In my earlier years of learning Spanish in middle and high school, I really enjoyed learning the basics through engaging activities. We learned the alphabet through songs, watched lots of videos about Spanish culture, and there were a lot of project-based assessments to evaluate our knowledge as well as to learn new things. For example, I really enjoyed a party we had where everyone had to contribute something that related to Spanish culture, so I created a traditional Spanish dish to share with the class. Once I got the basics down, I thought it was helpful to learn with the teacher giving lessons on topics such as grammar, which were reinforced through working in our textbook and with practice worksheets. I also find it helpful to review answers after trying it on my own and not being penalized for making mistakes or not understanding a concept during the learning process. Honestly, learning to speak the language correctly by practicing to pronounce the words correctly was more anxiety-ridden for me, but I think because in a class setting I’m afraid of making mistakes. At times I would find it challenging in my more intermediate level courses of Spanish as the instructor would typically only speak in Spanish to the class, so a lot of times I struggled to understand exactly what they were saying, but I do think it helped me to get better at using context clues to understand and improve my language skills.
As I reviewed the FIRE model, I’ve realized that I’m a combination of each of the different types of learning styles. I think I most resonate with Factual and Rational kinds of thinking. When I’m learning something new, it’s often helpful for me to start with a concrete concept and progressively build upon what I’ve been learning to more advanced concepts (factual), or to start with the big picture and then apply it to useful life applications (rational). I don’t enjoy my learning to be fast-paced, and I feel more insightful in my thinking as I prefer to have time to reflect on what I learned to make sure I have fully understood the topic. Although I prefer memorization of facts at times (simply because I’m good at it and can do so fairly quickly), I admit I often do not gain much from this method of learning and learn much more in collaboration with others and by being challenged to think of creative solutions to a problem. I learn best when my learning is organized, meaning I am given a clear outline in the beginning of what to learn, a plan of how we will accomplish those goals, and a guideline for when I should be proficient in a particular learning objective, so I’m really excited to be creating my own learning plan for studying Korean! Overall, I just appreciate learning practical information and skills that are valuable and applicable to my everyday life. For the most part, I don’t want to waste time learning things that aren’t useful to me, but I would if I were truly interested in a particular topic. I believe the language learning activities that would best suit my learning style would be the use of apps and technology or workbooks/worksheets to learn basic concepts such as the alphabet, memorizing vocabulary, grammar rules, writing etc. I also enjoy learning through videos and practicing one-on-one or in small groups to improve my pronunciation and speaking/listening skills. I think a goal for me to expand my learning activities this semester could be to get out of my comfort zone with my language learning and speak more often especially in group settings since I tend to avoid that at times due to not feeling confident in my language abilities.
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Related to ZPD- you may be interested in reading about the Total Physical Response developed by James Asher, and also the Natural Approach by Krashen and Terrell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6De52Pzr8c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTVbdstastI&list=PLXcV6ppBBn1EE...
Thanks, Kayla! Yes, language-learning is an activity that tends to inspire anxiety. It's so difficult to leave our sense of pride at the doorstep. This statement definitely resonated with me: "Honestly, learning to speak the language correctly by practicing to pronounce the words correctly was more anxiety-ridden for me, but I think because in a class setting I’m afraid of making mistakes. At times I would find it challenging in my more intermediate level courses of Spanish as the instructor would typically only speak in Spanish to the class, so a lot of times I struggled to understand exactly what they were saying, but I do think it helped me to get better at using context clues to understand and improve my language skills." The use of the target language in the classroom is something that is actually a question of great debate in ACTFL discussions. The proficiency guidelines recommend that teachers should try to use the target language for ~95% of course interactions, but there is little to no empirical evidence that speaks to what is pedagogically most effective for students. The direct approach, i.e. using only the target language, may present certain gaps in nuance and cultural understanding that students cannot overcome when activities are conducted wholly in the designated tongue. By the same token, the sociocultural acquisition theory, in this vein, puts forth a compelling model, indicating that students intuit increasingly complex patterns and meanings with more observation and interaction, casually called the Zone of Proximal Development (apologies for the convoluted jargon), as a result of repetition, mimicking, and gestures. I'm of the optimal teaching and learning methodology should highlight the advantages of multiple approaches- stay in the target language as much as possible, but revert to explanations of structure and cultural nuance, whenever there are communication breakdowns and the situation demands it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development