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Multilingual Acquisition

Multilingual Learning: An Argument for Integrated Teaching Methods Katherine Horwinski Healy Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, La, USA. Multilingual Acquisition. Many people are learning two or three foreign languages simultaneously Educational systems EU’s policies

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Multilingual Acquisition

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  1. Multilingual Learning: An Argument for Integrated Teaching MethodsKatherine Horwinski HealyLouisiana State University Baton Rouge, La, USA

  2. Multilingual Acquisition • Many people are learning two or three foreign languages simultaneously • Educational systems • EU’s policies • Conferences on Multilingualism and Third Language Acquisition • International Association of Multilingualism

  3. Problems with teaching languages separately • False ideas about keeping them separate • Trouble seeing similarities between languages • Trouble code-switching • Have to develop own learning strategies • Inconsistent teaching methods and terminology • Stereotypes reflected in teaching

  4. Multilingual Learner Profile • Develop operational metalinguistic awareness • Develop own language learning strategies • Tend towards autonomous language learning

  5. Examples from 2 projects • Luxembourg Interviews • 7 multilingual learners • Follyglot Questionnaires • 9 multilingual learners • All in non-integrated systems

  6. Strategies of Multilinguals: Learning How to Learn • Beyond personal preferences such as realist vs. perfectionist, timid vs. extrovert, auditory vs. visual • borrowing, ‘foreignizing’, code-switching, making interlingual comparisons, developing specific study habits, organizing the study of each language in a set way or order (least to most competent or visa versa, easiest to hardest or visa versa, etc.), avoidance of L1 or other FLs, risk taking – using the language

  7. Therefore … It would be much more effective to teach the languages in conjunction with each other, providing the tools to develop and systematize these strategies. How …?

  8. Integrated Teaching • Use FL as medium of instruction for another subject (Math, History, etc.) ‘dual-focused education’ • Use a single coherent system for all FL teaching • ‘full’ or ‘complete integration’ The exciting news – THEY ALL WORK!

  9. Full Integration • Pros: it’s effective! • Cons: difficult to institute at a national level due to • materials • teacher qualifications • differing needs and uses for each language • varying levels of competence in learners, etc.

  10. Conclusion • Integration and coordination of language teaching efforts improves the learning experience. • Autonomy and learning skills can be made explicit and incorporated into the learning environment. • Further projects on a larger scale would be profitable.

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