Unit 1 Language and Learning
1 How do we learn language？
We learn language at different ages
People have different experiences
People learn languages for different reasons
People learn languages in different ways
People have different capabilities in language learning
Learning can be affected by the way how language is taught
Learning is affected by the degree of success one is expect to achieve. Thus the challenge confronting language teaching is how teaching methodology can ensure successful learning by all the learners who have more differences than the commonality.
2. What are the major views of language?
1) Structural view:
Language is a linguistic system made up of various subsystems: phonology, morphology, lexicology and syntacx. To learn a language is to learn its vocabulary and structural rules.
2) Functional view:
Language is a linguistic system as well as a means for doing things. Learners learn a language in order to be able to do things with it (use it). To perform functions, learners need to know how to combine the grammatical rules and the vocabulary to express notions that perform the functions.
3) Interactional view:
Language is a communicative tool to build up and maintain social relations between people. Learners need to know the rules of a language and where, when and how it is appropriate to use them.
3.Views on Language Learning
Two broad learning theories：
Process-oriented theories are concerned with how the mind organizes new information.
Condition-oriented theories emphasize the nature of human and physical context.
Behaviorist theory
B. F. Skinner
A stimulus-response theory of psychology
Audio-lingual method
The idea of this method is that language is learned by constant repetition and the reinforcement of the teacher. Mistakes were immediately corrected, and correct utterances were immediately praised.
Cognitive theory
Influenced by Noam Chomsky (revival of structural linguistics) Language as an intricate rule-based system
A learner acquires language competence which enables him to produce
language.
One influential idea of cognitive approach to language teaching is that students should be allowed to create their own sentence based on their own understanding of certain rules.
Constructivist theory
Jean Piaget (1896—1980)
The learner constructs meaning based on his/her own experiences and what is already known.
Socio-constructivist theory
Vygotsky
“Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD); scaffolding(脚手架)
Learning is best achieved through the dynamic interaction between the teacher and the learner and between learners.
4 What are the qualities of a good language teacher?
A good language teacher does not solely depend on his/her command of the language. There are a variety of element that contributes to the qualities of a good language teacher. These element can be categorized into three
