语言教学的基本概念总结资料
第一部分扫除障碍clearing the ground
Chapter one
L1
L1 terms are ud to indicate, first of all, that a person has acquired the language in infancy and early childhood and generally within the family. Secondly, the L1 terms signal a characteristic level of proficiency in the language. A person's first language is a basis for sociolinguistic identity. L1 language is also called the native language or primary language, conquently, it would be best to rerve the term “native language” for the language of early-childhood acquisition and “primary language” for the language of dominant or preferred u when the distinction has to be made, with the terms first language to cover both us, allowing the context to make clear the distinction.
L2
The term cond language has two meanings. First, it refers to the chronology of language learning. A cond language is any language acquired later than the native language. This definition deliberately l
eaves open how much later cond languages are acquired. At one extreme the cond language learning process takes place at an early age when the native language command is still rudimentary. At the other, it may take place in adult life when the L1 acquisition process is virtually completed or slowed down. Or, it may take place at any stage between the two extremes. Secondly, the term cond language is ud to refer to the level of language command in comparison with a primary or dominant language. In this n, cond language indicates a lower level of actual or believed proficiency. Hence cond means also ‘weaker’or ‘condary’.
Bilingualism
Bilingualism can be ud in two situations. When we say “ Canada is a bilingual country”, we are making a statement about the objectivity or legal status of two languages in that country. It does not necessarily mean that every individual in that country is bilingual. It may mean no more than that some people in Canada are native speakers of one language and other people are native speakers of the other language.
The cond u of the term, namely that of personal bilingualism, implies (a) notions of manner of language acquisition and (b) level of proficiency in the two languages. With regard to (a), it suggests
a simultaneous language learning process in two languages which is analogous to first or native language acquisition in one language. With reference to the level of command, being bilingualism is usually understood to mean a high level of proficiency in two languages. In more technical discussions the u of the concept of bilingualism in this respect has changed. It has tended to be more broadly defined so that any proficiency level in more than one language can be referred to as bilingualism.
Second versus foreign language
In contrasting cond and foreign language there is today connsus that a necessary distinction is to be made between a non-native language learnt and ud within one country to which the term cond language has been applied, and a non-native language learnt and ud with reference to a speech community outside national or territorial boundaries to which the term
foreign language is commonly given. A cond language usually has official status or a recognized function within a country which a foreign language has not.
The purpos of cond language are quite different from foreign language. Second language is needed for the full participation in the political or economical life of the nation since it is the official la
nguage or educational language, while the foreign language learners hold a variety of purpos in mind, such as traveling or communicating with native speakers.
A cond language, becau it is ud within the country, is learnt with much more environmental support than a foreign language who speech community may be thousands of miles away. A foreign language usually requires more formal instruction and other measures compensating for the lack of environmental support. By contrast, a cond language is often learnt informally becau of its widespread u within the environment.
International language / intranational language
Second and foreign language learning both imply a specified speech community or communities as a territorial reference or contact group. International or intranational language lack this characteristic. Thus, English in India which has the status of an official language but has no specified reference group, is learnt as a means of intranational communication. If English is learnt in many countries across the world, this is not only with reference to specified English-speaking territories, but as a means of international communication across national boundaries among speakers of other language. For this role the term international language has been propod.
Language learning
The psychological concept of learning includes not only learning of skills and acquisition of knowledge. It refers also to learning to learn and learning to think. Language learning is also widely concerned, it includes all kinds of language learning.
From the perspective of the psychology of learning, learning has been approached in two main ways: (1) through theoretical and experimental studies and (2) through empirical studies in educational ttings.
With regards to the (1), broadly speaking, two groups can be distinguished. The first, derived from the British associationist school of philosophy, adopts a largely environmentalist view of man. Modern milestone in the development of this position are Watson’s behaviorism, Skinner’s operate conditioning, etc. Theories in this school of thought, so-called S-R theories, are characterized by emphasis on externally obrvable respon to specific stimuli, an empirical and experimental approach, and the avoidance of subjective or mentalist concept. The psychology of learning, according to this viewpoint, therefore, is a study of learning phenomena which disregards the intentions, the thinking, the conscious planning and internal process of the learner.
The other trend of thought on learning is cognitive approaches to learning, of which an early reprentative was Gestalt psychology. It had laid emphasis on innate organizing principles in human perception, cognition, nsorimotor skills, learning, and even in social conduct. For Gestalt theory, it is impossible to reprent human learning without concepts of subjective experience, such as the sudden click of understanding. Gestalt psychology was able to throw light on perceptual and cognitive learning by describing and demonstrating the subjective cognitive experiences of the learner with such concepts as ‘whole and part’, field, structure, and
organization.
Without necessarily subscribing to all the concepts of the Gestalt school, some psychologists have developed a cognitive theory of learning. They lay emphasis on meaningful learning, meaning being understood not as a behavioral respon, but as a conscious experience which emerges when potentially meaningful signs, symbols or concepts are related to and incorporated within a given individual’s cognitive structure.
As far as the empirical studies of learning are concerned, psychology has also investigated learning problems from the applied side in practical learning situations. Critics have deplored the wide gap between the classroom learning theory and the theoretical and laboratory study of learning.
Categories of the psychology of learning, commonly applied to formal educational activities, refer to (a) characteristics of the learners and individual differences among learners, (b) different kinds of learning, (c) the learning process and (d) outcomes of learning.
(a)Among learner characteristics, factors that are frequently prented in the literature include: (1)
the influence of age and maturity on mental development and learning; (2)the influence of heredity and environment on abilities and achievement; (3) specific aptitudes for particular learning tasks, for example, musical aptitude, language learning aptitude, etc. (4) the influence of home and community on motivations and attitudes.
