Blogging is not a new phenomenon for me but blogging about one of your course on a post-graduate level is.

To be able to step out of my comfort zone, protective bubble or the impregnable fortress, I must make that first step.

So as to not sound wishy-washy, let me give you a bit of preamble.

 

I am a student of the MEd TESOL of Edinburgh University 2008/2009.

The reason this blog is up and running is because I have to write down my musings, thoughts, knowledge, reflection and evaluation on Language Learning or more commonly known as 2^nd Language Acquisition for those in the TESL line.

 

So please do leave constructive comments as then I will be able to absorb it like SpongeBob and process, dissect, rearrange, discard which in turn be able to make me a better educator.  

I have been staying in an English speaking country for 3 months and counting.

Have I improved my English?

What I have noticed -

(a) I am hearing the words I have read in books written by British authors.

(b) I am finding it difficult to string together an academic sentence. I am usually at loss for words.

(c) I find I need to readjust my word order in sentences to fit with society.

e.g. I usually say – “A value meal no. 4, please.” to “Could I get a regular value meal no. 4?”

(d) I find that speaking ‘rojak’ English or Manglish at home does not help me during conversation with native speakers. With Manglish – you can substitute an unfamiliar English word with other language but not here. I have to rack my brain really long to come up with a really simple word.

(e) I find that people on the streets speak in a quick manner and they say I speak too fast.

(f)  I find out that I am in my comfort English speaking zone with good friends but need to monitor my language output when speaking with tutors or acquaintances.

(g)  I find out I can express better in academic writing rather than speaking.

(h)  I find out that I need to listen, quickly jot down my thoughts, rearrange my schemata, to learn new information.

(i)   I find out that to speak English accurately is impossible because the spoken English is riddled with different sentence structure and jargons yet it sounds so correct.

What can I conclude from all that – learning English for a non-native speaker is a continuing process depending on need, society and area (where he/she stays) unless he/she feels comfortable with the level of English – for me, I can’t – I want to feel a part of society at the same time retaining my individuality and nationality.

Who says a Malaysian can’t have a Canadian English Language system?

I was given the opportunity to go for school visits here in Scotland which was an invaluable experience.

I managed to witness something interesting in a French class – the teacher was asking the students which subjects they dislike the most and the answer: English Language.

I was moderately surprise.

I can only hazard one guess – why do I need to study English when I am already speaking the language?

I asked a sixth former on learning grammar and he told me they just picked it up though they were exposed to it when they were in primary school. In secondary school – English mainly focuses on literature.

So it is not easy learning English in a native country.

I guess kids nowadays are more into Playstation or Wii and OK! Magazine rather than sticking their noses into Hamlet or Pride and Prejudice.

So they would most find it quite intolerable to sit through an hour of discussing Mr Darcy’s character.

Back home – Literature is part of the secondary school English Language curriculum which I felt is cumbersome for the students. I would not discuss here about the demerits of introducing Literature in the curriculum rather I would like to highlight another reason why learning English has been a great turn off for the kids.

Despite all the support the teacher gives during English Language classes, once the students hear that it’s Literature period – I think they have directed their minds to something more worthwhile like how to solve the mathematical problem in the first period or what snacks to have during break.

Personally, I didn’t have to go through this system but if I had to I would probably despise it as well. And if I was one of the many students facing language problems, I think I would probably do something fruitious, e.g. finishing next period’s homework, to ensure I don’t waste 40 minutes of my lesson time. My motivation for this would probably be in the negative zone despite having to sit exams for this topic. There would not be enough M-factor for me to pull my attention to the teacher droning on and on about what are protagonist and onomatopoeia or the rhythm of this poem.

Would Literature improve my language – indefinitely.

Would Literature motivate me to learn the language – most probably not.

During my one hour break time at work – I would huddle around the computer with a few friends to play this wonderful game of hide and seek.

It is a computer game where you have to locate certain items to beat the game.

My friends were really gung-ho about the game – why gung-ho? It’s because the game has a one-hour limitation and you have to purchase the game if you want to continue your game. The game though after the one-hour expiration allows you to play for another 5 minutes if you decide to continue if you decide not to buy it.

One of my colleagues managed to beat the game by restarting the game after every 5 minutes.

The game is good fun and it promotes learning without my colleagues actually being aware of the situation.

For the first time, I could see my colleagues using the dictionary to find the meaning of certain words to help them identify the objects in the game. They would ask me if there are more than one meaning connected to the word. For me, it was improving my Malay as I had to explain the meaning in Malay.

