Teaching methodologies: Immersion approach

Teaching methodologies
Immersion Approach

Immersion Approach has being very popular as a way of teaching, generally this method is used to teach children a second language. Immersion Approach methodology was based on the theory that the target language is best acquired if the learner is placed in the target language environment as much as possible so as to improve the language learning efficiency. Children here are exposed both to new culture and new language as well as gaining a well rounded and thorough academic education. Moreover, immersion has exerted a great influence also on the learner’s attitude toward the culture.
The belief of this kind of methodology is that normal children have inherent capacity o learn a second language.
In this kind of method students are instructed in most part of their course and subjects in the second language (In-class activities, such as math, social studies, and history, and those outside of the class, such as meals or everyday tasks, are conducted in the target language), its purpose is to create a learning environment in which the students acquire a high level proficiency in oral, listening and literacy skills.
This placement can be divided in two types of immersion: partial and total.

Total immersion
It involves the instruction of all subjects (except the L1 subject) in the second second language, it generally begins in the kindergarten with no use of L1 in the classroom and it continuous until second or third year in school, in these years students start to have a subject about L1 and in this classroom than can receive information in native language, they can speak in that language and they do exercises about and using L1, anyway, they have few time of L1 classes, generally it takes about 45 minutes a day in the initiate classes, and about 60-90 minutes a day in the major classes, as the grade levels increases so the degree that native language is used increases too.
Both native and second language skills are carefully monitored during the immersion program, in the beginning levels students can have some problems with their native language, particularly in spelling and reading (for example : kids have some spelling problems in with the letter “k” and “c”, because most of time they have the same sound in English and Portuguese, so they change it all the time in both languages)
Partial immersion
It involves instructions in the second language for a half the school day and the other half of the day in the native language. It also begins in the kindergarten, the language of instruction in the morning or in the afternoon may differ each grade from year to year. But when the L2 skills are compared with those students of total immersion at the same grade level, partial students are less proficient.
Conclusion
Since the immersion programs provide a greater exposure to the l2 than any other type of teaching methodology, it is not surprising that they produce better results. For the same reason early total immersion develop a higher success than early partial programs.
Positive outcomes:
1.Children of today will need to be bilingual to be successful in the global society and economy of their adulthood.
2. Childhood is the best time to develop an appreciation and understanding of diverse cultures,peoples, and perspectives in the world.
3. An optimal time to learn languages is prior to age twelve.
4. Children learn language by listening and repeating, and don’t have any fear of a “foreign”language.
5.Academic skills are actually enhanced.
6. Children are guaranteed to be challenged.
7. Parents will get envolved
Negative outcomes:
1. It has been noticed in Canada that the global comprehension of L2 in written production shown byimmersion students is not always accompanied by an equal degree of oral comprehension. For instance, spelling, verb forms remain problematic to them even after years of immersion schooling.

2. Sometimes the mistakes in L2 language it is not clearly corrected.


Used texts:
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/rodgers.html
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:TjwZ8_sAj7wJ:www.glocality.net/files/G.art.4-Scatolini_bilingualism_and_immersion.pdf+partial+l2+immersion+methodology&hl=pt-BR&gl=br
More information on:
http://br.guiainfantil.com/bilinguismo/104-vantagens-do-bilinguismo-na-infancia-.html
http://fidusinterpres.com/?p=50

Tabela de métodos

Method name: Grammar tranlation
Emphasis: Reading/ Writing/ Translation/ cosncience of grammar rules
Goal: develop the literacy mastery of L2
Strategy: memorization- the students think about the languague and not on the laguage
Usage of L1: It's quite prominant; they use translations sometimes
How this method is view nowadays: it's popular and sometimes it makes part of some L2 curricula.
Problems:Language is view just as a code

Method name: Direct method
Emphasis: Communicating
Goal: the second laguage will be acquired gradually with dialogues
Strategy: learn the second language as a child, classes carried using just the second laguage.
Usage of L1: There is no reliance with L1, and there are no translations
How the method is view nowadays:-
Problems: Grownth people don't learn exacly as a child.


