SHARE
An
Electronic Magazine by Omar Villarreal, Marina Kirac and Martin Villarreal ©
Year 9
Number 185 April
2nd 2008
12,478 SHARERS are reading this issue of SHARE this week
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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the
candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being SHARED
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Dear SHARERS,
It is already 8:00 p.m. and we (Martin, Marina and
I) are giving the finishing touches to this new issue of SHARE. Our graphic
designer has been doing his bit (which is much more than simply “a bit”) all
afternoon; and we hope SHARE will finally land in your mailboxes some time
tomorrow.
Every issue of SHARE is in some way or other special
to us, but this one is a VERY special one: our eldest son Martin officially
joins our “editorial staff” with this issue.
Martin graduated as a teacher of English last February
after four years of hard work and study at our “alma mater” Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado
Técnico -Universidad Tecnológica Nacional, and with his brand new academic
credentials, we thought the time was ripe for him to take a more active role in
the “making” of SHARE and in our communication with all of you: our faithful
readers, our dear SHARERS.
It is a long time we have not written an “intimate” editorial but… we
cannot help sharing with all of you how proud we are at Martin’s personal achievement,
after all we are, first and foremost, mom and dad.
Love
Omar and Marina
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In SHARE 185
1.- The Use of Literature for a Constructive
basis in Language Teaching
2.- Pronunciation Revisited
3.- Advanced Vocabulary In Context: Men’s Fashion
4.- Maestría en Didácticas Específicas at
Universidad Nacional del Litoral
5.- 11º Ciclo Internacional de
Enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras en
6.- Postgrado
en Filosofía del Lenguaje
7.- Postítulo: El Discurso Literario en Inglés
8.- A Message from Martin Eyars
Apropos of ELT News And Views
9.- Further Certificate for Teachers of
Business English
10.- Pedagogía de
11.- Seminar on How to Teach
Beginner-Elementary Classes
12.-
News from WISE: Special Interest Seminars
13.- IATEFL
14.-
Bernard Shaw: Reader’s Theatre at The British Arts Centre
15.- Laura Szmuch’s Blog for Teachers
16.- CETI: Cursos de Capacitación 2008
17.- Course on Mastering Business English
18.- Storytelling in L2 : On-Going Seminar
19.- The Suburban Players: Will you love me
tomorrow?
20.- Diploma Universitario en Proyectos de E-Learning
21.- News from Helbling Languages
22.- Cursos de Ingreso a
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1.- THE USE OF LITERATURE FOR A CONSTRUCTIVE BASIS
IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING
The Use of Literature
for a Constructive basis in Language Teaching
Öz Öktem
Abstract
Education is an important process that we learn and choose whom to be both socially and individually. However, the traditional behaviouristic theory falls short of meeting developmental needs of learners. On the other hand, constructivism lays emphasis on the learner as the focus of education and its democratic structure offers opportunity for learners to meet their developmental needs. Although the concept of language lies at the very heart of constructivist paradigm, there is a lack of concern for a cognitive constructivist basis in language teaching as well. This study first suggests a shift should take place in the current educational paradigm towards constructivism and offers “whole language” approach to meet the implications of such a shift in language teaching. In this context it emphasizes the significance of literary texts in providing a meaningful learning medium in which the learners can respond to what is being taught.
Introduction
Education has a pivotal role and holds a unique power in forming people. It is through education that a person learns and chooses whom to be both as a social being and as an individual. In this respect education can be seen as a process that gives individuals
opportunities to find out what they are really meant to be and how they could be useful for both the society and themselves.
However the traditional way of education that most of the educational institutions follow currently, in many respects, falls short of providing a certain ground for learners to meet their developmental needs. Traditional way of teaching hardly comes up to the expectations with a teacher lecturing class model and a testing looking for the correct answers for what is transmitted from teacher to learner.
On the other hand, constructivism as a philosophy of learning, lays emphasis on the learner rather than the teacher as the focus of the learning experience and with its democratic structure it offers the opportunity to provide the learners with an alternative to equip themselves with the developmental needs that would be necessary in the future course. While doing this it opens a certain ground for the learner to improve power of imagination, have critical awareness and develop a certain background to make choices for a better future survival.
The lack of an immediate concern for a cognitive constructivist basis for teaching patterns of the present day is highly apparent in the methods used to teach language arts as well. Yet, the concept of language lies at the very heart of constructivist paradigm. Beyond the educational implications, constructivist and cognitive psychology has given primary concern to the relationship between language and thought.
In general this study suggests a shift in the current educational paradigm towards constructivism, extending itself into an approach in which certain humanist and holistic elements hold a key role. In particular, this essay offers “whole language” approach as an answer to meet the implications of such a shift in the methodology of language teaching. In addition it emphasizes the significance of literary texts in providing a meaningful learning medium in which the learners can respond to what is being taught.
Yet, the argument has no intention to disregard the place of behaviouristic theory of learning, since otherwise it would not be possible to explain that we learn our first lessons from our parents through imitation as Aristotle suggested in his “Poetics”. However, in the later years behaviouristic pattern does not explain the whole, individuals seek for unique ways of behaving and existing. Thus an individual’s learning move from an imitative pattern towards an imaginative one, so should education.
A Definition for
Education
Before an attempt to suggest a paradigm shift in education, it would be more appropriate to picture out what we understand from the word education. Lay public views “educated person” as the one who has accumulated a large body of information. The business world, on the other hand, would say an educated person is the one who has skills required to succeed in the job. (Shopov & Pencheva, 2001: 51)
On the other hand, John Dewey (1933) says it is a primary responsibility for educators not only to be aware of the general principles of the shaping of actual experience by environing conditions but also to recognise in the concrete what surroundings are conductive to having experiences that lead to growth. Moreover educators should know how to utilise the surroundings, physical and social, that exist so as to extract from them all that they have to contribute to building up experiences that are worthwhile. (Dewey cited in Shopov & Pencheva, 2001: 51)
However, it is hard to claim the general view of education complies with this end. The popular explanation for learning is increasingly becoming a matter of accumulating a large repertoire of facts and routines. Perkins (1992) referred to this phenomenon as the “trivial pursuit model”. He explained that this model is extremely damaging to students and suggested that in these classrooms:
“...students acquire fragile knowledge, often inert (not remembered in open-ended situations that invite its use), naive (reflecting stubborn misconceptions and stereotypes), or ritualised (reflecting classroom routines but no real understanding).” (Perkins, 1992: 185)
In many schools today around the world, classrooms are still entrenched in traditional teaching methodologies. Even at the universities students still sit in rows, are taught factual material to be learned for later testing and have minimal input into their own learning. The focus of this learning is the development of mathematical and linguistic abilities, and information is transmitted in a context detached from emotional engagement.
The traditional teaching paradigm places responsibility for student learning upon the teacher’s shoulders. That is to say, the instructor represents the same information, lectures to and tests all students regardless of individual differences among them. Little or no concern is given to the psychological needs of the individual. (Shopov & Pencheva, 2001: 53)
However, students are social individuals each with different needs, learning styles, goals and abilities. The focus must be on the individual needs of the students, if we want our students to learn how to think critically, to work constructively with members of their community, to enjoy scholarly activities and how to embellish their learning experiences when they leave school.
Educators emphasise that one of the most important things students should learn is how to think for themselves. Students must learn how to choose consciously what direction their lives would take professionally as well as personally. They need to be able to solve problems in a rational manner, to experience compassion toward others and to be willing and able to acknowledge conflict and contradiction and resolve differences satisfactorily. (Shopov & Pencheva, 2001: 52)
Within a positivistic tradition, so to speak, under which come the theories of behaviourism, contiguity theory, and many others, the learner was, and still is, seen as relatively passive, “simply absorbing” information transmitted by a “didactic teacher”. In the universe created by these paradigms, the powerless learner is “worlds apart” from the omniscient and powerful teacher, whose main concern is to “deliver a standard curriculum and to evaluate stable underlying differences between children” (Long, 1986).
Against this background, the cognitive paradigm of constructivism has been instrumental in shifting the locus of responsibility for learning from the teacher to the learner, who is no longer seen as passive or powerless. The constructivist learning has a democratic nature in which the student is viewed as an individual who is active in constructing new knowledge and understanding, while the teacher is seen as a facilitator rather than a “dictator” of learning.
Constructivism
Constructivism, as a philosophy of learning, can be traced back to the eighteenth century and the work of the philosopher Giambattista Vico. Vico maintained that humans can understand only what they have themselves constructed. A great many philosophers and educationalists have worked with these ideas, but the first major contemporaries to develop a clear idea of what constructivism consists in were Jean Piaget (1973) and John Dewey (1933) to name but a few. Constructivism takes an interdisciplinary perspective, as it draws upon a diversity of psychological, sociological, philosophical, and critical educational theories.
Constructivists adopt the notion of Wittgenstein that context is an integral part of meaning. They assume that learning is an active process in which meaning is developed on the basis of experience. Not unlike some cognitive psychologists, they argue that all human beings construct their own version of reality, and therefore multiple contrasting ways of knowing and describing are equally legitimate. This perspective might be described as:
“An emphasis on active processes of construction [of meaning], attention to texts as a means of gaining insights into those processes, and an interest in the nature of knowledge and its variations, including the nature of knowledge associated with membership in a particular group.” (Spivey, 1997)
Within the constructivist paradigm, it is the learner who interacts with his or her environment and thus gains an understanding of its features and characteristics. The learner constructs his/her own conceptualisations and finds his/her own solutions to problems, mastering autonomy and independence. According to constructivism, learning is the result of individual mental construction, whereby the learner learns by matching new against given information and establishing meaningful connections, rather than by internalizing mere factoids to be recalled later on. In constructivist thinking, learning is inescapably affected by the context and the beliefs and attitudes of the learner. Here, learners are given more responsible position in becoming effective problem solvers, identifying and evaluating problems, as well as discovering ways in which to transfer their learning to these problems.
If a student is able to perform in a problem-solving situation, a meaningful learning should then occur because he has constructed an interpretation of how things work using pre-existing structures. By creating a personal interpretation of external ideas and experiences, constructivism allows students the ability to understand how ideas can relate to each other and pre-existing knowledge.
Piaget's (1973) constructivism is premised on his view of the psychological development of children. Within his theory, the basis of learning is discovery:
“To understand is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery, and such conditions must be complied with if in the future individuals are to be formed who are capable of production and creativity and not simply repetition” (Piaget, 1973).
According to Bruner (1973), on the other hand, learning is a social process, whereby students construct new concepts based on current knowledge. The student selects information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, with the aim of integrating new experiences into his/her existing mental constructs. It is cognitive structures that provide meaning and organization to experiences and allow learners to transcend the boundaries of the information given. For him, learner independence, fostered through encouraging students to discover new principles of their own accord, lies at the heart of effective education.
For Dewey, knowledge emerges only from situations in which learners have to draw them out of meaningful experiences (Democracy and Education, 1966). Further, these situations have to be embedded in a social context, such as a classroom, where students can take part in manipulating materials and, thus, forming a community of learners who construct their knowledge together. Students cannot learn by means of rote memorization; they can only learn by “directed living,” whereby concrete activities are combined with theory. The obvious implication of Dewey’s theory is that students must be engaged in meaningful activities that induce them to apply the concepts they are trying to learn.
It could be argued that constructivism emphasizes the importance of the world knowledge, beliefs, and skills an individual brings to bear on learning. Viewing the construction of new knowledge as a combination of prior learning matched against new information, and readiness to learn, this theory opens up new perspectives, leading individuals to informed choices about what to accept and how to fit it into their existing schemata, as well as what to reject. Most importantly within constructivist theory, context is given significance, as it renders situations and events meaningful and relevant, and provides learners with the opportunity to construct new knowledge from authentic experience. After all, learning is contextual: individuals do not learn isolated facts and theories in abstract state of the mind separate from life: individuals learn in relationship to what else they know, what they believe, their prejudices and their fears.
To sum up, constructivism emphasizes learning and not teaching, encourages learner autonomy and personal involvement in learning, looks to learners as agents exercising will and purpose, fosters learners’ natural curiosity, and also takes account of learners’ affect, in terms of their beliefs, attitudes, and motivation. By providing opportunities for independent thinking, constructivism allows students to take responsibility for their own learning, by framing questions and then analyzing them. Reaching beyond simple factual information, learners are induced to establish connections between ideas and thus to predict, justify, and defend their ideas.
