Welcome back to Teach English Now.

So far you have been introduced to the concepts of body language and 
teacher talk, and their importance in helping you communicate with students, 
make meaning clear, and by so doing, help them to learn language.
In this video we are going to talk about scaffolding.

The term scaffolding comes from the platforms workers use 

when constructing a building. 
Like those scaffolds, which provide a place for 
the workers to stand before the building is in place, teachers can provide guides 
and structures to help learners comprehend difficult concepts more quickly.
The basic idea of scaffolding is to create opportunities for students to learn 
step by step, building upon tasks that will allow them to 
combine those basic concepts together to perform more difficult tasks. 
So, how do you scaffold? 
Well, one of the key scaffolding principles in language learning is 
the idea that for a student to understand new and 
particularly complex tasks, you first have to model behavior. 
Guide students through different parts of a behavior by practice, and 
then have the students perform the complex behavior on their own.
Let us show you an example of how this might work in language learning.
First, model the behavior.

Let's say that I have advanced students who are ready to learn how to use 
the passive voice. 
It is a pretty tricky advanced skill, so 
one of the best ways to teach this is to scaffold it. 
Generally, I will begin by showing examples of the passive voice, 
often in real context, and have learners get a sense of it.
In order to better model the behavior, 
I would also break the process into steps, and show those steps to my students. 
For example, I might show learners how you take an object from 
an active sentence and make it the subject, which is the first step. 
Then for the second step I might ask them to add the be verb. 
I would also probably only focus on present tense because using a lot of 
different tenses might confuse the students initially.
And then finally, I might tell them to add the past participle 
after the main verb in the active sentence.
I might also show them an optional fourth step 
which is adding the subject of the active sentence using the by phrase.
Now that I have modeled the behavior and shown the steps to the students, 
they are ready to move to the second part of scaffolding, 
which is practice in a guided or controlled fashion.
I usually try to provide clear instructions and 
sample sentences to have students create passive voice. 
Once again, performing each step within the process.
First, I will have students find the object.
Then, they will add the be verb. 
And finally, I'll instruct them to add a past participle.
After having done a guided practice, 
you are finally ready to have students attempt an independent task.
However, often this is an imperfect art. 
Sometimes if I see students struggling, I may start from the beginning yet 
again by looking at readings with passive voice, or 
maybe I will have them continue to do more advanced guided practices with me.
Perhaps I will have students write sentences on their own and 
share those sentences with a partner.
Scaffolding is not unidirectional. 
It is more recursive, a word that means I will go back and 
forth and do it again and again.
Breaking it down for students and then giving them time to practice until 
they are comfortable with it independently. 
Model, guided practice, independent practice, model, 
guided practice, independent practice, repeat.
I think that you will agree that by putting all three techniques together, 
using body language, teacher talk, and scaffolding, 
that there is a performance aspect to teaching language. 
A way to reach a learner through a deliberate use of body, voice and message. 
In this way, I think it is appropriate to say that, 
for a message to be clear, understood and enjoyable, for 
language to be cake, a teacher must be, at least in part, an actor. 
Thanks for watching.

Lesson 3

0:00
[MUSIC] 
Thanks for joining us here at Teach English Now. 
And allowing us to take you on this journey towards deepening your 
understanding of the fundamental principles of teaching English. 
We have introduced you to the idea that some teachers 
tend to focus more on content. 
While others focus more on technique, and 
that you must strike a proper balance in order to be a good language teacher.
Play video starting at ::26 and follow transcript0:26
The metaphor of language as cake emphasizes the need to take good content 
and make it presentable using proper technique.
Play video starting at ::34 and follow transcript0:34
In general, 
techniques that help you make your meaning clear to students are essential. 
You learned the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development, or 
what Shane called the Sweet Spot, which states that we must present information 
at the level students will understand. 
By presenting information at an i+1 level we 
can ensure information will not be too low or too high for our learners. 
Techniques such as the use of body language can help make new or 
difficult concepts clear by giving learners visual queues to understand 
the message you are communicating.
Play video starting at :1:12 and follow transcript1:12
Teacher Talk is a concept that also allows you to think of numerous ways that 
teachers communicate messages so that they are clearly understood. 
And also introduces the idea that a teacher must pay attention to 
the learner's current understanding. 
Don't forget to look into learner's eyes to see if they are with you.
Play video starting at :1:31 and follow transcript1:31
Finally, Scaffolding is a teaching principle that refers to the idea 
of gradually introducing concepts from basic to complex. 
So that learners can move from modeled examples that they can watch 
to independent practices that they can perform.
Play video starting at :1:48 and follow transcript1:48
All in all, while you have been introduced to the concepts of teacher talk, 
scaffolding and body language, please recognize that these are goals you will 
continue to develop throughout your career. 
I'm still improving my teacher talk and learning new techniques everyday.
Play video starting at :2:6 and follow transcript2:06
And now we would like you to take a moment to reflect on what we are calling 
Essential Questions. 
At the end of each module we will ask you to challenge a widely held assumption. 
We're asking you to do this in order to think critically 
about the information you have now. 
And apply it to a commonly held belief.
Play video starting at :2:26 and follow transcript2:26
For this first module we would like you to consider the widely held assumption,
Play video starting at :2:31 and follow transcript2:31
anyone who speaks the language can teach the language. 
What do you think? 
In light of our discussions, does that sound right to you?
Play video starting at :2:41 and follow transcript2:41
Thanks for visiting Teach English Now. 
In the next module, Shane will talk about how his five years of Spanish classes, 
from junior high to high school, never taught him to speak Spanish.
Play video starting at :2:53 and follow transcript2:53
Boy, can I relate to that. 
[MUSIC]

THE INPUT HYPOTHESIS

(a) Statement of the hypothesis

Let us first restate the question of how we acquire: given the correctness of the natural order
hypothesis, how do we move from one stage to another? If an acquirer is at "stage 4", how can he
progress to "stage 5"? More generally, how do we move from stage i, where i represents current
competence, to i + 1, the next level? The input hypothesis makes the following claim: a
necessary (but not sufficient) condition to move from stage i to stage i + 1 is that the acquirer
understand input that contains i + 1, where "understand" means that the acquirer is focused on
the meaning and not the form of the message.

