George Goodsell, Wilsonton State SchoolAnn Dashwood, USQ,

Toowoomba, Queensland11.25-12.15 Saturday July 11, 2009

Dr Ann Dashwood Applied Linguistics/TESOL

Faculty of Education University of Southern Queensland

Toowoomba Qld 4350 ph  +617 46 311 806

<dashwood@usq.edu.au>

Origami in all languages: Second language acquisition principles in

practice.

Observed benefitsPlanned benefits

It’s interesting, and exciting• It is a chance for me to use

continuous Japanese, and a chance for the students to be immersed in Japanese.

• The students are listening for a distinct purpose and if they don’t listen it has immediate effects.

• We can review words that have occurred in lessons before e.g. right /left, colours, up /down, top/ bottom, first / second etc, big small

Accidental benefits that I have discovered

• It is a chance to have something very neat and cute in their pads.

• To improve fine motor skills.• It is a chance for them to help

each other and work together. It also gives all children a chance to be good at something.

 

 

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Ways I incorporate origami into the lessons

It is always part of the topic we are doing, or relevant to what is happening in lessons at the time, or part of our culminating activity. Origami can be part of any unit.

It is almost always glued into our pad or onto a chart. It never becomes rubbish on the ground on their way back to class, and it is always used again

year of the animal – for a colour chart

butterfly or plane –flying competition

Sumo - tournament of 14 games against 14 different opponents as part of the learning of other sports. The name of the sumo is written on his back and he is called that in bouts. The children will usually look up their wrestler on the internet

Incorporating origami into lessonspersonMt FujiEnvelope

pencils, book, pad, scissors, ruler

cicada

cup

piano

• speech bubble for questions and answers

• tell about height and history• to hold small things we are

making or using over a period

• all finish up in the pencil case

• write about insects in 2 or 3 Japanese sentences

• go to taps and fill them up and drink from it

• and draw the keys and play a song ….. for the younger students drawing the pattern of the keys is a 5 – 10 minute lesson

Video Origami for all languages Age groups Frequency

• Years 4-7 primary one hour a week as 2x30 minute lessons

• From year 4 the amount of Japanese increases and the amount of English decreases during the origami lesson, eg. “ Be sure the fold line runs across your page”

• By grade 7 even some of these hints with the same actions are in Japanese

• 6 or 7 times a year, but usually a big copy and a small one

• That way I use Japanese for the first one and then a child gives each instruction for the one back to me.

• If it is said in English I reinforce it in Japanese, If it is said in Japanese I reinforce it again, without making anything of it.

Task-based language learning provides a natural learning environment

1. motor skills task is modelled from the start: large model then smaller ones integration into the curriculumvocab and verbs are the same as in regular class life

2. target language for a significant part of the curriculumrepetition by listening so teacher models language especially verbs not so frequently used;students sub vocalise and self repeat independentlyreview known words heard before eg. corner, left ,right, turn, presstell me how to do it – memory, sequencing, step by step target

language comes out naturally;extended language use for scaffolding writing later on.

Writing sentences from the origami experience is an effortless move which would otherwise take much longer and be more teacher driven. Writing becomes an extension of listen and do.

3. task is achievable – 7 to 10 folds maximum completed object is valued eg. my impitsu (pencil) , hasami (scissors), Barutol (sumo wrestler);The conceptual dissonance between abstract object and the reality is reduced.

5. fun element – language is felt to be fun, capturing the lower skilled students with light entertainment in learning; the affective filter is lowered;

6. cooperation skills in pairs and group is not competitive but helpful with social gains.

TPR at the heart of origami language learning

In natural settings, children in all languages acquire a level of comprehension before they speak meaningfully;

Both children and adults…

A silent period is an essential preparation for speaking later on.

 

Principles in practice

As a tool for language learning TPR has as its premise that language is acquired through comprehension;

James Asher’s TPR (1981) used action in a series of commands as the basis for teaching a foreign language.

Ideally, only the target language is used students respond to commands explanation is in the form of action - not elaborations of

grammarStudents follow actions that the teacher models at first until one or

two students follow the commands upon hearing them and remembering the action

Other students follow and through peer learning all students are doing the action of the imperative.

Typically TPR is achieved through physical movement with objects. Origami in all languages turns second language commands into

action folding paper en route to completing a small task.By extending skills to a larger task they hear more complex forms of

the target language.

TPR – listen and do - action in practice At first, the commands in TPR are simple……

Then more complex commands are given as the learners ‘listen and do’

Positive reinforcement from the teacher is given all the time……Why?

