Lesson 5: Learning vs. Acquisition
I am very much a fan of Krashen and his 5 Hypotheses about SLA. In my foreign language classroom I used a method (TPRS) that was largely based on Krashen and his research. His first Hypothesis, acquisition vs. learning, was the backbone of my teaching. Through stories, told or read, the students had the impression that they weren't really "learning", and that was the idea.
The Natural Order Hypothesis was put to work by keeping the language mostly in present, unless something else was needed, and then work through past tense, future, imperfect, etc. Generally in the first year present and past tenses were the focus.
I did not want them to use their "monitors". This was a very difficult idea for many of the students to grasp. They had been used to being graded on the correctness of their written or oral output.
The input was the key. I saw a huge difference with my level 1's using this method than the "learning" method. I would shelter vocabulary (try to only use vocab they knew) but not grammar. If I needed to use the imperative I did.
TPRS allowed the students to have lower levels of anxiety. To the students it felt like a very low pressure environment. Some people know of TPRS and love it, hate it, etc. I can only speak on my experience. It engaged the students, they enjoyed class, I saw them really seem to enjoy the learning (acquisition). As with any foreign language (or even math!) use it or lose it. Now many years later I would be curious to know if my TPRS students (taught with Krashen's ideas in mind) have retained French any better than my other students.
posted by Sarah at
7:23 PM
2 Comments:
Sarah, I, too, like TPRS. As a theory, it may have flaws, but as a practical tool for teaching, it makes sense. The affective filter is low, listening skills come before speaking skills, shelter vocabulary but not needed grammar. It is so simple. It works with younger students better in my opinion, b/c they don't mind the goofiness of the stories. My middle school students just think I like to make up weird stories. They don't realize that they are acquiring the language.
I often combine some other techniques with TPRS. I guess Krashen would say that I am adding learning with the acquiring. After I teach a story and the students have retold it, read it and completely understand it, I have the students go back and reread it for grammar points. I have them use their monitors to examine the story for specific grammar points. For example, last week, they reread the chapter story for helping verbs and circled verb parts to notice word order. I do think that the students would acquire correct word order eventually, but we, as teachers, often have to abandon the TPRS rules and speed up the process with some "learning."
David
I agree with David’s comment about speeding up the process with “learning”. I think teachers need to not only be concerned with what is sufficient for SLA but also what is the most efficient and fastest way to develop proficiency. About TPRS, this method may work well for some students, however, in my case this method raises my “affective filter”.
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