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TOLd You So!

Volume 3, Issue 1 [May, 2007]
 

Report on the LLL SIG Forum at JALT2006
JALT全国大会LLL SIG報告

The 2006 JALT National Conference was held in November in Kitakyushu. The LLL SIG Forum at the conference featured three SIG members who presented ideas and research related to the teaching of older learners. For those who were unable to attend the forum, the presenters have outlined their talks for this issue of the newsletter.

２００６年全国大会は９月に北九州で開催された。大会期間中に本SIGはフォーラムを開催し、３名の会員が年長者教育への教育実践発表を行った。フォーラムへ参加できなかった会員のために、発表者からニューズレターへ発表の概要を寄稿いただいた。

Using Sign Language in the Language Teaching Classroom
Teaching Strategies for Older Learners

by Martin Pauly
(Tsukuba University of Technology)

Several years ago, students on our campus (Division for the Visually Impaired) were interested in improving communication with students from our other campus (Division for the Hearing Impaired). They formed a Shuwa Circle and invited me to be the Faculty Advisor. With the help of deaf students, hearing volunteers with some knowledge of sign language, textbooks, other learning aids, and local sign language clubs, we started studying Japanese Sign Language/Nihon Shuwa. That's how I encountered sign language.

One of the deaf English teachers for the Division for the Hearing Impaired (Takamura Mariko Sensei) had a once-a-week class in ASL (American Sign Language) for faculty members. We decided to form a class for faculty members and community people on our campus as well, and invited Mariko Sensei to teach us. I became enthusiastic and began to incorporate what I knew into my classes, including those with older learners. It is the techniques which I use in my classes, along with the rationale behind them, that I shared with the participants at the LLL-SIG Forum entitled, Teaching Materials for Older Learners of English at JALT2006.

The rationale for using sign language in class

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students are entering mainstream schools and mainstream society. Knowledge of sign language may aid teachers and hearing students in communicating with, and creating a friendly environment for, these students. Also, an unfortunate reality is that as people age, they lose a degree of hearing. For this reason, older learners can also be hard-of hearing learners. The use of sign language may aid comprehension in some situations. For me personally, if I learn the sign of a new Japanese word, or the sign of a person's name, I find that the probability of my retaining the word or name is much higher. On a more simple level, sign language may just become a fun hobby for some people.

Overview

Just as there are many spoken languages, there are also many sign languages. As spoken languages have evolved in various ways, so have sign languages. Although there is no general English sign language, there is British Sign Language (BSL) and also American Sign Language (ASL). They differ significantly (e.g., the manual alphabet of BSL employs both hands while ASL uses only one), perhaps because, unlike BSL, 60% of ASL is based on French Sign Language (FSL).

Also, there is the very controversial (among educators of the deaf and members the deaf community) Signed Essential English (SEE), which is the signed version of standard spoken English. Japanese Sign Language /Nihon Shuwa (JSL/NS) is used by most deaf people in Japan. Nihongo Taio Shuwa, which is comparable to SEE, is used for signing Standard Japanese. In my presentation, I briefly introduced JSL/NS, although most of the activities were done with ASL

Useful classroom activities

Here are some simple sign language activities which have worked quite well.

  1. Introductions: As many Japanese students are somewhat familiar with Japanese Sign Language, the activity begins with a simple introduction (Hajimemashite. Watashi no namae wa.....) in JSL/NS. The teacher then models his or her own introduction (Nice to meet you. My name is.....) in ASL. (The question, "What is your name?" ("Your name, what?" in ASL) is also introduced at this point.) The ASL manual alphabet is distributed and students practice introductions in pairs. After the practice, students from different parts of the classroom perform the exercise in front of the class.
  2. Greetings: General greetings and those for the different times of day (e.g., "Good morning." "See you later." "See you next Wednesday.") are modeled and practiced.
  3. Apologies: Students are required to sign ("Sorry to be late.") if they are tardy.
  4. Numbers: The ASL numbering system is taught and learners practice in pairs and as a group.
  5. Puzzles: A puzzle (e.g., crossword puzzle) is distributed and learners work on it. One student then stands at the board to record the answers given by other students orally. The spelling is made clear through the use of the ASL manual alphabet.
  6. Songs: After the lyrics and signs have been taught and practiced, the teacher and students go caroling in the school offices. (We Wish You A Merry Christmas has worked well).
  7. Basic Class Communication: Expressions such as, I understand, Yes, No, OK, are taught.

