Language Learning and Teaching

Avoidance Strategies

 

Avoidance is a common communication strategy that can be broken down into several subcategories. The most common type of avoidance strategy is syntactic or lexical avoidance within a semantic category. Consider the following conversation:

L:     I lost my road.

NS:  You lost your road?

L:     Uh, ... I lost. I lost. I got lost.

     The learner avoided the lexical item road entirely, not being able to come up with the word way at that point. A French learner who wishes to avoid the use of the subjunctive in the sentence Il faut que nous partions may, for example, use instead the sentence IL nous faut partir. Or, not being sure of the use of en in the sentence J'en ai trois, the learner might simply say J'en ai trois pommes. Phonological avoidance is also common, as in the case of a Japanese tennis partner of mine who avoided using the word rally (because of its phonological difficulty) and instead opted to say, simply, "hit the ball."

     A more direct type of avoidance is topic avoidance, in which a whole topic of conversation (say, talking about what happened yesterday if the past tense is unfamiliar) might be avoided entirely. Learners manage to devise ingenious methods of topic avoidance: changing the subject, pretending not to understand (a classical means for avoiding answering a question), simply not responding at all, or noticeably abandoning a message when a thought becomes too difficult to express.

Compensatory Strategies

Another common set of communication devices involves compensation for missing knowledge. We will elaborate here on just three of the eleven strategy types in Table 5.3.

     Typical of rock-bottom beginning-level learners, for example, is the memorization of certain stock phrases or sentences without internalized knowledge of their components. These memorized chunks of language, known as prefabricated patterns, are often found in pocket bilingual phrase books, which list hundreds of sentences for various occasions: "How much does this cost?" "Where is the toilet?" "I don't speak English." "I don't understand you." Such phrases are memorized by rote to fit their appropriate context. Prefabricated patterns are sometimes the source of some merriment. In my first few days of Kikongo learning in Africa, I tried to say, in Kikongo, "I don't know Kikongo" to those who attempted to converse with me. I was later embarrassed to discover that, in the first few attempts at producing this prefabricated avoidance device, instead of saying Kizeyi Kikongo ko, I had said Kizolele Kikongo ko (I don't like Kikongo), which brought on reactions ranging from amusement to hostility.

     Code-switching is the use of a first or third language within a stream of speech in the second language. Often code-switching subconsciously occurs between two advanced learners with a common first language, but in such a case, usually not as a compensatory strategy. Learners in the early stages of acquisition, however, might code-switch—use their native language to fill in missing knowledge—whether the hearer knows that native language or not. Sometimes the learner slips in just a word or two, in I hope that the hearer will get the gist of what is being communicated. Ii surprising that context of communication coupled with some of the universals of nonverbal expression sometimes enables learners to communicate an idea in their own language to someone unfamiliar with that language. Such marvels of communication are a tribute to the universal of human experience and a balm for those who feel the utter despair attempting to communicate in a foreign tongue.

     Yet another common compensatory strategy is a direct appeal I help. Learners may, if stuck for a particular word or phrase, directly as native speaker or the teacher for the form ("How do you say__?").Or they might venture a possible guess and then ask for verification from the native speaker of the correctness of the attempt. Also within this category are those instances where the learner might appeal to a bilingual dictionary for help. The latter case can also produce some rather amusing situations. Once a student of English as a second language, when asked to introduce himself to the class and the teacher, said, "Allow me to introduce myself and tell you some of the . . ." At this point he quickly got out his pocket dictionary and, finding the word he wanted, continued, "some of the headlights of my past."

     The list of potentially useful communication strategies is not limited the thirteen listed in Table 5.3. Cohen and Aphek (1981) found that successful learners in their study made use of word association and generating their own rules. Chesterfield and Chesterfield (1985) reported instances of self talk as learners practiced their second language. Rost and Ross (199 discovered that learners benefited from asking for repetition and seeking various forms of clarification. Huang and Van Naerssen (1987) attribute the oral production success of Chinese learners of English to function practice (using language for communication) and, even more interesting, reading practice. And the research continues.

STRATEGIES-BASED INSTRUCTION

Much of the work of researchers and teachers on the application of both learning and communication strategies to classroom learning has come to be known generically as strategies-based instruction (SBI) (McDonough 1999, Cohen 1998), or as learner strategy training. As we seek to make the language classroom an effective milieu for learning, it has become increasingly apparent that "teaching learners how to learn" is crucial. Wenden (1985) was among the first to assert that learner strategies are the key to learner autonomy, and that one of the most important goals of language teaching should be the facilitation of that autonomy.

