Alyza Pearl A.

Dreu
BSED-II English
Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and Learning
Module 1

I. ELICIT

Student:
Explain the quotation:
“When we study human language, we are approaching what some might call the human
essence. The distinctive qualities of mind that are, so far as we know, unique to [humans].”
(Chomsky, 1968, p. 100)
- We uniquely have the ability to communicate complex and abstract ideas. Human
language acquisition is distinct from other forms of animal communication. The use
of complex symbols and open vocal systems is special to humans. This is what we
call the Human essence, and this is what makes humans unique.

II. ENGAGE
Students:
CROSS WORD PUZZLE
1. Comprehension- language learning requires comprehension, the ability to understand
the words and its meaning.
2. Grammar- grammar is the system and structure of language learning
3. Interact- Language is also learned through socialization with other people, particularly
of other nations with different native languages.
4. Speech- Through speech, we communicate with others, we produce message and
meaning whether in a large audience or with someone you know.
5. Teacher- a language teacher has a role with the language learning of his or her
students, particularly in second language acquisition.
6. Translation- it is the process of translating words from one language to another to
fully understand and broaden the vocabulary of the learner.
7.

III. EXPLORE

1. What do you think is the difference between Native Language and First Language?
- First language is a mother's tongue. A kid before five could speak in any language,
and it will be their first. But the language that the child later learns to express
themselves is their native language. First language refers to the language of the family
you grew up in and Native Language refers to the language of the place the person
grew up.
Student:
Which of the three (3) English Language Teaching Approaches is the most suitable
approach for the type of students that we have right now?
- In my opinion, the most suitable teaching approach for students at this age is
Grammar Translation Method. Since too much socialization is prohibited, teachers
would rely on this approach to teach.
Among the three (3) theories which of those is mostly observed in an elementary student
in terms of Language Acquisition? Why?
- I believe that the Comprehensible input hypothesis is mostly observed for elementary
students in terms of Language Acquisition. They are introduced to a group of words
and system a little bit beyond their current knowledge.
Among the ten (10) things the teacher can do to improve instruction choose atleast 3 that
you think is the most difficult to realize. Why?
- First is trying to avoid idioms and slang words. Second, present information in a
variety of ways. Thinking of other ways to creatively present the lesson or topic to
students can be difficult if the teacher is mentally tired. Third, repeating information
and review frequently if time is running out.

Task 1: Read the article entitled “A Mansion of Languages” by Danton Remoto.

Underline all word/s that can be related to Language Acquisition.

A MANSION OF LANGUAGES

In 1977, my mentor, the National Artist for Literature and Theater Rolando S. Tinio,
said: “It is too simple-minded to suppose that enthusiasm for Filipino as lingua franca and
national language of the country necessarily involves the elimination of English usage or
training for it in schools. Proficiency in English provides us with all the advantages that
champions of English say it does – access to the vast fund of culture expressed in it,
mobility in various spheres of the international scene, especially those dominated by the
English-speaking Americans, participation in a quality of modern life of which some
features may be assimilated by us with great advantage.”

Professor Tinio continues: “Linguistic nationalism does not imply cultural

chauvinism. Nobody wants to go back to the mountains. The essential Filipino is not the
center of an onion one gets at by peeling off layer after layer of vegetable skin. One’s
experience with onions is quite telling: Peel off everything and you end up with a pinch of
air.”

Written 40 years ago, these words still echo especially now, when by some quirk of
history and economics, enrollment In English courses are rising because (1) there are
many vacant positions for teachers of English and literature in the private and public
schools, and (b) there are many vacancies, still, for jobs in call centers with entry-level
pay of P18,000 plus signing bonus, and a career that will make you earn twice your
present salary in just a few years. With the opening of the doors of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to everyone in the region, more and more Filipinos
are being hired to teach English in Indonesia, Thailand and yes, even our best friend,
China.

Why? First, Filipino teachers will accept a pay scale lower than their Western
counterparts. Second, they are conversant with American popular culture, a happy (or
unhappy) results of decades of American colonialism and neo-colonialism. Third, they
are still Southeast Asians beneath their skin, and are thus familiar with Asian cultural
practices, whether said or unsaid. One is the importance of saving face, the meaning of
“maybe” or “I will try” to an invitation means he or she does not want to hurt you, be he
or she will not show up. Another is the primacy given to family. Already in his 50s, one is
still called Totoy or Baby or Blue Boy, and still lives with one’s parents and extended
family. You can see that, as well, in the other Southeast Asian countries, where families
are nuclear and not split, where food is communal and not eaten in siloed cubicles.

Three long decades of teaching English and Journalism to students (together with four
years of teaching Filipino) have shown me that the best students in English are also the
best students in Filipino. And how did they master the two languages?

