Everything you need to know about acquiring Spanish

1
Everything you need to know about acquiring
Spanish

• Fourth year students
• Mini-tutorial

1
2
After class on Friday, you should be able to
answer the following questions

• What does it mean to be in a Communicative/Immersi
  on classroom?
• What are the 5 theories that support the
  Communicative/Immersion method?

3
What is Spanish IV all about?

• Its about Conversation and Communication .
• in Spanish, not in English.

3
4
Communication

• Express your ideas.
• Figure out what some elses ideas mean.
• Make sure youre understood, and make sure you
  can understand someone elses Spanish.

4
5
Can you communicate ALL in
Spanish by the end of 1st quarter?

• Sí!
• But, it takes commitment and work on your part.

5
6
Second Language Acquisition Research

• The 5 Theories that Shape our Communicative
  Language Class

6
7
The Affective Filter

• Researchers tell us we have an Affective Filter
  in our minds that can help or hinder our progress.

7
8
The Affective Filter implies

• The more comfortable you are with your
  classmates, the faster you learn to speak
  Spanish.

8
9
The Affective Filter implies

• Positive support for each other helps everyone
  learn to speak Spanish. Were a community.
• No cut-downs of anyone allowed. Ever. Period.
  Starting right now!

9
10
The Affective Filter implies

• Consider our Spanish class a No-Fear-Here Zone.
• Im counting on your support!

10
11
More Research Comprehensible Input

• Getting lots of Comprehensible Input is how we
  learn to speak any language.
• Comprehensible input is Spanish that you hear
  and/or read that is at a level just a little
  beyond what you can understand. You understand
  most, but usually not all, of what the Spanish
  speaker says to you.

11
12
Comprehensible Input

• Even absolute beginners dont start at zero
  Spanish.
• But we are not absolute beginners. You know a
  lot more Spanish than you think you do!

12
13
Comprehensible Input

• Listening to and reading lots of Spanish input is
  how we learn to understand, read, speak and write
  Spanish.

13
14
Comprehensible Input in a nutshell

• Its the fuel that drives your speech motor.
• Without plenty of input, you wont learn to
  comprehend and speak much Spanish at all.

14
15
To get the input to acquire Spanish

• 1. The more Spanish you hear in class, the
  faster you learn to speak it.
• 2. Students work hard to learn how to listen,
  read and think in Spanish.
• 3. Students and Teacher make a pledge only
  Spanish! (unless you ask permission to speak
  English.)

15
16
Bad News

• Your teacher only has 45 minutes a day to give
  you input.
• So, you must find other ways to get Spanish input
  outside of class if you really want to get good
  at it.
• Brainstorm Can you think of places where you
  could read and listen to Spanish outside of
  school?

16
17
More Research Acquisition Vs. Learning

• Acquiring a language is picking it up in
  context, from input. Learning a language means
  knowing how Spanish language works after we study
  the rules.

17
18
More Research Acquisition Vs. Learning

• Do you see any parallels to how students start
  playing basketball?

18
19
Acquisition Vs. Learning

• We acquire (pick up) our first language from
  family, friends and others around us.
• We pick up language by using it.
• We use language to express ourselves and to
  understand others.

19
20
Acquisition Vs. Learning

• We learn about our first languageusuallyin
  school. We learn about how our language works by
  studying its structure and rules.

20
21
Acquisition Vs. Learning

• Learning about how Spanish works can help us with
  some tasks.

21
22
Acquisition Vs. Learning

• Tasks such as
• editing your writing to polish it.
• Crafting a speech to sound articulate.
• Satisfying your curiosity about how Spanish and
  English are similar and different.

22
23
The Implications?

• Since Input and Acquisition make speech happen,
  acquisition activities form the bulk of our
  classwork.

23
24
Some Spanish Class Acquisition Activities

• Listening comprehension tasks mini-dialogues
  conversations
• partner interviews whole class discussions ..
  Games
• class surveys problem-solving activities
  exercises
• Role-playing language play readings videos
  dictations
• Puzzles word challenges cartooning drawing
  

24
25
Some Spanish Class Learning Activities

• Memorization pattern study practice exercises
  proofing your writing practicing study skills
  reading about how Spanish works

25
26
More Research The Monitor

• Theres a kind of judge in our heads who helps
  polish our writing IF he stays in the corner hes
  supposed to. OR, if he gets too big and pushy, he
  interferes with our speaking because he makes us
  feel self-conscious.

