This has been an interesting discussion and I want to thank everyone for their comments. My own experience with trying to learn another language has netted me a few spoken words in several languages; and I can read French and Spanish far better (and this is not what I would call good by any stretch of the imagination) than I can speak either. In fact, I don't admit to speaking another language because my skills are so limited.
I have worked with several people for whom English was a second or third language to edit their written work for publication. I have been fascinated by the differences that I observed in comparing their casual speech and writing and their academic/professional language skills. I have often wondered how one could write professionally so much better than speak, or how their spoken English was more grammatically correct than the written. From this discussion I have a better understanding that learning styles, the type of learning environment, and the various degrees of motivation of the learner all impact on the acquisition and use of another language.
Just yesterday I was having a similar discussion with my friend who is foreign language dept head at her high school. She wants to maximize the students' experience and learning by capitalizing on the strengths of her teachers - one is excellent in grammar, another in getting the students to speak out loud, one in designing experiences (drama, cooking, poetry, etc.), and so on.
I shared with her this discussion and she intends to do some more research. She was very encouraged to know that there is a body of work out there that is different from what she has been exposed to previously.
Thanks again for the discussion of such an interesting topic. Cheryl
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 01 2003 - 01:00:09 PDT