Who I Am...to What I get

In Verdugo and Beltmonte's study, they examine the effects that digital stories may have on the understanding of spoken English by a group of 6-year-old Spanish learners.

Man's language learning begins at listening. It is well-known that listening comprehesion plays a key role in foreign language teaching, especially with young learners (Anderson & Lynch, 1988; Brewster, 1994; Brown, 1986, 1989; Grabielatos, 1995; Philip, 1993; Rost, 1990; Shorocks, 1994). In the study, it does shows that listening would help learners' comprehesion of English in some way. But the experimental learners in the study are 6-year-old childern. And what I'm, firstly, curious about is how about adult?

Nowadays, more and nore adults just start to learn English. In the prospect of science, adult is over the golden age for listening learning. Adult is over the period for language acquisition. If we want to improve adult's comprehension of spoken English, what kind of way is the best or the most effective? And one important thing in adult English learning is "practical". It's because that in the age, the reasons for those who want to improve or learn Englsh are for work or personal competitiveness. To be honest, they don't have much time to, step by step, get a second language. Therefore, on the basis of it, the course for adult must be very different from for child.

And the second one I'm curious aboutis whether the results of the experiments on all children from different peoples are same as the result in this study. Basically, Spanish and English are both belong to Indo-European language. They must be very similar to each other. For gene's reason, the way how a person borne from Spanish use language may be similar to the way how a person borne from English. Therefore, to those who borne from different language family, the result on the experiment may be kind of different.

Do You Feel Like a Robot?

The film shows us the study, Second Language Socialization in Bilingual Caht Room, written by Lam.

It's inevitable for one living in a society using different language to meet some obstacles with others. In the study, Lam researches on the two girls' language in bilingual chat room, and then raises one possible solution. Through a new-created identity in another comfortable society, people who feel unease in the foreign society.

Some researches focusing on "identity". Exactly, "identity" influences many things. In Chinese words, one says "不得體" to express some wrong behaviors for some certain positions. To human beings, no matter where they live, they must live with an identity. Identity, in other words, means what others look a person. And it decides how others look at a person. Of course, it also means what and how one sees himself. Therefore, when one doesn't think that he can do something well at some certain positions, he feels a great sense of difficulty. And the sense hinders him from doing well.

Using a foreign language in a foreign society is one example for it. One way to solve it is learn to be adapted into the society and then assimilate to it. In a short word, it's change self identity. The way sounds easy; however, it's hard to make out. Just as what I worried in previous article: though one reverse his identity in another buffering society, and learning language in it, would he be able to keep the same learning and language using in the original society as in the buffering one? It's bacause that there are many reasons, including complicated psychologic reasons, influencing man's behaviors. Therefore, in my opinion, reversing identity in one society and assimilating into another society are not always cause and effect.

More Self or Less Self

In Jepson's article, Conversation--and Negotiated Interaction--In Text and Voice Chat Rooms, he mentions some points which I'm interested in:

1. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has an equalizing effect on participation across gender, socioeconomic status, and age, because participants feel less anxious or shy (Warschauer, 1996, 2000).
2. Some participants use Internet chat rooms to play out their fantasy selves (Turkle, 1995).
3. Socialecomic and gender roles may be reversed.
4. Both leanring environment and sociocultural patterns are important considerations in language learning, because they certainly influence language development (Lantolf, 2002; Spolsky, 1989).

From other researches, I know that cyber learning may be one good way for learners to learn language. There are many reasons for it, and one important reason is certainly about "identity". Take myself for example. I am a little bit affraid of talking with English native speakers, because that I don't think my English is good enogh to communicate with such a proficient Englush speaker. I'm shy and I just say some short words, such as "oh yes", "really?", "sorry" and so on in front of those who are considered to be native speakers. I'm affraid that the interluctors may not understand what I talk to them. And then maybe they would mock my English. Therefore, I stop development of my English. The similar situation showed in my first year in the university, too. I was affraid of talking with teacher. More correctly to say, I was affraid of communicating with teachers. I was affraid of talking and listening. I suppose that the reason of the problems I've met is "identity". In my deep mind, I have placed myself on a lower position as I'm in front of a native speaker or some one else who is better at English than I am. I call myself an inferior. If I call myself "inferior", there must be many people doing the same thing. And this is connected to the point 1~3.