We acquire, in other words, only when we understand language that contains structure that is " a
little beyond" where we are now. How is this possible? How can we understand language that
contains structures that we have not yet acquired? The answer to this apparent paradox is that we
use more than our linguistic competence to help us understand. We also use context, or
knowledge of the world, our extra-linguistic information to help us understand language directed
at us.

The input hypothesis runs counter to our usual pedagogical approach in second and foreign
language teaching. As Hatch (1978a) has pointed out, our assumption has been that we first learn
structures, then practice using them in communication, and this is how fluency develops. The
input hypothesis says the opposite. It says we acquire by "going for meaning" first, and as a
result, we acquire structure! (For discussion of first language acquisition, see MacNamara,
1972).

We may thus state parts (1) and (2) of the input hypothesis as follows:

(1) The input hypothesis relates to acquisition, not learning.

(2) We acquire by understanding language that contains structure beyond our current level of
competence (i + 1). This is done with the help of context or extra-linguistic information.

A third part of the input hypothesis says that input must contain i + 1 to be useful for language
acquisition, but it need not contain only i + 1. It says that if the acquirer understands the input,
and there is enough of it, i + 1 will automatically be provided. In other words, if communication
is successful, i + 1 is provided. As we will discuss later, this implies that the best input should
not even attempt to deliberately aim at i + 1. We are all familiar with syllabi that try to
deliberately cover i + 1. There is a "structure of the day", and usually both teacher and student
feel that the aim of the lesson is to teach or practice a specific grammatical item or structure.
Once this structure is "mastered", the syllabus proceeds to the next one. This part of the input
hypothesis implies that such a deliberate attempt to provide i + 1 is not necessary. As we shall
see later, there are reasons to suspect that it may even be harmful.

Thus, part (3) of the input hypothesis is:

(3) When communication is successful, when the input is understood and there is enough of it, i
+ 1 will be provided automatically.

The final part of the input hypothesis states that speaking fluency cannot be taught directly.
Rather, it "emerges" over time, on its own. The best way, and perhaps the only way, to teach
speaking, according to this view, is simply to provide comprehensible input. Early speech will
come when the acquirer feels "ready"; this state of readiness arrives at somewhat different times
for different people, however. Early speech, moreover, is typically not grammatically accurate.
Accuracy develops over time as the acquirer hears and understands more input. Part (4) of the
input hypothesis is thus:

(4) Production ability emerges. It is not taught directly.

OPTIMAL INPUT IS COMPREHENSIBLE

(a) How to aid comprehension

If we are correct in positing comprehensibility as a crucial requirement for optimal input for
acquisition, the question of how to aid comprehension is a very central one for second language
pedagogy. Indeed, the comprehension requirement suggests that the main function of the second
language teacher is to help make input comprehensible, to do for the adult what the "outside
world" cannot or will not do.

There are basically two ways in which the teacher can aid comprehension, linguistic and non-
linguistic. Studies have shown that there are many things speakers do linguistically to make their
speech more comprehensible to less competent speakers. Hatch (1979) has summarized the
linguistic aspect of simplified input which appear to promote comprehension. Among these
characteristics are:
(1) slower rate and clearer articulation, which helps acquirers to identify word boundaries more
easily, and allows more processing time;

(2) more use of high frequency vocabulary, less slang, fewer idioms;

(3) syntactic simplification, shorter sentences.

Such characteristics and others appear to be more or less common to different types of simple
codes, such as caretaker speech, foreigner-talk, and teacher-talk (see Krashen, 1980), and clearly
help make input language more comprehensible. There is considerable empirical evidence that
these codes are significantly "simpler" than native speaker - native speaker language, and, as
mentioned in Chapter II, there is evidence of some correlation between the linguistic level of the
acquirer and the complexity of the input language: more advanced acquirers tend to get more
complex input.

Does this mean that teachers should consciously try to simplify their speech when they talk to
students? Should they think about slowing down, using more common vocabulary, using shorter
sentences, less complex syntax with less embedding, etc? Consciously referring to these "rules"
might be helpful on occasion, but it appears to be the case that we make these adjustments
automatically when we focus on trying to make ourselves understood. Roger Brown,
commenting on studies of caretaker speech in first language acquisition, comes to a similar
conclusion. He gives the following advice to parents wanting to know how to "teach" their
children language in the least amount of time:

"Believe that your child can understand more than he or she can say, and seek, above all, to
communicate....There is no set of rules of how to talk to a child that can even approach what you
unconsciously know. If you concentrate on communicating, everything else will follow. (Brown,
1977, p. 26)"

As I have argued in several places (Krashen, 1980, 1981), the same situation may hold for the
language teacher. If we focus on comprehension and communication, we will meet the syntactic
requirements for optimal input.

While we free teachers of the responsibility to consciously control the grammar of their speech,
other responsibilities become more important. One is to make sure that the input is indeed
comprehensible. I have nothing startling to add to the literature on comprehension checking,
other than to underscore and emphasize its importance. Comprehension checking can range from
simply asking "Do you understand?" occasionally, to monitoring comprehension via students'
verbal and non-verbal responses.

Another main task of the teacher is to provide non-linguistic means of encouraging

comprehension. In my view, providing extra-linguistic support in the form of realia and pictures
for beginning classes is not a frill, but a very important part of the tools the teacher has to
encourage language acquisition. The use of objects and pictures in early second language
instruction corresponds to the caretaker's use of the "here and now" in encouraging first language
acquisition, in that they all help the acquirer understand messages containing structures that are
"a little beyond' them.
Good teachers also take advantage of the student's knowledge of the world in helping
comprehension by discussing topics that are familiar to the student. Certainly, discussing or
reading about a topic that is totally unknown will make the message harder to understand. There
is a danger, however, in making the input too "familiar". If the message is completely known, it
will be of no interest, and the student will probably not attend. We want the student to focus on
the message, and there must be some message, something that the student really wants to hear or
read about.

