Neurolinguistic approach

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The neurolinguistic approach (NLA) is a teaching method that is used when teaching or when acquiring second or target languages ​​(abbreviated L2 / LZ) in school lessons and promotes both oral and written communication skills . In Canada , this approach is also known as "français intensif" (FI) or in German "Intensivfrenzischen" (IF).

Historical context

The NLA was conceived in Canada by Claude Germain (Department of Language Didactics, University of Québec , Montréal ) and Joan Netten (Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland ) in the context of the growing influence of emerging educational neuroscience. It is primarily based on the research of Michel Paradis (1994, 2001, 2009) from McGill University and the Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), Nick Ellis (Center for Complex Systems, University of Michigan) and Norman Segalowitz (2010) from the TESOL Center, Concordia University (Montreal) and is also shaped by Vygotsky's concept of social interaction (1997).

What distinguishes the NLA is the need to independently develop the two components of any effective communication in the classroom : an implicit competence or the ability to verbally apply an L2 / LZ spontaneously with explicit knowledge or awareness of how the language works, grammar rules and vocabulary. This dimension of the approach is based on the research by Paradis (1994, 2004) and Nick Ellis (2011). In its research, Paradis clearly differentiates between explicit knowledge, which means conscious knowledge of an L2 / LZ and is learned through noticing and explaining, and implicit competence, which is only acquired unconsciously through the use of language in authentic communication situations can.

In NLA, implicit competence is called internal grammar. It consists of a network of neural connections formed in the brain through frequent use of the same processes. They are not rules, but frequent statistical regularities of language structures (Paradis 2004; Ellis 2011). In addition, explicit knowledge in NLA is referred to as external grammar. This is based on the fact that research by Paradis shows that explicit knowledge (external grammar) is about declarative memory, while implicit competence (internal grammar) is more about working memory (Germain & Netten 2013a). According to Paradis, there is no direct connection between these two components. While external grammar is taught relatively efficiently in class, the same cannot be said of internal grammar. As a result, regular L2 / LZ programs based on most common methods or approaches cannot result in spontaneous communication being acquired in most students. This also applies to programs that purport to use a communicative approach but, despite the theoretical claims of their authors, initially have explicit knowledge (the rules of grammar or anchored knowledge mostly in writing) before acquiring the implicit competence that is characteristic of oral language (Germain & Netten 2005, 2013b; Germain 2017).

Basic principles

The NLA is based on five basic principles that were developed by Germain and Netten (2011, 2012a; Netten & Germain 2012) in order to create the necessary prerequisites for the oral development of their spontaneous communication in the L2 / LZ in school lessons before and writing activities, explicit language skills are used (Germain & Netten 2013b; Germain 2017).

Acquisition of internal grammar (implicit competence)

In order to create an atmosphere in the classroom in which a limited number of structures of language are used and reused with sufficient frequency to develop patterns or neural connections in the student's working memory, each lesson presents three or four interrelated communication functions as well as the subject of the unit. Each function is presented and used individually in different situations to enable short personal conversations between the students. At the end of the unit, the functions are combined to allow for more complex discussions on the subject. From then on, oral language is learned in a conversational context. The importance of the relationship for an effective transfer to other situations was confirmed by Segalowitz's recent research in the cognitive neurosciences, in particular by the PTA (processus de transfer appropié; in English: TPA - Transfer appropriate processing; in German: adequate transfer processing or for processing appropriate to the transfer) (Segalowitz 2010).

Use of a literacy perspective when teaching an L2 / LZ

Literacy is usually understood as the ability to use language to interpret and understand the environment. A literacy perspective enables the teacher to view language learning as a skill development rather than knowledge. In addition, oral development means prioritizing an experienced perspective through recent research in neurodidactic research (Huc & Smith 2008) that encourages the development of oral skills prior to reading and writing. The texts used in reading as well as topics of written production relate to the same topic and use the same structures initially developed orally. Reading and writing are conveyed directly in the L2 / LZ without having to resort to translation. The strategies used are similar to those used in the mother tongue for literacy development but need to be changed. For example, a stronger focus can be placed on the oral preparation before reading and writing, which is required if there is literacy in the L2 / LZ. In addition, the internal grammar of the students is significantly lower than that of those who learn to read and write in their mother tongue (Germain & Netten 2005, 2012, 2013b; Germain 2017). A competence-focused perspective also becomes the external grammar according to the spoken language and contextually (observation of the grammar phenomena in the reading text and their use when writing paragraphs).

Using a project pedagogy

In order to acquire an internal grammar, attention must be directed to the message and not to the language, since the internal grammar can only be acquired in an unconscious way, that is, without consciously considering the language forms (Paradis 1994, 2004, 2009). In order to facilitate the creation of meaningful situations and interesting and cognitively demanding tasks for the students, the contents of the educational units are arranged in a row, ranging from a few mini-projects to a final project. The proposed activities are therefore not isolated and require the active participation of students in other brain mechanisms in order to ensure successful language learning (Paradis 2004). This type of organization also allows the use and re-use of the language structures of each unit, while the teacher can help the student in learning by gradually increasing the difficulty of the tasks and language structures.

Use of authentic communication situations

The ability to communicate spontaneously can only be developed through the use of authentic communication. It cannot be learned through controlled tasks or by memorizing dialogues (R. Ellis 1997), since the language learned in this way initially concentrates on forms of language and is stored in declarative memory. In addition, this type of language is not sufficiently contextualized to be called up by the brain in real communication situations through the “appropriate transmission process” (PTA / TPA) (Segalowitz 2010). Moreover, only authentic communication uses the other mechanisms of the brain that are necessary for actual acquisition, such as motivation (Paradis 2004). All communication in class as part of the NLA is authentic: the teacher does not ask questions that are unrealistic and the students' answers are always individual. Communication always takes place in the L2 / LZ.

