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Effortless English
Validation
Publish Date:
December 16, 2006
All Sound (Audio) Archives Available At:
http://www.effortlessenglish.libsyn.com
stacked:
piled, on top of each
other
glance over:
look at quickly
scores:
results, numbers
pre-test:
a test given before a
class (or other experience)
post-test:
a test given after a
class (or other experience)
the course of:
the time of; the
length of
drawn to:
attracted to
dramatically more:
much more
a big jump:
a large improvement
I'm sitting at the table in my apartment, looking out the window. I turn back
to the papers
stacked
in front of me. "Interesting", I say, "very interesting".
I
glance over
the test
scores
again-- the
pre-test
numbers, the
post-test
numbers, and the amount each student improved.
"Good, good", I say as I notice that all of the students improved over
the
course of
the semester. All the post-test scores are higher than the pre-test
scores. Most students improved by a couple of points... but my eyes are
drawn to
two sets of numbers.. two names: Kyoung and Jin. These two
students improved
dramatically more
than all of the others. Their post-test
scores show
a big jump
.
"What did they do differently?", I ask myself.
traditional:
usual; normal; old
At the final class, I ask them. Since all of the students had the same in-
class experience, I focus on what they did outside of class. Most students
followed
traditional
study methods. They studied textbooks. They used
vocabulary books. They went to traditional English (ESL) classes.
approach:
way of doing some-
thing
harangued:
tried to convince; tried
to persuade; repeatedly talked
about something
took my advice:
did what I sug-
gested
The Linguist:
www.thelinguist.com
faithfully:
with belief and confi-
dence
adolescent novels:
books for chil-
dren aged 12-14
But Kyoung and Jin followed a different
approach
. In fact, they actually fol-
lowed the method I continually
harangued
the class about. They focused
on repeated listening and reading for fun. Both students said they
took my
advice
seriously and therefore listened to English podcasts and audio arti-
cles 1-2 hours every day. Kyoung joined
The Linguist
and
faithfully
uses
their system. Both students also read for fun-- mostly "easy" materials such
as "National Geographic For Kids",
adolescent novels
, etc.
jargon:
special vocabulary for a
specific job or field
exceptional:
amazing, great
input:
information that comes in
(ie. reading and listening)
the bulk of:
most of
analysis:
carefully looking at the
details of something
analyzing:
studying the pieces of
the language.
drills:
repeated practice actions
In TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
jargon
,
these two
exceptional
students followed an "
input
-based approach".
The
bulk of
their study time was spent reading and listening to understandable
and interesting English materials.
Most students and schools follow an "
analysis
-based approach". The bulk
of their time is spent
analyzing
the language, breaking it apart, memorizing
grammar "rules", and doing
drills
.
www.effortlessenglish.com
research:
formal investigation, for-
mal study, academic study
nag:
to ask someone to do some-
thing many many times
cajole:
to beg or try to persuade
comprehensible:
understandable;
can be understood
thrilling:
exciting
illustrated:
shown
quantitatively:
with numbers
in dramatic fashion:
in a powerful
way; in a noticeable way
section:
part
remaining:
the rest
specifically studied:
focused on
(studying) one subject
an isolated incident:
an experi-
ence that is not (usually) repeated;
a special experience/happening
replicate:
repeat, copy
findings:
results; conclusions
Plenty of
research
shows that input-based methods are faster and more
effective than analysis-based methods. I knew this- which is why I always
nag
and
cajole
my students to focus on
comprehensible
input. But it was
still
thrilling
to see this knowledge
illustrated quantitatively
, in such
dra-
matic fashion
, by my own students.
The truly interesting part is that the pre and post-test I gave them (The
Michigan Test) measures listening, vocabulary, and grammar. I'm not sur-
prised that Kyoung and Jin improved their listening skill. But that
section
was only 20% of the test. The
remaining
80% tested both vocabulary and
grammar. In other words, their vocabulary improved dramatically faster than
the students who
specifically studied
vocabulary books and lists. Their
grammar improved dramatically faster than the students who specifically
studied grammar textbooks.
This is not
an isolated incident
. Many research studies
replicate
these
findings
(see www.sdkrashen.com for the most thorough summary of
these). In study after study, input-based approaches beat analysis-based
approaches- as measured by general English tests, such as the TOEFL,
TOEIC, or Michigan Test. These tests measure vocabulary, grammar, listen-
ing, and in some cases, speaking and writing.
phenomenon:
happening; experi-
ence
starkly:
in a strong and obvious
way
in person:
experienced directly
and personally
quantitative:
numeric, with num-
bers
validation:
proof or evidence (that
something is right)
exhort:
try to persuade; try to
convince; plea for
plea:
request
rely on:
depend on
Though I'm aware of this research, I've never seen this
phenomenon
so
starkly
illustrated
in person
in a
quantitative
way-- mostly because I've
never had the opportunity to pre and post-test my students.
These results are a small but powerful
validation
of my own teaching
approach- and the methods I continually
exhort
my students to follow.
I will now carry this
plea
to you: Do not analyze English. Do not use analy-
sis-based methods. Do not
rely on
textbooks. Do not focus on grammar
rules.
Use an input-based method. Listen to understandable English. Listen
repeatedly. Listen one hour every day and listen every day. And read.
Read a lot. But don't read textbooks. Read easy materials that are fun and
interesting to you.
Many students, for some reason, don’t follow my advice. But those that do,
such as Kyoung and Jin, improve much more quickly than those who don’t
Follow this method, and you too will improve faster, just like Kyoung and Jin.
Learn More:
Effortless English
http://www.effortlessenglish.com
The Linguist
http://www.thelinguist.com
www.effortlessenglish.com
Plik z chomika:
Pulaneczka
Inne pliki z tego folderu:
Validation Audio.mp3
(4664 KB)
.DS_Store
(6 KB)
Validation-Vocab.mp3
(11747 KB)
Validation Mini-Story.mp3
(12056 KB)
Validation.pdf
(91 KB)
Inne foldery tego chomika:
3.1_cafe puccini
3.10_ms censorship
3.11_neo-bedouins
3.12_new_year_s_resolutions
3.13_no_belief
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