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Learning about Learning:
Discovering Our Students' Strategies*
Carol Hosenfeld
__ - _ _ ~ _ _ _ _
ABSTRACT People daily perform tasks and talk about thein. What IS striking is t h a t , al- though students perform many tasks in t h e dasroom, they are rarely asked sys te tna t ica l - ly to describe in detail how they proceed in perlorrning them. The author proposes a self- hservation and self-report p rocedure t h a t will ass t teachers in discovering their s tudents ' learning strategies and, as a by-product, may
Carol Hosenfeld (Ph.D. candida te , The Ohio State University) is Assistant Professor, De- prtrnent of Instruction, S t a t e University of New York at Buffalo.
ONCE UPON A TIME a foreign language
teacher asked a television repa i rman, "How
&you figure out what's wrong with a TV
set?'
Screwdriver in hand, t h e repa i rman ex-
plained, "First, you have to turn on t h e set
andsee how it acts. Seeing i t l e t s m e guess thecircuit that contains t h e problem. Then I
think about what par t icu lar pa r t might b e
defective--'cuz if it's one t h a t has to be
changed in the shop, there 's no reason to pull
theset apart here. If I think I c a n f ix i t here,
'This is a revised and expanded version of a paper given a t the 1973 ACTFL Convent ion in Boston and a t t h e 1974 Joint ACTFLIHATFIAATSP Convent lon in Denver . Spe- cial thanks are due Gllber t A. Ja rv l s who con t r ibu ted greatly to this research project .
g e n e r a t e knowledge about t h e second language learning process. Transcriptions of segmen t s of in te rv iews with four s tuden t s i l lus t ra te t h e questioning procedure and principles involved in e l ic i t ing students ' s t ra teg ies . Analyses of in te rv iew segments underscore a lack of con- g ruence be tween what s tuden t s a r e thought t o b e doing and what they ac tua l ly a r e doing.
.-
I look at t h e set to see if I have to t a k e t h e
back cover off, or t h e bot tom, o r a panel
somewhere. There's no reason to pull more
a p a r t than necessary ..." His description of how h e ope ra t e s contin-
ues--and with g r e a t detail . Moreover, wha t
h e describes is no t appa ren t to t h e set owner
who s i t s and observes. (The owner would
probably descr ibe t h e process only in genera l t e r m s of 'taking i t apa r t ' a n d whether or no t
t h e task is completed.) In t h e daily l ives of everyone similar
s i tua t ions occur: a person per forms a task
and ta lks about i t . Most of us would have
l i t t l e difficulty describing how we per form
most tasks--be i t cooking a cassero le , making a long-distance call , or s t a r t i ng a car. Ye t ,
what is striking is t h a t we ra re ly examine
descriptions of t h e teaching-learning process. S tudents per form many tasks in t h e class-
room; however, they a r e never asked sys tem-
117
118
a t ica l ly t o describe in de ta i l how t hey pro-
ceed in performing them. Teache r s focus
upon t h e results ( the products) but ra re ly
upon t h e learning s t r a t eg ie s ( t h e process) t h a t
s tudents use t o a r r ive at t h e results. Al-
Teachers focus upon t h e
results ( t h e products) but
rarely upon t h e learning
s t r a t eg ie s ( the process) t h a t
s tuden t s use to a r r ive
a t t h e results.
though more learning probably occurs in t h e
presence of t eache r s than in t h e presence of
any o the r single group, t eache r s (and psychol-
ogists)--the people who a r e principally con-
cerned with learning--spend compara t ive ly
l i t t l e t i m e talking to learners about the i r
learning.
Psychologist George Miller and colleagues
in a similar vein wondered a decade ago
whether or no t psychologists were looking at
all dimensions of learning. They descr ibe t h e
behavior of a man who has just rnemorized his
f i r s t l ist of nonsense syllables. He has a
g r e a t deal to say, and h e is eage r to say it. In
fact, they no te t h a t t h e only pa r t of t h e task
with appeal and in t e re s t for t h e subjec ts is
t h e discovery and use of a technique for
solving t h e problem.
The subjec t will say t h a t h e was t ry ing t o
connec t t h e carefu l ly chosen nonsense and
make sense of it.
Now, t h a t f i r s t nonsense syllable 'BOF'was just plain remembered the way i t came, but t h e second one reminded him of 'XAJerate, ' t h e third one turned in to 'MIBery,' and t h e four th
turnedfrom 'ZYQ' to 'not sick.' So he hadak..: of sentence, "BOF exaggera tes his miseryk cause he is not sick," instead of the crypt.) BOF, X A J , MIB, ZYQ, and h e could imagint hypochondriac named 'BOF' who continuz. complained about his health. That MIBer,. misery association wasn't too good, hoaeit:. because for two or t h ree tr ials through thelir he remembered 'MIS' instead of 'MIB.' Butit f inally worked i t ou t by thinking of 'mibery'ds<, new word meaning 'false misery.' The fleetiri thought t ha t 'ZYQ' was a s t range way tospl ' s ick'was just amusing enough t o f i x thefour' syllable ... And so the subject chatters or,
spinning out long descriptions of the varioui ideas, images, associations, and connectiori t h a t occurred t o him during t h e 1earninR. IS,: nothing but cha t t e r? Or is This the sort if d$ t h a t psychologists ought t o study most cam fully? (emphasis added) 1
I t is plausible t h a t th i s so r t of data-as11
ex is t s in t h e fore ign language classroorn-i\
t h e so r t t h a t t eache r s ought to study.
The purpose of this a r t i c l e is t o proposea p rocedure t h a t will enab le t eache r s t o discov.
e r the i r s tudents ' l earn icg s t r a t eg ie s and, asi
by-product, gene ra t e knowledge about the
second language learning process. The pic,
posed self -observation and self-report proce.
dure, although cautiously qualified, will bt
unacceptab le to re sea rche r s who prefer othei
modes of inquiry and who consider the roll
h e re ascr ibed to t h e classroom teacher a
unsound or unrealistic. Nevertheless, as thi
accompanying d a t a do seem to indicate, thi
approach yields valuable information tha
c anno t b e acqui red in any o the r way.
I . G e o r g e A. M i l l e r , E u g e n e C a l a n t e r , a n d K a r l H. Pribam P lans a n d t h e S t r u c t u r e of Behav io r (New York: Henry Holt 1960), pp. 126-27.
3 3 4 3 3 3 3 1 . . * 9 . .
.... c r e a t e a society in which m e n
could enjoy the f ru i t s of
their neighbor (labor) without
interference.
119
Kitionale
Foreign language educa tors may well h a v e a igue opportunity for learning how the i r s tu-
kts go about learning a language: s t u d e n t s
Iyuently feel that foreign language learn ing
iffcrsfrom that of o ther subjec t a r e a s t h e y h a v e
slcountered, and, for this reason, t h e y m a y be noreconscious of their learning s t ra teg ies .
