Sun C4 Final

7/28/2019 Sun C4 Final

1/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 1My Position on Language, Language Learning, and Language Teaching

In this paper, I explain what language means to me, what constitutes language

acquisition, and how I want to teach language and why. I am aware that I cannot fully define the

complex nature of language, language learning, and language teaching. Nevertheless, I believe

that I have made a sincere attempt to explore and theorize my practices in this paper. These

theories that I uphold and apply as a language learner and teacher have been significant in

helping me grow as a language educator.

This paper consists of two sections: Language and Language Learning and Teaching. In

the first section, I will present language as a complex and dynamic system using Larsen-

Freemans (2003) three dimensional framework of form, meaning, and use. I will then follow

with a discussion of how language can be used to build identity and relationships.

Language

People have told me that I was fortunate to be exposed to a multilingual environment that

allowed me to learn four languages at the same time. However, looking back, when I was

younger, I did not appreciate knowing more than one language. To me, language did not seem

like an effective tool to form relationships with people. Even though I spoke Tagalog with no

distinguishable accent, Filipinos did not fully accept me as part of their community because I

looked different. At my Chinese school, I spoke Chinese like a native speaker, and I even looked

East Asian, but I still felt like I was not part of their community. The worst dilemma during my

childhood was when my parents took me to Korea to visit my relatives. Everyone viewed me as a

Korean because I spoke the language fluently. Even though the Korean community accepted me,

my inner self did not accept my identity as a Korean because I viewed my identity as a

representation of all three identities.


2/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 2However, all that false sense of belonging ended when I came to the United States, a

country with multiple cultures. I slowly began to realize and appreciate the benefits of having a

multiple membership instead of limiting myself to only one culture (Canagarajah, 2007). I

found that this whole time as I was growing up, I was using language tobuild an identity and

relationships. I also realized that I was using certain language forms and words to express

different meanings. I begin the following section discussing the three dimensions of language by

Larsen-Freeman (2003). I then discuss the mutual relationship between language and identity,

and how language is used to establish relationships.

Form, Meaning, and Use

Everyday, we use language to express our thoughts and feelings through interaction.

During this interaction, we use three dimensions of languageform, meaning, and use (Larsen-

Freeman, 2003). According to Larsen-Freeman (2001), all these three dimensions of language

interact, interrelate, and are mutually dependent on another. In this sense, to fully comprehend

how language can be acquired, we must first explore how these three dimensions function as a

complex and dynamic system.

Theform dimension of language is the structure, specifically the morphosyntactic,

lexical, phonemic, or graphemic patterns, of a language (Larsen-Freeman, 2003). I will explain

the form dimension using a chunk of an authentic discourse in Tagalog. The following is a

sample utterance made by a Filipino boy to his neighbor friend when passing by:Magandang

araw (literal meaning: beautiful day; idiomatic English translation: good day or have a good

day). Table 1 explains the form dimension of this utterance.


3/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 3Table 1Form Dimension

Dimension Knowledge

Category

Functions

(Tagalog)

Form

SpokenReceptive /mgndraw/Productive [mgnd raw]

Form

WrittenReceptive magandang araw

Productive magandang araw

Form

Word PartsReceptive ma- +ganda = maganda (adj)

ma-prefix is added to make a noun (in this caseganda) into anadjective

ma-: derivational prefix (change of lexical category from noun toadjective)

ganda: noun; root; meaning beauty araw: noun; root; meaning day

Productive ma- derivational prefix is added to the rootganda (beauty), anoun, to express maganda (beautiful) and use it as an adjective;generally, adding ma- prefix to a noun changes the lexicalcategory to an adjective.

-ngsuffix is added to the word maganda, making it magandang,to be able to use it as an adjective describing another noun, in thiscase, araw (day). Without using the suffix ng(i.e., magandaaraw), the grammatical form of this utterance is incorrect. It isimportant to note that the suffix -ngis added because the wordmaganda ends with an a, which is a vowel. Therefore, to addthe suffix -ngon the noun, the noun has to end with a vowel.

If the word does not end with a vowel, the word na is added afterthe adjective but before the describing noun. This word na has nomeaning but it functions similar to the suffix -ngwhich bridgesthe adjective and the noun. For example, in the phrase malakas nabata (strong kid), the root noun lakas (from malakas=strong)

means strength and bata means kid. The linking word na isnecessary to express the whole meaning of a strong kid.

The syntactic pattern in Tagalog: adjective (maganda beautiful)comes first before a noun (araw day).


4/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 4Aside from knowing the correct formthe pronunciation, spelling, derivational

morpheme rules, (e.g., adding ma- to change the function of a noun into an adjective), and the

syntactic patterns, it is important to understand the meaning encoded in the utterance.

Meaningor the semantics is the second dimension of language, which refers to either the

lexical or the grammatical meaning of language (Larsen-Freeman, 2003). Using the same

utterance introduced previously (i.e., magandang araw: good day or have a good day), Table

2 explains the meaning dimension.

Table 2Meaning Dimension

Meaning:

Form &Meaning

Receptive Reference: it refers to some idea, object, human face or figurethat is possesses beauty; e.g., magandang bahay (beautifulhouse).

Affective: it can also be a positive connotation, which meansgood. For example, magandang araw refers to good dayand magandang balita means good (positive) news.

