Principles of language learning by Brown

1. AFFECTIVE
PRINCIPLES
P R I N C I P L E S O F L A N G U A G E L E A R N I N G

2. Affective principles are characterized by a large
proportion of emotional involvement.

3. LANGUAGE EGO
As human beings learn to use a second language, they also develop a new
mode of thinking, feeling, and acting—a second identity. The new
“language ego” intertwined with the second language, can easily create
within the learner a sense of fragility, a defensiveness, and a raising of
inhibitions.

4. POSSIBILITIES OF BRINGING RELIEF TO THE SITUATION AND PROVIDING
AFFECTIVE SUPPORT:
1. Overlydisplaya supportiveattitudeto yourstudents. Your“warmandfuzzy”patienceandempathyneedto beopenlyandclearly
communicated,forfragilelanguageegoshavea wayof misinterpretingintendedinput.
2. On a moremechanical, lessonplanninglevel,yourchoiceof techniquesneedsto be cognitivelyat anaffectivelevel.
3. Consideringlearners’languageegostateswillhelpyouto determine:
Whocallon.
Whoto askto volunteerinformation.
Howmuchto explainsomething,.
Howstructuredandplannedanactivityshouldbe.
Howto placeinwhichsmallgroupsandpairs.
Howtoughyou canbe witha student.
4. If yourstudentsarelearningEnglishasa secondlanguage(intheculturemilieuof anEnglish-speakingcountry), theyare likely
to experiencea moderateidentitycrisisastheydevelopa secondself.

5. SELF-CONFIDENCE
Learners believe in themselves and in their capacity to accomplish communicative tasks,
and are therefore willing risk takers in their attempts to produce and to interpret
language that is a bit beyond their absolutecertainly.

6. RISK-TAKING
Successful language learner, in their realistic judgment of themselves as vulnerable
beings yet capable of accomplishing tasks, must be willing to become “gamblers” in
the game of language, to attempt to produce and interpret language that is a bit
beyond their absolute certainty.

7. HOW CAN YOUR STUDENTS REFLECT RISK-TAKING?
Give ample verbal and nonverbal assurances to students,
affirming your belief in the student`s ability.
 Create an atmosphere in the classroom that encourages
students to try out language, to venture a response, and
not to wait for someone else to volunteer language.
Help your students to understand what risktaking is, lest some
feel that they must blurt out any old response.

8. THE LANGUAGE-CULTURE CONECTION
Whenever you teach a language, you also teach a complex system of cultural
customs, values, and ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.

9. SOME CLASSROOM APPLICATION:
Discuss cross-cultural differences wit your students, emphasizingthat
no culture is “better” than another, but that cross-cultural
understanding is an important face of learninga language.
 Teachyour students the culture connotations, especiallythe
sociolinguistics, of language.
Screen yourtechniques for materials that may be culturallyoffensive.

10. Thesecondaspectof thelanguage-culture
connectionistheextentto whichyour
studentswillthemselvesbe affectedbythe
processof acculturation,whichwillvary
withthecontextandgoalsof learning.
Acculturation:A processinwhichchanges
inthe language,culture, andsystemof
valuesof a grouphappenthrough
interactionwithanothergroupwitha
differentlanguage,culture,andsystemof
values.In anotherword:Especiallyin
secondlanguage-learningcontexts, the
successwithwhichlearnersadaptto a new
culturalmilieuwillaffecttheirlanguage
acquisitionsuccess, andviceversa, insome
possiblysignificantways.

12. LINGUISTIC
PRINCIPLES

13. Linguistic Principles center on language itself
and on how learners deal with complex
linguistic system.

14. NATIVE LANGUAGE EFFECT
A learner's native language can bothfacilitateand interfere withlearning the new
language. Words that are similar in bothlanguages (cognates), will help in language
learning, but features that are different may interfere withthe language learning
process.

15. SOME CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS STEMMING FROM THE NATIVE
LANGUAGE EFFECT ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Regardlearners’ errorsas important windowsto theirunderlyingsystem
and provide appropriatefeedbackon them. Errorsof nativelanguage
interferencemay be repairedby acquaintingthe learner withthe native
languagecause of the error.
 Ideallyevery successful learner willholdon to the facilitating effects of
the native languageand discardthe interference.
Thinkingdirectlyin target language usuallyhelpsto minimizeinterference errors.
Try to persuade studentsto thinkinthe secondlanguage.

16. INTERLANGUAGE
Second language learners tend to go through a systematic or quasi-
systematic developmental process as they progress to full competence in the
target language. Successful interlanguage language development is
partially a factor of utilizing feedback fromothers.

17. CLASSROOM IMPLICATION THAT DESERVE THE TEACHERS’ ATTENTION:
Try to distinguishbetweenthe students’ systematicinterlanguageerrors and
another errors;the former probablyhas a logicalsourcethat the student can
become awareof.
 Teachers needto exercisesome tolerancefor certaininterlanguage
formsthatmay arise out of students’ logical development process.
 Don’tmakea student feel stupidbecause of an interlanguage error,quietlypoint
out the logicof the erroneousform.

18.  Givethestudentsthemessagethatmistakesarenot “bad”buttheyareoften
indicatorsof developingaspectsof thenewlanguage.

19. The type of language produced by second- and foreign-language learners who are
in the process of learning a language. In language learning, learner language is
influenced by several different processes.
• These include:
Borrowingpatternsfromthe mother tongue (language transfer)
Extendingpatterns fromthe target language, e.g. by analogy
(overgeneralization)
 Expressing meanings usingthe wordsand grammarwhich are already known
(communication strategy).
Since the language which the learner produces using these processes differs from
both the mother tongue and the target language, it is called an interlanguage.

20. COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
If communicative competence is the final goal, language learning activities need to
focus on the skills neededfor effective communication in authentic contexts. These
skills include bothfluency and accuracy, as well as the ability to use language
appropriatelyin real-world contexts.

21. COMMUNICATIVE
COMPETENCE
Psycomotor Skills
Competence
Strategic
Competence
Organizational
Competence
(gramatical and disccourse)
Pracmatic Competence
(functional and sociolinguistic)

22. CommunicativeCompetence is the goal of a language classroom.
Communicativegoals are best achievedby giving due attentionto
languageuse and not just usage, to fluency andnot just accuracy, to
authentic language and contexts,and to students’ eventual need to
applyclassroomlearningto previouslyunrehearsedcontexts in the
real world.

23. SOME CLASSROOM TEACHING RULES:
 Givegrammarsome attention,but don’tneglect theotherimportant
components(e.g., functional,sociolinguistic,psychomotor,and strategic) of
CC.
 Some of pragmaticaspects of language are subtleand very difficult.
Makesureto teach suchsubtlety.
 Don’tforget thatpsychomotorskills (pronunciation) are an important component
of functional and sociolinguistic aspects of language.

24. SOME CLASSROOM TEACHING RULES:
Makesurethatyour studentshave opportunity to gainsomefluencyin
Englishwithout having to be constantlywary of little mistakes.
 Try to keepeveryteachingtechniqueas authenticas possibleand
provide genuine, not rote, techniques foractualconveyanceof
information.
Makesureyouare preparing the studentsto be independent learners and
manipulatorsof language“out there.”

26. If you were forced to pick them up, which three principles would you pick to be
at the top of your list? Why?
Pool your thoughts and share your ideas with your peers.