The above are basic activities which can be used as supplementary activities in many language-learning situations. The addition of the sign language component can add a little excitement to the exercise. Students have found them enjoyable. And so have the teachers.

Many ASL exercises can be done by students both in and outside of the ASL class. Some of the useful websites that can help with exercises and activities are listed below.

Conclusion

At this point in my life my hearing is, fortunately, intact. But it will eventually fail to some extent. When that happens, sign language will help. I would like to share my knowledge of it with my older learners.

References

Other useful materials

Lifelong Language Learning Using Email: One Teacher's Experiences
Presented at the LLL SIG Forum at the JALT National Conference Nov. 2006

Julia Harper-Tanaka
harptnk@eos.ocn.ne.jp

Abstract

My presentation for the LLL SIG forum at JALT2006 in Kitakyushu summarized the findings of two projects for which I investigated the use of CMC (computer-mediated communication) to aid the English language learning efforts of two groups of older learners. In one project, learners were paired with native-speaking email pals to give them a chance to practice natural English interaction. In the other project, learners used email to discuss drafts of short written compositions with their teacher as they worked on revisions. Findings for both the projects showed that the time lag between messages in email communication, which allows users ample time to read messages and plan responses, helped the learners to express themselves beyond what they could do in a face-to-face situation.

言語学習を容易にするための手段として、コンピュータを介したコミュニケーション（CMC）がますます利用される方向にある。北九州大会LLL SIGにおける私の発表は、２件の年長者英語学習支援CMC（ここではイーメールによるコミュニケーション）利用に関する調査のプロジェクトから得られた成果をまとめたものである。一つのプロジェクトでは、学習者が英語話者とペアになりイーメールを利用して、自然な英語のやり取りを練習する。もう一方のプロジェクトは、短い作文をイーメールで教師へ送り、教師とのやり取りを通じて作文を改善していくものである。これら２つのプロジェクトから次のようなことがわかった。イーメールのやり取りで生じる時間差が、対話者の応答内容・方法を十分考慮したり、準備したりする時間的余裕を与えてくれる。そのため、いずれのプロジェクトに参加した学習者も、通常の対面のコミュニケーション（会話）で発揮する能力以上の能力が発揮できた。

Introduction

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is now commonly used for business, academic and personal interaction, and is increasingly being used as a tool to facilitate language learning in countries such as Japan, where there is a rapidly growing e-learning market (Daily Yomiuri Newspaper, 2004). My presentation for the LLL SIG forum at the 2006 JALT national conference in Kitakyushu summarized the findings of two projects for which I investigated the use of CMC to aid the English language learning efforts of two groups of older learners. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, not all of the material described in this report was covered in the forum.

Background

Murray (2000) identifies four general linguistic characteristics of CMC: 1) the use of simplified register such as abbreviations or simplified syntax 2) the use of features of both spoken and written language 3) a disrupted interaction structure in which initiation and response moves made by interlocutors are separated in space or time, or both, and 4) the use of mechanisms to link initiation and response moves so that topic cohesion is maintained across messages. These characteristics may be amplified or de-amplified depending on whether the communication is synchronous (real time) or asynchronous (a time lag between messages). For example, simplified or fragmented language is prevalent in synchronous but not in asynchronous CMC.

Participants and Methods

The learner participants for both projects were intermediate-level female learners, aged from their mid-forties to late fifties, who were studying English conversation in the life-long learning program at a small college in Hokuriku, Japan. They sometimes used computers for word processing, internet searches and email interaction, but reported having had only minimal experience doing so in English. Both projects were conducted outside of regular class time. For the first project, I paired five learners with Canadian 'email pals' who were native speakers of English. Over a period of several months, I monitored the English email interaction sent between the pairs to discover both how well the Japanese participants would cope with the interaction.

For second project, I conducted teacher-learner writing conferences (between-draft discussion of learner compositions) by email while conducting a process writing course with nine learners. I was eager to determine what sort of interaction would occur in the conferences and how it would affect learner revision of subsequent drafts. One face-to-face conference was also conducted as part of this project.

Findings

This section will make use of several extracts from the data to illustrate the findings.

