Organizer and Chair: Kathie Carpenter, University of Oregon
Discussant: Carol J. Compton, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Southeast Asian language teaching is a field that is ripe for extensive, exciting research into questions of both theoretical and applied significance. Scholarship on the languages themselves, including their literatures, their structures, and their socio-cultural contexts, is vital for effective teaching and learning; similarly, research into teaching methodology and the learning process is enriching to a range of disciplines. A further reciprocal benefit is that each endeavor, teaching and research, can spotlight areas in need of further investigation in the other; novice students often ask questions or have difficulty with precisely those areas of language and culture which are most in need of further elucidation by scholars, and scholars in the field encounter phenomena for which they have not been trained, showing areas in need of curricular revision. Although the teaching and research of Southeast Asian languages complement and enhance each other in a variety of ways, the connection between language teaching and scholarly research is not always transparent, even to practitioners in the field. In this panel, we will explore some of the synergistic connections between research and teaching of Southeast Asian languages, demonstrating both a wide range of research methodologies, and a wide range of issues to be investigated, including humanities-oriented literary scholarship as well as more cognitively-oriented experimental scholarship.
"Seeing Sounds": The Role of Vision in the Learning of Thai Tones and
Vowels
Susan Holmes and Kathie Carpenter, University of Oregon
Thai pronunciation presents serious challenges to students-among them, the five tones (high, mid, low, rising, falling), and the two contrastive vowel lengths (short and long) loom especially intimidating to the beginner. Not only are these difficult for non-native speakers to produce correctly, but they are very difficult for non-native speakers to even hear accurately. In this experimental study, we investigate whether visual information can help with these two recalcitrant aspects of Thai pronunciation.
We chose these two distinctions because the first-tone-cannot be seen when someone is speaking, whereas the second distinction-vowel length-can be seen clearly in the length of time that the speaker's mouth is open.
We divided the students into two groups. One group received extensive listening practice using a training video that showed Thai native speakers pronouncing a series of words. As a control, the other group only got to hear the words pronounced, but did not view the video. Wherever possible, the two groups were matched for previous exposure to Thai and other possibly confounding factors; the students in the control group were permitted to view the video after the completion of the study, so they would not be penalized for not taking part in the study.
After the training, the students were tested to see if they showed any improvement in their ability to hear tone and vowel length, or in their ability to correctly pronounce tone and vowel length.
We predict that the use of visual information has powerful potential for aiding learners of a second language. Perhaps surprisingly, young children use visual information to learn the sounds of their native language-even very young infants are distressed by films with voices out of sync with speakers' movements, for example, and blind children show some delay in learning sound contrasts that make use of information that can be seen (for example, "m" vs. "n").
Teaching Indonesian Literature to Third and Fourth Year Classes
Ellen Rafferty, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Curriculum design is a scholarly pursuit that draws on the same questions, skills and resources as research. Indeed, curriculum design, when done well, is a kind of research. It requires original investigation into the subject matter, and the same kind of analysis and synthesis that is required by all other scholarly activities.
In this paper I will describe a few curriculum units that I have created, which draw on my own research into the literature of Indonesia, representing three topics-Indonesian women writers' portrayal of Indonesian women's reactions to western culture, contemporary drama, and pre-independence literature.
Given the lack of texts for advanced levels the professor's task is to design a curriculum that: (1) Builds on one's strengths and background, so that students and teacher are stimulated and engaged. In this manner, preparation time for class can dovetail with research efforts. Classroom discussions and homework assignments are energized, because students' opinions and reactions are of interest to the teacher; (2) Is engaging for the students yet not too difficult for them to comprehend. The kinds of class discussion questions that are most likely to engage are those that rely crucially on knowledge of the author's background (e.g., speculating on the author's motives and intentions) or knowledge of the socio-political and historical context (e.g., considering how an Indonesian audience might respond to a text). Just as a scholar must become familiar with the cultural and historical setting, personal history of the author and intertextuality of the reading, so too must students use these same strategies of research to develop a richly textured context in which to interpret class readings; (3) Is based on sound pedagogical theory of second language learning. The strategy used for developing the lessons is an extension of schema theory which I used in developing reading lessons for first and second year classes in the Nah, Baca! Reader.
Does Computerized Language Learning Really Work?
Mari Smith, University of Oregon
Although computer-aided language teaching and learning is becoming increasingly popular, research to assess whether computerized materials really benefit language learning has lagged behind the development and use of such materials. In this paper, I will present a set of interactive materials which I have developed, and which have built into them the capability to measure how often students use each activity. The materials offer a "bottom up" approach to learning to read Thai letters and words. They drill the Thai alphabet, tone rules, spelling rules, and basic vocabulary, and are designed to accompany a beginning Thai language course at the university level. The materials contain several different drills for each of the various skills, as well as integrative ones that give students practice in using them together.
Students were all given their own sets, and allowed to use them on their own time, as they preferred. At various intervals throughout the course, they turned in their diskettes, so I could tabulate the amount of time each activity was used by each student. The amount of practice each student did was then correlated with the students' progress in learning Thai, including grades received in the course, oral interviews, and a written exam.
Wherever possible, we controlled for possible confounding factors such as previous experience and native ability, by also collecting and analyzing information about previous language study, previous exposure to Thai, and overall study habits as measured by performance in other classes. We will also compare students' performance with the performance of beginning Thai students from past years, when the materials were not available, to gauge whether students who use the computer materials extensively perform better than the best, most diligent students who study hard using more traditional methods.
Contrastive Analysis of Indonesian and English Constructions and its Significance
in the Teaching-Learning of Indonesian
Peter Suwarno, Arizona State University
In an intensive summer foreign language program such as SEASSI (Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute) students and teachers are under pressure to acquire foreign language proficiency in a short period of time. One of the potential problems of this kind of learning is that what the students have learned fast will be lost quickly without the follow-up of daily usage. In addition, a question should be raised regarding the kind of teaching-learning strategies that should be employed in an intensive program.
While the teachers, most of the time, use only the target language and students' use of dictionary in the classroom is prohibited, my observations in Indonesian classes confirm that the students rely on their knowledge of English, consciously or unconsciously, as part of their strategies in learning the target language. Also, the teachers often point out the difference between English and Indonesian to avoid frequently made errors.
Many would argue for abandoning the use of native language knowledge in teaching-learning a foreign language. While there are many disadvantages in such reliance, I found some advantages of such strategies in teaching-learning Indonesian. This paper will explain some of these advantages. For this purpose, I will discuss: (1) a sample of contrastive analysis revealing linguistic similarities and differences between English and Indonesian; (2) the trend in the development of Indonesian in a fast changing society; and (3) the data showing transference/interference errors made by intermediate and advanced Indonesian learners.