Constructivism in
Language Education
Constructivism naturally has certain implications in every field of education. However, considering the relation between language and cognition, for language learning constructivism has a deeper significance. The behaviouristic view that cognition is too mentalistic to be studied by the scientific method is diametrically opposed to such positions as that of Piaget (1973), who claimed that cognitive development is at the very centre of the human organism and that language is dependent upon and springs from cognitive development. Thought and language were seen as two distinct cognitive operations that grow together. As the well-known Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity suggests, constructivists held that each language imposes on its speaker a particular “world view”.
The issue at stake in language acquisition is to determine how thought affects language, how language affects thought, and how linguists can best describe and account for the interaction of the two. Although there are not complete answers, it is a fact that cognitive and linguistic developments are inextricably intertwined with dependencies in both directions. Language is a way of life, is at the foundation of existence, and interacts simultaneously with thoughts and feelings. This is why one would expect that the implications of the constructivist paradigm would play a central role in language learning. In other words, language and thought are two concepts, which are totally dependent on one another. Enlarging the capacity in language means enlarging the capacity of thought. Thus it is important to see that the responsibility of language teaching is not only to teach the language but also to provide the students a certain ground for enlarging the conceit. However, today, in all grades, the methodology of language teaching has contributed in a major way to negative attitudes among students. Educators have equated effective learning with quiet classrooms and attentive children who sit still in their seats. The focus of language education has been on teaching what is thought should be the content, tied to the textbooks and missing the opportunities inherent in working with real literature.
For years, language education has been too concerned with mechanics and not concerned enough with creative content. It has focused on parts rather than wholes, expecting students to learn punctuation from a unit in a textbook, rather than through actual reading and writing experiences. This contributes nothing to one of the main principles of education as meeting the real-world needs of the learners and using teaching methodologies to answer their developmental needs.
Myers and Hilliard (1997) argue that the task of the English language teacher is to promote the conditions and circumstances that will enable students to learn the English language. In other words, the main objective of language classes is to teach English to foreign students and this priority must never be underestimated. Nevertheless, in light of the discussion that a general constructivist approach is a necessity for an improvement in the current educational system, language teachers are also expected to contribute to the holistic education of their students. Along with parents, teachers play a crucial role in building up the values and the personality of a teenager as well as his/her concept of citizenship. This means that, apart from helping students to develop their language skills in English, namely reading, listening, speaking and writing, language teachers should take advantage of the contact with different societies and cultures. In case of English, the concept ‘culture’, not only implies the British and the North American civilisations, but also the Irish, the Australian and other African, Asian and American cultures that find expression in the English language. When the translations of the world-known classics are added to the list, language learning becomes a golden opportunity for the teacher to allow students to explore and reflect on different aspects and problems of the world in general and their day-to-day lives and naturally to make them think critically about these facts and issues.
School has been regarded as a place where young people acquire different skills and a wide range of information on different matters and fields of knowledge. In other words, it has been seen as an institution that teaches adolescents what they need in order to find a suitable profession or trade when the time comes. However, more and more, parents, teachers, pedagogues and even politicians realize that the education of young citizens of a creative, responsible, constructive, open-minded nature, is, at least, as important as teaching them facts and abilities. It is undeniable that contribution to the development of the student as an individual is an essential objective as teaching English in a language teaching classroom. Adapting from the introductory text to the Portuguese syllabus of English as Foreign Language, Myers and Hilliard (1997) define an English language learning class, which goes beyond learning the English language and is related to the personal development of the student, to be a place where students are able to discover and explore aspects of their own character as well as of the world around them. They quote as translated from “Programas de Ingles” (1997): “A language is a potential space of expression of the Self, a space that facilitates the relationship between people and the establishment of social interaction. As a determining factor of socialization and of personal self-esteem, a language gives one the means to develop the consciousness of oneself and of the others, to translate attitudes and values and to have access to knowledge and to demonstrate his skills and abilities.” (Programas de Ingles, 1997: 5)
According to the same text the main pedagogical aim of the language teacher is stated as to combine the language competence with the student’s personal and social development. In order to achieve this objective the teacher should take a multidisciplinary approach. Respect and understanding for the socially and culturally different people is also a priority, in terms of individual’s development. Teacher would succeed in promoting such a respect and understanding if he/she is able to emphasize the social and cultural dimension of language. So besides mastering the four language skills and understanding how language works the students find opportunity to learn values such as tolerance, justice, solidarity and respect towards the other. Students would also develop critical awareness concerning issues of the contemporary world, such as, racism, social injustice, the parent-child relationship and so on.
Language class should also improve the students’ creativity and imagination. To promote the students’ interest for art in its different forms of expression: literature, painting, sculpture, photography, music would be a useful way to help students develop aesthetic sensitivity. This means that the main aims and the priorities defined by this approach are directly orientated to contribute to the students’ holistic education in order to make them citizens who play a constructive role in society - respecting other individuals and other cultures, promoting social justice - and who are able to think critically about the problems of that community.
The Whole Language
Approach
Whole language is perhaps the most widely discussed trend in public education, starting with the elementary level. The theory argues that schools are first and foremost developmentally responsive institutions. That is, they focus on the real-world needs of young adolescents and use teaching approaches that best meet developmental needs. It involves practices such as cooperative learning, literature-based reading and holistic literacy.
Describing the whole language approach Manning and Manning (1995) trace back to Vygotsky and other adherents of constructivist practices, like Goodman (1992), Sikula, Buttery and Guyton (1996), Myers (1993), and Ruddell (1992). Whole language has been defined both as a theory and as a practice. Most seem to view it as a theory, a way of looking at language. They say that the original philosophy of whole language, even before it acquired the label, had nothing to do with methods, materials, or techniques. They describe whole language as a holistic perspective on how language operates. Pace (1991) as quoted in Manning and Manning (1995), suggests that whole language constitutes more than using real literature complete texts, and integrating reading, writing, speaking and listening. Pace reminds that language is always meaning-driven, and that students construct their own meaning as they read, write, speak and listen. The success of such activities depends on the degree to which the activity is authentic and relevant to their real-world needs.
According to the theory of whole language the first principle is that in the real world, as well as in the effective classroom, language use is holistic. Teachers should depart from the separatist mentality and recognize the links among the language arts processes. Most teachers recognise that good readers are also good writers; fewer note that this is true, in part, because those students are also effective speakers and listeners. It is not enough to exercise one or two language faculties; we need to provide ample opportunities for enhancing all facets of language. Using cooperative learning activities is one of the best ways to accomplish this. Teachers also should encourage open interaction among students, as well as between student and teacher. A learning environment that encourages the interaction of ideas will help the students feel secure. In the whole language theory the focus is on meaning. The inherent purpose in all language activity is the clear communication of ideas. Both written and oral composition should emphasise clarity. This often means remedying mechanical language deficiencies. This method only deals with language in its parts, not in its whole. The meaning is not discovered in the parts, however, but by perceiving the whole language.
In light of the arguments both in part of the constructivist paradigm and the whole language theory, it seems undeniable that literature should have an essential place in language teaching both as an exercise for language skills and a source to develop learners’ creative and critical abilities. Constructivist learning suggests contextual pattern as the most effective means of learning and only through experience a real learning can take place. In this respect studying literary texts in the language classroom brings the opportunity to have an authentic context for language learner and provides a means for experiencing the language in a creative and productive way.
Understanding literature is a natural examination of language. The student is forced to search the text both forwards and backwards in order to find the clues that would help to grasp a meaning. Such training in deciphering the communication, as Carter and Brumfit (1986) stress, “is a crucial factor in the development of language learning abilities, in working out its status as a communication” (Brumfit &Carter, 1986: 16).
The figurative language of literature or the linguistic distortions are central to the style and effect upon which literature depends for its meaning. This clearly has some important implications for the use of poetry in the language classroom. Regarding the language teacher, it poses two questions. Firstly, in order to make sense of what is new, original use of language the students need some familiarity with the norms or rules from which this use deviates. Lazar (1993) points out some teachers may feel that the knowledge of the norms or ‘correct’ language is not yet sufficiently well established by students for them to appreciate when the norms are being stretched. Secondly, teachers might worry that exposing students to more creative uses of language could, in fact, legitimize the use of deviant or ‘incorrect’ language in the classroom.
However, an important point to bear in mind is that in fact, language is not so rigidly governed by rules as one might think. A closer look at some native speakers’ informal conversation could reveal many ‘incorrect’ uses of English syntactically and grammatically; yet, communication among the speakers remains unimpeded. Therefore, when poetry is introduced in the classroom, it could serve a basis for expanding the students’ language awareness and interpretative abilities; a rather useful tool than an inhibition for the language teacher. (Lazar,1993:99-100)
Furthermore, studying literature gives the opportunity to create personal interpretation of ideas and experiences. This, in compliance with the philosophy of constructivism, allows students the ability to understand how ideas can relate to each other and already existing knowledge. Reading a literary text involves some sort of engagement by the reader beyond simply being able to understand the meanings of utterances in the text (Brumfit & Carter, 1986). Interpretation of the literary texts encourages students to figure out connections among the signs to allow them construct a meaning through the whole. This may well be considered a cognitive exercise, in which the individual tries to create relations between different constructs and interpret in a unique way. Thus a literature class may well be a medium for exercising creative power, and naturally develop an aesthetic sense towards both the language in question and life in general.
A literary text is an authentic text, which directly demands a response, thus demanding the interaction of the reader. The use of literary works under a certain methodological framework of study reinforces motivation in the classroom environment and thus makes the learning more effective. Motivation is one of the key factors that determine the rate and success of second language attainment. It provides the main stimulant to initiate learning a foreign language and later the determination to sustain the long and often difficult learning process. Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the best of abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals. Teachers are first and foremost supposed to teach the curriculum, but one cannot ignore the fact that this cannot happen without motivating the learners. However, literary texts are interesting to learn. It is not possible to take any short cuts or anticipate a literary text as one can do with informational passages. Literary passages evoke feelings and a strong imagery; they offer a rich and varied repertoire of themes in short pieces of writing and can be a real source of pleasure for teacher and students.
Long (1986), on the other hand, states that seeing literature along a continuum of discourse styles can help students to develop sensitivity to all language use as well as foster acquisition of those kinds of sense-making procedures. He suggests literature teaching, both in native and non-native environment urges the learners to develop a feeling of ‘response’ to the text being read. He points out the concept of response should not be confused with criticism particularly for non-native speakers. For him, “any reaction on the part of the learner, whether spoken or written, would be ‘response’ rather than criticism.” (Long, 1986: 45)
According to Long (1986), after establishing certain conditions such as background which is essential for the understanding of the text, or linguistic investigation, which leads the learner to a better understanding of how message is conveyed in literature, the teacher gets a three dimensional response from the learners. The first two is verbal and activity response. Of these the former channel requires the learners to understand the text as a verbal message and give answers to text-related questions addressed by the teacher. On the other hand in the activity response channel the answers shall not depend on the text; it is “the students’ involvement in the task.” It might be a creative process that the students make predictions about what follows in the text, which for example would lead to a creative writing activity.
The third channel is quite different from the first two; it is the individual response to the text “as a result of the stimuli they have received.” This is where the students are allowed to make their own value judgments about the text, whether they liked it or disliked it. Long believes this may not even reach the teacher, or if so, only indirectly, however he is confirmed that some of these channels will certainly reach the teacher and would open up further channels which he marked as ‘monitoring/redirecting’.
Carter and Long (1991) distinguish three models for teaching of literature in language classroom. Each of these approaches includes certain objectives that can be achieved through a number of pedagogic practices. While the emphasis in the language model is given to the detailed analysis of text to guide students towards meaningful and personal interpretation, the cultural model considers the social, historical and political background to text and material is selected for the way in which it exemplifies certain movements or traditions.
The personal growth model, on the other hand, is a learner-centered model which involves process-based activities aiming to motivate learners to study literature as they make the text their own by relating it to their own experience and knowledge of the world. This approach highlights the need of the students’ personal engagement with the reading of literary texts. It also underlines the necessity and the pedagogical value of developing the students’ critical awareness so that they become critical readers of literary texts and not passive accumulators of whatever is being taught to them. In this perspective, the personal growth model to the teaching of literature appears compatible with the notion that education could and should aim to be a means of empowerment and the current trends on language teaching such as humanistic teaching and learner-centeredness.