Productive Degree: the word mas before an adjective (in this casemaganda) to express the degree more; thus, by saying masmaganda, it means more beautiful.

There is no exact Tagalog equivalent word for less; instead,people often use the opposite word of the adjective. Theopposite of beautiful is ugly, thus expressed aspangit(ugly)pangit na araw (ugly day). At the discourse level, unlikethe utterance magandang araw, which is used as a greeting,telling the other person have a good day,people normally donot usepangit na araw (ugly day) as a greeting; this onlyhas a literal meaning of an ugly day. Negations can also beused by adding the word hindi (not) before the adjective(hindi maganda = not beautiful).

To express most beautiful, the prefixpinaka- is added to theadjective, so in this casepinakamaganda orpinakamagandang.

Plurality: unlike in English, Tagalog can express pluralitywithin the adjective word by adding an infix. For example,magagandang araw (beautiful days). To express plurality,we take the first syllable of the root of the adjective (ganda isthe root, sogan) but only use the first two letters, which isnormally composed of a consonant and a vowel (soga);


5/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 5finally, duplicate this infix to express plurality=magaganda. Another example is matatangkad. The roottangkadmeans height and matangkadmeans tall; finally,take the first syllable which is tangand duplicate the first twoletters (ta) of this syllable, making it matatangkad.

By adding the infix or duplicating the first syllable of the root(first two letters), the noun form itself does not have to be in aplural form but it expresses plurality; araw is day (singular)but by adding magagandangbefore araw, day becomesdays.

Meaning:

Concepts &Referents

Receptive The concept ofmaganda is associated with ideas and/ordescriptions of things (tangible or intangible) or people who havegood, positive and/or attractive attributes.

Productive The referents linked with the word maganda/magandangare timeof day (day and night); thus, it is used to greet people, as it is inEnglish (good day or good evening); it is also used with people

and tangible and/or intangible things (such as dreams or ideas)that have positive or attractive attributes.

Meaning:

Associations(Paradigmatic)

Receptive The word maganda evokes words, such as fair or good interms of weather (mabuti) as well as light-colored skin(maputi)culturally speaking, Filipinos consider light-coloredskin people as beautiful (maganda) (Tagalog EnglishDictionary, n.d.).

Productive Synonyms:marikit(pretty); kaibig-ibig(lovable orlovely); kaakit-akit(attractive);gwapo (only for male:handsome) orgwapa (only for female: pretty) (TagalogEnglish Dictionary, n.d.).

Antonyms: pangit(ugly); masama (bad); hindi maganda(not beautiful) (Tagalog English Dictionary, n.d.).

The meaning dimension is highly interrelated with the third dimension of languageuse.

This use dimension, also known as the pragmatics, explains when and why a particular

grammatical feature, word, or phrase is used; it considers the social and the linguistic discourse

context (Larsen-Freeman, 2003). Table 3 explains the use dimension of the previously mentioned

utterance.


6/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 6Table 3Use Dimension

Use:

GrammarFunctions

Receptive maganda belongs to the grammatical category of an adjective;araw is a noun.

Productive Maganda can only be used as an adjective describing a noun.

Use:

Co-occurrence(Syntagmatic)

Receptive The word maganda co-occurs regularly with time of day and isused as a greeting. For example, magandang gabi (good evening).It also co-occurs when describing a beautiful person, specifically alady. It can also be used to refer good news (magandang balita).Maganda is always used to describe a noun.The word araw often co-occurs with the wordgabi (night orevening)araw at gabi (day and night; at = and). Thisexpression is used to imply consistency, persistency, or an actiondone over a long span of time.

Productive The word maganda must not be used when describing a malesappearance. Using maganda when describing an appearance

should only be referred to females, especially more often toyoung ladies.

Maganda is also used to express ones liking of an object,giving a positive connotation; this word is only used to describea noun and is always used as an adjective.

Use:

Constraints onUse

Receptive The word maganda can be encountered in a conversation whensomeone tells another person a statement of factthat you arebeautifulor as a way to express admiration to a person

(maganda ka=youre pretty). The utterance magandang araw (good day)can be replaced

with other greetings, especially when the person wants toemphasize a specific time of daygood morning and goodafternoon, (respectively: magandang umaga, magandangtanghali) (Tagalog English Dictionary, n.d.).

Productive One should use the word maganda when expressing to a ladythat she is beautiful or when describing beautiful things.Maganda should also be used when referring to good such asin smell (pleasant smell) or business (good profitable business)

(Tagalog English Dictionary, n.d.).

In addition to what is explained in Table 3, to show that the speaker is pragmatically

competent, he/she should know how to transform the utterance to be appropriate to the context,

specifically when the boy is greeting an older person. To be polite, the speaker should add the


7/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 7articlepo at the end of an utterance. This example illustrates the complex yet interconnected

system of form, meaning, and use dimensions. Now that we understand the dynamic nature of

language, the following section describes how I used language to represent my identity.

Identity

Growing up, I felt more comfortable speaking the native language of whomever I was

interacting with. Because I wanted people to accept me as part of their community, I used certain

language forms and vocabulary words so that people could see me as a full-native Korean,

Filipino, or Chinese, depending on the context. In other words, my identity was heavily

influenced by my relationship to the world (Norton, 2000). Revisiting Larsen-Freemans (2003)

three dimensions of language, as a child, I used language in a different form, meaning, and use to

reflect and perform identity.