The history of inquiry i n t o learn ing pro-
vides another justification f o r explor ing addi-
tional ways of examining t h e l e a r n i n g proc-
KI. Teachers of t e n express d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n
vith the pace a t which n e w ins ights a r e
generated by psychologists. This d i s c r e p a n c y
ktween what is e x p e c t e d a n d w h a t is a c c o m -
plished is often explained by dis t inguishing
between laboratory learn ing t a s k s a n d c lass -
room subject-matter learn ing tasks . Indeed,
psychologists themselves h a v e s t a t e d t h a t
llttle help in the solut ion of e d u c a t i o n a l
problems should be e x p e c t e d f r o m t h e behav-
ioral sciences.
Much inquiry has a l so f o c u s e d upon t h e
input-output aspects of learn ing w i t h l i t t l e
attention to the in te rvening processes--be- cause they a re less a c c e s s i b l e to s c i e n t i f i c
rigor. The proposed p r o c e d u r e a t t e m p t s t o
illuminate these processes by a m e a n s o t h e r
than inference f rom input -output d a t a .
An additional c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of p a s t inquiry
is a long-standing c o n c e r n for g e n e r a l l a w s of
learning, rather t h a n f o r t h e d i s t i n c t i v e f e a -
tures and ways of l e a r n i n g of individuals.
Given a cer ta in s t imulus condi t ion , w h a t
happened on t h e a v e r a g e ? Individual d i f f e r -
ences were regarded as a n u i s a n c e in t h i s
mode of inquiry. T h e g r e a t e r t h e individual
variation in a phenomenon, t h e l e s s a c c u r a t e
would be general izat ions r e g a r d i n g i t s na ture .
Variations become t h e m a r g i n of e r r o r to b e
expected in the g e n e r a l laws. T h e proposed
procedures (like today 's cur r icu la) f o c u s upon
individual d i f f e r e n c e s b u t d o n o t p r e c l u d e t h e
g e n e r a t i o n of ins ights i n t o g e n e r a l laws.
C h a n g e s in t h e c u r r i c u l u m a r e a f ina l r e a s o n
f o r proposing th i s p r o c e d u r e . Within a very
s h o r t per iod of t i m e , a t t e n t i o n to groups of
s t u d e n t s h a s b e e n s u p p l a n t e d by g r e a t e r a t t e n -
t i o n to individuals. Our r h e t o r i c now s a y s t h a t
t h e l e a r n e r i s c e n t r a l , a n d in m a n y c lass roorns
t e a c h e r c o n t a c t w i t h s t u d e n t s r e s e m b l e s less
The lesson f o r all of us as classroom teachers is
t h a t s tudents a r e of ten
doing something very d i f fe ren t from what we assume t h a t
they a r e doing.
speaking to a g r o u p t h a n i t d o e s having s t u d e n t s
s i t t i n g o n e by o n e on t h e t e a c h e r ' s knee .
T h e s e f a c t o r s s e e m to c o n v e r g e to f o r m a
r a t i o n a l e f o r t e a c h e r s ta lk ing t o s t u d e n t s a b o u t
how t h e y learn. T h e l e a r n e r is n o t p e r c e i v e d
h e r e in t e r m s of a symbol ic m o d e l b u t r a t h e r as a n e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y complex , thinking, f e e l i n g
p e r s o n who--most signif i can t ly- -can ta lk . Stu-
d e n t s se l f -observa t ion a n d se l f - repor t ing be-
c o m e , t h e n , a n a v e n u e f o r inquiry i n t o o n e
d imens ion of t h e l e a r n i n g process .
P r o c e d u r e s
T h e proposed inqui ry p r o c e d u r e r e s e m b l e s in
c e r t a i n r e s p e c t s t h a t of t h e case s t u d y b e c a u s e
i t involves a r a t h e r i n t e n s i v e s t u d y of a p a r t i c -
u la r d imens ion of a group of individuals. T h e
r e s e a r c h too l t h a t s e e m s m o s t a p p l i c a b l e is t h e
u n s t r u c t u r e d in te rv iew. E a c h ques t ion a s k e d
by t h e i n t e r v i e w e r is d e t e r m i n e d to a cons ider -
a b l e e x t e n t by t h e learner ' s r e s p o n s e to t h e
120
p r e c e d i n g quest ion. The i n t e r v i e w e r m u s t lis-
t e n closely a n d use i n f o r m a t i o n g iven by t h e
l e a r n e r to p r o b e s t i l l f u r t h e r a n d t o e l i c i t new
i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t will e v e n t u a l l y c l a r i f y t h e
learner ' s s t r a t e g y wi th a given task. Q u e s t i o n s
should be worded so as to m i n i m i z e t h e possi-
bili ty of a c c i d e n t a l l y f o r c i n g t h e s t u d e n t ' s
s t a t e m e n t i n t o a p a r t i c u l a r d i r e c t i o n or t o w a r d
a p a r t i c u l a r a n s w e r t h a t t h e i n t e r v i e w e r m a y
h a v e in mind.
A f t e r pre l iminary i n t e r v i e w i n g of c o l l e g e
s t u d e n t s of Spanish to d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e
fore ign l a n g u a g e l e a r n e r could o b s e r v e a n d de-
s c r i b e his l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g i e s a n d to d e v e l o p
i n t e r v i e w e r skill, a second-year F r e n c h c l a s s in
a junior high school in c e n t r a l Ohio w a s s e l e c t -
ed. The i n t e r v i e w e r observed t h e c l a s s f o r
severa l d a y s in o r d e r t o unders tand t h e kinds of
t a s k s t h a t w e r e p e r f o r m e d in th i s p a r t i c u l a r
c lassrooin. While m a n y d i f f e r e n t a c t i v i t i e s
took p lace , t h r e e kinds of a c t i v i t i e s s e e m e d
m o s t f r e q u e n t : t h e l e a r n i n g of vocabulary a n d
phrdses with t h e a id of visuals , quest ion-and-
a n s w e r p r a c t i c e involving t h e manipula t ion of
newly l e a r n e d g r a m m a t i c a l p a t t e r n s , a n d t h e
o r a l and w r i t t e n c o m p l e t i o n of g r a m m a r e x e r -
c i s e s found in t h e t e x t b o o k , F e n e t r e s Sur La
F r a n c e , a n d on handouts p r e p a r e d by t h e t e a c h -
e r . These l a s t g r a m m a r e x e r c i s e s w e r e s e l e c t -
e d b e c a u s e of t h e c o n c r e t e n e s s a n d tangib i l i ty
of t h e w r i t t e n s t imuli .