(b)What is being learnt has been frequently expresd as three psychological categories. They are
conceptual and verbal learning, skill learning and affective and social learning.
(c)As for the process of learning, a number of distinctions have been introduced. One is on the
time-scale of learning: early learning in contrast with the later learning; learning process may further differ in the degree of awareness or volitional control on the part of the learner: the conscious learning and the latent learning,, the distinction introduced by Krashen between language learning a
nd language acquisition refers to this identification. The contrast between mechanical learning and cognitive learning refers to the degree of conceptual understanding of the learning task by learners.
(d)Lastly, the needs of asssing the outcome of learning have led to the development of tests of
achievement and proficiency. Techniques of measurement and evaluation, which psychometrics has contributed to educational psychology, have an obvious relevance for the asssment of language learning.
Learning and acquisition
The American applied linguist Krashen us the term “acquisition’to describe cond language learning which is analogous to the way in which a child acquires his first language, that is naturally, without focus on linguistic form, and learning as conscious language development particularly in formal school-like ttings.
A disadvantage of Krashen’s terminology is that it runs counter to the terms ud in psychology which, as we have noted, compri Krashen’s acquisition and learning as different ways of learning.
Language teaching
It can be defined as the activities which are intended to bring about language learning. All that need to be pointed out is that language teaching is more widely interpreted than instructing a
language class. Formal instruction or methods of training are included, but so is individualized instruction, lf-study, computer-assisted instruction, and the u of media, such as radio or television.
Chapter two: theory and practice
Definition of theory
The word theory is ud in three fairly distinct but related ns. When we speak of theory of art, or educational theory, the term theory is ud in the first and widest n (T1). It refers to the systematic study of the thought related to a topic or activity, for example, art, music, or education.
Second, under T1, it is possible to subsume different schools of thought or theories (T2), each with their own assumptions, postulates, principles, models and concepts. What we often looly referred to as language teaching method. Lastly, in the natural and human sciences the concept of theory is employed in a more rigorous third n(T3) as “ a hypothesis or t of hypothes that have been verified by obrvation or experiment’’. The theory of evolution is a ca in point.
Criteria for a good theory
We can identify the following criteria as relevant to theory development in language teaching (1) ufulness and applicability
Since a theory of cond language teaching is primarily a theory of practical activities. It should be uful, effective or applicable. It proves its ufulness by making n of planning, decision making, and practice. It should help decision making both on the broader policy level and at the level of classroom activity. The crucial test of language teaching theory is its effect.
Interlanguage
An interlanguage is an emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a cond language (or L2) who has not become fully proficient yet but is only approximating the target language: prerving some features of their first language (or L1) in speaking or writing the target language and creating innovations. An interlanguage is idiosyncratically(特殊物质的, 特殊的, 异质的) bad on the learners' experiences with the L2. It can ossify in any of its developmental stages. The learner creates an interlanguage using different learning strategies such as language transfer, overgeneralisation and simplification.
Interlanguage is bad on the theory that there is a "psychological structure latent in the brain" which is activated when one attempts to learn a cond language. Larry Selinker propod the theory of interlanguage in 1972, noting that in a given situation the utterances produced by the learner are different from tho native speakers would produce had they attempted to convey the same meaning. This comparison reveals a parate linguistic system. This system can be obrved when studying the utterances of the learners who attempt to produce a target language norm.
To study the psychological process involved one should compare the interlanguage of the learner with two things:
Utterances in the native language to convey the same message made by the learner
Utterances in the target language to convey the same message made by the native speaker of that language.
Interlanguage yields new linguistic variety. Interlanguage is the basis for diversification of linguistic forms through an outside linguistic influence. Dialects formed by interlanguage are the product of a need to communicate between speakers with varying linguistic ability, and with incread interaction with a more standard dialect, are often marginalized or eliminated in favor of a standard dialect. In thi
s way, interlanguage may be thought of as a temporary tool in language or dialect acquisition.
Stephen Krashen & SLA
Stephen Krashen is professor emeritus at the University of Southern California, and is a linguist, educational rearcher, and activist. Krashen has contributed to the fields of cond language acquisition (SLA), bilingual education, and reading. He is credited with introducing various influential concepts and terms in the study of cond language acquisition, including the distinction between acquisition and learning, the Input Hypothesis, Monitor Theory, the Affective Filter, and the Natural Order Hypothesis.
The term "language acquisition" became commonly ud after Stephen Krashen contrasted it with formal and non-constructive "learning." However, "cond language acquisition" or "SLA" has become established as the preferred term for this academic discipline.
Though SLA is often viewed as part of applied linguistics, it is typically concerned with the language system and learning process themlves, whereas applied linguistics may focus more on the experiences of the learner, particularly in the classroom. Additionally, SLA has mostly examined naturalistic acquisition, where learners acquire a language with little formal training or teaching.
The monitor theory 监控理论
It was put forward by Krashen in the late 1970s. The theory consists of the following five hypothes:
①The acquisition-learning hypothesis The theory claims that adult learners of a cond language have two ways of developing their competence —acquisition and learning. The basic distinction between language acquisition and language learning is whether the learner pays a conscious attention to the rules of the target language. Acquisition refers to the subconscious process in which learners develop their language proficiency. Learning refers to the conscious process in which learners acquire the knowledge of rules of the target language.
②The monitor hypothesis Different functions— According to Krashen, acquisition is responsible for the fluency of the utterances produced by speakers while learning is responsible for the accuracy of the speeches or passages. Three conditions — In order to perform this monitor function, language learners have to satisfy at least three
