Learning Chinese: Doing Globally

Eric ShepherdUniversity of South Florida

Learning in CultureBeing exposed to a culture is not enough; There

is no magical process of cultural osmosis; It is learned behavior

Must participate in on-going cultural activities to learn new cultural behaviors

Requires both acculturation and being enculturated/two distinct processes

Must participate in meaningful roles in culturally significant performances

Move beyond guest, tourist, and performing monkey roles in target culture (对了。 /哇 ! 你的中文比大山说得还地道！ )

Performance-Based Learning

Learning by doing; mimesisDon’t know something until you can

demonstrate it by doing itOnly way to develop ability to do

something is to do itFail at increasingly higher levels Doing meaningful things in culturally

appropriate ways

Learning in Chinese cultureFocus on behavioral culture and social

interactionChinese culture is the goal and standardRequires changing behaviors so learner sticks

out less culturally (blunting “foreign-ness”)Not becoming Chinese but developing a new set

of cultural skills to add to our existing repertoireGaining empathy/learning to understand the

world from a new perspectiveLearning to play a new gameRules of the game differ across cultures!

Teaching Language in CultureLanguage and culture cannot be separated in the teaching of FL and

threshold higher for Chinese than for other languages/culturesBehavioral culture/hidden cultureAchievement culture/Peking opera, paper cuts, dumplings

Cannot simply teach about Chinese (declarative knowledge); must also teach how to in Chinese culture (procedural)

If simply teach linguistic code, not only not preparing our students for the real world, but also setting them up for failure

Behavioral culture, like other learned behaviors, can should/be taught

Combining Traditional/Non-Traditional Approaches

B.C. often not taught because “too difficult”/large amount of preparation; a text provides an easy to follow framework for lesson

Textual focus often at expense of language use

Culture has patterns and structures that are recognizableOften only implicitly to its members; “that’s just how we do it”We notice structure when it breaks down; “look at that weird foreigner”We become aware of “rules” when someone does not follow themNeeds to be but is not a regular part of our pedagogical materials,

learning activities, and teaching approach

Native/Experienced Non-native Team teaching leads to “Smart Learning”

Units of CultureThere are recurring, isolatable events that provide the

social contexts for participants’ behaviors and shape the construction of shared meanings

Analyzable units/segments in the flow of human social activity

These repeatable units make culture learnable

PerformanceCultural (including linguistic code) learning can be facilitated

by isolating recurrent structures and associated rules to be used in guided trial and error participation in commonly occurring contexts

Performances are learnable segments of culture/5 elements: 1) location; 2) time; 3) roles; 4) scripts; 5) audience

Developing new set of cultural skills; best learned through mimetic learning (performance, doing)

Performed CultureStructure learning environments and learning experiences

around commonly encountered target culture performances Teacher’s role shifts from disseminator of information to

constructor of contexts/coachBurden responsibility for learning/preparation to student

Learners rehearse scripts, skills and behaviors necessary to participate in performances by using them in simulated contexts

Goal: Foster ability to use linguistically accurate, culturally appropriate language while interacting with Chinese people

Focus on use; realistic; practical; interesting for learner (and teacher!)

We Can’t Learn It for Them!Students must develop new habits/behaviors if they are to be successful

performing Chinese culture over the long term

To develop new behaviors they must do things themselves = autonomous learners; guided/scaffolded performances

百闻不如一见 /Hearing it 100 times is not as effective as seeing it once

百见不如亲自动手做一遍 /Seeing it 100 times is not as effective as doing it once

Don’t become Ms. Othmar! Shifting to grammar explanation mode

Not Adapting Chinese to Americans!Our students must reduce accommodation

More work Chinese interlocutors have to do, higher the likelihood English becomes the mode of communication

They accomplish this by syncing (culturally calibrating behavior)

Our students must develop ability to think in ChineseEstablish Chinese intentions/intentions recognized by ChineseCan’t go through English/American culture filterCan’t do this if we adapt Chinese to themDo this first through mimetic learning, then through trial and error

If you communicate with your students in English, you have removed their motivation for learning Chinese from the classroom and increased the amount of time it will take them to learn Chinese!

