article+reflection


 *  Ural BOZOĞLU-1734615 **

** ROBERT VANDERPLANK ** ** AGAINST ** ** MOON, CHAPTER 3 ** My article which I have compared with the third chapter of Moon is called ’’ the Significance of First Language Development in Five to Nine Year Old Children for Second and Foreign Language Learning’’ published by Oxford University Press in 2008. The writer of this article is ROBERT VANDERPLANK. In this article, the writer mainly focuses on the language learning experiments and development of his daughter. So this article is a kind of experimental explanation of this topic. In the chapter of Moon, it is clearly stated that there may be mixed ability students in a classroom and activities should be organized according to these mixed abilities. According to many teachers, it is very difficult to organize classroom activities according to all mixed abilities but moon says there are some methods like group activities. However, this article is built upon only the language ability of the writer’s daughter. Thus, the ways of managing the mixed abilities are not mentioned in this article. One cannot have enough information about this point by reading this article. But the chapter of Moon will definitely be useful for the ones who want to be sufficient teachers on managing the mixed abilities. This article clearly states that both first and second languages are the key factors which develop during childhood period and this development is closely linked to the development of self and the school. This aspect of language development is mentioned in the chapter of Moon as classroom environment and the quality of the classroom activities because in order to manage mixed abilities and achieve second language development, teachers should respond to the needs of students, says Moon in his chapter 3. Furthermore, Robert VANDERPLANK says that instruction and feedback change only the superficial appearance of language performance and do not really affect this underlying systematic knowledge of the new language. This means that he doesn’t see instruction and feedback as effective ways of language performance. In contrast, Moon doesn’t agree with him in this point of view. Moon thinks that a teacher can manage mixed abilities which exist in his or her classroom by providing an environment in which peer-tutoring, group-tutoring and group-teaching can be used effectively. While students are doing peer-tutoring or the others, their peers or group members give feedback to each other. High performance of second language occurs by learning from their mistakes. So, according to Moon, feedback has an important role in second language learning. For example, a student who is a low-achiever can learn much from his or her classmates in pairs or groups because in a pair or group, the relations between students are more intimate. One point which is in parallel with the sayings of Moon in this article is that in the five to nine period which is middle childhood, children are in the process of gaining mastery over their language by learning through social interaction, developing language skills with explicit support from teachers, parents, and others and practicing their language skills. As understood from this part of the article, social interactions among students are important to gain their language skills perfectly. In addition, the writer of this article thinks that our models of second or foreign language learning need to include more explicit teaching and learning, more emphasis on memory, conscious effort, rehearsal and reflection, more emphasis on reading and writing, in addition to oral communication and interaction. Nearly all skills which are necessary to have a fluent speaking performance but one important aspect which Moon always emphasizes is again ‘’the ways of managing mixed abilities’’. This term is important because each student has different sets of thinking and processing the information in their minds. So an important factor comes to minds here. How can we respond these differences in abilities? Moon answers this question in his chapter 3 by saying that time consuming should be minimized, providing more attractive activities which gain their full attention and providing enough time to students for the activities. The last point on which both this article and Moon agree is that the importance of the five to nine period which is middle childhood is that language development is not just a matter of nurture in this period, also the environment of school and classroom obviously dominates most children’s lives. Both the writer of this article and Moon emphasize the importance of teaching second language to young learners in the period of childhood. In conclusion, during this period in which second language learning occurs for young learners, both this article and Moon suggested that there are critical developmental milestones which should be improved for young learners to make them adult language users later on. Without achieving these critical milestones, the full fluent performance of the young learners cannot be constituted completely. **Comment by Zeynep Ceyhan **  First of all, I like the chapter and reflection since it mentions about mixed ability. Morever, it mentions a real experience which I find very interesting. I totally agree with the idea that in order to manage mixed abilities and achieve second lnaguage development teachers should respond to the needs of students. Mixed ability classes include students having different needs, technics and interests. I agree with Moon that a teacher can manage mixed abilities which exist in his or her classroom by providing an environment in which peer-tutoring, group-tutoring and group-teaching can be used effectively. The points mentioned by writers are good for teachers. Thank for your reflection Ural :) It is beneficial and İ like it.