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comprehensible input and krashen s theory by robert patrick ver the last 20 years in the united ci and the latin classroom the last studies and preparations i was not ...

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                Comprehensible Input 
                and Krashen’s theory
                by Robert Patrick
                      ver the last 20 years in the United        CI and the Latin Classroom: The last  studies and preparations, I was not 
                OStates a curious and likely                                                                       prepared to speak a word of Latin. I was 
                unpredictable movement has been                  two decades                                       not prepared to actually read Latin. I had 
                evolving in the way that we teach Latin and                                                        never had the experience of thinking in 
                ancient Greek. A set of pedagogical              20 years ago, as a relatively new teacher of      Latin. I never wrote a single personally 
                principles known as Comprehensible Input         Latin I had a series of experiences that I        communicative sentence in Latin. I was 
                (hereafter CI) has become a vehicle of           can now identify as the beginning of my           not ever given the chance to try and 
                change affecting our classrooms, our             encounter with Comprehensible Input. I            understand Latin spoken to me for the 
                professional organisations and our teacher       was teaching by day and going back to             purpose of communication. I had, 
                training programs as well as our                 University by night to work on a degree in        through relentless self-imposed 
                relationships with and our positions in          Spanish. Lady Fortune saw to it that I            determination, mastered the ability to talk 
                world language organisations. These              landed in a class of intermediate Spanish         at length about the different uses of the 
                changes to the teaching of classical             taught by a professor from India who had          ablative case, of compound verbs that 
                languages were unpredictable because at          studied all of his Spanish in Spain. He was       require the dative, of verbs of 
                the outset CI represented a set of               multilingual and, as I came to understand,        remembering and forgetting that require 
                hypotheses and then principles that even         spent a great deal of time reflecting on          the genitive, of the difference in primary 
                their progenitor, Stephen Krashen,               how he would deliver language learning to         and secondary sequence. I could tell you 
                thought of as the way into acquiring             his students. After my first class with him,      what a Ciceronian period was and how 
                modern languages while teachers of               he never spoke another word of English            utterly overwhelming they could be to try 
                classical languages had constructed a            to us (which by itself is not necessarily a       to translate. And yes, translation: it would 
                fortified wall around themselves built on        good teaching plan). At the same time, he         be a few years before I came to realise that 
                the notion that Latin and ancient Greek          ensured that no one in the room was lost          translating Latin or Greek was not at all 
                were uniquely different from modern              for lack of understanding. He spoke to us         the same thing as reading those languages 
                languages and, therefore, required different     entirely in Spanish in ways that we always        which could actually be done, left to right, 
                approaches. In many iterations of this wall,     understood. Every session included new            word for word. Reading these languages 
                only a select cadre of students was thought      vocabulary which he always helped us              as they were written and understanding 
                (and easily demonstrated to be) capable of       understand even while we were using               them as such also creates deeper meaning 
                or even interested in mastering classical        them. I would leave those classes, and, on        and understanding in the reader who is 
                languages. This article will examine very        the trip home, discover that I continued          then drawn into the text. Translating or 
                briefly what this wave of change has been        to hold internal dialogues in my mind in          decoding classical languages is rather like 
                like in the Latin classrooms and institutions    Spanish. I will never forget the night that       demanding that the meaning of the text 
                of the US and examine in particular the          this nagging, relentless question arose in        come out and become something foreign 
                principles of Comprehensible Input: what         my consciousness: why can I not teach             to itself - the reader’s native language.
                they propose, how they are being practised       Latin this way?                                        About this same time, the American 
                in Latin classrooms, and the obstacles they           The answer to that question is a long        Council on the Teaching of Foreign 
                encounter as well as opportunities they          one which I will not belabour here except         Languages (ACTFL) published its first 
                afford Latin programs which intend to            through summary. I could not teach Latin          edition of the Standards for World 
                survive and thrive in the coming years.          that way because through all of my own            Languages. In the course of attempting to 
                The Journal of Classics Teaching 20 (39) p.37-44 © The Classical Association 2019. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the 
                Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction 
                in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.                                                                               37
   https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631019000060 Published online by Cambridge University Press
           embrace what ACTFL was offering to us                In the early 2000’s with all of these       as someone who simply did not know his 
           via the four modes of language (listening,      competing questions stirring in me, a            Latin. If one did not know the basics of 
           reading, speaking and writing), I came          confluence of things moved me on in this         Latin grammar, the usual dismissal went, 
           across reference to Krashen’s work. It          quest for Latin as a language that               why should we listen to these theories that 
           would still be another five years before I      communicates important messages.                 are meant for modern languages? Besides, 
           actually picked up his work and began to        Despite my first horrible attempts to use        Latin is different, and these things won’t 
           try to employ it in my teaching.                Latin in my classroom, I persisted in the        work in Latin. I lost count of the times 
           Meanwhile, I was determined to teach            idea that I should be able to do that. I also    that I was told that nothing I had to offer 
           Latin like my Spanish professor was             came across the works of James Asher             was worth the conversation because my 
           teaching me Spanish. I decided that the         with Total Physical Response (1988), the         Latin was bad. I came to understand that 
           problem was that I couldn’t speak Latin,        hypotheses of Stephen Krashen, the               accusing another colleague of bad Latin 
           so I attempted to focus on that. I created      natural method used by Hans Oerburg,             was the quickest and commonest defence 
           classroom scripts for myself which I            and the so called ‘green bible’ of Ray and       against new ideas in our community. 
