Acquiring Language B:

Macro-skilling for Literacy and Communication

Learning a Language B is about communication. Communication, then, is about the negotiation of meaning that involves comprehending and composing language in the written and spoken modes of four macro-skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Languages other than English are a means of communicating across cultures and promoting sociocultural understanding and competence.  Languages are important as a medium of interpersonal relationships, of thought and of learning about the world. Languages help users to develop self-concepts and shape thought.  The cultural dimensions of language differentiates, maintains and transforms identities.

In language classrooms, students communicate by engaging in purposeful and active use of language in tasks that contribute to their understanding of many diverse issue and concepts. Importantly, learners should communicate with real language for real purposes.  Students demonstrate this ability when they are able to use process skills and strategies to deploy linguistic features in culturally appropriate ways.

Embedded in second language learning is its proprietary relationship with literacy. It is particularly beneficial to English language and literacy development for students to learn about an alternative linguistic system and be able to make explicit comparisons between languages. It also expands capacity in the student’s first language literacy through the reinforcement of their understanding of language as a system with rules and conventions to be applied in socially appropriate ways. As students attempt to comprehend and negotiate meaning, they actively construct their own understanding of the language as a system.  They use this as the basis for formulating messages in the language by such things as analysing texts for meaning and for language patterns that convey those meanings as well as applying and manipulating known structures to create original utterances. Learning other languages gives deeper knowledge and understanding of the structures and processes of communication.  

The paper, then, shall show how creating a task-based language approach within an embedded program allows the students to acquire communicative skills.  Illustrative examples of task-based language programmes shall also be reviewed by the presenter

Audience:  All

Workshop materials:

Presenter:

Dr. David Rolls

Australian International School Singapore

Primary LOTE Teacher

david_rolls@ais.com.sg

I have taught Mandarin Chinese (LOTE) from Prep to Year 10 for over ten years, with the last two years at AISS. Previously I was the LOTE Co-ordinator for the Wide Bay Region in Queensland, as well as the Co-ordinator of the 'Hervey Bay Chinese Teachers Cluster'. In this capacity, I assisted in the co-ordination of the Chinese language  program amongst six language teachers who taught at ten primary schools in the region. I have also presented at various conferences in Queensland. My interest is in using new technooliogies within the classroom.