
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WhereIStand 1
LinaShehu
LING8630:SecondLanguageAcquisition
Dr.HeekeyongLee,Ph.D
May16th,2013
Title:WhereIStand
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Myfriendandclassmate,David,toldmerecentlyaboutarewardingexperience
teachingadultimmigrantsatthePeaceResourceCenterinSeaside,buthesitatedto
describethestudentsasgratefulforhisvolunteerteaching.Wearebothcarefultonot
essentializetheimmigrantexperienceasthatofadowntroddenindividual,butmust
remainaware,however,thatasteachersofthelinguafrancaofglobalization,weareina
sensegatekeeperstowhatBourdieu(1977)coinedassymboliccapital;i.e.iflearners
investinEnglishtheywouldinturnacquireawiderangeofsymbolicandmaterial
resources,whichwouldincreaselearnersculturalcapital.(CitedinNorton,B.p.353).
Investmentinthetargetlanguage(TL)isaconceptintroducedbyNorton,(1995)andone,
whichalongwithBourdieusrepresentationoflanguageassymbolicpower,should,I
believe,informeveryESLteacherspedagogy.Forwhereasinvestmentconsidersthe
complexrelationshipoflanguagelearnerstothetargetlanguageandtheirsometimes
ambivalentdesiretospeakittheoriesofmotivationtendtoviewthelanguagelearneras
ahistoricalandunidimensional.(Norton,2010,p.9)
Drawingonmyownexperienceasasecondlanguagelearner,Iproposethat
learningandteachingcannottakeplaceunlessweconsiderstudentspossiblecomplex
relationshiptotheTL,andtheirindividuallifehistories.Here,IargueforUshiodas(2009)
viewofapersonincontextrelationalviewoflanguagemotivation,whichfocusesonreal
personsratherthanlanguagelearnersastheoreticalabstractions.Furthermore,Iargue
thatempathyisateachersmostvaluableasset.Wecannotpossiblyknowallthevariables,
thedifferencesandchallengesthatcomewitheveryclassroom.Empathyfostersasafe
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Thefunctionsoflanguagearemany,andgivenitspoliticalandideologicalnature,
thereareinanygivensociety,legitimatespeakers;i.e.aspeakerwhohasthepowerto
imposereceptionbecausehe/sheisinaprivilegedposition.(Bourdieu,P.1977.Citedin
NortonPeirce,B.1995)Bourdieu,(1977)writesaboutthemayorofPau(towninFrance)
addressingtheinhabitantsintheBearnaislocallanguage,asanexampleofstrategiesof
condescension;i.e.onlyapersoninpower,suchasamayor,canusealanguageotherthan
theofficialFrench,andbepraisedforit,insteadofderided.ThemayorofPauisthus,a
legitimatespeakerbecauseofhisprivilegedpositioninsocietyandhasthepowerto
imposereception.NortonPeirce,(1995)extendsBourdieuslabeloflegitimatespeakerto
includenativespeakersofaTL.InherworkwithimmigrantwomeninCanada,Norton
(2011)detailsanexchangebetweenEva,aPolishimmigrant,andhercoworker,Gail,who
asanativespeakerofEnglishistheonewhocoulddeterminethegroundsonwhich
interactioncouldproceedandwhohadthepowertobringclosuretotheconversation.
(p.13)TheinteractionreferredtohereisGailsrhetoricalquestiontoEvadontyouknow
whoBartSimpsonis?(p.13)andthereforebypointingoutEvasignoranceoverBart
Simpsonsidentity,Gailisrobbinghertherighttoaddtotheconversation.CitingBourdieu,
Norton(2010)writes,thevalueascribedtospeechcannotbeunderstoodapartfromthe
personwhospeaks,andthepersonwhospeakscannotbeunderstoodapartfromlarger
networksofsocialrelationships.(p.350)TheimplicationhereisthatGailwasclaiminga
superiorpositiontoEva,simplybecausetheformerisanativespeakerwhoiswellversed
inpopularculture,andthelatterisanimmigrant.