Each of t h e twenty- f ive s t u d e n t i n t e r v i e w s
began with a brief t ra in ing per iod in t h e t e c h -
n ique of ' th inking aloud. ' This c o n s i s t e d of t h e
s t u d e n t ' s r e p o r t i n g his t h o u g h t s as h e so lved a
s e r i e s of s i m p l e m a t h e m a t i c s a n d ranking prob-
3 7 3 3 3 3 3 . . . . . . . In pre-Revolut ionary Russia
immorta l i ty ( immora l i ty )
had been high.
lerns. When t h e i n t e r v i e w e r judged thatastr
d e n t w a s a d e q u a t e l y descr ib ing his strategia!
h e w a s p r e s e n t e d a s e r i e s of foreign languagt
t a s k s a n d d a t a w e r e secured .
Fol lowing a r e t r a n s c r i p t i o n s of segrnentsi
i n t e r v i e w s w i t h f o u r s tudents . Each segrner;.
i l l u s t r a t e s t h e ques t ion ing procedure develog
e d dur ing t h i s s t u d y a n d exempl i f ies an impw
t a n t pr inc ip le involved in e l ic i t ing studeni!
s t r a t e g i e s .
I n t e r v i e w E x c e r p t I
T h e t e x t b o o k e x e r c i s e involved choosingthc
a p p r o p r i a t e prepos i t ion w i t h p l a c e names. Tht
t e a c h e r used t h e e x e r c i s e f o r ' reading grammar prac t ice . ' I t e m s w e r e of t h e following type.
(1) Nous somme? ........ Amerique . ( 2 ) Monsieur Abele a b i t e ........ Bruxelles
........ Belgique. 9 In te rv iewer :
Jul ie :
In te rv iewer :
Jul ie :
Would you ' th ink aloud' for mc n o w a s you go through thisexer. c i s e ?
Well ... When I d o this exercise1 don't pay any a t t e n t i o n to tho f i r s t p a r t of t h e sentenceatall ... I j u s t c h e c k to s e e if it'sa c o u n t r y o r a c i t y a n d if it's mas. c u l i n e o r f e m i n i n e .
O k a y , l e t ' s d o s e v e r a l of these, A t n u m b e r one , t e l l me what t h o u g h t s go through your mind as you d e c i d e upon a n answer.
Well ... I l o o k a t Am6rique;it'sa c o u n t r y , a n d i t e n d s in 'e'soit's - e n Amer ique . I look at Bruxel les ; it 's a ... c i t y , I guess, so i t ' s 3 Bruxel les ; Belgiqueisa c o u n t r y ; i t e n d s in 'e' so it'sen Belgique ... R e a l l y , all I do: c h e c k down t h e countr ies and c i t i e s a n d p u t in en, $, or s... I don ' t look at t h e r e s t of thesen- t e n c e at all.
2. Y v o n e L e n a r d , F e n e t r e s s u r la F r a n c e ( N e w York: Harp. e r dnd Kow, 1970), p. 125.
121
'And I y s 1 s
ikr first u t te rance Julie is re t rospec t ing ;
irrgivinga summary of her learning s t r a t e -
\by remembering t h e opera t ions she used I kihe completed this exerc ise in t h e past .
!purpose, therefore, of t h e interviewer 's
seis to prompt Julie t o in t rospec t , t h a t
rtoreveal her thoughts and fee l ings as she i.
the task.
\retrospective description is useful and of-
nreveals a great deal of informat ion in a f e w
ha Usually a general s t a t e m e n t , i t encom- 2; esmany particular ins tances of a learning
bitegy. Alone, however, it is insufficient.
C e a retrospective accoun t is mere ly a re-
nstructed outline of a s t r a t egy , i t may not
tvealastudent's cornplete pa t t e rn of spec i f ic
hght steps; it may not revea l t hese s t eps in
heorder in which they occur ; and, mos t impor-
tlotly,it may not correspond with wha t t h e
itudent actually does while h e is performing a
I&.
In response t o the interviewer 's prompting,
Mie begins introspecting in t h e l a s t para-
graph, and then qui te suddenly she re t ro-
yctsagain in the final two sentences . Since
Ihe retrospection agrees with t h e introspec-
( j a n d since there is no reason to suspect
Julie would change s t r a t egy in t h e middle of
tkexercise, there appears t o b e no need fo r
be interviewer t o prompt Julie to in t rospec t
again. It is usually advisable--especially
during a teacher's initial interviewing of
itudents--to elicit at leas t one in t rospec t ive
passage for each task because of possible
discrepancies between re t rospec t ion and in-
trospect ion.
Thus, a useful principle fo r t h e t eache r who
is talking to students about their learning
strategies is to distinguish be tween a re t ro-
spective and an introspective description.
At first glance Julie's s t r a t e g y appea r s qu i t e
innocent. I t s eems t h a t she is doing just what
one would expec t or guess t h a t she would b e
doing. But if one looks a l i t t l e m o r e closely and
r emembers t h e teacher ' s goals in this ac t iv i ty-
-if one rea l izes t h a t by means of th i s exerc ise
t h e t eache r is intending t h e deve lopment of
reading skill as well as p rac t i ce in grammar- -
t hen we must view these opera t ions less kindly.
The t eache r views t h e ac t iv i ty as t h e reading
of severa l comple t e sentences. But, none of
t h e sen tences has been read. The s tuden t has
looked ins tead at t h e to t a l exerc ise as a prob-
lem to b e solved and sought t h e s imples t solu-
t ion t o t h a t one problem. In this exerc ise and in
t h e exerc ises t h a t follow, a n unspoken princi-
p le appea r s to d i rec t many students ' problem-
solving behaviors. They seem to ask them-
selves: "What is t h e minimum amoun t of infor-
ma t ion needed to comple t e this task?" Julie
does no t r ead t h e sen tences because i t is not
necessary to r ead them in order to so lve t h e
_____-
When I do th is e x e r c i s e I
don't pay any a t t e n t i o n
t o t h e f i r s t p a r t of t h e
s e n t e n c e a t all... . I j u s t c h e c k t o see if i t ' s a
coun t ry or a c i t y a n d if i t ' s
mascu l ine or feminine .
problem. She processes only t h e informat ion in
t h e sen tences t h a t is essent ia l t o de termining
t h e preposition.
Perhaps what is mos t striking h e r e is t h a t
many of us would not view an exe rc i se l ike th i s
as a problem-solving task , which is precisely
w h a t t h e s tuden t has m a d e it. W e think ce r t a in
things are taking place, bu t t h e s tuden t s te l l us
t h a t o ther things a r e tak ing place.
