Can Communicative Principles Enhance Classical Language Acquisition?

Abstract

Is it feasible for nonfluent instructors to teach Biblical Hebrew by communicative principles? If it is feasible, will communicative instruction enhance postsecondary learning of a classical language? To begin answering these questions, two consultants representing second language acquisition (SLA) and technology‐assisted language learning led 8 Biblical Hebrew instructors and a graduate assistant through a 3‐year process involving study of SLA principles, development of Biblical Hebrew classroom manuals, training of teachers, and field‐testing of materials with more than 90 students in 7 institutions. More than two‐thirds of the students and all instructors found the communicative approach both effective and preferable to grammar‐translation and audiolingual methods customarily employed for learning classical languages.

Two Affective Variables and Language Learners’ Perceptions of Classroom Interaction

“…Yet how learners perceive interaction in this context may influence a teacher's ability to engage them in using the target language. Research has documented learners' perceptions of classroom interaction compared to teachers' perceptions of classroom interaction and in relation to the factors influencing these perceptions (e.g., Hawkey, 2006;Overland, Fields, & Noonan, 2011;Poulou, 2009;Zhou, 2015). For example, Poulou (2009) investigated 400 teachers' and 526 students' perceptions of classroom interactions and found that the participants' perceptions were consistent in terms of assigning importance to pro-social skills (e.g., having mutual respect and working together creatively).…”

“…It is evident that this consistency facilitates the teaching of such skills, which are essential to fostering meaningful classroom interactions. Overland, Fields, and Noonan (2011) investigated the perceptions of 6 Hebrew instructors and 63 students on the effect of a communicative approach to teaching, and found that both groups considered this approach to be more effective than and also preferable to traditional teaching methods (e.g., grammar translation and audio-lingual methods). However, differences between teachers' and students' perceptions are not uncommon and can pose problems for learning.…”

The Pedagogical Challenge

“…This textbook grew out of the Communicative Hebrew Learning and Teaching Project (Cohelet Project), a three-year collaboration funded by the Wabash Center. For a description of the Cohelet Project, please see Overland, Fields, and Noonan (2011).Two barriers deter students who contemplate learning biblical languages: impracticality (doubts of usefulness) and intimidation (fears related to language learning). Modern language instructors have successfully reduced these barriers, owing largely to an approach known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).CLT takes the following approach.…”

“…This textbook grew out of the Communicative Hebrew Learning and Teaching Project (Cohelet Project), a three-year collaboration funded by the Wabash Center. For a description of the Cohelet Project, please see Overland, Fields, and Noonan (2011).…”

Modelos pedagógicos destinados a la enseñanza de inglés: su aplicación a estudiantes universitarios para la obtención del nivel intermedio alto

“…Los resultados dan derecho al aprendizaje invertido como un enfoque apropiado para adquirir la gramática inglesa. De hecho, el enfoque comunicativo ha probado ser mucho más efectivo que los métodos anteriores, no solamente para aprender inglés, sino también para aprender otras lenguas, incluso las lenguas clásicas, en las que más de dos tercios de estudiantes y docentes encuentran que el enfoque comunicativo es efectivo y preferible a la traducción gramatical y los métodos audio-linguales (Overland et al, 2011).…”