How Should Foreign Languages be Taught

By Obioma Okogbue

"The primary purpose of language is communication” (Williams, 2013). The world is a global place and as such, we as human beings need to be equipped to communicate and blend in as flawlessly as possible in an environment that we may not be very familiar with. This means that from a young age, schools ought to equip their students with the skills that they need to communicate proficiently in world languages. French is a language that is spoken on five continents as well as the official language for a number of organizations so it is ideal to learn one of the most spoken languages in the world, n’est-ce pas?

As a French language teacher in Nigeria, it is often difficult to build interest in the students to learn a foreign language apart from English. As a country, we are surrounded by Francophone countries on every side, so it is only logical that Nigerians are fluent in French language. For years, I have watched the reaction of Nigerians towards French language, first as a student of the language and then as a teacher and I must say that I have a boatload of interesting stories to tell concerning people’s opinion on learning and teaching a foreign language both formally and informally.

Growing up in Nigeria, I have always been aware of opinions concerning learning and studying French language. How could I not be when in my secondary school class, we were only six who took French as an elective class. From that time, I wondered about the apathy towards learning French language, which is a skill that would give you an edge over a good number of people. Fast forward to a couple of years later and I’m studying French in the university as my major. I got a lot of awkward questions and stares whenever I mentioned my major. This encouraged me to research the area of language pedagogy and sociolinguistics. My inquiry into those areas led me here- an evidence based method of teaching French to students in grades 5 to 7 to ensure motivation and French language skill acquisition. These methods can be extended beyond the 7^th grade and replicated to teach other foreign languages but for the scope of my research, I limited it to French language in grades 5 to 7 in my resident school, Seed of Messiah Schools Lagos, Nigeria. These methods can also be used by bilingual parents to teach their children the L2. “Current research shows that people who use more than one language appear better at ignoring irrelevant information, a benefit that seems to exist as early as seven months of age” (Kovács, Mehler, 2009). “Thinking in a second language frees people from biases and limited thinking” (Keysar, Hayakawa, & An, 2011). 

With the research I carried out in my resident school, I came up with steps to ensure proper foreign language acquisition and improved student motivation.

1.      Gauge the interest of your students in the language.

Since I began teaching French, I found out there are two classes of students- the students who have an interest to learn French but do not have the opportunity nor the resources to learn and the students who lack interest because they believe learning a foreign language is not worth their effort and time because it has no place in their future goal. It is important you identify the various students because the management process for each class is different. The first class of students are easier to manage because their interest in already piqued, now it’s just a matter of keeping them interested long enough to properly learn the language. For the second group, I discovered a very effective way to pique their interest. These are mostly the students who are worried about going to best universities to study Math and Science because they believe that’s all that matters and the way to a great career. In order to rid them of the notion that French is unimportant, I simply invite some professionals with good jobs who majored in languages as well as present them with biographies of successful people who majored in those not so important areas in their mind. Every year, I use this strategy and it works every time.

2.      Assess your curriculum and state standards.

This is one strategy that helped me to clean up French teaching and instruction. The curriculum that I was given to use was focused more on contrived drills and it prevented the students from actually developing the skills needed to be fluent in the language- listening, speaking, reading and writing and instead focused on unnecessary theory that involved no form of language practice which is detrimental to second language acquisition. “Language structure and form should be learned in authentic contexts rather than through contrived drills in language workbooks. The modeling of target language would seem therefore to be an extremely important strategy for teachers to use, as these models may be a student’s only guide on how the additional language is used in a natural environment” (Thomson, 2012, p.9). In such cases where you feel your curriculum or standards are not helpful in meeting the needs of students, I advise you to create a hybrid curriculum. What do I mean by a hybrid curriculum? A hybrid curriculum is a cross match between the standards that have been set by the curriculum and the standards that you have set for your students to meet their needs and teach according to it. In this way, you are meeting your state’s standards, should a review or a testing period arrive and your students are getting the required knowledge to acquire a new language skill in an authentic context. It really is the best of both worlds.

3.      Never underestimate the power of technology.

I cannot say this enough. When teaching a foreign language, technology is the way forward. From the questionnaires given to the students, I discovered that some of their lack of interest stemmed from teacher-centered instruction and they indicated that they would prefer technology be incorporated into the class. These students are all digital natives so it goes without saying that the best way to get through to them is through their technological tools. “Literacy skills for the twenty-first century are skills that enable participation in the new communities emerging within a networked society. They enable students to exploit new simulation tools, information appliances and social networks; they facilitate the exchange of information between diverse communities and the ability to move easily across different media platforms and social networks” (Jenkins, Purushotma, Clinton, Weigel, & Robison, 2006, p. 55). Try to find and use internet sites to teach all four skills which are listening, speaking, reading and writing. There are internet pages that provide resources for students to master these skills. For example, the TV5- a French news channel offers resources and news broadcasts at different speed levels that cater to the needs of all French listeners and speakers- beginner, intermediate and advanced. There are also worksheets that are provided to enhance student reading and writing skills. Research proves that when students practice these skills in an authentic environment and communicate using the language, it’s easier for them to master the language. “Language pedagogy has come a long way since the days when repetitive grammar-translation methods were regarded as the only way to learn. Today, task-based approaches are widespread in British schools, emphasizing communication and the practical uses of language” (Williams, 2013). As a foreign language teacher, ensure that the use of technology is not one sided. Do not be the only person in the class who uses technology. Involve your students as well by giving them technology-enabled performance based tasks and assessments. I require all students to have digital portfolios of their assignments and activities. “Technology-enabled performance-based assessment is another way for teachers to gain insights into student understanding. Digital portfolios are a collection of student work in electronic format and can include text, images, audio recordings, multimedia, blog entries, and links to resources on the web” (Moeller, Reitzes, 2011, p. 21). Research has proven this to be effective in improving student motivation and achievement.

