Didactics of English

Timothy Mason

Modules

The Modules

(Links will be put up for each of the modules as they come on-line ; if you see no link for a module, this means that it is not yet available).

Module 1 : First Language Acquisition - Two Theories.

In this first module, we look at and contrast the theories of Chomsky and Bruner concerning how a child acquires its first or mother-tongue.

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Module 2 : First Language Acquisition - Language and the Brain

Here we look at whether neurology can tell us anything about how language is acquired, and whether the LAD can be located in the brain.

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Module 3 : First Language Acquisition - Children talking

In this module, we look at the evidence from studies that have been made of children in the process of acquiring their mother tongue. Does the evidence support Chomsky?

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Module 4 : Language Acquisition under extreme circumstances

Blind children, deaf children, the so-called "Wolf-children" all provide evidence for how language can - or cannot - be acquired under extreme circumstances. Do they favour Chomsky or Bruner?

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Module 5 : Children and Foreign Languages - some experiments

Here we look at some of the attempts that have been made to harness the ability of younger children to learn languages under 'natural' conditions - such as the Canadian immersion programmes. Do they work, and can we use their approach in secondary schools?

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Module 6 : Pathways to Competence

Children appear to construct their own grammar with little explicit help from adults. Can Foreign Language learners do it the same way, or do they need someone to explain things to them?

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Module 7 : Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames

A child picks up the sounds of his mother-tongue easily - and thereafter, the sounds of a foreign language become strange and difficult to master. What do learners need to know about the phonological system of the FL?

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Module 8 : Vocabulary or Lexicon?

'How do you say ...?' Most people equate learning a foreign language with learning the words. But what is the relationship between words and language? And how do learners acquire the words they need?

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Module 9 : Meaning and Interaction

Language is not simply a communicative tool, as Chomsky points out, but people who learn an FL usually do so in order to be able to talk with other people, and learners seem to acquire language at least partially through interacting with others. How does meaning emerge from interaction?

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Module 10 : Schools & Classrooms

The shoolchild learns a foreign language in the specific conditions of the school classroom. What classroom factors help children learn, and what factors can hinder them?

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Module 11 : School and Society

Children do not come from nowhere ; homes, families and neighbourhoods influence the ways that they experience schooling. Young adults do not go nowhere ; schooling is intended to have consequences upon their behaviour and upon their life-chances. How can the classroom teacher take account of these facts?

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Module 12 : ... and Then?

Very few school-leavers can be said to have mastered a foreign language. What tools can teachers give them that will enable them to continue learning in later years?

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Module 13 : Revise and Conclude?:

Here we attempt an overview of the semester and see what conclusions we can draw from our readings and discussion. We will also try to frame the questions that remain unanswered and look at what we might need to do to be able to begin answering them.

If you have any questions or comments, please write to me at tmason@timothyjpmason.com