Способы изучения иностранных языков

Способы изучения иностранных языков

По сборнику учебных материалов «Teaching knowledge test, Course 1, 2 and 3»,

Cambridge University Press, 2011

Евгения Хромова

Муниципальное автономное образовательное учреждение

средняя общеобразовательная школа п. Переславское

[email protected]

Research

Research has identified three main ways in which we learn a foreign language: acquisition, interaction, focus on form.

Language acquisition

Firstly, experts talk of us acquiring language, or language acquisition. This means the same as picking up language. They say that to learn a foreign language successfully we need lots of exposure to it and that we learn from being surrounded by language. We need to hear and read language which is rich in variety, interesting to us and just difficult enough for us, i.e. just beyond our level, but not too difficult.

Acquisition time

Acquisition then takes place over a period of time without our realizing that we are learning. We listen and read items of language many times before we begin to use them (silent period), unconsciously working out (calculating/deducing) their meaning and form.

Interaction

Secondly, experts believe that to learn language successfully we need to use it in interaction with other people. We need to use language to express ourselves and make our meaning clear to them, and to understand them. The person we are talking to will let us know, directly or indirectly, if they have understood us or not. If they have not understood, we need to try again, using other language (paraphrasing), until we manage to communicate successfully.

Use of interaction

It is this process of struggling to make meaning clear which helps learners experiment with language, forcing them to try out structures, chunks and vocabulary they have already learnt, to see if they help them get their message across.

Focus on form

Thirdly research shows that foreign language learners also need to focus on form. This means that they need to pay attention not just to the meaning of language but also its formal features, e.g. pronunciation, word order, affixes, spelling, grammatical structures.

Affecting factors

Nowadays, it is thought that, depending on our age and learning style, we learn language best by picking it up, by interacting with others and by focusing on form.

Past approaches

This suggests that several approaches to language teaching which were commonly used in the past may not be sufficiently helpful to learners, e.g. the Grammar-Translation method which focused only on grammar and translating texts, the Structural Approach which focused only on learning and practicing structures, or communicative approaches which just focused on using language fluently in communication.

To your attention there are items in test form with one, two, three or more correct answers. Push the buttons with numbers of all correct answers.

1. Research has identified

1. two

2. four

3. three

main ways in which we learn a foreign language

1. acquiring language means

1. picking up

2. watching videos

3. formulating rules

4. listening to speech

5. learning vocabulary

1. to learn a foreign language successfully we need

1. natural skills

2. lots of exposure to it

3. being surrounded by language

4. teacher’s personal involvement

5. to hear and read language rich in variety

1. We need to hear and read language which is interesting to us and just

1. below

2. beyond

our level, but not too

1. easy

2. boring

3. difficult

4. exhilarating

1. Acquisition takes place over a period of time

1) with

2) without

our realizing that we are learning.

thus, we {work out, calculate, deduce} meaning and form

1. consciously

2. unconsciously

3. subconsciously

1. SILENT PERIOD IS TIME WHEN LEARNERS

1. read but do not write

2. listen but do not speak

3. comprehend but do not understand

1. in interaction with

1. other people

2. young learners

3. teacher or tutor

We need to use language to

1. understand them

2. express ourselves

3. explain grammar rules

4. pronounce words distinctly

5. make our meaning clear to them

1. LEARNERS NEED PARAPHRASING THAT IS

1. trying again

2. using short phrases

3. using other language

4. making meaning clear

until THEY manage to

1. speak fluently

2. achieve accuracy

3. experiment with language

4. communicate successfully

1. INTERACTION HELPS LEARNERS EXPERIMENT WITH THE

1. skills

2. literacy

3. fluency

4. accuracy

5. language

6. knowledge

7. communication

1. FOCUS ON FORM MEANS ATTENTION TO

1. formal features

2. informal features

3. meaning of language

THAT ARE

1. affixes

2. spelling

3. fluency

4. word order

5. pronunciation

6. descriptive means

7. grammatical structures

1. depending on our {age, learning style}, we learn language best by

1. picking it up

2. focusing on form

3. taking responsibility

4. interacting with others

5. acquiring independence

1. approaches to language teaching are

1. acquisition

2. the silent period

3. the Structural approach

4. the Communicative approach

5. the Grammar-Translation method

1. {The Grammar-Translation method, the Structural Approach, communicative approaches} FOCUSES ON

1. grammar and translating texts

2. listening to texts and dialogues

3. learning and practicing structures

4. watching videos and translating texts

5. using language fluently in communication

6. learning vocabulary items and grammar rules