Kudos to the game developers for producing a top-notch detective game which arouses and maintains the interest of its user.

One thing’s for certain – vocabulary learning took place and continues (my colleagues asked me for the next 2 game instalments) which in a way promotes continuous language learning.

If you go to the movies in France to watch a Hollywood blockbuster, I could guarantee that the movie would be dubbed in French with no subtitles.

If you go to the movies in Malaysia to watch a Hollywood blockbuster, I will guarantee that the movie would be in English with Malay subtitles.

So in France the opportunity to learn English could be from other sources but in Malaysia the opportunity to learn English is everywhere.

Advertisements are in English.

We have English dailies.

Fast food menus are in English. Even if you enter a Chinese restaurant – there are separate menus in English.

English songs blaring from Malay radio stations.

Doesn’t the above situation provide the conducive atmosphere to ‘acquire’ English?

Yet, the kids whom I taught back home, have difficulty understanding simple instruction in English.

Have difficulty articulating simple sentences in English.

They told me as if their tongue became too heavy and stiff when trying to speak English.

There is an obvious difference between the kid from urban and rural areas.

The English level of the kids doesn’t sit along the language competency spectrum rather the level sits at either opposite end of the competency spectrum – beginner’s to lower intermediate.

Have to make this clear – the language focus is for communicative purposes.

So who do we point fingers at?

How do we help these kids to see the importance of learning a different language?

There was a kid who asked me once – ‘Miss, why do you speak English when you are Chinese? Don’t you feel strange speaking English instead of Mandarin?’

I told him then the importance of being bilingual.

He acknowledges the fact but in reality – he only needs to master two major languages – Mandarin and Malay because he knows he is not going to move out of his hometown and he is going to take over his dad’s garage enterprise. To him – where does the need to use “English for Communicative Purposes” come in?

I sympathize with this boy (and other kids) because he is put in a situation where he has no choice but to learn a language which has no immediate benefit except to fulfil certain academic criteria.

Ideally, it would be a revamp of the language curriculum and a strong push by authorities to promote the importance of language learning (meaning not only EL but Mandarin or Tamil or other FL).

Realistically, it is up to individual language educators to bring those small changes to the classroom to provide the kids with necessary information to make that important decision on language learning.

Dinosaur, Easter Bunny, Father Time, and the Ghosts of Christmas past.

What do these objects have in common?

Besides being extinct, or a figment of our imagination or even our beliefs – it starts with ‘t’.

Yup all these characters represent time which is associated to age.

Age has been discussed as being one of the important factors in helping someone learning a language.

For me at least – besides age I would say integrative motivation either pushes one to learn or unlearn a language.

It is an undeniable fact (proven,) kids at an optimal “age” acquire language almost automatically until they reach the end of the roller-coaster ride or if they miss the boat entirely.

I have a theory, looking at past observation, integrative motivation should be activated in kids around 7 years and above – because once they pass the ‘critical learning’ period, they would assume learning a language to be burdensome.

But if teachers are able to provide the necessary ‘motivation’ scaffolding for learners to learn a language, students coming from linguistically diverse culture would have a positive perception on learning a new language.

I remember when I was 3 years old, I started conversing in English because my aunts, uncles, and cousins were all speaking English. My aunt would play ‘Carpenters’ or ‘Boney M’ every weekend cleaning, my Da would play his ‘Bee Gees’, I would be watching ‘My Little Pony and Friends’ or ‘Care Bears’ and flipping through my aunts English story books. I had the environment but it would be different for those who grew up learning their mother tongue. Exposure in school would not be able to provide the same stimulation as being immersed entirely in the TL – as 95% of the time they would be conversing and ultimately thinking in the first language.

Thus I see the importance of activating motivation early in the kids who are about to miss the boat! These could probably sustain their interest in learning a language instead of learning to ace the examinations.

I remember well I converse in English with all my friends during primary up till secondary.

There is this phrase which I still remembered: -

Friend (age 7) – “SI, why you coloring my people’s face green colour?”

Me (age 7) – “Never mind, have to pass up exercise book already.”

Definitely our English improved and didn’t stagnate at that level (to provide clarification) as English is our medium of communication but it differs for learners who uses their mother tongue as the medium of communication.

Different motivational aspects applies to different stages in life depending on need but for young learners cultivating the need to learn the language is important – important to understand that with language, a person is able to progress far.

“How much information of a certain language do we need to be made understood by native speakers?”

“Isn’t it enough to get around using body language and certain lexical items?”

“Is there a point to actually learn the different meaning conveyed by sentences in a language?”