For example, I remember learning the Korean word/mal/ [mal] or [maal] (dual

meaning: horse or word/language). Because Korean is an alphasyllabic script or an

orthographic language, I thought it would be easy for me to know the form. In the example

/mal/ [mal], the letter [] represents the [m] sound, [] represents the [a] sound, and []

represents the [l] sound. However, what made the production of the word difficult was figuring

out the correct pronunciation speed. Knowing the correct speed is crucial because the speed with

which the form is uttered has a direct impact on its correspondent meaning. Pronouncing the

vowel [a] in the word/mal/ shorter [mal] would mean horse but pronouncing the vowel

longer[maal] means word. I remember that it took me a while to truly say the word in the

right speedthe native Korean way. Mastering the use dimension correctly took a longer time.

I learned that the word /mal/ [maal] can also mean language but is more appropriate to use

in conversations, whereas/n/ [ono] (language) is generally used in writing. However,


8/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 8during conversation, when using the word/mal/ [maal], I had to remember that when

speaking to an adult, I had to add/sm/ [sm] (a particle to express respect and only co-

occurs with the word/mal/ [maal] [language]). Without knowing how to use this word in an

appropriate context, I would not have been able to fully enact my Korean identity.Building Relationships

Aside from using language to form identity, language is also used to build social

relationships (Gee, 2011) and to determine the nature of the relationship we have or want to have

with people with whom we are communicating. What I appreciate the most about living in the

U.S is the linguistic diversity of people with plural identities. Canagarajah (2007) mentions that

people in multilingual communities have constant interaction between language groups, and

they overlap, interpenetrate, and mesh in fascinating ways (p. 930). I believe that, through this

constant interaction with diverse people, not only are relationships established, but society also

changes as peoples identities are further developed.

Previously, I know that some Koreans felt uncomfortable whenever they saw a foreigner

in Korea. Even as a child, I could tell that Korea was quite a homogenous country because I

rarely saw a foreigner. However, from my observation as a South Korean, things began to

change after the 2002 World Cup in Korea and the rise in Korean electronic and automobile

companies in the global market. I believe through frequent interaction with foreigners, Koreans

have become more open to different people, languages, and cultures, and as a result, Koreans

attitudes about other peoples languages and culture have changed.

For example, Koreans attitudes toward music seem to have changed. Before, American

pop music may have sounded foreign to Koreans since the lyrics are in English. Korean

peoples attitudes toward American music in general have changed from perceiving such music


9/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 9as foreign to one of admiration. In addition, I believe this interpenetration of culture happens in

both ways as a result of constant interaction (Canagarajah, 2007). Recently,Psy, a Korean pop

singer has gained enormous popularity in the U.S. Although Psys famous song, Gangnam

Style is sung in Korean language, many Americans admire the song and some people actually

sing the song in Korean. Many American friends who admire Psy have asked me what the lyrics

of Gangnam Style mean in English. Whenever I was asked to translate the song, I secretly

blamed Psy for singing the song in Koreanat least he could have translated the song and sing it

in English, now that he has millions ofYouTube viewers and admirers. However, come to think

of it, I think Psy is purposely not translating the song, because he is seeing Americans singing

the song in Korean. Referring back to Gees (2011) building task, using language to form

relationships, it seems like Psy is not only singing in Korean to maintain his identity (and his

song), but he is also trying to share his Korean identity and culture with his American fans

through language. Moreover, by seeing his fans singing in his home language, Psy may feel

closer to his foreigner fans, and the fans themselves may feel closer to Psy by singing his song in

Korean. Some of Psys fans may not know the meaning of his song and most of them may not

speak Korean. Nevertheless, we can observe that language and other semiotic system, such as

music, can be used to signal individuals unique identity andto develop a mutual bond by

sharing and appreciating the differences. In addition to understanding the three dimensions of

language and how language can be used to reflect identity and to build relationships, I will now

discuss my views on how language learning and teaching.

Language Learning and Teaching

Although both cognitive and social approaches to language learning are important, I

personally feel more strongly oriented toward the social view, partly because of my philosophy


10/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 10of language and its functionto build identity and relationships. From my own experience as a

multilingual individual who have lived in many different countries, learning all four languages as

a child, and growing up interacting and practicing language with diverse speakersboth native

and nonnativeI believe that language is acquired through interaction and how resourceful

learners are with the opportunities they are surrounded by.

Output, Interaction, and Affordances

Before, when people asked me how I acquired all four languages (Korean, Tagalog,

English, and Chinese), I always told them that it is because I learned these languages when I was

a child. I always thought age was the main factor that affected language learning. Although age

might have played a role, I think I always mentioned the age factor because I do not exactly

remember the steps of how I acquired these languages. However, what I do remember is that I

was constantly pushed to produce different languages because I was exposed to an

environment where I had to interact with speakers of different languagesKorean at home,

English and Chinese to my teachers, and Tagalog to my friends at school.

Later when I came to the United States and decided to study Spanish in college, I

remember how I had this slight nervous and anxious moment at the beginning of the semester.

