What is the diff. bet. styles & strategies? Styles are general characteristics that differentiate one individual from another. Strategies are those specific attacks that we make on a given problem They are moment-by-moment techniques that we employ to solve problems posed by 2 nd lang. input & output. Strategies are of two types.
It refers to processing, storage & retrieval, that is, to taking in messages from others. What is output ? It is how we productively express meaning, how we deliver messages to others. The characteristics of good lang. learners: (cf. p. 123)
(cf. table 5.2) Metacognitive refers to executive function, strategies that involve planning for learning, thinking about learning process, monitoring of one’s production or comprehension and evaluating learning after an activity is completed Metacognitive Cognitive Socioaffective
It refers to limited & specific learning tasks & involve more direct manipulation of the learning material itself. Socioaffective strategies Have to do with social-mediating activity and interacting with others.
1- 2 nd lang. learners developed effective listening skills through the use of monitoring, elaboration & inferencing. 2- 47 reading strategies were identified 3- Men & women appeared to use listening comprehension strategies differently 4- even studies of unsuccessful learners yielded important information
* Two major forms of strategy use proved to be effective for various learners 1- classroom-based or textbook-embedded training = strategies-based instruction (SBI) 2- autonomous self-help training *Cross-cultural variables may facilitate or interfere with strategy use among learners
It is difficult to distinguish bet. the two types, however this dichotomy remains useful for pedagogical purposes. Communication strategies are defined as potentially conscious plans for solving what to an individual presents itself as a problem in reaching a particular communicative goal. Last decade= compensatory nature Recently= elements of an overall strategic competence * Such strategies may or may not be potentially conscious
Avoidance can be broken into several subcategories 1- syntactic or lexical within a semantic category 2- phonological 3- topic (cf. table 5.3 offers a list of comm. str.) Compensatory strategies Involve compensation for missing knowledge. 1- prefabricated patterns: Memorized chunks of language, hundreds of sentences for various occasions
2- Code-switching: the use of a 1 st or 3 rd lang. within a stream of speech in the 2 nd lang. to fill in missing knowledge 3- Direct appeal for help: If learners are stuck for a particular word or phrase, they may directly ask a native speaker or the teacher for the form. * There are more other strategies than the thirteen listed in table 5.3
The application of both learning & communication strategies to classroom learning is known as SBI or learner strategy training * Tr. Should establish in the classroom a milieu for the realization of successful strategies. * Learners will benefit from SBI if they (a) Understand the strategy itself, (b) Perceive it to be effective, and (c) Do not consider its implementation to be overly difficult.
* Thus Tr. efforts to teach students some technical know-how about how to tackle a lang. are well advised * Several models of SBI are practiced in lang. classes around the world (see p. 131: 1- 4) We have much to learn in the creation of practical techniques for teaching learners how to use strategies effectively.
* To give you just a few examples of how learner strategy training works, three suggestions are offered here: 1- Administer a learning styles checklist. 2- Engage in frequent spontaneous hints about successful learning & communication strategies 3- Build strategic techniques. Make sure that techniques are directed as much as possible toward good lang. learning behaviors.