Language Awareness in the classroom: unraveling my

students understanding of the English language

Student: Dbora Muramoto Alves de Castilho Monograph 01.15.2015
Advisor: Maria Isabel A. Cunha

It all started...
Language course methodology based on the
audiolingual method to master format through
automatization
Communicative activities simulating real situations

Students considered Intermediate Level according to

the CEF

Classroom routine
1) Present language
2) Have them practice mainly through drills without paying much attention
to meaning
3) Propose activities in which meaning is important otherwise communication
does not happen

What I started noticing was that...

The students grasped the format well
They had problems regarding when to use the
Perfect Tenses
They were simplifying their speech and never
using the target language

Research Question

How much language do they know?

How well can they use what is being
worked on the syllabus?

Exploratory Practice Propositions

Proposition 1: Learners are unique individuals who learn and develop best in their
own idiosyncratic ways;

Proposition 2: Learners are social beings who learn and develop best in a mutually
supportive environment;
Proposition 3: Learners are capable of taking learning seriously.
Proposition 4: Learners are capable of independent decision-making
Proposition 5: Learners are capable of developing as practitioners of learning
(ALLWRIGHT; HANKS, 2009, p.7)

Why I chose Exploratory Practice

Its about understanding
It can involve action for understanding

involves action

Language Awareness Parameters

a person sensitivity to and conscious awareness of the
notion of language and its role in human life (DONMALL,
1985, apud JAMES; G., 1995, p. 4)

Cognitive
Affective
Social

Language Awareness
Languages have rules;
Rules can be broken intentionally for purposes;
Rules can be broken and communication is not lost;
Even native speakers do not perform perfectly;

Written language is different from spoken language;

Most written language will never be spoken in its original form;
Languages are different in many ways, e.g.

there is no word-for-word equivalence

like-sounding words may not mean the same

some languages have several words for only one word in another language

some languages do not have a word that others have

languages may have different word order

some languages are inflected where English is not

we can use the language in ways which make it our own

(JAMES; GARRET, 1995, p.120)

The Biography Activity: a suggestion for

understanding
Study the genre BIOGRAPHY so we know what to do
Choose someone to talk about and search for material
Gather together on a meeting to share ideas
Get down to writing
Revise

Breaking Rules to Build Language

First attempt

When she made 4 years

Second attempt

() with 8 years

Third attempt

() when she was 10

What he said

What he could have said

His occupations: ()

He is a ()

His age is 37.

He is 37

Word-for-Word Equivalence
Gabriela

She made a lot of paper on TV

Gabriela

() with the paper of Hanna Marin

Gabriela

She born in California

Gabriela

When she made 4 years was invited

Rafaela

Its a family they are como fala capoeira?

Rafaela

() como fala fazem novela?

Rafaela

They are actors and capoeiristas

Ruy

And the most famous character he being were

Mickey ()

Mariana

She born 31 ()

Social Awareness and Cooperation

Dbora:
Ruy:

Ok, go ahead, Gabi. Who are you going to talk

about?
Ashley Victoria Benson

Helder:

"Co" o nome da "mul"?

Gabriela:

Ashley Victoria Benson... he's... a protagnist...?

Dbora:

Helder:

You mean she plays the main character? In a

play or film?
Pretty Little Liars

Ruy:

Nunca ouvi fal

Joo

And he he conheceu?

Gabriela

Met

Joo

He met his friends of Linkin Park when he was

living in Augora Hills in California.

How about the Present Perfect?

Gabriela

she also sing and been in a lot ()

Mariana

() the same as Harry Potter has gone to Hogwarts

Mariana

Since she was a child, she has written.

Mariana

When she had arrived at home, she started to write

Final Comments
Teachers beliefs ...
Control through teaching techniques
The smaller the group, the better the teaching
Anticipation of problems
Use of excellent materials guarantees exellence in the whole class
But actually, what I found out was that...

Control is illusory.

A group can be comprised of a few people and still be heterogeneous

Problems always happen. The point is how we deal with them
Even excellent materials may not work the way we expect

Some Inspiration...
When my son, James, was doing homework for school, he would have five
or six windows open on his computer, Instant Messenger was flashing
continuously, his cell phone was constantly ringing, and he was
downloading music and watching the TV over his shoulder. I dont know if
he was doing any homework, but he was running an empire as far as I
could see, so I didnt really care.
(ROBINSON, 2009, p.22)