Use of interactive teaching strategies

Interaction between students in L2 / LZ is an essential part of developing internal grammar and the ability to communicate on the fly. In order to facilitate interaction, the NLA uses five levels of oral production lessons and encourages activities between peers and in small groups in the lessons. However, students are linguistically prepared to use the structures they need to complete the required assignments, but the interactions are authentic in that the students are expressing their own thoughts. In addition, there are three other specific teaching strategies that are recommended: dexterity, accuracy, and hearing sharpening. Students must respond with full sentences as they learn new language structures to help construct their internal grammar and use the L2 / LZ with skill / ease. For internal grammar, accuracy is achieved through the ongoing correction of oral errors, which in a certain way replaces the teaching of grammar rules through the development of internal grammar. In terms of hearing sharpening, it becomes the usual oral comprehension exercises: it is about "forcing learners to keep hearing what the teacher and other learners are saying" (Germain 2018, p.89). The NLA uses eight teaching / learning strategies for both reading and writing.

There are currently (2014) several NLA applications, including the FI program in Canada and a university and high school French acquisition program in China. The FI program in Canada, open to students in grades 5 and 6 (11 or 12 years old) and lasting through high school, began in the Canadian province of Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador in 1988. Since then, it has been spreads to almost all Canadian provinces and territories (in Québec's predominantly French-speaking province, there is an intensive English program that is similar, but not identical, to FI because it is not based on the principles of the NLA). More than 62,000 students have participated in the FI program in Canada since its inception. In China, the program has been aimed at young adults around the age of 19 at the Normal University of South China, Guangzhou, since 2010 - in French: Canton; in German: Canton (Gal Bailly 2011; Ricordel 2012), finds great interest in other Chinese institutions (for example in a high school where it has been in operation since 2014) as well as in Japan, Taiwan, Iran, Belgium, France, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia (Germain 2017).

These programs were developed under the direction of the NLA. Other uses of the NLA are currently being developed in Canada by other professionals to teach certain First Nations languages ​​in the Yukon and Territoires-du-Nord-Ouest, Saskatchewan and the Prince Edward Islands, and the James Bay region (Québec) for English, French and Cree classes. Any curriculum resource that conforms to the principles of the NLA can be adapted to teach communication skills in any L2 / LZ, which is two recent academic attempts at Francophones from Québec (more precisely: at UQAM - l'Université du Québec à Montréal) and want to show Japanese people to teach or learn Spanish.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Paradis, M. "Neurolinguistic aspects of implicit and explicit memory: implications for bilingualism", dans N. Ellis (dir.), Implicit and Explicit Learning of Second Languages . London, Academic Press, 1994, p. 393-419.
  2. ↑ a b c d Paradis, M. A Neurolinguistic Theory of Bilingualism , Amsterdam / Philadelphia, John Benjamin, 2004.
  3. ↑ a b Paradis, M. Declarative and Procedural Determinants of Second Languages , Amsterdam / Philadelphia, John Benjamin, 2009.
  4. ↑ a b Segalowitz, N. Cognitive bases of second language fluency , New York, Oxon, UK, Routledge & Abingdon, 2010.
  5. ^ Vygotsky, LS Pensée et langage , Éditions La Dispute, 1997.
  6. ^ A b c Ellis, N. Language acquisition just Zipf's right along. Conference, Université du Québec à Montréal, January 2011.
  7. ↑ Germain, C. et Netten, J. “Pour une nouvelle approche de l'enseignement de la grammaire en classe de langue: grammaire et approche neurolinguistique”, Revue japonaise de didactique du français , vol. 8, no 1, 2013a, p. 172-187.
  8. ↑ a b Germain, C. et Netten, J. “Place et rôle de l'oral dans l'enseignement / apprentissage d'une L2,”, Babylonia , no 2, 2005, p. 7-10.
  9. ^ A b c Germain, C. et Netten, J. "Grammaire de l'oral et grammaire de l'écrit dans l'approche neurolinguistique (ANL)", Synergies Mexique ¸no 3, 2013b, p. 15-29.
  10. ↑ a b c d e Germain, C. L'approche neurolinguistique (ANL) - Foire aux questions , Longueuil: Myosotis Press, 2017.
  11. ↑ Germain, C. et Netten, J. “Impact de la conception de l'acquisition d'une langue seconde ou étrangère sur la conception de la langue et de son enseignement”, Synergies Chine , no 6, 2011, p. 25-36.
  12. ↑ Germain, C. et Netten, J. “Une pédagogie de la littératie spécifique à la L2”, Réflexions , vol. 31, no 1, 2012a, p. 17-18.
  13. ↑ Netten, J. et Germain, C. Approche neurolinguistique - Guide pédagogique - Français intensif , 2nd édition, remaniée., 2011
  14. ↑ a b Huc, P. et Vincent Smith, B. “Naissance de la neurodidactique”, Le Français dans le Monde , 357, 2008, p. 30-31.
  15. ↑ Germain, C. et Netten, J. “Une pédagogie de la littératie spécifique à la L2”, Réflexions , vol. 31, no 1, 2012, p. 17-18.
  16. ↑ Ellis. R. SLA research and language teaching . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
  17. ^ Gal Bailly, T. Mise en place d'une méthode contemporaine d'enseignement du français langue étrangère en milieu universitaire chinois. Evaluation comparative entre la méthode traditionnelle chinoise et l'approche neurolinguistique dans un cadre pré expérimental , Master 2 Sciences Humaines et Sciences Sociales, Université de Rouen, 2011, 147 p.
  18. ↑ Ricordel, I. “Application de l'Approche neurolinguistique en milieu exolingue”, Le français à l'université , vol. 17, no 1, 2012.