Unlocking Language Learning: Core Principles for Educators
Understanding Language Learning: Insights for Teachers
There are four key areas of investigation and debate among second language acquisition researchers that deserve special attention from English Language Teachers:
1. The Nature of Input
Input refers to what you receive, the amount of language you are exposed to. The Input Hypothesis posits that language is acquired when learners receive input from ‘messages’ which contain language slightly above their existing understanding, and from which they can infer meaning. This hypothesis distinguishes between *acquiring* and *learning* a language through conscious attention to language study.
The acquisition process (also known as the creative construction process) parallels that of a child learning their first language. It involves paying attention to the ends of words, formulating hypotheses about language rules, testing these hypotheses through their own attempts to produce language, and gradually revising them as feedback is received.
Learners make sense of language input and impose a structure on it, creating a developing system known as interlanguage.
Comprehensible Input: Key Considerations
- It confirms the need for meaningful input that involves learners working with language at a level slightly above their current competence.
- It suggests the value of providing input through out-of-class resources such as readers and listening cassettes for self-access learning, or encouraging students to use available community resources to increase input opportunities.
- It confirms the usefulness of teachers adjusting their own classroom language, in line with students’ proficiency, to simpler vocabulary and slower speech while retaining natural rhythm and intonation.
2. How Learners Process Input: Intake
Intake refers to the way in which learners process input and assimilate language into their interlanguage system. The concept of intake provides insights into why teachers cannot control the learning process to the extent previously believed. Learners are exposed to language, but they do not necessarily internalize everything they encounter.
To transform input into intake, several aspects should be considered:
- Frequency: The nature of intake is what we are going to remember.
- Saliency: Something that catches your attention and is therefore memorable.
The process of transforming input into intake also involves development. It is not only about what you receive (input) but also what you produce (output).
3. The Role of Classroom Interaction
Related to the notion of input is that of output. Learners need practice in producing comprehensible output using all the language resources they have already acquired. Receiving feedback from the teacher and other students enables learners to test hypotheses and refine their developing knowledge of the language system.
A principle underlying current English Language Teaching (ELT) practice is that interaction pushes learners to produce more accurate and appropriate language, which itself provides input for other students. This is why pair work and group work have become common features of contemporary classrooms.
Input and output differ in a class using small group work compared to a class following a sequence of whole-class work led and controlled by the teacher. Collaborative work is highly valued, and reducing dependence on the teacher is important. These approaches align well with one of the aims of Communicative Language Teaching, which is to develop learners’ ability to participate effectively in conversation.
An important issue in the use of small group work is that it implies risk-taking. Being in face-to-face encounters requires assertiveness.
4. The Role of Error in Language Learning
Understanding the distinction between mistakes and errors is crucial:
- Mistake: You are wrong, and you are aware of it.
- Error: It is part of your interlanguage, and you are not aware that it is wrong; you need feedback to identify it.
Errors are natural in language learning. We learn the language through errors, and we can correct them and learn from them. Paradoxically, the more fluent you become, the more errors you might produce as you take more risks with the language.
Errors are now seen as reflections of a learner’s stage of interlanguage development. There is increasing evidence that learners progress faster with meaningful language practice in a rich linguistic environment and with an informed policy of error correction on the part of the teacher.
Children do not generally receive explicit negative feedback on the accuracy of their language, and adult learners do not require constant correction, which can lead to distraction and demotivation. Critics point out that adult learners can be encouraged to process error correction in useful ways. The teacher’s role is to provide feedback that learners can work on to redefine their understanding and move to the next stage of interlanguage development.
Learner Differences & Teaching Procedures
How do differences among learners affect learning processes and teaching procedures?
1. Aptitude
Aptitude and its implications in the classroom are significant. Motivation is often related to achievement; if you are good at something, you will try harder and feel more confident. Phrases like ‘She has a flair for languages’ or ‘He has a good ear for languages’ suggest an inherent ability.
There is a body of research evidence to suggest that some people do indeed have an aptitude for language learning. This aptitude typically comprises four components:
- Auditory ability
- Grammatical sensitivity
- Inductive language learning ability
- Memory
2. Learning Styles & Strategies
Learning style, or cognitive style, can be defined as a characteristic and preferred way of approaching learning and processing information. There is evidence to suggest that culture and schooling have a strong influence on learning style.
- Analytical: Learners who need more details and prefer to break down information.
- Global: Learners who focus on getting general meanings and see things from a broader perspective.
Learning strategies are techniques teachers can use to help students improve their language learning.
3. Affective Factors
Affective factors include personality characteristics, attitudes, and emotional responses to the language learning process. These factors are closely tied to emotions, social backgrounds, and even competition within the classroom. How students feel in the class and the overall atmosphere contribute to their confidence and willingness to learn.
4. Motivation for English Language Learning
All students should contribute to classroom activities, as reward and achievement are integral parts of motivation. There are four categories of motivation:
- Desire to learn a language, intensity of effort to achieve this, and attitudes towards learning the language.
- Integrativeness: Involves attitudes towards the target language group, touching on the affective factor of ethnocentricity.
- Attitudes towards the language teacher and the language course.
- Measures of anxiety in classroom situations and when using the language.
Contextual Factors for Teachers
What factors of context should teachers take into account?
- Social Factors: These influence how much effort teachers need to put into motivating children. The presence of English in the community immediately facilitates practice opportunities, such as writing reviews of English films and TV programs or keeping a diary of extra-curricular activities.
- Educational Factors: The educational system in which teachers work will be influenced by cultural notions of authority, which affect the potential roles of teachers. Teachers are often faced with a gradually increasing range of proficiency in classes as students progress through the years. This is a real problem that many teachers face and requires greater professional attention in English Language Teaching (ELT). It supports arguments for rich, varied, and flexible learning resources.