This book provides a critical analysis and account of the development of the Comprehension Approach as a method for language learning. The author draws on interrelated sub-fields - including linguistic theory, child language acquisition, and educational technology - to examine how a comprehension-based strategy could have pedagogical potential for adult second language learning. While second language pedagogy has to date been dominated by production models, this book takes another look at the Comprehension Approach as a possible alternative, presenting results from both child first language and adult second language contexts. It will be of interest to psycholinguistics and applied linguistics scholars, particularly those with an interest in second language teaching and learning.
Author(s): Harris Winitz
Edition: 1st ed. 2020
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 386
Preface
Contents
List of Figures
1: Introduction
Concluding Remarks
References
2: Our Magical Language
Concluding Remarks
References
3: Development of the Comprehension Approach as a Method of Second-Language Instruction
Interest of Students in the Study of a Foreign Language
The Pennsylvania Study
Experimental Study of Language Performance
Vocabulary and Second-Language Learning
Development of the Comprehension Approach
Teaching Machine
Traditional Approach to the Dimension of Listening
Total Physical Response
The Zeitgeist of the Decades of 1960, 1970, and 1980
Concluding Remarks
References
4: Models of Implicit Language Processing
Automatic Processing of Language
Using One’s Knowledge of Academic Grammar When Editing
Input Hypothesis
Linear and Non-linear Language Learning
Krashen’s i+1 Formulation and Language Teaching
A student’s self-discovery of the role of language comprehension in second-language learning
Unstructured Language Input at Advanced Levels
Language Acquisition Device
Non-traditional Language Methodologies
Modification of Krashen’s i+1 Model: Emphasis on Language Output
Using Explicit Grammatical Understanding as Reference Points
Implicit and Explicit Systems: Are They Independent Language Learning Systems?
Over Monitors
Justification for using output as a procedure to achieve comprehensible input at an advanced language level
Form-Focused Approach to Language Learning
Bare Bones Grammar of the Grammar-Translation Method
Comprehension: The Responsibility of the Students
Reading in Foreign Language Classes
Concluding Remarks
References
5: Language Acquisition in Children: The Development of Syntax
First- and Second-Language Learning
General Principles of Child Language Development
Children’s Early Development of Language
Children’s Development of Syntactic Rules, a Closer Look
Continual Development of Children’s Language
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Overregularization: Creativity and Reorganization
An Experimental Study of Language Creativity
Language Flexibility
Consideration of Children’s “Errors”
Concluding Remarks
References
6: Vocabulary Development
Early Vocabulary Development
Development of Vocabulary Items in Young Children
Children’s Rapid Growth of Vocabulary
Children’s Vocabulary Errors
Second-Language Considerations
Multiple Uses of the Same Word
Superordinate Vocabulary Items
Presentation Conditions and Word Learning
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Advanced Vocabulary Learning
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Simultaneous Growth of Vocabulary and Grammar
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Context and Word Usage
Pragmatics with Reference to Children’s Language
Concluding Remarks
References
7: The Relationship Between Comprehension and Production
Child Language Investigations of Comprehension and Production
Challenging the Premise That Comprehension Precedes Production in Child Language Development
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Concluding Remarks
References
8: Word Segmentation and Intelligibility, Parental Simplification, and Frequency and Amount of Language Input
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Simplification of Parental Language Input
Increasing the Complexity of Sentence Structure on the Part of Parents
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Scripts
Frequency and Amount of Parental Language Input and Language Learning
Immensity of Parental Language Input
Second-Language Application
Concluding Remarks
References
9: The Role of Conversational Interchanges in First- and Second-Language Learning
Parental Reformulations and Recasts in Parent-Child Dialogues
Parental Approval and Disapproval
Parental Repetitions Can Be Regarded as a Source of Disapproval
Children’s Self-Correction Following Recasts
Recasts and Second-Language Learning
Concluding Remarks
References
10: Considerations in the Development of Lessons in the Comprehension Approach
Current Issues of Study in Second-Language Learning
Language Immersion
First-Language Interference in Second-Language Learning
Grammatical Rules and Second-Language Learning
The Selection of Grammatically Equivalent Units
Compound and Coordinate Bilingualism
The Role of Oral Practice as Both a Method to Teach Grammar and Speaking Skills
Communicative Approach
Recasts and Conversation Analysis (CA)
Anxiety as a Factor in Second-Language Learning
Form-Focused Grammatical Instruction
Deduction and Induction in Foreign Language Learning
Concluding Remarks
References
11: Instructional Principles Applied to the Several Stages of Comprehension Learning
Beginning Stages in the Comprehension of a Second Language
Use of Concrete Words
Word Segmentation
Omission of Text in the Early Lessons
Pronunciation Practice
Phonetic and Semantic Similarity
Teaching Vocabulary
Grammatical Properties of Words
Order of Introduction of Words and Grammatical Units in the Early Stages of Learning
Use of Sequences
Pictorial Examples of the Presentation of Grammatical Units
The Students’ Responsibilities
Exact Translations
Pleonasms
Recalling or Identifying English Words
Concrete Words
Expressions and Idioms
Metaphors
Reading as a Procedure to Teach Vocabulary
Word Fields
The Importance of Collocations
Denotation and Connotation
Word Extensions
Pragmatics: Compliments
The Role of the Instructor Using the Comprehension Approach
Testing Comprehension Learning at the Beginning and Intermediate Stages
Concluding Remarks
References
12: Consideration of the Advanced Stages of Instruction Using the Comprehension Approach
Acquiring Multiple Grammatical Units Almost Simultaneously
Levels of Language Input in the Comprehension Approach
Development of Vocabulary and Complex Structures
Grammatical Complexity
Prepositions
Past Tense
Clauses
Imbedded Clauses
Questions
Cause and Effect
Passive Voice
Syntactic Connectives
Time Concepts
Temporal Considerations
Semantics and Syntax
Different Functions of Verbs
Ambiguity and World Knowledge
Adult Learners Versus Child Learners
Application to Second-Language Instruction
Concluding Remarks
References
13: Evaluation of the Comprehension Approach and Related Considerations in Acquiring a Second Language
Immersion Classes Within a School Setting
Comprehension Instruction and Grammatical Accuracy
Consideration of Listening Instruction Among Foreign Language Instructors
Age and Second-Language Mastery: Speech Production Considerations
Perception Considerations
Concluding Remarks
References
References
Index
