Steve Kaufmann talking about "mind set" part of the conversation Spanish and Italian

[mentecuerpo]

In the video, Steve states that, in his opinion, the mindset and motivation are more important than the method.

He believes that overcoming the beginner's level takes less effort than overcoming the intermediate level when the learner begins to learn the low-frequency words.

Steve speaks in Spanish with an almost perfect Spain accent for an English speaker. He is probably at a B2 level.
In Italian, his Spanish interferes, and he uses Spanish words at times. He is probably at B1 Italian.

He states that his goal is to reach a B2 level but that many times, he stays at B1 because he switches to learning another language.

I don't know much about the young person who interviews Steve, but she is probably Mexican or another Central American country.

Interesting video.

[Cainntear]

In the video, Steve states that, in his opinion, the mindset and motivation are more important than the method.

That's essentially a meaningless position. Methods can motivate and demotivate, and they cannot help but alter the learner's mindset.

Well, I say it's a meaningless position, but it isn't really. This sort of statement, when made by teachers (or publishers of education resources), usually tells us that the teacher is aware that a lot of students are dropping out, and is blaming them for it -- "they didn't succeed because they didn't believe". I hate this attitude because I've seen people reduced to tears because particular teaching methods aren't working for them.

[mentecuerpo]

Motivation and Method are essential factors. No doubt, the quality of the teacher can make all the differences in the world.
I like the classroom setting as well.

One of the things I don't like about Phoenix, there are not enough language classes available outside of colleges.
Especially for children. Too bad. It makes me want to live in NY city, LA, or Chicago, not fair at all.

I am sure many Americans in the USA are on the same boat.

I found a German classroom in Tempe, Saturdays only, probably one hour's drive where I live. I filled the online application form and no response from them.

Thank God for the internet with the Skype lessons, available methods, the shopping (amazon, and ebay to name a few) and online content for self-studying.

[golyplot]

In most cases, school language classes are a horribly inefficient method of learning anyway.

[mentecuerpo]

The classroom is no substitute for self-learning; it can supplement it. After all, the teacher facilitates learning, but the student has to get input with L2 outside the classroom too. (this is the difference between children and adults in language learning outside of a natural environment, in my opinion, children will probably engage with the language only in a classroom environment, a child will not do self-studies in language).

I like the classroom setting; I can think a few things I like:

It is fun; it allows me to mingle with other students and socialize with fellow language learners.
I can get corrective feedback from my teacher in a sensitive way, for example using corrective feedback strategies (negative feedback?) such as clarification technique (clarification request) or recasting, then help the student to produce the uptake. (see the book, The effectivenss of Corrective Feedback and the Role of Individual Diffrences in Language Leaning, Naida Mifka Profozie).

Professional teachers are trained to facilitate learning; they are up to date with SLA theories.
For example, the teacher can focus on meaning and the focus-on-form, vs. focus on forms like we discussed earlier in another post.

The teacher, with his experience, can help me see my weak areas.
The teacher can pay attention to the individual differences in the students and their role in language learning.
I can ask questions to an expert, my teacher.

The classroom can provide me different language input from the one I use on self-study.

[Cainntear]

I can get corrective feedback from my teacher in a sensitive way, for example using corrective feedback strategies (negative feedback?) such as clarification technique (clarification request) or recasting, then help the student to produce the uptake.

Recent studies have questioned the usefulness of recasting, finding that most students don't actually recognise it as a correction, instead assuming the teacher is just echoing what they'd just said back to them as confirmation of understanding -- after all, echoing with reformulation is commonly used between first language speakers as a communications strategy to demonstrate and/or clarify understanding with no suggestion of an "error" on the part of the other speaker.

For those of us who do recognise recasts, they're very effective... but we're in the minority.

[lichtrausch]

Recent studies have questioned the usefulness of recasting, finding that most students don't actually recognise it as a correction, instead assuming the teacher is just echoing what they'd just said back to them as confirmation of understanding --

Even adult students?

[mentecuerpo]

Thanks, Cainntear,

I like the classroom environment supplemented with my self-studies.

I am sure the teacher uses many techniques in the classroom that we students do not see or understand the process, but we get the benefits. The recast and clarification are two examples of teacher's techniques. The teacher applies them based on their experience and knowledge on SLA field. I am sure that a skillful teacher who knows what he/she is doing can make a positive impact on the student.

Teachers use psychology as well, for example, recognizing and knowing how or when to correct an anxious student or sensitive student.

I believe that the book above shows a study in which recast was helpful.

Nadia Mifaks is the author of the book I am reading on the subject.

Recasts, Noticing and Acquisition of French past Tenses
New Zealand Language Teacher, The
Volume 35 (Nov 2009)

Mifka-Profozic, Nadia1
Abstract: The current research is an attempt to examine the effects of oral corrective feedback on the acquisition of French past tenses passe compose and imparfait. The effectiveness of error correction was investigated in relation to noticing which is considered to be a necessary component in the process of second/foreign language learning. The study was carried out at two secondary schools in Auckland. A quasi-experimental design with the pretest, immediate posttest and a delayed posttest was employed. Oral corrective feedback was provided in the form of recasts in the course of two communicative focused tasks. Learner uptake of recasts was taken as evidence of noticing. Statistical analyses using repeated measures ANOVA were performed on four separate tests (oral and written imparfait, oral and written passe compose) in order to measure acquisition gains after the treatment. A series of Pearson correlation analyses were used to examine the relationship between the acquisition scores and noticing of recasts. Results showed statistically significant effects over time for oral passe compose. Pearson correlation analyses provided evidence of statistically significant strong correlation between the learners uptake of recasts and their scores on immediate and delayed posttest for both posttests of oral passe compose and on immediate posttest of written passe compose. No such correlation was evidenced for the imparfait. These results indicate the learners in this study may be at the level of interlanguage at which they can acquire passe compose but are not ready yet to acquire the imparfait. It is an indication that passe compose is acquired earlier than the imparfait, as suggested by the interlanguage research findings for Romance languages to date.

[Speakeasy]

Recent studies have questioned the usefulness of recasting, finding that most students don't actually recognise it as a correction, instead assuming the teacher is just echoing what they'd just said back to them as confirmation of understanding -- after all, echoing with reformulation is commonly used between first language speakers as a communications strategy to demonstrate and/or clarify understanding with no suggestion of an "error" on the part of the other speaker. For those of us who do recognise recasts, they're very effective... but we're in the minority.

Interesting point! Putting aside the conclusions of recent studies on confirmation bias, my own life experience suggests to me that (at least some) people do not always listen attentively to what they’re being told and, as a result, genuinely believe that their misunderstandings of what was actually said are factual. Although I have not bothered looking into the matter, there may be ongoing research of this phenomenon.

[mentecuerpo]

The Class Method of Treating Tuberculosis (1910)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/a ... act/431660

D. Joseph Henry Pratt and tuberculosis classes.

Offtopic but,
talking about psychology and the classroom, it came to my mind the origins of group psychotherapy sessions. It all started in the classroom held by Dr. Joseph Henry Pratt to educated tuberculosis patients on the disease.

From there on, group psychotherapy started. The students, the tuberculosis patients, benefited from the interactions with one another and the teacher, in this case, Dr. Joseph Henry Pratt. Thus, paving the way to Group Psychoterapy sessions. It all started in the classroom.