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Studying Vocabulary & Literature in Class | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6462 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes  Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 1 of 2 21 November 2010 at 8:41pm | IP Logged |
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At the Expolingua Berlin 2010 I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Professor
Ludger Schiffler called "'Motivation ist alles' - Literatur mit Anfängern lesen - und trotzdem intensiv Vokabeln lernen!". The lecture was in German and used the speaker's French teaching as a basis, so that it wasn't accessible to some forum members, who asked me to summarize it for them afterwards. I actually think this might be interesting for a lot of people on the forum, so here are the key points: Professor Ludger Schiffler presented several innovative ideas for 1. presenting even difficult literature in a foreign language class that would normally not be deemed capable of understanding it (he called them beginners but they were at B2 or at least B1 level) and 2. studying vocabulary, especially in a classroom or tandem setting. He presented convincing video clips showing him using the suggested methods in his classroom (German students studying French in a grade 13 Grundkurs). Professor Ludger Schiffler recommends starting each 1.5 hour session with some relaxation exercises such as autogenic training. He also likes to play classical music during the actual teaching, but warns AGAINST using classical music if a true fan of classical music is present, because that kind of person would become distracted by the music. To work with literature that is above the class's current level, the teacher should identify key chapters and key vocabulary to study within those chapters. Chapters that are unimportant and/or contain passages that are too difficult could be replaced by an excerpt from a movie or drama adaptation of the text or a reading in translation if nothing else is available. It is not necessary to avoid all difficult language though, especially if the teacher prepares the text beforehand. Difficult words as well as key vocabulary to be studied should be translated on the side, next to the text if possible rather than underneath or (even worse) in the back of the book. This is because it is demotivating to spend too much time referring to vocabulary. When reading the prepared chapter in class, the teacher will start out by reading it carefully, experimenting with different intonation, different volume, different emotions to make the text come alive. Afterwards a few students (who were previously selected and asked to prepare the text) will take turns reading the text. While reading, all vocabulary translations will be read as part of the text, enabling comprehension, like this (using an equivalent ESL example instead of the French ones presented in the lecture): "The daughter of some Madame Lyalikov, apparently the owner of the factory - die Besitzerin der Fabrik - the owner of the factory - The daughter of some Madame Lyalikov, apparently the owner of the factory, was ill,...". So the translation is shuffled in, and the original is repeated. Also, it's important to note that the translations are always provided in context. Context is essential to translations, hence we do not just see the target language word in context but the entire context is also translated. This is supposed to prevent issues like everybody knowing the word 'nose' but hardly anyone knowing how to say 'to blow one's nose' - the most likely context. After studying the chapter, Professor Ludger Schiffler recommends studying the key vocabulary in class rather than leaving that to the students. Some techniques he mentioned specifically and which might be used one after the other in his class: 1. having all students look at the vocabulary silently initially 2. going over vocabulary at a brisk pace, before there is time to forget or to notice that one has forgotten 3. working with a partner prompting each other for the words (especially since all vocabulary study is still *in context*) 4. using the full body to express the vocabulary through gestures and motions while chorussing (the entire class does this together) There were more, but these are the ones he showed examples of. After the study of the text and the vocabulary, Professor Ludger Schiffler then engages his students in a target-language discussion that is suitable to their age and of interest to them (no simplified topics). In the session that he showed as a video, the class was reading "Fanfan" by Alexandre Jardin and then engaged in a discussion on what love should be like. The students were given a little time to jot down points before the discussion started. All in all, in 1.5 hours this teacher managed to have the class study one chapter (3.5 pages) of this classic French novel, memorize 35 items of vocabulary including the context (on average 80% passive & 68% active retention rate after several days) and then have a discussion in the target language. I'd say that that's very good use of the limited class time. Feedback from the students, as recorded on video, was overwhelmingly positive. You might also be interested in Professor Ludger Schiffler's writings on interhemispheric foreign language learning (many ideas also apply to autodidacts) at http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~schiffl/media/dokumente/chapte r%201-9.pdf and his German homepage http://ludger-schiffler.de/ . I wrote this summary on my own based on my memory and sparse notes I made during the lecture. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone. I shall be asking Professor Ludger Schiffler to join this forum and elaborate on his methods, answer questions and/or indicate any misrepresentation on my part. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Sprachprofi Nonaglot Senior Member Germany learnlangs.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6462 days ago 2608 posts - 4866 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Esperanto, Greek, Mandarin, Latin, Dutch, Italian Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Swahili, Indonesian, Japanese, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese | Message 2 of 2 02 December 2010 at 11:52pm | IP Logged |
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Professor Ludger Schiffler replied to my e-mail, calling this an excellent summary. He
requested that I add the following to the vocabulary methods: 5. The teacher repeats the vocabulary with context during relaxation. He aks the students to repeat the words by inner speech and to visualize mentallly the situation expressed by the new words and the context. Also, more information about this literature experiment can be found in the German book: Ludger Schiffler, Fremdsprachen effektiver lehren und lernen - Beide Gehirnhälften aktivieren, Donauwörth: Auer, 2002, p. 160-165. or in English on his homepage http://www.ludger-schiffler.de 1 person has voted this message useful |
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