“Learning that language won’t help me in communicating with the old lady selling ‘durian’ down the street.”

“What is the goal of learning a language if we only use a certain language to communicate in our country?”

“Having a good or bad result in the language doesn’t matter – universities would still accept us.”

“What’s the point of learning literature? Sonnets, short stories, novels – is it going to help me get a job in the work force?!”

this is not an uncommon phenomenon. it just screams of practicality and particularity.

me – it is important to have one more objective – perception.

language learning has to be practical, particular (according to Kumaravadivelu) and perceptive.

* Hmmm – it is interesting that “K”-starting names are becoming popular in my course.

The chapter on Krashen has finally closed (doubt it won’t stay close for very long).

It’s not that I am happy to see it end but he has been happily screwing my mind with his ‘Monitor Model’.

I love the way he hypothesizes his theories which does make perfect sense if we think about but it just difficult to verify them.

 

Review of the ‘Monitor Model’

(a)         Acquisition – Learning Hypothesis

(b)         Comprehensible Input Hypothesis

(c)          The ‘Monitor’ Hypothesis

(d)         The Natural Order Hypothesis

(e)         The Affective-Filter Hypothesis

 

Krashen’s weakness here is not of his hypotheses but evidence to support his hypotheses. The hypotheses formulated by Krashen have rapport which supports each other.

 

Krashen (1987: 10) firmly states learning and acquisition is two different entities. One happens in a subconscious manner the other in a learned situation. Acquisition takes place automatically and without one being aware it. Krashen (1987: 21) believes L2 learners are able to acquire the TL in the same method as their MT if comprehensible input is given one level/step ahead. L2 learners exposed to i+1 acquired the meaning of the language and not the form. By understanding the meaning, form will come naturally. This takes us to the Natural Order, where L2 learners would learn morphemes in a predictable order as they do it in the MT (Krashen, 1987: 12). Krashen (1987: 15) duly noted that learning has no other purpose then to ‘monitor’ L2 utterance gained from acquisition. Finally, being in a relaxed, motivated and stress-free condition will apparently aid L2 acquisition and vice versa (Krashen, 1987: 31).

 

If I wasn’t studying TESOL, I would say these are brilliant theories.

But I am studying TESOL, and I still say the above are indeed great hypotheses. It’s these hypotheses which gave birth to healthy discussions and strong stands on Second Language Acquisition.

 

I acquiesce with the fact that comprehensible input is necessary for one to know the inner workings of a language but I firmly believe that learning consciously, for example by associating language/lexis with objects/actions/pictures, aids language acquisition. By associating language with objects, this demonstrates a sense of awareness during the cognitive processing in the mind, gently rebuffing the idea of acquisition and learning division. Acquisition and learning has to be inter-dependent for achieving a near native or native-like Second Language.

It finally hit me today in Brona’s lecture that I advocate 1/10 of the behaviourist way of teaching.

I used to teach Communicational English or English for Communicational Purposes. At the end of the day, students must be able to hold a decent communication in English with other speakers of that language according to various functions.

The proficiency level of my students ranges between beginners to intermediate where a majority falls in the beginner’s category. I have an extreme of low proficiency on one end and a medium proficiency on the other end. I have to highlight that proficiency here encompasses reading, speaking, listening and writing.

One topic that is taught in this syllabus is ‘Greetings and Introductions’.

I don’t give them a set of greeting and introduction structure to memorize instead I provoke them to give me the type of utterances or phrases used to greet and introduce oneself. I write them down on the board and the students copy the sentences down. Activities entailing the input session are trying out the sentences with a partner and role-playing a given situation where reading from a source is disallowed.

These activities only help them to reinforce that greeting and introductions are only made up of these utterances and ONLY these utterances where in reality proficient speaker of the language would be able to discern the pragmatics and discourse of this function.

Have I neatly taped and packaged this functional-based language for my students?

What I do know is that during the course of role-play where students utter sentences out of the set of utterances learnt in class, I don’t tell them that it is wrong instead I allow them to continue as such speech exist in real-life.

What I also do know is that the students use L1 to help them in creating the communication process in L2. Students then will either refer to me or their more proficient friends in constructing/translating sentences from L1 to L2. Yes, then learning takes place if students know at the end of the day certain output pertaining to the input has to be formed.

It seems cognitive psychology, cognitive science and SLA believes that learning does not take place without attention. Giving attention here is deemed important for further long-term memory storage of L2 information to take place. Highlighted here is the input given by the teacher being practiced by the students which in this case learners pay more attention to the target language while processing the grammar which would help them to recognize, interpret and produce altered forms or sentences after exposure to the input. (Adapted from Leow, P. R. 2007 Input in the L2 Classroom: An Attentional Perspective on Receptive Practice In DeKeyser, R. M. (ed) 2007 Practice in a Second Language Perspective from Applied Linguistics and Cognitive Psychology).

