Beliefs About Language Learning
I. Rationale
This activity is designed for high school students learning Iñupiaq but could easily be adapted for students learning other languages. Students complete a language survey based on the BALLI survey but with questions specific to the language being learned and the cultural significance of learning the language in the context of it being a dying language.
This activity supports language development by helping students analyze their beliefs about language learning, and their teacher to better understand what those beliefs are. Ideally the surveys would be done at the beginning of the school year so that changes in beliefs could be documented. As the students discuss their beliefs with each other they are building a community of learners.
A) Beliefs about language learning.
Horowitz (1987, 1988) developed the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) for evaluating the beliefs that a language learner has. This instrument can then be used to help teachers know how to best teach a student and evaluate if certain beliefs are holding the student back from progress. While it is useful to understand students’ beliefs regarding language learning it is equally important to recognize that beliefs are not fixed and that good learners will often find themselves changing their beliefs when faced with new ways of learning. (White, 1999) Because of this the survey can also be a good way to measure if students are not only developing language ability but also changing the way they originally felt about language learning.
B) Developing a community of learners.
One of the standards for foreign language learning is that students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. According to Phillips and Draper (1999) “A community can be a community of learners of different ages or in different locations. The idea here is that the classroom provides the means so that students can interact beyond their classroom walls.” “The intent of the ‘lifelong learning’ standard is that students from the beginning develop the tools, the habits of mind, and the motivations that allow them to independently pursue activities using language throughout their lifetime.” (p. 68).
Lave (1991) studied apprenticeship communities of practice and discussed how the development of knowledge within that community also went hand in hand with a change in identity. I am working to help my students to identify themselves as learners of the language with important roles to play within a community of other learners.
Description
Students are given the attached survey to complete. It covers many questions from the BALLI survey but includes ones not on the BALLI survey. Most questions are specific to Iñupiaq but some are relevant to any language. Students are allowed to discuss their answers with the teacher or ask clarifying questions about the survey.
Most students will need assistance with the second page where they are asked to calculate the number of hours they have spent learning Iñupiaq thus far.
The teacher can discuss the students’ responses with individuals or with the class as a whole in order to help the students to think more deeply about their beliefs and how those beliefs are likely to affect their learning.
Reflection
I did this activity near the end of the school year. I intend to have my students fill out this survey at the beginning of the school year from now on. I also plan to have them get the survey filled out by family and community members as a homework assignment. I think it would be fabulous for them to analyze the results of different community members by age group and gender.
I plan to put the survey on online as it will be easier to analyze the data that way. I will still use the paper version for the students to gather the data from relatives and community members as I believe most of them will respond better to a pencil and paper activity and that can be done in more locations. I will have my students put the data they collect into the online survey in order to be able to analyze it. I’ve made surveys in google.com and they turn out very nice. I’m hoping that students will begin to see patterns of beliefs and see where some of their beliefs come from. I included the statements below because I felt that it was important to know how students felt about this since I am neither Iñupiaq nor a fluent speaker.
1. Learning to speak Iñupiaq should be reserved for people who are Iñupiaq.
2. Only fluent speakers should be allowed to teach Iñupiaq.
I had several students that believe that only Iñupiaq people should learn to speak it and even more that felt that only fluent speakers should be allowed to teach it. I was surprised that they would still feel this way after a year of learning with me. It will be very interesting next year to see if students’ beliefs with regards to these two questions are the same as those of their parents. I will need to decide how to handle those situations. Do I work with the students to show them that they can learn despite the fact that I am not a fluent speaker or do I encourage them to not take the course?
This activity is designed for high school students learning Iñupiaq but could easily be adapted for students learning other languages. Students complete a language survey based on the BALLI survey but with questions specific to the language being learned and the cultural significance of learning the language in the context of it being a dying language.
This activity supports language development by helping students analyze their beliefs about language learning, and their teacher to better understand what those beliefs are. Ideally the surveys would be done at the beginning of the school year so that changes in beliefs could be documented. As the students discuss their beliefs with each other they are building a community of learners.
A) Beliefs about language learning.
Horowitz (1987, 1988) developed the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) for evaluating the beliefs that a language learner has. This instrument can then be used to help teachers know how to best teach a student and evaluate if certain beliefs are holding the student back from progress. While it is useful to understand students’ beliefs regarding language learning it is equally important to recognize that beliefs are not fixed and that good learners will often find themselves changing their beliefs when faced with new ways of learning. (White, 1999) Because of this the survey can also be a good way to measure if students are not only developing language ability but also changing the way they originally felt about language learning.
B) Developing a community of learners.
One of the standards for foreign language learning is that students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. According to Phillips and Draper (1999) “A community can be a community of learners of different ages or in different locations. The idea here is that the classroom provides the means so that students can interact beyond their classroom walls.” “The intent of the ‘lifelong learning’ standard is that students from the beginning develop the tools, the habits of mind, and the motivations that allow them to independently pursue activities using language throughout their lifetime.” (p. 68).
Lave (1991) studied apprenticeship communities of practice and discussed how the development of knowledge within that community also went hand in hand with a change in identity. I am working to help my students to identify themselves as learners of the language with important roles to play within a community of other learners.
Description
Students are given the attached survey to complete. It covers many questions from the BALLI survey but includes ones not on the BALLI survey. Most questions are specific to Iñupiaq but some are relevant to any language. Students are allowed to discuss their answers with the teacher or ask clarifying questions about the survey.
Most students will need assistance with the second page where they are asked to calculate the number of hours they have spent learning Iñupiaq thus far.
The teacher can discuss the students’ responses with individuals or with the class as a whole in order to help the students to think more deeply about their beliefs and how those beliefs are likely to affect their learning.
Reflection
I did this activity near the end of the school year. I intend to have my students fill out this survey at the beginning of the school year from now on. I also plan to have them get the survey filled out by family and community members as a homework assignment. I think it would be fabulous for them to analyze the results of different community members by age group and gender.
I plan to put the survey on online as it will be easier to analyze the data that way. I will still use the paper version for the students to gather the data from relatives and community members as I believe most of them will respond better to a pencil and paper activity and that can be done in more locations. I will have my students put the data they collect into the online survey in order to be able to analyze it. I’ve made surveys in google.com and they turn out very nice. I’m hoping that students will begin to see patterns of beliefs and see where some of their beliefs come from. I included the statements below because I felt that it was important to know how students felt about this since I am neither Iñupiaq nor a fluent speaker.
1. Learning to speak Iñupiaq should be reserved for people who are Iñupiaq.
2. Only fluent speakers should be allowed to teach Iñupiaq.
I had several students that believe that only Iñupiaq people should learn to speak it and even more that felt that only fluent speakers should be allowed to teach it. I was surprised that they would still feel this way after a year of learning with me. It will be very interesting next year to see if students’ beliefs with regards to these two questions are the same as those of their parents. I will need to decide how to handle those situations. Do I work with the students to show them that they can learn despite the fact that I am not a fluent speaker or do I encourage them to not take the course?