Project 1
Extract 1 (excerpt from an email exchange)
Initiation move by native speaker (Dec., 05, 2003)

I am fascinated to hear about you and your life..as it sounds like you have had a busy and full life...and many responsibilities. I am 43, so you are only 4 years older than me, but your life is much different with grown children, a husband and a career...! I think my existence has probably been more irresponsible and selfish than yours must have been to date!
Response move by learner (Dec., 21, 2003)
In your mail you said your existence has probably been more irresponsible and selfish than mine. Than mine? You are kidding! You have been having a nice life! You must be relied on by a lot of students, you have an independent life and have many good friends. I am the person who should be more responsible and independent.

The email messages exchanged as part of this project adhered to established CMC norms for casual asynchronous interaction and the messages sent by the learners were comparable to those of their Canadian pals. For example, all messages, whether written by the native- or non-native English-speaking participants, were found to contain a mix of features of written language (a high lexical density, the use of complete sentences, and the careful organization of thoughts and ideas) and features of spoken interaction (frequent exchanges of questions and answers, first person references (Chafe, 1982), and language such as 'Than mine!' and 'You are kidding!').

As well, the learners tailored their messages in a fashion similar to those of their pals to ensure that the conversation maintained a cohesive flow across time and space. They made connections between initiation and response moves using the technique of linking, the explicit reference to information from a previous mail (Murray, 2000; Herring, 1999), as in 'In your mail you said...' (excerpt 1, learner response). They also made lexical connections, usually in the form of repetition, 'irresponsible' and 'selfish' (excerpt 1, learner response) are examples, to show how new utterances linked to old ones (Halliday & Hassan, 1976).

Project 2
Extract 2 (below) is from the face-to face writing conference conducted for this project and Extract 3 is from an email conference conducted with the same learner.

Extract 2 (face-to-face writing conference: Sept. 11, 2005) (note: T=teacher and S=student)

T. Why are there too many?
S. There are too many...mhm...because...their connection, their connection to mayor...mayor's son or daughter, or lawmaker's son or daughter.
T. Their connection?
S. Yes, they get job from connection.
T. Ahhh. This wasn't clear to me.
S. I will make it more efficient next time.
T. What could be done about the situation?
S. Mhm...(laugh)...very difficult. I am thinking from now.

Extract 3 (email writing conference: June 9 to 16, 2005) (note: T=teacher and S=student)

T. Why can't the SDF be disbanded? Exactly how could Article 9 be changed? (June 9, 2005)
S. In this situation that Japan is now surrounded by the threat of other countries, it is impossible to disband the SDF. Its original purpose of establishment of it is to defend nations of Japan. And for its international contribute activity, the SDF is necessary because the international society expects that. (June 11, 2005)
T. You explained that the SDF is not only active in Japan, but has also, recently, become active in the international community as a peace-keeping force. I wonder whether you could give examples of countries that could be a military threat to Japan? (June 14, 2005)
S. The greatest threat is, I think, North Korea's. It regards Japan as an enemy, and clarifies that it has nuclear weapons. (June 16, 2005)

The writing conferences were used to indicate problems with content and form in the compositions, and to elicit (and discuss) learner ideas for revision. In the face-to-face conference, the learner often had trouble responding to teacher queries, as exemplified in extract 2, and 52% of topic threads ended with the learner promising to think about the issue in question. In the 18 email conferences conducted for this project, learners provided adequate or more than adequate responses to teacher requests 93.4% of the time.

An analysis of after-conference drafts submitted by learners showed that nearly half of the problem areas discussed in the face-to-face conference (including the one discussed in extract 2) had not been revised effectively, or at all. Revisions that had been made were usually those suggested by the teacher. In contrast, of 119 discussion threads in 18 email conferences, all but eight resulted in changes to the draft and revisions were almost always those suggested by the learners during the email discussion. This was true of the learner featured in extract 3, who included all the information from her email responses to teacher queries (see above) in her revised draft. As well, the learner noticed the expression 'humanitarian operations' in the teacher's message and used it to replace 'international contribute activity'.

Discussion

Email interaction was not found to be problematic for the learners who participated in the projects described in this paper. They were able to conduct extended and coherent discussions with a native speaker over time and space, and to adjust the tone of their communication to suit the situation.

