I have never thought about how I learn language, or looked at my language learning metacognitively. Since I have been trying to learn Arabic when I have free time, I had somewhat of a system that worked for me. Learning words like through drills and memorization has both been incredibly boring and non effective. I tried it at first to learn Arabic, as you can see from a previous blog post I started dating back to Oct.2012, and I found that method to be ineffective. For me to learn I must construct language and meaning on my own, and my teacher would be a guide correcting or helping me discover the next level in the language learning process. The vocabulary words were not taught through drills, but I learned them as I constructed the sentences that I wanted to communicate.
This did not always work out well, and I would get frustratered and apprehensive. A little apprehension is fine and motivating, but too much apprehension is frustrating and overwhelming. When I would have that moment of clearity that moment many discribe as the " aha" lightbulb moment, then I would feel motivated and accept that apprehension is just part of the process, and a build up before the break through moments.
I was initially very motivated to learn Arabic. My first sessions went very well, and I was looking at how I would notice patterns in the sentences and apply or over apply the patterns I would notice in sentences I would construct. There was a point that I did not want to focus on the grammar anymore. I just wanted to communicate and speak to express myself. The piece I wrote in the 4th session was not grammatically perfect, but my teacher understood what I was trying to communicate. The purpose of language is to communicate, and I felt most motivated when I could communicate what I want. This goes with what Brown(2000) has discussed as social interaction and language development where " the function of language in discourse.....language is used for social interactive communication"(p.29). If you go to my 4th session you may see the play on words I tried to add in the blurb about myself. There is a similarity in how shakshooka( the egg dish) and saksooka( the facial hair) sound. When I shared this blog with my girlfriends who are from Saudi we all laughed and our bond and friendship grew. It is this social connection and interactive communication that helped fuel my motivation.
My language learning composed of interactional and personal functions. I wanted to express to my teacher my frustration with the small gas tank on my car. Language learning is a personal function that " allows a speaker to express feelings, emotions, personality, "gut level" reactions"(Brown, p.251). Since my speaking skills are not as advanced as my written skills I used a lot of code switching in my speaking skill. Code switching can be used by, “learners in the early stages of acquisition.... might code switch-use their native languages to fill in missing knowledge”(Brown, 2000, p. 130). When I am speaking and I don't know a word I would just fill in the word with a word I know. I have a large vocabulary, but often a sentence I want to say would be just out of the level I could reach. I can say I am going to bed, but I do not know how to say it is late. Thus, I would say " It is late" in English, and add "it is (specific time). I am going to bed. I am tired." I would try to communicate as close as I can to the sentence I wanted to say.
Along with that is the realization that I was not just learning Arabic, but being more engaged in the culture. There are certain word choices and ways you construct the sentence that I cannot describe exactly, but it is a flow that my mind would pick up as I was speaking or writing. You learn that this flow is part of both the language and culture. Brown(2000) discusses language learning as both learning the language and the culture: “ learner brings not just two languages into contact but two cultures, and in some sense must learn a second culture along with a second language”(p.142). The culture aspect is evident in my 4th session as well. I described my tea as " the blood of the gazelle". In Arabic, that is the color you want your tea to be. So, I was conveying the message that my tea is " the best" it is the right color that an expert chai maker would make. To an American or an outsider, gazelle blood tea sounds awkward and disgusting. My teacher understood what I was trying to say and the meaning of my sentence that is connected deeply to both the Arab culture and Arabic language.
In my later sessions, I wanted to focus on oral communication. Each session I decided what I wanted to learn and I had complete control of my learning. My teacher would suggest topics but I was very much in charge of my own learning. Brown(2000) expresses the importance of autonomy stating: “ one of the most important goals of language teaching should be the facilitation of that autonomy”(p. 130). I know in a classroom setting you cannot always allow the students to choose whatever they want, but I noticed in my own learning feeling in charge of my language progress made me feel confident and more motivated to continue.
I noticed that I was able to learn more when I stopped focussing on getting my sentence right, or translating my sentence word for word from English to Arabic. There is a mental space I try to go to, where I try to let the language flow and go with what " sounds right". I was not always correct, but my focus was not on the getting it perfect, but being understood. In the earlier sessions you will notice that I mentioned Brown(2000) discussion about systematicity and variability. I am no longer in the very beginning stages of Arabic, where I often used imitation but now that I am noticing patterns I try to apply the patterns and often over apply them. Variability deals with when one over applies the patterns and rules and must learn that there are irregularities in language for example the "knowledge between regular and irregular verbs"(p.37). I would often( and still do) notice patterns, apply them, then have my teacher explain that in this case it is different because of blah, blah, blah. I would learn the irregularities but still repeat the pattern mistakes, because it is much easier to remember one pattern for a certain group of words rather than remember every individualized aspect of the language. As I mentioned earlier, I tried to focus more on conveying the meaning than on the small details. It is a process, and the more I progress and am able to express myself, then I am able to fine tune the syntax of the sentence.