122
I n t e r v i e w Excerpt 2
The t e a c h e r - m a d e e x e r c i s e r e q u i r e d t h e s t u -
d e n t to r e p l a c e a noun d i r e c t o b j e c t w i t h a
pronoun a n d to m a k e t h e p a s t p a r t i c i p l e a g r e e
with t h e p r e c e d i n g d i r e c t o b j e c t . In c o n t r a s t t o
t h e f i r s t e x e r c i s e , w h e r e i t was possible to
a r r i v e at a solut ion wi thout looking at t h e be-
ginning of t h e s e n t e n c e , t h e s t u d e n t h e r e i n t e r -
acts wi th e l e m e n t s in t h e e n t i r e s e n t e n c e .
Most of us would a s s u m e t h a t at s o m e poin t t h e
s e n t e n c e s a r e r e a d f o r meaning . I t e m s w e r e of
t h e fol lowing type .
(1) 11s o n t perdu l e s b k r e t s ver t s . (2) El le a vendy l a maison. (3) J'ai r e g a r d e l e s b e a u x t a b l e a u x .
In te rv iewer :
Jul ie :
In te rv iewer :
Julie:
In te rv iewer :
Julie:
Let ' s go on t o t h e n e x t e x e r - cise. Would you t e l l m e w h a t you a r e thinking as you c o m - p l e t e number one.
Well ... I !ook at t h e under l ined p a r t f i r s t ..., put t h e & in f r o n t of t h e v e r b a n d a d d 's' to perdu.
Why did you a d d 's' a n d n o t 'es?'
Because verts is mascul ine .
Did you look at b & e t s in t h e under l ined p a r t ?
No. You jus t n e e d & a n d v e r t s ..... On n u m b e r t w o I look at la, p u t 1' in f r o n t of 5 a n d a d d 'el to e. O n t h r e e ... I look a t les; b e a u x is mascul ine ; o t h e r w i s e , it would b e belle, a n d I p u t 1 s in f r o n t of t h e v e r b ... a n d a d d '5' to r e g a r d & I don ' t pay any a t t e n t i o n to w h a t t h e s e n t e n c e is say ing ... I jus t look f o r t h e k, l a , les , p u t it in f r o n t of t h e verb , a n d if it's k, I look at t h e a d j e c - t i v e a l i t t l e bit.
__
Analysis
When J u l i e s a y s ini t ia l ly , "I look at t h e un-
der l ined p a r t f i r s t , " i t is u n c l e a r w h a t s h e
m e a n s by t h e words 'look at.' D o e s s h e r e a d t h e
words f o r t h e i r m e a n i n g or d o e s she meib
g l a n c e a t c e r t a i n f e a t u r e s of t h e words? Ifth.i,
s e c o n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is c o r r e c t , then whi
s p e c i f i c f e a t u r e s d o e s s h e p r o c e s s in arrivingr
a n a n s w e r ? D o e s Ju l ie at s o m e point readthi
e n t i r e s e n t e n c e f o r meaning? The purposei
t h e in te rv iewer ' s ques t ion ing is t o prompt Julir
to r e v e a l which of t h e s e opera t ions sheper. f o r m s whi le c o m p l e t i n g t h i s task .
C o n c e r n i n g t h e k inds of ques t ions that w c a n a s k to c l a r i f y a l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g y , thein. t e r v i e w s r e v e a l e d t h a t i n d i r e c t questions wiU e l i c i t a m o r e c r e d i b l e d e s c r i p t i o n of a stratel)
f rorn a l e a r n e r t h a n d i r e c t ques t ions , especiall)
in t h e i n i t i a l stages of a n in te rv iew. Rathw
t h a n a s k J u l i e if s h e h a d r e a d t h e wordsfw
m e a n i n g in t h e under l ined p a r t ( a questionthat
m i g h t a c c i d e n t a l l y f o r c e h e r a n s w e r in a par.
t i c u l a r d i r e c t i o n ) t h e i n t e r v i e w e r through i
s e r i e s of i n d i r e c t q u e s t i o n s s lowly gathers the
i n f o r m a t i o n n e e d e d to a n s w e r t h i s question. By
a sk ing J u l i e why s h e h a d a d d e d 's' t o @
i n s t e a d of 'es,' t h e i n t e r v i e w e r hoped t o discov.
e r w h e t h e r or n o t s h e h a d looked a t *. Jul ie 's a n s w e r to t h i s ques t ion , coupled with
i n f o r m a t i o n she h a d provided e a r l i e r about k-s,
i n d i c a t e d t h a t s h e h a d l o o k e d at t h e first and l a s t words in t h e under l ined sec t ion .
With Jul ie 's n e g a t i v e a n s w e r to t h e question
a b o u t b&ets , t h e i n t e r v i e w e r knew that she h a d n o t r e a d t h e under l ined w o r d s f o r meaning
This s low, purposefu l g a t h e r i n g of information
o f t e n i n d u c e s t h e l e a r n e r to f o c u s h is attention
on his l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g y a n d to prof fer in his own words t h e descr ip t ion t h a t t h e interviewer
is seeking. In a f i n a l r e t r o s p e c t i v e passage
J u l i e d e s c r i b e s in h e r own w o r d s h e r strategy
w i t h t h i s exerc ise . Thus, a s e c o n d useful prin- c i p l e f o r t h e t e a c h e r who is ta lk ing to students
a b o u t t h e i r s t r a t e g i e s is to a d o p t a n indirect or c i r c u i t o u s a p p r o a c h in questioning--especially
d u r i n g t h e e a r l y stages of a conversa t ion witha
s t u d e n t .
123
Speaking to students about the i r s t ra teg ies ,
titherin a systematic manner or simply when a student comes to ask a question on a n inciden-
tal basis, can be an ex t remely useful t eache r
dovelopment tool. W e as foreign language
teachers have made many assumptions about
vhat students are doing. W e assume t h a t in a roiding-grammar drill s tudents a r e a t tending
lothemeaning because if we ask fo r t h e mean-
inithey can tell us. But, in all of these exer -
cises, this student was not a t tending to t h e
meaning and could clearly te l l us how she was
notand,moreover, tha t i t was not really neces-
aryfor the task. The lesson fo r all of us as dassroom teachers is t h a t s tudents a r e of t e n
doingsomething very d i f fe ren t f rom what we
asume that they a re doing.
Interview Excerp t 3
In the following ac t iv i ty t h e s tuden t task is
tochoose either the verb 'to come ' (venir) or
theverb'to think'(croir-e) and to inser t t h e verb initscorrect form in to t h e sen tence slots. This
pticular exercise was chosen because i t was
hypothesized that Julie would have to r ead t h e
sentences for meaning to per form t h e opera-
tions successfully. I tems were of t h e following
type.
( I ) Demain, je ........ 5 I'6cole pour etudier. (2) Ce garson ........q u'il est plus intell igent
(3) Est-ce que tu ........ que l e s Franqais boi- que toi.
vent beaucoup de vin?
Interviewer: 'Think aloud' f o r m e again as you comple t e this exercise.
Well ...\a 1'6cole is a place, so it's v a ... On number two. ..I see gd-, so it's croire. On num- ber three. ..