4.      Parents and the society matter.

This is sociolinguistics. Parental and society influence will determine how well a child will acquire that new language. In such cases where parents and community members may prove to be a barrier to second language acquisition, I advise you to organize an event where parents and community members come together and you showcase the beauty and the importance of the new language. In the course of my research, I found out that parents are often skeptical about what they do not understand but in the end they want the best for their children. All you have to do is convince them that acquiring a second language is best for their children and you will have their support. I garnered my parents’ support with the organization and implementation of “French Day.” A blanket invitation is issued to members of the community as well as parents so they may see first-hand the usefulness of encouraging our students to learn a second foreign language. During this event, the students showcase their skills and we just appreciate and celebrate the beautiful culture. This event impressed a lot of parents as they were proud to see their children making effort to speak the language and this definitely opened doors of support.

5.      Immersion

Try as much as possible to provide your students with an immersive experience. “Over nearly half a century, research on language immersion education has heralded benefits such as academic achievement, language and literacy development in two or more languages, and cognitive skills”. (Fortune, 2014, p. 9). It may not be a full immersive experience but for the time that you have them in your class, ensure that French is the only medium of communication. You can go ahead and put penalties for students who speak any other language apart from French during your class. I was once resident in an immersive program that required the students to give up a quarter every time they spoke a non-French word. So that was a quarter per word and a few dollars for long sentences. This is was a pretty good strategy. Get creative with your penalties. The idea is to get students to use as much of the language as possible as this is the only way to gain fluency.

As with anything in life, change takes time. Patience is key. You need to take baby steps to reach your goal. I began my research in 2014 and I began implementing these strategies in 2015 and now in 2017, I am beginning to see changes. There will be resistance to change especially from the students but you have to overcome them with patience and perseverance. In order to make meaningful and lasting change, Fullan has suggested that “implementation consists of (1) using new materials, (2) engaging in new behaviors and practices and, (3) incorporating new beliefs” (Fullan, 2001, p. 2). The use of new materials will involve the inclusion of technology and the revision of your curriculum to meet your standards. Engaging in new behavior and practices includes the use of the immersive experience. Incorporating new beliefs involves changing the students’, parents’ and community’s views and outlining the benefits of a second foreign language acquisition.

In conclusion, I will say that these strategies worked for me because I tailored them to my school environment and community. As with any new practice or evidence-based strategy that you want to implement, you have to ensure that these strategies will work for your classroom. You can begin a pilot study with just one class to get a feel for how it would be welcomed before replicating it in other classes. In this manner the school management will not feel that you are implementing a new school-wide strategy without evidence base or data to show efficacy. As teachers, go ahead and view credible researches and peer-reviewed work that states interventions that ought to be carried out when faced with a particular situation or challenge. “Evidence can often be found in the peer-reviewed work of small, independent researchers as well as the reports of large projects. You'll quickly become discouraged if you're looking for research to support exactly what you're trying to do in the classroom or library. Instead, look for studies that support the "big ideas" you're trying to accomplish. Good sources of information are peer-reviewed professional journals” (Johnson, Lamb, 2007, para. 5).

References

Fortune, T. W. (2012). What the research says about immersion. Chinese language learning in the early grades: A handbook of resources and best practices for Mandarin immersion, 9-13.

Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of educational change, 3rd Edition. New York:  Teachers College Press.

Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Clinton, K., Weigel, M. & Robison, A. J. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago: The MacArthur Foundation. Retrievable at: www.projectnml.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf

Johnson. L., & Lamb, A. (2007). Evidence-based practice and educational technology. Teacher Tap. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/tap/evidence.html

Keysar, B., Hayakawa, S. L., & An, S. (2012). The foreign-language effect: Thinking in a foreign

tongue reduces decision biases. Psychological Science, 23, 661–668. doi: 10.1177/0956797611432178

Kovács, A. M., & Mehler, J. (2009). Cognitive gains in 7-month-old bilingual infants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16), 6556–6560.

Moeller, B., & Reitzes, T. (2011).Integrating technology with student-centered learning. Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). Quincy, MA: Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

Thomson, N. (2012). Language teaching strategies and techniques used to support students learning in a language other than their mother tongue. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate.

Williams M. (2013). What's the best way to teach languages? The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/may/14/best-way-teach-language-schools