WEEK 2
Lesson 1: Modes of Learning
Video 1: Acquisition Vs. Learning

In this next module, we want to discuss an important language teaching principle that 
comes from understanding the difference between Acquisition and Learning. 
While both can be good, in learning languages there is a big difference 
between acquisition and learning. 
And the two concepts don't really get along.
In one corner you have Learning. 
Learning involves the ability to comprehend and 
recall information as it is given to you. 
Much like what occurs for most classes. 
You read from a book, you have discussions, you try to 
understand the principles and show your understanding though some kind of testing.
In the other corner, you have Acquisition. 
Acquisition is much more than simple learning. 
Acquisition means that you not only learn but 
apply those principles in the real world. 
And when it comes to language learning, 
acquisition is truly the only way to measure student success.
This means that you are able to not only understand and 
recognize vocabulary words and grammar tenses, but you can also use 
the linguistic structures you have learned in a way that is fluid and automatic.
In some sense, the idea behind acquisition is that after you leave the comfy 
confines of a classroom, you can actually use the language you were given to speak, 
write, listen and read in real context and under real circumstances.
Thus, in language teaching, acquisition wins over learning every time. 
In the next few videos, we will discuss some principles and methods that will help 
you ensure your students are acquiring language and not just learning it.

Video 2: Two modes of learning

Hello, again. 
In this lesson, 
we are going to continue our discussion of acquired language, language you can 
actually use by discussing two different modes of learning.
H. Douglas Brown introduces the idea of 
two different types of learning by using the metaphor of a camera. 
For Brown, using language is like using a camera that has two different lenses, 
a zoom lens and a wide-angle lens.
When you are learning a language through a zoom lens, 
you are focusing in on a very small specific linguistic form, 
like a vocabulary word, the past tense or a small pronunciation rule. 
However, when you are in a wide-angle lens mode of learning, 
you are trying to understand an overall general meaning. 
Or trying to convey a message without worrying so 
much about every small rule of grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation.
Brown isn't the only one who talks about two distinct modes of learning. 
Barbara Oakley, who teaches the famous online course Learning How to Learn, 
explains this by describing two different ways to focus your learning. 
One she calls the focused mode and the other, the diffuse mode of learning.
In a focused mode, you concentrate and 
look very specifically at certain tasks, such as reading a chapter in the textbook. 
She recommends focusing for a specific length of time, like 25 minutes when in a focused
mode. 
A diffuse mode, however, is a time to let your mind wander and 
make connections that it otherwise wouldn't make when you focus too narrowly.
As a teacher, one of your jobs will be to sometimes 
help students narrow in on a specific feature of their language, 
often that they haven't been paying attention to. 
But other times, having them step back and not pay attention to every single mistake. 
By stepping back, you will help learners understand overall structure and 
meaning as they communicate and gain fluency.
In this sense, language is a camera, and you are the photographer, 
moving the students back and forth between two modes of learning.
In the next video, we are going to have a very special guest 
deepen our understanding of these two modes. 
Thanks for watching. 
LESSON 2: Modes of Interaction

Video 3: Language is a Basketball

Hi. 
My name in Michael Jordan, and I'm excited to teach you how to play basketball. 
Are you excited? 
Of course, you are. 
I am Michael Jordan.
Let me just explain a little bit about how we're going to learn in my class. 
First of all, 
I've written a new book called How to Play Basketball like Michael Jordan. 
I've divided the class in to ten different sections that correspond 
with the ten different chapters of my book. 
Sounds fun, right?
Each chapter is 100 pages long, and in each chapter, we'll go over 100 rules. 
For example, in chapter one, we will learn 100 rules for how to dribble. 
In chapter two, 100 rules for how to shoot. 
And chapter three, 100 rules for bounce and chest passes. 
My personal favorite, chapter ten, 100 Rules for how to slam dunk.
I will give you a test each Friday to go over the 100 rules of each of these 
chapters just to make sure you all know how to do every rule. 
If you study hard, and I know you will, you will get an A on each test. 
And by the end of this course, 
you will be able to play basketball just like me, right? 
What? 
You don't think so? 
Why not? 
All right, 
the real Michael Jordan would never have made the mistake you just saw dramatized. 
He knows, as I am sure is clear by his level of play, 
that he didn't just memorize a bunch of rules.
What do you need to become a great basketball player? 
Certainly, you need the coaching, and 
there is no doubt you want to master the rules of the game. 
But the word that probably came to your mind by 
watching fake Michael Jordan is the word practice. 
And when you think of practice in a language classroom, 
you're starting to gain some perspective on what we mean by acquisition. 
Acquisition refers to the ability to put into practice. 
The ability to interact with others in a real language environment in order 
to convey meaning and ideas that will be useful to communicate information. 
After all, that's what language is for.
While test taking and learning in a focused mode can be useful for 
language learning, it's simply isn't enough. 
In fact, many people have taken years of language classes without 
ever really acquiring the language.
Think about this, I took Spanish in eighth grade, 
ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade and twelfth grade. 
All in an effort to try to connect with my Mexican heritage.
Notice the Spanish bolo tie.
I really wanted to learn Spanish to speak to my grandparents in Mexico. 
And I studied hard, in fact, I got A's in every class I took. 
I studied the textbooks. 
I read all the rules, and I memorized all the vocabulary. 
And while my teachers tried to give me some assignments to engage in real 
communicative activities, I would say that the majority of time, 
let's say 80%, was spent in learning the rules of Spanish.
I'm embarrassed to admit now, as a language professional, that while taking 
those Spanish classes, I never considered my mother, a native Spanish speaker, and 
my father, a Spanish teacher, as resources to practice what I was learning in class. 
In fact, I never connected the classroom as place 
where I learned anything that connected to the real world. 
What a wasted opportunity and a lack of understanding.
So your job as a teacher is to not only teach language through grammar rules, 
drills, and worksheets, but to encourage students to have opportunities to practice 
the rules and language you give them, and not just once, but many times.
Just like basketball, acquired skills are those that fade over time. 
Meaning, that if you don't use it, you lose it, and 
just because you teach it doesn't mean they learn it. 
Learning the skills to actually use language comes through practice.
Perhaps, a simple rule of thumb to help you combat the problem of 
practice is the 80/20 rule. 
The 80/20 principle suggests that practice should be 
the majority of what is learned in class, 80%. 
Whereas 20% of the time, you can flip to that zoom lens mode, 
provide instructions and details that will allow them to focus in on 
things they have not yet noticed or seen.
In this way, you can certainly see that language is basketball, 
and you are the coach.
Yet, another metaphor to store away and help you understand some of 
the fundamental principles in Teach English Now.
In the next video, we'll help guide you to see some of the best ways to 
engage students in deliberate practice.

