Hello Guys
Here I´m sending you the slides from last class!

http://es.scribd.com/doc/56551257/Strategies-Applied-Linguistcis
http://es.scribd.com/doc/56551442/Learning-Styles

Study hard and do your best in the Final Exam.

Take care,


Tatiana Becerra Posada.

presentations

Dear Students
These are the groups for the presentations about Learning Strategies.

learning strategies: Hernan Pertuz, Julieth Diaz, Belky Barrios, Jesus Mina, Nestor Delgado.

Communication strategies: Elixandra Morelo, Alexandra Escudero, Lila berrio, Julieth Cohen, Karen Roncallo.

Compensatory strategies: Milena Galarcio, Ana Milena Chica, Maria Carolina Brunal, Erika Rambauth, Mayra Quintero.

Avoidance strategies: Leiber Pereira, Oscar Higuita, Julio Rangel, Elkin Acosta, Samia Arrieta, Jacklyn Muñoz.

Strategy Instruction: Danilo Jimeno, Mario Villadiego, Karina Puche, Liliana Rivera, Javier Arizal, Juan David Gomez.

See you on Tuesday and Be ready to do your presentations.

REMINDER!

Dear Students

I just want to remind the groups who are going to present next Tuesday about their topics and about the presentation they should have with me before the presentation in front of the class.

COGNITIVE CONSIDERATIONS
GROUP A: HUMAN COGNITION, PIAGET STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT.

GROUP B: EQUILIBRATION, ROTE AND MEANINGFUL LEARNNG.


AFFECTIVE CONSIDERATIONS
GROUP A: EMPATHY, SELF ESTEEM, EXTROVERSION, INHIBITION, LANGUAGE EGO, PEER PRESSURE (KAREN´S GROUP)

GROUP B: MOTIVATION (TYPES OF MOTIVATION), ANXIETY, ATTITUDES, ETHNOCENTRISM, SECOND IDENTITY. (Julieth´s group)

LINGUISTIC CONSIDERATIONS:
GROUP A: BILINGUALISM, INTERFERENCE BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGES (ERIKA´S GROUP)

GROUP B: INTERFERENCE IN ADULTS, ORDER OF ACQUISITION.


Hope you enjoy the long weekend!

NEUROLOGIC CONSIDERATIONS

Dear Students
Here I have some questions about the topics that were presented during today´s session:

How do Genie´s and Jim´s stories credit or discredit the critical period hypothesis?

video about Genie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWzO8DtRd-s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thIDCL3NClQ&NR=1

Video about Jim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUq66tkNjKU

How does brain lateralization support teh critical period hypothesis?

Why and how does the right hemisphere of the brain participate in second language acquisition?

Remember that next class we will have presentations about the cognitive, affective and linguistic considerations in Language acquisition. The groups from the affective considerations haven´t been given teh topics yet, please do so as soon as possible.

presentations age and acquisition

Dear Students

Here is the link for you to get access to the presentation about Age and Acquisition
http://es.scribd.com/doc/50412208/Age-and-Acquisition

Later I´ll give you more information about the presentations, the students who are going to present on Tuesday can come to get my feedback on Monday morning.

Take care,

DISCUSSION ISSUES IN FLA

Dear Students

We´ll be discussing some of the questions your partner made in their groups last Tuesday. As you answer and participate in the discussions, I will give you feedback. Remember your participation in this discussion will help you understand some of the issues in FLA.

INPUT AND DISCOURSE

1. Why is it important that adults give input to the child?

2. If a child is talking and says something in a wrong way and the father says the same sentence but in a correct form, will the child pick up the information and correct himself?

3. Do children learn the language from overhearing conversations and listening to the radio?

4. What can you infer about the phrase “questions are not simply questions”?


SISTEMATICITY AND VARIABILITY, LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT

1. Is it possible that all children learn, forget and relearn aspects of their own language?

2. Do all children follow the same route of acquisition from pivot grammar to full sentences?

5. Research has pointed to the facts that cognitive and linguistics development are inextricably intertwined, what do you think about it?


You are welcome to participate in the discussion, later I´ll be posting more questions on other issues.

Hello Guys
We´ll be talking about cognitive and interactionist theories of FLA.
Some references you should look up are:
INTERACTIONIST FUNCTIONALIST THEORIES of FLA
Vigotsky
Dan Slobin
Jerome Bruner
M. Halliday
Holzman
Givon

COGNITIVE THEORIES of FLA
Rumelhurt and McClelland, 1986
Ausubel
Schumann
Rogers

First Language Acquisition Session

Dear Students

Next class we will start dealing with a very interesting topic: FLA.

Before we start dealing with the theories of first language acquisition I would like to ask you some questions and to debate about them here on this blog.

1. How did you learn your first langauge?
2. What do you remember learning first in your mother tongue?
3. Why are there children who take longer to speak than other children?
4. Why do children make mistakes in the mother tongue such as " i spoked to her" or "yo me pusí el vestido"?


In addition, we´ll also have the presentations about Behaviourist and Nativist Theories of First Language Acquisition Groups 1 and 2 will present about Behaviourim whereas groups 3 and 4 will present about Nativism.

Below are some of the links where you can find info about the Behaviourist Theory:

http://www.efdergi.hacettepe.edu.tr/19883MEHMET%20DEM%C4%B0REZEN.pdf
http://www.learning-theories.com/behaviorism.html
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/behaviour.htm


... and Nativist Theory:
http://www2.vobs.at/ludescher/Ludescher/LAcquisition/Nativist/nativist%20theory.htm
http://language11.tripod.com/id9.html
http://eslking.com/library2/collections/language/acquisition/fla/innatist_lang_theory.pdf



I also want to remind you about your homework: Present a paper in which you explain the differences between Linguistics and Applied Linguistics (SET EXAMPLES) and where you also express your ideas on how AL can help you to become a better teacher.

