Emotions and Language

Reflection # 9
Discuss the role of emotional language in your L1 and L2. Which language is emotionally richer.

Although Spanish, French and some Japanese are available to me as speech vehicles, since I lived in Germany for so many years, I would like to dwell on emotional expression in that language. Is it because English has such deep Germanic roots that I found no problem in finding an emotional voice in German? I spoke not only to the family friends, and clients / customers in German, but also to my horses, and also conversed with dogs and cats in that tongue. I rarely used English after a point, only for language lessons, or by special request. I still like to talk to the animals in German--they take to it better than Texans do!

In summary, I don't feel that there is any emotion that cannot be expressed in German fully well as I can express it in English.

As your learners acquire (participate?) in their new speech communities do you see a change in their emotional language behavior.

For the Japanese I worked with in Germany, some of the more extroverted seemed to enjoy finding that they could express "off-color" language in English. The Germans were always looking to pick up slang and swear words. In Gender Linguistics last year, I did a paper on the use of English in German-language blogs. The use of slang and swear words was the most frequent type of language used, probably derived from pop culture such as movies, songs, magazines. Also combos of German and English such as "drogenfreak," Elvisverruckt," and "Handy" meaning a cell phone, are quite common. I always felt that the students felt more liberated expressing these terms in English rather than in German.

Reflect on the notion of (re)construction of self in your own L2 or L3 learning experiences.

Since I never thought much about my identity when I was living overseas, this never seemed to be a problem. I just understood that my nationality and viewpoint were different, but that often gave me a springboard to get to know people and ask questions to find out how and why things in a particular country were different. Whether it was France, Spain or Japan, I just felt like I fit in. Frankly I feel most strange in the US, where I was faced with reverse culture shock in 2002, after many years in Europe. That is one of the reasons that I love ESL--it's international.

Application of Language Tools

Reflection # 8
Okay. What is it going to be form-focused or communicative or a combination of both.
Back up your thoughts with some of the studies in LS Ch. 6.

First, control for variables! I have worked mostly with adults in both individual and classroom settings. Whether the class is multi-national or all speak the same L1 is critical. Also, motivational factors. Once that is clear, set the objective or purpose; what do I want them to be able to do at the end of class? Do they understand why and how it benefits them?

The answer to the above is--natch--a combination of whatever it takes to touch everyone in class, using visual, auditory, tactile, approaches in talking, listening, reading, and writing. Ready? Go!

I would start off in a communicative mode, say a conversation promoting something already read (that takes care of the read/listen (using enhanced input or input flood), to be done as homework)--get everyone's opinion. Some will talk more than others, but everyone will be expected to say something. That also takes care of the two for one--talking about opinions (a la immersion programs) concerning the weather, or home life.
When I hear what the problems are, I pick out the most critical, and then teach what is teachable (readies, unreadies and recasts) considering what we have already covered in class. I don't expect anyone to get it right from the beginning, although short sentences and phrases can be learned (audiolingual pattern drill for difficult items to pronounce) to facilitate life in ESL and to build confidence in pronunciation. Let's talk,(pair or group work) but with some focus on form, to ensure that the class is getting value added from the lesson rather than random conversation, which could well happen without a teacher.

At the end of class we would review the objective again, and perhaps do an exercise in group work to get it right in the end (e.g. collaborative dialogue.) Then the next step (i+1) would be tied into today's work in order to give a logical progression to the language and motivation to complete the homework.

What's the greatest influence in language learning?

Reflection # 7
From your experience, what are some of the affective factors that you encounter in your classrooms? How do they interfere in learning?How do lower the affective filter?
In classrooms filled with business people from the same companies, I have encountered affective manifestations ranging to aggression in relation to peers, to fear of speaking up. It is often necessary to thank the former for their copious contributions, fulfilling their need to be, "the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral." Then to curtain them in the interests of sharing the conversation. Often it is necessary to take the shyer people to the side, and speak with them in their native tongue to better understand the origin of their reluctance to participate. These reasons run the gamut from learning an L2 or L3, to local prejudice (e.g., the Turks in Germany). I would often insure that they felt safe in giving answers or participating, and then ask them to do so in front of the class, to build confidence.
Lack of self-confidence or self-esteem comes in many forms, as discussed with Ana yesterday. My impression is that it blocks what is known or what can be remembered, leaving the person feeling empty, frozen, or unable to respond.
Many of you work with children. What are some of the issues concerning motivation with children? How do address motivation in the classroom? Can you motivate them or does motivation come from within?
Motivation is both intrinsic and extrinsic. It is possible to give a children a different picture of themselves, and often this inspires them to live up to it. Positive motivative given by teachers and parents can develop into intrinsic motivation, and is one of the factors, when wide-spread, can influence the development of national motivation--e.g., Martin Luther King's influence on the Civil Rights Movement.

