Jim Tripp was asked this question, apparently from a group of middle school kids:
“Hello! My name is John (made-up name). I am an 8th grade student at Decorah Middle School. I am involved in a project called First Lego League. This project entails a group of students finding a topic to meet the criteria of a certain challenge and doing some research to eventually find a problem and solution. The challenge this year is to find a way to improve how someone learns something. We have chosen foreign languages as this is a key factor of modern day communication. This brings me to why I am contacting you; I was wondering if you would be interested in answering some questions we have. Thank you for considering this, it will be a huge help to us having first hand knowledge on this topic.”
Jim then sent this person the responses below (they are also posted onto the Forum under General) and received this response:
“I will forward this to the rest of the group! Thanks so much for your time! This will be a big help to us in understanding the problem.”
Jim shares:
“I thought this was very interesting that they have identified foreign language instructional success as a problem, in 8th grade. I’m not sure if they were coaxed to do this specific topic by a teacher, but regardless, pretty cool! I’d love to get feedback on my responses from the group if possible.
Here are the questions from these middle schoolers and Jim’s answers. Please feel free to comment on any of this:
1.) What language do you teach? Spanish
2.) What methods do you use to teach your language? Teaching with Comprehensible Input (TCI) is the umbrella method, which simply means ‘communicating with students using language they can understand’. In other words, they get from the teacher lots of language into their ears and eyes (input) that is comprehensible to them. Under the umbrella of TCI falls other methods that I use: Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS), Total Physical Response (TPR), MovieTalk, Read and Discuss, etc.
3.) Do these methods reach the majority of students? Yes
4.) Are there other methods people use to learn foreign languages? If so, what ways? Yes, many other ways. The most common is the Audio-Lingual method. Most language textbooks cater to and encourage this method. The Grammar-Translation method is what we might call the “Old School” approach. This means learning a grammar rule, then translating language that uses the rule. Many Classics teachers (e.g. Latin, Greek) use this method.
5.) Are there methods for learning a language more quickly than others? In my opinion, and based on the research I have seen, TCI is the most effective. But I would like to clarify two terms with regard to languages: learn and acquire. When we learn language, we are conscious of the process. Two words that come to mind when talking about “learning a language” are ‘memorization’ and ‘analysis’. We are memorizing vocabulary, and we are consciously analyzing phonemes, morphemes, and syntax, thereby attempting to “figure out” the language. When we then go to produce the language (write or speak), we must rely on a part of the brain that stores short-term memory. When we acquire language, the process is mainly subconscious. We are focusing on meaning, or semantics, rather than the individual words and grammatical rules that govern the language. When we go to produce the language, our subconscious (wherein our language acquisition device (LAD) resides) is at work, and we tend to say what sounds right, rather than consciously monitoring our output. Not to say that there is no benefit to learning/memorizing. But the latter (acquisition) is what I ultimately want to give my students, as it leads to more spontaneous/real/long term language.
6.) Are there any areas that are difficult for certain students to learn a foreign language? If so, why? Yes, when many students are expected to learn the grammatical system of a language, they find it difficult as they might a math class. The level of ability to consciously do math is a good indicator of students’ ability to learn the language. However, when provided with Comprehensible Input, the LAD does the leg work, while the student focuses on the meaning and actively communicates with the teacher. This responses that the students are giving will be very simple at the beginning (non-verbal responses, one word responses, etc) and increase in length and complexity as they get more and more input over time.
7.) Do you only speak the foreign language or do you speak English during class? My goal is to use Spanish at least 90% of the time in class, per the recommendation from our parent language-teaching organization, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL).
8.) What is the biggest struggle your students have in learning your language? The biggest struggle my students have is understanding that I expect them to show up to class, and by that I mean “show up and be present”. When I am communicating with them, they must communicate back to me. That will mean answering my questions, letting me know if they do not understand, reacting to statements, gesturing or acting out what I’m saying, etc. But generally speaking, my students do not have difficulty acquiring language in my class.
9.) What do you do to help the students who are struggling to learn the language? I check in with them often to make sure they comprehend. If they do not, then I will write unknown word(s) on the board and go back and give many comprehensible repetitions of the language that hasn’t yet been acquired. I will also slow down my rate of speech. I want to make sure all my students understand everything I am saying.
10.) What do you think distracts students from learning a foreign language? The biggest distraction is the inaccurate assumption that one can acquire language through intellectual effort. Humans need to hear and see the language, repeatedly and in interesting context, in order to acquire language.
11.)Is there anything you wish you had for your classroom or access to to make the learning process more efficient? I wish I had more ways to connect my students with real speakers of Spanish, in an efficient and non-threatening way. Oftentimes, even with the Internet as a resource, we run into technical issues or scheduling differences that make this endeavor difficult or impossible. But I think it can be done. Also, I wish there was a foreign country travel component to our public education, so that all students could experience another culture in real life and real time before they graduate from high school.
12.)How do you decide whether or not a lesson has been successful? If my students can understand what they’re hearing/reading, then I have sufficiently “taught” them the language that I was attempting to teach. When they can produce that language (written or spoken) then the student has gone to the ultimate step of acquisition, for that particular language that I was targeting. Also, if I see smiles on students’ faces as they listen/read what I am presenting, then I feel that the lesson is a success.
13.)Do you have any other information that you think might be useful to us? For more information/history on many of these ideas, I’d recommend highly Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell’s groundbreaking book The Natural Approach. While it is was originally published in 1983, the hypotheses presented in the book still guide best practices in foreign language education.