Second Life is one of the famous online games around the whole world. The apparant feature of SL is the virtual world. It's not only virtual sound, virtual words or virtual communication. Just like what it is called, second life, it is a virtual life. In SL, you can have your virtual appearence, virtual belongings, virtual jobs and anything else. And more exciting, all these virtual things, including your identity and apearence, are all changed by yourself. This benefit help users obscure and eliminate the recognition to the identity.

As what are mentioned in point 1 and point 3, people would feel anxious and shy when talking to others. On the Internet, people can reverse their own identity, however. It provides people a "safe house" (Bloch, 2004). SL seems to be the best modle for this feature. You can reverse anything in SL. And then you will get a sense of security which you hope to own.

This kind of sense of security help learners a lot develop their language; however, are learners willing to use their improved language in reality? Or can they still feel easy outside the safe house to use language? If the answerc is negative, the effect of the cyber language learning is useless. It's because that you are a real person andd you have a real life. You must use your own real identity to communicate with other.

I don't know what is exact. But to me, I would support that taking the Internet as a tool for practice but learn language in the real class.

One, Two, Three! Get Your Picture!

     In Brandle's article, Integrating Internet-based Reading Material Into The Foreign Language Curriculum, he mentions three different approaches for the curriculum. First one is teacher-determined lesson. Second one is teacher-facilitated lesson. And the third one is student-determined lesson. The three types of lesson are shown in the film.

     In his article, he mentions that if learners' language skill is not good and critical enough, it is possible that the leaners may lost themselves in the wide Internet. Therefore, based on the quality of leaners' language, he raises up three approaches. They are good in some way. At least, the approaches reduce the possibility that leaners may get lost in learning. But there are still some other reasons we have to think about. Provided that designers of lesson can control over the quality of leaners' language, one potential problem we have to concern about is students themselves. Now, teacher wants to integrate Internet-based reading materials into his class but not all the students in the class have convenient access to get the Internet or even computer. It would build a big obstacle on students' learning. And moreover, it may reduce students' willing to learn. This problem is easy to find out in some countries which are developing or which have a big poverty gap. 

Cybespace = Pretty context for Learning!?

In Bloch's article, Second Language Cyberspace Rhetoric, he cites Sproull and Kiesler's argumentation: electronic communication alow for interaction based on shared interest and not physical proximity, thus allowing members of an Internet community to be simultaneously linked and buffered from one another. This argumentation is used to support the concept, which is "safe house". I agree with this argumentation. Cyber interaction grows rapidly up nowadays. There must be some special reasons for it. Except the convenience, it provides a very important and obvius advantage, which is no-face-to-face interaction. Human beings are funnily strange. We must live with others. But we are ffraid to interact with others. And the phenomenon is getting apparent--there must be some psychological reasons for it. Therefore, cyber interaction successfully wins people's hearts. Take my own experience for example. To some degree, I like cyber interaction. It's because that the invisible wall which the Internet builds up provides me a space of buffer. The advantage of buffer demonstrates its good in the case that I am interacting with foreigners in English via the Internet. Usually, I am a coward to talk with others face to face in nglish because I cannot get what others exactly say. And it makes me feel difficult to respond to others. And moreover, I once gave back a wrong or strange response. It's so embarrassing. The Internet eases me well, however. Before I giving response, I can spend a little bit time using some tools to understand what others say. And then give back my response. Though it takes some time, I still enjoy in it. As long as I can understand what others talk, I would be much willing to keep communicating with others.

In Bloch's argumentation, he stands for that cyberspace would be a very good context for Chinese L2 writers to improve the skill on writing in argumentary and critical thinking. This is the point which I am suspicious of. Would it really be good for improving writing skill? In my opinion, the cyber learning just give learners a sense of security. Writers are not affraid of writing too much. On the contrary, they are courageous to write. It doesn't provide any very good way to help learners wrtie good in formal. It's because of the lack of guide. In other words which would be more clear, no direction leads writers into a correct and formal writing. Writers in cyberspace follow only what they want to write. They don't usually think about how to make their articles better. But when they are in class, teachers would give them comments immediately.