           painstakingly created using the Latin I         Seely. By reading their works I was using        Despite this experience of shouting 
           knew and what was at the time the first         total physical response to introduce new         against the traditional winds, two of us 
           edition of Conversational Latin for Oral        vocabulary, convincing administrators to         decided to create a new listserv. John 
           Proficiency (Traupman, 1997). The day           purchase Oerburg’s Lingua Latina as our          Piazza (current Latin teacher at Berkley 
           came when I was ready (with the help of         textbook (which had no English in it at          High School) and I formed the Latin Best 
           cue cards hidden from student sight all         all), attempting to tell and ask stories and     Practices listserv (now found on 
           over the room) to speak to my students in       circle words and phrases in my classroom         Facebook) and quickly established it as a 
           Latin of all the classroom management           just by trial and error (with no one to ask      place to discuss ‘those second language 
           things that we did every day. That’s when I     or model after in Latin). I had read the         acquisition practices that help all kinds of 
           encountered what should have been the           five hypotheses of Krashen. They made            students make progress in Latin and 
           obvious obstacle: I had prepared myself         sense on paper, but it would still be            which continue to evolve into better 
           to speak Latin to them, but I had no idea       several years before they began to be the        practices as they are shared’.
           how to prepare them to understand what          framework for practices in my classroom.              A little over ten years ago in 2008 two 
           I was trying to say. Needless to say, those     In early 2004, I had the opportunity to          colleagues (Rachel Ash and Stephanie 
           first attempts were anxiety-provoking in        attend a one-day lecture with Stephen            Molchen) and I offered what would be the 
           all of us, exhausting and sent me back to       Krashen in Atlanta followed by a two-day         first (and at the time we were sure the last) 
           ponder. Perhaps Latin was just too              workshop the next year with Jason Fritze         session at the Institute of the American 
           different. Perhaps Spanish was just so          in the use of TPRS. In those two live and        Classical League introducing 
           much easier that it could be taught in a        interactive events, I found much                 Comprehensible Input. To an overflow 
           way that immediately communicated.              affirmation for what I had been trying,          crowd of about 100 Latin teachers, we 
           Perhaps I was wasting my time. Those            some correctives for what I had                  offered a reading from Ovid’s 
           thoughts tortured me because at the same        misunderstood and the encouragement              Metamorphoses - the description of Envy: 
           time I found competing thoughts. Latin is       (at least from modern language                   Met. II.760-782, 790-796. We asked 
           a human language. It has an incredibly          colleagues) to persist.                          participants to read it to themselves, 
           long history of communicating what all               Trying to talk about these things with      saying that they had two minutes in which 
           of my own teachers and much of my               Latin colleagues was another kind of             to do so. We then asked them to turn to a 
           society claim are important, valuable           experience altogether. These were still the      partner and describe what they had just 
           perhaps even eternal messages for us to         days of email listservs. They were a huge        read. That discussion did not last long and 
           understand. If that’s so, how can I begin       advantage to professional collaboration          the level of conversation was very quiet. 
           to teach Latin as a language that               over waiting for annual conferences to           Over the course of the next hour, the 
           communicates?                                   arrive for a few days of face to face            three of us used a variety of CI strategies 
                The truth that confronted me each          conversation (often dominated by the             to deliver what we felt were the unknown 
           day was that all I was prepared to teach        reading of papers and no real                    vocabulary of this less read text, and we 
           my students was the equivalent of the art       conversation or collaborative reflection         did it completely in Latin. At the end of 
           of autopsy. That required a dead language       on best practices). The email listserv,          the hour, we asked participants to read the 
           and students with the fortitude to cut          however, left awful gaps in the ability to       text again. Within minutes the room was 
           open the corpse each day. Too many of           communicate. I boldly brought what I             buzzing with conversation and 
           them were not willing to do that, and they      was thinking, doing and trying to the            excitement. There were even a few 
           were failing. At this rate, my program          Latin community of teachers there, and it        audible gasps. Latin teachers were actually 
           would itself die in a few years. That has       was largely not welcome. I argued the            able to read and understand a passage that 
           been true all across our educational            theories as best I could. When asked for         an hour before many had difficulty with. 