To get around base culture filter, help them imitate correct way of doing (including saying) things

Mimetic learning; imitate behaviors (and language) that fits Chinese ways of establishing intentions (ways of thinking) and that are culturally appropriate (for Chinese culture not American)

Target culture is standard

Building Performances Performance-based regimen

Repetitive cycles of increasingly sophisticated guided rehearsal enacting commonly encountered social situations

Cyclical (re)-presentation of target knowledge and skills

Same information presented at different times and in different ways

Building PerformancesRepeated rehearsal-performances

Learners gradually compile complex but integrated memory of each performance by adding new layers (verbal script, movements, expressions, voice intonation and inflection, voices and personalities, moods, and feelings)

Allow them to rehearse target contexts; follow that with contextualized practice with feedback; context elicits performance of target language and behaviors

Each subsequent return to performance focuses on higher level aspects of performance Layers of memory formed earlier—verbal script, movements, etc.—

require less and less conscious attention, freeing up mental faculties to attend to higher level phenomena

Cycle of Automatization Repeated rehearsal performances = forced over

practice of fundamental structures and skills in context

Learners develop routinized mastery of performance skillsMove them from conscious to subconscious levelAttentional faculties freed up to deal with the new

elementsThink of learning to play piano…you don’t have to

think about your fingers after hours of practice

Automatization/InternalizationTeacher helps learner to undo routine to achieve higher levels

of competenceRefocus learner attention on higher level aspects of each

performanceBring new aspects of performance into conscious awarenessAs students get words down, has them re-perform to correct

tones, intonation, interpretation of meanings, facial expressions, movements and so on

Trajectory of deepening complexity

Layered MemoriesA verbal script

Movements

Facial expressions

Variation of script within context

Mood, voice, intonation and inflection

Feelings/emotions

Application: PreparationFirst encounters

Contextual information (time, place, etc.)

Verbal script (grammatical structures, greetings vocabulary necessary to engage in performance; linguistic code)

Cultural script (sociocultural information necessary to perform appropriately; social roles, titles, etc.)

Application: Performance1st time-production (getting the words out)

2nd time-accurate production (getting them out right)Tones wrong, initials sh and x are the same, etc.

3rd time-adding body movements/body language

4th time-adding facial expressions

5th-variation in and of context

Feedback Loop Important reason American students do not move beyond

intermediate level…..lack of structured and informational feedback

Informational FeedbackStudent knows what problem is AND how to fix it对了！真棒！很好！不错！

Then student re-performs while teacher refocuses attention on different aspect of performance

Use narrative to tie everything togetherMemorable, interesting

Monitoring PerformanceAsk new learners to evaluate performances of their peers

Foster exocentric view of performance (view of performance from without)

Acutely aware of performance elements

Require them to remain engaged while others perform

Exposes to elements the would not encounter as quickly on their own

Enabling Learner to Take Over CorrectionMetareflection focuses learner attention making them

hyperaware of each aspect of their own performances as well as well as those of their peers Leads to innovative learner moves and the use of strategies

Fosters learner metacognitive review of performance and performance related knowledge as well as the ability to mentally multitask

Enables learner to eventually take over own correction monitoring….self correction

ApplicationTeachers often reluctant to make the

metacognitive portion of the training explicit

Avoid making students endure being critiqued in front of others (They can take it. Really. They actually want it!)

Separate metacognitive analysis from actual performance (grade sheet, etc.)

