Mango Languages

Let me repeat myself…

In my most recent blogs I have been looking at different hypotheses pertaining to second language learning (SLL), specifically Krashen’s Input Hypothesis ( i + 1: Is this algebra class?), and Swain’s Output Hypothesis (If you don’t use it…You will lose it).   This week I would like to turn our attention to a hypothesis that involves both the input and output of the second language, the Interaction hypothesis.  Don’t worry there’s no algebra involved!

In the Interaction Hypothesis, Michael Long proposes that while both input and output are necessary for second language acquisition, in order to gain a greater understanding of how this works, one should focus more attention on the interactions language learners engage in (Long, 1981, 1983a, 1983b.).  Long posits that these interactions are not merely a source of second language input, but are rather exchanges that allow the parties to negotiate the meaning of the input.  This negotiation results in changes to the complexity of the input.

According to Long, these changes to the input play an important role in second language acquisition.  For a second language learner, interaction allows for the fine-tuning of the second language input in order to make it more accessible to the learner.  In studies when communication or comprehension difficulties arise in interaction between native and non-native speaker pairs, more often than not these pairs attempt to resolve their difficulties by using conversational tactics such as requesting repetition (i.e., “Could you repeat that, please?”), confirmation checks (i.e., “Did you say…”), comprehension checks (i.e., “Does x mean x?”), and/or clarification requests (i.e., “What do you mean by x?”) (Long, 1980, 1981, 1983a.).  In this way we can see that interaction ensures that the learner is receiving i + 1, rather than i + 3 or even i + 0. (See: Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and Comprehensible Input: [i +1].) Therefore, the modifications to the conversational structure ensure that the input will be comprehensible while still containing new material in the form of new vocabulary or grammatical elements, which provides the potential for new learning.

Mango Languages provides students the convenience of learning from home at their own pace while still incorporating “interaction.”  Our method starts by introducing the student to a conversation that is above their current level of comprehension, but then proceeds to modify the conversation by breaking it down in to its components.  Conversational interaction tactics are also part of the Mango system.  Requests for repetition can be made by the student by simply clicking on the back arrow to replay previous slides.  They can also click replay on the slide they are currently on or click on the individual words or entire phrases to repeat the audio.  The student also has the option to repeat entire lessons and chapters.

Our system also repeats material through the use of automatically generated quizzes and critical thinking slides.  Confirmation checks can be done with the use of our voice comparison feature.  This allows the student to compare their output to that of a native speaker, and in doing so, confirm their comprehension of not only the grammar and vocabulary but also the pronunciation.  At the completion of a chapter the student hears the initial conversation again.  This also allows them to check and confirm their acquisition and hence comprehension of the material that they did not comprehend at the onset of the chapter.

Mango’s use of literal meanings when needed as well as grammar notes, anticipates the clarification requests of students.  So, although learners can use the Mango Languages software on their own without actually having a “conversation,” we recognize the importance of interaction and conversation repair tactics.  We have incorporated these elements into our system while still allowing the student to have all of the benefits of learning on their own from the comfort of their own home and on their own time.

I can easily remember a time or two when I have used these conversational repair tactics in order to understand what someone was trying to tell me and even to make myself understood.

How about you?  Do you know someone who constantly asks you to repeat yourself?  Or do you have to frequently ask your friend for clarification because he/she never seems to provide enough details to clue you in as to what they are talking about?

If You Don't Use It…You Will Lose It

My previous blog post discussed Krashen’s Input Hypothesis. Of course input is necessary for a learner to acquire a new language.  However, studies have shown that language learners (LLs) can often achieve high levels of comprehension in the second language (L2) without ever achieving a moderate level of production (Swain 1985, 1995).

Merrill Swain’s Output Hypothesis argues that without production (output) expectations that correspond to the input that the language learner receives, the student’s conversational abilities in the second language will lag far behind their comprehension abilities.  Second language production, or output solicited from the language learner, is what most effectively drives the development of a second language (Swain 1985, 1995).  It’s kind of like that old saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it!”

It is similar to learning math.  You can know the formulas, but every math teacher I’ve ever had always told me that putting the formulas I know to practice is what will ensure that I internalize the information and concepts and that I will be prepared to produce them when needed.  The method of Mango Languages applies this concept to teaching a new language.  Our system uses a strategic series of automatically generated quizzes on material the student has already learned.  In addition, Mango uses what we refer to as Critical Thinking slides.  These slides prompt the student to construct and produce new language fragments, phrases and/or sentences using elements that they have learned but have never actually seen put together in this particular way.  In this way Mango Languages sets expectations for the student to not only repeat what they have heard but to also internalize this material and combine it new ways.  Since math is referred to as the universal language, I think my high school math professor would be pleased!

So, what do you think?  Do you agree with the saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”?

Krashen’s Input Hypothesis and Comprehensible Input: [i +1]

All theorists of language-learning agree that second language input of some form is necessary for learning a new language.  It is also necessary to be able to understand and process the input for second language acquisition to take place.  This is because second language acquisition (SLA) occurs on a development continuum.