When I came back from my first day of Spanish class, I sat down thinking, What did I get

myself into? Because I already spoke four languages, I thought learning another language

would not be a problem. But the whole time I was in my first Spanish class where everyone else

had some Spanish learning experience from high school, I was in a panic mode trying to recall

how I acquired other languages. After reflecting for a while and doing my reading and listening

homework, I went out of my room to sign up for our college Spanish club and Spanish

conversation partner program; I also signed up to go to a Hispanic church in town. I told my


11/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 11Korean roommate who was fluent in Spanish to only talk to me in Spanish, and I even went to

the local Mexican restaurant and store in town to speak with the waiter/waitresses and the cashier

ladies. Although it may seem like I was overdosing myself with Spanish, I believe that my

rigorous attempt to produce language output so than played a significant role in acquiring a

second language (L2) as an adult learner.

According to Swain (1995, 2005), language output has three main functions in L2

acquisition. First, output enables learners to notice the gaps in their language learning as they

face difficulties in producing the target language. Second, through output, learners are able to

test their hypothesis of their linguistic knowledge. Moreover, when language learners are

provided with an opportunity to speak with more competent L2 speakers, negotiation of meaning

could happen as they interact (Long, 1996). For instance, when the more competent L2 speakers

provide feedback (e.g., corrective or confirmation check) to the learners, their feedback could

help the learners notice the gap of what they produced and what the norms are (Gass & Mackey,

2007); thus, they are able to rearticulate their utterance. Third, output provides an opportunity for

learners to use their metacognitive skills to reflect on their output or their interlocutors output as

they interact in the target language.

While output through interaction is important in language acquisition, to have a

meaningful output, the ways interactions are encouraged, especially in a classroom setting,

should be carefully considered. By understanding Vygotskys (1978) sociocultural theory

(SCT), which discusses how we use language to mediate with our physical and social

environment, we recognize that interaction needs to be contextualized and carefully constructed.

For instance, in language classrooms, opportunities for interaction should be guided and be

meaningful to push the learners to reach their potential through the zone of proximal


12/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 12development (ZPD)a gap between what learners can do on their own and what learners can

accomplish with assistance, such as peers, teachers, or even books (Vygotsky, 1978).

In relation to the concept of ZPD, Donatos (1994) idea ofscaffoldingis also helpful in

ensuring meaningful interaction, especially in a language classroom. Scaffolding is a situation

where a knowledgeable participant can create supportive conditions in which the novice can

participate, and extend his or her current skills and knowledge to higher levels of competence

(Donato, 1994, p. 40). It is important to note that scaffolding can happen both through teachers

and peers.

In my Lesson Plan, my way of adapting scaffolding was to first carefully select a topic

and materials that were level appropriate and that would meet their needs and interests. Since this

lesson was for beginner-level Japanese ESL students from Yokohama Trade and Commerce

College, I chose a familiar themefood and restaurantand incorporated skills other than

language that might be relevant to their future career, such as marketing and business skills. The

students were asked to work with a pair, create an innovative dish representing their restaurant,

list the ingredients, write the recipe incorporating the vocabulary words learned, and present the

restaurant and the dish recipe to the class. Prior to this activity, I first introduced students with

basic cooking/recipe related words, such as chop, fry, and boil; I gave them a handout of these

cooking related words with pictures (see Appendix A). After reviewing the words with them, I

had a mini-exercise to check that they know all these words; this was my second attempt to

scaffold the activity. From the Internet, I played a muted YouTube video of a chef cooking a dish

step by step. I asked students to guess what cooking action he was doing at the moment (e.g.,

chop, fry, and boil). After this pre-activity, I gave them another handout (see Appendix B) of a

simple model recipeto provide another scaffold and a reference to the task. Using this handout,


13/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 13as a class, I guide students to identity some basic features of a recipe (e.g., listing the instructions

by using a verb in the beginning of a sentence).

When pairing the students, I assigned each student a roleone person to draw the dish

and the other person to write the recipe. When presenting, I asked students to select one person

as the restaurant manager introducing themselves and the name and the type of the restaurant and

the other person as the chef explaining the cooking steps of the recipe. By assigning a clear role

in each pair, learners are able to collaborate and interact meaningfully. Finally, after each pair

presented the recipe in front of the class, the remaining students had to rate the recipe in terms of

the standard I want to eat/try the food using a star rating system of one to five (five star as the

highest) (see Appendix C). The remaining students also decided on the price of the dish (see

Appendix C). After doing a sample rating together, all the students successfully wrote the name

of the team and the dish, rated the dish using by giving stars, and giving a price of the dish

individually after each presentation. At the end of all the presentations, I collected Appendix C

and counted all the stars and awarded the most favorite dish; I also averaged the prices and

awarded the cheapest dish. By doing this rating task, I also provided the remaining students a

participatory role in the presentation.

There were two fascinating observations during this activity. First, I saw the presenting

students using language beyond what they seemed to have initially prepared (e.g., introduction

and recipe speech). The students used persuasive skills to market and sell their dish, as if they

truly had tasted the dish before (all the students created a new dish). Second, I noticed that at the

end of every presentation, the remaining students were negotiating the stars and the prices

amongst themselves. I did not ask them to do this negotiation but they naturally started to

interact and explain to each other in English why this dish deserves, for instance, two stars.


