Read and retell???

Well, after just reading chapters 3 and 4 of Finegan's book. My brain is about to explode. I have never taken and phonetics courses except for one but it was in German and mostly focused on pronunciation. SOO this would be a crash course to say the least. So for this blog i just want to keep it simple.

Finegan says that consonants can be produced by obstructing air flow as it passes from the lungs through the vocal tract and out the nose or mouth. This differs from vowels which "are produced by positioning the tongue and mouth to form differently shaped passages."

there are three types of consonants. They are fricatives, stops, and affricates.

• fricatives: air is forced through to form a continuous sound
• stops: air passage is blocked then released
• affricates: is formed by combining a stop and fricative (judge)

These three form a group called obstruents.

My personal experience with this chapter besides definitions was that it is extremely difficult for me to say the words and be able to recognize where my tongue is going whether i am stopping my breath. I think memorizing the words and definitions will help me with this task as I become more familiar with them.

English consonants are described in three properties

1. voicing: vocal cord vibration or not
2. place of articulation: where airstream is obstructed
3. manner of articulation: way airstream is obstructed

Week 2 of class

Starting class with Krashen's theory of second language acquistion was great. For me, this theory encompasses so many elements of L2 acquisition in the five hypothesis. I am glad that i already have a good understanding of these hypotheses so the group exercises were just review. I was hoping that we would be able to talk about the first chapter in Finegan's book Language: Its structure and use, but there was not enough time.

The American tongues movie was amazing. I love hearing different accents and languages. So for me just learning about them and hearing them speak in such a different way even though the distance between dialects maybe not be that far but the way people communicate is completely different in terms of accents, phrasing and wording.

The transitions with the microphones seems to be helping my dislike or online course. So as soon as i buy one maybe things will get even better.

1st day of class

I am glad to have some familiar names and voices in the class. It is also good to have new comers to provide a differenct perspective. I am not looking forward to this online class but maybe just maybe it can be a positive experience and change my mind.

Week 1: Learning vs. Acquisition

The first two chapters of Essential Linguistics cover first, second and written language theories. According to an array of theories including Krashens theory on second language acquistion, which is probably the most well known. It encompasses five hypotheses. These include learning/acquistion, monitor, affective filter, input and natural order.

1) learning /acquistion: learning is studying vocabulary and rules. Acqusition is unconscious can develop in conversation and other language activities.
2) monitor: focusing on how a sentence was said rather than what you actually said.
3)affective filter: certain factors can inhibit learning. These could include lack of motivation, a student's attitude in the class or even outside noise that distracts the student.
4)input: i + 1 if a student is recieving something that is too advanced they will not learn anything. However, if it is just above their understanding they can use social cues and metalinguistic knowledge understand a sentence or conversation.
5) natural order: some aspects of langauge appear before others do.

Developmental Psychology

• language and cognition develop seperately but related
• most children develop langauge, do rapidly without instruction (language different from other learning

Sociology, Anthropology, Education

• communicative competence: the knowledge of what to say to and under what circumstances
• invention and convention: students will invent words and phrases to express themselves. However each context in which the students live as different conventions or ways of using language. I.e. school more formal than at home, but may not always be the case.

Linguistics

• Universal Grammar: humans are born with the basic structures of every langauge in the brain.
• Generative grammar: two parts surface structure ( what we say or write) and deep structure ( what is meant). Sentences can be ambiguous because words have multiple meanings. Example: She's a cougar. Could mean she likes to date younger men or that she really is a furry animal with whiskers.

Looking back at my first, second and written language experience. Most of it was primarily conducted in the learning camp. Not until i got to college did i really experience acquisition teaching techniques in my second language. The positives of using the acquisition approach definitely outweigh the negatives. Students can relate to the topics easier because it is built toward communcative competence. They do not have to worry about the constant drilling. Lastly they do not have to fear being corrected repeatedly, which is something i personally have experienced and it did inhibit my learning. I was afraid to participate in class, and in a language classroom this is the worst thing that could happen because you need students to participate to be successful.