Nauczanie Języka Obcego
Chapter 5 „Some background issues”
theory of Behaviourism - is the result of a three-stage procedure:
stimulus → 2. response → 3. reinforcement
ex. Lights go on ( 1 ) a rat goes up to a bar and press it ( 2 ) and is rewarded by
the dropping of a tasty food ( 3 )
Bernard Skinner - much the same process happens in language learning, especially first language;
ex. The baby needs food so it cries and food is produced
after that baby is swaps crying → for one or two-word utterances to get the
same effect;
baby can see that words are more precise than cries → learns to refine the
the words to get
exactly what is wanted
Noam Chomsky - objection → if all language is learnt behaviour, how come children and adults frequently say things they have never heard before?
- he theorised that all children are born with some kind of language
acquisition device - which allowed them to formulate rules of language
based on the input they received;
- the mind contains 'blueprints for grammatical rules';
once the rules have been activated, the potential for creativity follows;
- students need to be given input which will allow their mind to work;
- students should be given opportunities for creative language use both in
language production and in the processing of written and spoken text;
Ivan Illich - in language teaching - the more input we are exposed to, the more we learn;
we can measure knowledge with test and grades;
it's all delusion;
learning first language - all children succeed at it to a greater or lesser extent;
- parents may help to 'teach' the language in an informal
way ( through repetition, 'play' );
- in this case process of learning is unconscious;
- at the end of this process the language is there as a
result of exposure to language;
Dick Allwright - perhaps all you need to learn a new language is three elements :
(1) exposure, (2) motivation to communicate and (3) opportunities to use it;
experiments - students who new some English - go outside the classroom
and ask where is the library;
it's a task where teachers gave no language training, advice or
correction;
Stephen Krashen - division of language learning into:
- acquisition
- learning
language which we acquire subconsciously, is the language we can easily use
in spontaneous conversation = is instantly available when we need;
language which is learnt - studied grammar and vocabulary - is not available
in spontaneous use; ( the more we monitor what we are saying the less spontaneous we become;
(a) - roughly-tuned input as a contrast to
(b) - finely-tuned input of much language instruction where the
specific graded language has been chosen for conscious
learning;
ad. (a) - aids acquisition
it is questioned if the learnt language can never pass to the acquired one;
it seems to be false;
both (a) and (b) end up becoming acquired language at some point
Most teachers of young students avoid learning grammar - it has little effect;
Children subconsciously acquire languages;
Richard Schmidt - 'noticing' - condition which is necessary if the language a student is
exposed to is to become language that he or she takes in;
unless the student notices the new language, he or she is
unlikely to process it and therefore the chances of learning it
are slim;
it modified the view of Stephen Krashen who argued that comprehensible
input was enough for acquisition to take place;
the fact that language has been noticed does not mean that it has been acquired
or learnt, nor that students can use it immediately;
Theorists say that the learner's feelings are as important as their mental or cognitive abilities;
Is students feel hostile towards the subject of study, the materials or the teaching methods they will be unlikely to achieve much success = these states are called by Earl Stevick 'alienations';
Students should feel relaxed, positive and unthreatened - then the affective filter is lowered
how teachers ensure that their students feel positive about learning?
- learners need to feel that what they are learning is personally relevant to them
- they have to experience learning ( not being 'taught' )
- their self-image needed to be enhanced as part of the process;
Discovering language - instead of explicitly teaching the present perfect tense we will expose students to examples of it and then allow them, under the guidance of teacher, to work out for themselves how it is used;