Is this tree green?

Reflection # 6
Re the Whorfian hypothesis: Are there concepts or ways of saying things in one of the languages that you speak that can not be said or expressed or the meaning changes in another of your languages?

Whorf's hypothesis was extensively addressed in the undergrad Linguistics course offered by Dr. Drinka. Does language influence thought and perception, or vice-versa? The best example of the former (Whorf) that I came across are the words for green and blue in Japanese. In Bonjinsha's Japanese English Dictionary (1992), "ao" is translated as blue, green. "Let's cross the street when the light turns green. with a note, "Although it usually means 'blue,' ao is sometimes used for 'green' as in aosingo (a green light) and aoba (green leaves)."

Under "midori," the translation is given as green, with the example," The green of the trees and grass is pretty in May." If there is a difference, it is almost indistinguishable from these definitions, unless it means green with a tinge of yellow. Do the Japanese see colors differently because of these words? Wakanaiyo!

How do you address culture in your classrooms? Do you go beyond the "holiday" model of culture?

At Hitachi, we had a cultural consultant present a seminar. We looked at the values held in esteem in Japanese and German cultures; for example, group work in Japan, versus rugged individualism in Germany. We then shared why we felt these values were important, and learned to better understand the drivers behind the behaviors of the groups. By the way, our definition of culture was, "It's the way we do things around here." Cultural adaptation and respect is one of the keys to success in working with people.

Reflection # 5
What is CAH and what are the differences between it and CLI?

The Contastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) states that errors in L2 are assumed to be a result of transfer or blocking due to L1. However, this behaviorally based hypothesis came under fire as researchers looked for more positive ways to approach L2 learning. Error analysis, for example, was used to determine how progress was being made in an L2. A case in point, *he buyed shows that the early learner is developing an ability to form the past tense. Eventually, the term cross-linguistic influence (CLI) came into use, and coalesced in the the definition of "interlanguage," which is the intermediate form, between the bookends of L1 and L2 fluency and accuracy. The nature of the interlanguage depends on the distance or closeness of the language groups to each other. Researchers have determined that it is a system with its own rules, thus being systematic and dynamic.

How can some of the concepts talked about in the Chpater (Brown ch 9) be used in the classroom, e.g., error analysis, CLI, Stages of learner language development, fossilization.

In teaching language, it is helpful to understand that there may be a pre-ordained way in which language structures are learned, and to follow this in order to build up step-wise competence. The examples given are negation, questions, possessive determiners, and relative clauses.Errors are valuable in that they point to what needs to be done, and also indicate progress, as mentioned above. Fossilization appears when learners give up for any of a range of reasons, mostly related to beliefs about themselves, often projected on the society or culture in which they live.

Although vocabulary is mentioned, I do not understand why the authors do not mention the value of ETYMOLOGY in helping students to more quickly amass numbers of words and to help them more accurately guess the meaning of words.

Is There a Critical Age for Optimally Learning a Language?

Reflection #4
Why do you think that it is so difficult for researchers to agree on the CPH (Critical Age Hypothesis). Give explicit examples from the readings.

Like much of the research in the social sciences, results are not repeatable in evaluations of the hypothesis (read "guess") concerning the criticality of age which is optimal for learning languages. I hasten to add that the critical age is set at puberty; Piaget determined that the great dividing point in facility of L2 acquision is at the age of 11. Krashen, on the other hand, sets the age at 5! In the diversity of studies of language acquision, it appears that all researchers agree that native accent, which is not necessarily a vital measure of competence in a language, is acquired before puberty.

Some of the more important studies in examining the CAH are:

Lenneberg (1967) and Scovel (1969) did biological studies of the brain, looking at the plasticity of the neurons and synapses prior to and after puberty. More biological evidence was introduced by Genesee (1982) showing the participation of the right hemisphere in language processing especially in L2 learners post-puberty.

Sociological evidence for the ability of adults to learn language come from the Tukano, tribes in South America, who showed language ability after puberty, as they were expected to marry exogamously, Hill (1970).

Also give examples from your own experience.

Due to my father's assignment in France, I was able to have the experience of learning a language before puberty, at 10 years old. All I can recall is that it must have been mostly subconscious, and I still maintain some of it to this day. People have told me that my accent is excellent, like a native speaker, but I admit I have to concentrate and imitate (fun!) to pull it off. My other languages have been learned during the teen years, my twenties, and when I was fourty-five, I started learning German. At first, I had to wrap my tongue (Zunge) around some of the words (hoehe=high), but persistance paid off. Of course, German and English are in the same language group, which may help. I was always very flattered when people mistook me for Dutch or Swedish; rarely was I marked as an American because of my accent in German!

Horses are Multi-Lingual!

