How to Learn a Foreign Language—What You “Really”

How to Learn a Foreign
Language—What You “Really”
Need To Know
Dr. Michael A. Brookshaw
Department of English and Foreign Languages
Winston-Salem State University
June 28, 2007
Goal
• To provide basic information necessary
for a clear understanding of the “true”
nature of learning a second language.
Quote
• “ A man who does not know a foreign
language does not know his own.”
---Goethe
Goal of all Foreign Language
Study
• To communicate with a native speaker
of the language
What is Language?
• Language, the principle means used by
human beings to communicate with one
another. Language is primarily spoken,
although it can be transferred to other
media, such as writing.
• MSN Encarta
General Language Facts…
• Over 6,800 Tongues
• 8 Countries account for more than half
of all languages
• There are 832 languages in Papua New
Guinea
• India has 15 official languages
• Over 1000 languages are spoken in
Africa
Most Widely Spoken Languages
in the World
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1. Chinese (Mandarin)
2. English
3. Hindustani
4. Spanish
5. Russian
6. Arabic
7. Bengali
8. Portuguese
9. Malay-Indonesian
10. French
1,075,000,000
514,000,000
1496,000,000
425,000,000
275,000,000
256,000,000
215,000,000
194,000,000
176,000,000
129,000,000
Rationale for Learning Another
Language?
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Knowing another language brings opportunities
Better knowledge of other peoples & cultures
Read and understand more
Employment advantages
The World is at Your Fingertips
You become a Citizen of the World (Globalization)
General Reasons People Learn
a Second Language…
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Personal
Professional
Social
Educational
What do People Generally Speak
About?
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Family
Business
Personal Care
Travel
Food
What is language really about?
• According to Ricardo Gonzalez it is about
patterns, time expression. He notes:
• There are 15 ways to express time
• A word must be repeated 15 times to be
stored in long term memory; a structure 60
times
• The Parts of Language Make the Whole
• Repetition is the “Mother” of all Learning
Second Language Acquisition
• An understanding of second language acquisition can
improve the ability of mainstream teachers to serve
the culturally and linguistically diverse students in
their classrooms (Fillmore & Snow, 2002; Hamayan,
1990). While significant professional development is
necessary to gain a full understanding of second
language acquisition theory, some key concepts can
be quickly understood and applied in the classroom.
• Current theories of second language acquisition are
based on years of research in a wide variety of fields,
including linguistics, psychology, sociology,
anthropology, and neurolinguistics (Freeman &
Freeman, 2001).
How Languages are Learned
• Learning a Second Language Involves an
Understanding of Second Language Acquisition and
Includes:
• How the First Language is Learned
• Theoretical Approaches to Second Language
Learning
• Factors Affecting Second Language Learning
• Learner Language
• Second Language Teaching and Learning in the
Classroom
• Myths and Facts about Language Learning
Language Learning Myths:
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Learning a language is fast and easy.
Children learn languages better
Adults are too old to learn a language
Fluency is easily accomplished
Why Spanish?
• The historical connection
• 4th largest Spanish Speaking population
in U.S.
