"'The significance of learners' errors,' which calls on applied linguists to focus on L2 learners' errors not as 'bad habits' to be eradicated, but as sources of insight into the learning process" (Saville-Troike, 38). This section of the reading really made sense to me because I feel the same way. When learning French in the classroom, I felt that embarrassed to make a mistake and did not want to speak aloud in class. I didn't want the other students or the teacher to think I wasn't smart enough to learn the language and there was a lot of pressure on breaking the "bad habits" we, as new French students, were bound to make. After taking years of French in the classroom, I don't feel like I learned half as much as I did when I went to France. Going to France for the summer as a 14 year old was an amazing experience. I was in a small town in the south of France, living with my cousin and her half-brother. There, I felt that I learned the most about the language. The natives were patient about my "bad habits," which of course disappeared after being immersed into the culture. I was not afraid to make mistakes while speaking because I wanted to communicate with everyone. Due to this need to communicate, my French language skills soared. I learned more in that summer than I ever could have sitting in a desk in a classroom.
On a different note, I'm really looking forward to watching L'Enfant Sauvage. I'm really interested in the critical period hypothesis and I haven't really learned much about it so I'm hoping that in the next meeting I'll be able to form an opinion on the topic. I also hope to solidify the many different theories that we've been studying and reading about.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you're so interested in learning about the critical period hypothesis. I must say I was really surprised last week when some people hadn't heard about it. As I said on Elise's blog, I have only really learned the basics about the critical period hypothesis from a sociological point of view, but it is interesting none the less, and definitely a crucial issue that must be focused on by linguistics and teachers of any kind. Can't wait to hear what you think!
Keri
I also took French, four years in high school. As of now I can only say a few sentences and it is sad because I really did want to learn the language but the learning environment in the classroom did not provide me with many authentic opportunities use the language. Just like you, I was also afraid to speak in class because I didn't want to sound stupid and make mistakes in front of the class. I think it is great that you want to France for a summer because you obviously got much more out of it than being in the classroom. I think teachers need to be more empathetic and look at mistakes as teaching moments to help the student and gain insight into their learning processes.
ReplyDeleteI can really relate Amy, and definitely agree. In high school and during my freshman year of college, I was afraid to speak out Spanish loud in the classroom. After having been to Spain and back, I have this boosted confidence in my speaking abilities and actually want to keep speaking to get better. I think it is important to encourage our students to keep practicing the language because communication/ speaking is a major part of knowing a language. Without feeling comfortable speaking, they won't reach their maximum potential.
ReplyDeleteKatie
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI think you brought up a great point about the errors! I felt the same way when I was taking Spanish. In the classroom I was and still am afraid to speak and make mistakes. It seems like errors are a bad things. However when living in another country where people encourage the usage of the language and were patient with my mistakes, my language ability soared too! This also goes hand-in-hand with Krashen's affective filter hypothesis where in the classroom, it feels like there is more pressure and the filter is higher. However, when we are speaking with a native speaker in a more realistic setting, it feels like we don't have to speak perfect and our filter is lowered. When we aren’t so focused on our errors, we can explore the language and become more fluent.
Thanks for the great insight :)
~Tara