Instruction and Assessment Flashcards
Define pronunciation and grammar.
Pronunciation is a way of speaking a word, especially a way that is accepted and generally understood.” Grammar is the “rules of a language viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language.”
Present some fundamental ways that Spanish differs from English with respect to spelling, pronunciation and reading, and what learning and teaching differences these produce.
In Spanish, words are spelled more phonetically much more consistently than in English. Consider that in English rough, though, through and bough, the letter combination-ough is pronounced four different ways with the same spelling, and none of these pronunciations matches that spelling. Because the look and sound of Spanish words correspond more, the syllable is a more important phonological awareness unit and predicts successful Spanish reading. English learning employs sight word recognition because many English words cannot be decoded for sound based on their irregular spellings (e.g. are, one or the-ough words above); Spanish does not use sight words because decoding is straightforward due to its more transparent spelling. Thus, Spanish students learn to decode faster and soon move on to comprehension and fluency. Spanish instruction employs most frequently u words rather than sight words. Comprehension is a more significant issue in Spanish than decoding. Such linguistic features inform the methods and development of reading instruction
Give two examples of how LOTE teachers can both practice good teaching methods and save time and effort by emphasizing in-depth treatment of instructional materials over a breadth of materials.
Educators find that instead of using many textbooks, worksheets, etc. wearing out the copy machine and themselves, teachers can expand thoroughly on each single material. Rather than assigning many stories to read with only one accompanying activity apiece, teachers can have students read one story, discuss the story in class, discuss the story among themselves, write about the story, write about what others have said written about the story, read what other students have written about the story, get listening practice through dictation of the story; etc. An additional benefit of this thorough treatment is that repetition is crucial to second-language learning. Another way that LOTE teachers can save time while also pursuing a topic or material in more depth involves minimizing photocopying and/or making multiple printouts For example, rather than copying 10 different exercises from a printed resource, they can copy one exercise and then come up with 10 different activities their students can do with it. In-class dictation also eliminates copying and provides listening and writing practice
Discuss basic interpersonal communication skills.
Basic interpersonal communication skills encompass two different and distinct styles of communication:
In context-embedded communication, various visual and vocal props are available to help the student understand that which is being said, including pictures and other objects to graphically explain and communicate demonstratively. The speaker’s gestures and tone of voice help the listener understand the words being used. Conversations with speakers who use hand gestures and stories with pictures and props help the learners understand more quickly and easily.
Context-reduced communication does not have visual clues and cues and therefore the learner must rely on his competency and fluency in the language. Phone conversations, for example, do not allow the listener to see the speaker and thus hand gestures and facial expressions and other visual aides are missing. Reading a note without pictorial guides may make it difficult for the student to understand the written words
List some effective time management ideas.
Effective time management is crucial for every teacher. Accurate, fair assessment of students’ academic and social progress is equally important. It is critical to develop ways to accomplish both efficiently. Organization is a key ingredient in the equation; time spent searching for things is time wasted. Collaborating with colleagues to develop assessment tools: sharing instructional methods, testing techniques, and formats that work; and establishing standards and priorities for evaluations take time in the beginning but ultimately save time Teachers who expect perfection from themselves and/or their students are striving to reach an unrealistic goal. Using evaluation tools with appropriate frequency, assessing their value at regular intervals, constructing and saving good testing items, and using standard formats when possible are all ways to use time efficiently. Preparing lessons organizing record keeping and evaluating the effectiveness of each on a regular basis will help develop a sensible, workable use of limited time resources.
Describe some teaching techniques to expand LOTE students’ vocabulary, syntactic, and grammatical learning when presenting words, including examples and rationale.
Experienced teachers recommend that whenever the teacher presents a word to LOTE students, she should expand on it. For example, when presenting nouns, the teacher can include their plural forms, and mass nouns related to count nouns, e.g. letter, letters, mail. When presenting verbs, the teacher can include which prepositions it can take and how each preposition affects the word’s meaning. Another technique involves using graphic visual reminders. Using the visual modality reinforces and supplements auditory instruction in speaking the target language.