Reflection # 3

• What is your learning style?


• Living in France when I was ten years old, I found it an adventure, and really don't even remember learning the language consciously, it just came with the air and food +wine, apparently. Having moved every year or two before that time (and afterwards) I was just happy to be somewhere where it was different. (However, this was not true of returning to the US to reside in Arkansas after France!) Thus I conclude that I was, even at that tender age, ambiguity tolerant, and intuitive, just accepting what came and dealing with it the best I could. In language learning I place emphasis on speed (e.g. of vocabulary acquisition) over accuracy, which I figure will come with more exposure, thus indicating I am probably more right-brain oriented, and more FD (big picture, people and psychology, inductive) with enough FI to figure out the details. Impulsivity is a hallmark, how else could I have ended up being kidnapped in Morocco, just pulling up and leaving for Germany for a new opportunity, or leaving a "normal" job to come back to grad school, taking (horse) driving lessons in Hungarian, etc? Probably my major hook into languages is auditory, as I can listen to opera and learn new vocabulary, or to tapes. Imitating people and accents has always been a sideline of mine. Don't ask me to get started . . .


• Have you ever taken a learning style inventory?


• No, but have worked extensively with the Myers-Briggs Personality Evaluation, and I can see some correlations. The inventory is very helpful to further analysis of students.


• In your classrooms as teachers how have you or do you address the issue of learning styles?


• I have done a lot of consulting and one-on-one work with adults and children. In addition, I have worked as a teacher for a seminar company, with the clear objective of delivering "edutainment," with compensation being related to the quality of the lectures presented. In these cases I have used psychological skills to find out what the problems were, often interviewing the seminar attendees before class, and then addressed myself indirectly to these problems, which, once cleared up, opened doors to learning. It is very helpful to have a list of styles to work from, rather than just using my experience and intuition. I believe that this information will also help me in the communication skills project in Electrical Engineering.


• Finally discuss your experience with learners' beliefs about language, of either your students or their parents.


• When children in Germany told me that they couldn't learn English, I would ask them if they were smarter than my horses. When they said yes, I let them know that my mares learned German, and didn't forget their English. Then we would put the horses on a line, and give them commands in both languages, which they understood perfectly. This may not have totally convinced the kids about their own abilities, but they sure admired the language skills of the horses!
• How has it affected your teaching?
• At UTSA, I am blessed to be working in an area which calls on my skills gained in the pharmaceutical industry, and I take pains, when delivering information, to tell the attendees why this is important when they get out into the "real" world.

Understanding how the brain and psyche work in language learning

Reflection #2
Offer some thoughts about what you see as a relationship between behavioral, nativist, and functional approaches to studying first language acquisition and your own experiences in learning or teaching a second language.

The behaviorist, nativist and functional approaches to language learning, or to society, would appear to define the history of education in general in the West. The behaviorist theory is a bit like training animals, or the military, with a conditioned response. The assumption that the learner brings nothing to the table is the greatest fallacy of this approach. It is useful to step up and say that I was trained in most of my schooling (present years excepted) by behaviorists. It does build good discipline!

Chomsky broke the mold by stating that indeed, the learner has a structure, in this case the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) hidden somewhere deep in the brain. And there are some universals, e.g., Universal Grammar, in language, despite the Tower of Babel story. This approach freed us up to honor our own creativity in language, as well as that of our students. Studies of children's language sequencing are helpful in conceptualizing how to introduce different language elements.

The functional approach, tied to Vygotsky and other Russians who did their work during the 30's! The importance of social interaction in learning language is a strong contention to activate what is in the brain. Rather than a grammar-translation approach, the functionalists emphasize the use of L2 to accomplish a task, as it is used in L1. Focus on Form developed by Long is a means of bridging the need to introduce some grammar and correctness into language teaching, which had been radically challenged by Steven Krashen, who proposed the Natural method and practically did away with the need for teachers!

Only in Dr. Wright's course and in (soon) Dr. Campbell's, have I personally experienced the Functional approach. Most of the other courses in English and certainly in Engineering, are Transmission/Behaviorist in approach.

In a second response, discuss the role of culture in first language aquisition. Many of you speak more than one language and English is your second language. Do you think the child-parent interaction is different in the United States' English speaking population and a non-English speaking population that you are familiar with?

Briefly, let's define culture: It's the way we do things around here. So different cultures will influence the way a child learns a language. Look, for example, at some cultures where it is thought normal, or natural, that a child learns up to three or four languages, so that they can speak the standard language, a dialect, and talk to Grandma or Grandpa in another tongue. Isn't this fundamentally different from the insular position of many people in the US who feel that children are not capable of learning another tongue without it interferring with their main language. Not to mention that it is useless to learn another language as English is spoken by everyone who is worth communicating with where ever you go around the world?