Harris Winitz - Comprehension Strategies in the Acquiring of a Second Language

Harris Winitz

Comprehension Strategies in the Acquiring of a Second Language

1st ed. 2020

To those whom I cherish

Shevie

Flora

Simeon

Jennifer

Adam

Dylan

Autumn

If I were to recommend an essential first book for foreign language teachers, it would be Kellys () 25 Centuries of Language Teaching, for within the covers of this book one can find ancient and modern references to almost all current methods of language instruction. For example, there is reference to audio-lingual , behavioral, cognitive, and classroom approaches to language teaching. Under the heading Mime and Demonstration there is recognition that some methods use objects and activities, rather than translation to convey meaning in the second language. Although Kelly provides a historical perspective of language instruction, mentioning past and present approaches and activities, he does not necessarily endorse a particular method of instruction.

This book, unlike Kellys book, is not a review or summary of current or past language teaching methodologies, although a historical perspective of foreign language teaching methods is an important ingredient in understanding new approaches and theoretical positions. The focus of this book emphasizes comprehension-based instruction for consideration in foreign language instruction. It provides for instructors of foreign languages and student majors in a foreign language the background and development of the Comprehension Approach as an alternative teaching methodology.

The critical issue in foreign language teaching and learning is that of discovering the conditions under which the process of language learning can be maximally effective.

There is a certain degree of disappointment among foreign language professionals in that interest in achieving success in acquiring a second language is not evident among the majority of high school and college students. Students often become discouraged in their study of a foreign language after taking a first course that entails memorization of grammatical structures and endless drill work.

After many centuries of discussion and deliberation, the art of teaching a foreign language still remains an active area of study and disagreement among language professionals. There are academic journals devoted to investigation of almost every facet of foreign language learning. Some of the current topics are theoretical linguistic issues and their relevance for language teaching, when and how to introduce grammatical rules, the role of listening in acquiring a foreign language, reading procedures to teach vocabulary , the use of computer programs to deliver lessons, the age at which language instruction should begin and a host of many other important issues. The list of topics is lengthy as is the number of journal articles that are devoted to these topics, all of which have the singular goal of improving the effectiveness of foreign language teaching and learning.

Effective teaching and learning also includes consideration of attention to student retention rate. American universities generally require one or two years of foreign language study, but it is generally known that the majority of university students do not enroll in foreign language courses beyond that which is required of their major area of study. Part of the problem can be attributed to the evaluation students make of their foreign language courses. Generally they are unconvinced that by taking additional foreign language courses they will become speakers of a new language. Contributing also to the low retention rate of students in foreign language study is the knowledge students have of foreign language course curricula. They know its primary emphasis is the study of literature and that the acquiring of conversational fluency in their respective disciples is only incidentally emphasized.