Julie:
Interviewer: Let's go back to number one. After you have decided t h e verb is a, d o you go through a ser ies of thought
S tuden t s s e e m t o a s k
themse lves , "What is t h e
minimum a m o u n t of i n fo rma t ion
needed to c o m p l e t e th i s task?"
Julie:
Interviewer:
Julie:
Interviewer:
Julie:
Interviewer:
Julie:
s t eps be fo re you a r r ive at t h e answer?
Well...Demain is fu ture , a n d with jg it's viendrai.
Okay, let 's cont inue with num- ber two.
I look at t h e qg' and I know t h a t t h e verb is c ro i r e because we don't say 'come that. ' Then I look at ex, and it 's in t h e pres- e n t tense. With ce garcon it 's croit with a 't.' On n'uGber t h r e e I see E, so t h e verb is c ro i re ; boivent is p resent , and with 2, i t 's crois with a n Is.'
What do you look at f i r s t ?
The words a f t e r t h e dash. If it's a p l ace t h e verb is v s , if there 's a w i t ' s e. Then you get t h e t ense and t h e pro- noun or subject.
On number t h r e e did you look a t beaucoup d e vin?
No...You don't need t h a t p a r t of t h e sen tence at all.
Analysis
Initially, Ju l ie states t h e verbs she has cho-
sen in the i r in f in i t ive forms. She would no
doubt have comple t ed t h e exerc ise in th i s man-
ne r revea l ing only t h e thought s t eps t h a t pre-
ceded her se lec t ion of t h e infinitives. The
in te rv iewer was so s t ruck by t h e reve la t ion
t h a t Julie was accu ra t e ly se lec t ing t h e verbs
by glancing a t o n e o r t w o words in e a c h sen-
t e n c e t h a t t h e init ial impulse was to avoid
124
in te r rupt ing t h e i n t e r e s t i n g d isc losure a n d to
al low her to c o n t i n u e t h e e x e r c i s e in t h i s way.
Julie, however , w a s only p a r t i a l l y descr ib ing
her s t r a t e g y w i t h th i s exerc ise .
Had t h e i n t e r v i e w e r b e e n s a t i s f i e d w i t h h e r
i n c o m p l e t e a c c o u n t , s e v e r a l i m p o r t a n t ques-
t ions would h a v e r e m a i n e d unanswered: W h a t
w e r e t h e i n t e r v e n i n g t h o u g h t s t e p s b e t w e e n
Julie's s e l e c t i o n of t h e inf in i t ives a n d t h e f i n a l
answers? Did t h e o p e r a t i o n s i n c l u d e r e a d i n g
t h e s e n t e n c e s f o r meaning? By br inging Jul ie 's
a t t e n t i o n back to number o n e a n d e l i c i t i n g t h e
needed informat ion , b y t h e e n d of t h e conver -
sa t ion t h e i n t e r v i e w e r has o b t a i n e d a m o r e
c o m p l e t e descr ip t ion of Julie's s t r a t e g y w i t h
this task. Thus, a t h i r d pr inc ip le f o r t h e t e a c h -
e r who is in te rv iewing s t u d e n t s is t o dis t inguish
be tween a par t ia l a n d a c o m p l e t e descr ip t ion
of a learning s t r a t e g y .
The s y s t e m a t i c a p p r o a c h of t h i s s t u d e n t ' s
s t r a t e g y is n o t e w o r t h y , as a r e the c l a r i t y a n d
precision with which s h e d e s c r i b e s it. T e a c h e r s
who have n e i t h e r observed the i r own s t r a t e g i e s
nor ta lked to s t u d e n t s a b o u t t h e i r s m a y at f i r s t
think t h a t learn ing to ' ta lk a loud ' r e q u i r e s a g r e a t deal of prac t ice . O n t h e c o n t r a r y , i t
must b e r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h e only t ra in ing
these s t u d e n t s h a d in observing a n d descr ib ing
the i r s t r a t e g i e s was 'thinking aloud ' w i t h a f e w
training tasks . Not o n e of t h e s t u d e n t s i n t e r -
viewed said: "I can ' t do this," "I don ' t know
what you want m e to do," "This is too hard."
Their a t t i t u d e t o w a r d th i s a c t i v i t y is p e r h a p s
b e s t s u m m e d up by o n e s tudent ' s c o m m e n t a f -
t e r she had c o m p l e t e d t h e t ra in ing tasks . S h e
sa id with a f e e l i n g of c o m p l e t e comprehens ion:
"Oh, you jus t w a n t m e to th ink o u t loudinsted
of in m y head.'' T h a t w a s prec ise ly what&
w a s be ing a s k e d to do.
I n t e r v i e w E x c e r p t 4
T h e fo l lowing t a s k r e q u i r e d t h e student to
r e p l a c e a d i r e c t o r i n d i r e c t o b j e c t with a pi*
noun a n d to p l a c e it c o r r e c t l y in t h e sentence.
Fol lowing a r e t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s and several
i t e m s .
L e s r6gimes d i r e c t e s et indirectes . Rem, p l a c e z l e s m o t s sou1igni.s p a r un pronom.
(1) L e l ion est d a n s sa c a g e . (2) Est -ce q u e rnon sac est s u r l a table?
In te rv iewer :
FranGois:
In te rv iewer :
Franqois :
In te rv iewer :
Fran:ois:
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 . . . . . . . ... t h e preda tor (c red i tor )
m u s t n o t b e deprived of his rights.
In te rv iewer :
Let ' s c o n t i n u e with the nexi exerc ise .
Well f i r s t . .. (chuckle) (chuck. l e ) 1...I d o t h i s a lot. 1 lookar t h e e x e r c i s e f i r s t , and I don! r e a d t h e direct ions. You know, l o t s of t i m e s there'sa b u n c h of e x e r c i s e s and the di. r e c t i o n s c h a n g e ... Well, I jump r i g h t i n t o t h e e x e r c i s e toseeil I c a n t e l l w h a t you ' re supposed to d o w i t h o u t reading thein. s t r u c t i o n s .
How d o you know what toda w i t h n u m b e r o n e ?
When t h e r e ' s a n underlined p a r t you know t h e y want you to t a k e it o u t a n d replace it w i t h a word. In number one t h e f i r s t word i s +, so you r e p l a c e i t w i t h y, a n d then you usual ly p u t i t in f r o n t of the v e r b so t h e a n s w e r is y ez .
D o e s i t a l w a y s work f o r you ... doing i t t h i s way?
L o t s of t i m e s i t does. Likeon t h e f i r s t exerc ise . . . I didn't r e a d t h e d i r e c t i o n s there el- t h e r . ( H e looks at t h e direc- t i o n s f o r t h e exercises . ) I don't know w h a t r 6 g i m e s a r e , any- way.
