Good Language Learning and Acquisition
Published: Jan 22, 2024 | Category: Languages
Thoughts on teaching and learning languages...
For many years I have had the privilege of teaching children and adults Spanish, French, ESL, and for English speakers English Literacy and Composition and Rhetoric. Watching eyes light up with new means of expression and understanding, and people grow in their abilities to communicate usefully and beautifully, is exciting and rewarding. Besides, language is just fun!
Considering that additional languages have a particularly vital role in cognitive development as well as ability to function globally, how to teach the effectively is of special importance to me. The ways that languages are put together, the syntax, the figures of speech, how words interact and reflect attitudes about the world around us differ to such an extent that learning a second (or third) language helps us to think differently, to think in ways we never have, to enlarge our imagination and our critical thinking.
It is not enough to be able to do a word-for-word literal translation in another language. Often, using that simple approach, meanings are lost, unclear, or even misunderstood entirely. It is imperative for us to inhabit that language in a way such that it enhances how we articulate our thoughts in our own primary language, as well as have a deeper understanding of the thought processes of the people we are communicating with.
Fluency in a second language is comprised of conversational, reading, and writing skills. Therefore, teaching a second language involves:
My students also:
Children are the most natural language-learners in the world -- they have already begun to learn language from their earliest infancy and they have a brain plasticity that allows them to integrate new concepts and patterns quickly and well. Of all the age groups I teach, young children are my absolute favorites -- they are so filled with imagination and creativity, a natural lack of pre-suppositions, an absolute curiosity and love of learning new things, and an instinct for challenge, that it is easy to build on those gifts of youth and develop learning another language as a fun and enriching activity for them.
What are your questions, thoughts, or experiences with language acquisition?
For many years I have had the privilege of teaching children and adults Spanish, French, ESL, and for English speakers English Literacy and Composition and Rhetoric. Watching eyes light up with new means of expression and understanding, and people grow in their abilities to communicate usefully and beautifully, is exciting and rewarding. Besides, language is just fun!
Considering that additional languages have a particularly vital role in cognitive development as well as ability to function globally, how to teach the effectively is of special importance to me. The ways that languages are put together, the syntax, the figures of speech, how words interact and reflect attitudes about the world around us differ to such an extent that learning a second (or third) language helps us to think differently, to think in ways we never have, to enlarge our imagination and our critical thinking.
It is not enough to be able to do a word-for-word literal translation in another language. Often, using that simple approach, meanings are lost, unclear, or even misunderstood entirely. It is imperative for us to inhabit that language in a way such that it enhances how we articulate our thoughts in our own primary language, as well as have a deeper understanding of the thought processes of the people we are communicating with.
Fluency in a second language is comprised of conversational, reading, and writing skills. Therefore, teaching a second language involves:
- Instruction of grammar structure
- Continuous expansion of vocabulary
- Emphasis on accurate spelling
- Development of good writing skills for a variety of different styles of writing
- Progressive reading comprehension
- Cultivation of auditory comprehension skills
- Explanations of common metaphors and expressions that are not literally translatable
My students also:
- Work through grammar books with written exercises
- Keep running vocabulary lists which they memorize and use in sentences
- Complete writing assignments which we review and edit together
- Practice conversation techniques with me
- Read books in the second language because, after all, the best way to learn to write well is to read good writing
Children are the most natural language-learners in the world -- they have already begun to learn language from their earliest infancy and they have a brain plasticity that allows them to integrate new concepts and patterns quickly and well. Of all the age groups I teach, young children are my absolute favorites -- they are so filled with imagination and creativity, a natural lack of pre-suppositions, an absolute curiosity and love of learning new things, and an instinct for challenge, that it is easy to build on those gifts of youth and develop learning another language as a fun and enriching activity for them.
What are your questions, thoughts, or experiences with language acquisition?
