×

We use cookies to help make LingQ better. By visiting the site, you agree to our cookie policy.


image

Steve's Youtube Videos - Vocabulary, Meaningful Content in Language Learning

Meaningful Content in Language Learning

Hi there, Steve Kaufmann here.

Today, I'm going to talk about the importance of context in language learning. As is usually the case with these, I don't have them written out in advance so my thoughts are going to be a little disjointed. Bear with me here. Let's start with what sort of triggered this thought in my mind. I met this morning with a family; again, Chinese immigrants, father, mother and their daughter.

They've been here for 12 years. The daughter speaks fluent English, of course, has been here since the age of four, she's 16 and both parents struggle with their English. The mother there said yes, you know I find it very difficult when I go to study a list of words. I can't seem to remember them and it's very frustrating. She's been here 12 years and she really can't speak English very well at all. I thought to myself well, I can't learn from a list of words because a list of words has no meaning for me. It has no resonance. There's nothing there for me to grab on to. Both the parents have lived here for 12 years and don't speak English very well.

Obviously, English is not very important to them. That's another context that's not there. They don't have a strong sense of wanting to participate in an English-speaking society so there isn't that context of wanting to participate in the language, but context goes beyond that. In my experience, if I learn from some content it has resonance for me. It's interesting to me when I'm listening to some of my Czech material about the history of Czechoslovakia or whatever it might be. That's of interest to me. Other people are interested in other things. It might be music, it might be whatever, but whatever you're learning from has to be relevant, has to be meaningful, has to have resonance, it has to have credibility. This is another problem.

Very often if we're learning from the typical sort of beginner text, we're not entirely sure that that's how people speak, at least I'm not. I'm not entirely sure that this is authentic and credible because, in fact, it's scripted for me and I know that some of the words they're teaching are not very important. Most beginner texts have you going through Customs. I wonder how many people have ever used the language they're learning while going through Customs, I know I haven't. You start to question the relevance of this context. It's low resonance. Obviously, reading a list of words has very little resonance.

I think it's so important that we get engaged emotionally with the language and the context that we're learning from. That context is not only the subject matter we might be reading or listening to, it's also the people we associate with. It's our desire to be part of that community that gives resonance, that creates a meaningful context, makes it real, credible, authentic. I think one of the difficulties very often that immigrants from Asia have is that they seem to be less willing to inject themselves into the local scene and, therefore, English becomes less relevant to them. It's not a meaningful context for them. I don't know if this makes sense, but I think it's extremely important.

The brain is not just some kind of a machine that you throw some stuff in, turn a handle and out comes language ability. It's not just the so-called left-side of your brain, which is good at dealing with rational explanations or whatever. I think there's ample evidence that it's the whole of the brain that gets involved and that emotion is a big part of it and if the learning environment or the living environment or the learning materials, the context in which we are learning in every sense of the word, if that context is not rich, is not authentic, credible, vibrant, if it doesn't grab us, then we'll have a lot tougher time learning. That's really all I wanted to say.

I don't know what we can do about it, other than trying to find or create meaningful context. In other words, learning from material that we like and find interesting where the voice has resonance, where the subject matter has resonance. I can still remember a text that I listened to in Italian, I Promessi Sposi or Anna Karenina in Russian or some of the material I'm listening to now in Czech. It creates an attachment and that's going to help you learn. Also, in terms of interacting with the language, as you know my preference is to wait until I have enough of a vocabulary that I can actually have a meaningful, again, interaction, one that's authentic and real and we're actually communicating meaning so that I am driven by the desire to communicate my meaning and understand the meaning of the other person.

I'm not displaying my ability to use the subjunctive or worrying about whether I say everything correctly or not because I've got a meaningful context and it's meaningful because I have enough of a vocabulary that I can actually have a meaningful conversation and have a chance of understanding what the other person is saying. That makes that whole context meaningful. Do with this idea what you want, but I think those people who are able to create meaningful, rich, authentic, credible learning context are generally more successful language learners.

So, I look forward to your comments. Thank you for listening, bye for now.


Meaningful Content in Language Learning Aussagekräftige Inhalte beim Sprachenlernen Contenidos significativos en el aprendizaje de idiomas Contenuti significativi nell'apprendimento delle lingue 言語学習における有意義なコンテンツ Znaczące treści w nauce języka Conteúdo significativo no aprendizado de idiomas Осмысленное содержание в обучении иностранным языкам Dil Öğreniminde Anlamlı İçerik Змістовний контент у вивченні мови 语言学习中有意义的内容 語言學習中有意義的內容

Hi there, Steve Kaufmann here. Olá, Steve Kaufmann aqui.

