Graham Hall and Guy Cook are two experts on “own language use” in language teaching and learning who wrote a state-of-the-art article about this subject in 2013 that answers the above million-dollar question. In this week’s post, I summarize that article’s six sections: (1) what academic and societal trends have led to more support forContinue reading “What does “judicious” use of students’ “own language” in language classrooms look like, practically speaking?”
Category Archives: Reflections
Interviewing people about language learning: Know your epistemology
If you take a Masters degree in the social sciences, the first course you will take will be Research Methods, and the first chapter of your Research Methods textbook will address terms like methods, methodology, theory, and epistemology. Epistemology is the highest term in the four-level hierarchy: it is the way we understand social reality,Continue reading “Interviewing people about language learning: Know your epistemology”
Once again, what are “translanguaging” and “code-switching” (within and beyond the classroom)?
The purpose of this definition post is to explain (1) the difference between translanguaging and code-switching as sociolinguistic phenomena, or phenomena observed by sociolinguists (people who study language use in interaction), and (2) how translanguaging/code-switching are understood in classroom pedagogy, which is different from how they are understood as sociolinguistic phenomena. The first question isContinue reading “Once again, what are “translanguaging” and “code-switching” (within and beyond the classroom)?”
Translanguaging in language immersion classrooms: To what extent can it be done?
In this week’s post, I summarize an article about the extent to which translanguaging/code-switching/first language (L1) use is appropriate for language immersion classrooms (Ballinger, Lyster, Sterzuk, & Genesee, 2017). The article is by Canadian scholars—as the early immersion research from French immersion in Canada is often cited today by proponents of other types of immersion,Continue reading “Translanguaging in language immersion classrooms: To what extent can it be done?”
The ideal syllabus for an MATESOL course on grammar pedagogy
The idea for this post came to me on the spur of the moment, based on a question a friend asked me on facebook. If you’re teaching an MATESOL course just on grammar pedagogy, what would you put in it? And I thought, wow, that’s an exciting puzzle! The field is just so HUGE! WhatContinue reading “The ideal syllabus for an MATESOL course on grammar pedagogy”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 4 of 4
This is the fourth and final post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, preceded by posts on Turn-taking, Contextualization, and Narrative. In this post, we look at how to analyze Interactional Frames. First, we examine what “frame” means and look at ways to analyze how frames are used in small units of talk (e.g., 1-2 sentences) thatContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 4 of 4”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 3 of 4
This is the third post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, preceded by posts on Turn-taking and Contextualization. In this post, we look at how to analyze Narratives. I begin with a discussion of what “narrative” means in everyday spoken interactions, and how that’s different from our common understanding of narratives. Then we look at how toContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 3 of 4”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 2 of 4
Image source: Wikimedia Commons Welcome to the second post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, which began with a post on Turn-taking. In this post, we analyze Contextualization. While turn-taking is about who talks, when, and how much, contextualization is about how we understand people’s words, or how we attempt to manage how others understandContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 2 of 4”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 1 of 4
Image credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/burma-myanmar-asia-girl-children-5176041/ This post is the first of a series of posts on how to analyze classroom talk with regard to four aspects of that talk: Turn-taking, Contextualization, Narration, and Framing. They are summaries of the four chapters on how to analyze classroom talk in Ivy League professor Betsy Rymes’ textbook, Classroom Discourse AnalysisContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 1 of 4”
Theorizing Pedagogy for Heritage Language Teaching
This post is a follow-up to another I have written about maintaining national linguistic diversity that was a summary of a panel/discussion at the Heritage Language Exchange, University of California System. In this post, I summarize and respond to Guadalupe Valdés’ classic article “Heritage Language Students: Profiles and Possibilities.” Heritage language (HL) learners can beContinue reading “Theorizing Pedagogy for Heritage Language Teaching”
annamend 