Unit 1 - Language Learning Experience

WEEK I
MONDAY
Activity 1

Now that you are level 7, you've had your English learning experience. What is your advice for someone who wants to learn English? What are the facts and myths about learning a language? Discuss the questions with your classmates.

Activity 2
Read the following text. Have you mentioned any of the myths in the article while you were doing the activity 1?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Myths-Of-Language-Learning&id=1187893

Myths Of Language Learning
By Audrey Lewis


By breaking down communication barriers, the language learning industry has indeed changed the lives of people significantly. Careers advanced, relationships improved, and businesses doubled their revenues through the help of this growing business. Sadly, however, there are still those who think that learning a new language can be done in other ways. Language learning got enshrouded by myths because many people believe that in this fast-paced world everything can be acquired without exerting much effort. Learning a new language may be a gratifying experience, but it takes time and dedication. Listed below are some of the common notions misguided people have on language learning.
Myth 1: Language learning is quick and easy. Those who believe that they can learn Spanish or French in two to eight weeks are about to get the biggest disappointment of their lives. No school or university has met a student who can learn something that would normally take years to master. Language learning is not also an easy task, as what many perceive it to be. It requires a great amount of discipline, time and effort. The only time learning a new language becomes easy is when one visits a different country and learns a few foreign key words or phrases just so he can find his way around the city.
Myth 2: Going to foreign countries is the best way to learn a foreign language. If one is in a foreign country, it doesn't necessarily mean he or she will automatically become an expert of the country's language. Individuals who are forced to speak a foreign country's language will often end up saying incorrect sentences that eventually becomes a galling habit. And when the habit becomes full blown, it becomes almost impossible to correct. Institutions and universities specializing in language learning is still the best place to develop a foreign tongue.
Myth 3: Kids learn languages more easily.This is a popular belief commonly affirmed by linguists because of the belief that children begin learning a language at birth. The problem, however, happens when the child enters puberty (about 12 years old). A study done recently suggests that one's first language must be acquired by that age, because after puberty, neurological changes in the brain make it impossible to fully learn a language.
Myth 4: Pronunciation is not important.Many fail to correct their pronunciation either because their professors didn't consider it important or they just assume that their pronunciation is already good enough. A long-time resident in the US who suddenly migrates to England will be surprised to find out that most British will not understand a word he'll utter simply because the way English is pronounced in both countries are different. Genuine language learning considers the importance of proper accent and pronunciation in making conversations smoother and more pleasant. Furthermore, if one takes time to learn a foreign country's natural way of speaking, he or she will look more secure and learned, becoming more easily accepted by others.
Being a consistent editor-in-chief in every official school organ she is in from elementary to college, Audrey is a certified grammar-conscious writer and professional translator She can edit tons of articles in a snap. Aside from learning perfect English, this 21-year-old OC is also a nursing student. Although writing is her first love, being a nurse is her chosen profession.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Audrey_Lewis

Activity 3
Read the following two passages about the language learning experiences of two different people. Compare and contrast their experiences.

Passage 1

http://teachingalanguage.blogspot.com/2007/05/my-language-learning-experience.html

My language learning experience

My very first exposure to languages was in Middle School when we were all assigned to take one semester of both Spanish and German (in a small, rural high school, there were not many choices). Technically my roots are in German and my grandfather still can speak and understand a form of Pennsylvania Dutch, but I was always more drawn to Spanish for its practical use. During high school, my teacher was recently interested in the TPR (total physical response) approach and also using a lot of songs, videos, etc to make learning Spanish more interesting. Looking back now, I think learning some of these methods and strategies has really helped me to continue language learning on my own. I also participated in a 2 week trip to Spain with the Spanish club during one summer. The moment that I saw words in print, on billboards, etc. that I recognized or was able to answer basic questions sparked a feeling in me like no other type of learning.
In college, I pursued Spanish as a second major, even though it was my most difficult subject material. I had a dream of traveling, and Spanish seemed to be my ticket to doing that. During my junior year, I decided to study abroad in La Plata, Argentina. This was my first real test in utilizing my Spanish and really taking it to the next level. I wish now, however, that I had better memories or had better documented my learning during this time. My recommendation to anyone learning a language now would be to tape record yourself at various stages of learning a language (which I too will do when I learn a third language). I would love to have a tape version hearing myself with an Argentine Spanish accent because this is something that I can’t even mimic now. The only thing I remember about learning Spanish in Argentina was that I forced myself to think in Spanish as often as possible. Walking down the street, I would describe everything around me using whatever words I had in Spanish. It was this training of my mind to think in a new language is what I truly accredit to my mastery of Spanish. From there it was just a matter of acquiring more vocabulary and improving grammar.
After I came home from Argentina, I was finally confident and excited to use my Spanish and looked for every opportunity to do so. I worked, volunteered, and did internships to continue using Spanish in my community. I also became turned on to Latin American history and politics and remember the excitement and passion that my professor of Latin American history had for the subject that made me want to find out more. Through my experience in Argentina, I also now had a much broader base of authentic (and interesting) materials to use to practice Spanish. Learning Spanish for me now was not just reading Garcia Lorca in a literature class, but meant listening to and learning the latest Shakira lyrics on my own time and reading Latina authors such as Esmerelda Santiago in their native language.
Using Spanish in the US was a whole new experience. I now possessed an ability that many around me did not have and I could be the link between people who spoke different languages. I continued to pursue employment where I could utilize my Spanish abilities and eventually went on to spend a summer in Mexico at a volunteer project with other Mexicans and then to a year of post-grad study at a University in Spanish. By that point, I did not need to think much about using Spanish and was able to float between languages easily.
Now that I have gotten to a comfortable level in a second language, I am interested in learning a third. When I am around other language speakers, I often try to learn at least a few words and am amazed at how difficult I find it to remember even those few words. If the language is one of the romance languages, I find myself floating back into Spanish since that is my default language. In order to learn a third language, I think I will need to employ some of the techniques that helped me learn Spanish, but also employ new methods and make a new space in my mind for a third language and new way of thinking.
Posted by Rbergey at 11:46 AM


