[EnglishLanguage 3687] Re: Post critical period oral L2 learning of adults w/low L1 literacyMarcos Valle marcos.valle at edcc.eduWed Jan 28 13:48:03 EST 2009
Thank you, Dr. Tarone, for both the word of caution and the excellent reference. Marcos Marcos Valle, Ph.D. ABE ESL, International Division Edmonds Community College 20,000 68th Ave. W Lynnwood, WA 98036 (425) 640-1215 From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Elaine Tarone Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 8:15 AM To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3676] Re: Post critical period oral L2 learning ofadults w/low L1 litearcy I'm just urging caution: There is undoubtedly lots of research on how the brain learns, but almost all of it, (except for studies like Reis and Castro-Caldas, Read et al, etc) is research on the brains of literate people. There are brain imaging studies showing that literate and illiterate brain images are different during oral pseudoword repetition tasks, where individuals can't process words semantically but have to process them in terms of linguistic form. (One such is Castro-Caldas et al (1998) Brain 121, 1053-1063.) These results are consistent with what teachers tell us they see in the classroom with regard to the difficulties typically experienced by adults who aren't alphabetically literate in 'focus on form' type activities. There are cognitive reasons why literacy affects certain kinds of oral language processing. On Jan 28, 2009, at 9:23 AM, Steve Kaufmann wrote: I am not talking about generalizations about how the brain learns. I ma referring to the work of Manfred Spitzer who describes where in the brain this leaning takes place and how. Reading is learned in a different area of the brain from the spoken language, by the way. In any case there is a lot of research on how the brain learns, and that research should be applied to teaching. We should recognize that learning takes place in the brain, not in the classroom, as Spitzer says. Read Spitzer's book on learning and the brain when it comes out in English. Steve Kaufmann www.lingq.com On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 5:27 AM, Elaine Tarone <etarone at umn.edu> wrote: There is research demonstrating significant differences in cognitive processing between matched groups of literate and illiterate adults. I can send copies of these studies to anyone who is interested. These studies suggest that we need to be very cautious in making generalizations about the way illiterate adults' brains process and acquire second languages. In the meantime, it is very important to do what we are doing in this discussion -- share information on what works in classrooms, and what doesn't. On Jan 27, 2009, at 8:46 PM, Steve Kaufmann wrote: I believe that our brain will, with enough exposure to content that is relevant and interesting, start to sort out some rules relating to word order, and other aspects of the structure of the new language, with or without explicit grammar explanations and drills. Some degree of grammar review, corrections etc, are helpful but not necessary, and not as important as the massive input. Most learners attending ESL language class do not get enough input of English. Some aspects of a new language may never stick. In English, articles are difficult for people form languages without articles. The spoken difference between "he" and "she" is difficult for well educated Chinese people, even after ten or more years of grammar study, and even though the concept is not difficult and universally understood. It just does not exist in Chinese, so it is hard to develop the natural ability to say "she" and "he" when required. >From my reading and observation, the brain sorts these things out on its own schedule, and slowly. Explanations and drills are relatively ineffective, but can help a little. Only lots of input will enable the brain to gradually get better, as long as there is a will, and the input continues. That has been my experience in learning Russian over the last 2 years, and that has been the experience of many others who are prepared to put in the time, listening and reading, according to what they have told me. Obviously the non-reader is at a disadvantage. However, intensive listening on an iPod to content of interest could go a long way. However, I admit I have no experience with non-literate learners. Steve Kaufmann www.lingq.com On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Elaine Tarone <etarone at umn.edu> wrote: It is possible that formal teaching imposes accuracy standards that are very difficult to attain unless the learner is alphabetically literate. I think this is particularly true of grammatical features that do not dramatically change the semantics, like word order in questions and final morphemes that are really redundant in context. Maybe teachers can find other ways to communicate those standards (like use of cuisinaire rods to show word order shifts) to make the learner aware of the difference between their production and the accurate target. On Jan 27, 2009, at 5:10 PM, Steve Kaufmann wrote: Is it possible that formal teaching imposes accuracy standards on learners that are either not relevant to their own language goals, or applied too soon in their language development? We all know fluent speakers of English and other languages who make many mistakes. Steve Kaufmann www.lingq.com On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 2:15 PM, Martha Bigelow <mbigelow at umn.edu> wrote: Anne, This is fascinating. Would you happen to have a publication or citation you could share with the list yet? I'm sure many would be very interested to read more, even if it is a handout. I'm often overwhelmed by the English language fluency and pragmatic skills of the teens I've worked with. But sometimes the transcriptions show surprises! They are not as accurate as they seem. Martha ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Email delivered to steve at thelinguist.com ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Email delivered to etarone at umn.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Email delivered to steve at thelinguist.com ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Adult English Language Learners mailing list EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage Email delivered to etarone at umn.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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