SAY IT FORWARD!Learn a language. Pass it on!

Virginia M. ScottNovember 2013

Copyright Virginia M. Scott 2013

All Rights Reserved

“Pay it forward”“I do not pretend to give such a deed; I only lend it to you. When you

[...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me

by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a

like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another

opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets

with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing

a deal of good with a little money.”

Benjamin Franklin, 1784

“Pay it forward”The term was popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1951 book Between Planets.

“Pay it forward”In 2000, Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novel Pay It

Forward was published and adapted into a

Warner Brothers film. In the story the term is

described as an obligation to do three good

deeds for others in response to a good deed

that one receives. In this way, the practice of

helping one another can spread

geometrically through society, at a ratio of

three to one, creating a social movement

with an impact of making the world a

better place.

What’s the IT?

SAY IT FORWARD!Learn a language. Pass it on!

PAIR WORK:

WHAT’S THE

IT ?

Language Awareness

Language Awareness

A person’s sensitivity to and conscious awareness of the nature of language and its role in human life. (Svalberg)

LANGUAGE TEACHING

VS.

LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Language teaching …

Learn about a particular language and culture.

Develop skills in a particular language. (speaking, reading, writing, listening)

Language education …Develop language awareness.

In what ways are the languages you speak part of your identity?

What is the difference between your language and your nationality?

What is a “native speaker”? Are you a native speaker of a particular

language?

Does your native language give you a sense of power? A sense of

belonging to a group? Explain.

Have you ever felt like a “language outsider”?

Language education …Develop language awareness.

What languages are/are not “cool”? Why?

Describe stereotypes associated with particular language groups.

Name some languages spoken by people in power. Name some

spoken by marginalized people.

In what ways can learning a second language give you power?

What does it mean to be “a global citizen”?

Can you be a global citizen without leaving home?

Language education …

… goes beyond an exclusive focus on learning the target language and learning about the target culture.

… places critical reflection about oneself, one’s own language and culture, and the target language and culture at the heart of foreign language education.

QUESTION?

(pair work)

Does this notion of language education offer insight into what students might “say forward”?

The language learnerAffect

feelings (fear, joy, sadness)

Cognition

understanding / awareness

Motivation

desire / willingness to do something

The language learner

AFFECT

COGNITION MOTIVATION

IDEAL SELF

The language learner

If a learner is aware of the role that language plays

in his/her life, and feels that knowing a second

language can be an important part of his/her ideal

self, s/he will be motivated to

SAY IT FORWARD !!

Language Awareness ForumWe are doing a research project at Vanderbilt to assess the ways language awareness affects novice-level students’ motivation to be lifelong learners of French.

Three times during the semester we devote a class period to a “Language Awareness Forum” presentation in English and ask students to write a short reflection essay.

1) Language and Identity

2) Bilingualism

3) Intercultural Awareness and Global Citizenship

BibliographyByram, Michael. (2012). Language Awareness and (Critical) Cultural Awareness:

Relationships, Comparisons and Contrasts. Language Awareness 21(1-2): 5–13.

Garrett, Peter & and Carl James. (2000). Language Awareness. In M. Byram (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning. London: Routledge, 2000.

Svalberg, Agneta M-L. (2007). Language Awareness and Language Learning. Language Teaching 40(4): 287–308.

Scott, Virginia, Eva Dessein, Julian Ledford & Annette Joseph-Gabriel. (2013). Language Awareness in the French Classroom. The French Review 86(6): 90-102.