Method name: Audiolingual
Emphasis: Condituioned Habits, the students are conditionated to respond correctly.
Goal: Develop natilike speaking ability
Strategy: conditioned habits( it's about memorization and pattern drills)
Usage of L1: Translation and references of L1 is not permited
How the method is view nowadays: It's rarely used
Problems: We can it's a mechanical mimicry and not a creative process

Method name: Communicative approach
Emphasis: Dialogues
Goal:Effective communication and comprehensible pronounciation
Strategy:Contextualization, they create situations to practice tha language
Usage of L1: it's accepted but unecessary
How the method is view nowadays:-
Problems: The real situation gets to artificial and it happens to the language too.


The method I work: I work with the total immertion approach and I think it works very well, I 've been working with this for just one month but I could notice that the second language is beeing acquired almost as a native language, there is only one problem I can see now: the teachers don't correct when students make some languague 2 mistakes, but I think it's not a big deal because they will learn as a nativelearners do, sometimes our children speak " Eu trazi" and if he/she lives in a place where everybody speaks "Eu trouxe" he/she will say teh "correct" form even he/she won't be oficially corrected.

Theory: Critical Literacy

The critical literacy is focused in the relationship betwen language and points of view. It's a way to show the reader that reading is linked with cultures, ideologies, values, social questions; it's a way to show that the reader should not be passive.
When we are reading a text we shoud ask some questions to analyse it with a critical point of view.

These are some questions:

1. Whose message is this? Who created or paid for? Why
2. Who is the target audience?
3. What part of the story is not being told?
4. What are the positive and negative messages presented?
5. Is presented any kind of lifestyle? Which one is presented?
6. What values is expressed?
7. Change the point of view, how could it be if other person tell the same text?

Leitura Crítica Respostas das atividades

Basic descontruction Questions

1- The music seems to tell the story of a poor boiy whom left his house looking for his dreams, and a better life (in a big city). The public which mpays for it and the one who wants to hear it are people looking for a better life and got frustraded ebcause he became a loser.

2- Poor and brave people looking for a better life. Keywords: I am just a poor boy/ I left my home seeking for a job/ Fighter/ boxer/ gloves traht laid him down

3- a story

4- The idological part: a voice that seems to say the american dream is not true, it doens't happen all the time otherwise it hardly happens, there are losers in the world and there are also people who needs some others people beliving in it to maintain teh system.

Intermediate questions

1-Target audience: young people, poor people, people who has the american dream, the winning desire, all people marginalized in the society. Keywords: poor, lies, running scared, bleeding, seeking out the poorer quarters.

2/ 3: idem 1 e 4 basic questions

4- Negative messages: there are losers in the world and consequently there are also winner, generally the explores ones.
Positive message: we can still fighting.

Advanced questions

1- It's not glamorizes. It's a "Maria" lifestyle, the poor people fighting for a life and seeking for a better life.
2- The value is teh descontruction and reflexion of american dream
3- Empower: People with a similar lifestyle and a critical sense
Dispower: The ones who wants the maintenance of the society
4-There's no midia interest
5- idem questions 3(intermediate)

The boxer analysis

This class we had done the boxer's song analysis

Conlusions' Summary:
The song is about the american dream where you can win the life, but that is not true there is always a space to lose, there is always somebody who loses. But the system needs people who belives in the winning and in the american dram

Música correspondente em português: Rapaz Latino americano- Belchior

Parody

Wordnet's (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/) Definition:

1-a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way.
2-humorous or satirical mimicry

Activity: Create a parody of another brick in the wall

Parody Another brick in teh wall

Parody:

Another tunic fall
We don't need more suppression.
We don't need no men’s control.
No dark sarcasm in our home.
Hey,fathers, leave those kids alone.
Not at all ! We're not another brick in the wall.
Not at all! We're not anther brick in the wall

Objectives

With this blog I should make a journal and a portifolio of my activities in HabilidadeIntegradas classes.

As I'm a little late the dates do not correspond with the activities

Let's try