Language Learning Principles

ü  Principles about language in general

ü  Language is systematic

ü  Languages have a sound system

ü  In some languages the tone system carries as much meaning as consonants and vowels

ü  Languages have a grammatical system

ü  Languages have a lexical system

ü  There is seldom a one-to-one correspondence between words in two languages

ü  Language is used in discourses

ü  People sometimes speak or write in monologues

ü  Language is used interactively in conversation

ü  Language is meaningful

ü  Language has referential meaning

ü  Language has functional meaning

ü  Language has social meaning

ü  Language has cultural meaning

ü  There are variations in language due to regional, status, and stylistic differences

ü  Knowing a language involves control of integrated skills

ü  Language skills may be productive or receptive

ü  Some chunks of language are stored and used as wholes

ü  People use language creatively by recombining elements

ü  Language knowledge may be intuitive

ü  Principles about learner characteristics

ü  People are wired to learn languages

ü  Aptitude can speed up learning

ü  Some learners take on a different persona when speaking another language

ü  Some learners resist sounding and acting differently

ü  Some learners have a higher tolerance for ambiguity than others

ü  Learners who use learning strategies effectively are more successful

ü  Learning in your preferred learning style increases motivation and effectiveness

ü  Principles about learner attitudes and motivation

ü  Motivation affects the time spent learning a language

ü  Learner attitudes affect motivation

ü  If you expect to succeed, you will be more likely to succeed

ü  If you have unreasonable expectations you may get discouraged

ü  Certain kinds of anxiety can interfere with your language learning

ü  Fear of making mistakes can inhibit your learning

ü  Too much correction or criticism can inhibit your learning

ü  The more positive you feel about the speakers of a language, the more motivation you will have to learn it

ü  If you want to communicate with speakers of a language, you will be more motivated to learn it

ü  If you need to use a language, you will be more motivated to learn it

ü  Principles about language learning situations

ü  People learn better if their learning is encouraged by speakers of the language

ü  People need to experience language used in context

ü  If speakers of two languages really want to communicate, they can do a lot with a little

ü  People have expectations about who speaks which language

ü  Communication tends to take the easiest path

ü  People may resist speaking their language because they want to learn your language

ü  People often modify their speech when speaking to foreigners

ü  In traditional cultures there may be only one right way to do something

ü  It may be culturally inappropriate to be too direct in what you say

ü  Every culture has taboo topics

ü  Principles about the language you are learning

ü  The more the language you are learning is like one you already know, the more quickly you will learn it

ü  Differences between two languages interfere when you try to learn them

ü  Some features of language are harder to learn than others

ü  Principles about language acquisition

ü  Language acquisition is a developmental process

ü  People learning a language build up their own systems

ü  You need lots of comprehensible input

ü  You can improve your sound discrimination, memory, and grammatical sensitivity skills

ü  You can compensate for deficiencies in some skills

ü  The sooner you can acquire the grammatical system of a language, the sooner you can use the language creatively

ü  You need chances to negotiate meaning with native speakers

ü  Native speakers often highly value good pronunciation

ü  Repetition helps things stick

ü  Producing language that sounds too good can be misleading

ü  The more meaningful exposure, the more you learn

ü  You cannot rely on memorization alone

ü  Memorized material can give a false impression of your proficiency

ü  Your brain analyzes language whether you know it or not

ü  Knowing a language is different from knowing about a language

ü  Knowing about a language may help you learn it

ü  Body language, gestures, and your face communicate as much as words

ü  Learners build up an auditory image of what the language sounds like

ü  Language learners need to learn to understand and produce well-formed discourses

ü  Predictable scripts aid comprehension

ü  Language learners seem to hit plateaus

ü  You need exposure to language in a variety of social settings

ü  One language may interfere with another

ü  The mind tends to filter out redundant material

ü  Productive skills are harder than receptive skills

ü  Comprehensible output can become comprehensible input

ü  Knowing the topic helps you interpret what you hear or read

ü  Linguistic context helps you understand the meaning of words

ü  Knowledge of a language may lie dormant, but be reactivated

ü  Multilingual people may associate languages with a particular setting or audience