So this isn’t theoretical, really, or supported by a sample size of more than one (me). But I found it an interesting realization. I’ve been trying to learn/acquire (mostly what’s available is geared toward learning, not acquisition) a certain Native American language for some time now. Like most traditional students of language, my efforts were […]
Archive for January, 2015
“Acquisition” vs “progress”
On a teaching email list, someone recently posted expressing pleasure at how well someone was “acquiring” TPRS. Except that you don’t “acquire” TPRS. Why does that matter? Why does it make a difference whether we throw the word “acquire” around for the pleasure of using a word that, to us, is the center of our […]
Life Experience and Authentic Tasks in the Language Classroom
There was recently a discussion about other things on a mailing list, and a teacher gave some examples of types of assessment being used. One thing stuck out in my mind: a task that required students to make a “phone call” (to an online service) and inquire about renting an apartment in a city in […]
TPRS for Adult Post-Beginners
A teacher recently asked for suggestions for how to modify TPRS to suit the needs of an adult “post-beginner” class, which would be taught for 2 hours a day. The goals of the class, which is for ESL, would be to equip the learners with the language to be able to rent housing, shop, and […]