Sprogdidaktik

Didactics I: Questions to Sprogdidaktik, Ulrika Tornberg

pp. 40-59 kap. 4 Om ”kommunikation” og ”kultur” 

1. What is, according to Austin and Searle, a performative verb? (p. 40)

Austin talked about the intent the speaker has with what he says. - which function the utterance is supposed to have.

The intent of the verb appears from the verb itself "I promise, I warn you etc"

It could also be implied like "you will get your money tomorrow (I promise)"

Searle focused on the listeners interpretation.

2. What is, according to Austin and Searle, an illo’cutionary act? (p. 40)

A speech act with a specific intent or function.

3. What is meant by Chomsky’s concepts: ‘competence’ and ‘performance’? (p. 41)

Competenceis the native speakers intuitive knowledge about his language and his ability to understand and formulate grammatical correct sentences.

Performance is the speakers use of the language in concrete situations. 

4. Why did the American sociolinguist Hymes maintain that Chomsky’s concept of competence had to be extended with three factors: feasibility, appropriateness and accepted usage? (p. 41)

He says that besides the grammatical rules of the language, there is also the social conditional rules.

5. What do these three factors imply? (p. 41)

Feasibility: To know if an utterance is possible even if it happens to be grammatical correct

Appropriateness: To know if an utterance is fitting in the social situation that applies.

Accepted usage: To know if an utterance which can be both correct and fitting really can be used.

6. How has the Council of Europe influenced language teaching? (p. 42)

It has influenced and changed the language teaching so it became more communicative by teaching materials where you learn the formal structure of the language. They also made a semantic and functional learning course in which the pupil learn to use the language. What can the language be used for? 

7. Why did Wilkins’ Notional Syllabuses have such a big impact on different course materials in Europe? (p. 42)

The pupil learn systemically the formal structure of the language towards a holistic learning course in which the pupil learn to use the language.

Wilkins materials focus on thought, emotions and intentions. 

8. What is communicative competence according to Joe Sheils? (p. 43)

• Linguistic competence (Chomsky) (what is identical with the human language ability. How you acquire grammatical rules and what you could call the "the formal rules" of the language)
• Sociolinguistic competence (Hymes) 

• "Diskurskompetence" discourse competence (which here means the ability to comprehense and create a connection in the seperate sayings which is a part of meaningful communicative patterns)
• Strategic competence (which here means the ability to use strategies as compensation when the linguistic competence isn't enough)

• Sociocultural competence (which means confidence with the sociocultural context in the chosen country (language))
• Social competence (which includes readiness and confidence to work with others)

9. Why do pupils need to learn about communication strategies? (p. 44)

So they can communicate even though they might have some communicative challenges. This ways they will have already learned some tools to prevent this or move on from the challenges.

10. Invent a play in which you make use of all six communication strategies mentioned on p. 45. The play is to be presented to the rest of the class (duration: 5-10 minutes)

11. Define what Corder means by an ‘extending’ communication strategy and a ‘limiting’ communication strategy? (p. 46)

Extending: When communication moves forward

Limiting: When communication breaks down

12. What does Corder mean by the terms: ‘message reduction’, ‘topic avoidance’, ‘message abandonment’ and ‘code switch’? (p. 46)

Message reduction: The speaker says less than he actually wants to

Topic avoidance: The speaker changes the subject or says nothing at all

Message abandonment: The speaker gives up

Code Switch: All of a sudden the speaker changes language

13. How do we encourage our pupils to dare to express themselves freely according to the saying “nothing venture, nothing win”?

How can we create a classroom atmosphere so that the socio-affective strategies are brought into play among the pupils? (p. 46)

We should use the socio-affective strategies which means to cooperate and interact.

It is important to encourage the pupils and thereby give them confidence.

• The teacher will have to adapt the types of questions to each pupil.
• How to correct and how much

• How to give feedback, when and how much

14. What is the difference between ‘display questions’ (comprehension/test questions) and ‘referential questions’? (p. 47)

Display questions: Factual questions the teacher already know the answer to and only ask the pupil about, as a form of control.

Referential Questions:  Open questions were the answer depends on the information given.

15 How can the type of question posed influence pupils’ answers and their opportunity to interact? (p. 48)

Open questions: Easier to get a discussion going, where you can solve misunderstandings and makes it easier to clarify.

