Philosophy
What is Krashens somewhat "controversial" hypothesis on how languages are learned?
All humans acquire language the same way: through understanding messages.
What is comprehensible input?
We acquire language and develop our literacy skills from understanding what is heard and read, rather than from output (speaking and writing).
The stage that shows:
minimal comprehension, minimal or not yet speaking, nodding, and drawing or pointing to show understanding
The Preproduction Stage
Give one strategy that can be used with students in the pre-production stage.
Any of the following:
- visual aids and gestures
- pictures/ illustrations/ videos
- Frequent engaging read-alouds and music instruction
- Speaking slowly and using keywords (not over explaining or instructing)
What are the 3 factors needed for successful language acquisition? Why?
high self-esteem and motivation, and low anxiety.
High self esteem allows the student to have more self-confidence to do better and not give up/quit.
Motivated students are engaged in their learning and can then better reach their goals.
The lower the anxiety, the better the language acquisition. Anxiety prohibits learners from getting comprehensible and optimal input.
What are some strategies/ tools to make input comprehensible?
The use of but not limited to:
- visuals
- pictures/ illustrations
- connections to past experiences
- multimodal learning
What stage precedes the stage that displays excellent comprehension and few grammatical errors?
Speech Emergence Stage
Can you continue with strategies from a prior stage into a later stage? Why?
Yes, it would actually be best to see the stages more fluidly and not as strict boundaries of what students can and cannot do. Strategies like gestures, pointing, emphasizing key words, use of visuals (used in pre-production stage), will also be beneficial in latter stages.
That if a student has anxiety around language acquisition, they may understand the input, but the affective filter (a block) keeps it out and prohibits it from reaching the parts of the brain that allow people to acquire a language.
What are the 4 characteristics of optimal input?
It needs to be:
Comprehensible- student should understand the majority of what they are reading and hearing.
Very interesting- compelling and exciting to keep the learner engaged (non-taxing in other words)
Rich in language- language that learners are ready for which includes new unacquired words and language.
Quantity- abundant amounts to provide more opportunities for acquisition.
Explain the early production stage, which comes after the Pre-production stage.
learners may:
- have limited comprehension, produce 1 or 2 word responses and use key words or phrases.
No. Assignments should be tiered to their stage of acquisition, as this increases the students' access to the content and their comprehension of it. Tiering also give ELLs opportunities for optimal input to practice their new language.