Reader Response Theory
In recent years, the reader response approach has been actively promoted as the most appropriate method for the teaching of literature. The studies of Louise Rosenblatt (1938, 1985, 1990), and her book, “Literature as Exploration” (1938), have provided guidance to teachers for this approach. The popularity of the reader response approach can be seen in the number of publications, which use this term. The ERIC lists 1776 articles on this topic from 1980 to now, compared to 64 articles with this term for 1966 to 1979.
The reader response emphasizes the transaction of reader and text to show that both are dependent on each other for meaning and that there can be more than one meaning or interpretation. The meaning of a literary text was seen as a construction through an interactive process between the text and reader’s mind, thus the reading experience was seen as a constructive process, where the reader inevitably brings the work his/her whole social contexts of discourse, tacit assumptions of sense-making which the text may challenge.
The process of reading is always a dynamic one, a complex movement and unfolding through time. Quoting from Ingarden (1973), Eagleton (1996) says that for the reception theory, the literary work itself exists merely as a set of “schemata” or general directions, which the reader must actualize. To do this, the reader will bring to the work certain “pre-understandings”, a context of beliefs and expectations within which he/she evaluates the various features of the work. As the reading process proceeds, however these expectations will themselves be modified by what is learned, and the hermeneutical circle – moving from part to whole and back to part – will begin to revolve. Striving to construct a coherent sense from the text, the reader will select and organize its elements into consistent wholes, excluding some and foregrounding others, “concretizing” certain items in certain ways: he/she will try to hold different perspectives within the work together, or shift from perspective to perspective in order to build up an integrated “illusion.” Thus, the reading experience is constructive in its essence and a literary text as a whole is considered to be successful as long as it is able to question, alter and transform understanding. This itself is a cognitive and constructive exercise and inevitably there would be a transfer of this practiced skill to other circumstances in life, since both reading a literary text and reading life infers construction of meaning and the mind employs similar cognitive strategies in both cases.
Reader response sees the reading of any work of literature is, “of necessity, an individual and unique occurrence involving the mind and emotions of some particular reader and a particular text at a particular time under particular circumstances”. (Rosenblatt, 1990: 40) The transaction with the literary text is an aesthetic reading and in such reading, the reader engages with ideas in the text and draws from her own prior experiences. This aesthetic reading with the text is a process in which the reader selects ideas and synthesizes them into a new experience, which is created by the reader and the play, story, novel or poem. Here the teacher is seen as a facilitator in order to clarify the students’ response to the text and guard against total relativism or subjectivity. Moreover, the teacher has to balance the technical analysis of poetry by also bringing out and relating the aesthetic and emotive aspects of the work of literature to the students. Literature has aesthetic and social elements, substance and form. Teachers should encourage their students to reach into their own experiences for understanding, and help them to appreciate the literary text they are reading. They should aim to foster inquiry and an attitude of tentativeness and exploration.
Yet, what this approach tries to develop is not a naive, but a knowledgeable and articulate reader who has learnt the cultural and intellectual ideas and habits of a certain community. Instead of being an original reader with unique responses, the student can be seen as one who has learned the ways of knowing the subject domain. One of these ways is through individual responses, but these responses have to be guided and constrained by the codes and conventions of the subject, which the teacher and students have to make use of. Literature as has been discussed by various literary critics through out the history, is the best means to develop a critical consciousness in individuals towards the issues of the actual life, providing an insight to be able to live with truth as it is. Starting with Aristotle, many critics in the history of literary criticism such as Horace, Sir Philip Sidney or Matthew Arnold (1963), defined the function of literature as bringing a certain aesthetic taste and at the same time teaching individuals with the wide scope of experience it can exploit. Thus literature in general was seen as a field of study which helps people to integrate certain skills for existing as thinking, creating and evaluating member of the society. Most of the critics assumed literature to be unique, when compared to other sciences, in its capacity to bring a broader perspective to an individual’s life, with its final end to cultivate the “total man”. This concept of “total man” or as one may wish to call “whole person”, is underlined as a fundamental aspect in the philosophy of constructivist education as well. The main premise of the constructivist and humanist approach to education, as has been discussed previously, suggests that learning should not take place on mechanistic grounds only, it is actually a process which should also take into consideration the individual development of the learner and see the learner as a human being with a potential to improve his/her abilities to think critically which would hopefully help them to become responsible and beneficial members of a society.
According to the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, the key to health is self-knowledge and a willingness to confront the inevitable pains and paradoxes of human existence. Language of literature uses words in a way to reveal human conditions and tell people things that they didn't know or hadn't themselves put into words before, as Wordsworth puts it in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads “whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual aspect.” (Wordsworth, Norton Anthology, 1993:145) Poetry is written to know; to know one’s feelings, to understand oneself. The capacity of living, working, loving with others, and sharing a common culture is a person’s sophisticated ability to make distinctions among other individuals, to be able to understand their actions, to enter into their lives, to make a start to understand how they view reality. Poetry would then help to learn how to live, work, and love with others; to listen to others; to give audience to the thoughts, feelings, and desires of others.
Conclusion
This study has attempted to underline that the teaching of literature is a complementary and an essential element for language teaching to comply with the requirements of a constructivist and holistic basis in education.
First, it has offered a shift in the current traditional paradigm in the teaching methodologies. This shift is principally marked by constructivist and humanistic philosophies and has certain implications and responsibilities on both the teachers’ and learners’ part. Then, what this would mean for second language instruction has been analyzed.
One of the conclusions that one can draw from the arguments presented so far is that literature-based instruction gets learners deep into the best of language and has them actively involved in the learning process. Literature speaks directly to the emotional development of learners, as well as to their interests, needs, and concerns. It is easier to motivate the learners when the material is significant to them, the plots engrossing, the characters “real” and the language full and challenging instead of controlled, stilted, and designed primarily for the development and practice of skills.
Next, through literature, learners have the opportunity to develop insights and understandings of the cultures and people of the world; to develop their imagery and visualization abilities; and to gain new perspectives by testing their ideas with those found in books. For example, through an examination of the plot and character issues in literature, it is likely that learners can discover that they are not alone in dealing with their own real-life situations.
Furthermore, through interacting with good literature learners develop their ability to use higher-order thinking skills, to problem solve, and to arrive at generalizations to support or reject their hypotheses. Cognitive psychologists have seen these intellectual activities as one hallmark of the best results of literature-based instruction.
To sum up, using literature with a methodology as the medium of learning can provide a rich emotional learning context in which students have the opportunity to become personally engaged in their work through exploration, active involvement and engagement of their particular abilities. Using literature as a catalyst for imaginative and engaged learning would help support a truly nurturing environment and give students the opportunity to engage individually and expressively in the work and allows for personal exploration and meaningful interaction with concepts and ideas.
Literature helps learners think like scientists. Like scientists the readers of literature observe with a clear eye, record their observations in precise, descriptive language, and craft their expressions. This deeper layer of thought that poetry can create through aesthetic response turns even the driest body of knowledge into a rich and personal encounter, because literature is a useful tool for encouraging students to draw on their personal experiences, feelings and opinions. It helps students to become more actively involved both intellectually and emotionally in learning English, and hence aids acquisition.
References
Aristotle; 1996 Poetics.
Arnold, Matthew; 1963 Culture And Anarchy.
Brumfit C., Carter, R. ; 1986 Literature
And Language Teaching.
Bruner, J. ; 1973 Going Beyond The
Information
Carter, R. And Long M. ; 1991 Teaching
Literature.
Dewey, John; 1966 Democracy And Education.
Eagleton, Terry ; 1996 Literary Theory: An
Introduction.
Lazar, Gillian; 1993 Literature And
Language Teaching.
Long, Michael ; 1986 “A Feeling For
Language: The Multiple Values Of Teaching Literature.” In C. Brumfit And R.
Carter (Ed.) Literature And Language Teaching.
Manning, Maryann And Manning Gray; 1995
“Teaching Pre K-
Myers John W., Hilliard Robert D. ; 1997 “Holistic Language Learning At The Middle Level: Our Last Best Chance.” Childhood Education. Vol: 73, Http//:Gatewayproquest.Com/Openurl?Ctx_Ver=Z39.88
Perkins, David; 1992 Smart Schools.
Piaget, Jean; 1973 To Understand Is To
Invent.
Rosenblatt, Loise; 1938 Literature As
Exploration.
Rosenblatt, Loise; 1990 Retrospect
Transactions With Literature: A Fifty-Year Perspective. Pp. 97-107.
Sidney, Sir Philip ; 1993 “Apology For
Poetry.” In Norton Anthology English Literature. Pp. 479-499,
Shopov, Todor And Pencheva, Maya; 2001
Whole Language, Whole Person: A Handbook Of Language Teaching Methodology.
Wordsworth, William; 1993 Preface To
Lyrical Ballads. Pp. 140-151
About the Author
Ms. Oz Oktem has graduated from Bogazici
University Department of English Language and Literature in 1998 and received
her M.A. Degree on English Language Instruction from
Copyright © 2008 by Electronic Journal of Social Sciences
Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi ISSN:1304-0278
Bahar-
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2.- PRONUNCIATION
REVISITED
Pronunciation Revisited
Martha C. Pennington and Jack C. Richards
In this reexamination of the status of pronunciation
in language teaching, the traditional phonemic-based view of pronunciation is
contrasted with a broader, discourse-based view comprising segmental,
voice-setting, and prosodic features. A description of the nature and
interaction of these three aspects of pronunciation serves to raise issues
which are then reviewed in a survey of research on the acquisition of
pronunciation. Central issues are the influence of the first language, the
acquisition processes operative in L2 phonology, psychosocial and individual
factors, and the role of instruction. A broader focus on pronunciation in the
context of discourse is suggested as the emphasis of both second language
acquisition research and second language teaching. From this perspective the
effects of voice setting, stress and intonation, as well as coarticulatory
phenomena, assume greater importance for teaching. Pronunciation should be
taught as part of the means for creating both referential and interfactional
meaning, and not merely as an aspect of the oral production of words and
sentences. While pronunciation has in the past occupied a central position in
theories of oral language proficiency, the view of pronunciation embodied in
traditional approaches to language teaching trivializes its true nature. In
older methods such as audiolingualism, pronunciation has been largely
identified with accurate production of isolated sounds or words, and this view
is reflected in more contemporary methods such as the
Analysis Hypothesis (Lado, 1957) regards pronunciation
as central to second language proficiency, but it likewise largely restricts
the domain of pronunciation to the segmental level.
The goals of language teaching have changed under the
impact of communicative views of language and interactive theories of language
learning. Pronunciation, traditionally viewed as a component of linguistic
rather than communicative competence or as an aspect of accuracy rather than of
conversational fluency, has come to be regarded as of limited importance in a
communicatively oriented curriculum. Comprehension-based approaches to teaching
such as the Total Physical Response and the Natural Approach deemphasize the
need for accurate production in the early stages of second language learning.
In addition, the value of instruction in pronunciation has been called into
question by the limited success reported for the direct teaching of this aspect
of proficiency. Recent changes in perspective in TESL/TEFL methodology have
produced uncertainty about the role of pronunciation. In view of this
uncertainty, there is a need to assess and clarify the current status of the
teaching of pronunciation. This article addresses that need, first by
presenting an overview of the nature of pronunciation and its role in spoken
language interaction and then by considering issues in the learning of
pronunciation and drawing implications for language teaching.
The Components of Pronunciation
A number
of dimensions of speech are included within the description of pronunciation,
or phonology. For most language teachers, pronunciation is largely identified
with the articulation of
individual
sounds and, to a lesser extent, with the stress and intonation patterns of the
target language. This reflects the traditional view that pronunciation is
primarily associated with the expression of referential meaning and that individual
sounds, or phonological segments, are the building blocks for higher level
meanings. From the perspective of contemporary research in discourse analysis
(Brazil, Coulthard, & Johns, 1980), however, pronunciation is seen not only
as part of the system for expressing referential meaning, but also as an
important part of the interfactional dynamics of the communication process.
According to this view, it is artificial
to divorce
pronunciation from communication and from other aspects of language use, for
sounds are a fundamental part of the process by which we communicate and
comprehend lexical, grammatical, and sociolinguistic meaning. Pronunciation
involves a complex interaction of perceptual, articulatory, and interfactional
factors. In this article, that complex of factors is described in terms of
three types of features: segmental features, voice-setting features,
and
prosodic features.
