Mastering Meaningful Learning: Concepts and Strategies
Types of Meaningful Learning
It is important to emphasize that meaningful learning is not a “mere connection” of new information with existing cognitive structures. In contrast, only rote learning is a “simple connection,” arbitrary and not substantive. Meaningful learning involves the modification and evolution of new information, as well as the cognitive structure involved in learning.
Ausubel distinguishes three types of meaningful learning: representational, conceptual, and propositional.
Representational
Read MoreLanguage Skills and Systems: A Comprehensive Breakdown
Skills and Systems in Language Learning
It’s important to differentiate between language systems and language skills. We need to be specific and distinguish them because, in the end, they will tell us what students are going to learn.
Language Skills: Doing Something with the Language
Receptive skills: Listening and Reading.
Productive skills: Speaking and Writing.
Language Systems: Knowing About the Language
Function: What you do with language. E.g., Sorry vs. Excuse me.
Grammar: Structures. E.g., The
Read MoreVowel Sounds, Syllabification, and Phonetic Transcription
Vowel Sounds and Articulation
Vowel sounds are produced in the initiation process by a voiced egressive airstream. Their quality is the result of the shaping of three movable organs: soft palate, tongue, and lips. Vowel qualities are produced:
- By raising the part of the tongue (front, center, and back) in different degrees and heights. The height depends on the vowel, if it is a higher vowel (/i:/) or a lower vowel (/æ/). Depending on the articulation, the front vowels (/i:/) are further forward
Reading Comprehension: An Interactive Model
Understanding the Reading Process
The Interactive Model of Reading Comprehension
Several books explain different models to describe the process of reading comprehension, but the most studied is the interactive model, which is the most complete and robust.
The interactive model argues that comprehension of a text is achieved through the interrelation between what the reader reads and what they already know about the subject. The reading process begins *before* starting to receive the text itself, when
Read MoreUnderstanding Communication: Process, Language, and Text Strategies
Communication: Process and Elements
Communication is a process by which information is transmitted between a sender and a receiver. It’s considered a process because it is in constant motion between the sender and receiver.
Elements of Communication:
- Sender: The person who creates and sends a message.
- Receiver: The person receiving the message.
- Message: The information sent from the sender to the receiver.
- Channel: The physical environment through which the message is transmitted. This can be:
- Artificial:
Effective Teacher Talk Strategies in the Classroom
Teacher Talk
Teachers adopt a style of speech that incorporates mime, body language, and references to real objects, pictures, maps, and diagrams. This helps students understand, despite their limited knowledge of the language of instruction. Teachers also structure their speech with regular pauses to give listeners more chances to comprehend and include regular comprehension checks to ensure that everyone is following along. Teachers constantly select words familiar to their listeners. They use