PreviouslyImentionedthattheoriesoflanguageassymbolicpowerandinvestment
shouldinformanESLteacherspedagogy.IbelievethisbecausemanyofourESLstudents
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areimmigrantsorchildrenofimmigrantsandwouldhavehadexperiencessimilartoEva;
experiencesthatmayinhibittheirmotivationtoacquiretheTL.AccordingtoUshioda,
(2003)motivationcomesnotonlyfromwithintheindividual,butisalsoasocially
mediatedprocess.Astudentotherwisehighlymotivatedmayfeelambivalenttowardthe
TLdependingonnumerousfactorsinsideandoutsidetheclassroom.Fornoclassroom
standsapartfromsocietal/pressures/challengesthatinfluenceandshapeit,andeach
studentandteacherispartofhis/hersocioculturalmilieu,andcannotbeunderstood
outsidethatcontext.AsateacherIwouldpaycloseattentiontoclassroomdynamicsand
createanatmospherethatisopenandencouraging.Ithinkitispossibletofosterpassion
forlearninginourstudents,butforthattohappenitisessentialtofirstdeveloparapport
witheachstudent,remainappreciativeoftheiruniqueness,andrespectfuloftheircultural
background.Obviously,asteachers,wecannotcontrolorfixchallengesourstudentsface
outsidetheclassroom,butcertainlyitiscrucialtounderstandhowtheirrelationshipand
investmentintheTL,influencestheirlearning.
TheLanguageLearningProcess
Cook(2008)writes,thetermL2userwasoriginallyintendedtocounteractthe
implicationthatpeoplewithasecondlanguagearelearnersforlifeandtogivetheman
equalstatuswithpeoplewithanL1.(p.23)AnotherimplicationwhenreferringtoL2
usersasL2learnersisthattheultimategoalmustbenativelikeattainmentandanything
shortofthatisconsidereddeficient.PersonallyIlikethetermL2userbecauseit
emphasizesanotherimportantaspectoflanguage:thatitisasocialtoolweuse.And
whetheronesgoalisnativelikeattainmentorsimplywantingtogetby,usinglanguageis
crucialtolearninglanguage.Ifirmlybelievethatnoamountofclassroominstructionwill
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leadtolanguagelearningwithoutopportunitiesforactualuseoflanguage.Ellis(2006)
principle8states:TheopportunitytointeractintheL2iscentraltodevelopingL2
proficiency.(p.219)IlearnedEnglishbecauseIhadnootherchoicebuttointeractwith
nativespeakerswhenIimmigratedtotheUS.IhaveyettodevelopaproficiencyinGerman
becauseIrarelyseekinteractionsinGerman.Ihavehad5yearsofGermanclassroom
instruction,butverylittleinteractioninthelanguage.Now,IamapassiveGerman
languagelearner,andbythisImeanthatIunderstandmostofwhatissaidinGerman,but
amunabletocarryacomplexconversation.SwainandSuzuki(2006)write,fewwould
doubtthatparticipationincommunicativeinteractionisasourceofL2acquisition.(p.
576)Theauthorsclaimthatwhenlearnersparticipateincommunicativeinteractionthey
engageinlanguagingdefinedastheuseoflanguagetomediatecognitively
demanding/complexactivities,(p.565)i.e.,learnerstalkaboutlanguagethroughlanguage
inordertotesthypotheses,solveproblemsandsoforth.Producinglanguageplaysarole
instimulatinglearnersawarenessoflinguisticforms,encouraginglearnerstopay
attentiontoL2grammar.(Swain&Suzuki,p.565)Theultimategoalinlearninganew
languageistheabilitytoproducethatlanguage.Interactionandlanguagingarecentral
processesinL2acquisition.
Thenextsectionwilladdresshowinteractionandlanguagingwillbeusedinthe
classroomthroughtaskbasedinstruction.
TeachingLanguage
Elliswrites,(2010)tasksconstituteanimportantpedagogictoolforpromotingL2
acquisition,becauselearnerswilldeveloplinguisticknowledgeiftheyexperiencetryingto
usethatknowledgeunderrealconditions.Andfurthermore,learnersinterlanguage
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developmentoccursasaproductofcommunication.(p.39)Atask,accordingtoEllis,must
satisfythefollowingcriteria:
1. Thereisprimaryfocusonmeaning.2. Thestudentschoosethelinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcesneededtocompletethetask.3. Thetaskshouldleadtorealworldprocessesoflanguageuse.4. Successfulperformanceofthetaskisdeterminedbyexaminingwhetherstudents
haveachievedtheintendedcommunicativeoutcome.(p.35)
Ibelievethattaskspromoteinteractionandlanguaging.Tasksadditionallyengage
studentsinproblemsolving,collaboration,andprovideascloseofanauthenticsituationas
possible.Tasksenablestudentstodevelopcontrolovertheirlinguisticknowledgewhile
theyuselanguageunderrealoperatingconditions.Furthermore,trueinterlanguage