What is Applied Linguistics?

Dear Students
Welcome to the blog of the Applied Linguistics course.

This blog is aimed to help you go through the different topics we will be dealing in class. Applied Linguistics is surely a wide field, but we will concentrate on the most useful features for your career as a language teacher.

During the first session we will learn about:
The history of Linguistics.
Difference between Linguistics and Applied Linguistics.
The scope of Applied Linguistics.
Main issues of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching and Learning.

The following article will help you understand the aforementioned terms. I encourage you to post your comments and insights about it as well as discussing with your classmates your views on Applied Linguistics.

Defining Applied Linguistics

In order to understand current developments in using the term applied linguistics, it is useful to take a brief look at the past.

Although the roots of applied linguistics can be found long ago, the notion of applied linguistics as known today emerged in the United States in 1941 after the establishment of the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan. Among others, the term was used to label a course applying a so-called “scientific approach” to teaching foreign languages. Those who are associated with the beginning of the field are Charles Fries and Robert Lado. Their initiative resulted in the publication of a new journal Language Learning: A Quarterly Journal of Applied Linguistics in 1948, which, since then, has always had a prominent
position in the development of applied linguistics.

The popularity of the term rapidly grew in the 1950s and 1960s when other new
journals and institutes in many countries emerged with this designation. The journals, along with congresses of the AILA (association internationale de linguistique appliquée), began the process of shaping applied linguistics and promoting its development. “At the pioneering meeting of 1964 the emphasis was highly theoretical; principal themes discussed were automation in linguistics, language teaching, efforts to coordinate research in Europe. The most recurring topic in plenary lectures was translation, and this continued to be a feature at
subsequent congresses in 1972, 1975 and 1984” (Catford 1984: 469). In the early 1970, two new trends in the development of applied linguistics were observed: contrastive linguistics and the psychology of second language learning, both seen from the perspective of educational needs.

There is no doubt that early applied linguistics was largely associated with language
teaching and learning, seeking to bridge the gap between the theoretical achievements of linguistics and the reality of classroom pedagogical practice. Widdowson’s (1979: 1) definition clearly stresses the primacy of language education: “Applied linguistics, as I conceive it, is a spectrum of inquiry which extends from theoretical studies of language to classroom practice.”

The pedagogical preoccupation of applied linguistics gradually gave way to a more
extensive focus by including more aspects of the academic study of language. Since the 1980s, the term has begun to be used to refer to any area of study that is language-related, and the growing diversity of the field may be noted. The trend is well illustrated by Brumfit’s definition (1991: 46): “In addition to what has been traditionally regarded as applied linguistic territory – language education (first, second and foreign language teaching and learning) this definition extends coverage to areas such as clinical and forensic linguistics, lexicography,critical linguistics and translation theory and practice.”

Various interpretations of the term may be seen in recent publications. Lyons, for
example, explains his understanding of the subject matter by claiming that “theoretical linguistics studies language and languages with a view to constructing a theory of their structure and functions and without regard to any practical applications that the investigation of language and languages might have, whereas applied linguistics has as its concerns the application of the concepts and findings of linguistics to a variety of practical tasks, including
language-teaching” (1999: 35).
The same approach may be observed in Crystal (2001: 23)
who defines applied linguistics as “a branch of linguistics where the primary concern is the application of linguistic theories, methods and findings to the elucidation of language problems which have arisen in other areas of experience. The most well-developed branch of applied linguistics is the teaching and learning of foreign languages, and sometimes the term is used as if this were the only field involved”.

This view is also supported by Widdowson (2000: 4) but only in relation to the past. “It all seemed straightforward enough: linguistics decontextualised language from reality, and applied linguistics re-contextualised it, and reconstructed reality in the process. In this respect, linguistics was the science (like physics)
and applied linguistics its technology (like engineering).”
The latest developments in applied linguistics indicate that the term represents up-todate research concentrating on the linguistic analysis of language disorders (clinical linguistics), the use of language in mother-tongue education (educational linguistics), and developments in lexicography, translation and stylistics. It seems that there is an uncertain boundary between applied linguistics and various interdisciplinary branches of linguistics,particularly those which deal with the practical application of “purely” theoretical sciences.

More recently, applied linguistics has been utilised in the study of spoken and written discourse, gender issues in language use, the social stratification of language and language varieties, neurological factors and language dysfunctions, learning strategies, and special learning needs of specific populations. Some applied linguists are concerned with helping planners and policy-makers develop and implement a language policy, or develop programmes for immigrants coming to the United States or other countries.
In addition, there is a specific area that clearly documents the close interaction of
linguistic theory with applied linguistic investigation. It is the area of second language acquisition. SLA is now recognised as a successful independent theoretical area within applied linguistics, with its own international journals and its own international conferences.

CONCLUSION
Applied linguistics is generally perceived as an interdisciplinary field of research for the study of all aspects of language use. Being a non-language-specific field, it primarily deals with mother, foreign and second language acquisition but also examines the relationship between language and such areas as the media, law, or communication. It draws on such well established disciplines as linguistics, social and educational psychology, sociology,anthropology, and education. However, “applied linguistics in this sense must be practised by teachers too if it is to have an effective operational relevance at all” (Widdowson 1991: 6). In contrast to (pure) linguistics, it is driven by real-world problems rather than theoretical
explorations.

Hrehov􀃾ík, Teodor.(2005). What do we teach Applied Linguistics or Language Methodology. University of Prešov, Slovakia.