Video 4: Practice in the Two modes

[MUSIC] 
Welcome back. 
In this lesson we'd like to build your knowledge of the two different modes of 
learning, and 
give you some simple tips on how to help students practice in both modes.
First, let's start with the focus mode of learning. 
The focus mode, you'll recall, 
is one in which students need to zoom in on the details of learning. 
For example, it might be learning from a vocabulary list, practicing a particular 
tense, or working on the pronunciation of a group of similar sounding words. 
Small things, focused. 
Now, as a teacher, 
how would you help students tackle these kinds of assignments? 
Well, one of the worst things you can do when encouraging learners to memorize 
is to simply force them to sit down and try to learn everything at once.
Some of my students insist that if it is good to learn 20 words in a day, 
it must be better to learn 40. 
And if 40 is great, why not 80 in one day? 
The problem with this idea is it gives no time for 
the brain to process the information.
It is a little like believing that if you can bake a cake at 350 degrees for 
one hour, then you can bake that same cake at 700 degrees in 30 minutes. 
It'll save time, right? 
Of course not. 
If you double the temperature, what happens? 
You got it. 
Burnt cake.
And if you double the amount of information, 
you may end up frying your brain.
For your brain to truly learn words and 
keep them, learners need to allow their brain time to process the information. 
One great way to do this is to use spaced repetition.
Spaced repetition is a particularly good technique for 
learners when they are trying to memorize lists. 
Rather than learn all the words at once and considering the learning finished, 
learners are invited to spend a limited amount of time with the material, and 
then come back to it at a later time.
Each time the learner comes back to it, 
however, the amount of time between intervals increases. 
This allows for the learning to stick and become more automatic.
There are many different systems people use for spaced repetition. 
But one of my favorite systems for spaced repetitions is the Leitner System. 
In this system you practice items you haven't learned more frequently than those 
you have already memorized. 
For example, if I was studying vocabulary words on flash cards, 
words I correctly answered would go into a box with a higher number and 
would be studied less frequently. 
While words I incorrectly answered would go into a box with a lower number, 
meaning they would be studied more frequently.
And remember, you don't have to come up with systems yourself. 
A simple Google search will reveal many different systems for 
spaced repetition, along with computer software and 
websites all designed to help you memorize things more quickly and easily. 
These software and websites usually let you create your own lists or 
look at lists other teachers have created. 
I look to look for lists that I know will help my students learn about a specific, 
targeted group of words I want them to know.
And if you aren't into serious kinds of spaced repetition, 
here is an even easier tip. 
When you do practice a particular group of words during a week of instruction, 
please remember to try to use those words in upcoming weeks. 
Just giving students lists, having students memorize those lists, and 
then leaving all that learning alone will simply cause students to believe that 
learning a language is nothing more than memorizing, taking a test, going home, 
and taking a shower that erases all of that knowledge away.
You know what I'm talking about. 
Don't do it. 
Recycle those words throughout the semester. 
Have them reappear throughout your time together.
Now let's talk about the diffuse mode.
To practice the diffuse mode in class engage students in activities that 
move them beyond a list of words or a single rule. 
This means that you will need to zoom out and 
create general, not specific, tasks for your learners.
Creating a general task means you aren't asking them to perform a memorized bit 
of vocabulary or grammar, but asking them to perform in a more open style.
For example, you could ask students to order at a restaurant, 
buy some shoes, or talk about your best friend.
Do you see how these are more general tasks? 
Do you notice that in these tasks there is more than one right answer, and 
that students could talk for a short or long period of time?
These tasks could all include different kinds of grammar and 
vocabulary, and invite learners to communicate in real, unscripted ways.
At advanced levels of English, teachers often challenge students to think 
critically by asking questions that require students to synthesize, 
put together what they are learning. 
For example, by pairing two apparently unrelated ideas
you can invite students to consider how they might be related.
Let me give you an example. 
The theme of our first module, motivation, and 
let's tie it to the theme of our second module, practice.
I could ask you, advanced English speakers, a question like this. 
How is practice related to motivation?
By taking these two separate ideas, practice and 
motivation, and asking students to put them together, you now engage students 
in not just language production, but critical thinking. 
Here students will naturally focus away from grammar and from details of 
vocabulary words they know and focus on what they think, feel, and believe. 
Suddenly they will get lost in the task and start speaking in a free way. 
Trust me, there is no more real context you can provide than 
asking students to engage in critical thought and serious reflection. 
Now you're talking.
Can you think of any other times we have employed the technique of putting two 
unrelated ideas together in order to help learners think? 
Hm, how is language like cake?
How's it like a camera? 
How is language like basketball?
I think you get the idea. 
Thanks for watching. 
[MUSIC]

Accuracy vs. Fluency: Find a Balance and Keep Moving Forward

Accuracy vs. Fluency: Find a Balance and Keep Moving Forward

by Andrea Murau Haraway

When I was in my early 20's, I accepted a job teaching English in Japan. While I had never
studied Japanese or lived in Japan, I did have experience learning other languages and living in
other countries.

