After
packing up my materials at the ETAI conference last week, I had time to hear
some of Leo Selivan's presentation on learning language, which emphasized
mainly that language is produced in chunks and that grammar must be acquired
rather than learned. Most of what he said matched my own experience and the
methods I use, but it's always nice to be backed up by a reputable authority. Speaking
of methods, this is a good time to mention my book English is Fun in Rhythm.
"Speaking
of methods" - How would a non-English speaker learn a phrase like that? "How
would"? Why not "How could" or "How should"? I could
keep going, but I shouldn't so I won't (not wouldn't). Since English is my
native language I know which word is correct even if I can't explain why. I
learned by being exposed to language in spoken and written form all around me from
the day I was born.
Now
let's go back to our EFL students. They also learned their native languages by
constant exposure, and probably speak correctly. Young children seem to be able
to figure out the rules by themselves. So exposure to authentic language is the
key to producing proper language structures. How can we provide this exposure
to learners of a foreign language? Songs (back to my website), drama in the
classroom and on stage, computer research, magazines, books, movies. Talk about subjects that interest them and they will learn vocabulary
that interests them.
In
our discussion after the presentation we tried to come up with songs with
"can". I had trouble thinking on the spot so I'm going to list a few
now.
Dancing
Queen (You can dance, you can jive..), ABBA
We
Can Work It Out, The Beatles
I Can
Be Your Hero, Enrique Iglesias
Any song you choose will have some useful language chunks. Teach them the language they need to communicate and learning becomes relevant.
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