ENSINO E APRENDIZAGEM DA LÍNGUA INGLESA

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ENSINO E APRENDIZAGEM DA LÍNGUA INGLESA
Aula 1
Globalization – How to define it?
- it does not mean the same thing to everyone.
- the world “globalization” is like the word “intelligence”.
- “Globalization” is a convenient and useful single word used to refer to a great number of things we can see taking place in the world today and to suggest interconnected relationships among all those things.
Globalization 
- has changed and continues to change the English language.
- the English language has been in widespread use around the world for well over a century.
Globalization - impact on English language learning and teaching
Globalization and the status of English as a world language are affecting the teaching and learning of English worldwide people learn languages for different reasons: instrumental and integrative orientations new media and its impact on English language learning and teaching to get a balanced view of the impact of new technologies on English language teaching and learning, we need to see the proverbial glass of half empty and half full at the same time. Internet sites used by English languages can be classified into three types
Another concept we consider important to work with along the course is culture. First we will discuss the role of cultural elements in the teaching and learning of the English language. The culture concept is complex and multifaceted, and these facets and qualities need to be recognised and understood in order to successfully develop elements of a pedagogy, approach or methodology for culture learning and teaching.
We would like to know what people around the world might think about Brazil. It was funny to see so much samba, soccer, and Rio de Janeiro in the pictures. It was funny because not everyone in Brazil likes samba, and some people, in spite of enjoying it can’t dance it very well. And not every man in Brazil has a way with soccer.
There are about 1,300,000 people in Belém. Population is growing fast, which is a problem, since we lack key things such as employment, housing, sanitation resources etc. Our people are originally the result of a mix of three races: Native Americans, Africans, and Portuguese. Our culture is a reflection of this mosaic. The food, for example, is fantastic. We also have such a great variety of fruits that many Brazilians don't get to know all of them. (B.3.3)
We are also going to consider some other myths about the English language learning. 
1 - Children learn second languages quickly and easily.
2 - The younger the child, the more skilled in acquiring an L2.
3 - The more time students spend in a second language context, the quicker they learn the language.
4 - Children have acquired an L2 since they can speak it.
5 - All children learn an L2 in the same way
Aula 2
The Value of a Second Language in Brazil
1 - Although not officially, English is considered the universal language, in business, on the internet and in general.
2 - Brazil's Position Compared to Other Countries
3 - Salaries
4 - Failures in the Educational System
5 - Lack of Time and Money
Which strategies for second language learning can be applied in Brazil?
1 - Start language education early. Brazil needs a national commitment to elementary school language teaching for all children. The federal government can provide leadership in developing long-term policies for enhanced teacher training, incentives for school districts to offer early language instruction, and a detailed research agenda. Learn from others. 
2 - Conduct long-term research- Brazil can benefit greatly from the development of a long term research agenda that incorporates longitudinal studies of a variety of language learning model of instructions.
3 - Provide stronger leadership. A stronger and more coherent government-wide effort
4 - Identify how technology can improve language instruction. A major question remains about how successful technology is in improving foreign language instruction
5 - Improve teacher education. Brazil needs to conduct a more in-depth investigation into how some countries are recruiting high-caliber students into teaching and providing top quality in-service and pre-service training.
6 - Designate foreign language as a core subject. In districts and schools in Brazil where foreign language study is part of the core curriculum, there is a more rigorous approach to curriculum development, professional development, and assessment. Designating foreign language study as a core subject is essential for a successful program.
Strengths of Behaviourism
 Clearly stated objectives allow the learner to focus on one goal.
Cueing responses to behaviour allows the learner to react in a predictable way under certain conditions. In a stressful situation like combat or flying a plane, cued responses can be a very valuable tool.
Against Behaviourism
Behaviourist accounts have a certain intrinsic appeal because of their essential theoretical simplicity, and because of the success of numerous controlled learning experiments. But one wonders whether a conditioned response account can explain the acquisition of a large and complex system of knowledge like language given:
- that language is acquired relatively rapidly
- that very little actual language teaching/training actually goes on during the acquisition period
- that children are relatively unresponsive to attempts at overt teaching, particularly through negative reinforcement.
Second language application: Krashen’s “monitor model
Krashen’s model was influenced by Chomsky’s theory of first language acquisition. 
Krashen (1970s) created this model for second language acquisition and called it “Monitor Model”.
Krashen described his model in terms of five hypotheses.
Acquisition-learning hypothesis.
Krashen claimed that adult second language learners have two meanings internalizing the target language, which are “acquisition” and “learning”. 
Acquisition is a subconscious and intuitive process of constructing the system of the language. He suggested that we “acquire” the language just like we pick up our first language.
Krashen claimed that our conscious learning process and our subconscious acquisition process are mutually exclusive. ???
Krashen stated that “learning” can not be “acquisition” and there is no interference between acquisition and learning. 
The Monitor Hypothesis.
It is a device to monitor or edit the learner’s output. It is supposed to be responsible for editing, making correction consciously. 