14/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 14Through the scaffolded tasks, my goal was to guide students to use various opportunities

in the environment for learning, or what van Lier (2002) calls affordances. The concept of

affordance is associated with language learning because affordance affects learners possibility,

capacity, and their proximity to acquire language as they interact with their surrounding (van

Lier, 2000, 2004). These notions of affordance are applicable to my language belief. Learners

further develop their identity and relationships as they use language to interact with people and

the environment. Furthermore, through interaction, this concept of affordance implies that

learners, who have a different language identity (i.e., language background and learning history)

and experiences, could lead to a differing language learning trajectory. This leads me to my next

discussion of how identity plays a role in language acquisition.

Identity

According to Newmark and Riebel (1968), when second language (L2) speakers face

communicative problems, they tend to resort to their first language (L1). In my case as a child, I

used different languages with different people over the course of a given day. For example, when

I was at home, I only used Korean when speaking to my parents. At school, I used Chinese when

speaking to my Chinese teachers and Taglish (Tagalog and English) with my Filipino friends.

Although no one told me to do so, I switched back and forth among four languages every day.

Garcia (2009) calls this phenomenon as translanguagingor how speakers engage in

bilingual/multilingual discourse to understand their bilingual worlds.

When thinking about my childhood, I was not trying to enhance my proficiency in all

these languages so that I could have a better future. I remember the participant, Alice, in

Kingingers (2004) study who decided to study French to improve her impoverished situation.

Unlike Alice who invested her time and effort in learning and using a language to become part of


15/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 15an imagined community (Norton, 2000, 2001) that she wanted to belong to in the nearfuture, I

was using language because I did not want to be perceived as different in thepresentcommunity

that I was inat my Chinese school, Filipino neighborhood, and at home. Thinking about it,

perhaps my strong desire to want to belong somewhere stems from the fact that I do not belong

anywhere. As previously mentioned, although I was Korean, I did not feel that my identity was

100% Korean. Because of my desire to be accepted somewhere and have a relationship with

people in different contexts, I found myself translanguaging, switching among languages while

choosing the interlocutors native language when communicating with them.

To perform a specific identity, I had to learn the language and its use in appropriate

contexts. For example, to be a polite Korean was important for me not only because I wanted

to be accepted as a full Korean but I also had to perform my identity as a pastors kid. People

from my church expected me to be a good kid because there were certain expectations from

the people on how I should be raised in a religious family. Since people from my church visited

my houses every day, I neededto act appropriately as a Korean, which entailed my proper

practice of the Korean traditional norms, including adding a Korean particle /yo/ [jo] at theend of every utterance to show respect to the elderly.

When speaking of my desire to be a full Korean, including being fluent in the

language, it all began when I started dating my first Korean boyfriend. One day, I wrote to him

my first Korean love letter, but when he wrote back to me, he pointed out all the spelling and

grammatical errors in my previous letter. I was embarrassed at first, but later I became motivated

to become fluent in Korean so that I could express myself better and also so that he would not

look down on me. I began to use all the resources I had in my surroundingpeople, books,

Korean dramasto maximize my learning opportunity.


16/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 16Later, my initial motivation of impressing a boy morphed to my desire to be linguistically

competent. I started to challenge myself linguistically, such as writing my own Korean love

poems. I even wrote an article about my multicultural identity and had it published in a Korean

magazine that my parents subscribed. I purposely selected that magazine because my parents

slowly started to refuse my multicultural identity. I still cannot forget the day when my parents

showed me two types of applesone was from Korea and the other was from the U.S. They

asked me which tasted better. To me, both tasted the same, but my parents told me that I should

have selected the Korean apple because my blood is Korean. After that incident with my

parents, I decided to express my feelings and write an article in Korean. Writing the article and

sending it to a publishing company served as an opportunity for me to grow linguistically since I

had to learn how to write in a new genre, a magazine article. Moreover, I knew that I was

pushing myself further because I was risking my identity of being a good kid by rebelling

against their desire for me to become only a Korean. Overall, all these experiences have helped

me understand my motivations of wanting to be a Korean and speaking Korean, yet refusing to

only represent one identity.

Motivation

The final factor that I believe affect language acquisition is motivation. Motivation is an

important theme to explore when examining learners language learning process. Harmer (2001)

defines motivation as some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to

achieve something (p. 51). Drnyei (2001) relates motivation to why people decide to do

something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity and how hard they are going to

pursue it (p. 8). According to cognitivists, such as Drnyei (2001), motivation is viewed as a

psychological construct, which affects how learners view language. In his L2 Motivational Self


17/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 17System, Drnyei (2005) discusses the concept ofideal selfand ought-to-self, which are attributes

that learners ideally would like to possess and what they believe they ought to possess,

respectively. Drnyei (2005) explains that the gap between the ideal self and ought-to-self is

what gives learners the cognitive desire to reduce the difference of current and potential future

selves.

Drnyeis (2001, 2005) psychological insights have been helpful in understanding how

motivation plays a role in learners language learning, but it is also important to consider

motivation as a sociological construct, including learners identity and social contexts. Ushioda

(2009) argues that motivation research in SLA has always been discussed as a psychological

phenomenon. However, Kramsch (2002) points out that we should not separate cognitive

perspectives from social perspectives, or the individual (identity) from the environment (context)

to fully understand learners language acquisition process. For example, in Lambs (2004) study

of Indonesian junior high school students, the researcher asserts that students motivations to

learn English is partly due to their sense of responsibility, upholding their identity as a world

citizen and as an Indonesian citizen. In relation to identity, Norton (2010) considers learners

motivation to acquire a language as an investment to their own identity. Norton (2013) prefers

the term investmentto motivation because the term recognizes that learners investment in

learning a language constantly changes across time and space, especially since language is

viewed as a social practice.