Segmental Features
Segmental
features are minimal units of sound defined in phonetic terms. Traditionally,
the fundamental components of pronunciation are phonemes, and acquisition of
the target language phonological system is viewed as mastery of the phonemic
distinctions embodied in its phonological inventory and of the phonetic
variants of phonemes which occur in particular environments within syllables
and words. Linguistic theory has shifted toward viewing sound segments in terms
of distinctive features (the underlying minimal components comprising speech
segments). There has been a parallel shift in speech perception toward dynamic
“top-down” approaches to language processing (those which work from global to
local meaning) —rather than the static “bottom-up” model of perception (those
which work from local to global meaning) seen in earlier models of speech processing
(Dirven & Oakeshott-Taylor, 1984). Nevertheless, language teaching has
continued to adhere to the traditional emphasis on phonemes as the principal
units of pronunciation. While phonemic and other types of features
(e.g.,aspiration) that function at the level of individual segments provide a
valuable basis for detailed analysis of languages, this kind of
micro-perspective on phonology needs to be complemented by a macro-focus on
voice-setting and prosodic features.
Voice-Setting Features
Whereas segmental
features refer to specific phonetic characteristics of individual sound
segments, voice-setting features refer to general articulatory characteristics
of stretches of speech. The tendency of speakers of a particular language to
adopt certain habitual positions of articulation in connected speech, resulting
in a characteristic voice quality, can be described in terms of voice setting
features. Such features comprise what are sometimes referred to as voice
quality, voice quality settings (Esling & Wong, 1983), phonetic settings
(Laver, 1980), or certain paralinguistic features (Brown, 1977). Laver (1980)
gives an example of such a setting as a quasi-permanent tendency to keep the
lips in a rounded position throughout speech. Another would be a habitual
tendency to keep the body of the tongue slightly retracted into the pharynx
while speaking. Another would be the persistent choice of a characteristically
“whispery” mode of phonation. Settings give a background, auditory “colouring”
running through sequences of shorter-term segmental articulations. (p. 2) Voice
quality setting is the phenomenon which accounts for our impressions of, for
example, certain male Japanese and Arabic speakers as speaking their language
(or English) with a hoarse- or husky-sounding voice, or of female speakers from
some cultures as speaking with a high-pitched, “pinched” quality to their
voices. This phenomenon has also led some nonnative speakers of English to
observe that Americans appear to overuse their lips when speaking. In learning
to speak a language, mastery of a characteristic array of voice-setting
features appears to contribute substantially to a nativelike accent and
possibly to overall intelligibility as well.
Prosodic Features and Related Coarticulatory
Phenomena
The third
dimension of pronunciation is stress and intonation, the so-called prosodic, or
suprasegmental, domain, together with the related coarticulatory phenomena of
the blending and overlapping of sounds in fluent speech. Prosodic features
involve the relative levels of stress and pitch within syllables, words,
phrases, and longer stretch of speech. Coarticulation causes elisions,
contractions, and assimilations of neighboring sounds in the stream of speech
under the influence of stress and intonation (Ladefoged, 1982, pp. 52-56, 98).
Stress refers to the degree of effort involved in the production of individual
syllables or combinations of syllables making up a word or longer utterance.
For longer utterances a combination of strong and weak syllables comprises a
rhythmic pattern. English, like any language, is spoken with a distinct
rhythmic pattern.
The
ability to produce English with an English-like pattern of stress and rhythm
involves stress timing (the placement of stress only on selected syllables),
which in turn requires speakers to take shortcuts in how they pronounce words.
Natural-sounding pronunciation in conversational English is achieved through
blends and omissions of sounds to accommodate its stress-timed rhythmic pattern
(Clark & Clark, 1977). Brown (1977) documents the patterns of blends and
omissions in conversational speech which can result in change of consonant or
vowel quality, loss of consonant or vowel, or even loss of entire syllables.
Examples of these phenomena are given below. Stress and intonation interact
with other phonological features and with choices made about the meaning or
information conveyed in an utterance. According to Brown and Yule (1983a),
stress and intonation mark the “elements which the speaker [does or] does not
require the hearer to pay attention to” (p. 164). Syllables or words which are
articulated precisely are those high in information content, while those which
are weakened, shortened, or dropped are predictable and can be guessed from
context (Dirven & Oakeshott-Taylor, 1984). In every language,
characteristic intonation contours carry both referential and affective meaning
(Ladefoged, 1982). In their referential function, intonation contours provide
an interpretation for a sentence by indicating which part of the information is
viewed as new versus known, salient versus less salient, or topic versus
comment. Intonation and stress are highly context-dependent, so that the
patterns of stress and pitch that characterize isolated words or phrases are
typically modified when these words or phrases occur in the context of longer
utterances. For example, pitch level tends to be reduced in later parts of a
discourse as predictability of information increases. Thus, intonation is an
essential component of the “prosodic continuity” that makes connected stretches
of speech—as opposed to individually spoken words or syllables—coherent and
interpretable by the listener. “To interfere with stress, timing, fundamental
frequency [and other aspects of prosodic continuity in discourse] usually has
more drastic consequences for comprehension than removing the cues of a
particular [phonological] segment” (Dirven & Oakeshott-Taylor, 1984, p.
333). Certain intonational features distinguish statements from questions or
indicate interest, doubt, certainty, and other aspects of the speaker’s
attitude toward the topic or the person spoken to. Brazil et al. (1980)
emphasize that intonation cannot be adequately described except in relation to
the interaction between speaker, and hearer:
We see the
description of intonation as one aspect of the description of interaction and
argue that intonation choices carry information about the structure of the
interaction, the relationship between and the discourse function of individual
utterances, the interfactional “given-ness” and “newness” of information and
the state of convergence and divergence of the participants. (p. 11) The point
of view expressed by Brazil et al. can be extended to other features of
pronunciation as each of the levels described above well. Phonological features
at carry a variety of interfactional meanings. For example, a vowel or
consonant may be pronounced in a novel or unusual way to achieve a certain
effect on the hearer, as for example when an American lisps an s or
pronounces the u in tune, due, and soon in the British
fashion as [yu]. Similarly, voicesetting features such as lip stretching,
creaky voice, or low pitch, when used in an interaction by an American female,
may indicate her actual or attempted dominance or may serve to mark her higher
social status relative to the person spoken to. The view of pronunciation
described above emphasizes that pronunciation in a second language involves far
more than the correct articulation of individual sounds. Pronunciation is not
simply a surface performance phenomenon but is rather a dynamic component of
conversational fluency. When contrasts such as those between accuracy and
fluency are made, it is misleading to depict pronunciation as belonging to the
domain of the former rather than the latter. The acquisition of the phonology
of the second or foreign language involves learning how to produce a wide range
of complex and subtle distinctions which relate sound to meaning at several
different levels. Articulatory, interfactional, and cognitive processes are all
equally involved.
The Learning of Pronunciation
The
preceding description of the constituents of pronunciation provides a basis for
considering how these constituents interact and shape the processes of
phonological development in a second or foreign language. While phonology has
not occupied as central a position as syntax in second language acquisition
research, some important characteristics of the phonological learning process
have been isolated. These include the extent to which the second language
phonological system is influenced by the phonological system of the first
language, the role of universal acquisition processes in the development of L2
phonology, psychosocial and individual factors, and the context of language
learning and use.
The Influence of the First Language
Language
transfer has always been recognized as basic to any theory of second language
phonological development (Lado, 1957). The notion of interlanguage acknowledges
the role of language transfer (Selinker, 1972), and current views of the nature
of interlanguage consider the learner’s phonological representations as
constituting a system intermediate between the native language and the target
language (Flege 1980, 1981). Other researchers argue that the phenomenon of
transfer extends beyond the level of individual phonemes to include syllable
structure (Hecht & Mulford, 1982; Johansson, 1973; Macken & Ferguson,
1981; Tarone, 1980) as well as prosodic and voice-setting features (Esling
& Wong, 1983). Faerch, Haastrup, and Phillipson (1984) report the transfer
of the following mother tongue intonation patterns in the speech of Danish
learners of English:
2. Instead
of full [intonational] glides (falls, rises, fall-rises), flattening them out
(as is the case in Danish) and consequently making them less clearly marked.
(p. 125)
Gumperz
(1982), in his studies of cross-cultural interactions,demonstrates that
transfer of voice-setting and prosodic features ofthe first language can lead
to serious intercultural misunderstanding in the target culture.
Acquisition Processes in L2 Phonology
Second
language acquisition (
Other
features of second language acquisition are similar to processes found in the
context of language change and variation. As in the case of first language
phonological change, in second language learning a new item or rule is not
acquired categorically: Learners do not immediately begin to use a new
phonological rule or feature in all its contexts or in all its appropriate
phonetic variants. Rather, learners acquire variants of target language
features and gradually refine the range of contexts in which the variants are
used. At the same time, they add new features to their repertoire, which at an
earlier time they may have avoided altogether (Celce-Murcia, 1977). L. J.
Dickerson (1975) shows that Japanese learners of English, in acquiring the
phoneme /z/, produce a higher percentage of target variants for the phonemes in
initial than in medial or final positions. As learning proceeds, they gradually
produce more target variants in medial and final positions. W. B. Dickerson
(1976), drawing on sociolinguistic variation theory (e.g., Cedergren &
Sankoff, 1974; Labov, 1972), describes the process of acquiring new
environments for target language rules as a wave mechanism in which rules are
learned in specific contexts and then spread throughout the learner’s
interlanguage. Through this wave mechanism, phonological features learned in
the context of specific lexical items, phrases, or grammatical constructions
may be applied by analogy to additional items, phrases, and constructions.
Lacking from the
Psychosocial and Individual Factors
Pronunciation
is a central component of face-to-face interaction and is consequently part of
the process by which speakers present an image of themselves to others. The
concepts of face-work (Goffman, 1972) and language ego (Guiora, Beit-Hallahmi,
Brannon, Dull, & Scovel, 1972) may help to explain the fact that
phonological features are among the most salient linguistic dimensions used by
speakers to create a sense of personal identity. Certain first language
phonological features may be consciously retained as markers of ethnic or group
identity (Giles, Bourhis, & Taylor,1977), and so caution should be
exercised in regarding [phonological] intrusions simply as instances of
interlingual interferences, particularly in the cases of second and
third generations of immigrants, as they may often be adopted by them deliberately
as ethnic speech markers to establish a distinctive linguistic identity.
(Giles, 1979, p. 260) Some learners, wishing to integrate actively into the
target culture and to be identified with its speakers, may be motivated to try
to attain a native accent in the foreign language. Others, in contrast, may not
have a strong integrative motivation toward the target culture and so may
consciously or unconsciously seek to maintain a distinctive accent. The fact
that person’s identity pronunciation is intimately associated with may also
explain why considerable individual variation is found in rates and ultimate
levels of achievement in phonology (Leather, 1983; Macken & Ferguson,
1981). Personality variables such as introversion, extroversion, or sociability
have been suggested to explain differences among individuals in phonological
attainment (Busch, 1982). Individual language aptitude (e.g., the ability to
mimic sounds) has also been cited as a contributing factor.
Leather
(1983) reports findings which support the view “that it is individual
perceptual ability which remains in principle the limiting factor in developing
second-language pronunciation” (p.206). The age factor remains an unresolved
issue in language acquisition research. Some studies have shown a biological
advantage for younger learners (Scovel, 1969; Seliger, Krashen, &
Ladefoged, 1975), while others have shown no such advantage (Olson &
Samuels, 1973; Snow & Hoefnagel-Höhle, 1977). Lowenthal and Bull (1984)
suggest that these contradictory findings reflect varying psychosocial
conditions of the testing situations under which data were gathered in the
studies. Research findings “suggest not a critical period of language
development but, rather, that the way in which language is processed can change
throughout the course of development” (Menyuk, 1978, p. 154). There is evidence
that retention of the native accent by adult second language learners may be
the result of the use of a speechprocessing strategy—based, perhaps, on motor
speech perception (Liberman, Cooper, Shankweiler, & Studdert-Kennedy,
1967)– established in childhood (Menyuk, 1978; Menyuk & Anderson, 1969).
However, adults do not necessarily lose the linguistic capabilities which were
present at earlier stages of development (Leather, 1983), and “dormant”
capabilities could possibly be elicited in adults through “germane experience”
(Menyuk, 1978, pp. 156-157).