Verbal signals are supported by non-verbal cues…., such as head nodding and a smile, combined with movement to the next action, all reinforcing the learners’ knowledge and indicating to the teacher that comprehension is taking place.

Correction is given but only when needed for meaning to be exchanged accurately;

The teacher simply repeats the correct form for a positive response…, interacting all the time…….

The principles of TPR are fundamental to language learning through Origami

• Asher explained “success can be assured if comprehension is developed before speaking.”

• Being silent and listening to the teacher doing an action creates experiences that are believable;

• the left frontal lobe in the Broca’s Area is not engaged to be critical of the fact being perceived in the Wernicke ’s area in the temporal lobe.

• Asher (2005, p.1) explained:

TPR creates facts, which make for long-term comprehension. At lightning velocity, the student’s brain processes information like this: “I actually stood up when the instructor uttered the alien direction: ‘Stand.’ It is a fact. It is true. It actually happened; therefore, I can store this in long-term memory.” The result is TPR can achieve long-term retention in a few trials, often in one- trial.

A butterfly emerges in the insect’s life cycle of the primary science curriculum;In the Year of the Mouse, Origami is present, modelling the current biological theme for science.A Sumo wrestler fits into a games unit;

Formal schemata are clearly associated with task-based language learning (Skehan,1998). Generally referring to the domain of reading and literacies, the schema (Bartlett 1932) of a task provides the organisation framework onto which language is layered:

The conceptually driven process relies on previous knowledge (top down processing) and drives perception of the stimulus (bottom-up processing) to interpret individual features of the task and language.

Children in the origami class have learned the ‘cultural logic’ of the origami lesson.

Associated closely with the knowledge concept of the object end product is knowledge of procedure students have to follow because the teacher expects it.

Modelling is presented by the teacher and students learn the steps to follow in a conventional sequence for the product to be accurate.

The context has become self-generating as a special time to engage in Japanese and to make something which satisfies the children’s need to personalise their learning, to produce an item…

Origami is more than a piece of paper. The folded paper becomes an entity, a paper-living thing, whose shape and dimensions and line are all important to the creator.

The teacher gains satisfaction from engaging children in learning that they can repeat.

Children gain a sense of accomplishment that is rarely experienced in other learning opportunities in the classroom setting.

The goal of the teacher in an Origami lesson is to make input ‘comprehensible’ (Krashen 1982) so learners perform the action naturally.

Language meaning will be understood by the learner when the linguistic input, supported by gesture, modelling and action in context slightly challenges the learners’ current competence.

The Input hypothesis is one of the 5 hypotheses proposed by Krashen is well known as an explanation for how learners acquire a second language.

Students are not expected to speak but to listen and do the action the teacher models.

The input is generally rough-tuned to approximate the learners’ current level of acquisition, yet fine-tuned to particular students’ current levels of competence realised in each grammatical structure at a time. The teacher adjusts the input and repeats as necessary until such time as he has become understood.

Language comprehension is then seen to have occurred automatically (Krashen, 1982, p.22).

The affective ‘filter’ , acts as a barrier to comprehensible input.It limits attention to the input, affects learning style, suppresses positive attitudes and emotions, reduces time of meaningful exposure to the language, and the pace at which the language is acquired.

With Origami in action the “affective filter” is kept low.

Feeling at ease and positive in the classroom and enjoying the teacher’s approach are aspects of listening that lower the affective filter at the same time as increasing the likelihood of the second language being acquired.

Motivation to learn language is likely to be higher when the affective filter is low.

With small children roughly-tuned input takes the form of caretaker speech, foreigner talk, and teacher talk.

The speaker typically slows down, repeats and restates structures.

A key process in origami is the “oshite, oshite” movement – it appears that there is never too much “oshite” as the imperative, the procedural verb is repeated many meaningful times.

Children who finish each stage early in the process have plenty of time remaining for further ‘oshite’ as other learners catch up.

Teaching and learning languages (Scarino & Liddicoat, 2009) reinforces the eight principles of language learning compiled for the Australian teaching sector (Vale, Scarino, McKay & Clarke, 1988, pp.17-27) with the addition of more explicit cultural engagement.

Learners are to be at the centre of learning and the teacher has to be astute and mindful of the potential scale of learning that classroom focussed activity can achieve.

One principle paramount in Origami is that learners learn a language best when they are actively engaged in the learning process, by doing a range of activities in the target language.

…..In any language instructions for activities are controlled. They are focussed around a discrete sequence of folds, positioning paper spatially as required for the next fold to bring the object towards its final form.

