Language as a Dynamic System

The dynamic system of languages is a unique concept, as there are multiple ways that languages can be introduced, and taught, different methods to learn a language or languages, and tools that can be implemented to improve comprehension and fluency. Instructors that implement a forward design of teaching, where the curriculum has already been set for the students and the control will mostly shift towards the head teacher or instructor. In my experience, I have encountered classrooms that were very structured with students following the methods of the teacher and having the class centered around the latter. This includes having been in classrooms where there was more freedom to ask open-ended questions and comments and have more flexibility and creativity when it came to assignments and tasks. Looking at these concepts, this is how I interpreted what I felt, learned, taught, and experienced through language as a dynamic system.

I will introduce two artifacts from LT 534, and one each from LT 538 and LING 544. The artifacts that I have selected reflect the stance that language is a dynamic system, where I imagine the focus area centers around how to understand the context of languages and learning, and what learners can take away from their own learning experience.

LT 548 was Design for Language Learning Pragmatics, which explored the boundaries and necessities of how pragmatics and context affect meaning based on the social interaction between two individuals, and how their meaning is based on the interpretation of idioms in this case, between the speaker and the listener, are used in languages and how they are interpreted and meant for the listener and the speaker. The artifact from LT 538 (Pragmatics) is a curation project completed with Madi Collins and Anthony Delsanter labeled Idioms in Context: An Investigation into Pragmatic Acquisition and Idioms, which focuses on the importance of why idioms matter in languages, how they are used and interpreted, and the limitations that can occur for the speaker and listener. This artifact was selected because it focuses on one of the aspects of linguistics, pragmatics, as a unique system that can occur in most languages, and allows for different transference based on the speaker and listener, and which language is being used. Our work in this project sought to discuss the importance of how idioms are used across different languages and communities, and how that can be applied thanks in part to the work from the Intercultural Pragmatic Interactional Competence (IPIC) chart. As stated by AELRC (2020), IPIC measures and assesses L2 language learners' ability to communicate in intercultural conversations, interpret meanings and respond to them appropriately, and comprehend a conversation's intended and literal meanings based on the specific context. Idioms are an important part of the system of pragmatics that help illustrate and build familiarity and solidarity with other speakers and listeners, how they are transferred based on the idiom helps promote aspects of sociolinguistics. Sociolinguistics is the study of language that focuses on social norms and factors such as community, age differences, dialects, class status, and regional origin. What this course taught me was that there is great importance in understanding the interpreted or literal meaning of a conversation based on context, and how I would be able to instruct language learners on why it is important to comprehend English pragmatics and how to respond appropriately to them.

The context of how language is taught and shown is important in developing how well learners can comprehend and produce the language later on in their lives, and how that will reflect further as they acquire other languages. LT 534 was Language Learning in Context, which dived into specific contexts of language learning and teaching and what methods are implemented in the design. The first artifact from LT 534 was a paper titled A Comparison of Japanese Elementary/Junior High Schools and Immersion Schools for Language Learners. The purpose of this paper was to discuss the development of L2 learners and multilingualism when it comes to learning English and what the environment is like for elementary and junior high school students. It further expands the comparison between learning a language in a traditional school or in an immersion school, and the experiences of teaching English in another country or teaching an L2 at an immersion school. I chose this as my first LT 534 artifact since it centers around the benefits and drawbacks of different teaching systems. For Japan, classes are more teacher-centered with a forward design approach where the curriculum has already been designed and presented to the schools which they must follow towards the end of the academic year, while in the U.S, traditional and immersion school teachers can have more flexibility with what they teach and how they can present that to the students. 

Whether a language learner can acquire an additional language through living in a community with a generation communicating with an indigenous or heritage language, or if a language learner can excel in comprehending a language within academics, it is important to understand how they can communicate with that knowledge. LING 544 was Second Language Acquisition, which introduced how languages are acquired by learners and what methods to implement to help with acquiring an additional language based on the learner, language, and the learning environment. My artifact for LING 544 was a Research Challenge Project that looked into what determines a learner's abilities and skills in a language by comparing and contrasting fluency and proficiency of a language and what specific testing methods are relevant toward that. The course focused on how second languages are acquired and how we as learners can become proficient in our target language. In my report, I wrote that the differences between fluency and proficiency are the ability to communicate efficiently and the ability to comprehend a language respectively (Brown & Hudson, 1998). This course taught me to look at these two concepts through what type of language is being taught or used by a speaker. For example, L2 learners who have grown up with heritage languages or indigenous languages would be more fluent in speaking to members of their community through the teachings of an older generation but would not have many academic skills outside of the community. While on the other hand, learners that acquire languages through academics and testing would have more proficiency in writing and reading that goes beyond their community. This course taught me the value of what it takes to acquire an additional language and how, as learners and instructors, we understand that languages are always changing, and we can change with it.

The additional artifact that I picked was a data collection report for LT 534, where I reported on the experiences of a former assistant language teacher (ALT) in the JET program and what they observed and experienced. Although this paper does not contain additional academic sources, it is a firsthand account of observing how English was being taught in rural elementary and junior high schools, and how that would reflect other English teachers. Some key concepts related to this paper and from the course that I feel relate to the system and style of Japanese education are teacher-centered, forward-design, and bottom-up processing (Brown & Lee, 2015). My report reflects on how teachers are the ones that are in control, with most classes following a similar format of the students repeating what the teacher says and writes down, and their curriculum the same every year with no major changes other than new textbooks being used. The structure is centered around the students having to repeat what the teacher instructs rather than the students having a say in what they want to learn. Including my own experiences of teaching English in Japan, I can confirm the previous statements with how I have taught some English classes in the U.S.; while any lessons already had a designed and set lesson plan for the students to complete, with the same activities done in the same manner and time for every class in Japan. There was more flexibility and freedom to adjust lessons and tasks based on the number of students, materials, and sources available, the amount of time available. For younger students, having prior knowledge of the learning material with activities that are more interactive and engaging will allow them to process the information more, and thus recollect what they had previously learned. These concepts I found played an important part in the Japanese education system, and while I felt that my own experiences differ based on where I had taught as a former ALT, teaching English and other languages will vary based on the country, the region in that city or town, and the experiences and tools that were available to them.