Explain how an educator might apply the principles of behaviorist theory regarding language learning to teaching languages other than English.
In order to teach LOTE, a teacher likely would introduce lessons in the target languague and academic content subjects in small, manageable portions following the behaviorist principle of presenting new material in small amounts. This practice facilitates more precise shaping of new learned behaviors and enables LOTE students to learn more easily. The educator would demonstrate the target language in spoken and written form in order to provide a model for students to imitate, another behaviorist principle. The teacher would be sure to reward correct student responses following the behaviorist principle of positive reinforcement, thereby increasing the students’ likelihood of repeating these responses. Behaviorism finds that only outwardly observable and measurable behaviors can be changed and thus disregards internal states, which it cannot observe, measure, or change. As a result, the teacher would use tests, quizzes, in-class and homework assignments etc. and these assessments quantitatively in order to measure score correct and incorrect responses. Increases in the former and decreases in the latter would indicate learning, which behaviorism defines as observable, measurable changes in behavior over time.
Expand on the fact that Spanish is a phonetic language.
Spanish is a purely phonetic language, which means that every letter, vowels as well as consonants, and combination of letters have their own associated sound. This associated sound is used every single time that this particular letter or combination of letters appears in a word. Therefore, as in all phonetic languages, if you know how to spell a word, you know how to pronounce it. The only exceptions are words adopted from foreign languages. Like in most other language, foreign or nonnative words are sometimes pronounced in Spanish the same way they are pronounced in the original language. In some cases, though, the original pronunciation is modified, and how and in which way it is modified varies by region.
Explain how the teaching strategies of using incomplete stories, Bingo games, and scrambled word games each can support LOTE instruction, including which linguistic abilities they can improve.
Some teachers read obscure fairy tales or other stories to their LOTE students, omitting the ending. The students then must supply an ending, which they determine by asking questions probing for more information. One variation involves restricting questions to those with yes/no” answers. This method enhances students’ listening comprehension, spoken language skills, question construction, sense of plot structure, learning engagement, imagination, and fun. Many teachers also use Bingo to give language reinforcement and practice. With beginning LOTE students, some teachers limit Bingo letters to vowels, giving students practice in recognizing/differentiating target language vowel and also the numbers used while they have fun sounds Another technique involves writing a fairly long (9-10 letters scrambled word on the board and having students, as a class or in small groups, see how many 1-letter, 2-letter, 3-letter, etc. words they can make from its letters. This method also challenges each student to unscramble the original word. This game can last from 5-45 minutes and helps build vocabulary
Discuss a few factors that exert negative influences on learning second or additional languages.
The traditional method of teaching and learning new languages, often called the “Grammar Translation Method,” has been associated through research findings with a lack of motivation and poorer results in learning new languages. These results are attributed to the inherently boring quality of the method. Methods of rote memorization, drilling, and practicing “Basic Dialogue Sentences,” historically used in schools often are found similarly dull and uninspiring. Educators have found that more innovative, engaging, active, and interactive teaching and learning methods can motivate students more to learn new languages, enjoy learning more, and result in better learning. Another barrier exists with language disorders. For example, the brain disorder of aphasia interferes with a person’s ability to understand spoken language (Wernicke’s aphasia) or to express oneself in speech (Broca’s aphasia) through finding words and constructing grammatical utterances. An additional negative factor is the ‘affective filter,” which consists of aversive feelings such as discomfort, stress, self-consciousness, and/or lack of motivation associated with L2 learning, most common in adults and older teenagers.
Describe some attitudes and approaches of languages other than English teachers that would reflect Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition.
According to Chomsky, learning language is not something that children actually do, but is a natural process occurring universally in children as they develop. Chomsky has stated that we live in a biological world, the body-including the brain, and the “language organ” he believes our brains inherently possess-physically matures over time according to predetermined patterns. Chomsky proposed that we are born with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) in our brains, thereby facilitating language development. He allowed that children need proper nutrition and environmental stimulation in order to nurture the natural language development enabled by the LAD. Therefore, LOTE teachers would want to ensure their students receive optimal physical nourishment and stimulus-rich environments, under the teacher’s influence at school and at home inasmuch as this is possible. Because Chomsky that found all humans share Universal Grammar (UG) regardless of individual languages, LOTE teachers would emphasize basic commonalities between English and the target langugage in order to help them relate the two languages. Differences could be addressed through correcting target langugage errors over time as students’ target language proficiency progresses.
