Effective Interaction and Reception Strategies in Language Learning

Interaction Strategies:

• Taking the Floor: Can ask for attention.
• Co-operating: Can indicate when they are following.
• Asking for Clarification: Can say “Repeat, please”, can say “Sorry, I don’t understand”, and can ask for clarification about key words or phrases.

Example: Talk about your favorite animal with your partner (spoken interaction).

Reception Strategies:

• Grasp the overall meaning (gist).
• Extract specific information.
• Predict.
• Guess the meaning of unknown words.

Example: (CD) Listen and tick the four animals.

Production Strategies:

• Planning: Can rehearse what’s going to be said.
• Can plan silently what’s going to be written.
• Compensating:
  • Can identify what he/she means by pointing.
  • Can use gestures to clarify what he/she wants to say.
  • Can use an inadequate word (hyperonym) and then explain its meaning by means of gestures.
  • Can paraphrase.

CLIL is a dual-focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language. It is an approach where these subjects are taught in a language different from the mother tongue (asignaturas). Origin: Roman Empire. Globalization. The learning of a language is different in countries and regions, but the objectives are the same (PISA, OECD). In Europe, it is a matter of wanting to be plurilingual and promoting language learning. In the rest of the world, English serves as a vehicular language in some parts but not everywhere (LOTE). The teacher of CLIL is not a language teacher; there are motivational and cognitive benefits. The 4 Cs Framework consists of interrelated components of CLIL:

• Content (the subject matter)
• Cognition (learning and thinking process)
• Communication (language learning and using)
• Culture (developing cultural understanding & global citizenship)

Multiple Intelligences: is a theory proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983. Multiple intelligences are the ability to solve problems or create products that are valued in one or more cultural contexts. According to him, there are eight intelligences. Humans possess eight different parts of their brain where different intelligences reside: verbal-linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic.

Verbal-Linguistic: It is the ability to manage and structure the meanings and functions of words and language. It is not only the ability to communicate but also to learn to recognize sounds or symbols and associate them with meanings. The use of words to express emotions, to sing, etc., makes us different from animals. The ability to think along with words allows us to remember, analyze, solve problems, plan, and create. Pupils develop this intelligence with all activities in the English class. Some indicators to evaluate this intelligence include:

• To compose tales, stories, poems, and fables creatively.
• To have good spelling.
• To have a good vocabulary.
• To enjoy reading books.
• To have a good memory for names, places, dates, or details of general culture.
• To have an active and participative attitude in reading and writing activities.
• To interact with peers and understand.

Logical-Mathematical: This intelligence involves logical reasoning ability, including mathematical calculations, numerical reasoning, the ability to solve logic problems, problem-solving, and understanding abstract concepts. Some indicators to evaluate this intelligence include:

• To perform mental calculations quickly.
• To execute strategy games like chess.
• To solve problems using logic.
• To design experiments.
• To sort objects by category or hierarchy.
• To learn and master concepts of quantity, time, and cause and effect.
• To use several math skills like estimation and calculation.
• To think mathematically (gathering evidence, formulating hypotheses, etc.).

Example: ACT: 3rd and 4th of Primary - Tangram.