We travel along this continuum by receiving what Stephen Krashen (1982, 1985) termed “comprehensible input.”  Comprehensible input is that input which is slightly beyond the current level of competence of the language learner.  If i is the language learner’s current level of competence in the foreign language, then i + 1 is the next immediate step along the development continuum.  Therefore, if the goal is to assist the language learner progress in their task, it is essential to provide the student/learner with comprehensible input [i +1].

This methodology is incorporated into the Mango course.  It is like teaching a child how to dance.  Most people would not enroll their infant who cannot yet walk in a ballet class with the hopes that by simply immersing them in the environment they will jump to their feet and perform a saut de chat.  The child must first learn to crawl, then to stand, then to walk, and so on.  With the Mango program, we start the student off with a conversation in order to orient them to the context of what they are about to learn.  We then parse the conversation into smaller sentences.  These sentences are then broken down piece by piece into their “elemental components” and slowly built back up to form the original sentence.

If you only learn phrases in chunks, how will you know the individual meaning of each word, much less how to create new sentences and phrases with them?

Ghoti Spells Fish

How many of you remember your parents or siblings drilling you for the upcoming spelling bee when you were in grade school? R-E-A-D spells “read.”  I like to read.  But wait, R-E-A-D also spells “read,” as in, “I read a good book yesterday.”  English is a funny language when it comes to spelling and the correspondence between letters and sounds.   This is partially because the English language has held on to much of its Old English orthography.  This is a benefit when reading somewhat old historical texts. But, it’s not so great when it comes to teaching spelling, reading, and writing. I’m sure many ESL and elementary school students would agree. Indeed many native adult English speakers, including yours truly, still struggle with spelling.  Isn’t that why they invented spell check?

So take a look at this: G-H-O-T-I spells “fish.”  You may think I need to go back to the 1^st grade, but what if told you the letters ‘gh’ make the [f] sound? Still think I’m crazy?  What about the ‘gh’ in the words enough and rough?  The –o in “women” makes the same sound as the letter –i in “fish.”  And finally, “Nation” and “station” both have the ‘ti’ combo that sounds like /sh/. So, there you have it.  G-H-O-T-I spells fish!

Do you know of any other examples of fun things like this?

Mighty Morphemes

Morphology is the study of the structure of words.

Words can be broken into morphemes. Morphemes are the smallest unit of meaning.

Morphemes can be words; for example giraffe, jump, purple, and quick are all morphemes and also words. However, one word can consist of one or many morphemes. Giraffes, jumped, purplish and quickly are all words but each consists of two morphemes. And, antidisestablishmentarianism is only one word but contains seven morphemes!

A few morphemes like the past tense –ed and plural –s, in English must attach to another morpheme (usually the root word, i.e., jump-ed and giraffe-s). These morphemes are referred to as bound morphemes. Morphemes that are not under this restriction are called free morphemes.

Some languages have a one to one correspondence between word and morpheme. Languages of this type are called isolating languages. For example, Classical Chinese is considered a highly isolating language where each morpheme corresponds to a single syllable and a single character. In contrast to isolating languages, agglutinative languages can form entire sentences by “gluing” affixes to the root word. Turkish is a good example of an agglutinative language. In Turkish, “Cevaplayamadıklarımızdandır” translated, “It must be one of those which we couldn’t answer” has nine morphemes!

What is the word with the highest number of morphemes you can come up with in English?

The Linguistic Elephant in the Room

There is a famous parable of six blind men and an elephant that originated from India. In one version of the story the six blind men were brought together and asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant’s body. The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a snake; the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a fan; the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall; and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a spear.

The field of Linguistics has its own elephant- human language. Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Similar to the blind men, linguists examine different areas of language and therefore describe language in different ways.
1. Syntax (contrary to what it sounds like, it is not an increase in the price of beer or gambling) is a subfield of linguistics which focuses mainly on the grammar of language. Syntacticians study the structure of sentences and try to answer the question, “What are the underlying rules and principles that govern the construction of sentences?”
2. While syntax studies the structure of sentences, morphology focuses on the structure of words.
3. Phonology is another subfield of linguistics. Phonology analyses the way sounds function in languages.
4. Related to phonology is another subfield of linguistics, phonetics. However, phonetics does not concentrate on the combination or function of sounds but rather on the actual production or articulation and physical properties of all possible human speech sounds.
5. Another perspective of language is the relationship between words and meaning. This is the focus of semantics, another branch of linguistics. Yet other linguists examine language as it affects and is affected by social relations. This perspective is referred to as sociolinguistics. There are still even more branches of linguistics, i.e., psycholinguistics, historical linguistics, neurolinguistics, etc.

So you see, there are many different perspectives and ways to describe language. Many times we think of human language as simple and easy – pretty much everyone speaks their native tongue by around age three without having ever been read a grammar book or been explicitly taught the rules of sound production and function, or of word and sentence structure. However, the reality is that human language is a huge complex “elephant” and viewing its different parts and from different perspectives has been the direction taken in the field of linguistics. But, this does not mean that these branches are in complete disagreement about what language is or the principles that govern its creation, acquisition or usage. Rather, each subfield gives a different description because it focuses on a different part of the “elephant”. In order to best describe human language linguists analyze its different parts but must not forget the whole – that language isn’t just the long tusk, flat ear, or coiled trunk. It’s the whole elephant.