How language acquisition works

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How language acquisition works

• And
• How to be a good language learner

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• In this slide show based on linguistic research
  you will learn some of the processes and
  strategies involved in Language acquisition.
• I created it for you to learn the dos and
  donts that will make you successful in this
  class!
• Lets start!

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Learning Spanish or any language requires you

• To lower your affective filter.

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What is affective filter?

• This was your first good question in Spanish
  class!

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Affective filters are

• The emotions around language learning, for
  example
• Fear, shyness, rejection of a different culture.
  In general, emotions that can block your language
  acquisition if you dont put them well under
  control.

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To help do the following

• NO PUT-DOWN ZONE. Our classroom is a community of
  friends where everybody makes mistakes and helps
  each other.

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Take a chance!

• Dont try to get everything right before you
  speak. Saying part of a sentence is better than
  saying nothing. Take risks!

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More

• Dont say I cant instead say Ill try.
• Dont try to use your logic all the time. In
  English you say I like coffee, but in German
  and Spanish, we use Coffee is pleasing to me to
  say the same thing. Why? There is no logic.
  Thats the way some languages work.

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Bienvenidos!

• Be part of the community of people who speak the
  language you want to learn. For example have
  another personality that loves Latin music, or
  soccer, or fashion, or tropical weather. This
  will make it fun.

Get a name in Spanish!
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Comprehensible input Spanish

• Comprehensible input is the Spanish you will
  hear, read, or be immersed in.
• Let it be uploaded in to your hardware (brain).
  Sometimes you will not understand everything, but
  a general idea at the beginning is OK.

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For this reason it is very important that we use
Spanish at all times in class.

• I will be speaking Spanish to you with a lot of
  gestures and drawings to make sure you
  understand. So just open your antennas and learn
  to think in Spanish!
• Dont try to translate. It is time consuming and
  ineffective.

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Researchers have found that learning a language
has 2 processes inside
ACQUISITION and LEARNING

• ACQUISITION
• and
• LEARNING

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• ACQUISITION ispicking it up in context, for
  example
• In class and/or while you visit or live in Latin
  America or Spain, and/or visiting the house of a
  friend that speaks Spanish.
• Acquiring is unconscious.

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• Learning is conscious and happens after we study
  the rules and practice them.

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To acquire Spanish we will

• use Spanish in class.
• open our eyes and ears to all Spanish around us.
• Do dialogues, interviews, videos, class
  discussions, role-playing, etc.

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To learn Spanish we will

• Memorize words.
• Study how Spanish works.
• Exercise and practice.

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Some practical advise

• Dont tune out! Participate as much as possible,
  even silently, when others are called on in
  class, answer their questions in your mind.
• Make flash cards with new vocabulary in Spanish
  and a picture/drawing or English in the other
  side.

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It is a good idea to

• 3. Study 15 -20 minutes a day, review your
  vocabulary before doing the homework.
• 4. Form a study group or find a study partner.
  Peer tutoring is fun!

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More

• 5. Watch for cognates, words that look the same
  or similar in both languages.
• problema (Spanish) problem (English)
• universidad (Spanish) university
  (English)
• But watch out for false friends, words that
  look alike but have a different meaning
• terrorífico (Spanish) scary (English) terrific
  (English) genial (Spanish)

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Finally

• 6. Have fun! Learning a language, always pays off
  - friendship, self enrichment, possibilities of
  using your language abilities later on when you
  travel or work, and development of your
  analytical skills.