The Context of Learning and Use
The
context and conditions for learning and using the language may also affect
levels of attainment in phonology. The degree and type of exposure to the
second language in classroom and naturalistic settings may in part determine
eventual outcomes in phonology. Traditionally, explicit instruction in
phonology (e.g., via minimal pair drills) was thought to influence the
student’s ability to articulate new sounds and to improve the learner’s
capacity for self- monitoring (Acton, 1984; Morely, 1979). Currently,
acquisition- or communication-based methodologies do not assign a central role
to direct instruction in pronunciation, nor do many bilingual education models,
which set the goal as intelligibility rather than native-like phonology. It is
assumed in these models that target-like pronunciation will eventually result
from interaction with native speakers in naturalistic settings and cannot be
achieved through formal instruction.
A number
of research studies have investigated the effects of instruction on the
learning of pronunciation, but the results are inconclusive. While Suter (1976)
and Madden (1983) find no positive effect for formal training on achievement in
pronunciation, two studies report positive effects for phonetic training of
adults. Murakawa (1981) shows that a 12-week program of phonetic training can
produce significant changes in the articulation of individual phonemes by adult
learners of English. Similar results are reported by Pennington (1984) after
six instructional sessions incorporating training in both articulation and
listening discrimination. Positive effects on production or perception are also
reported for training in prosodic features by Gilbert (1980), Neufeld and
Schneiderman (1980), de Bot (1983), and de Bot and Mailfert (1982). Differences
in results in the reported studies appear to be due to the great variation in
their experimental design, particularly in the type of training which was
provided. Phonological performance in the target language is affected by the
communicative demands of the situation or task in which the learner is engaged.
Some aspects of L2 phonological learning can be viewed from the perspective of
information processing, which describes the learning of any complex task or
form of behavior as the integration of a number of subskills. Initially, the
use of these subskills requires conscious attention, but as learning proceeds,
they become routinized and are performed without conscious attention, through
what is referred to as automatic processing (McLaughlin, Rossman, & McLeod,
1983). Under certain circumstances—for example, in a public presentation—
performance conditions may inhibit access to automatic processing. In such
cases the learner may have to resort to the domain of conscious processing and
so plan and monitor speech more closely. Thus, a learner’s phonological
performance may differ in the controlled and automatic modes of processing. In
particular, performance may suffer when it must be consciously maintained under
stressful conditions.
Implications for Teaching
The model
of pronunciation as a context-dependent and dynamic interaction of segmental,
voice-setting, and prosodic features has a number of implications for language
teaching. This view leads to the articulation of goals different from those set
forth for traditional approaches to the teaching of pronunciation. Accuracy at
the segmental level is no longer the fundamental aim of teaching, since it is
now known that accurate production of segmental features does not in itself
characterize native-like pronunciation, nor is it the primary basis for
intelligible speech: In view of the fact that segmental information in the
acoustic signal may well be of limited scope and reliability, it is of the
greatest importance that the learner’s attention is directed to non-segmental
information. (Dirven & Oakeshott-Taylor, 1984, p. 333)
As the
emphasis moves away from a narrow focus on segments to a broader focus on
stretches of speech, the effects of voice setting, stress and intonation, as
well as coarticulatory phenomena such as shortenings, weakening, and
assimilations, assume greater importance for teaching. This top-down
perspective on pronunciation highlights the overarching role of context in
determining phonological choices at all three levels—segmental, voice-setting,
and prosodic features. Teaching isolated forms of sounds and words fails to
address the fact that in communication, many aspects of pronunciation are
determined by the positioning of elements within long stretches of speech,
according to the information structure and the interfactional context of the
discourse as determined by speaker and hearer. The research we have reviewed on
the learning of pronunciation also supports a different focus in teaching.
Intervention by the teacher may not be able to alter the learner’s path of
development in mastering second language phonology. Learning is a gradual
process involving successive approximations to the target language system over
time and a progression from controlled to automatic processing. In addition,
the learner’s performance and competence may not develop in synchrony; that is,
lower level motor skills may develop at a different rate from their higher
level corresponding mental representations. Immediate results from
pronunciation training may not be achieved if the learner has not reached an
appropriate stage in phonological development and so lacks the developmental
prerequisites for what is being taught. Such training may, however, assist in
the development of new articulatory habits and contribute to the reorganization
of higher level systems, or schemata, eventually resulting in a change in
performance. For the same reason, immediate improvements in pronunciation
resulting from direct training may take time to become a part of spontaneous
language use.
In the
domain of pronunciation, then, there is not likely to be a one-to-one
relationship between teaching and learning. These conclusions support the
following general recommendations regarding pronunciation and its place in
second language
teaching:
1. The
teaching of pronunciation must focus on longer term goals; short-term
objectives must be developed with reference to long term goals.
2. The
goal of any explicit training in pronunciation should be to bring learners
gradually from controlled, cognitively based performance to automatic,
skill-based performance.
3.
Teaching should aim toward gradually reducing the amount of native language
influence on segmental, voice-setting, and prosodic features but should not
necessarily seek to eradicate totally the influence of the native language on
the speaker’s pronunciation in the second language.
4.
Pronunciation ought to be taught as an integral part of oral language use, as
part of the means for creating both referential and interfactional meaning, not
merely as an aspect of the oral production of words and sentences.
5.
Pronunciation forms a natural link to other aspects of language use, such as
listening, vocabulary, and grammar; ways of highlighting this interdependence
in teaching need to be explored.
Directions for Research and Teaching
Clearly,
there is a need for basic research into the nature, learning, and teaching of
pronunciation in a second or foreign language. From the time of
audiolingualism, a direct relation between listening and pronunciation has been
tacitly assumed, though the small amount of research on this basic issue is
inconclusive (Leather, 1983). Whether there is a natural developmental sequence
for the acquisition of second language phonology, as has been posited for the
development of grammar, remains to be explored. Information of this kind would
be relevant in determining the content and sequence of instruction in the
spoken language. Detailed information on the nature and functions of voice
quality setting and on the use of phonological features in interaction is also
required as a basis for planning materials and instructional strategies.
As is true
for other areas of second language acquisition and teaching, research in
sociolinguistics and spoken discourse analysis—of English and of other
languages—is yielding important results for phonology and the teaching of
pronunciation. This line of research, in helping to clarify the nature of human
communication and the linguistic means for achieving specific effects in
interaction, is providing a basis on which to develop materials and techniques
representing authentic phonological productions in real communication. In
addition, work in sociolinguistics and social psychology on the psychosocial
processes involved in acquiring new phonological systems should also be
consulted. We can design more realistic and effective approaches to teaching
spoken language if we understand the variety of social and psychological
factors which play a role in the acquisition of a new phonological system.
Finally, instrumental analysis (including computer-aided analysis) of phonetic
data from English and other languages is providing more specific and detailed
phonetic descriptions, thus making it possible to represent and compare with
increasing precision the phonological features of languages. This type of data,
in combination with the interfactional data provided through discourse
analysis, provides essential baseline information needed to make decisions
about the content and nature of instruction in second language pronunciation.
While a
variety of suggestions have been made concerning the teaching of pronunciation
(Acton, 1984; Brown & Yule, 1983b; Haycraft, 1971; MacCarthy, 1979; Parish,
1977; Stevick, 1978), too little is known about specific instructional
practices to assess their overall contribution to L2 phonological development.
There is some evidence (as reviewed above) that training can produce positive
effects on pronunciation in a classroom setting in a relatively short period of
time. However, it is not clear whether such effects persist over time and carry
over to other situations. Controlled studies of what might be achieved through
pronunciation training in the context of information structure and interaction
(e.g., as advocated in Brown & Yule, 1983b, and Gilbert, 1984) or in the
context of real-life psychological and social concerns (e.g., as advocated in
In order
to progress in the teaching of pronunciation, we must have data which fully
support claims made for the effectiveness of specific instructional programs or
procedures. In particular, the kinds of information needed are (a) clear
specifications of the precise aspects of pronunciation being taught, (b)
precise descriptions of the instructional procedures used, and (c) valid
measures of the effects, positive or negative, of the procedures used. Stricter
attention to the question of research design is necessary before the results of
particular instructional programs and teaching procedures can be evaluated.
With more complete information of this kind, it will be easier to determine not
only the relative value of teaching pronunciation as opposed to other aspects
of language proficiency but also the amount of attention which should be paid
to pronunciation within the context of a whole language teaching program.
The Authors
Martha C.
Pennington, Assistant Professor in ESL, is conducting research in second
language phonological acquisition and teaches courses in phonology, ESL
methods, and program administration.
Jack C.
Richards, Professor of ESL, teaches courses in language curriculum development,
methodology, and materials design at the University of Hawaii, where he also
teaches in an ESL program. His research interests include listening
comprehension and conversational analysis. His most recent books are Approaches
and Methods in Language Teaching (with Ted Rodgers), published in 1986
by
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de Bot, K.
(1983). Visual feedback of English intonation, I: and induced practice
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de Bet,
K., & Mailfert, K. (1982). The teaching of intonation: Fundamental research
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Brown, G.
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Brown, G.,
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Brown, G.,
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Celce-Murcia,
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Clark, H.
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L. J. (1975). The learner’s interlanguage as a set of variable rules. TESOL
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Dickerson,
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Dirven,
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Faerch, C.
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Flege, J.
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Hecht, B.
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Johansson,
F. A. (1973). Immigrant Swedish phonology: A study in multiple contact
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Labov, W.
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Ladefoged,
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Laver, J.
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Liberman,
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Lowenthal,
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MacCarthy,
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Macken, M.
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Menyuk, P.
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Olson, L.
L., & Samuels, S. J. (1973). The relationship between age and accuracy of
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Parish, C.
(1977). A practical philosophy of pronunciation. TESOL Quarterly, 11, 311-317.
Pennington,
M. (1984, March). Can pronunciation be improved by instruction in
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Houston.
Sato, C.
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Schumann,
J. H. (1975), Affective factors and the problem of age in second language
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Schumann,
J. H. (1978). The pidginization process: A model for second language
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Scovel, T.
(1969). Foreign accents, language acquisition and cerebral dominance. Language
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Seliger,
H. W., Krashen, S., & Ladefoged, P. (1975). Maturational constraints in the
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Selinker,
L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10, 209-232.
Sheldon,
A., & Strange W. (1982). The acquisition of /r/ and /1/ by Japanese
learners of English: Evidence that speech production can precede speech
perception. Applied Psycholinguistics, 3, 243-261.
Snow, C.
E., & Hoefnagel-Höhle, M. (1977). Age differences in the pronunciation of
foreign sounds. Language and Speech, 20, 357-365.
Stevick,
E. W. (1978). Toward a practical philosophy of pronunciation: Another view. TESOL
Quarterly, 12, 145-150.
Suter, R.
W. (1976). Predictors of pronunciation accuracy in secondlanguage learning. Language
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Tarone, E.
(1978), The phonology of interlanguage. In J. C. Richards (Ed.), Understanding
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Tarone, E.
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Review of Applied Linguistics, 18, 139-152.
© 1986 by TESOL Quarterly
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.- ADVANCED VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT: MEN’S FASHION
The Cool Factor
By Kate
Betts
Every
president has left a mark on American style, from Harry Truman's penchant for
Hawaiian-style sport shirts to Dwight Eisenhower's cropped military jackets and
Ronald Reagan's custom-made
Among
other things, Kennedy banished hats for men, even disposing of the top hat for
his inauguration speech. He also traded in the three-button suit for a baggier
two-button style (to accommodate his back brace) and reintroduced the casual
blue blazer both in the White House and on trips to
But
Kennedy's cool factor—the sunglasses and convertible cars—was all his own, and
it's what made his look memorable. "The ease of his style made it really
look like he didn't think that much about it," says menswear designer Thom
Browne, who has been indirectly influenced by the Kennedy look in his work for
his own label and for Brooks Brothers' Black Fleece collection. "He had a
pure sense of American style that was so masculine and appealing. I think
people are starting to appreciate that style again."
Some
designers have even gone so far as to collect Kennedy possessions. Diego Della
Valle, president and ceo of Tod's, the Italian shoe and handbag manufacturer,
purchased Kennedy's 1930 Marlin boat in 1998. But it is from Kennedy's clothing
cues that they draw inspiration, including his preference for chinos, polo
shirts, two-button suits and Ray-Ban sunglasses. "His unstudied sense of
style is a constant touchstone when I design my men's collections each
season," says Michael Kors. "He ushered in a whole new era of style—a
convergence of
Copyright
© 2008 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
www.time.com/.../article/0,9171,1635823,00.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.- MAESTRÍA
EN DIDÁCTICAS ESPECÍFICAS AT UNIVERSIDAD
NACIONAL DEL LITORAL
Magíster en Didácticas Específicas
Título: Magister en Didácticas Específicas
Duración: 2 años y Tesis
Directora: Dra. Edith Litwin
Coordinadora: Prof. Liliana P. de Izaguirre
Objetivos generales
Formar recursos humanos de relevancia para la docencia y la investigación
en el campo de la enseñanza a fin de contribuir al análisis y a la
interpretación de los procesos de la enseñanza de las ciencias y al diagnóstico
y solución de los problemas didácticos planteados por las distintas
disciplinas.