Today, I’m going to talk about the importance of context in language learning. Hoje, vou falar sobre a importância do contexto na aprendizagem de línguas. As is usually the case with these, I don’t have them written out in advance so my thoughts are going to be a little disjointed. Como é geralmente o caso com estes, eu não os tenho escrito com antecedência, então meus pensamentos vão ser um pouco desconexos. 与通常的情况一样,我没有提前把它们写下来,所以我的想法会有点脱节。 Bear with me here. Fique comigo aqui. Let’s start with what sort of triggered this thought in my mind. Vamos começar com o que desencadeou esse pensamento em minha mente. I met this morning with a family; again, Chinese immigrants, father, mother and their daughter. Encontrei-me esta manhã com uma família; novamente, imigrantes chineses, pai, mãe e filha.

They’ve been here for 12 years. Eles estão aqui há 12 anos. The daughter speaks fluent English, of course, has been here since the age of four, she’s 16 and both parents struggle with their English. A filha fala inglês fluentemente, claro, está aqui desde os quatro anos de idade, ela tem 16 anos e ambos os pais lutam com o inglês. The mother there said yes, you know I find it very difficult when I go to study a list of words. The mother there said yes, you know I find it very difficult when I go to study a list of words. A mãe lá disse que sim, sabe eu acho muito difícil quando vou estudar uma lista de palavras. I can’t seem to remember them and it’s very frustrating. Eu não consigo me lembrar deles e é muito frustrante. She’s been here 12 years and she really can’t speak English very well at all. Ela está aqui há 12 anos e realmente não fala inglês muito bem. I thought to myself well, I can’t learn from a list of words because a list of words has no meaning for me. Eu pensei bem, não posso aprender com uma lista de palavras porque uma lista de palavras não tem significado para mim. It has no resonance. Não tem ressonância. There’s nothing there for me to grab on to. Não há nada lá para me agarrar. Both the parents have lived here for 12 years and don’t speak English very well. Ambos os pais moram aqui há 12 anos e não falam inglês muito bem.

Obviously, English is not very important to them. Obviamente, o inglês não é muito importante para eles. That’s another context that’s not there. Esse é outro contexto que não existe. They don’t have a strong sense of wanting to participate in an English-speaking society so there isn’t that context of wanting to participate in the language, but context goes beyond that. They don't have a strong sense of wanting to participate in an English-speaking society so there isn't that context of wanting to participate in the language, but context goes beyond that. Eles não têm um forte senso de querer participar de uma sociedade de língua inglesa, então não há esse contexto de querer participar da língua, mas o contexto vai além disso. In my experience, if I learn from some content it has resonance for me. Na minha experiência, se aprendo com algum conteúdo, isso tem ressonância para mim. It’s interesting to me when I’m listening to some of my Czech material about the history of Czechoslovakia or whatever it might be. É interessante para mim ouvir alguns dos meus materiais tchecos sobre a história da Tchecoslováquia ou o que quer que seja. That’s of interest to me. Isso me interessa. Other people are interested in other things. Outras pessoas estão interessadas em outras coisas. It might be music, it might be whatever, but whatever you’re learning from has to be relevant, has to be meaningful, has to have resonance, it has to have credibility. It might be music, it might be whatever, but whatever you're learning from has to be relevant, has to be meaningful, has to have resonance, it has to have credibility. Pode ser música, pode ser qualquer coisa, mas o que quer que você esteja aprendendo tem que ser relevante, tem que ser significativo, tem que ter ressonância, tem que ter credibilidade. This is another problem. Este é outro problema.

Very often if we’re learning from the typical sort of beginner text, we’re not entirely sure that that’s how people speak, at least I’m not. Muitas vezes, se estamos aprendendo com o tipo típico de texto para iniciantes, não temos certeza de que é assim que as pessoas falam, pelo menos não estou. I’m not entirely sure that this is authentic and credible because, in fact, it’s scripted for me and I know that some of the words they’re teaching are not very important. I'm not entirely sure that this is authentic and credible because, in fact, it's scripted for me and I know that some of the words they're teaching are not very important. Não tenho certeza absoluta de que isso seja autêntico e crível porque, na verdade, está roteirizado para mim e sei que algumas das palavras que estão ensinando não são muito importantes. Most beginner texts have you going through Customs. Most beginner texts have you going through Customs. A maioria dos textos para iniciantes faz você passar pela alfândega. I wonder how many people have ever used the language they’re learning while going through Customs, I know I haven’t. I wonder how many people have ever used the language they're learning while going through Customs, I know I haven't. Eu me pergunto quantas pessoas já usaram a língua que estão aprendendo enquanto passavam pela alfândega, eu sei que não. You start to question the relevance of this context. You start to question the relevance of this context. Você começa a questionar a relevância desse contexto. It’s low resonance. It's low resonance. É baixa ressonância. Obviously, reading a list of words has very little resonance. Obviamente, ler uma lista de palavras tem muito pouca ressonância.