Shift to explanation of context rather than evaluation of performance (jiang ke, jiang bu wan)

Bungling PerformancesForce learner into discomfort zone:

Generate opportunities for learner to transfer what have learned to varying contexts

Try out what they had learned in multiple settings

Make them operate at outer edge of competence; must fail to move up

Challenging but doable

Learner takes risks in real world contexts where consequences lowered

Swimming; not floating, not sinking

Providing Chances for Success and Failure• If students are successful in Chinese, they have a sense of accomplishment,

motivation, and the memory of the experience that they can use once in China• usable cultural memory that prepares students for future performances

in the target culture

• Failure indicates to both teacher and students where problems lie– levels of “knowing”…1) Don’t know and don’t know you don’t know;

2) Know you don’t know; 3) Know and know you know; 4) Know and don’t know you know

– Learn from mistakes; gain feedback

• Intrinsic motivation initiated; much more useful than extrinsic motivation like grades and punishment

Constructing Context• Select contexts: most commonly occurring (IN CHINA!)

• Is this something that your students (not you) will encounter/need to know how to do?

• Simulated context; real communication• Specific but not too specific; applicable to other situations,

transfer of knowledge is possible• Context must be clear; can be complex but students must be

able to immediately know where we are, who we are, what time it is, and what we are doing

• Realistic context is important but even more important is the linguistic/cultural task within the context

Reverse Engineering• Build in five elements of a performance • Roles: Who are they? What is relationship? • Audience?• Time?• Location?• Script (What are they saying and what are

they doing with that saying?)• List all related language, select target

language/behaviors for lesson• Check to see if can recycle? Add new things？

Constructing Context• Select props (no props just to have props,

must have function, provide information)• Don’t provide too much information

• Pictures very clear (glass half empty)• Most important prop = Teacher • Context must have “multi-modal elements”;

speech, behavior, visual, aural • Set up room, physical classroom • Arrange sequence of events (time, difficulty,

naturalness, rhythm)

Embedding• Select target language based on context rather

than traditional method of explaining grammar points

• Prioritize most commonly occurring contexts, most important language to naturally participate in those contexts

• Can I elicit the use of the target language?• How can I get the students to use the target

language without telling them to use it (not natural context of use)

• Embed target dialog in larger context of story

Elicitation/Discovery LearningLet students figure it out on their own; don’t

feed them

Let students discover it on their own; don’t ruin it for them

Most effective technique is to elicit the context and student use rather than explanation or demonstration (行李 /谢谢。。。椅子 /请坐 )

Extrapolating/StretchingWait for students/give students room to

extrapolate (演义 /伸展 ) or expand upon target Encourage adding contextually and culturally

appropriate language and behaviorWhen one adds something, the next will do that

and add something else of his/her ownGradually complete the construction of the

contextBy the end of class, doing some pretty

sophisticated thingsComes AFTER culturally appropriate model is

down

Ni hao.Ni hao.

Lao Bai, ni hao.Xiao Wang, ni hao.

Zaijian.

Ni zuijin zenmeyang?

Ni ne?

Application1st-getting the words out2nd-getting them out accurately3rd-movements4th-facial expressions5th-manipulation-variation-change roles one of higher

status, change of status (ni/nin) + body language, eye contact, etc.; change age, name, time, location, etc.

6th-sophistication in manipulation

ApplicationDialog between two people

Change the role of one of the participants

After several successful performances of the fixed situation involving a man and a woman, we can change it to two males, change the age, social status, etc.

ApplicationGive learners experience assuming these

different roles

Chance to begin to empathize with the different types of roles available in the target culture

Need to see the different roles performed and need to try them each on for size

ApplicationAny element of the performance can be variedLocation can shiftTime can be alteredAudience can changeWe can also change some element of the verbal scriptIf the context involves buying things, prices and

numbers can be changed, etc.

ApplicationKey is that change should require adaptation of either the

verbal or behavioral script on the part of the learner

Challenging (nontrivial) but doable

Forces students to deal with a novel situation

Gives them opportunities to have successes and failures in the target culture

ApplicationPerformance in varied context also shows students their

growing mastery

What areas they have yet to master

Generates intrinsic motivation

Discovery learning (Gee)-learning on one’s own, more effective than hours of explanation