development(i.e.,theprocessofacquiringnewlinguisticknowledgeandrestructuring
existingknowledge)canonlyhappenwhenacquisitionhappensincidentally,asaproduct
oftheefforttocommunicate.(Ellis,2010.pp.3839)OnetypeoftaskthatIbelieve
satisfiestheabovecriteriaisadictogloss.Dictoglossisakindofoutputtaskthat
encouragesstudentstoworktogetherandproducelanguageformscollaborativelyby
reconstructingatextpresentedtothemorally.(Ellis,R.CitedinNasaji&Fotos)During
suchatasktheteacherwouldreadatextwhilestudentswrotedownkeyphrases.Oncethe
teacherhasfinishedreading,studentswouldworkcollaborativelytoreconstructand
reproducetheoriginaltext.Thistypeoftask:
promotesverbalinteractioninarealisticcommunicativecontext.Tocompletethe
dictoglos,learnersneedtocommunicateandhelpeachothertoreconstructthe passagethisrequiresthemtoengageinextensivediscussionabouttheappropriate
lexicalandgrammaticalformsthetaskpusheslearnerstoreflectontheirown
languageoutputortalkaboutlanguageitraiseslearnersconsciousnessof specificaspectsoflanguageuse.p.109
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WhereIStand 8
AnothertypeoftaskthatIwoulduseinmyclassroomisgrammarconsciousness
raisingtasks.AccordingtoEllis(2003)grammarconsciousnessraisingtasksrequires
learnerstocommunicatedirectlyaboutgrammarstructuresThesetasksmaypresentthe
structureimplicitly,embeddedincommunicativecontextsorpresentthegrammar
structureexplicitlyastaskcontent(Ellis,R.CitedinNassaji&Fotos.p.91)Onegreat
example,adaptedfromEllis(2002)ofanexplicitstructuredgrammarfocusedtaskis
presentingstudentswithsentencesandaskingthemtodeterminewhenforisandwhen
sinceisused,thegroupsthendeveloprulestoexplainwhenforandsinceareusedand
presenttheirrulestotherestoftheclass.(Ellis,R.CitedinNassaji&Fotos.p.98)
Ibelieveinapplyingtaskbasedinstructionintheclassroombecausetheysimulate
anauthenticsituation,theyraiselearnersawarenessofmeaningandform,promote
collaborationandbecausemyownexperienceoflearningEnglishexemplifiessomeofthe
featuresoftaskbasedinstruction.IhadlivedinSeattleforhardlyamonthwhenIbegan
myjunioryearofhighschoolwithonlyanintermediateEnglishproficiency,butwasstill
enrolledinclasseswithnativespeakers.Thefocusoftheseclasseswasonmeaning:the
meaningofatext,ofaformulaandsoforth.SincethesewerenotESLclasses,students
wereexpectedtochoosethelinguisticandnonlinguisticresourcestocompletean
assignment.Mostofourassignmentsrequiredreallanguageuse.Ofcourse,emphasiswas
onacademicgenrenonetheless,idiomsandculturalreferencesalwaystookpart.Andlastly,
ourperformancewasmeasuredbywhateveritwasweproduced:apresentation,agroup
project,orapaper.IamnotproposingthatwedoawaywithESLclasses,andcertainly,
whatworkedforme,willnotworkforanother.ButIdobelievethattasksgivestudentsthe
opportunitytoproducesomethingmeaningfulandtangible.
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Inconclusion,Iwanttostate,thatnoamountoftaskbasedinstruction,languaging
andinteractionwillleadtoL2acquisition,unlesseducatorspaycloseattentiontostudents
investment,individualdifferences,theirrelationshiptotheTLandwhattheyperceivetobe
assymboliccapital.Theworstwecandoistodismissaseeminglydisinterestedstudentas
unmotivatedbecauseitispossiblethatthisstudentisnotinvestedinacquiringtheTLfora
varietyofreasons.Perhapshe/shelivesinacommunitywhereEnglishisneverused,or
perhapshe/shehasnotbeenwelcomedbythenativeEnglishspeakingcommunitybecause
ofthecolorofhis/herskin.AndthusIfirmlystate,thatbeforewearetodevelopa
curriculum,whethertaskbasedorcontentbased,weoughttodeveloparapportwithour
students.Understandwhotheyareashumanbeingsfirst,thenasstudents.Askyour
studentstowriteanaccountoftheirlanguagelearninghistoriessothatyoumay
understandwheretheycomefrom,whattheywantandexpect.Andmostofallhave
empathyforeachone.Seetheworldfromtheireyes,andbekind,forthatisthebare
minimumrequiredforabetterclassroom.
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References:
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Reader (pp.480490).Routledge.
Cook,V.J.(2008).Multicompetence:Blackholeofwormholeforsecondlanguage
acquisitionresearch?InZ.Han,(Ed.),Understandingsecondlanguageprocess(16
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Ellis,R.(2005).Principlesofinstructedlanguagelearning.System,33,209224.
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