Thursday, November 27, 2014

UNIT 10: EXPOSURE AND FOCUS ON FORM




Unit 10 also was a very good help in my learning process because now I’m able to determine that exposure is one of the main ways a learner can learn a foreign language. For example; by hearing or reading it around us without studying it we are already picking it up unconsciously. This is, in fact, the main way a child learns his first language (their mother tongue).


I also learned that exposure is very useful for learning a foreign language, however sometimes it’s not enough, especially for adults. They particularly need to focus their attention on the form the language has (its pronunciation, spelling, intonation, grammar rules, etc.) to produce it accurately. It’s also a good idea to use language exposure and focus on its form to interact with it. When interacting with language, a person’s opportunities to learn more things about it increase as well.



I will apply it in my classes by using formative assessment (in the case of your learners) in order to know how well learners are doing with the language. Then I will focus on the ones that need more exposure and I will motivate them to do role-play activities, or suggesting them some extensive listening and reading options like reading something they like or listening to their favorite music. In the case of adults I will also use exposure to help them pick up the language easily; however I will also make them focus their attention on the form of the language with specific aspects like pronunciation, intonation, grammar rules, etc.   I of course, I will also encourage them to participate on interactive tasks to help them learn better.



If you still need more information, you can try visiting these web sites:

·         Johnson, T (2013) Exposure to the Target Language: How Much is Necessary? Retrieved from: http://www.thelanguagebear.com/exposure-to-the-target-language-how-much-is-necessary/


·         Castrejón, J (2011) Why early exposure to language is so important. Retrieved from: http://www.childrenlearninglanguages.com/Bilingualism_and_Multilingualism/Early_exposure.html.

2 comments:

  1. Good job!
    Your reflection is ok because it is focus on important parts of this unit that makes easier to remember what we learned and your extra material is a good resoutce to learn more about focusing on form.

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  2. Andrés, I like the way your reflection is structured and also the pictures you have added in order to be more likely to convey the exact meaning of what is being exposure to the language and what is to focus on form of it!

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