Passage 2

http://toshuo.com/2005/my-language-learning-experiences/

My language learning experiences
November 11th, 2005 by Mark

My own experience with language learning has been a long and painful journey. Some people have told me they thought I had a “natural aptitude” for learning foreign languages. If only they knew. All of my more recent success is a direct result of spending 10 years failing… miserably.
Latin
Excluding the small amounts of Spanish introduced in Sesame Street, my first contact with foreign language learning was in middle school. Since it was some kind of fancy school for “gifted” kids, it was a small school and only offered one foreign language… Latin. I spent about five hours a week in Latin class and two hours a week doing Latin homework for three years. The end result? I remember class was fun, but I don’t really know any Latin. The only thing I remember is that the 3rd declension is weird… or something like that. If someone were to jump me in a dark alley and threaten to beat the life out of me with a Latin-English dictionary unless I could spit out 50 Latin words, I could probably have come up with 20.
French
I went to a medium sized high school, where I had the options of studying French, Spanish, or Japanese. Oh, how I wish I’d chosen Spanish! Instead, I studied French for three years. Largely due to the fact that my grandmother always gave me the impression that French was a suave, intellectually elite, dignified language that any “truly cultured” person must know, I worked hard. I always did my homework. I memorized dozens of irregular verbs. I drilled myself on rules for pronouns and contractions. I always aced the verb tests (in which we had to conjugate various irregular verbs. In class, we usually practiced sentence patterns and did drills in which we had to ask classmates questions and answer. We also did a fair amount of reading homework, which meant reading one or two paragraphs which included 10-20 new vocabulary words in bold along with translations at the bottom. During the third year we slogged our way through Le Petit Prince, spending a day on each page. I probably spent half an hour a night struggling through the page we were supposed to read the next day. While I did write translations above words I didn’t know and temporarily, at least, figured out what each sentence meant, I still have no idea what the story was about.
If someone were to jumped me in a dark alley and demanded that I give them the futur antérieur conjugation of an irregular verb such as savoir, it would have been no problem. If that same someone were to have actually spoken French to me, I wouldn’t have had a clue what he was saying. Despite memorizing hundreds of words, dozens of forms of dozens of verbs, and quite a few grammar rules, my ability to actually understand or speak French was very limited.
In college, I took three more semesters of French. I started from the intensive beginning review class, and then took the 2120 (second semester of the second year) French class. In these classes, we still had extensive practice with sentence structures (many of which I already knew), but also started to read a bit more. I think we were reading about 5 pages per week from our reading textbooks. This reading was from a book designed for foreign students, and was MUCH easier than Le Petit Prince. I probably only spent about 10 minutes per page. I found myself enjoying class more than before and making modest progress in my conversational abilities as well. The third year French class, 3110, was too hard for me, though. I couldn’t make the jump from working through text books to acquiring vocabulary and fluency from authentic native sources. I tried, but I felt like I was drowning in a sea of only semi-comprehensible speech and text. I took an incomplete in the class. If I meet a French speaker now, I’ll say “Je parle le Francais comme une vache Espanol.” Then, the French speaker will usually laugh, figure I’m an okay guy, and use English with me from then on. Read more.....

Activity 4

Write a paragraph on your language learning experience (300 words).

TUESDAY

Activity 1

Look at the following web pages and think about how you can use them for vocabulay building. Do you know any other pages for vocabulary practice? If so, would you like to share them with your classmates?

http://www.vocabulary.com/

http://www.gamequarium.com/evocabulary.html

http://www.manythings.org/lulu/

Activity 2

Get into a group of two. Read the following links about tips to learn vocabulary. In your pair, agree on strategies of learning English vocabulary that you will use this term and present them to the class.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/vocabulary_tips.htm

http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/grammar/lvocab2.html

Activity 3

Write your plan in a paragraph to your teacher (300 words).

THURSDAY

Activity 1

Read and understand the article in the link. Do not use a dictionary when you read it for the first time. Then, read the article for the second time and use a dictionary to check the meanings of the words that you do not know.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-memory.htm

Activity 2

Work on your own. Choose five words and write them on small cards. Try to define the words to your partner so that he/she can find the word in the text.

Activity 3

Get in groups of 5. Get all the cards you have prepared in a deck. Take turns to draw one card. Do not show your card to your classmates and define the word so that they can guess the meaning.

Homework: I'm learning Spanish and I find it very difficult to memorize the meanings and different forms of words. Please give me some suggestions about what to do and explaing how they are useful in a paragraph (300 words).