           landscape. Too many Latin students were         examples, I would gladly offer up a recent       We had wanted them to experience this 
           not capable of or interested in linguistic      set of materials and experiences from my         approach as much like students as 
           autopsy of a dead language. They either         classroom. When a mistake was found in           possible, and it seemed they did. What 
           went elsewhere for language study, or           my Latin (regardless of whether it was a         was the first thing that someone said to us 
           failed out of our programs before our           typo or an actual gap in my knowledge) I         afterwards? It consisted of a criticism of 
           programs were closed.                           was dismissed along with the new theories        some of our pronunciation of a Latin 
             38                                                     Comprehensible Input and Krashen’s theory
   https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631019000060 Published online by Cambridge University Press
               word or two (your stress was off in that        students and five full-time Latin teachers.    workshops and graduate courses to 
               word). The overwhelming conversation            We have a high retention rate from year        teachers and teachers in training. I will 
               for the next two days, though, consisted        one to year four (40-60% depending on          give reference to Krashen’s work and 
               of individuals confessing to us how little      the year compared to a more traditional        strongly urge those interested in CI to 
               of the text they had first been able to         1-10%), and a virtual zero failure rate.       read his own words (all on his website for 
               read, and how much more they                    Our program now matches the school in          free access at www.sdkrashen.com). I will 
               understood after the CI framed activities.      every demographic including students           then offer an example of what that may 
                    Ten years later, Comprehensible            who are being served by Special                look like in a Latin classroom (remember, 
               Input is a reality that everyone is             Education for various learning difficulties.   there are dozens of practices developed 
               contending with. Scores of Latin teachers       Recent enrolment numbers show that our         and being developed) as well as potential 
               have fully embraced it. Many more are           Special Education numbers have almost          opportunities and obstacles that one may 
               taking their first steps with it. Thousands     doubled in the last two years including        encounter.
               are participating in conversations on the       121 currently among our total enrolment 
               internet about it, collaborating and            in Latin. The five of us who teach in the 
               sharing ideas as well as being willing to       Latin program are clear that we would          The Acquisition-Learning 
               ask questions about it. Even those who          never go back to anything we have done 
               reject it now know that they must include       prior to discovering the principles of         Distinction Principle
               it in their conversations, planning and         Comprehensible Input.
               structures when language pedagogy is                                                           As a Latin teacher, this first principle 
               part of the conversation. Sessions offered                                                     played more games with my own thinking 
               at the American Classical League’s annual       Krashen’s Principles of                        about our language than perhaps any of 
               Summer Institute now routinely include                                                         the others. Ultimately, I realised that I had 
               many which are devoted to CI-related            Comprehensible Input                           spent so many years ‘learning’ Latin while 
               topics, and this is true at regional and state                                                 ‘acquiring’ very little of it. So, what is this 
               level classics professional meetings as         In what follows, I offer what I now            distinction that Krashen draws (1982, pp 
               well. Conferences that used to be               understand to be the principles of             10-11)? We must note up front that very 
               dismissed by Latin teachers as for modern       Comprehensible Input that can be a             often, especially among language teachers, 
               languages only now enjoy a healthy              complete philosophical framing of              learning language and acquiring language 
               contingent of Latin teachers who are            pedagogical practices. Those are               are used almost synonymously, and 
               present for and offering workshops on           important distinctions. The principles         learning a language is most often spoken 
               their use of second language acquisition        provide an intellectual framework for the      of among educators as if it were the same 
               principles which stem from or are in            various (dozens) of practices which we         as learning mathematics. This first 
               dialogue with Comprehensible Input.             are creating, using, sharing and evolving      principle begins a very different framing 
               Younger teachers who are joining the field      in our classrooms. What I am calling the       for us around what we do as teachers of 
               either have come from programs that             principles of CI began as Krashen’s five       language, even the Latin language. The 
               have included CI in their array of second       hypotheses. Some time later, he offered a      acquisition of language is unconscious, 
               language acquisition studies, or they have      sixth. As I have heard Krashen himself         implicit, picked up from meaningful, 
               heard from their in-field colleagues that       say on numerous occasions, the difference      interesting messages in the target 
               CI is something they must know about.           in a hypothesis and a theory is not worth      language. Acquiring language in these 
               That has created a new reality in which         pressing. Both a hypothesis and a theory       ways advances the student’s ability in the 
               novice as well as veteran classical language    require evidence that supports their           language. Language learning is a 
               teachers have in common a new                   claims, and there is plenty of support to      consciously undertaken activity. Learning 
               willingness to learn how to teach Latin         establish the claims of his hypotheses. On     involves explicit knowledge about the way 
               and Greek differently from how they             the other hand, if you wish to disagree        language works. This kind of knowledge 
               themselves learned.                             with CI and have what you believe is one       is useful, but only when it comes to 