Closed questions: The pupil learns to answer with isolated words.

Didactics I: Questions to Sprogdidaktik, Ulrika Tornberg

pp. 79-100 kap. 6 Om forståelse; læse, lytte 

13. Try to account for the connection between listening and purpose (p. 85)

So our purpose decides what we read or listen to, and how we do it.

14. Please mention some of the proposed reading / listening strategies (p. 86)

Reading techniques:

• Skimming (fast-reading) to get a overall connection
• Scanning (selectiv reading) to get a specific information
• Extensive reading - reading of long texts, often for pleasure reading with a global understanding.

• Intensive reading - reading of short texts to get specific information and an understanding or details.

15. Try to discuss the reading exercises described on pages 86-89 and the reflections attached to these exercises

Awareness discussion (trin 1): It is like a guide to make the teacher aware of the reading skills of the pupils.

Exercise to see if the pupils have understood what they read.

To use prior knowledge from other languages (trin 2): To find links and use the prior knowledge to get an understanding in the second language. It might make it a bit easier on the pupils when they get to use their prior knowledge.

To discover reading strategies (trin 3): Pretty useful. It's good to know which strategy to use when you read a recipe or a novel.

To learn different text genres (trin 4): How to read a different genre, again - a recipe versus a novel.

16. Explain the text processing concept “advance organizer” (pp. 90-91)

Before the pupils read a text, the teacher collects the pupils' prior knowledge about the subject.

• The teacher reveals the theme and the pupils tell their associations.
• The words, the pupils cannot say in the language, can be said in the first language
• The associations will be written on the blackboard
• The words will create some semantic schemes which will show the thoughts and experiences the pupils have with the theme.
• Lastly the pupils will read the text and compare to their associations.

17. What are the advantages of theme reading? (pp. 91-92)

The reading can concentrate on the content of the text.

The theme can be illuminated from many aspects.

The pupils choose the themes which they have an interest in.

You can use a lot of different text genres and thus vary the reading.

All the pupils do no have to read all the texts.

The themes will give the pupils a varied vocabulary.

18. How can you work with the text after having read it (post-activities)? (pp. 93-94)

Questions for the text

Learning new phrases by giving a resume of the text

Group work with the words

19. How can you work with the reading of novels and short stories in the Folkeskole, and what is meant by the term “Reading Journals”? (pp. 94-96)

By choosing quotes and commenting on them.

With every 20 pages they have to learn five difficult words.

The pupils will reflect on what they read by writing it down (reading journal).

20. Please try to explain what is meant by the concept of discourse perspective when analysing and processing a text (p. 95)

The text is a carrier of a communicative intention. You do not have to understand every word to get the message, as the concept is built on other principles.

It concentrates more on the meeting between text and reader than the linguistic competence.

21. Please try to describe the bottom-up listener as opposed to the top-down listener (p. 96)

Bottom-up listener: Like a tape recorder; record - learn - play. You give a resume.

Top-down listener: Like a model builder; remembers some of the message but forgets other parts and makes her own passages because she remembers by her own words and interpretations.

22. Please explain the technique “dictogloss” (pp. 97-98)

A technique where the pupils is traines to use both "bottom-up listening" and "top-down listening".

The teacher reads a text passage for the pupils and the pupils have to write down as many words as they can perceive. Afterwards they work in groups to reconstruct the text with the fragments they each have.

There is four stages of the "dictogloss"

1. Preparation (advanced organiser)

2. Reading out loud

3. Read construction
4. Analysing and correction

23. Please mention some of the factors which might make listening difficult (pp. 97-98)

1. The speaking; how many there are, how fast they speak and their dialect

2. The listener; what is asked of the listener (just listening, to be active etc.)
3. The language; grammar, vocabulary, genre, prior knowledge of the theme.
4. Support for the listener; diagrams, pictures and other visual help.

Experiment: The better logic, structure and link in the (listening)text the better understanding.

   The better the prior knowledge the better understanding

   If the information is clear the understanding is better

   The more referencing to pronouns, the harder it is to understand

24. How can we as teachers train our pupils to become more effective listeners? (pp. 98-100)

We can use the prior mentioned techniques.

The teacher of course has to adjust to the level of the students.

25. How are you to make your pupils conscious about how they listen and provide them with strategies to become a more effective listener? (pp. 98-100)

The awareness discussion can be used here.