Perspectives in Language Development - Kelley Suchman
Description
This Mind Map is designed to show relationships among six different education/learning theory ideologists as they relate to English Language Learners. The map shows how these theories can be implemented in the classroom using a variety of techniques.
Perspectives in Language
Development - Kelley Suchman
Transformational Grammar
Chomsky
The rules of language are applied,
unconsciously, to what is heard. The brain
then applies those rules and
representations to then become a user of
language.
When working to immerse a student in
language, be sure to use complete and
simple sentence structures, as they are
forming constructs for the rules of the
language. As the student grows in language
use, the sentence structures in use in the
classroom, should become more complex.
Communicative Competence
Hymes
Learning a language is more than just
learning a set of grammatical rules. The
ability to convey and interpret messages
is key to true communication.
inflection, body language and voice all play roles in learning true
communication. As students and teachers are reading, acting or
interacting, remember to emote and speak with more than your
voice and sentence structure. All aspects of interaction form
competent communicators.
Interactionist Model
Long
Peer conversations enrich the acquisition of language. Face to face
interactions help differentiate the level of language learning. As the
learner interacts more, so do those the learner is interacting with,
thusly, exposing the learner to more quantity and progressively higher
quality of conversation.
Through peer interaction
opportunities, such as, turn and talk,
jigsaw, pair and share activities,
students will have several experiences
where rich interactions can take place.
Social Constructionism
Vygotsky
Language and thought combine to create meaning as a direct result
of the social interactions an individual has with their peers and family
members. To this end, there is a range, called the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD) in which a student should work, such as within a
range of a particular reading or mathematics level, that will yield
optimal results for learning. Within the ZPD, the student will be both
challenged, while minimizing frustration due to either boredom or
because the material is simply too difficult to comprehend.
It is a natural fit to use social constructs to develop language skills. Pairing
students together, allowing students to role play, designing an
interviewer/interviewee situation and/or having rotating responsibilities within
a group-oriented, problem-solving environment are all different manners by
which social interactions can be used to aide in the development of language
skills and cognition.
Interlanguage Theory
Selinker
An hypothesis that asserts that the second language learner is actually speaking a
language that is unique to themselves; such that, their language does not necessarily
follow particular rules and regulations traditionally applied to either of the languages they
are going between. In this way, the language learner is viewed as more of a person who is
speaking an intermediary language that is somewhat of a hybrid of the two, while they
are developing the fluency skills necessary to eventually speak the second language
without frustration and correction.
It is important to be understanding in the classroom. It is necessary to provide a safe and
trusting environment for each student so they can learn and develop language skills
without worry of judgement and demand of perfection. This is also a time when the teacher
must use their abilities to observe the patterns of student's mistakes, so they can better
develop a personalized plan to help them learn.
BICS vs. CALP
Cummins
BICS - Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills and CALP - Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency, are concepts centering around the idea that students
who speak different languages have, in effect, two different skill sets associated
with the spoken word. Just because someone seems fluent in terms of their
BICS communication, does not mean that they are skilled with relation to the
CALP. Typically, CALP proficiency is less due to the fact that the words of a
particular subject, such as science, are more difficult and are used less
frequently.
Bridging the gap between one's BICS and CALP levels first
comes in the form of assessing that gap. It is also important
to provide vocabulary alternatives for students; as well as, a
means of deciphering more difficult words, perhaps by
teaching skills in root word, prefix and suffix determination.