                    Before I turn to the principles of CI,     instance of non-supporting evidence,           editing language that one is already 
               I want to bring my own story up to the          there is no amount of evidence that will       capable of producing. Acquiring language 
               present. 14 years ago, I took the position      convince you otherwise. My own                 and learning about the nuts and bolts 
               that I now hold in a large (3000+               experience and that of scores of Latin         (grammar and syntax) of the language are 
               students) metropolitan high school. The         teachers who have embraced CI is that          ultimately both important, but they are 
               program was staffed by one Latin teacher        not only are the principles of CI              not the same and they are not 
               whom I replaced. There were 130                 intellectually appealing and supported by      interchangeable. Acquisition moves the 
               students in the program offering four           research and studies, but we find that by      student from novice to intermediate to 
               years of Latin. Despite the school’s            engaging in pedagogical practices that         advanced and above in the various 
               multicultural demographics, the Latin           reflect them, we see significantly positive    proficiencies of listening, reading, 
               program was made up entirely of white           results in our classrooms. Latin becomes       speaking and writing a language, but 
               and Asian students. By that time, I was         accessible to all kinds of learners, and       explicit learning of the grammar of a 
               fully committed to CI as the framework          while failure rates plummet retention rates    language is only useful after the student 
               for how I taught Latin. As I write this in      soar. Below, I will briefly explain each of    can produce the language. Traditional 
               late 2018, our program has grown to 700         the principles, i.e. how I explain them in     forms of teaching second languages, in 
                                                                Comprehensible Input and Krashen’s theory                                            39
   https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631019000060 Published online by Cambridge University Press
             particularly our own classical languages of                They are not memorised. They are not                      teaching. When they want to know why we 
             Latin and Ancient Greek, have focused                      learned. They are acquired. We find in our                said sellam instead of sella, we can within 
             on learning with very little, perhaps even                 own practices that beginning a new                        seconds explain that when the word is the 
             accidental occasions of acquisition.                       semester or school year with extensive                    object of an action or movement, we add 
                   Traditional Latin classrooms and all                 reviews is simply not necessary. Students                 an m to make that clear. Latin works like 
             textbooks that I know of follow a                          will not forget what they have acquired.                  that. Period. That will satisfy. It will be the 
             grammar syllabus thereby establishing the                        The opportunities afforded by focus                 kind of explanation that they are both 
             learning approach over acquisition. We                     on acquisition are many. The example                      ready for and for which they really need no 
             begin chapter 1 in a textbook with a look                  above demonstrates several. We can focus                  prior knowledge. Down the road, after 
             at first declension nouns or first                         on the immediate environment, as we and                   they are capable of producing the 
             conjugation verbs or both because, well,                   students create it, and make that                         language to some degree, we may offer 
             they are first in the syllabus. This                       environment and what we do in it the                      them periods of explicit grammar 
             presumes that all students know what a                     immediate context for learning. Why                       instruction - simply for them to use while 
             noun and a verb are, what declension and                   should students have to wait until the                    editing their own work. After all, that’s 
             conjugation mean, and various other parts                  chapter on second declension to talk                      what grammars are for.
             of speech. We relentlessly decry how                       about books, friends, pencils and pens, or 
             many students ‘do not know their                           until the chapter on the third declension 
             grammar in English’ so how are we                          to talk about mother, father, brothers and 
             expected to teach it to them in Latin. The                 sisters? With an acquisition focus, who                   The Natural Order Principle
             simple fact is that they already speak, read,              students are and where they gather for 
             write and understand English without                       study can become one with the language                    The principle of the Natural Order 
             knowing their grammar. How might an                        they are learning. Acquisition like this                  (Krashen, 1982, pp. 12-14) functions like 
             acquisition approach look on day one?                      focuses first on listening. I found early                 an operating system on a computer - 
             The Latin teacher has written these words                  and repeated surprising results from this.                always there and running in the 
             with their English equivalents on the                      Students’ accuracy in pronunciation and                   background, perhaps gathering data for 
             board: sella, surge, i, ad, conside. The teacher           spelling of Latin increased rapidly - far                 later use, but never quite obvious to the 
             pronounces each Latin word and what it                     more rapidly than when I explicitly taught                user. As a hypothesis it states that there is 
             means in English. The teacher points to                    them the rules for pronunciation and                      an order in which people acquire a 
             the class, and then to surge. The teacher                  despite repeated remarks about the                        language. The order is different for 
             says: discipuli, surgite (and gestures for them            phonetic quality of Latin (no silent letters,             different languages, but we don’t know 
             to rise). They do, of course. Then, the                    no ambiguous sounds, etc.). Teaching for                  what that order is for most languages. 