When I arrived in Kyoto, I joined two other English-teaching colleagues -- also new to Japan.
We spent our first few months teaching, and outside of teaching, struggling to get by in daily life.
We soon realized that we needed to take language classes, so as summer break approached, we
enrolled in intensive Japanese classes.

It was very interesting to watch our different approaches to learning (and using) our new
language.

One weekend, we decided to take a day trip to Ryoanji, a famous rock garden, located in the
outskirts of Kyoto. We took a train to the area, but from the train station we had to ask directions
to the garden. Here is where I discovered our different approaches.

One friend was very particular about speaking correctly. She would spend several minutes
quietly thinking to herself, checking her dictionary, and planning how she should best ask how to
get to Ryoanji. Five minutes passed before she would even open her mouth!

Another friend was very open and gregarious and rather indifferent to language structures and
cultural convention. She grabbed the first person she could find, and asked him for directions.
The problem was that he had difficulty understanding what she was saying. When he finally
understood, he offered the directions, but then she didn’t understand everything he said, so she
asked again and again for him to repeat the directions. Several minutes passed and she was still
not clear on the directions and he was trying to find a way to escape!

My approach was different. I considered what I was going to say, and then asked the nearest
person for directions. She said, “You go down this road and take the second right. Then you…”
Unfortunately, my Japanese was only good enough to retain small chunks of information, so I
couldn’t understand the rest of her directions. But I thanked her kindly, walked down the street,
and took the second right. Now out of sight of the first person who gave me directions, I simply
asked a new person for the next set of directions. And so I continued until I made it to Ryoanji!
Consider the following questions:

• Which of the people in the story were more focused on learning? Which on acquisition?

• Is your approach to language learning similar or dissimilar to the examples mentioned in the
reading? How?

• Which approach is more likely to propel a language learner toward acquisition? Why?

Video 5: Summary and Essential Questions

So let's sum things up.
In this module, we have learned that there's a big difference 
between Acquisition and Learning. 
Learning by memorizing lists of vocabulary and 
grammar can be important, but acquisition means you can put 
all that knowledge to use through real communication.
We learned about two modes of learning, the Focused and Diffused modes. 
In order to help deepen your understanding of learning which tends to be more focused 
and acquisition which tends to be more diffused. 
Your job as a teacher is to give learners both modes of learning and 
to switch between these like a photographer might with a camera.
We introduce the concept of practice by bringing in a guest celebrity, 
Michael Jordan, who never really would've taught a class like we dramatized. 
He would know that practice is a necessary skill for basketball. 
Similarly, language must involve more than just rule based learning. 
Students must engage in practice. 
The concept of an 80/20 rule helps gives you a general guideline an ideal for 
your language classroom. 
80% Practice 20% instruction. 
Finally we discussed how to get students to practice in either mode of learning. 
In the focus mode we talked about space repetition, a technique that allows 
the brain to process information by spacing out learning overtime. 
In the diffuse mode, we talked about creating events 
that allow students to engage in real, communicative activities. 
And questions that invite students to engage in real critical thinking.
Speaking of critical thinking it is now time for our next essential question. 
Remember an essential question asks you to consider the truth of an assumption 
based on the information we have just discussed. 
This modules assumption is what is taught is what is learned.
What is taught is what is learned. 
What could that mean? 
How is it true? 
How is it not true? 
Good luck thinking about this one. 
It's a bit harder than the last essential question, but 
aren't hard questions some of your favorite kinds of questions?
See you in module three. 
Where we'll learn about a man some people call a genius and others call a fool. 
We'll see what you think. 

The Acquisition-Learning Distinction

Excerpt from Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, pg. 10 by Stephen D
Krashen; retrieved September 3, 2015 from
http://www.sdkrashen.com/content/books/principles_and_practice.pdf

THE ACQUISITION-LEARNING DISTINCTION

The acquisition-learning distinction is perhaps the most fundamental of all the hypotheses to be
presented here. It states that adults have two distinct and independent ways of developing
competence in a second language.

The first way is language acquisition, a process similar, if not identical to the way children
develop ability in their first language. Language acquisition is a subconscious process; language
acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of
the fact that they are using the language for communication. The result of language acquisition,
acquired competence, is also subconscious. We are generally not consciously aware of the rules
of the languages we have acquired. Instead, we have a "feel" for correctness. Grammatical
sentences "sound" right, or "feel" right, and errors feel wrong, even if we do not consciously
know what rule was violated.

Other ways of describing acquisition include implicit learning, informal learning, and natural
learning. In non-technical language, acquisition is "picking-up" a language.

The second way to develop competence in a second language is by language learning. We will
use the term "learning" henceforth to refer to conscious knowledge of a second language,
knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them. In non-technical
terms, learning is "knowing about" a language, known to most people as "grammar", or "rules".
Some synonyms include formal knowledge of a language, or explicit learning.

Some second language theorists have assumed that children acquire, while adults can only learn.
The acquisition-learning hypothesis claims, however, that adults also acquire, that the ability to
"pick-up" languages does not disappear at puberty. This does not mean that adults will always be
able to achieve native-like levels in a second language. It does mean that adults can access the
same natural "language acquisition device" that children use. As we shall see later, acquisition is
a very powerful process in the adult.
WEEK 3
Lesson 1: Taking Risks
Video 1: Language is a Stag
Welcome back to Teach English Now.

Today, we are going to talk about something called The Effective Filter, and 
it's relation to self-awareness.
Do you know what it means to be self-aware? 
Self-awareness is the ability to see yourself, or 
perhaps imagine yourself, from someone else's viewpoint.
Like seeing yourself in a mirror.
Self-awareness is something that evolves over time, 
meaning that kids are usually less self-aware, and adults, more self-aware.
Now, let me ask you an impossible question. 
I love impossible questions.
Is it good or bad to be self-aware?
Well, let's think about it. 
On the positive side, self-awareness gives you the chance to know how you look, 
how you feel, why you feel what you feel. 
You have a certain amount of confidence because you know you look and 
sound pretty good.