26
27
The Monitor

• Hes a little bit of a rule bully who gets bigger
  and bigger the more you worry about making errors
  or when you worry about what other people think.

27
28
Implications for The Monitor

• Use him when you write.
• Ignore him when you speak.

28
29
Good news about speaking Spanish!

• It takes a long, long time to
• speak Spanish fluently and
• without errors, so long that
• you might as well not worry
• about speaking perfectly.
• Mistakes are inevitable
• when you start speaking
• Spanish in a natural way.

29
30
Good news about speaking Spanish!

• Beginners cant control
• mistakes when they speak
• Spanish.
• In class, were interested in
• what you say, not how you
• say it.

30
31
Bad news!

• If you worry about errors the
• Monitor pops up and makes it hard for you to
  express yourself.
• Ignore him, and hell go away until you call on
  him.

31
32
Habla!

• So, just speak Spanish, and dont worry about how
  you sound.

32
33
Try to avoid some very common beginner pitfalls
by doing the following

• Have faith in your teachers skills let go of
  English.
• Avoid translating for your classmates.
• Remember that classroom work is only part of your
  quest to speak another language.

33
34
Try to avoid some very common beginner pitfalls
by doing the following

• Be patient youll communicate fairly quickly,
  but, at the same time, its a lifetime adventure
  to learn to speak another language well.
• Always ask for help (in Spanish) and let the
  teacher decide to use English or Spanish to help
  you right now.

34
35
More Research Natural Order of Acquisition
35
36
More Research Natural Order of Acquisition
We all pass through the same stages of
Acquisition, but at different rates.
What does this mean for you?
36
37
More Research Natural Order of Acquisition
Some students in class will start speaking
Spanish faster than others. Thats normal. The
more you listen, study vocabulary and use phrases
your teacher gives you to communicate in class,
the more quickly you proceed through stages of
Acquisition. Your first important goal stick to
Spanish and avoid English in class.
37
38
Everything you need to know about acquiring
Spanish

• Part II

38
39
Remember Communication?

• Express your ideas
• Figure out what someone elses ideas mean.
• Make sure youre understood, and make sure you
  can understand someone elses Spanish.

39
40
We work on Spanish communication skills in four
areas

• Strategic Competence
• Discourse Competence
• Sociolinguistic Competence
• Linguistic Competence

40
41
Strategic Competence means

• you know how to stay in Spanish
• during conversations.
• You know how to work around words and topics you
  dont know yet.
• You manage a conversation so you get the speaker
  to talk with you, instead of over your head.

41
42
Discourse Competence means

• You express your ideas,
• even with simple language, to
• start.
• You develop skills rather
• quickly you ask and answer
• questions, joke, describe
• people, things, events tell a
• story, tell your opinions, and
• so on.

42
43
Good news!

• You start developing Discourse and Strategic
  Competence right away, during the first week of
  class.

43
44
Good news!

• Your teacher shows you
• tricks and study skills to
• learn how.
• Your main job the faster you build up your
  Spanish vocabulary, the faster your Discourse
  Competence grows.

44
45
Sociolinguistic Competence

• You develop Sociolinguistic
• Competence as you learn to
• use the right phrase at the
• right time.
• For example

45
46
Sociolinguistic Competence

• In English, what do you say when
• You want to pass in front of someone?
• Your family friend gets married?
• Your best friends grandmother passes away?
• Your brother wins a competition?
• You step on someones toes on the dance floor?
• You want to politely interrupt the school
  principal?

46
47
Sociolinguistic Competence

• If you know the answers, you have Sociolinguistic
  Competence in English.
• Youll learn how to develop it in Spanish as well.

47
48
Linguistic Competence

• You show Linguistic
• Competence when you
• tie your sentences together the way a native
  Spanish speaker would.

48
49
Good news!

• Your teacher shows you how to do this in writing
  fairly quickly.
• It takes a lot of studying to do this.

49