sut grad seminar keynote apl 2012
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
1/49
Language Learning(and teaching)
A mimimalist perspective
Andrew Lian
School of Foreign Languages
Suranaree University of Technology
We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. (Anas Nin)The universe is made up of stories, not atoms (Muriel Rukeyser)
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look atchange (Max Planck)
2 March 2012
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
2/49
For some time now
I have been thinking about ways of simplifying mythinking about language learning/teaching in order to beable to think and work more efficientlyLarsen
This is partly because I have an interest in how we canrecognise things with the least amount of information(e.g. recognise a colleague from a silhouette). What isthe minimal amount of information necessary for me torecognise X where X can be a person, an object or anidea? Obviously that information will be different for
different objects but the principle remains the same.
I like to work with simple principles which provideguidance and a solid reference point when the detailsbecome confusing, complex and difficult to manage (as
they inevitably do when you conduct research).
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
3/49
So I invite you to share
My intellectual journey
Where I hope we can agree on some basicprinciples that I find valuable
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
4/49
About these principles
They are simpleand
They are few
That makes them manageable
Being manageable means that they are
always availableand thereforecan easily be appliedto any (or many)
situation(s) as an aid to thinking and toreduce confusion
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
5/49
So here are
Five axioms .
Well not really five axioms (self-evidenttruths) because self-evident truths like self-
speaking data do not existLets say five principle about which we may
all agree on - clear to me of course
We will talk about them in the context oflearning
And they are all based on the human
condition
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
6/49
Principle #1
Learners are physiological beings we aremade of flesh and blood
The body is systematic all parts connect. Acton one part you act on others. Language ispart of that systematicity
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
7/49
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
8/49
Principle #1, consequences 2
The world is not sensed directly but ONLYthroughour bodies, throughphysiologicalsystems. We have no choice.
These systems are, as a matter ofprinciple, fragile and input can be distortedor changed. What they report may or maynot be the truth: drugs, injury
We are not able to ascertain directly howany particular person is sensing the world,or themselves or their place in the world
e.g. explaining pain to a doctor, paranoia
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
9/49
Principle #1, consequences 3
All action, thinking and learning, is necessarilyphysiological and can involve the body as a whole,not just the mind (also said to be physical)
We can act on one part to impact another: low
frequencies for pronunciation, dance, postureAlso right-brain left-brain connections: study
intonation (low-frequency training), you also studygrammar AND you provide sensitivity to chunking.
It seems that by studying intonation, youautomaticallylearn grammar AND comprehension
These studies are not mainstream SLA and the fieldis poorer for it: Guberina, Bourdieu, Latour, Derrida,Foucault, Thierry, Calhoun, Bloom
http://www.suvag.hr/hrv/page.php?cID=novosti&eID=UK_MZShttp://performingtext.qwriting.org/files/2010/08/Bourdieu.pdfhttp://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://bilingualism.bangor.ac.uk/people/GThierry.php.enhttp://www.nyu.edu/ipk/calhoun/http://academicearth.org/lectures/how-do-we-communicate-languagehttp://academicearth.org/lectures/how-do-we-communicate-languagehttp://www.nyu.edu/ipk/calhoun/http://bilingualism.bangor.ac.uk/people/GThierry.php.enhttp://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/derrida/http://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://www.bruno-latour.fr/http://performingtext.qwriting.org/files/2010/08/Bourdieu.pdfhttp://www.suvag.hr/hrv/page.php?cID=novosti&eID=UK_MZS -
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
10/49
Principle #1, consequences 4
It is said metaphorically that culture writesitself on us (through practices that we areobliged to adopt so as to conform and livesuccessfully) but did you know that it can
literally do so?