On the negative side, self-awareness can sometimes be paralyzing. 

Sometimes, and, especially, in new environments, you think so 
much about yourself, who you are and what you are doing, 
that you have increased anxiety, and lose your confidence.
Can you tell it's time for another story?
When I was 16 years old, I had big glasses, big hair, and a big dream. 
I wanted to be a singer, and a group called The Music Machine was a nationally 
recognized glee club, that for some reason, girls, I wanted to be a part of. 
The day before my audition my friend Joseph invited me to his house, so 
that I could memorize one of my audition songs, Under the Sea.
I sang it about a half dozen times to 60 second perfection.
When I arrived to my audition the next day, I got onto a stage for 
the very first time. 
Does anyone else here remember a first audition? 
Well, let me tell you what it looked like for me.
The music director and choreographer sat behind a table, in the back of a long, 
dark auditorium. 
On the table was a microphone. 
And directly beside the table, and the two people, was a large stage light.
When I walked onto the stage, I already had butterflies in my stomach.
The director spoke and the microphone crackled.
Whenever you're ready, he said.
The music began and I had 60 seconds to convince them that I could sing. 
The problem was, I was so frightened, I couldn't remember a single line. 
In fact, earlier that day, I had started forgetting my lines to the point 
that I had everything written on my hands. 
Now with that stage light directly in my face, I couldn't even read 
what was on my hands, because sweat had begun to smear the words. 
So, what did I do?
I stood there, staring into my hands, 
letting the 60 seconds of music go by me, as I, awkwardly, 
tried to stammer out a few nonsensical words to a song originally sung by a crab.
Please remember my age, I was 16 years old, and I desperately wanted to be cool, 
and this was about the not coolest thing I had ever experienced.
I was convinced that anyone that saw me would have thought I had 
absolutely no business ever being on a stage.
Now, what does this have to do with learning a language? 
And what does it have to do with self-awareness? 
I shared this story which, otherwise, would be just a bad memory, 
to illustrate a feeling, I believe many of your learners share. In many ways, 
learning a new language gives students a peculiar kind of self-awareness. 
In language learning, self-awareness means you are aware of your accent, 
your grammar mistakes, and how well you are doing at communicating your idea.
In a sense, learning a language is a lot like being on a stage. 
And learners are trying to perform something for the first time, and 
that can be very uncomfortable.
Stephen Krashen, our famous ESL theorist, 
explains this concept using the term affective filter. 
The affective filter, he explains, refers to the complex emotions your students 
might have as they process all this new information, and try to produce language.
In short, 
when your affective filter is high, it means you are feeling a lot of emotions. 
Annoyance, anger, frustration, or anxiety. 
And when your affective filter is low, it means you aren't nearly so stressed. 
So, the flow of information can come more easily.
Let's discuss. 
During my audition, what level was my affective filter?
It was off the charts. 
I couldn't even remember simple things that I had accomplished, 
very easily, the day before.
Having to produce what I already knew became impossible, because I focused so 
much on myself and my possible mistakes, that I couldn't remember a thing.
So, what does this mean for you as a language teacher?
Well, let's start with the fact that we as language teachers can never forget 
how hard it is to learn and perform something new, and 
how difficult it can be to perform in front of those that are judging us.
Recognize that the affective filter, 
especially in classroom settings, can be particularly high. 
And that you as a teacher must create an environment to help lower that filter, and 
give learners confidence to remember the material 
that they have prepared and studied.
In the next few videos, we will discuss some very effective ways to lower 
the affective filter, and invite students to take more risks. 
Thanks for watching. 

Video 2: Lowering the Affective Filter

[MUSIC] 
Welcome back to Teach English Now. 
In our last video we explained the effective filter. 
That complex set of emotions that can help or hurt your ability to process language. 
I shared the idea that learning a language is like being on stage 
because learners constantly deal with performing under pressure. 
And doing thing that can make them self-aware.
But once you realize that learning a language can be nerve-wracking for 
a lot of your learners, what can you, 
as a language teacher do, to calm them down and lower that affective filter.
Let's discuss a few techniques.
First of all. 
From the very beginning of your classes, make sure you relate to your learners.
One of the strongest techniques you can use with learners is to simply share your 
own failures and feelings when it comes to learning new things. 
By sharing foolish mistakes you have made and feelings you have had while learning 
new things, your learners will see that you are someone who understands them. 
Personally, I am always involved in learning a second, third, or even a fourth 
language so that I never forget how difficult it can be to learn a language.
Second, I like to describe mistakes as normal. 
I praise effort and use phrases such as mistakes are okay. 
Take your time. 
And you almost have it right.
Always encourage those who get on the stage that success comes in applied 
continuous effort.
In this sense, I almost always praise process and 
I get students away from thinking about a finished polished product.
Third. 
Use formative evaluation. 
If you remember, in the second module we talked a lot about two different 
modes of learning and how the diffuse mode provides opportunities for students 
to let loose and not worry so much about every single rule of the language.
If you'll remember, we recommended that you follow a 80/20 ratio. 
Meaning that you should practice with the students in this diffuse mode 
about 80% of the time.
Now, let's apply these principles to the idea of lowering the effective filter. 
These practice settings are perfect opportunities for 
you to lower that effective filter. 
This is because in practice settings you can create an environment wherein 
learners can make mistakes without being given a final judgement or grade.
These practice sessions are times when you can show students you aren't just a judge.
You're a guide and you are there to help students prepare for 
a later testing environment. 
When you give feedback that is not a final grade but is to help them along the way, 
this is called formative feedback, or formative evaluation.
I love this kind of evaluation because students no longer see you as a judge, but 
as a coach. 
Giving you tips that will help them to perform better under game time conditions. 
This is all in contrast to summative evaluation 
wherein students are evaluated by their performance and given a grade.
Fourth, be willing to look ridiculous. 
Encourage it. 
When students see you look silly, whether wearing a wig, 
squishing some cake through your fingers, auditioning for a glee club, whatever. 
This helps students to recognize that they themselves can take risks, and 
get outside their comfort zone. 
In some sense, you are simply saying. 
In this space, in this classroom, you are allowed to experiment. 
To fall on your face. 
To try funny things. 
In fact, that is what I expect and want.
Students will relax when they realize that you have created a safe space for 
them to fall. 
And look foolish.
No one will look more foolish than me.
I try to make sure of that. 
Thanks for watching Teach English Now. 
[MUSIC]

