A Successful Language Learner: Prof. May Tang

A Successful Language Learner: Prof. May Tang 9531005 Linda 9531022 Megan 9531026 Fanny 9531029 Phoebe 9531030 Lauren 9531032 Ruby

Introduction Who? Prof. May Tang Title: Lecturer, Department of English National Koahsiung First University of Science and Technology Educational Background: M.A. in translation and interpretation Catholic Fu-Jen University

Introduction Why? • She is one of the professors in our department, so it will be convenient for us to collect data and doing interview with her. • We want to know if her religion is one of her motivation of learning English.

Data collection method • Face-to-face interview • Interview’s Recording • E-mail

Learning conditions In junior high school • Started learning English • Began from learning phonetic alphabets • Had grammar course separated from English course • Every teacher in her school was harsh

Learning conditions In high school • Started doing extracurricular reading • Most teachers in school lectured in English • Practiced speaking English with classmates after school • Kept journals and had pen pals.

Learning conditions In university • Majored in English • Started reading a large number of books • All teachers lectured in English • Listened to recordings • Became interested in translation

Learner’s characteristics • Age of acquisition • Personality • Motivation

Age of acquisition • Prof. May Tang Started learning English at age 11

Personality • Extroversion • Risk-taking

Motivation Successful learning Positive attitude • Instrumental : Immediate or practical goal • Integrative : Personal growth and culture enrichment Positive Cycle

Behaviorism: Imitation Practice Reinforcement Habit Formation

Imitation • Repeat what her teacher said. • Imitated the accent of Mrs. Soong Mei-Ling by listening to the recording of her speech. • Listened to English teaching radio program.

Practice • Speaking- Had English conversation with classmate after classes. • Reading- Read the articles her teacher gave her. • Writing- Practiced to write articles for publication.

Reinforcement

Habit Formation • Read English novels. • Try to restate the News she had read or heard.

Innatism • LAD • Universal Grammar (UG) → Ex. Grammar tests

Innatism:Krashen’s “monitor model” • Acquisition-learning hypothesis • Monitor hypothesis • Natural order hypothesis • Input hypothesis • Affective filter hypothesis

Krashen’s “monitor model”:Monitor Hypothesis • The acquired system–initates a speaker’s utterances and responsible for spontaneous language use • The learned system –like an editor or monitor, making minor changes and polishing what the acquired system has produced → Ex. Speaking

Krashen’s “monitor model”:Input Hypothesis • Acquisition occurs when a learner exposed to a level which is beyond a learner’s current level • i+1 • Ex. Learned phonetic symbols

Krashen’s “monitor model”:Affective Filter Hypothesis • Affect– feelings, motives, needs, attitudes, emotional states • Affective filter – an metaphorical barrier that prevents learners from acquiring language from the available input → Ex. Boring classes

The cognitivist/developmental perspective • Information processing • Connectionism • Comprehensible Output Hypothesis

Information processing • Pay Attention:Learners have to pay attention to at first to the language that they are to trying to understand or produce. • Skill Learning: Start with Declarative KnowledgebecomeProcedural Knowledge • Restructuring: Changes in language behaviors

Connectionism • The frequencywith which learners encounter specific linguistic featuresin the input and the frequency with which features occur together. • She prefers toassociate words with contexts, such as movie.

Interactionism • Who- classmates • When- after school They practice English like chatting

The environment • Senior high (Traditional) - lecture in English • University - lecture in English

Comprehensible Output Hypothesis • The importance of environment. • Interaction with others. • Producing language.

Suggestions • Learning a second language can not be interrupted. • Try your best to memorize some good proverbs from books or movies. • Practice makes perfect.

Conclusion Patience Never Stop Learning. Time Diligence

A Successful Language Learner: Prof. May Tang