Another way to understand motivation is through the concept of metacognition.

According to Ushioda (2010), metacognition happens only when the ability to control strategic

thinking processes is accompanied by the motivation or will to do so (p. 15). Several

researchers have analyzed the relationship between motivation and metacognitive strategies;


18/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 18however, Ushioda (2010) points out that these studies have only conducted quantitative research,

which limits the understanding ofhow motivation affects metacognitive skill development. In

my search for ways to motivate learners to thinkon their own and to have an agency role, I

decided to integrate goal-setting and reflection (GSR) activities in my curriculum (see Lesson

Plan). During the goal-setting time, I asked the Yokohama ESL students to write their language

goal(s) of the day. I introduced them the concept of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable,

Attainable, Relevant, and Time-sensitive; Doran, 1981) and provided a sample goal, such as

learn 5 new vocabulary words and be able to use it correctly in class discussions. The language

goals may or may not be related to the lesson topic. The purpose of this activity is to provide an

opportunity for learners to think about their motivations to learn a language and to reflect on

what they plan or hope to do to learn the language well. According to Drnyei (1998) and

Oxford and Shearin (1994) students motivation and metacognitive processes are improved

through goal-setting tasks.

At the end of class, I asked students to write a reflection on their journal. They are asked

to reflect on the goals that they had set initially, whether they achieved them or not. I also had

them write their language learning experience that day. By doing so, I wanted students to give

students an opportunity to freely express their thoughts and to use their metacognitive skills to be

aware of their output. Oxford (1990a, 1990b) claims that reflection is a useful metacognitive

strategy to further enhance learners communicative language development. In my interview

with one of my ESL students from Yokohama College, she mentioned that the GSR activities

have helped her learn how to study English. In her experience in my class, whenever she set a

specific goal, such as learning five new vocabulary words, she was more focused in my class,


19/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 19which helped her achieve her goal. Moreover, she said, reflection time help [sic] me become

confident because I finish [sic] my goal today.

Overall, by reading students journals each week, I was able to learn more about what

goals my students had in mind and their thoughts and feelings about language learning. I also

learned about what activities my students liked and which lessons were difficult for them. I

believe that I was able to reduce perceptual mismatches by carefully planning my lessons

(Kumaravadivelu, 2003). Kumaravadivelu (1991) argues that, the more we know about the

learners personal approaches and personal concepts, the better and more productive our

intervention will be (p. 107). When reading their daily journals, I carefully examined the gaps

between what I intended and how the students interpreted and felt about the lessons/activities; by

doing so, I was able to avoid future events that may lead to cognitive, communicative, linguistic,

and/or pedagogic mismatches.

Conclusion

Defining language is complex, yet as a language teacher and researcher, it is crucial to

know what language means, because it serves as an essential mediator of learning and teaching

(G. Bunch, personal communication, March 1, 2013). In this paper, I have explored language

through the three dimensions of form, meaning, and use, as well as language as a function to

build an identity and to form relationships. Embracing these language views, I believe that

output, interaction, and affordances affect learners language acquisition. Moreover, learners

identity and motivation play a significant role in influencing language acquisition. By becoming

more aware of these theories and applying them into practice, teachers could help learners

scaffold their learning, maximize students learning opportunities, and avoid perceptual


20/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 20mismatches in language classrooms to enhance students language learning experience and

proficiency.


21/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 21References

Canagarajah, A. S. (2007). Lingua franca English, multilingual communities, and language

acquisition.Modern Language Journal, 91, 923939.

Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding. In J. P. Lantolf & G. Appel (Eds.), Vygotskian

approaches to second language research (pp. 3356). Norwood, NJ : Ablex Publishers.

Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives.

Management Review, 70, 3536.

Drnyei, Z. (1998). Survey article: Motivation in second and foreign language learning.

Language Teaching, 31, 117135.

Drnyei, Z. (2001).Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge

Language Teaching Library.

Drnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second

language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Garcia, O. (2009).Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. New York:

Blackwell/Wiley.

Gass, S., & Mackey, A. (2007). Input, interaction, and output in second language acquisition. In

B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition : An

introduction (pp. 175200). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum

Gee, J. P. (2011).An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method(3rd ed.).

London: Routledge.

Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. Essex: Longman Press.

How to Make Spaghetti. (2013, February 8). Learn to cook. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR31mONgk6Q


22/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 22How to Make Spaghetti. (n.d.). Learn to cook. Retrieved from

http://learntocook.com/spaghetti/how-to-make-spaghetti/

Kinginger, C. (2004). Alice doesn't live here anymore: Foreign language learning and

renegotiated identity. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.),Negotiation of identities in

multilingual context(pp. 219242). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Kramsch, C. (2002). Introduction: How can we tell the dancer from the dance? In C. Kramsch

(Ed.),Language acquisition and language socialization: Ecological perspectives (pp. 1

30). London: Continuum.

Kumaravadivelu, B. (1991). Language learning tasks: Teacher intention and learner

interpretation.ELT Journal. 45, 98107.

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003).Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for language teaching.

