Effective Language Learning: Subskills, Techniques, and Activities
3 Specific Reading/Listening Subskills + Examples
- Identifying topic
- Recognizing specific words/sounds (decoding – look and say)
- Confirming predictions or guesses
Intensive and Extensive Language Practice
Extensive listening/reading: is the action of listening/reading a language in real life (outside the classroom) by yourself and for pleasure.
- News, films, songs, series, podcasts, magazines, newspapers.
Intensive listening/reading: is the action of listening/reading a language in a classroom. The aim
Read MoreLanguage Origins, Functions, and Evolution: A Comprehensive Analysis
Origins of Language
Origins of Language: Communication (animal-innate-specialized), Human Language (abstract and symbolic).
Core Aspects of Human Language
CARTS human language: sign language arbitrariness, displacement, dual articulation, productivity, prevarication, reflexivity, discrete units, creativity.
Language Functions
Representative: statements assertive, indicative mood, denotative language, 3rd person. Predom context.
Conative: hortatory statements, the imperative or subjunctive second person
Read MoreUnderstanding Cognitive Principles in Language Learning
Cognitive Principles: they relate to mental and intellectual functions.
1. Automaticity
Automaticity: is the ability to do things without occupying the mind, allowing it to become an automatic response pattern or habit. It is usually the result of learning, repetition, and practice.
*Overcoming our propensity to pay too much focal attention to the bits and pieces of language and to move language forms quickly to the periphery by using language in authentic contexts for meaningful purposes.* Grammatical
Read MoreHuman Language: Origins, Structure, and Meaning
The Origins of Language
Divine Source
The divine source theory posits that language is a gift from a deity. It suggests that a supernatural being gave language to humanity as a means of communication or as a fundamental aspect of human nature and consciousness.
Natural Sound Source
The natural sound source theory proposes that early human ancestors developed communication systems by mimicking sounds from their environment.
Social Interaction Source
The social interaction source theory suggests that as
Read MoreEssential ESL Teaching Terms and Classroom Activities
Key Terms for ESL Instruction
For Special Attention
Syllabus: A short-term plan for a semester, term, or course.
Content: The theme, topic, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, etc., focuses of a lesson.
As many… as (one) can: The maximum number that one can manage.
Language skills: Usually listening, speaking, reading, writing; sometimes also grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation.
As much as possible: The maximum amount that one can manage.
Teacher’s room: Special room where teachers relax, talk, work,
Read MoreUnderstanding Child Language Development: From Crying to Speech
Understanding Child Language Development
What is Psycholinguistics?
Psycholinguistics is the study of language and speech as a window into the nature and structure of the human mind.
What is Developmental Psycholinguistics?
Developmental psycholinguistics examines how speech emerges over time and how children construct the complex structures of their mother tongue.
Crying: An Automatic, Iconic, and Symbolic Response
Crying is an automatic response to noxious stimuli, triggered by the autonomic nervous
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