One reason for this may be that there was some positive transfer of first language skills to the target language activity. It has been found that users of Japanese CMC 'create rich online discourse that suits their communicative and interactional purposes' in both similar and distinctive ways to English CMC users (Nishimura, 2003, pg. 2).

The asynchronous nature of email communication also appears to have affected the learner's ability to communicate in the target language. The time lag allowed them ample time to consider their partner's contribution to the discussion, to plan their response, and to 'hold the floor' (messages can be as long or short) for as long as they needed to express themselves fully. Certainly the learners concurred that, 'It is easy to explain with much time to think. I can use dictionary' (Participant 1, face-to-face interview, Sept. 11, 2005).

The fact that email is a written medium of communication may also have affected the learner's ability to communicate in the target language as it encouraged them to concentrate on form, even while in the midst an authentic interaction in English. In addition, as with written communication in general, the 'act of writing in online conferences may foster higher order thinking' (Lapadat, 2002) because learners are able to plan, review and revise their contributions. As one learner expressed it, 'It is hard to explain immediately without thinking a long time―discussing by email can make our thoughts deep' (Participant 3, email questionnaire, July 10, 2006)

Another advantage of email is that a permanent record of an interaction is stored in the user's computer. As noted by the learners in this investigation, 'I can save emails and read again' (Participant 1, face-to-face interview, Sept. 11, 2005). This allowed for review and study of the interaction, facilitating the noticing and subsequent use by the learners of words and expressions introduced by their native speaking partners. As well, in project 2, reviewing the content of the writing conferences helped the learners to more effectively revise their compositions.

Overall, the use of email appears to have allowed the learners in this project to express themselves in English beyond what they could do in a face-to-face situation. It also seems to have encouraged autonomous study as learners researched language use before making contributions to conversations and reviewed messages for the purpose of language study.

Conclusions

Email enables users to participate in written, asynchronous interaction across time and space. For language learners, this provides an opportunity to interact with a partner or teacher from home at a time convenient to them. This may be especially useful for older learners who are, at times, unable to attend formal classes due to family or work commitments, ill health or poor weather.

This project shows that a group of older learners were able to use email to aid their study of English. Currently, CMC is thought of as the domain of the young. Certainly in Japan, 91% of people in their twenties access the internet as opposed to 11% of people in their seventies (Daily Yomiuri Newspaper, 2007). However, it seems likely that, especially as the computer-using generations age, more and more older people will be computer savvy in the years to come. Not only lifelong learning, but lifelong learning through the medium of computers may be a way of the future.

References

Conversational Topics of Interest to Older Learners

Eric M. Skier
Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science and NHK Culture Center, Hikarigaoka
skier@ps.toyaku.ac.jp

Presented at the LLL SIG Forum held at JALT2006 in Kokura, Kitakyushu.

Based on close to fifteen years of teaching older learners at NHK Culture Centers in Tokyo, the following are what I consider to be stimulating topics for an EFL textbook written specifically for the needs of older learners in Japan. I am afraid that I do not have any empirical evidence to support my conclusions; I have compiled the list based on my observations and experience using mass-produced texts, most of which were written for high school and university ESL learners. Please feel free to disagree or agree with, add to or subtract from the following lists!

Specifically, I put together the lists based on my experience with the Interchange series. I am sure many of you are familiar with it. When using this series, there have been many occasions where I found the material inappropriate and was forced to steer around some exercises and modify others. As the average age of my students at NHK is about sixty years, exercises where the learners are asked to discuss their college courses or current Hollywood movie stars are problematic. As I have written previously in AYA! (2003) and TOLd You So! (2005), older learners can be very autonomous and more than happy to take control of their studies by making suggestions to the teacher. As such, I have been asked by some of my NHK students to prepare supplementary materials, usually in the form of newspaper clippings related to the topics I list below. Recent 'hits” have included the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon, the Japanese government’s proposal to create a rating system for Japanese restaurants in other countries, and a flyer about a retirement community in Phoenix. In general, students tend to be most receptive to topical news issues. Since students are familiar with the news topic in Japanese, their comprehension of the same topic in English is facilitated.

Topics of interest (in no particular order):

Topics of little to no interest (in no particular order):

Teachers of older learners in Japan require textbooks produced specifically for the needs of their classes. Using the above lists as a possible guide, I hope to someday write such a textbook with help from the members of the LLL SIG.

References