Lesson 2: Understanding Mistakes

Video 3: Language Learner Strategies
Welcome back to Teach English Now!
In the last video, we discussed the concept of taking risks and 
how important it is for a teacher to lower the affective filter so 
that students want to take risks. 
Hand in hand with that thought, however, is the need for 
a learner to know the proper ways to take risk.
In other words, helping students learn correct language learner strategies 
will help give them more confidence, more motivation and 
ultimately better language skills. 
While I said that risk is good, not all risk is created equal.
One more story.
Francois Gouin, smart or foolish? 
That is the question we must ask ourselves in today's story.
Here are the facts. 
Francois Gouin lived at the end of the 19th century and 
was a Latin and Greek professor from France. 
Sounds pretty smart so far, right?
He also wrote books, and he was considered a predecessor of Charles Berlitz, 
who revolutionized language learning in his day.
Perhaps Gouin's most famous book, The Art and 
Teaching of Language, is something I think every language teacher should read, 
not only because of his ideas about language learning, but 
because of his experiences in trying to learn language himself.
You see, just around 1880, Francois decided he wanted to learn German. 
So he left his teaching position for an entire year and moved to Hamburg, Germany. 
Good idea? 
Smart? 
I think so.
He then spent the first ten days doing what?
Studying German in his room. 
Good idea? 
Smart? 
[SOUND] While in his room for ten days, he first learned 248 
irregular German verbs, studied a grammar book, and 
he refused to leave until he had committed it all to memory. 
Wow! 
After ten days, he left his room, and finally tried to test out his knowledge. 
He went to the university and listened in on classes.
How do you think he did? 
Could he understand German?
Not at all. 
In fact, he phrases it like this.
“Not a word, not a single word would penetrate to my understanding. 
Nay, more than this, 
I did not even distinguish a single one of the grammatical forms so newly studied. 
I did not recognize even a single one of the irregular verbs just freshly learnt, 
though they certainly must have fallen in crowds from the lips of the speaker.”
So, Francois went back to his room and shut the door again for 
another eight days.
This time he memorized 800 Germany roots and 
committed to memory the grammar book and irregular verbs again.
And off to the university again.
And? 
Any guesses? 
Could he understand any words this time?
Not a word.
Now, I don't want to be too hard on poor Gouin at this point. 
I admit there are things I admire. 
He keeps trying. 
He never gives up, but he also keeps using the same strategy. 
Finally this third time, he tries to change the strategy. 
Oh, how I love that. 
What does he do now? 
Is it smart? 
Let me tell you what he does.
He goes down to a shop below his room. 
He actually leaves the room and tries talking with customers in the shop. 
He opens his mouth, tries to say a few things.
Unfortunately, they laugh at him. 
>> [LAUGH] >> This makes things even worse. 
Poor, sensitive Francois, a professor, a genius, 
looks silly, just like every one of us learning a new language. 
Do you think as a professor of languages, he was used to looking ridiculous? 
I don't either. 
In fact, 
do you think it is possible that sometimes being smart is what makes you foolish?
Food for thought.
Anyway, the story ends rather tragically. 
Gouin, super embarrassed, returns to his room and tries translations. 
Doesn't work. 
Then he tries memorizing a book of dialogues. 
Nope. 
Not that either. 
Then he spends a month memorizing 30,000 words in a dictionary.
Nothing, not a word.
After one year of effort, guess what? 
Francois Gouin goes home, having never learned German at all, not a word.
Now what does this story illustrate and what can we learn from it? 
It certainly re-emphasizes the idea that practice 
is an important part of language learning and that memorizing simply isn't enough.
Sure, that's true. 
But it also illustrates another point I'd like to make 
about language learners in general.
First, everyone likes to look smart. 
And people like Francois Gouin, 
adult learners of a language, are accustomed to looking smart.
Second, because learners are accustomed to looking smart, they often chose 
language learning strategies that avoid looking foolish and taking risks. 
This is not to say that all his strategies are necessarily bad, but 
rather that in the absence of risk, his strategies are likely to increase 
learning but not acquisition, which is our ultimate goal.
Thanks for watching Teach English Now! 
We have shared a few stories now about how not to learn a language. 
And the strategies learners often use that don't seem to work very well. 
In the next video, however, we will start presenting how good language learners 
use strategies that allow them to be more successful than their counterparts. 
See you then. 
[MUSIC]

