· Sources of variation in language learning(Rebecca L. Oxford)

· Focus on Language Learner: Motivation, Styles and Strategies (Andrew D. Cohen and Zoltán Dörnyei)

Students: Natalia Lopez

Marlen Rojas

Date: April 17th, 2008

Professor: Katica Oblinobic

Sources of variation in language learning

Why do some ESL students learn much more quickly than others?

Contextual Sources (Background) Individual Student’s characteristics

Large Culture:I/C and TOA affect

language learning

Small culture:

Demagogic Factors:

Stylistic Factors: Brain, Learning styles, Field Dependence (FD)Field Independence (FI)

Personality types.

Cognitive and Affective factors:Second v/s Foreign

Language:SL environment, FL environment, Hybrid

environment.

Influences ethnic, national or international interaction with the

Learners.

Different beliefs and values can also limit language achievement and goals. Learner’s differences v/s teacher’s differences (troubles) , but they can be modified through activities.

Saleh (1997) > Individualism/collectivism (I/C) and Cultural Tolerance of ambiguity (TOA), affect language learning.

Large Culture :

Classroom, street and self access to learning are the main factors which also affect learning process.

Teachers’ treatment can be: Autocratic, Democratic or Laissez-faire (let it be). The 2nd model is the one that students enjoy more.

In this context: Which are the most common stumbling blocks for second language learners?

Small culture:

Related to different environments.

SL environment : Natural inputs of the target language FL environment : Target language is not the main mean of

communication eg. English learning in Japan.

Hybrid environment : ESL/EFL environment, eg. Puerto Rico

Second v/s Foreign Language:

Styles, Approach to Learning or problem-solving as Brain Hemisphericity, learning styles and personality.

Brain: Activity, Damage, Gender Differences.Left side: Logical/Verbal Right side:Emotional/Creative

Learning styles and academic choices are related to hemisphericity of the brain.

Learning styles: How people learn from different types of interactions.

Sensory Preferences: Visual/Auditory/Kinesthetic/Tactile.

Stylistic Factors:

Field Dependence (FD) Rely on external points of reference (context). Social language skins.

Field Independence (FI) Rely on internal points of reference ( Analytic language learning).

Personality types: extroverted/introverted, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving .

What side of the brain do you think was more developed in the case of Mozart, Picasso and Shakespeare?

The Brain Game

Includes motivación, self-referencial judgements, anxiety and language clearing strategies.

What are the main motivations to learn a new language?

Gender, Age, Home language and Foreign travel experience.*Differences between males and females.*The critical period (before puberty) *Development of language skills

Cognitive and Affective factors:

Demographic Factors:

Focus on the language learner:

Motivation, Styles and Strategies

Focus on the language learner: Motivation, Styles and Strategies

Learner Characteristics: Success rely on different factors such as Intensity of a course, abilities, methodologies and characteristics of a teacher, qualities of the learners’ material, the language practice and of course features of the students, some of them which are beyond the teacher’s control and others that actually

can be motivated.

Learners who are successful may indeed be highly motivated, do you think they became successful because of

their motivation?

Focus on the language learner: Motivation, Styles and Strategies

Learner Characteristics

Characteristics Outside the teacher’s control

Language Aptitude

Age and Gender

Motivation

The Social Nature of L2 Motivation

Motivation as a Dynamic Process

Motives to Learn a L2

Executive motivationMotivating LarnersLearning style

Learning strategies

learning strategies use strategies Self-motivating strategiesDefinition

Communication strategies

Cognitive, Meta-cognitive, Affective and social Strategies

Self- motivating StrategiesPedagogical Implications:

the Intersection of Motivation,

Styles and Strategies

Skill Areas&

Characteristics Outside the teacher’s control :

Demographic Variables.

Language Aptitude: Learning effectiveness: Type of learning and the amount of energy

to acquire new language information. Teachers can compensate this factor with motivation and the use of

proper strategies.

Motivation: Motivation : Employing certain methods it is possible to change learners motivation in a positive direction.

The Social Nature of L2 Motivation: Learning a new language involves not only adoption of new grammar or vocabulary, but entails learning an entire new culture and even behaviour.

To increase effectiveness of instruction

Motives to Learn a L2Integrative Orientation, Instrumental Orientation,The Integrative

Motive (Integrativeness, Attitudes, Motivation)

Executive motivation1.-Percives quality of the learning experience.2.- “Autonomy” (self determination)3.- Motivational retrospection : To look back and evaluate

Motivation as a Dynamic Process(Motivating Learners)Accordong to Dörnyei Creating the basic motivational conditions Generating initial student motivation Maintaining and protecting motivation Encouraging positive retrospective self evaluation

Learning Styles Teachers can modify the learning task to get best results and to

incorporate differents approaches (Style-stretching)

Being Visual, auditory or hand-on Being more extroverted versus introverted Being more abstract and intuitive versus more concrete and thinking in

step-by-step sequence. Being more global versus more particular Being more synthesizing versus being more analytic

Juanito is in English class but he was drawing while the teacher spoke. However he understood the whole class.

Why?

Learning strategiesStrategy definitions Language learning strategies

Language use strategiesRetrieval strategiesRehearsal strategiesCommunication strategiesCover strategies

Self-motivating strategies

Communication strategies(Dönyei)

Communication strategies

Avoidance or reduction Message abandonmentTopic avoidance

Achievement or compensatory CircumlocutionApproximationWord coinageUse of non-linguistic meansLiteral translationForeignizingCode switching

Stalling or time-gaining Use of fillees and other hesitation advices

Interactional Appeal for helpAsking for repetitionAsking for clarificationAsking for confirmationExpressing non-understandingInterpretive summary

Cognitive, Meta-cognitive, Affective and social Strategies

Classifying Strategies According to Skill Areas

Listening Strategies to increase exposure to the new language

Strategies to become more familiar with the sounds in the new language

Strategies for better understanding the new language in conversation

When listening in L2 languageIf some or most of what someone says in the

language is not understood

Reading Related to reading habits in the target language

Basic reading strategiesWhen encountering unknown words and

structures

* Cognitive, Metacognitive, Affective, Social Strategies.Classifying Strategies According to Skill Areas

Speaking In order to practise for spekingIn order to engage in conversationsIncapacity to think of a word or expression

Writing Basic writing strategiesWhile writing an essayOnce a draft essay has been written

Vocabulary estrategy To memorize new wordsIn order to review vocabularyIn order to recall vocabularyAs a way of making use of new vocabulary

Strategic use of traslation In order to enhance language learning and useTo work directly in the target language as much as possible

Self- motivating Strategies Commitment control strategies. Meta-cognitive control strategies Satiation control strategies Emotion control strategies Environmental control strategies

Pedagogical Implications: the Intersection of Motivation, Styles

and StrategiesSteps for Style and Strategies- based InstructionWhich styles learners favour?Provide guide exercises to practiceEncourage students to find their own strategiesStudents share about their own techniques

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