I think it’s so important that we get engaged emotionally with the language and the context that we’re learning from. Eu acho que é tão importante que nos envolvamos emocionalmente com a linguagem e o contexto com o qual estamos aprendendo. That context is not only the subject matter we might be reading or listening to, it’s also the people we associate with. Esse contexto não é apenas o assunto que podemos ler ou ouvir, mas também as pessoas com quem nos associamos. It’s our desire to be part of that community that gives resonance, that creates a meaningful context, makes it real, credible, authentic. É o nosso desejo de fazer parte dessa comunidade que dá ressonância, que cria um contexto significativo, torna-o real, credível, autêntico. I think one of the difficulties very often that immigrants from Asia have is that they seem to be less willing to inject themselves into the local scene and, therefore, English becomes less relevant to them. Acho que uma das dificuldades que muitas vezes os imigrantes da Ásia têm é que eles parecem menos dispostos a se injetar na cena local e, portanto, o inglês se torna menos relevante para eles. It’s not a meaningful context for them. Não é um contexto significativo para eles. I don’t know if this makes sense, but I think it’s extremely important. Não sei se isso faz sentido, mas acho extremamente importante.

The brain is not just some kind of a machine that you throw some stuff in, turn a handle and out comes language ability. O cérebro não é apenas uma espécie de máquina na qual você joga algumas coisas, gira uma maçaneta e surge a habilidade da linguagem. It’s not just the so-called left-side of your brain, which is good at dealing with rational explanations or whatever. Não é apenas o chamado lado esquerdo do seu cérebro, que é bom para lidar com explicações racionais ou qualquer outra coisa. I think there’s ample evidence that it’s the whole of the brain that gets involved and that emotion is a big part of it and if the learning environment or the living environment or the learning materials, the context in which we are learning in every sense of the word, if that context is not rich, is not authentic, credible, vibrant, if it doesn’t grab us, then we’ll have a lot tougher time learning. Acho que há ampla evidência de que é todo o cérebro que se envolve e que a emoção é uma grande parte disso e se o ambiente de aprendizagem ou o ambiente de vida ou os materiais de aprendizagem, o contexto em que estamos aprendendo em todos os sentidos do palavra, se esse contexto não for rico, não for autêntico, credível, vibrante, se não nos agarrar, então teremos muito mais dificuldade em aprender. That’s really all I wanted to say. Isso é realmente tudo que eu queria dizer.

I don’t know what we can do about it, other than trying to find or create meaningful context. Não sei o que podemos fazer a respeito, além de tentar encontrar ou criar um contexto significativo. In other words, learning from material that we like and find interesting where the voice has resonance, where the subject matter has resonance. Em outras palavras, aprender com o material que gostamos e achamos interessante onde a voz tem ressonância, onde o assunto tem ressonância. I can still remember a text that I listened to in Italian, I Promessi Sposi or Anna Karenina in Russian or some of the material I’m listening to now in Czech. Ainda me lembro de um texto que escutei em italiano, I Promassi Sposi ou Anna Karenina em russo ou algum material que estou ouvindo agora em tcheco. It creates an attachment and that’s going to help you learn. Ele cria um apego e isso vai ajudá-lo a aprender. Also, in terms of interacting with the language, as you know my preference is to wait until I have enough of a vocabulary that I can actually have a meaningful, again, interaction, one that’s authentic and real and we’re actually communicating meaning so that I am driven by the desire to communicate my meaning and understand the meaning of the other person. Além disso, em termos de interação com o idioma, como você sabe, minha preferência é esperar até que eu tenha um vocabulário suficiente para que eu possa realmente ter uma interação significativa, novamente, uma que seja autêntica e real e estamos realmente comunicando significado, então que sou movido pelo desejo de comunicar meu significado e entender o significado da outra pessoa.

I’m not displaying my ability to use the subjunctive or worrying about whether I say everything correctly or not because I’ve got a meaningful context and it’s meaningful because I have enough of a vocabulary that I can actually have a meaningful conversation and have a chance of understanding what the other person is saying. Não estou exibindo minha capacidade de usar o subjuntivo ou me preocupando se digo tudo corretamente ou não porque tenho um contexto significativo e é significativo porque tenho um vocabulário suficiente para ter uma conversa significativa e ter um chance de entender o que a outra pessoa está dizendo. That makes that whole context meaningful. Isso torna todo esse contexto significativo. Do with this idea what you want, but I think those people who are able to create meaningful, rich, authentic, credible learning context are generally more successful language learners. Faça com essa ideia o que você quiser, mas acho que as pessoas que são capazes de criar um contexto de aprendizado significativo, rico, autêntico e credível são geralmente aprendizes de idiomas mais bem-sucedidos.

So, I look forward to your comments. Então, aguardo seus comentários. Thank you for listening, bye for now. Obrigado por ouvir, tchau por enquanto.