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How is toddler learning by 'repeated exposure in a comprehensible way' when it lacks a vocabulary/understanding? My previous post was meant to point out fault i

by rasz_pl 10y ago

How is toddler learning by 'repeated exposure in a comprehensible way' when it lacks a vocabulary/understanding? My previous post was meant to point out fault in your reasoning.

mikekchar 10y ago
Toddlers learn vocabulary and grammar from context. Here's one (somewhat limited) technique for teaching adult learners in a similar way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6De52Pzr8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6De52Pzr8c It's called TPR (Total Physical Response) and relies a lot on tying physical actions to each concept. You can see that with the physical actions it is quite easy to create a context which is understandable for things like commands. You can imagine that TPR can not teach all kinds of grammar or concepts (for example, how would you explain government). There are other techniques for creating a context that allows comprehension of these kinds of things. One of the keys is to teach yes/no questions early so that you can probe your student's understanding without them having to speak. It takes time for students to acquire the language well enough to produce. This is quite an involved topic and many of the teaching techniques are quite new. I have used TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling -- not connected with TPR) in the classroom quite effectively. If you are interested in modern theories of language acquisition, I recommend reading "Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition" which is available for free download from Krashen's web site: http://www.sdkrashen.com/ http://www.sdkrashen.com/ Although it may have escaped your notice, I've tried to point out that this is not the only competing theory in language acquisition at the moment, but it is the one which has the most acceptance now (or at least 5 years ago when I was actively reading up on the subject). Learning language primarily from grammar rules has been discredited as an effective technique for at least 50 years now. Unfortunately educators have not kept up with current research. Having said that, my experience is that some knowledge of grammar can be useful as a supplement.

by rasz_pl 10y ago

How is toddler learning by 'repeated exposure in a comprehensible way' when it lacks a vocabulary/understanding? My previous post was meant to point out fault in your reasoning.

mikekchar 10y ago

Toddlers learn vocabulary and grammar from context. Here's one (somewhat limited) technique for teaching adult learners in a similar way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6De52Pzr8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6De52Pzr8c It's called TPR (Total Physical Response) and relies a lot on tying physical actions to each concept. You can see that with the physical actions it is quite easy to create a context which is understandable for things like commands. You can imagine that TPR can not teach all kinds of grammar or concepts (for example, how would you explain government). There are other techniques for creating a context that allows comprehension of these kinds of things. One of the keys is to teach yes/no questions early so that you can probe your student's understanding without them having to speak. It takes time for students to acquire the language well enough to produce. This is quite an involved topic and many of the teaching techniques are quite new. I have used TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling -- not connected with TPR) in the classroom quite effectively. If you are interested in modern theories of language acquisition, I recommend reading "Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition" which is available for free download from Krashen's web site: http://www.sdkrashen.com/ http://www.sdkrashen.com/ Although it may have escaped your notice, I've tried to point out that this is not the only competing theory in language acquisition at the moment, but it is the one which has the most acceptance now (or at least 5 years ago when I was actively reading up on the subject). Learning language primarily from grammar rules has been discredited as an effective technique for at least 50 years now. Unfortunately educators have not kept up with current research. Having said that, my experience is that some knowledge of grammar can be useful as a supplement.