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What does "activating a language" mean? | ||
Tags: Activating a Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6150 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 9 of 20 29 October 2014 at 4:48pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I’ve come to realise that learning a language, goes through three separate stages for me.
Foundation This is the learning achieved by studying the language in a formal and informal way. It can consist of any method, and includes reading, listening, writing and speaking practice. The foundation stage is where the majority of my learning takes place. It’s not tied to a particular level or proficiency, and can easily apply to an A1 or C1 proficiency. It’s the stage I return to even after activation. Activation Activation only occurs when I’m surrounded by native speakers, and I’m required to use the language. It normally kicks in after three to four days in a native speaker environment. It doesn’t seem to matter how far I get in the foundation phase, it always takes a number of days before activation occurs. It occurs even if I’ve studied the language for a short time, but I’m in an immersive environment. Like the foundation phase, it’s not tied to a particular proficiency level, so can occur at A1 or even passive B2. Fluency This is how I describe constant activation through prolonged interaction with native speakers. It’s loosely connected to proficiency, but it can also occur as low as A2. It means fluidly expressing yourself in conversation, responding to questions and communicating without delays due to internal translation. It normally occurs after several months of constant interaction. One of my biggest mistakes, or false expectations, was I’d achieve activation or fluency without native speaker engagement. I always assumed I was doing something wrong, and I was on the wrong path. Now I enjoy the foundation phase no matter what my level, and I’m willing to defer activation and fluency until my next immersive experience. Edited by DaraghM on 29 October 2014 at 4:48pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 10 of 20 29 October 2014 at 5:52pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I do think that nowadays the term is fairly established on HTLAL. My impression is that it possibly wasn't back when Prof Argüelles was an active member here; anyway, his usage seems to differ from the forum standard. It's like using extensive reading to mean a large amount of reading with a dictionary.
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| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7204 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 11 of 20 30 October 2014 at 1:20pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
I'm puzzled what the forum standard is. If you could clarify, I would appreciate it. I tend to think of the word as I imagine Prof Arguelles used it. He's the first one I heard use it although he may not have coined the phrase. I think of Activation as a process whereby the study centered, possibly introverted language learner breaks out of the cocoon of courses and other solo activities and starts using the language with other humans. The personalized experience with another human gives the language a new place in the heart for this type of student. Edited by luke on 30 October 2014 at 10:44pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 12 of 20 30 October 2014 at 2:32pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I meant that the default forum meaning seems to be learning to speak/write when you can already read/listen. ie most likely about someone who's not done shadowing or writing before.
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| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4621 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 13 of 20 30 October 2014 at 3:27pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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Does activation have to involve native speakers? Business meetings involving people of different nationalities are often held in English (or a large regional language) and there might not be a native present. Edited by beano on 30 October 2014 at 3:28pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5206 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 14 of 20 30 October 2014 at 4:20pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I also use it to mean learning how to use language (speaking or writing) that I already understand (listening or reading).
I don't think it necessarily involves native speakers: I've found self-talk and cloze deletion exercises to be useful, many people find drills helpful in FSI etc., and Serpent mentioned shadowing. For me, lots of conversation is important, but using other methods to fill in gaps, work on weak points, and speed up the process also has its value. It's a bit like the whole massive input "versus" studying debate: they complement each other. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| robarb Nonaglot Senior Member United States languagenpluson Joined 5058 days ago 361 posts - 921 votes Speaks: Portuguese, English*, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, French Studies: Mandarin, Danish, Russian, Norwegian, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Greek, Latin, Nepali, Modern Hebrew | Message 15 of 20 06 November 2014 at 3:34am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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The meaning attributed to Arguelles in the OP--learning to live in a language, requiring a year living in a place
where the language is spoken--does need a name. But, "activation" is a terrible name for that idea. Doing what the OP describes would presuppose active abilities in the language. How else would you survive for a year and get the kind of experience that would enable you to internalize the language so deeply? Agreeing with Serpent, I use "activating a language" to mean learning/relearning to speak/write when previously one could only read/listen. Or at least improving one's speaking/writing when they lag far behind reading/listening ability. Until this thread I thought everyone agreed that that's what activation meant. 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7204 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 16 of 20 06 November 2014 at 10:28am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Professor Arguelles only did several weeks in Russia with Russian. He did about six hours a day of tutoring as well. He's said that he feels that four hours would have been plenty.
Of course. That's why he uses "activation" rather than "active skills" or "active abilities" or "output".
I think that definition is still vague. The professor is an academic. As such, he may use certain words with specialized meanings. I believe this is one of them.
"Active" versus "passive" is generally understood around here. Some may argue that listening and reading are "active skills", whereas some limit "active" to mean speaking and writing. "Active listening" and "active reading" - fully engaging the text - have the modifier "active" because they are a level above what one may routinely do. I don't recall anyone here using the words "activation" or "activate" before the professor. These words, I believe are distinct from "active skills", although they are related. Edited by luke on 06 November 2014 at 10:33am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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