In order for me to complete this project, I had to ask some people to stop reading my blog. They would send me messages to correct a certain sentence or focus on the little grammatical mistakes. I found that being told I am "wrong" constantly, decreased my risk taking abilities in language. I am usually a very extroverted person as my personality traits, and would take risks: " learners have to be able to gamble a bit, to be willing to try out hunches about the language and take risks of being wrong"(Brown, 2000, p. 149). I even took the test on pg. 136, and scored highly on " I am not conscience of myself when I speak" and not afraid to make mistakes. However, when I get little corrections on every single sentence it prevents me from taking those risks. I hold back, because I don't want to be told I am wrong on every single little aspect of the language.
People have been giving me compliments about how my language as improved so much. This made me think that I am effectively understanding the way I learn. However, I would like to discuss some difficulties that I had with my language instruction. As I mentioned, I decided what the session was about and my teacher and I had a common understanding that my focus is to learn the grammar but most importantly construct meaning that could be understood. When I wanted to practice speaking my language teacher told me to listen to the Quran(Quran and news are the only two sources that use classic Arabic the rest being dialects). The problem is the reciters of the Quran speak very fast, come from different parts of the world, have different accents: " defferences in pronunciation between one variety of a language and another"(Chaika,2008, p. 247) and as a beginner they sound different. To my language teacher they sound the same. I understand my teacher's voice and his pattern of speech. When I listen to outside sources I often feel lost compared to listening to my teacher. Chaika(2008) discusses the tempo of language :" students learning a foreign language often find that it seems spoken to rapidly at first"(p.67). I understood my teacher's style of speech, tempo being one of the aspects of style, and found it hard to follow with the reciters.
Implications:
Last term, I did a research project that looked at motivation in writing and second language acquisition. The students discussed that they would write more on subjects that interested them, or one girl expressed her desire to communicate her personal situation to her classmates.
When I was learning Arabic, I realized how much language learning is about communication of interests, desires, likes and the need for it to be relevant. I had such passion to communicate my story my likes in the 4th session that I enjoyed it and did not even see it as "learning". Theorists have discussed how younger children pick up the conversational language faster than adults. I can see why, and the classroom should formulated in a way that the grammar concepts are being woven into the students interests.
I have been learning a lot about the flat classrooms in my other courses. I had a setup similar to the flat classrooms. I would use the session time doing "homework" and working through problems, and would use homework time researching on my own or in my case using google translate or my arabic dictionary. For me, this worked very well. I was in complete control of my learning. I would construct sentences that I wanted to learn or I will use in the future, and during the session time my teacher would guide me through corrections. There are times when I could not be "guided" and things had to be explicitly explained, but for the most part I was able to figure out how to construct the sentences.
In an ESL classroom, the kids are at various levels so different teaching methods would have to be in place. I do favor inductive reasoning to come to language rule conclusions and language learning over deductive reasoning, but I used both in my sessions.
I think there are times when apprehension maybe too high, and deductive teaching can be reassuring. When I kept formulating my own rules and patterns and would sometimes get it wrong multiple times, I just wanted it explained explicitly.
One aspect that worked well that I would use is modeling. My teacher would model a sentence and I was able to use that to construct more sentences. When I would get confused I would go back to the modeled sentence as my support. Modeling doesn't always solve all the language learning problems, there are always exceptions to the modeled sentence. However, it decreases the level of apprehension.
Positive feedback was beneficial to my success, and for all language learners. This experience though showed me that more importantly than positive feedback is when your idea or thoughts are effectively communicated. I felt more excited when my teacher understood my sentence and what I was trying to say, then I did when he told me "good job". I think echoing techniques, or even expressing that you understand what the language learning is trying to communicate is the most effective way for support. In addition, when I was finished I went back to an Arabic lesson book that I have. I remember looking at it and it would appear so difficult that I didn't even want to open it. As I flipped through the pages, my self esteem grew, I could understand everything almost, or have a basic understanding of what was happening on each page: "people derive their sense of self esteem from the accumulation of experiences with themselves and with others and from assessments of the external world around them"(Brown, 2000, pg. 145). Thus, in a classroom there can be strategies in place to increase student's self esteem. A portfolio that allows students to watch their progress and language learning may increase self esteem, similar to how I looked back at the old text book and felt proud of my progress.
Along with this aspect of support, is discouragement. After my sessions I was excited to share what I have learned and I thus shared my blog to others. While I gained support , many people tried to discourage me by saying, " the Arabic language is too hard to learn". As an adult, I am able to shut off those negative voices. I think what if my students are receiving negative feedback? How can I facilitate and environment of support? This also reminded me of my case study where one of the students expressed that she doesn't like writing because she doesn't want people to make fun of her. These judgements from others prevent the learners from reaching their potential. I was thinking that in the classroom perhaps students would have to give a compliment sandwich ( positive feedback, critical feedback, positive feedback) when dealing with one another.
Future implications....
I plan on continuing learning Arabic. My teacher has agreed to help me the best he can. I also plan to update my other blog that has conversations between me and others as I learn Arabic. I will continue to keep posting, for it serves as a log and progression of my Arabic skills and more importantly I can reflect on my learning and learning strategies over a longer period of time.
Log of Hours:
1 1.5
2 1.5
3 1.5
4 1
5 1.5
6 1
8 hours
Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching, 5th edition. Englewood
Chaika, E. (2008). Language: The social mirror, 4th edition. Boston
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