             teacher says: discipuli, considite (and gestures           acquisition moves the experience of                       Even if we did know, creating a syllabus 
             for them to sit - which they do). The                      learning from facing into a page to a                     based on the natural order would be 
             teacher then calls on one after another                    face-to-face experience–which is the most                 ineffective because then we would be 
             student, points to the appropriate words                   basic form of human communication.                        tempted to teach for learning rather than 
             and slowly tells the student: surge. i ad                        There will be potential obstacles for a             acquisition. The important thing for the 
             sellam. conside. surge. i ad sellam tuam. conside.         Latin teacher who shifts from a learning to               teacher to understand from this principle 
                   Latin teachers will notice that I have               an acquisition focus. It presumes on the                  (and keep running in the background of 
             not called for explaining the imperative,                  front end that Latin teachers are prepared                what we do) is that a student will not 
             or the differences in singular and plural                  to speak Latin in a meaningful way with                   acquire a feature of the language until 
             commands, or that I have used the                          students. For many, this is not true even in              he/she    is ready. In the meantime, the 
             accusative case as object of the                           the most rudimentary level. I once had a                  teacher’s focus must be on giving students 
             preposition while only listing it on the                   conversation with a veteran Latin teacher                 more understandable input. Because 
             board in the nominative. I have used none                  who, upon hearing me present on                           research has not been done on most 
             of those words with students. What this                    CI-based Latin instruction, said that while               languages to determine the natural order 
             example models is communicating to                         he could teach students about the                         of acquisition, we as teachers are simply 
             students with understandable messages in                   imperative mood with ease, he had no idea                 invited to observe. My own observation 
             Latin. In short order of time (within the                  what to do with them communicatively.                     over the years is that students in Latin 
             same class period) the teacher can add                     Latin teachers will need support to fill in               seem to be slower to acquire noun 
             other nouns and verbs in whatever                          their own lack of the acquisition of the                  endings than they do verb endings. 
             declension and conjugations desired so                     language (that’s another article). Many will              Despite the fact that I as a student was 
             that by the end of the period students - all               immediately ask: when will they learn their               forced to memorise noun endings 
             students - will have an initial acquisition                grammar? While that is also another article               immediately and up front, they seem to be 
             of many new words that means                               (which is addressed in this series) I can                 very slowly acquired for output in Latin. 
             something to them in Latin, words like:                    offer one comment. As students acquire                    The good news is that despite that slow 
             sella, surge, i, ad, conside, sume, fer, animal,           the language, they will ask questions about               uptake, noun endings do not seem to 
             canis, feles, ursa, da, sacculus, quis, vult, habere,      things they notice. These noticed things                  hinder listening and reading 
             graphidum, calamus, charta, liber, et al.                  will be the grammar that we would                         comprehension. Since our job is to 
             Offered as understandable messages in                      otherwise be teaching them though not                     continuously give them understandable 
             Latin, these words will not be forgotten.                  with the symmetry or ease of explicit                     input (listening and reading) they will be 
                40                                                               Comprehensible Input and Krashen’s theory
   https://doi.org/10.1017/S2058631019000060 Published online by Cambridge University Press
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...Comprehensible input and krashen s theory by robert patrick ver the last years in united ci latin classroom studies preparations i was not ostates a curious likely prepared to speak word of unpredictable movement has been two decades actually read had evolving way that we teach never experience thinking ancient greek set pedagogical ago as relatively new teacher wrote single personally principles known series experiences communicative sentence hereafter become vehicle can now identify beginning my ever given chance try change affecting our classrooms encounter with understand spoken me for professional organisations teaching day going back purpose communication training programs well university night work on degree through relentless self imposed relationships positions spanish lady fortune saw it determination mastered ability talk world language these landed class intermediate at length about different uses changes classical taught professor from india who ablative case compound verb...

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