Learners also learn best when they are provided with opportunities to participate in communicative use of the target language.

As they try to use Japanese in this sample, to reinforce the instruction given by action or question with intonation, students are positioned to use natural strategies to comprehend each step of the task:They learn how to:• request repetition,• make meaningful utterances in Japanese for a class mate or teacher to reinforce or correct• check from cues around them• notice other students’ models and their positioning of folds on the creations so far.

Origami allows the teacher to enable learners to exercise a number of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1999, pp. 41-43).1.students with kinaesthetic intelligence are drawn to concentrate the mind on actions that involve the whole body position and finer motor controls associated with moving paper and fingers around to make shapes-hands on learning. 2.students with verbal-linguistic intelligence respond well to the language of instructions, explanation, discussion and reward. They have verbal memory and recall and an ability to comprehend the syntax presented and often its structure.

Multiple intelligences

3. Children with logical-mathematical intelligence to the logic of Origami become involved in carrying out the mathematical operations of fractions and geometric forms and they like to experiment not feeling threatened by the task.

4. Those with spatial intelligence are able to visualise and mentally manipulate objects as they reason deductively and think logically and through modelling the final product.

5. Interpersonal intelligence allows learners to understand the intentions of others allowing them to work effectively with other people in a pair or group and with the teacher. Through intrapersonal intelligence, learners appreciate their own feelings about the activity and their motivation to complete it. They can regulate their behaviour according to the requirements of their context.

Exposure to the socio-cultural data of the target language and direct experience of the culture that is embedded in the Origami task.

The characters have cultural significance to the learners; they are known from video games and other media entertainment.

The activity is colourful and in keeping with activities enjoyed by children of the same age in the target culture.

•When students become aware of the nature of language and the nature of culture, the target language as a system builds up.•They begin to notice:

how languages affect each other as words become borrowed,how languages affect people;,how they feel being immersed in the target language without fear,

•Learners require appropriate feedback about their progress for learning to occur. •Their progress is monitored and assessment is made of that progress.

•Students have the opportunity to perform the sequence of activities and then to review them by giving instructions to the teacher when the teacher constructs another larger model to display.

•Managing their own learning is accommodated, sometimes working alone, at other times with a partner or group, students learn through negotiation to self-manage in the process of developing autonomous learning .

Micro level activities

Primary children learn the significance of order and space right side, left-hand side, noticing that the whole object is the sum of its parts.

Micro level activities such as: threading needles and dressing the Barbie doll are either too gender specific or not available in the context of life for year seven girls and boys.

Instructions such as “fold the paper in half” follows step-by-step appealing to left hand brain functions while “to a corner” complements the activity with right hand brain being drawn on to achieve the exercise.

Fine motor skillsThe skills associated with working towards

achieving fine details with finger and hands, coordinated by eye control in making the folds straight and precise, come into the language classroom through Origami.

Evidence (not only folk lore) suggests that left and right sides of the brain are exercised during these activities. Speech, analysing how to achieve the task and sequencing the order are claimed as left brain activities whilecreativity, patterning spatial awareness in a context are characteristically right hand brain activities. (Asher 2009)

Fine motor skill development is embraced by TPR using origami

Hand-eye coordination occurs in constructing a figure.

Fine motor skills associated with early childhood development are often neglected in skills development across the curriculum.

Studies by Geiger & Poggio (2005) suggest that hand-

eye coordination activities at early stages of reading assist reduction of reading problems later on.

Origami I might make in a year  Grades 1, 2 and 3 … cup, piano ,

house, fish

Grade 4 “ year of” animal (cow; Children’s Day samurai helmet; Xmas tree; insects unit, butterfly, cicada; various animals… cat, dog etc; Mt Fuji; flower

Grade 5 “ year of” animal (cow); Children’s Day samurai helmet; Xmas tree; various animals, cat, dog etc; goldfish; dinosaur

Grade 6 and 7 “ year of” animal (cow); person, transport unit…bus, car, train, plane, truck; clothing unit …shirt, shorts, shoes; Xmas tree and star, book with 8 pages; sports unit … sumo wrestler

Living objects in Origami HouseBalloonPencilTreeStarFish

Techniques

Glue on sheet and add the fence and garden

Blow up and play the game, also a water bomb

Colour chart if the animal is too difficultChristmas card or multiple ones for a forestTo decorate the tree or for night picturesPut a dot for the eye from a hole puncher

Once the origami is glued in, there is always writing to go with it/whale

This will often happen next lesson when they are dry

Paper Equipment

• Any paper will do though commercial paper is better even though it is softer. Photocopy paper is stiff but tolerable. For some origami, newspaper is good.