New Haven: Yale University Press.

Lamb, M. (2004). Integrative motivation in a globalizing world. System, 32, 319.

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2001). Teaching grammar. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as

a second or foreign language (3rd ed., pp. 251266). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching language: From grammar to grammaring. Boston:

Thomson/Heinle.

Long, M. H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W.

C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.),Handbook of research on language acquisition. Vol. 2:

Second language acquisition. (pp. 413468). New York, NY: Academic Press.

maganda. (n.d.). Tagalog English Dictionary. Retrieved March 3, 2012, from

http://www.tagalog-dictionary.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?s=maganda

Newmark, L., & Riebel, D. (1968). Necessity and sufficiency in language learning.


23/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 23International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 6, 145164.

Norton, B. (2000).Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity, and educational change.

Harlow, England: Longman/Pearson Education.

Norton, B. (2001). Non-participation, imagined communities, and the language classroom. In M.

Breen (Ed.),Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp.

159171). Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Norton, B. (2013, March).Identity and language learning across time and space. Symposium

conducted at the TESOL Conference, Dallas, TX.

Oxford, R. L. (1990a). Language learning strategies and beyond: A look at strategies in the

context of styles. In S. S. Magnan (Ed.), Shifting the instructional focus to the learner(pp.

3555). Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

Oxford, R. L. (1990b).Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. Boston:

Heinle & Heinle.

Oxford, R. L., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation: Expanding the theoretical

framework.Modern Language Journal, 78, 1228.

Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. In G. Cook & B.

Seidlhofer (Eds.),Principle and practice in applied linguistics: Studies in honour of H.G.

Widdowson (pp. 125144). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.),Handbook of

research in second language teaching and learning(pp. 471483). Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ushioda, E. (2009). A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and

identity. In Z. Drnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.),Motivation, language identity, and the L2


24/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 24self(pp. 215228). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Ushioda, E. (2010). Motivation and SLA: Bridging the gap.EUROSLA Yearbook, 10, 520.

van Lier, L. (2000). From input to affordance: Social-interactive learning from an ecological

perspective. In J. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning(pp.

245259). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

van Lier, L. (2002). An ecological-semiotic perspective on language and linguistics. In C.

Kramsch (Ed.),Language acquisition and language socialization: Ecological

perspectives (pp. 140164). London: Continuum.

van Lier, L. (2004). The ecology and semiotics of language learning: A sociocultural

perspective. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978).Mind in society. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.


25/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 25Lesson Plan

My Restaurants Best Dish

Date: February 10, 2013 Duration: 2 hours (with a 10-minute break)

Class Size: 10 studentsLearner Background:

Nonnative English speakers Beginner to low-intermediate proficiency ESL students from Yokohama Trade and

Commerce College (Yokohama, Japan)

Setting:

One-month summer language intensive ESL program Language and Culture class: beginner to low-intermediate level Technology-rich environment; there is a TV projector connected with teachers laptop

with Internet access

Previous lesson: reading and/or writing about food in different cultures Subsequent lesson: writing an email

Materials:

Poster boards Markers Laptop with Internet access Students journal YouTube 1link to a cooking demonstration of How to Make Spaghetti


Appendix A: List of ways to cook (ten copies) Appendix B: Sample recipe How to Make Spaghetti (ten copies) Appendix C: Recipe star and price rating sheet (ten copies)

Objectives: Students will be able to...

Identify different ways of cooking (cooking verbs; e.g., fry, boil, drain) Create their own dish and write a simple recipe applying cooking verbs Identity some basic features of a recipe (e.g., listing the instructions by using a verb in the

beginning of a sentence)

Present the dish and the restaurant in front of the class

1 How to Make Spaghetti. (2013, February 8). Learn to cook. Retrieved from



26/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 26My Restaurants Best Dish

Time Stage Activity

5 min. Announcements/Goal-setting

Material: Students journal

Make announcements Ask students (Ss) to write their languagelearning goals of the day in their journal.

30 min. Pre-task:Familiarizingwith cooking

verbs and recipe

Materials: Appendix A and B, YouTube video

Transition by telling Ss that today they will berestaurant managers and chefs.

Also tell them that they will be creating aninteresting dish and market (or sell) it to thestudents.

Ask Ss whether they like to cook and whetherthey have created their own unique dish.

Prior to creating a dish and writing its recipe, tellSs that they will learn basic cooking verbs.

Distribute Appendix A. Go over each cookingverbs with them, reading it aloud, so that Ssknow how to pronounce the verbs.

Ask Ss if have any questions or if they are unsureabout a cooking verb.

Transition: tell Ss that you will check theircooking verb knowledge by having them guessthe action shown on the YouTube video link onHow to Make Spaghetti. Encourage Ss to trynot to look at the list.

Show the video and pause on each cookingaction. Ask Ss as a class what the verb is.

After going through the video, transition bytelling Ss that they will now look at an actualsample recipe How to Make Spaghetti.Distribute Appendix B.

Explain to Ss that they will be using this samplerecipe to guide them when they are writing theirown recipe later.

Ask students to notice how the recipe is written.Ask the following questions:

o Where are the ingredients written?(top/beginning of the recipe)

o How are the measurements of theingredients written? (cups, spoons, grams)

o How instructions are given? (using verbs


27/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 27at the beginning of a sentence)

o How many sentences are there in eachinstruction? (one, two, etc.)

o What other characteristics can you findfrom this recipe? (picture of the dish at

the beginning, serving size, etc.)15 min.+ 10 min.

break + 10min.