Could t h e r e a s o n why you don't r e a d t h e d i r e c t i o n s b e tha t you can ' t u n d e r s t a n d t h e m ?
125
Francois: ,
lnterviewer:
Fran$ois:
Interviewer:
Fransois:
Oh ... Could be. I've j u s t g o t t e n i n t o t h e h a b i t of skipping t h e m , a n d i t doesn ' t s e e m to m a t t e r m o s t of t h e t ime. I t goes m u c h f a s t e r if you don't r e a d t h e m .
A r e t h e y h a r d to f i g u r e o u t ?
Yea. You know w h a t bugs m e m o r e t h a n d i r e c t i o n s ?
No. W h a t ?
When you know you've got t h e e x e r c i s e a l l f i g u r e d out, a n d t h e y g i v e you t w e n t y m o r e to do. (This p a r t i c u l a r t e a c h e r - m a d e e x e r c i s e w a s t w e n t y - f i v e i t e m s long.)
Analysis
After the brief in t rospec t ive passage in which
FranFois describes his s t r a t e g y wi th t h e f i r s t sen- tence, the interviewer pursues t h e top ic of t h e directions that Francois ini t ia tes . R a t h e r t h a n
attempt to clarify Francois ' s t r a t e g y with this task, the interviewer al lows him to l e a d t h e con- versation and simply fol lows in w h a t e v e r direc-
tion he appears to want to go. I t would a lways be
possible to return to t h e second s e n t e n c e , bu t if
theinterviewer did not a t t e n d to t h e informat ion
that FranFois was disclosing a t t h a t m o m e n t it
mightbelost forever, Thus, a f o u r t h pr inciple for
the teacher talking to s t u d e n t s a b o u t the i r l earn-
ing strategies is to follow t h e learner w h e r e h e
leads you.
It is at moments l ike t h i s t h a t t h e c l a s s r o o m
teacher gains a g r e a t d e a l of i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t
the student and a b o u t t h e t e a c h e r ' s own c lass -
room practices. By ta lk ing to s t u d e n t s in t h i s
way, a teacher would h a v e d i s c o v e r e d t h a t t h e
instructions were o f t e n t o o d i f f i c u l t f o r m a n y
students and t h a t t h e m a n y s e n t e n c e s a d d e d to the exercises w e r e n o t providing e x t r a prac-
tice--as had been intended--but w e r e g e n e r a -
ting negative a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d learn ing . P e r -
h a p s e v e n m o r e s i g n i f i c a n t t h a n t h e i n f o r m a -
t i o n o b t a i n e d is t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h i s personal
e n c o u n t e r in which t e a c h e r a n d s t u d e n t r o l e s
s e e m t o m e l t i n t o t w o people c o m m u n i c a t i n g
d i r e c t 1 y.
O n c e while t h e i n t e r v i e w e r w a s ta lk ing to
t h e c l a s s r o o m t e a c h e r a b o u t s e v e r a l s t u d e n t s ,
t h e c l a s s r o o m t e a c h e r r e m a r k e d : "You know,
I've had t h e s e k ids f o r a l m o s t t w o y e a r s ; you've
s p o k e n to t h e m f o r only t w e n t y m i n u t e s a n d
know t h e m b e t t e r t h a n I do." .Although t h e
c o m m e n t was s u r e l y a n e x a g g e r a t i o n , it did
r e v e a l a n i n t e r e s t i n g p e r c e p t i o n o n t h e p a r t of
t h e t e a c h e r (who by any c r i t e r i o n would b e
c o n s i d e r e d a n e x c e l l e n t t e a c h e r ) .
I n t e r v i e w E x c e r p t 5
T h e p r a c t i c e e x e r c i s e r e q u i r e d t h e s t u d e n t
to r e p l a c e noun d i r e c t o b j e c t s w i t h pronouns.
In F r e n c h t h e p a s t p a r t i c i p l e m u s t t h e n b e
m a d e to a g r e e w i t h t h e d i r e c t o b j e c t . Fol low-
ing a r e t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s a n d s e v e r a l i t ems .
Rernplacez l e s m o t s soulign6s et f a i t e s a t t e n - t i o n a u x par t ic ipes pass&. P a r exernple: J 'a i vu l a fille. Je I'ai vus.
(1) Nous avons brisi. l e ver re . ( 2 ) Vous a v e z e n t e n d u & nouvel les .
I n t e r v i e w e r :
Louise:
In te rv iewer :
Louise:
In te rv iewer :
Louise:
Would you ' think a l o u d ' f o r m e as you c o m p l e t e t h i s e x e r c i s e ?
(Slowly) F i rs t , I r e a d t h e di- r e c t i o n s v e r y c a r e f u l l y to b e s u r e I u n d e r s t a n d w h a t a l l t h e words mean. Then I r e a d t h e e x a m p l e . Then I r e a d t h e whole s e n t e n c e .
Le t ' s begin wi th n u m b e r one.
(She r e r e a d s t h e d i rec t ions , a n d t h e example.) Nous br i sk l e ver re . ( P a u T
W h a t are you doing now?
I'm t ry ing to f i g u r e o u t w h a t I'm supposed to do.
126
In terv iewer :
Louise:
In te rv iewer :
Louise:
In te rv iewer :
Louise:
Interviewer:
Louise:
Le t ' s look at the d i r e c t i o n s again. Do you know w h a t t h e words p a r t i c i p e s pass& m e a n ?
No,
W h a t a b o u t t h e words l e s m o t s soul ignks?
No.
A r e d i r e c t i o n s o f t e n d i f f i c u l t f o r you to u n d e r s t a n d ?
Yes.
W h a t d o you usually do?
I...try to r e m e m b e r how w e did it in c lass .
Analysis
To s o m e it m i g h t a p p e a r t h a t a l l w e h a v e in t h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n is a gir l who is unable to
unders tand d i rec t ions a n d who l ies a b o u t it. If
w e s tudy this t ranscr ip t ion m o r e c lose ly , how-
e v e r , we f ind a n o t h e r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n w i t h f a r
rnore ser ious impl ica t ions .