Objetivos específicos
- Formar investigadores capaces de actuar con un nivel elevado de autonomía
en el campo de la enseñanza de las ciencias, y de formular y ejecutar proyectos
de investigación educativa propios al ámbito de su especialización.
- Contribuir a la acumulación de conocimientos científicos sobre los
procesos de articulación entre el desarrollo de las ciencias, las problemáticas
de la enseñanza y los contextos socio-históricos, con especial referencia a las
prácticas de la enseñanza a través de las investigaciones de los alumnos
conducentes a
- Contribuir al perfeccionamiento de los docentes y al mejoramiento de la
calidad de la enseñanza, tanto en el nivel universitario como en los otros
niveles del sistema educativo.
- Brindar oportunidad de continuar sus estudios a egresados con título
docente universitario.
Seminarios:
Corrientes Didácticas Contemporáneas
Problemática Social y Política de
Teorías Psicológicas del Aprendizaje
Evaluación de Aprendizajes
Análisis de las Prácticas de
Epistemología de las Cs Sociales
Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales
Taller de Investigación I
Taller de Investigación II
Taller de Investigación III
Tesis
Acreditación: Categoría "B" (Sistema de Acreditación de
Destinatarios: Egresados universitarios interesados en el área de
Costos: Matrícula: $200
Seminarios: $200 cada, los que pueden abonarse hasta en dos cuotas.
Estos aranceles se encuentran sujetos a una posible actualización durante
el año 2008.
Defensa de tesis: pago único cuyo monto se determinará al momento de la
defensa de la tesis.
Los pagos deben efectuarse mediante depósito en Banco Credicoop N º de
cuenta: 340-24892/2 (denominación: UNL Servicios educativos a terceros)
Informes:
Registro de Aspirantes: hasta el 15 de Abril de 2008
Oficina de Area Operativa de
Horario de atención: de lunes a viernes de
Email: areaoperativa@fhuc.unl.edu.ar - tel: 0342-4575105 (interno 107)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.- 11º
Ciclo Internacional de Enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras en
11.º Ciclo Internacional de Enseñanza de Lenguas
Extranjeras
“Leer y escribir, hoy, en otra lengua”
5 y 6 de mayo de 2008
Se abordará la temática Lectura y Escritura. Además de
conferencias a cargo de especialistas extranjeros (con traducción simultánea),
por primera vez, se implementarán talleres coordinados en inglés, portugués,
francés, español y alemán, a cargo de especialistas nacionales y del exterior.
La inscripción a esta actividad es previa, arancelada
y con cupos limitados. Al inscribirse, usted deberá optar solamente por una de
las actividades participativas.
Programa Provisorio
Actividades participativas
En alemán: Promoción de la lectura en lengua
extranjera. Cómo leer y qué leer en la clase de Alemán Lengua Extranjera.
A cargo de Gudrun Marci-Boehncke (Alemania) y Juliana
Fischbein
En español: Comprensión y producción de textos
académicos en Español Lengua Extranjera.
A cargo de Adrián Canteros y Fabián R. Mónaco
En francés: La expresión escrita en Francés Lengua Extranjera.
Elementos para la construcción de la textualidad
A cargo de Patricia C. Hernández y Olga Beatriz Jalile
En inglés: Influencia de las nuevas tecnologías en el
diseño de materiales: ¿cómo adaptar y autenticar materiales de lectura a partir
de la multimodalidad de los discursos?
A cargo de Liliana de Bianchetti y María del Valle
Gastaldi
En inglés: Comunicando significados la lectura en
lengua extranjera, desde la conciencia fonológica a la argumentación
A cargo de Beatriz Damiani y Mónica Gandolfo
En inglés: Título a confirmar
A cargo de William Grabe (Estados Unidos) y Vivian
Morghen
En portugués: Escritura creativa en la clase de
Portugués Lengua Extranjera
A cargo de Ana Conti y Mariana Jodara
En portugués: Borges y Machado de Assis: el arte de
dos maestros de la expresión concisa
A cargo de Margarida Salomao (Brasil) y Joaquina
Balcinha
Conferencias
Estrategias para promover la lectura en
Gudrun Marci-Boehncke (Alemania)
Cómo entendemos: redes semánticas y procesos
cognitivos en la lectura
Margarida Salomao (Brasil)
Título a confirmar
William Grabe (Estados Unidos)
Inscripción previa - Vacantes Limitadas
La inscripción incluye entrada gratuita a
Aranceles
Hasta el 23 de abril de 2008: $ 20,00
A partir del 24 de abril de 2008: $ 25,00
Mecanismos de inscripción
Personalmente en la sede de
Por fax:
Cheques a la orden de Fundación El Libro.
Depósito en cuenta corriente del Banco Galicia 1060/5
064/4 sucursal 064.
Giros bancarios.
Transferencia bancaria C.U.I.T.: 30-60954008-3 CBU:
0070064120000001060542.
En estos casos, la inscripción será válida únicamente,
al enviar por fax o por correo postal sus datos, junto con la copia del
comprobante de pago. La fecha límite para la recepción de los mismos es el 30
de abril de 2008, según disponibilidad de cupos.
Formulario de inscripción
Imprima, complete y envíenos este formulario
acompañando copia del cupón o comprobante de pago. Ver formulario http://www.el-libro.org.ar/34feria/educativas/Formulario_11_Lenguas_Extranjeras.pdf
-----------------------------------------------------------
6.- POSTGRADO EN FILOSOFÍA DEL LENGUAJE
Universidad del Salvador
Facultad de Filosofía, Historia y Letras
Escuela de Filosofía
Reunión preparatoria para
Resolución Ministerial N° 1285/02
Duración un (1) año.
Creada por
Coordinador: Dr. Eduardo Sinnott
Disertación a cargo de
Martes 18 de marzo a las 19:00 hs.
Rodríguez Peña 670, 5° Piso
filosofia@mail.salvador.edu.ar
4375-2958, interno 1964-5
Especialización en Filosofía del Lenguaje
Objetivos
La interdisciplinariedad y transdisciplinariedad impuestas por la práctica
científica actual exige por parte de todo graduado universitario un vasto saber
en relación a las teorías del lenguaje y a sus diversas perspectivas de
análisis. La reflexión sobre la relación fundante entre lenguaje, pensamiento y
mundo, permite romper con una visión unilateral de este conocimiento y
establecer una crítica racional y metódica de las teorías del sentido, del
signo y la gramática.
Objetivo general:
Formar especialistas en el área del lenguaje que puedan proporcionar una
argumentación racional, crítica y metódica de los problemas relacionados con la
teoría del signo, del sentido, de la gramática y la sintaxis.
Objetivos específicos:
Que los graduados logren conocimiento de los diversos problemas presentados
a lo largo de la historia de la filosofía vinculados con las teorías y
filosofías del lenguaje, sus conexiones con la lógica, la ontología y la epistemología.
recursos teóricos y metodológicos de análisis textual. saberes que le permitan
enriquecer su disciplina a la vez que le permitan interactuar con otros
graduados de distintas áreas reconociendo el carácter interdisciplinario de
esta especialidad.
Título: Especialista en Filosofía del Lenguaje
Coordinador Específico: Dr. Eduardo Sinnot
Condiciones de Ingreso:
Poseer título universitario en carreras de no menos de cuatro años de
duración (filosofía, letras, historia, ciencias sociales, derecho, Psicología,
comunicación social, etc.). En caso de egresados de universidades extranjeras
se tomarán en cuenta los convenios vigentes.
Todos los ingresantes son seleccionados sobre la base de antecedentes y
coloquio inicial con miembros del Comité Académico de
Docentes:
Dr. Eduardo Sinnot
Dra. Ana Zagari
Dr. Edgardo Albizu
Dra. Alicia Sisca
Dr. Daniel Capano
Dra. María Elena, Rodriguez
Mag. Elvira Narvaja de Arnoux
Plan de Estudio:
Taller de Integración: Filosofía y Lingüística
Primer Cuatrimestre
Filosofía del Lenguaje I
Teoría del Discurso I
Teoría de
Semiótica I
Segundo Cuatrimestre
Filosofía del Lenguaje II
Teoría del Discurso II
Teoría de
Semiótica II
Talleres o tutorías (anuales): 70 horas.
Total Horas: 449
El programa de estudios está estructurado en dos cuatrimestres y su
duración total equivale a un año académico. Estos ciclos se componen de
materias obligatorias cuya evaluación final puede consistir en una exposición
oral o en monografías de acuerdo a lo indicado por el docente.
El posgrado se cursará dos veces a la semana los días viernes por la noche
y sábado por la mañana, y los talleres se cursaran los viernes a la tarde, para
favorecer a los eventuales postulantes que concurran de puntos alejados de
CONEAU: En trámite de Acreditación convocatoria 2006.
Perfil del Egresado:
El perfil del egresado de
Conocimiento de los hitos fundamentales de
Conocimiento de las principales discusiones desde las distintas disciplinas
(filosofía, lingüística, psicología, sociología, teoría de la información,
lógica, matemática) sobre el tema
Habilidad para trabajar con las más modernas teorías en el análisis de los
diversos discursos
Habilidad para aplicar el instrumental semiológico en la lectura y análisis
de los textos filosóficos y de otras áreas capacidad para reconocer los elementos
retóricos, estilísticos y argumentativos de los textos capacidad para
participar en equipos de investigación interdisciplinarios capacidad para
intervenir desde una visión ética en las discusiones sobre los avances
científicos, tecnológicos y su incidencia en la comunidad de hablantes.
Costos: Arancel 2008
Matricula Semestral: Cuotas: 2 - Importe: $350.-
Arancel Anual: Cuotas: 10 - Importe: $370.-
Sedes: Facultad de Filosofía, Historia y Letras.
Rodriguez Peña 670 (1020) Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Tel.
4375-2958 / 4374-3816
filosofia@mail.salvador.edu.ar / uds-hyle@salvador.edu.ar
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.- POSTÍTULO:
EL DISCURSO LITERARIO EN INGLÉS
Postítulo
Actualización Académica en Inglés Lengua Extranjera (I/LE): El Discurso
Literario (2008-2009)
Instituto Cervera
– Ciudad de Santa Fé
En una sociedad
del conocimiento que exige profesionales cada vez más capacitados, el docente
debe actualizarse, profundizar los saberes de su disciplina, convertirse en un
verdadero agente cultural en el medio en el que se desenvuelve. En éste último
rol debe estar atento a la función social y cultural del lenguaje y
desempeñarse como lector competente de los signos de su tiempo.
El Instituto
Cervera ofrece esta oportunidad de capacitación con características propias. Se
trata de un proyecto que se organiza en torno a la enseñanza del I/LE y se
aborda desde la perspectiva del Discurso Literario. Los módulos a desarrollar
son:
Módulos y Docentes
a cargo
Competencias
Académicas
Mgtr. Daniel J.
Fernández
Pragmática
Lic. Claudia
Piccirilli
Lic. Elsa Z. Pomi
- Lic. Stella M. Recce
Aspectos
Postmodernos en el Arte Popular
Prof. Mariela
Piccirilli - Prof. Nidia B. Vera Candioti
Didáctica del
Inglés como Lengua Extranjera: Aportes de
Mgtr. Ana Marina
Suárez Gianello
Agenda Cultural
a aprobarse por
créditos
El primer módulo
se desarrollará en los siguientes días y horarios: sábados 19 de abril y 10 de
mayo en el horario: de
Las vacantes son
limitadas. Para consultas, informes e inscripciones dirigirse a institutocervera@gmail.com,
por teléfono al número (0342)459-9031, o personalmente en Cruz Roja Argentina
1873 de lunes a viernes en el horario de
--------------------------------------------------------
8.-
A MESSAGE FROM MARTIN EYARS APROPOS OF ELT NEWS
AND VIEWS
Publisher and Editor: Martin Eayrs
If you are aged 30+ the above name and logo
may be familiar to you as a symbol of my involvement with English Language
Teaching in
I invested a lot of time and energy in ‘N&V’ (as we in the office called it), and only closed it down when in the space of six weeks we lost our VAT exemption and were prohibited by the then authorities from trading by credit card. Things were different then, and are certainly easier now.