• 2000 mile border with Mexico
• Current demographic reality
• Continental reality of the Hispanic world
• Dissolving Borders: Globalization
The Spanish Speaking World
400,000,000 speakers
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Venezuela, 21,000,000
Colombia, 35,000,000
Ecuador, 5,000,000
Perú, 23,000,000
Chile, 14,000,000
Argentina, 34,000,000
Uruguay,3,000,000
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Bolivia, 7,000,000
México, 93,000,000
Guatemala, 10,000,000
El Salvador, 5,000,000
Honduras, 5,000,000
Nicaragua, 4,000,000
The Spanish Speaking World
400,000,000 speakers (2)
• República Dominicana,
7,000,000
• Puerto Rico, 3,000,000
• Las Filipinas, 3,000,000
• Estados Unidos,
25,000,000
• Costa Rica, 3,000,000
• España, 39,000,000
• Guinea Ecuatorial,
500,000
• Cuba, 11,000,000
• Uruguay, 3,000,000
• Panamá, 2,000,000
• Paraguay, 5,000,000
The Spanish You Already
Know
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Mosquito
Chocolate
Banco
Radio
Discoteca
Vitaminas
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presidente
mamá
animal
especial
constitución
ángel
More Spanish You Already
Know
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Montana
Nevada
Colorado
Arizona
Florida
California
Spanish in the last 10
years…(1)
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Surge in the Spanish population nationally
Spanish is more of a necessity than a choice
Spoken by 39 million Hispanics
Not speaking Spanish can be a handicap
There is nothing foreign about Spanish
anymore
• Spanish dominates all other languages in the
public schools
Spanish in the last 10
years…(2)
• The need in the workplace for Spanish
is tremendous
• The president,himself, gives his radio
address in Spanish
• Language and culture of Latin America
have flooded the nation
• 83% of college students study Spanish
• Demographics demand that you learn
Spanish
Spanish Facts… (1)
• The second language of the U.S.
• Hispanics are the largest minority
• The U.S. has the 4th largest Spanish
population in the world.
• Hispanics are becoming politically and
economically powerful.
• The U.S. is being “Hispanized”
Spanish Facts… (2)
• The U.S used to be Mexico until 1848
• The U.S. has a intimate history with all
things Spanish.
• Hispanic language, art, culture have
exploded.
• Our heritage is locked in Spanish
• The U.S. has always had Spanish
influence
What a Good Language Learner Needs to
Have for a Successful Experience
• Basic Understanding of and information about
Language
• Positive Attitude about Second Language Learning
Process
• A Desire to Communicate with Someone who Speaks
a Language Different from your Own
• Commitment to the Language Learning process
• A Basic Language Foundation (words- 1500-2000)
• Appropriate Strategies and Techniques (method)
• Time to Learn and to Practice
• Memory Ability
• Realistic language goals and objectives
What Can Learning a Second
Language do for Me?
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Improve Analyzing Skills
Enhance creativity
Increase English Vocabulary
Change Cultural Attitudes
Augment Higher Order Thinking Skills
Enhance Memory
Improve Writing in English
Improve Test Taking Abilities
Enhance the Learning of the Native Language &
Culture
• Enhance Knowledge of Cultural Diversity
A view on language learning…
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“Many of us have the experience of trying to learn another language and
then giving up because it is too demanding, which translates into not
making the progress we expect.
This is why you have an enormous advantage as soon as you realize
that learning a language is not straight-forward. This understanding
means that you can actually start to learn it without being discouraged
when your progress is slower than you want it to be. You can improve
because you are in the position to set yourself realistic and achievable
goals, and you can reach these precisely because they are realistic.
Learning a language is a long term occupation and you have to return
again and again to words, expressions and grammar that you have
already learned and then forgotten. It is true that there are exceptional
individuals who soak up new languages easily as adults, but they are in
a tiny minority.”
www.downloadalanguage.com
Congressman Paul Simon,
1980
• “The United States has fallen far behind
other nations in foreign language skills
and this decline creates certain
problems and challenges.”
• “At every port of entry into the United
States we should erect a sign:
• -WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES• WE CANNOT SPEAK YOUR
LANGUAGE
John Naisbitt (1982)
Megatrends
Thinking Globally…
For Americans, it is self evident that this is the
time to learn another language--and learn it well.
The size, proximity, and economic promises of
Latin America make Spanish an attractive
choice…. To be really successful, you will have to
be trilingual: fluent in English, Spanish, and
computer.
--p.78
Review
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Goal: Basic Information on Language learning
Definition of Language
General Language Facts
Rationale for Language Learning
The Nature of Language
Second Language Acquisition
Language Myths
The Reality of the Spanish-Speaking World
Traits of a Good Language Learner
Benefits of Learning a Second Language
Final Quotes…
• “Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.”
-Nelson Mandela
• “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those
who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
-Alvin Toffler
• “We must be the change we wish to see.”
-Gandhi

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