As we continue to work towards better and better ways of representing what we do to others, especially parents and (often clueless) administrators, we would do well to perhaps memorize a few of these talking points pulled from the listserve by Jody today. Jody explains:
Jeff Klamka from NY just posted this on the more.tprs list. There are a few things I would change, but this is a very neat, succinct, comprehensible explanation for an observer/evaluator to have to go along with the checklist idea. Stuffed in the parentheses are my thoughts.
“Some important principles for an acquisition-based language class:
1) Language acquisition is a skill (Jody doesn’t know this to be true. I might say it is “an ability all humans possess” with some caveat about differences in speed and time.). It is something that the brain does naturally and subconsciously given the right conditions. The subconscious part is key because you are developing fluency without even being aware of it. All the student has to do is listen or read and understand. The brain will automatically acquire the language.
2) In learning (I would say “acquiring”) a language, like learning (I would say “becoming proficient at”) a sport, developing instincts is crucial. For example, when learning to ski, is it more effective to study theory and understand how it works, or just get a feel for it? One of my best ski instructors gave us life savers and had us focus on pinning them to the roofs of our mouths as we skied down the mountain. This allowed us to “quiet” our conscious minds and let our instincts take over. Sometimes in sports, the more you think, the slower you react. Language acquisition works in quite the same way. Ideally, students will be so riveted by the conversation (I would add: and/or the reading) that they forget that they are learning a language.
3) When (I would add: “listening or”) speaking, it is really hard to focus on the message and the structure at the same time. That is why consciously-learned rules of language are really only useful for the editing phase of writing. For (I would add: “comprehending and “) speaking, it is the
unconsciously acquired grammatical structure that the speaker must rely upon. In other words, in conversation there is only enough time to say what “sounds right,” and not enough time to analyze why. (I would add something about the importance of the comprehension phase before the speaking phase in this paragraph.)
4) During class, the strategy is to give students as much repetitive, interesting, and grammatically-correct language as possible. It must be at a level that is comprehensible to students. They are focused on the meaning and answering questions about the meaning. Their subconscious minds “pick up” the language. (I would not use the phrase: “pick up”. Instead I would use “acquire”. “Pick up” sounds informal and exactly what my administrators don’t want to hear.)
(Jeff really grabbed the essence of it all for me. Do you think an administrator who doesn’t know much about CI instruction or language acquisition theory would be a bit better informed after reading this?)
Jeff Klamka
Bethlehem Central Middle School
Delmar, NY