So, why this voice from the past? Well, I have reason to believe that there may currently be an attempt to revive ELT News & Views, possibly in my name, and most certainly without my involvement. On the principle of caveat emptor (and because I may not be able to enforce my ownership of the trademark through the law) this is the only way I have of disassociating myself from it. It’s not me, folks.
I am currently living in
To end on a more human note (this has been a bit of a whinge), to anyone reading this who once knew or worked with ELT News & Views, my very best wishes.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone else you may know in Argentine ELT.
Martin Eayrs CI 9876133
[m.eayrs@lancaster.ac.uk]
16 March 2008
------------------------------------------------------------
9.- FURTHER CERTIFICATE FOR TEACHERS OF BUSINESS
ENGLISH
Universidad CAECE with Aldea Global and LCCI International Qualifications
Further Certificate for
Teachers of Business English
By Distance Learning
An internationally-valid qualification
granted by the
Universidad CAECE, an Authorised Training and Examining Centre.
Course
coordinator: Magíster Ana María Rozzi de Bergel
Tutor: Lic. Diana Porto
For English teachers, translators and coordinators of courses for adults and in corporate environments.
Three months, from April 4th through July 4th . Examination: August 8th.
Ten e-learning units, supplemented by videostreaming lessons broadcast every other Friday, from 7.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m., covering Business Concepts, Teaching Skills and Language, in an integrated curriculum. Students unable to attend lessons may download them to their computers.
Cost: 3 monthly payments of $ 140.- (April, May and June)
Examination fee: $ 290 (Argentine pesos), payable before July 7th.
Enrolment: at Aldea Global centres or through Universidad CAECE.
Aldea Global offers technical support, in
more than 80 locations all over
•The LCCI International Qualifications
provides the final examination, which is taken at the corresponding Aldea
Global centre and then corrected in the
For information, contact: mmonsalvo@caece.edu.ar; arozzi@caece.edu.ar, or enter http://www.caece.edu.ar/cursos_d.htm
In
Students worldwide: http://u.caece.edu.ar/distancia/enseninglesextereng.htm
------------------------------------------------------------
10.- PEDAGOGÍA DE
Pedagogía de
Dictado por
Duración: 1 cuatrimestre por módulo. Total: 3 módulos.
Sede: Paraná 145, piso 2
Modalidad: Semipresencial. Clases de 4 horas a cursarse los días sábados de
por medio.
Arancel: 1 pago de $300, 2 pagos de $160, 3 pagos de $110
Fechas y Horarios según cada módulo
Módulo
Fechas: sábados 05/04, 19/04, 03/05, 17/05, 31/05, 14/06 del 2008
Módulo
Fechas: sábados 29/03, 12/04, 26/04, 10/05, 24/05, 07/06 del 2008
Módulo
Fechas: sábados 05/04,19/04, 03/05, 17/05, 31/05, 14/06 del 2008
Objetivos
El curso trabaja la fonética desde el punto de vista de la propia
producción, buscando desde el entendimiento de la propia práctica la manera de
ser concientes de los errores que cometen nuestros alumnos, logrando así el
curso su doble objetivo: mejorar la producción propia, y aprender a corregir a
los demás.
Los módulos son de cursada correlativa, se cursan y abonan en la sede de
Capital Federal, Paraná 145, piso 2
Para más información comunicarse al 4580-7263, de lunes a sábados de
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.- SEMINAR ON HOW TO TEACH
BEGINNER-ELEMENTARY CLASSES
TS Eliot
announces a seminar on Methodology
by Analía
Kandel
Saturday,
April 19th - 10-12.30 am:
Starting from Square One: How to Teach Beginner-Elementary Classes
Erstwhile
teachers presented beginner learners with tiresome, pointless drills in a bid
to help them trudge through the controlled practice stage of language
acquisition. Today we know that by adding a game-like, communicative element to
early grammar, vocabulary and skills practice teachers ensure that students
acquire language in an effective, fun and memorable way. This eminently
practical workshop will present a vast and varied repertoire of games and
activities that teachers can use in class and thus experience the joy – and
challenge – of teaching beginners.
Coordinator: Analía Kandel, M.A.
Analía
was awarded a Master of Arts in TEFL from the University of Reading,
Her main
pedagogical and research area is the teaching of writing and vocabulary, as
well as teacher education and testing and evaluation.
Fee: $ 30
Venue: TS
Eliot- Leandro. N. Alem 1380 – Banfield –
Certificates
of attendance - Coffee on the house
Please
enrol early – Vacancies are limited -
Office
hours: Monday through Friday 4-9 p.m.
Phone
4202-3672 or contact us at info@tseliot.com.ar
Web site:
www.tseliot.com.ar
The CUNY Phonology Forum would like to announce that the presentations from
the recent Conference on the Syllable have all been posted to our website.
You can find the abstracts and handouts/slides (and some full papers) from almost all of the presentations (talks and posters) in addition to podcasts for the talks at:
http://www.cunyphonologyforum.net/syllable.php
We would also like to call your attention to the recording and transcript of an informal discussion the participants participated in on the Friday of this conference.
The discussion was centered around attempting to find consensus about "the reasons for the syllable". One concrete result from this discussion period is the creation of a wiki to further pursue and develop this discussion.
Information about how you can participate in the wiki is available at the above website.
Enjoy.
Chuck
Eric Raimy,
Organizers of the CUNY Phonology Forum
-------------------------------------------------------------------
12.- NEWS FROM
WISE: SPECIAL INTEREST SEMINARS
Teaching English With The Internet!
By Marina Cantarutti
Computers and the Internet have revolutionized the
entire world and our students’ lives as well. Why not also transform our
classrooms?
Practical workshop with e-tips and internet resources
for a definite class
upgrade!
Contemporary Literature Revisited
By Daniel Ferreira
A special journey in the light of contemporary
narrative full of stories to analyze, enjoy and reflect upon. Do not miss this
chance to slide back into the Literary world!
Intensive Business English I
Prof. Carlos Galizzi is back with a new intensive
version of his well sought-after seminars!
For more information click
the following link:
http://www.wise-elt.com/htms_english/seminars/form.php
Or contact us at: info@wise-elt.com or
54-11-4772-8522
Dear
Colleagues, A lot of teachers called us willing to
attend our seminars "Contemporary
Literature Revisited" and "Intensive Business English I" on a Saturday, therefore we decided to change the corresponding
dates and prices (groups will be bigger).
"Contemporary
Literature Revisited" will be held on Saturday,
April 26. Venue to confirm. From 930 to 1730. "Intensive Business English I" Saturday, May 24 from 930 to 1730.
A lot of teachers are also interested
in "Teaching English with the
Internet" which will be held on Saturday, May
10. We thank you all very much for your interest and look forward to seeing you
in the Seminars!
WISE.
Event Organization Team
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
13.- IATEFL
IATEFL
Online
conference coverage of the 42nd IATEFL Conference
The
The
British Council and IATEFL have launched the
The
- Video
recordings of selected sessions
- Audio
recordings of selected sessions
- Live
streamed plenaries and events
-
Moderated special interest discussion forums
- Chat
sessions
- Blogs
and photo albums
To visit
the
The first
time you visit the site, you'll need to create your own free user account. Just
follow the easy instructions.
This
initiative builds on the earlier collaboration between the British Council and
IATEFL in
The
launch of the
We look
forward to meeting you online, and hope that you will share this information
with your colleagues worldwide.
Gavin
Dudeney Secretary, IATEFL
Julian
Wing British Council
Nik
Peachey IATEFL Online Editor
What is IATEFL?
IATEFL is
the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language.
Founded in the
For more
information on the conference, how to get there and what you can see there,
visit the IATEFL website http://www.iatefl.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
14.- BERNARD SHAW: READER’S THEATRE AT THE
BRITISH ARTS CENTRE
Bernard
Shaw. Teatro leído por el Actors Repertory Theatre,
Como parte de las
actividades celebrando el décimo aniversario del British Arts Center, el, Actors Repertory Theatre presentará un
selección de obras cortas y escenas de Bernard Shaw, elegidas para mostrar su
manera de tratar a figuras históricas quitándoles la pomposidad y pátina
de las historias oficiales y mostrando
sus flaquezas, siempre basado en el humor y la ironía del gran autor irlandés.
Estas
presentaciones de teatro leído se harán el Jueves 17
de Abril, y el Jueves 24 de Abril a las 21
horas. En el British Arts Center, Suipacha 1333.
Duración: 1 hora
aproximadamente - Entrada $10.
Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
es uno de los grandes dramaturgos de la lengua inglesa. Este irlandés, contemporáneo de Oscar Wilde, se hizo famoso por su postura política
socialista llevada al teatro, por su
humor punzante: “La juventud es magnifica. Es un crímen que se desperdicie en
los jóvenes”, por su temáticas
socialmente incómodas, como
St Joan Act 1.
Caesar And Cleopatra Act 1 Scene 1
The Dark Lady of the Sonnets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
15.- LAURA SZMUCH’S BLOG FOR TEACHERS
Los invito a participar en el nuevo blog que he creado para docentes.
En mis viajes y capacitaciones las maestras y profesoras (los hombres
también :) ), suelen quejarse acerca de
que no tienen acceso a información relacionada con lo que yo enseño.
Como no todos pueden venirse a Buenos Aires a los cursos, esta es una
manera de mantenernos cerca.
Este espacio es para nosotros, para juntarnos a debatir, opinar,
intercambiar ideas,
contenernos emocionalmente, ayudarnos, unirnos, disentir, estar de acuerdo,
compartir información, darnos una mano, desarrollarnos, crecer, atrevernos,
ser partícipes y protagonistas de la transformación que queremos ver en la
educación y en los sistemas educativos... por supuesto, desde nosotros... ¡los
docentes!
http://pnleneducacionyalgomas.blogspot.com/
Laura
Szmuch
Trainer
PNL
-----------------------------------------------------------
16.- CETI:
CURSOS DE CAPACITACIÓN 2008
Actividades De Capacitación 2008
El CETI se complace en anunciar las nuevas propuestas para sus cursos de
capacitación y actualización profesional y compartir con estudiantes y colegas
los proyectos orientados a que los asistentes estén mejor preparados para
enfrentar el mercado laboral:
Curso de perito intérprete para traductores públicos
Curso de interpretación de conferencias (inglés - español)
Curso de interpretación de conferencias (portugués - español)
Curso de traducción para subtitulado y doblaje
Taller de actualización en lengua inglesa
Taller de traducción de textos médicos
Lunes Martes Miércoles Jueves
Interpretación de Conferencias (segundo y tercer año)
Interpretación de Conferencias (portugués)
Interpretación de Conferencias (primer año)
Actualización en Lengua Inglesa
Traducción para Subtitulado y Doblaje Perito Intérprete
Traducción de Textos Médicos
Ingrese a nuestro sitio Web para mayor información
Curso de Perito Intérprete
Para traductores públicos
Objetivos: Complementar la formación del traductor público de idioma inglés
para que éste se pueda desempeñar como perito intérprete a través de la
adquisición de técnicas de interpretación de conferencias aplicables a la
mayoría de las situaciones laborales del perito intérprete en el ámbito del
sistema judicial argentino.
Contenidos generales: Teoría y práctica de la interpretación consecutiva.
Adquisición de técnicas para la interpretación: primera vista, toma de notas
(método Rozan), reformulación de discursos, entre otras. Material graduado por
nivel de dificultad en términos de complejidad conceptual y terminológica,
velocidad y acentos. Adquisición de cultura profesional.
Práctica a partir de cassettes, videos y oradores en vivo. Simulacros de
peritajes
Primer módulo: Fundamentación teórica del fenómeno de la interpretación.
Práctica intensiva de interpretación a primera vista. Técnicas para la
interpretación consecutiva en situaciones de enlace (liaison). Técnicas de
investigación enciclopédica, terminológica y fraseológica.
Estrategias para contar con una cultura dinámica. Aplicación especifica en
el ámbito judicial argentino. Características de la labor del perito
intérprete.
Coordinación: Olga Álvarez de Barr traductora pública e intérprete de
conferencias, miembro del CTPCBA (Colegio de Traductores Públicos de
Admisión: En función de un diagnóstico desarrollado durante una entrevista
personal.