Culture is physical too Condon, unborn
Interactional synchrony and self-synchrony
We are constantly interfering with eachothers activities and rhythms Barthes:interference on ones idiorhythms is the
most intimate form of tyranny (i.e. violence)
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
11/49
So
Its like the Borg in Star Trekwhoassimilate everything. As they say:Resistance is futile.In our case it really isfutile. We have no choice (even if we rebel).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEJ4OJTgg8 -
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
12/49
This is a fertile research field
While we may say that we are victims ofour body, we can exploit the body to ouradvantage (brain is not entirely hard-wiredbut plastic) victims of our categorisations
E.g. we can work on one part of the body toinfluence another e.g. posture to influencepronunciation; intonation to influence
grammar; L1/L2 relationships (G. Thierry)Who knows where we can go by focusing
on the body: BILE project
Let our imagination drive us forward
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
13/49
The important thing is that
While the consequences of Principle #1can be very complicated, the idea isextremely simple: the body exists andestablishes constraints and connections
that we must live with and can exploitWe need to keep this in front of our eyes
in research and learning system design
The area has huge, untapped, potential
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
14/49
Principle #2
Principle #2 is simple, commonsensical,uncontroversial at least I think it is.
However, it has far-reaching consequences
Principle #2 states that almost all we do isbased on acts of meaning-making
If we do not make somekind of sense of
the world, then we cannot do anythingI am not talking here about identifying the
correct meaning, just meaning even if
wrong e.g. open a window or paranoia
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
15/49
Principle #2
Now just for fun, consider the followingabout right and wrong meanings
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
16/49
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
17/49
Principle #2 What does this say?
Inter alia, it says the following:Meaning-making is a culture-bound and
context-bound creation of thecomprehender. It is not found indictionaries (otherwise the non-Britishperson would have been right)
It is a function of the comprehendersmeaning-making mechanisms which needto go beyond the linguistic into areas likeculture and cultural fluency/flexibility
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
18/49
And
As all is mediated through our meaning-making mechanisms thenWhat we call Knowledgeis constructed on
meaning-making
And what we call Learningis constructedon meaning-making too
And we see the world as we construct it,not as it really is learners build it in theirheads from what they recognise from thesignals around them and this accounts formany misunderstandings and subsequent
poor linguistic or cultural performances
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
19/49
This raises questions like
How can we act on peoples making-
meaning systems?How can we change peoples knowledge?
Of course, this has implications on howpeople learn (and how we teach)
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
20/49
Principle #3
The internal meanings that we create ANDLIVE BY are wholly individualandunknowableby others (even ourselves??)
They are influenced by environment:
society, parents, activities (nurture) andnature: genes, disabilities etc.
Meaning-making mechanisms, must
include at very least, our personal logicaland representationalsystems
Thus, once again, everything is perception
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
21/49
Principle #4
Because of Principle #3, Communication in aprecise sense does not work
Why? Because we are imprisoned in our bodiesand our logical and representational systems
cannot engage in any form of direct thoughttransfer like the Vulcan Mindmeld (yet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyob1DcjV-4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyob1DcjV-4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_5Dt-kNgz8 -
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
22/49
Principle #4
And maybe one day
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
23/49
Principle #4
So Principle #4 is: all communication is
necessarily mediated by semiotic systems. Wecan only produce sentences, gestures, othersemiotic acts and try to understand those ofothers (on the basis of our meaning-making
mechanisms) e.g. pain in hospital So how can we function/communicate?
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
24/49
Principle #4, consequences 1
The answer appears to be in what we call in SLAnegotiation of meaning. I find this term unclear.
A better way to describe it is to say that we seemto be caught in a perpetual interpretive interplay
This is not so much a negotiation of meaningsbut an internalverification, rejection orrefinement of the approximate meanings weprovisionally make, on the basis of our analysis
of a multiplicity of texts(whether purely linguisticor otherwise semiotic) about the same thing.
That way we can triangulate meanings in ourheads, be less approximate and get to yes from
all parties
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
25/49
Principle #4, consequences 2
Another way to put it is that we try to understandthe same thing in a multiplicity of ways
(reinforces Minskys notion) and At best, then, we work by approximations wherenear enough ISgood enough
This brings us to Principle #5
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
26/49
Principle #5
Logical and representational systems
(a) are constructed through interaction(by ourattempts to understand in multiple ways) and
(b) consequently, contain our operational history
(world knowledge, strategies and much more) Sadly, our attempts to understand are limited byour current logical and representational systems
Paradoxically, these systems help us understand
(without them we would understand nothing) butresist change. As adults, we are efficientunderstanders of the things we understand:economy of effort has formed us to reject the
unknown/unfamiliar. We know what we know.
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
27/49
The puzzle is
How do we change this?