  Teachers can benefit from an understanding of what makes learners successful and unsuccessful, and establish in the classroom a milieu for the realization of successful strategies. Teachers cannot always expect instant success in that effort since students often bring with them certain preconceived notions of what "ought" to go on in the classroom (Bialystok 1985). However, it has been found that students will benefit from SBI if they (a) understand the strategy itself, (b) perceive it to be effective, and (c) do not consider its implementation to be overly difficult (MacIntyre & Noels 1996). Therefore our efforts to teach students some technical know-how about how to tackle a language are well advised.

  Several different models of SBI are now being practiced in language classes around the world.

1. As part of a standard communicative methodology, teachers help students to become aware of their own style preferences and the strategies that are derived from those styles (Thompson & Rubin 1996, Oxford 1990a). (See also the "In the Classroom" vignette at the end of this chapter for some details.) Through checklists, tests, and interviews, teachers can become aware of students' tendencies and then offer advice on beneficial in-class and extra-class strategies.
2. Teachers can embed strategy awareness and practice into their pedagogy (Rubin & Thompson 1994; Brown 1989, 1990; Ellis & Sinclair 1989). As they utilize such techniques as communicative games, rapid reading, fluency exercises, and error analysis, teachers can help students both consciously and subconsciously to practice successful strategies.
3. Certain compensatory techniques are sometimes practiced to help students overcome certain weaknesses. Omaggio (1981) provided diagnostic instruments and procedures for determining students' preferences, then outlined exercises that help students to overcome certain blocks or to develop successful strategies here they are weak.
4. Finally, textbooks (Brown 1998, Chamot, O'Malley & Ktipper 1992) include strategy instruction as part of a content-centered approach.

   One of the most useful manuals of SBI available is Rebecca Oxford's (1990a) practical guide for teachers. She outlined a host of learning and communication strategies that have been successful among learners. Her taxonomy (see Figure 5.1) is both comprehensive and practical. Also, for younger learners, Chamot et al. (1999) produced a strategies handbook for teachers in elementary and secondary schools.

   Figure 5.1. Oxford's strategy classification system (continued)

 

We have much to learn in the creation of practical techniques for teaching learners how to use strategies effectively, but this remains a very exciting and promising area of pedagogical research at the present time. 

     * * * 

     In this chapter we have looked at a number of relevant and salient cognitive variables in the learning of a foreign language. It should by now be apparent that cognitive variables alone represent a complex system of factors that must be channeled into an understanding of the total second language acquisition process. An awareness of these factors will help you, the teacher, to perceive in your learners some wide-ranging individual differences. Not all learners are alike. No one can be neatly pigeon-holed into a cognitive type. With many styles and strategies operating within а person, hundreds of cognitive "profiles" might be identified! If we could discover some overriding and all-pervading variable that classifies learners neatly into categories of "successful" and "unsuccessful," then of course we could make a case for "typing" language learners. But, as Earl Stevick (1989) showed in his profile of seven successful language learners, such is not t case. Instead, teachers need to recognize and understand a multiplicity оf cognitive variables active in the second language learning process and t make appropriate judgments about individual learners, meeting where they are and providing them with the best possible opportunities for learning.

In the Classroom: Styles and Strategies in Practice

Strategies-based instruction, discussed at the end of the chapter, has a number of possible manifestations in the classroom. Sometimes textbooks themselves include exercises in style awareness and strategy development (Brown 1998). Or teachers might consult a manual of techniques (such as Chamot et al. 1999, Oxford 1990a) that offers guidelines on constructing their own strategy-building activities. Yet another option gives students an opportunity to fill out inventories to determine which of many possible strategies they use or fail to use. Or teachers might simply provide impromptu advice to learners as the occasions arise. To give you just a few examples of how learner strategy training works, three suggestions are offered here.

1.   Administer a learning styles checklist. More often than not, language students enter a classroom with little or no conception of what good language learning strategies are. They dutifully sit at their desks waiting for the teacher to tell them "Open your books" or "Repeat after me." One thing that teachers can do to begin to open up students' minds to the possibility that they may not be engaging in strategies that could make them successful is to administer a very simple checklist on which students rate themselves. Figure 5.2 is an example of such a checklist. Once students have had a chance, with no advance "coaching," to fill out the checklist, you can engage them in any or all of the following: (a) a discussion of why they responded as they did, (b) small-group sharing of feelings underlying their responses, (c) an informal tabulation of how people responded to each item, (d) some advice, from your own experience, on why certain practices may be successful or unsuccessful, or (e) reaching the general consensus that responses in the A and В categories are usually indicative of successful approaches to language learning.
2.   Engage in frequent spontaneous hints about successful learning and communication strategies. In spite of the fact that a good deal of what we know about second language acquisition is not unequivocally proven, we nevertheless know quite a lot about what generally applies to most learners most of the time. Most learners, for example, come to language classes with raised inhibitions and fears that prevent them taking the necessary risks that learners must take in order to try out language and receive constructive feedback. Such principles may be stated for learners in the form of ten "commandments" (or, you might want to simply call them "suggestions") for learners. A teacher's version (in somewhat more technical jargon) and a learner's version of these ten rules for successful classroom learning are given in Table 5.4. These rules might simply take on the form of little reminders sprinkled into your classroom routines. You will note that each rule corresponds to the numbered items in the checklist above. Caution should be taken in both cases, of course, in assuming that all learners will benefit from the directionality of the advice in these suggestions; a few learners, for example, may be too confident or too right-brain oriented.

