Here some important/key points:
1. iPods/mp3 players
- Portable: at home, jogging, anywhere
- Versatile/navigable: audio/video, back and forward
- Massive storage: up to 1000 hours!
More access to input, more acquisition
2. Principles of SLA (Second Language Acquisition)
Listen/Read:
- Understandable
- Unacquired (new)
- Interesting
Two way to comprenhension:
a. Inside-Out
- Background knowledge: content and linguistic knowledge
b. Outside-In
Extra linguistic clues, help to figure out the language:
- Gestures
- Visuals
- Pictures
- Facial expresions
2. How to use L1 to accelerate L2 acquisition
Preview/Review concepts
- Preview: to get background knowledge
- Review: summarize
3. How not to use the L1
Concurrent Translation
- This is not a good thing
- The ruler analogy (centimeters/inches)
4. Proven L2 Pedagogy
- S-l-o-w-i-n-g down the rate of speech
- Providing visual context
- Building background knowledge
- Topic-driven rather than grammar-driven syllabus
5. L2 Podagogy?
- 1:1 connection, it should be a personal experience, no radio voice, no teacher voice
- Narrative, storytelling
- Narrow, e.g. collect and recycle 10 stories about the same topic of diferent authors
6. Sources of L2 materials
- Community: e.g. the ESL Podcast members
- Teacher
- Students
7. Acquisition-Friendly
- Audio: Upper Beginner to Advanced, not ideal for True Beginners unless Preview/Review
- Audio recording
- Audio + Pictures: All levels
- Video
- Audio/Video + Script
8. Future of SLA
- Personalized
- Portable
- User-generated materials
- Autonomous