List the guidelines for writing quality tests and quizzes.
Tests need to ask the right questions to accurately measure students’ knowledge. There are several things to consider: Does each item represent an important idea or concept? If students understand the main objectives, their knowledge should be evident in their responses Is each item an appropriate measure of the desired objective? Consider information presented and teaching strategies used. Are items presented in easily comprehensible language with clearly defined tasks? Students should not have to decode words or wonder what the item is asking them to do. Is the difficulty of the item appropriate? It should not be too difficult or too easy to complete. Is each item independent and free from overlap? Completing one item should not lead to completing additional items. Is the subject matter covered adequately? Is the test free of gender, class, and racial bias? Choose examples that are either familiar or unfamiliar to everyone.
Explain the significance of the teacher’s movements in LOTE instruction, including a research finding and what the definition of teacher movement includes. Also, identify some examples of LOTE instructional activities that engage the brain’s right hemisphere and explain why these activities are beneficial.
LOTE teachers should realize that not only their words, but also their movements transmit considerable meaning. Researchers have found that in a presentation, only 10% of its impact comes from words, 30% comes from the presenter’s voice, and 60% comes from movement. The definition of movement includes the teacher’s appearance, facial expressions, posture, gestures, and other body language. Because verbal and analytical activities are performed in the brain’s left hemisphere, many instructional activities focus on operations using the left hemisphere. However, educators advise including activities that also use the right hemisphere, e.g. music, art, creative work, visualization imagination, dance, and other spatial and kinetic functions. Using multiple modalities strengthens learning, exercises both sides of the brain, and provides balance, variety, and enjoyment. It also affords LOTE students access to learning in the target language via avenues other than already knowing the target language. Students not only love singing, it also reinforces language sounds and intonational patterns. Teachers also can make partial/unfinished/ambiguous drawings, which students must complete and then write about them.
Explain how questionnaire instruments originally used for collecting oral histories can be effective teaching tools for LOTE classes to stimulate target language expression, communication, and discussion.
Scholars including those studying area linguistics, sociology, cultural anthropology, and history have long used questionnaires to collect oral history from informants. This method is invaluable for gathering information from illiterate informants. It is equally useful with literate informants for eliciting a wealth of detailed personal history. The conversational format stimulates more recollections, disclosures and expressions. These questionnaires, available from local public libraries and universities (though they may have to be translated into the target langugage), have the same effect of stimulating conversation and discussion with LOTE students. For example, they include items such as describing one’s childhood home, including layout, rooms, and sleeping arrangements; how and/or which members of the family shopped, cooked, served, ate, cleaned up after meals; how they did laundry; what jobs family members had, memories of childhood experiences, e.g. times they had the most fun, the worst trouble they got into; family pets, etc. Speaking an unfamiliar, non-native language is easier for LOTE students when the subject matter is familiar and personal to them. Discovering similarities and differences with other students’ backgrounds also stimulates interest and discussion.
Describe one way teachers can give LOTE lessons more structure to provide students with more cohesive instruction and summarize the benefits associated with this structure.
Organizing what is taught and learned in LOTE classes gives students more structure, easing some of the bewilderment and challenges of learning another language. Teachers can organize their lessons according to specific topics, which they can allow the students to select. This organization has the benefit of ensuring that a topic is interesting to the students, and it affords more cohesive learning than simply teaching a number of unrelated linguistic exercises. It allows teachers to adjust for the variety of learning and proficiency levels they find among students and for the disparity of levels some individual students present among the various domains of target language and academic content performance. Organizing each lesson by limiting it to an individual topic which can range from world peace to grocery shopping or anything in between allows the teacher to ensure that s/he provides each student with enough assistance focusing on the individual target language skills they need to develop, such as pronunciation, spelling, reading, writing, spoken fluency, academic content vocabulary, etc.