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
28/49
Here again are the 5 principles
1. Learners are physiological beings (the basis forall the other principles)
2. All we do is based on acts of meaning-making3. The meanings that we create AND LIVE BY are
internal, individualand unknowableby others4. All attempts at communication are mediated bysemiotic systems constructed on the basis ofour internal logical and representational systems
5. Logical and representational systems areconstructed through interaction by our attemptsto understand in multiple ways and contain ouroperational history (world knowledge, strategies
and much more)
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
29/49
Together, these principles tell us that
Meaning / understanding is individual.Learning / teaching must respect this
Personal knowledge is both constructed
and meaning-based and relies on makingthe meaninglessmeaningfulhow todefeat our efficiency? Awareness-raisingthrough tailored multiple discursive
interactions? It is sometimes possible to work on several
systems at once
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
30/49
There seem to be
3 quasi-universal practical learningnecessities judging from a convergence ofpractice from every thesis on L2 learning Ihave seen:
Exposure to textAwareness-raising of some kind, involving
interaction (external or internal), whether it
is strategy-training, or focus on form orengaging in a simulation or.. Exposure
alone can sometimes be sufficient (rarely)
Time on task/practice I worry about this
S
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
31/49
So
for L2 learning we now have
5 theoretical principles and3 valued pedagogic necessities (which are
actually consistent with the 5 principles)
Just 8 simple things to remember
A d
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
32/49
And
What is nice about it is that it does notattach itself to any specific theory ofcurrent SLA fashion
It will make use of anything that works:
behaviorist, cognitivist or whateverOf course, it doesattach itself to a
postmodern view of the world and
Draws on any field: e.g. socioculturaltheory, culture studies, philosophy, theoryof knowledge it is much richer than SLA
(interdisciplinary, like life)
T ki th 8 i l i t
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
33/49
Taking those 8 simple points
It is possible to construct a great deal
e.g. large and complex rhizomatic systems such asthe one I am researching which consists of: An over-riding theoretical framework (the 8
points mentioned + studies building on them)
A learner-driven operational space A complex IT support infrastructure containing
many systems, including just-in-time IT-basedor human-based support and social networks
Low-level techniques not unlike focus on form butbroader in scope
There is convergent support from studies in 21stcentury skills (e.g. personal problem-solving) and
also other literature (e.g. brain work)
IT
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
34/49
ITInfrastructure
Only
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
35/49
Feedback for listening exercise FonF + Minsky
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
STUDENT WILL TYPE HERE
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
36/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Vous avez la trois Frances
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
37/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Vous avez la trois Frances
If it was vous avez you would have heard a [z] sound
between the two words: [vu zave]
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
38/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Vous avez la trois Frances
The conventions is not to write France in the plural in these
contexts
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
39/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Vous avez la trois Frances
The word(s) in RED do not exist in the expected answer
Try to make sense of the chunk in its context
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
40/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
STUDENT WILL TYPE HERE
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
41/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
Vous savez il y atrois France
Not bad but a French person is unlikely to say it this way.Listen to the original and
Actually you are missing a word
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
42/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
STUDENT WILL TYPE HERE
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
43/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
Vous savez que il y atrois France
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
44/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
Vous savez que il y atrois France
Ae pas mal maisque + il = ???????
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
45/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
STUDENT WILL TYPE HERE
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
46/49
Student hears Vous savez quil y a trois France
Student tries again
Vous savez quil y atrois France
Bravo! Continuons!
I hope that
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
47/49
I hope that
This little contribution to the graduateseminar has helped reduce the notion thatlanguage learning research is essentiallytechnical (it is intellectual), impenetrably
complicated and difficult to handle. Given thehugely varied output in the field one might beforgiven for thinking that it is.
I hope that the identification of some coherent,unitingand easily-agreed-toprinciples mayprovide comfort and the foundations for anintellectual space for L2 researchers and
teachers to exploreand, why not, dream.
These principles are also embodied
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
48/49
These principles are also embodied
In the following quotes that I inflict on mystudents and colleagues at everyopportunity. I would prefer to rememberthese: they seem to say it all.
We don't see things as they are, we seethings as we are. (Anas Nin)
The universe is made up of stories, not
atoms (Muriel Rukeyser) When you change the way you look at things,
the things you look at change (Max Planck)
-
8/2/2019 SUT Grad Seminar Keynote APL 2012
49/49
Thank you!