“A Living Speech”: Principles for Teaching a Second Language - A summary of a talk I gave at the CMI Conference.
Welcome! I hope you found the breakout session helpful. Here are some of the quotes and things I discussed, as well as some resources I mentioned during the talk.
The Family should (a) learn Languages ; (b) show Courtesy abroad.
What shall we teach our children? Is there one subject that claims our attention more than another? Yes, there is a subject or class of subjects which has an imperative moral claim upon us. It is the duty of the nation to maintain relations of brotherly kindness with other nations ; therefore it is the duty of every family, as an integral part of the nation, to be able to hold brotherly speech with the families of other nations as opportunities arise ; therefore to acquire the speech of neighbouring nations is not only to secure an inlet of knowledge and a means of culture, but it is a duty of that higher morality (the morality of the family) which aims at universal brotherhood ; therefore every family would do well to cultivate two languages besides the mother tongue, even in the nursery.
I love this quote because it really emphasizes the why. Why is it important to learn a second language? To be a good neighbor. The goal of language acquisition is communication. Once we know why we want our children to learn another language, we can focus our teaching in a way that better reaches our goal.
Language acquisition is “the (mostly) implicit process of building a linguistic system by making form-meaning connections from input.” (Common Ground, p. 3)
Language acquisition is not like other school subjects. The way each individual acquires a language is unique and not predictable. We cannot know what each brain will process and acquire in each lesson. Language is not content—it is not a series of rules, and language cannot be created with formulas. The language ability is something your students already possess. (Comprehensible Classroom)
The only way to build the system is with language input. However, it is not enough to place someone in an immersive environment. The language input must also be comprehensible and compelling. Output, of course, also has a role. Output helps learners get better at accessing the system. This is skill development. However, without input, there is nothing to output.
Charlotte Mason knew the power of compelling input:
The French Lesson. – The daily French lesson is that which should not be omitted. That children should learn French orally, by listening to and repeating French words and phrases ; that they should begin so young that the difference of accent does not strike them, but they repeat the new French word all the same as if it were English and use it as freely ; that they should learn a few–two or three, five or six–new French words daily, and that, at the same time, the old words should be kept in use–are points to be considered more fully hereafter ; in the meantime, it is so important to keep tongue and ear familiar with French vocables, that not a lesson should be omitted. The French lesson, may, however, be made to fit in with the spirit of the other out-of-door occupations ; the half-dozen words may be the parts–leaves, branches, bark, trunk of a tree, or the colours of the flowers, or the movements of bird, cloud, lamb, child ; in fact, the new French words should be but another form of expression for the ideas that for the time fill the children’s mind.
One thing to note is that Charlotte Mason was not advocating just a list of vocabulary words.
“Of course, his teacher, will take care that, in giving words…they are put into sentences and kept in use from day to day.” (Home Education, p. 301) She thought the Gouin series a useful tool because it taught language in sentences that described actions the children could act out. To learn more about Gouin, see Celeste Cruz’s writing on Charlotte Mason and language.
Gouin put emphasis on learning “the verb” (Home Education, p. 302). This brings to mind a modern language acquisition strategy called TPR, which stands for Total Physical Response.
This strategy involves putting an action to as many words as possible. Many educators focus on what they refer to as the Super 7 or the Sweet 16—the most frequent verbs of any language. Knowing these very few verbs well allows for fluency and comprehension of a large quantity of input. These lists are easily found for any language with a quick search.
For French, the Super 7 are, conjugated in the first person:
- Je suis – I am
- J’aime – I like / love
- Je veux – I want
- Il y a – there is / there are
- J’ai – I have
- Je fais – I make / I do
- Je vais – I go
The Sweet 16 add the following to the Super 7:
- J’apporte – I bring
- Je peux – I can
- Je viens – I come
- Je donne – I give
- J’entends – I hear
- Je sais – I know
- Je dis – I say
- Je pars – I leave
- Je mets – I put
- Je vois – I see
Once you know those verbs well, you can communicate pretty well by mixing and matching with the rest of your vocabulary.
Personal questions and answers
For further reading, explore The Comprehensible Classroom and resources on proficiency-based teaching and classroom practice.
Helpful websites
More information regarding comprehensible input, reading for second language acquisition, and storytelling:
- A good summary: search for “What is Comprehensible Input and Why” for accessible introductions.
- Research: Stephen Krashen’s work on input and acquisition.
- Story listening: Beniko Mason’s research and practice.
- Beniko Mason on story listening (video and writing).
- Alice Ayel (YouTube storytelling for learners).
- Kathrin Shechtman (story listening).
- Social: @spanishstorylistening (ideas for story listening routines).
Stephen Krashen: skrashen.com. The Comprehensible Classroom: comprehensibleclassroom.com.
Ideas to integrate your target language into your day
- Switch out your morning greeting.
- Do calendar time and weather.
- Narrate your day (“What did we do today?”).
- Teach a Gouin series or useful phrases.
- Include target-language poetry during poetry tea time.
- Ask questions.
- Add target-language sentences to your picture study.
- Read in the target language—and re-read and change up the sentences. Comprehensible readers are available from publishers such as Wayside and from booksellers.
- Story listening: follow researchers and teachers who specialize in rich input (for example Beniko Mason, Alice Ayel, Kathrin Shechtman, and story-listening communities online).
- Narration.
- Handicraft.
- Wondering where else to incorporate the target language? Start small, repeat often, and build habits.
Comprehensible readers: Wayside Publishing is one place to look; you can also find readers through your favorite bookseller.
Try to incorporate your target language into your everyday life! Your life will be richer for it. A little bit is better than none at all. You are never too old to learn a language.