Figure 5.2. Check one box in each item that best describes you. Boxes A and E would indicate that the sentence is very much like you. Boxes Band D would indicate that the sentence is somewhat descriptive of you. Box С would indicate that you have no inclination one way or another.

Table 5.4. "Ten Commandments" for good language learning 

3. Build strategic techniques. Perhaps a more subtle but no less effective way to manifest learner strategy training in a classroom is to make sure that techniques are directed as much as possible toward good language learning behaviors. Overt admonition or calling students' conscious attention to principles need not be the major approach; instead, teachers can encourage successful subconscious strategy employment through their choice of classroom techniques that enhance strategy building. By extending the "ten commandments" into classroom activities, suggestions for building strategic competence emerge, as shown in Table 5.5.

 

 

Table 5.5.  Building strategic techniques

 

These three suggestions for bringing strategies-based instruction into the classroom of course only begin to provide an idea of what can be done to sensitize learners to the importance of taking charge of their own learning—of taking some responsibility for their eventual success and not just leaving it all up to the teacher to "deliver" everything to them. If teachers everywhere would do no more than simply follow the above suggestions, significant steps could be made toward encouraging students to make a strategic investment in their own language learning success.

TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION

[Note: (I) individual work; (G) group or pair work; (C) whole-class discussion.]

1. (I) In order to make sure you understand the continuum of process, style, and strategy, make a list of some of the universal processes you have read in previous chapters, then a list of styles and strategies from this chapter. How do they differ?
2. (G) In a small group, share what each of you perceives to be your more dominant cognitive style along the continua presented here: FI/D, right/left brain, ambiguity tolerance, reflective/impulsive, and visual/auditory. Talk about examples of how you manifest those styles both in your approach in general to problems and in your approach to SLA.
3. (I) Look at the list of differences between right- and left-brain processing in Table 5.1 on page 119. Check or circle the side that corresponds to your own preference, and total the items on each side. Are you right- or left-brain dominant? Does this result match your general perception of yourself?
4. (G) Form five groups, with one of the five cognitive styles assigned to each group. Each group will list the types of activities or techniques in foreign language classes that illustrate its style. Then, decide which list of activities is better for what kinds of purposes. Share the results with the rest of the class.
5. (I) Someone once claimed that FD is related to farsightedness. That is, farsighted people tend to be more FD, and vice versa. If that is true, how would you theoretically justify such a finding?
6. (C) Look at the list of "good language learner" characteristics on page 123 as enumerated by Rubin and Thompson. Which ones seem the most important? Which the least? Would you be able to add some items to this list, from your own or others' experiences?
7. (C) Discuss any instances in which you have used any of the thirteen communication strategies listed in Table 5.3 on page 128. Are there some other strategies that you could add?
8. (I/G/C) First, individually take the Learning Styles Checklist on page 136. Then, in pairs look at a partner's responses and find one item on which you differ greatly (e.g., A vs. E, A vs. D, or В vs. E). Next, talk about 
   experiences in your own language learning that illustrate your choice, Finally, decide which side of the continuum (the "A-B" side or the' 1) F side) gives you more of an advantage. Share the results with the rest of the class.
9. (C) When you were learning a foreign language, what advice would you like to have had that you did not have at the time? Which of the suggestions at the end of the chapter for SBI appeal to you, and why?

SUGGESTED READINGS

     Gardner, Robert C. and Maclntyre, Peter D. 1992. "A student's contributions to second language learning. Part I: Cognitive variables." Language Teaching 25: 211-220.

A summary of issues and research on cognitive variables in second language acquisition is included in this state-of-the-art article.

     Oxford, Rebecca (Ed.). 1996. Learning Strategies Around the World: Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

     Oxford, Rebecca and Anderson, Neil J. 1995. "A crosscultural view of learning styles." Language Teaching 28:201-215.