Video 4: Good Language Learner Strategies

[MUSIC] 
Welcome back. 
As I mentioned before, I love to share stories about language learners. 
I do this so that students can get a sense that they are not alone 
which in turn can lower the effective filter.
Please feel free to learn about some of my extraordinary students by reading some of 
their stories in the bonus material at the end of this module.
In their stories they share their frustrations and 
difficulties in learning a new language and culture. 
Having your learners read stories about what was successful and 
not successful is an excellent way to help your learners examine and 
broaden their own language learner strategies. 
For example after I teach students about Francois Gwan I 
often invite students to think about what strategies he should have used.
Another useful way to help students use successful strategies 
is by looking at the good language learner studies. 
A number of studies have tried to identify what good language learners do. 
And what cognitive and 
meta-cognitive strategies they employ in order to be successful. 
While not every strategy is expected to be successful for every student, helping 
language learners know what strategies are likely to be more successful can be 
an extremely liberating process and give students motivation to take more risk. 
Good language learners predict. 
Good language learners will often guess or 
be invited to guess what the topic will be about. 
Students who are good at picking up on social and 
contextual clues often become better language learners.
Use selective attention.
Good language learners often pay attention to only a particular aspect of a lesson. 
They will decide, in advance, to ignore distracting information and 
pay attention only to what they believe is important.
Prepare, learners who prepare in advance often do better. 
For example, a learner who writes down notes about what he or she wants to say, 
generally will excel over a student who simply tries to speak with no preparation.
Look ridiculous, learners who are willing to look foolish 
often make better language students, they don't worry about what they look like. 
They focus on the task and try to accomplish it.
Practice, learners who practice are better able to master the skill of language. 
Practice should be at the core of any real language class.
Monitor, monitoring refers to correction of your own speech for 
accuracy and pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and appropriateness. 
A learner who pays attention to both form and 
meaning is often the best language learner.
Ask questions, learners who learn to ask questions to those around 
them and get answers to those questions are more likely to be successful.
Take notes, learners who write down what they hear and 
discuss are more likely to remember and better able to retain.
Use imagery.
Learners who relate new information to a visualization often perform better, 
especially at recall.
Find an answer in multiple ways.
Good language learners are able to find answers form dictionaries, teachers, 
students and other sources. 
They don't get information from just one source.
Use physical response.
Good language learners can relate information such as new vocabulary 
to a physical action. 
And this helps deepen memory.
Play, good language learners practice 
reordering a meaningful sentence by using words in a new way. 
They play with language.
Now, did you notice that as we went through these strategies, that some of 
the good language learner strategies are similar to good teacher strategies. 
Even if your learners never actively learn any of these strategies 
you can still encourage the use of them within your classroom. 
Help students predict, ask questions use imagery and play.
Well, that's it for today's lesson. 
By the way, this leads us to our next metaphor about teachers. 
We hope you'll agree that learners need to know not just what to learn, but 
how to learn. 
And as a language teacher, 
you play a serious role in helping give them correct strategies. 
In a sense, you are guiding them along a correct path 
by encouraging them to go in certain directions. 
So the metaphor we want you to remember is that, as a teacher, 
you are often a trail guide. 
Helping your learners along a path with obstacles and choices. 
You help learners to avoid certain pitfalls that Francois fell into, and 
discover strategies that they should use instead.
Thanks for watching Teach English Now. 
[MUSIC]

Teaching Language Learning Strategies

Teaching Language Learning Strategies
In the previous video you learned about the strategies that good language learners employ,
namely:

 Predicting – using social and contextual clues to guess at the topic

 Using selective attention – paying attention to only what seems important
 Preparing – thinking about what one wants to communicate in advance
 Looking ridiculous – being willing to look foolish in order to complete the task
 Practicing
 Monitoring – correcting one’s own speech for accuracy
 Asking questions
 Taking notes
 Using imagery – relating new information to a visualization
 Finding the answer in multiple ways
 Using physical response – relating new information to a physical action
 Playing – experimenting with language
Research has shown that language learners who use these strategies are more likely to acquire a
foreign language. Oxford (1990) states that language learning strategies (LLS) allow learners to
become more self-directed and expand the role of language teachers. She states that LLS are
flexible, problem oriented, and not just cognitive in nature. She concludes that LLS can be
taught, and they are influenced by a variety of factors.

Lessard-Clouston (1997) states that training students to use LLS can help them become better
language learners and suggests a three-step approach.

Step 1: Study your teaching context to determine which LLS should be taught. Gather
information about your students, such as their goals and motivations, and observe which LLS
they are already using. This information can be gathered through informal observation,
interviews, questionnaires or surveys. Look through available teaching materials to determine if
LLS training is already incorporated into the lessons. Finally, analyze your own teaching
methods and styles to determine which LLS you are already modeling, and how you are
modeling them – implicitly, explicitly, or both?

Step 2: Focus on LLS in your teaching. After determining which LLS are the most relevant to
your learners, your materials and your own teaching style, incorporate them into your lessons.
Give students clear examples of how LLS can be used to improve their language skills. Give
students opportunities to use and develop these LLS so they can use them independently both in
and out of the classroom. (Remember the focused and diffuse modes of learning and the 80/20
rule.)

Step 3: Reflect on the use of LLS. As a purposeful teacher, reflect on your own use of LLS and
the effectiveness of the LLS training and practice you provided in your lessons. Encourage
students to reflect on their use of LLS to determine which ones are more useful to them.

Language learning is an individualized process, and learners need a variety of LLS in order to
successfully acquire a foreign language. As teachers we are not only responsible for teaching our
learners what to learn, but also how to learn. Training students on the use of LLS allows them to
take responsibility for their own learning and become autonomous, independent communicators.

References:

Lessard-Clouston, Michael. "Language Learning Strategies: An Overview for L2 Teachers."

Essays in Languages and Literatures. 8. December (1997): Web

Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New
York: Newbury House.

Video 5: Summary and Essential Question

[MUSIC] 
Hello, good to see you again. 
Let's see if we can remember all that we learned in module three.
In the first video we shared how learners often feel like they're on stage, 
and introduced you to the affective filter, 
that complex set of emotions that can help or hurt your language processing.
We shared strategies for how to lower the affective filter by relating to your 
learners, describing mistakes as normal, using formative assessments, 
and simply being willing to look ridiculous.
We also shared Francois Gouin's personal and 
agonizing experience trying to learn German. 
You learned that even though Francois was a smart college professor, 
his techniques prevented him from learning a language. 
His smarts, in a sense, are exactly what made him not so smart.
You also learned that you are like a trail guide, helping learners choose what 
strategies will help them learn language and what strategies will not.
The good language learner studies can give you a sense of what techniques 
good learners use, and 
can help you to guide learners to choose good techniques themselves.
Whether you teach language learning strategies directly or 
simply use them as part of your instruction, 
we hope you always think about how important correct strategy is.
It's now time for us to reflect on our essential question.
Using the last few videos and your own experience and 
understanding, how would you respond to the following assumption?
People with high IQ's are good language learners.
Thanks for watching Teach English Now! 
And see you next time. 
In the next module we are going to discuss how the world of language learning 
is changing and what you can do to make sure you aren't left behind. 
[MUSIC]