• For some objects it would not matter which colour they use but I use the same colour for everyone as it eliminates arguments and swapping and we all do a green tree, or black piano, or green cicada, or yellow pikachu etc

• Rectangular origami things are becoming more common and so is kirigami where you use scissors.

• Scissors, varying sizes of paper, dots for eyes, glue and ideas are all that is needed.

• The multi coloured pretty paper looks good but I find not as useable.

• The packets usually come in mixed colours and I sort them into colours for ease of use

Children say….

Grade 7 origami lesson (from a new student” Boy I never thought

Japanese would be this easy. I never understood anything in French.”

AND (from a weaker student as he leaned over to show

his neighbour) “ he just said fold that corner to the bottom and then open it out.” The other kid was very impressed.

ANDWhen I first came here I didn’t know why

everyone ran so fast to Japanese lessons… I understand now… I do too

• Internet origami siteswww.origamiclub.com/en is probably the most used. There are 5 ratings of difficulty.

• Don’t be afraid to change it.

• Don’t be afraid to call it something else… the easy horse looks like a dinosaur and I use it for both with a couple of colouring changes

• Don’t be afraid to make the inside folds just behind folds in the smaller grades

• Don’t be afraid to use scissors

• Use the language.

Ancient art – modern tool in second language learning

Total Physical Response (TPR) principles - Asher (1966, 2009)Listening for learning - Scarino (1988, 2009)Schema theory (Bartlett 1932): top-down interacting with bottom-up

processingInput hypothesis and affective filter hypothesis - Krashen (1982) :Multiple intelligences - Gardner (1999)Teacher beliefs about language learning - Mantle-Bromley (1995) Cognitive approach to language learning- task-based (Skehan 1998)

TPR benefits• TPR has the benefits of being a well researched

concept in language learning. – Students experience immediate success in

understanding comprehensible “chunks” of language: vocabulary, grammar, phonology and semantics.

– The environment appears free of stress for teacher and students with short-term memory extending into extensive long-term memory.

• The setting provides a string of commands in the imperative and students follow the actions of the teacher and they help each other when they need to have extra guidance

•A focus on language through action creates an environment in which the context for learning is an engaging one. •A skilled teacher, with a passion for the inculcating an interest among monolingual children in experiencing another culture through its language has the opportunity to embrace principles of language learning in the Origami, Papierfalten, papier plié, ‘zhe zhi’,…..lesson.

•TPR, comprehensible input, Australian Language Levels Guidelines, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and theories of motivation and attitude are embedded in the turns of talk that the language teacher brings to the limited 30 minute segments of time they share with learners. •Using key principles of language learning in an informed and sustained way provides a systematic approach to language teaching that is memorable for all the right reasons.

Asher, J.J. (1966) The learning strategy of the Total Physical Response: A review, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 50, No. 2. pp. 79-84.

Asher, J. J. (2009 ) TPR: After forty years, still a very good idea. Los Gatos: Sky Oaks Productions http://www.tpr-world.com/japan-article.html accessed May 15, 2009. www.tpr-world.com accessed May 25 2009

Bartlett, F.C. (1932). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Carrell, P.L. (1984). Evidence of formal schema in second language comprehension, Language learning, 34(20), 87- 108.

Gardner, H. (1999, pp.41-43). Intelligence Reframed. Multiple intelligences for the 21st century, New York: Basic Books, accessed May 13, 2009 in Smith, Mark K. (2002, 2008) 'Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences', the encyclopedia of informal education, http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm.

Geiger, G., & Poggio, T. (2005). Preventing dyslexia? Early enhanced hand-eye coordination activities reduces reading difficulties [Abstract]. Journal of Vision, 5(8):809.

Krashen, S.D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press..

Krashen, S.D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press .

Mantle-Bromley, C. (1995). Positive attitudes and realistic beliefs: Links to proficiency. The Modern Language Journal 79/3, pp. 372-386.

Nunan, D. (1997). Listening in language learning, The Language Teacher, Vol.21, No.9. September. http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/97/sep/nunan.html

Scarino, A. & Liddicoat, A.J. (2009). Teaching and learning languages: A guide. Carlton: DEEWR.

Scarino, A., Vale, D. McKay, P. & Clark, J. (1988) Australian Language Levels Guidelines-Language learning in Australia Canberra: Curriculum Development Centre

Skehan, P. (1998) A cognitive approach to language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.