Duración: tres cuatrimestres. Articulable con el Curso de Interpretación de
Conferencias.
A partir del 2 de abril, los días miércoles de
Curso de Interpretación de Conferencias
Idiomas de trabajo: Inglés-Español y Portugués-Español.
Contenido: Teoría y práctica de la interpretación consecutiva y simultánea.
Adquisición de técnicas para la interpretación: primera vista, toma de notas
(método Rozan), susurro, reformulación de discursos, etc. Material graduado por
nivel de dificultad en términos de complejidad conceptual y terminológica,
velocidad y acentos. Adquisición de cultura profesional. Práctica a partir de
cassettes, videos y oradores en vivo. Simulacros de conferencias.
Coordinación: Olga Álvarez de Barr, intérprete de conferencias, miembro de
AIIC, ADICA y APIC.
Admisión: En función de un diagnóstico desarrollado durante una entrevista
personal.
Inglés: a partir del 2 de abril, los días miércoles de
Portugués: a partir del 1º de abril, los días martes de
Curso de Traducción para Subtitulado y Doblaje
Duración: Seis meses
Contenido: Teoría de la traducción del material audiovisual. Práctica de
traducción para subtitulado, con especial atención a los problemas culturales.
Aspectos técnicos del subtitulado. Sitcoms, videos para entretenimiento.
Práctica de traducción de textos creativos del inglés al español. Metodología
para el abordaje de la traducción de material técnico-científico. Práctica de
traducción de documentales y videos institucionales. Voice-over y doblaje.
Clases especiales de español. Trabajo con softwares específicos. Herramientas
utilizadas en el mercado. Charlas sobre panorama profesional con productores de
videos y directores de doblaje.
Coordinación: Julia Benseñor, traductora pública y técnico científica,
directora del CETI.
A partir del 1º de abril, los días martes de
Talleres bimestrales de lengua y traducción
Abril y mayo 2008
Actualización en lengua inglesa
El registro y la selección léxica y sintáctica. El léxico característico de
las distintas áreas semánticas. Colocaciones. La lengua y sus aspectos
socioculturales. Género. El lenguaje tabú.
El lenguaje políticamente correcto. La lengua y el poder. La gramática en
acción: lo correcto, lo usable, y lo aceptable. Práctica a partir de diarios y
revistas de actualidad, escenas de películas y programas de la televisión
británica y estadounidense.
A cargo de Alfredo Jaeger, MSc en ELT Management, Gran Bretaña. Profesor
Titular de Lengua y Literatura Inglesa, IES en Lenguas Vivas "Juan R.
Fernández". Ex consultor del Proyecto OEA/CONET en el área de Inglés con
Fines Específicos.
A partir del 3 de abril, los días jueves de
Traducción de textos médicos (Módulo I)
Taller de traducción del inglés al español de textos introductorios de
medicina. Características generales del discurso médico. Prefijos y sufijos.
Informes, fragmentos de manuales e historias clínicas. Terminología y
fraseología especializadas. A cargo de Pamela Fioravanti, traductora pública y
técnico-científica especializada en medicina. Colaboradora de instituciones
hospitalarias.
A partir del 3 de abril, los días jueves de
Módulo II: a partir del 5 de junio. Duración: 8 clases.
Inscripción y aranceles
Vacantes: 12 por taller
Horario de inscripción:de
Aranceles (Incluye el material)
Interpretación de Conferencias (primer año): 8 cuotas mensuales de $240 +
matrícula de $120
Perito Intérprete (primer año): 8 cuotas mensuales de $240 + matrícula de
$120
Traducción para subtitulado y doblaje: 6 cuotas mensuales de $200
Talleres bimestrales de lengua y traducción: $220 por mes
Forma de pago: Consultar por correo electrónico
Se expiden constancias de asistencia
Bonificaciones para asistentes a más de un curso
CETI
Centro de Traducción e Interpretación
Junín 143
C1026ABC Buenos Aires - República Argentina
Telefax: (54 11) 4953-1212
ceti-talleres@datamarkets.com.ar
-----------------------------------------------------------
17.- COURSE ON MASTERING BUSINESS ENGLISH
Adults
MBE Mastering Business English es BEC Higher y más!
Curso
especialmente diseñado para todos aquellos alumnos que tengan por objetivo el
dominio del inglés de negocios y busquen a su vez un espacio de debate y
perfeccionamiento en temas variados, por ejemplo: Management,-Leadership,
International Business, Marketing, Finance, Law, Recruitment, Project
Management,
E-business etc.
Además se realizarán Workshops de integración de contenidos, Ej.: Making Successful Presentations, Dealing with Negotiations
Material
especializado del Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, etc
Clases
presenciales, tutorías personalizadas y seguimiento online de los participantes
Pre-Inscripciones
Abiertas
Cupo Máx: 10
participantes
Inicio: 7 de
Abril
Matrícula
Inscripción: $100
4 hs. semanales +
2 hs. coaching opcionales
(*) Consultar
descuento corporativo.
British Shool
Nueva Córdoba
Tel 468 3205 Av.
Poeta Lugones 494
nuevacordoba@britishschoolcba.com.ar
British Shool
Cerro de las Rosas
Tel 4812104 José
Roque Funes 1511
http://www.britishschoolcba.com.ar
------------------------------------------------------------
18.- STORYTELLING IN
L2 : ON-GOING SEMINAR
From
Story Reading to Storytelling
By
Fabiana Parano
“What the
ear does not hear, will not feel the heart”
Frequency:
twice a month, during April and May
Organization:
4 modules of approx. 2 hours
When and
Where?
In
Belgrano: April 11th, April 25th, May 9th, May 23rd
from 6.30
am to 8.30 pm
In
Caballito: April 9th, April 23rd, May 7th, May 21st
from 6.30
to 8.30 pm
The
Story. How to tell any story to any student, leaving language constraints aside.
The
Storyteller
The
Characters
Limited
vacancies
Certificates
of attendance will be issued
Cost: $60
per month
For
enrolment and further information, contact: fabianaparano@hotmail.com or call: 4784-9616 or 15 4187-2017
Biodata
Fabiana
Parano is an ELT Consultant, Writer and Storyteller. She holds a Self-esteem
Practitioner Degree (SEAL
She has
given workshops and presentations throughout the country.She has also written
stories based on the observation of daily conflicts within/among students,
which she indulges in sharing with her varied audiences. Fabiana has been a
School Headmistress (
------------------------------------------------------------
19.- THE
SUBURBAN PLAYERS: WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW?
The Suburban Players present:
Will you Love me tomorrow?
A comedy of relationships
Directed by July Banner, Laura Riera & Sylveen
Smith
Champagne Opening: Friday, April 18th - 9 pm.
at The Playhouse -
Tickets: $ 20 -
/ 20% discount for groups of 10 or more
Performances: Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. - Sundays
at 7 p.m.
Until May 4
NOTE: Some
scenes contain adult humor
Reservations : Tel: 4747-4470
Online:
www.thesuburbanplayers.com/reservations
e-mail: info@thesuburbanplayers.com
------------------------------------------------------------
20.- DIPLOMA UNIVERSITARIO EN PROYECTOS DE
E-LEARNING
Net-Learning y
Diploma Universitario En "Diseño, Gestión Y Evaluación De Proyectos De
E-Learning Y Formación Virtual"
Duración: 500 Horas, 9 Meses
Inicio: 22 de abril de 2008 (Descuentos por inscripción en marzo)
Profesores de España, USA, Alemania y Argentina. Modalidad virtual.
UNSAM. Resolución Rectoral: 446/07, Resolución de Consejo Superior: 244/07
Otros Cursos Virtuales:
Implementando E-Learning Con Moodle. 2- Tutoría. Herramientas
colaborativas: Wikis. Sloodle.
Inicio: 6 de mayo
Duración: 5 semanas
Implementando E-Learning Con Moodle. 3- Herramientas para el diseño de
cursos, objetos de aprendizaje, scorm.
Inicio: 17 de junio
Duración: 5 semanas
Más información: www.net-learning.com.ar / info@net-learning.com.ar
Tel: (011) 4796-0181 / (011) 4464-0350 – desde el exterior (54 11)
4796-0181
Fax: (011) 4032-1247 – desde el exterior (1-315) 71-1615
------------------------------------------------------------
21.- NEWS FROM HELBLING LANGUAGES
Helbling
Languages takes pleasure in announcing these workshops
Vulgar English
Saturday
5 April, 10:00 to 13:00
Fee: $35
In this
workshop we broach the subject of taboo words, vulgarities and insults. We
discover the hidden meanings of innocent looking words and we reflect on how
languages differ when expressing violence, anger and some biological processes.
We attempt to answer the often asked question. “How do you say...”which lots of
students put to us. We will listen to a comedian elaborating on the seven words
you cannot say on the radio or TV. Participants will receive a full set of
exercises, an answer key, and an annotated bibliography.
Helping Students Manage Their Learning
Saturday
5 April, 14:30 to 17:00.
This
academic session is sponsored by HELBLING LANGUAGES. Admission free for those
who attend the VULGAR ENGLISH workshop.
Others:
$10
In this
presentation, we will deal with some apparently simple ideas which however can
make a big difference in the way that students tackle the task of learning. It
will be argued that students need to know, among other things, that foreign
language learning is not linear, and that their beliefs, attitudes, and the
language they use when communicating with themselves can determine their
success or failure in achieving their goals. We will also examine some memory
strategies which students can use to optimize their learning.
Really Practical: Activities You Can Use Right Away
Saturday
12 April, 10:00 to 13:00.
Fee: $30
This
workshop will present a number of activities which participants will be able to
use in their classes right away without the need of elaborate aids. We will explore ways to make our lessons more
interesting, to encourage our students to be more creative, and to present
information in a way which is memorable. We will make use of simple visual
aids, traditional stories, and recall exercises, to develop an atmosphere conducive
to effective learning. We will present activities such as The Johari Window,
Snap, the disappearing sentence and the ever intriguing mental telepathy. This
session is a revised version of “Ideas That Work”.
Key Issues in Developing Writing Skills
Saturday
12 April, 14:30 to 17:00.
This
academic session is sponsored by Helbling Languages
Admission
free for those who attend the Really Practical workshop
Others:
$10
In this
pre-eminently practical session we will consider some of the factors that often
make writing neither the students’ nor the teachers’ favourite activity. We
will then examine a number of tasks that will enable the learners to gain
confidence in their capacity to write.
All
sessions will be held at the TEL Center, Thames 511, Palermo, CABA
Registrations:
newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar
All of
the workshops will be conducted by Oriel E. Villagarcia
Profesor en inglés Magna Cum Laude, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, British
Council and Fulbright Scholar, post graduate studies, University of Texas,
M.A., University of Lancaster. He has taught at the Univiversidad Católica de
Salta, Univ. Nacional de Rio Cuarto, and Universidad Nacional de Santiago del
Estero.
------------------------------------------------------------
22.- CURSOS DE INGRESO A
Cursos de ingreso a la docencia para escuelas plurilingües
Para profesores de inglés, francés, italiano y portugués con título docente
o alumnos avanzados de profesorados de estas lenguas.
Inglés
Viernes de
Comienza el 11 de abril de 2008.
Inscripción
Hasta el comienzo de los cursos en la sede central CePA, Av. Santa Fe 4360,
5° piso, de lunes a viernes de
Los cursantes deben disponer de un día (lunes, martes, jueves o viernes) en
horario escolar para realizar una instancia de observación. Estos cursos son
condición para el ingreso a los listados de las escuelas plurilingües.
Duración: 60 horas cátedra.
Escuela de Capacitación Docente - Centro de Pedagogías de Anticipación
Av. Santa Fe 4360 5º piso.
Teléfonos:
4772-4028 / 4039 / 3768
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We would like to finish this issue of SHARE with a quotation that may boost our morale after an exhausting “conversation” lesson in class or when we finish marking the fiftieth essay in a row:
A
good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you
add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special
Nelson Mandela
Let’s keep on fighting hard to give our students a literate pen and tongue and that pray God give them a good head and, above all, a good heart.
Dear Omar and Marina
HAVE A
WONDERFUL WEEK!
Omar and
Marina.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHARE is
distributed free of charge. All announcements in this electronic magazine are
also absolutely free of charge. We do not endorse any of the services announced
or the views expressed by the contributors. For more information about
the characteristics and readership of SHARE visit: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShareMagazine
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