One, they had very good teachers in both languages. Two, they inhabited the worlds
of both languages. Three, they have gone beyond the false either-or mentality that
hobbled their parents.

Let me explain.

My best students in English and Filipino were tutored by crème de la crème, many of
them teaching in private schools. At the Ateneo de Manila University, we have classes in
Remedial English, since renamed Basic English or English 1. These are six units of non-
credit subjects. The enrollees are mostly intelligent students from the public schools and
the provinces. Lack of books and untrained teachers prevent them from having a level
playing field with the other freshmen. A year of catching up is necessary for them to have
the skills to have a mano-a-mano with the other students.

Moreover, I introduce them to the worlds of the language they are studying – be it in
the formal realm of the textbook or the popular ones of film, graphic novel, YouTube or
anime. I encourage them to keep a journal as well, which is not a diary where you write
what time you woke up and why. A journal, or its postmodern cousin, the Web log or
blog, aims to capture impressions or moods on the wing. If at the same time it sharpens
the students’ knowledge of English, then that is already hallelujah for the English teacher.

And the third is that today’s generation of students is no longer burdened by the guilt
of learning English – and mastering it. I still remember those writing workshops I took in
the 1980s, when I was asked why I wrote bourgeois stories in the colonizer’s language.
The panelists said I should write about workers and peasants – and that I should write in
Filipino. Without batting a false eyelash, I answered that I don’t know anything about
workers and peasants, and to write about something I don’t know would be to
misrepresent them. To the charge that I write only in English, I showed them my poems
in Filipino, because the modern Filipino writer is not only a writer in either English or
Filipino, but a writer in both languages, or in Bisaya or Bikolano or Ilocano or Waray,
languages that are like colorful balls he juggles with the dexterity of a seasoned circus
performer.

So it’s not a choice between English and Filipino, but rather, English and Filipino,
plus the language of one’s grandmother, be it Bikolano, Waray, or Tausug. And in
college, another language of one’s choice, be it Bahasa Indonesia, German, or French –
the better to view the world from many windows, since to learn a new language is to see
the world from another angle of vision. In short, one no longer has to live between two
languages, but to live in a mansion of many languages.

To end in a full circle, we must return to Rolando S. Tinio, who said: “Only the
mastery of a first language enables one to master a second and a third. For one can think
and feel only in one’s first language, then encode those thoughts and feelings into a
second and a third.”

In short, as a friend and fellow professor has put it, “The Philippines is a multi-lingual
paradise.” The earlier we know we live in a paradise of many languages, the better we can
savor its fruits ripened by the sun.

Student:
Task 2: The reading selection above explains something in relation to “Language”.
Sharpen your understanding of the text
by answering the following questions:

1. How does the author introduce the topic of his essay?

- The author introduced his chosen topic by embodying a certain quote or a line from
his mentor Rolando S. Tinio. Which he explained the unnecessary elimination of one
language so as to achieve learning and master the second one. How English provides
us with a variety of advantages.
2. In paragraph 4 what exactly is the phenomenon he is explaining?
- Paragraph four explains the reason why there are a lot of opportunities for English
students and language teachers at work. And because of American colonialism and
American culture.
3. What are the explanations he provides for the phenomenon he is referring to in
paragraph number 4? Give atleast 3 answers.
- First, Filipino teachers will accept a pay scale lower than their Western counterparts.
Second, they are conversant with American popular culture, a happy (or unhappy)
result of decades of American colonialism and neo-colonialism. Third, they are still
Southeast Asians beneath their skin, and are thus familiar with Asian cultural
practices, whether said or unsaid.
4. What is pointing about our Language?
- He explains that only the mastery of a first language which is mother tongue enables
one to master a second and a third.
5. What theory can you use in explaining the phenomenon that the authors is pertaining
to?
- Affective Filter Hypothesis, since Rolando S. Tinio disclosed that “For one can think
and feel only in one’s first language, then encode those thoughts and feelings into a
second and a third”. Based on his essay, I strongly think that this theory is what he is
trying to impart in the relevance of Filipino or first to language to the understanding
or acquisition of the second or third language. To be a mansion of languages.

Student:
Task 3: Watch the video entitled Mikey Bustos Pinoy Lessons "Pinoy English"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqlFT8zT8V8 in youtube then answer the following:
1. Enumerate at least 2 points that Mikey is pointing out.
- Mikey pointed out that the Philippines is the second-best English-speaking country in
Asia. Filipinos are very good in adapting and learning a new language. That is why
there a many successful Pinoys in north America. Second, Filipinos have their own
unique way of expressing and conveying messages that is different from the standard
grammar. Some Pinoy English expressions are actually direct translations from their
tagalog counterparts.