Louise began e a c h e x e r c i s e with t h e s a m e
s t a t e m e n t ; s h e would say , "F i rs t , I r e a d t h e
d i rec t ions very c a r e f u l l y to b e s u r e I under-
s t a n d w h a t a l l t h e words mean." Then, as s h e
p e r f o r m e d t h e tasks , s h e would r e a d a n d r e r e a d
t h e d i r e c t i o n s a n d t h e f i r s t s e n t e n c e m a n y
t imes . S h e would s h u t t l e back a n d f o r t h be-
t w e e n t h e t w o t r y i n g to m a k e s o m e s e n s e of i t all. Final ly , s h e would g ive up o n t h e d i r e c t i o n s
and t r y t o r e m e m b e r how s h e h a d d o n e i t in
c lass . T h e d i s c r e p a n c y b e t w e e n w h a t Louise s a y s
s h e d o e s a n d w h a t s h e a c t u a l l y d o e s is n o t t h e
r e s u l t of a n u n t r u t h b u t a p p e a r s d u e to h e r
r e p e a t e d inabi l i ty t o a t t a i n a goal. H e r learn-
ing s t r a t e g i e s w e r e poor , i n a p p r o p r i a t e , a n d at
t i rnes nonexis ten t . A t o n e poin t Louise con-
f ided , "I'm n o t v e r y good at doing th ings , e s p e -
c ia l ly in t h e beginning; i t t a k e s m e a long t i m e
to g e t s t a r t e d o n anything." Wi th t h i s kind of
Too of t e n our focus has been
w h a t s t u d e n t s should be doing; w e must begin asking
wha t s tudents are doing.
i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m a l e a r n e r , would not a teach
e r h a v e to ask: "Am I, in m y own way, by giving, t h i s s t u d e n t d i r e c t i o n s t h a t s h e cannot under.
s t a n d , c o n s t a n t l y r e i n f o r c i n g t h e negative irn. a g e s h e h a s of herself?"
Louise could b e he lped; s h e could be taught
to view t h e s e e x e r c i s e s as problem-solving
tasks , jus t as Franqois a n d J u l i e do. Shecould
b e t a u g h t to sk ip t h e d i rec t ions , to look for c u e s l i k e under l ined a n d i t a l i c i z e d words. But,
we would f i r s t h a v e to d e c i d e if th i s is whatwe
w a n t Louise to s p e n d h e r t i m e doing in class
a n d at home. B e f o r e a t t e m p t i n g to teachanew
s t r a t e g y w e would h a v e to e v a l u a t e whether
t h e new s t r a t e g y would b e useful to the rtu-
d e n t . What would w e a c c o m p l i s h by replacing
a n i n a p p r o p r i a t e s t r a t e g y w i t h a n expedient
b u t use less o n e ? When a s t u d e n t l i k e this, who s e n s e s you a r e t r y i n g to he lp h e r , looks u p a t you a n d says: "I didn't know a n y o n e cared,"can
we a f f o r d n o t to c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h studentsin
th i s way?
I n t e r v i e w E x c e r p t 6
T h e p r a c t i c e e x e r c i s e is s imi la r
o n e ( r e p l a c i n g noun o b j e c t s w i t h
I t e m s w e r e of t h e fo l lowing type .
to the last
pronouns).
(1) L e s g t u d i a n t s f e r o n t la gr'eve. ( 2 ) El le s a i t l a rkponse. ( 3 ) Vous a v e z e n t e n d u les nouvel les . 3
3 . "id., p. 105.
127
interviewer:
Interviewer:
Peggy:
hterviewer :
Peggy:
Interviewer:
Peggy:
(Af te r c o m p l e t i n g a n u m b e r of exerc ises s i rni lar to t h i s one). Would you 'think aloud ' while doing th i s e x e r c i s e ?
1 put k i n f r o n t of f e r o n t ; l a in f r o n t of a; 1 5 in f r o n t of a v e z ... (Pause) ... 1 don' t l i k e this s tuf f . -
Why don't you l ike t h i s s t u f f ?
Well ... b e c a u s e ... I'm a p r e t t y verbal person ... mixing u p t h e s e n r e n c e a n d moving t h e p ieces a r o u n d ... it's jus t f rus - t r a t i n g to h a v e t o cont inua l ly do th i s ... a n d a f t e r a whi le you don't e v e n know w h a t a l l of this s tuff means . I know w h a t t h e d i r e c t i o n s a r e a n d I know what I'm supposed to do, b u t I don't know why I'm supposed to be doing i t ... T h a t b o t h e r s me.
Does a n y t h i n g e l s e b o t h e r you?
Well ... I'm a p r e t t y verba l p e r - son ... I l i k e English a n d I l ike l i t e r a t u r e , b u t F r e n c h f rus- t r a t e s m e b e c a u s e w h e n e v e r you s p e a k in c l a s s you h a v e to use such s i m p l e phrases--I 'm usually th inking of th ings I'd l ike to s a y to b a c k u p m y s t a t e m e n t , a n d it's f r u s t r a t i n g not to b e a b l e to s a y t h e m . B u t t h e n ... I don't l ike t o s p e a k French in f r o n t of anybody be- c a u s e I've got a n a w f u l a c c e n t .
Does t h a t p r e v e n t you f r o m speaking s o m e t i m e s ?
Yes. If you s p e a k F r e n c h w i t h a n English a c c e n t i t sounds su- per f ic ia l ; b u t if you t r y to go (rr) ( r r ) ( s imula t ing a F r e n c h r), it doesn ' t s e e m r i g h t e i t h e r . S o m e t h i n g e l s e too--the way t h e y t e a c h g r a m m a r . I t s e e m s so f u t i l e to labe l words noun, verb, d i r e c t o b j e c t . You know, b e c a u s e of t h e F r e n c h labe ls , I didn't e v e n know w e w e r e do- ing F r e n c h g r a m m a r unt i l a l i t t l e a f t e r w e h a d s t a r t e d . If t e a c h e r s h a v e to t e a c h grarn- m a r t h a t way, I wish t h e y would p u t a s e n t e n c e on t h e b o a r d in English a n d labe l it ...y o u know, noun, verb , etc. ... a n d t h e n p u t i t s e q u i v a l e n t
(you couldn ' t p u t i t s e x a c t e q u i v a l e n t , o r e l s e i t would b e p igeon F r e n c h or w h a t e v e r t h e y c a l l i t ) b u t s imi la r , a n d l a b e l i t w h a t t h e F r e n c h would c a l l it.
Analysis
Talking to s t u d e n t s in t h i s way i s a n e x t r a o r - d inary lesson in individual d i f fe rences . By u s e
of t h i s t e c h n i q u e o n e c a n d iscover n o t on ly t h a t
d i f f e r e n t s t r a t e g i e s a r e used w i t h t h e s a m e
t a s k , b u t t h a t d i f f e r e n t a t t i t u d e s a c c o m p a n y t h e s a m e s t r a t e g i e s . Unl ike s o m e s t u d e n t s ,
Peggy d o e s n o t v i e w t h i s e x e r c i s e as a problem to b e so lved b u t as a n i rksome, purposeless , a n d
f u t i l e a c t i v i t y p r e v e n t i n g h e r f r o m doing w h a t
s h e would l i k e to b e doing in f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e
s t u d y , a n d w h a t P e g g y would l i k e to b e doing
( t h e goa ls s h e would l i k e to b e pursuing) a r e
v e r y val id goa ls t h a t could o c c u r in a f o r e i g n
l a n g u a g e class .
Conclus ions
S e v e r a l c a u t i o n a r y s t a t e m e n t s a r e in order .