Task 1:

Writing therecipe with a

partner

Materials: Poster boards and markers

Transition by telling Ss to find a partner to dothis activity.

Tell Ss that one person takes the role of thedrawer of the dish and the manager introducingthe team and the restaurant during thepresentation. The other person takes the role ofthe writer of the recipe and the chef explaininghow to cook the dish.

Distribute the poster boards and markers. Remind Ss to refer to the cooking verb list

(Appendix A) and the sample recipe (AppendixB).

Tell Ss to brainstorm with their partner and thinkabout a creative dish first. Then they can discusshow the dish would be made. Then one personwrites the recipe while the other person draws thedish.

Tell Ss that you will give them first give them 15minutes to work on the task, and then they can

continue for 15 minutes more after taking a 10-minute break.

Walk around and provide assistance whennecessary. Check to see if the pairs have notstarted writing their recipe after the first 5minutes.

After the 10-minute break, show a brief sampleof how a presentation should be made. Tell Ssthat their presentation should be less than 5minutes. Provide a sample sequence on theboard:

1. Manager: introduces the team and therestaurant name and the type of restaurant(Italian, Japanese, etc.)

2. Manager: introduces the best dish in therestaurant, pointing to the picture.Manager then introduces the Chef.

3. Chef: Introduces the ingredients and thenthe recipe instructions.


28/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 284. Chef: Conclude by explaining why the

dish is good.

Tell Ss to proceed with the activity. Watch the time and remind Ss to wrap up 2

minutes before the time allotted.

40 min. Task 2:Presenting the

dish

Material: Appendix C

Come back together as a class. Hand outAppendix C.

Explain to Ss that when a group is presentingtheir dish, on the Appendix C, the remaining Sshave to write the name of the team and the dish,rate the dish using by giving stars (1 to 5 stars; 5being the highest), and giving a price (in USdollars) of the dish individually after each

presentation. Tell students that the star rating is based on how

much they want to try or eat the food.

Tell Ss that I will collect the Appendix C at theend of all the presentations and add all the starsto find out which team wins the most favoritedish. Also, tell them that you will average theprices given to each dish to find out who wins thecheapest dish.

Transition by asking for a volunteer that wants topresent first.

Proceed with the presentation. Help Ss setting upthe poster board. Tell Ss that you will raise yourhand when there is only 1 minute left out of 5minutes of their presentation.

At the end of each presentation, give Ss about 1-2minutes to rate the dish and give a price. Tell Ssthat they can talk to their peers to discuss theirratings or price. Encourage Ss to write acomment about the dish

5 min. Post-task:

Awarding thebest dish and the

cheapest dish

Material: Appendix C

Once all the presentations are done, give Sscompliments for their hard work and creativity.

Collect Appendix C and add all the stars andaverage the price of each teams dish.

Announce the team who won best dish and thecheapest dish.


29/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 29 Give Ss time to interact and congratulate the

winning team. Ask the winning team(s) to saysomething to peers.

5 min. Closing:

Self-reflection(journal) time

Material: Students journal

Ask Ss to open their journal and reflect on theirown language learning experience today. Didthey achieve their goals?

Encourage students to think about what theywere good at and what they need to work onmore, as well as discuss how they feel about theirlearning progress.


30/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 30Appendix A

List of Cooking Verbs Ways to Cook

Heat

Add

Chop

Dice

Mince


31/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 31 Stir-fry

Boil

Simmer

Drain

Pour

Serve


32/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 32

Appendix B

Sample Recipe

Spaghetti2

Ingredients4 tablespoons olive oil1 large yellow onion, chopped2 cloves garlic, minced1 (28-ounce) can diced or diced tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes1 lb. package dry spaghettiA pinch of salt and pepper

Procedure1. In a small pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil.2. Add the onion and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft.3. Add garlic and stir-fry until tender.4. Add the tomatoes and simmer an additional 10 minutes.5. Add in red pepper flakes, pepper, and salt.6. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

7. While the sauce is cooking, boil the pasta in salted water for 5 minutes.8. When the pasta is ready, drain the water.9. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta.10. Serve.

2 How to Make Spaghetti. (n.d.). Learn to cook. Recipe retrieved from http://learntocook.com/spaghetti/how-to-

make-spaghetti/


33/33

Hala Sun&C4 Position Paper 33Appendix C

Rating and Price

Sample:

Team/Restaurant Name: Halas Kitchen

Name of Dish: Sweet Potato SushiStars (1 to 5; 5=Best): * * * * *

Price: $5.00

Comment: Looks delicious!

1. Team/Restaurant Name: __________Name of Dish:_____________

Stars (1 to 5; 5=Best): __________

Price: __________

Comment:_______________


Stars (1 to 5; 5=Best): __________

Price: __________

Comment:_______________


Stars (1 to 5; 5=Best): __________Price: __________

Comment:_______________


Stars (1 to 5; 5=Best): __________

Price: __________

Comment:_______________


Stars (1 to 5; 5=Best): __________

Price: __________

Comment:_______________

Date post:	03-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	harahsun2470
View:	228 times
Download:	0 times

Sun C4 Final

Documents