So my students have been learning syntax, semantics and discourse cognitively even though methodologically it seems leaning towards behaviourism. I can now heave a sigh of relief that I know *cross my fingers* that my students are learning the language consciously and acknowledging the acquisition instead of computing the information like an automaton.

As I was walking home from the TESOL & Learner workshop, my mind was still processing on the information on Language Learning and this incident which happened when I was 7 years old.

 

When I was about 2 – 7 years old, I was home-trained in the English Language and Malay Language. Before I proceed any further, I have to state that I am a Chinese. So if going by Language Acquisition Theory – my L1 should be Mandarin and my L2 would be anything else besides Mandarin.

 

The reason why my mum (who is a teacher, just not a language teacher,) made sure my eldest up to my 4^th sister all spoke fluent and accurate English and Malay was because of the Education Policy at that time where Malay and English were deemed important to land a place in a good school, university and get a career. My mum definitely has great vision.

 

It happened in my 1^st year in primary school where my class teacher was dividing us into races. She went, “Ok, the Malay will stand here, the Indians here and the Chinese here.” I didn’t stand up to join any of the groups. My class teacher was baffled and asked me why didn’t I join the group. I nonchalantly told her, “I am English.” Her eyes went really wide and she of course told me that I wasn’t English.

 

Perhaps you can deduce from the above that Mandarin was never my L1 and in fact in reality that my L1 is the English Language and L2 is Malay followed by Mandarin.

 

At such a young age, as a child, I came to a conclusion that I wasn’t Chinese because I didn’t speak Mandarin. I was thinking in English, communicating in English, and reading in English. I was lucky at that time as most of my friends were speaking in English as well. It seemed to be the ‘in’ thing at that time to be able to speak English fluently.

 

What is language then? Yes language is a process or system which is made of many layers which helps/aids the individual integrate into the community.

 

But then why wasn’t I aware at that time that I was a Chinese?

Could it be, as a child, we have a certain innate instinct to categorize oneself according to the language we communicate in?

Perhaps as a child, I had a different competence structure compared to other children?

 

To me language is more than just a process or a system; I think a language gives you an identity to classify oneself which community h/she belongs to. It gives you a sense of familiarity and belonging to a particular group or society. Of course, we acquired all the necessary layers of a language to be able to interact with people from the same community but it has a more fundamental role of creating an identity for a speaker to be able to fit into that particular community.  

 

I am still puzzled by this enigma till this day and it has always become a ‘ribbing’ topic among my friends.

Comprehensible output versus comprehensible input.

Swain vs Krashen.

Which one of these big heavyweights will reign supreme in the ring?

I think it depends which part of the world you come from.

Both theories do have their strengths.

Swain’s theory on CO is that language acquisition happens when we attempt to attempt to transmit a message but fail and have to try again. In due course, we will arrive at the correct form of utterance, our partner finally understands and acquisition of the new form takes place.

I teach Communicational syllabus back home. Since English Language is not our L1, every Malaysian has to learn English to fulfil the aims and objectives of the National Education Policy. In my class, most of the students would converse with me in our national language which is Bahasa Malaysia. I would then refuse to communicate with them in the national language which forces them to use English.

Even though these kids do have the necessary input (vocabulary and grammar), the uttered sentences are littered with grammatical mistakes. Instead of correcting them, so as to avoid ‘fossilization’, I will pretend to ‘Huh? I don’t understand you…can you please repeat it?’ These kids will then roll their eyes up at the ceiling, consult with their friends (none of them ever come see me without a back-up), and then will try once again to send their message across to me – this time with fewer grammatical mistakes and comprehensible utterance.

Of course, this would only happen if I pretend to not understand but it does prove a point where if a learner has the necessary input but is unable to form comprehensible output, acquisition will not take place. They have the necessary knowledge (bits and bobs of vocabulary and grammar) but fail to arrange it systematically to form any logical sentences. So if I had decided to entertain these illogical sentences, the kids will assume their utterances are correct and acquisition of the language would have failed to take place which would then bring us to another topic of pidginized Malaysian English. *shudders*

I can’t imagine the face of horror on the EL teachers’ faces trying to right something so terrible.

Comprehensible output is then justified in the above situation.

Oooohhh what about L1 = L2. I have something to say about this as well but that is for another day.