I t m u s t b e r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h e p r o c e d u r e d o e s
n o t h a v e a l o n g h is tory of w i d e s p r e a d u s e (in
f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e e d u c a t i o n or elsewhere). ' As
a r e s e a r c h too l i t d o e s n o t m e e t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l
r e q u i r e m e n t f o r s c i e n t i f i c rigor. This discus-
s ion h a s n o t , f o r e x a m p l e , p r e s e n t e d val ida-
t i o n a l da ta - -ev idence t h a t w h a t t h e s e s t u d e n t s
s a i d t h e y w e r e doing w a s in fact w h a t t h e y
w e r e doing. (Such c o r r o b o r a t i n g e v i d e n c e did
a p p e a r in s e v e r a l f o r m s ; h o w e v e r , i t w a s n o t
s y s t e m a t i c a l l y g a t h e r e d in th i s research.)
4. An intensive review of the l i t e r a tu re revealed only two s tudies in which a self-report procedure was used t o invest igate s tudents ' s t ra tegies . In 1926 C.T. Buswell and Lenore John used t h e technique t o diagnose s tudents ' difficulties in solving ar i th- me t i c problems (Diagnostic Studies in Ari thmetic Supplernen- t a ry Educational Monographs. No. 30. Chicago: University of Chicaen Press). This s ame Drocedure was l a t e r used bv
~ ~ Y -
Benjamin Bloom and Lois Brodcr toana lyze s tuden t s ' s t r a t eg ie s in solving verbal problems (Problem-Solving Processes of Col- l ege Students, Chicago: IJnversity of Chicago Press, 1950).
128
The procedure also requires some amount of
researcher skill. Although i t is not y e t c lear
how m u c h is required nor how many t eache r s
possess whatever is required, i t s eems t h a t t h e
ski l lr a r e not highly specialized. In fact, it is
possible that a g rea t deal of background may
constrain inquiry, simply because we all t end to ask questions in t e rms of our preconceptions.
Knowing identified dimensions of learning
s t ra tegies , for example, might preclude identi-
fying others. Above all, this procedure re-
quires only a decision t o talk t o s tudents about
their learning s t ra tegies , steps, or operations--
real phenomena t h a t a r e not visible in any
other way but which m a t t e r cri t ically.
Talking to s tudents in this way also requires
some tirne. If t h e classroom teache r views his
role as one of spending all class t ime in f ron t of
a group of thirty, orchestrat ing them through
"Am I, by giving th i s s t u d e n t
d i r ec t ions t h a t s h e
c a n n o t unde r s t and ,
c o n s t a n t l y r e in fo rc ing t h e
n e g a t i v e i m a g e she h a s of
herself ?"
mass act ivi ty , genuine con tac t with individuals
is simply precluded. Any t eache r who truly
wants to learn about individuals c a n do so, however. Individualized instruction is obvious-
l y conducive to talking to students, but so is
helping s tudents as they do an assignment or
worksheet. College instructors have consider-
able opportunity in con tac t with s tudents in
their offices.
Too often our focus has been what s tudents
should be doing; we must begin asking what
s tudents a r e doing. I d o see already cert8
conclusions t h a t can be drawn from this woin
I t is very c l ea r t h a t s tudents who ared, junior-high age a r e able to ta lk about their
s t r a t eg ie s and operations as they perform 31
l ea s t some of t h e tasks we give them in tk foreign language classroom. (College stu.
dents who had been interviewed earlier were likewise able to describe their strategies,]
This is particularly significant in that the
information el ic i ted was sometimes not avail.
ab l e in any other way. Looking at the
product ( the answer) f requent ly does not yield
t h e same type of information. Second, we as educators need to be re-
minded repeatedly of individual differences. W e know i t intellectually, but we forget it so
o f t en in our day-to-day behavior. Talking to
s tudents in t h e manner proposed provides
vivid examples of different students opera-
t ing in d i f f e ren t ways--while on the surface
the re appeared to be f ew differences.
I also suspect that , in t he long run, informa-
tion from student self-reports could help usto
so r t and distinguish between general laws of
learning and idiosyncratic ways of operating.
Because general laws a r e so much more conve-
nient, w e may tend t o generalize when we should not do so. I t is ent i re ly possible that
principles, s t ra tegies , or techniques that we believe to b e widely applicable should be quali-
f ied or modified for many learners. Group research canno t yield this information. Even examination of s ta t is t ical interact ion between
learner variables and variables in the learning
situation canno t yield idiosyncratic data. In
t h e con tex t of t h e proposed inquiry approach,
consideration of s ta t is t ical interact ion merely
reduces t h e variability or s i ze of t h e group. Perhaps educators need to acknowledge that
t h e difference between = 1 and n = 2 is far g r ea t e r than t h e difference when equals any
o the r t w o numbers.
129
This procedure also s e e m s t o h a v e p o t e n t i a l
lor great impact upon t e a c h e r p e r c e p t i o n of
!he teaching-learning process . If o n e consid-
as,for example, r e c e n t e m p h a s e s a n d d i rec-
!ionsin teacher educa t ion programs, espec ia l ly
dieemphasis upon ear ly e x p e r i e n c e in schools ,
onesees a logical re la t ionship to d ia logue wi th
students about their l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g i e s . Al-
ready one of the most c o m m o n f o r m s of ' ear ly
txprience' IS tutoring. What m o r e b e a u t i f u l
opportunity could ex is t a n d w h a t a c o n t r a s t
rith the experiences of r e c e n t y e a r s w h e r e
observation of c lasses was t h e pr inc ipa l task.
T h e purpose w a s to w a t c h t h e t e a c h e r as in-
t e n t l y as possible. Learn ing was n o t t h e f o c a l
point--not b e c a u s e t h e t e a c h e r c a n d i d a t e w a s
unable o r a v e r s e to looking at l e a r n i n g b u t
b e c a u s e no o n e s u g g e s t e d i t m i g h t b e a good
idea.
T h e m e s s a g e of th i s proposa l is s imple. I t
is n o t novel , nor is it in any s e n s e dazzl ing. I t
is s imply t h a t ta lk ing to s t u d e n t s a b o u t the i r
l e a r n i n g s t r a t e g i e s c a n yield usefu l i n f o r m a -
t ion. W e a l l c a n d o i t . W e s t a n d to ga in both
individual ly in working wi th our s t u d e n t s a n d
in g e n e r a t i n g n e w ins ights w e c a n a l l share .
Applicants should be professionals with responsibility for training or supervising bilingual teachers and who have com- pleted - or are enrolled in - a related graduate program.
For more information and an applica- tion, contact: Or. Rita Fass, Director Learning Disabilities Graduate Program Peter Sammartino College of Education Rutherford, New Jersey 07070 (201-933-5000 EXt. 280)
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