This is why it is found in the “learning” process not the acquisition.
According to Krashen, such explicit and intentional learning should be avoided because it may hinder the acquisition process.
Only once fluency established, monitoring and editing should be activated.
Aula 3
Read the following descriptions and say to which method or approach they´re referring to: 
List of methods and approaches 
Communicative Approach, Grammar Translation Method, Direct Method, The Total Physical Response, The Audiolingual Method, The Silent way, Suggestopedia.
1 - Emphasis is placed on creating a physical environment that does not “feel” like a normal classroom, and makes the students feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible. 
2 - Translation of a literary passage from target language 
Brazil's Position Compared to Other Countries
3 - Dialog memorization- Students memorize an opening dialog using mimicry and role-playing 
4 - An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language 
5 - The teacher is supposed to be silent- hence the name of the method- and must disabuse himself of the tendency to explain everything to them. 
6 - The teacher directs and students “act” in response- “The instructor is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors”. 
The issue of the best method or way to teach English.
“…there is no convincing evidence from pedagogic research, including research into second language instruction, that there is any universally or ‘best’ way to teach. 
Although,clearly, particular approaches are likely to prove more effective in certain situations, blanket prescription is difficult to support theoretically.
The art of teaching does not lie in accessing a checklist of skills but rather in knowing which approach to adopt with different students, in different curricular circumstances or in different cultural settings.
But what experience of theory does the average higher education teacher of ab initio, or language teaching in general possess?
Bearing in mind the typical background and profile of senior academic linguist, it would be unreasonable to expect most language departments to mount a programme of raining independently; nevertheless, there is much room for collaborative provision with Education and Staff Development or, where one exists, a language centre. Unless the decision is taken to hive off language teaching to a specialist centre or to dedicated, trained language-teaching staff, it might be thought that departments should ensure that anyone embarking on a career in languages is at the very lest introduced to the rudiments of second language acquisition and second language instruction, the theory and practice of grammar teaching, approaches to translation, techniques for teaching listening and reading, applications of ICT, and assessment of language proficiency 
Quist discusses a ‘clash of cultures’ in language teaching in universities, between the liberal tradition which emphasises the cultural and intellectual aims of language teaching and learning in Higher Education, and the instrumental paradigm’ ‘real-world’ skills with “an emphasis on speaking and interpersonal skills at the cost of writing or accuracy” 
A glance through the past century or so of language teaching will give an interesting picture of how varied the interpretations have been of the best way to teach a foreign language. As disciplinary schools of thought – psychology, linguistics, and education, for example – have come and gone, so have language-teaching methods waxed and waned in popularity. Teaching methods, as “approaches in action,” are of course the practical application of theoretical findings and positions. In a field such as ours that is relatively young, it should come as no surprise to discover a wide variety of these applications over the last hundred years, some in total philosophical opposition to others.
In summary, If we accept with Mitchell and Myles (2004: 261) that “there can be ‘no one best method’…which applies at all times and in all situations, with every type of learner”, we recognise that the diversity of contexts requires an informed, eclectic approach. To quote Nunan: It has been realized that there never was and probably never will be a method for all, and the focus in recent years has been on the development of classroom tasks and activities which are consonant with what we know about second language acquisition, and which are also in keeping with the dynamics of the classroom itself.
Aula 4
Reflective Teaching
 
Reflective thinking is the process of making informed and logical decisions on educational matters, then assessing the consequences of those decisions. Campbell-Jones and Campbell-Jones (2002) describe reflection as an “inner dialogue with oneself whereby a person calls forth experiences, beliefs, and perceptions” (p. 134). Risko, Roskos, and Vukelich (2002) continue the process explanation by adding that the dialogue should both inform and transform knowledge and action. Scholars of reflective thinking have categorized it according to the mode of thinking or the process an individual progresses through to reach a level of reflection that complements both the context of the situation and the background the individual brings to the episode. 
Scholars differ on the hierarchical nature of reflective thinking but generally agree on three modes or levels: technical, contextual, and dialectical. 
Teachers must create a positive classroom climate that will foster respect, participation, dignity, and trust every student has a different learning style reflection should be an integral component in my development as a teacher diversity in the classroom.
We should recognize the dilemma for high school teachers in making decisions about their grading practices when they take into consideration the cultural diversity and exceptional needs in their student population. 
There is unease in schools about grades based only on academic performance.  Students are urged to work not just for grades but for learning and enjoyment.  Deciding on grades, especially for students at risk, raises the question of what counts as success. In the larger context of the social purpose of schooling, grades can be a problem as well as a fundamental measure of success.  (Gaskell, 1995, p. 82)
Tests may usefully tell us what a student can display at a given moment, but can they predict for us the promise of a student's disposition to use knowledge effectively when faced with important new situations?  Are precisely similar tests administered in precisely the same manner necessarily fair?  How are the differences among students -- not their position on a single scale of presumed ability, but their richly varied ways of addressing the world -- to be gathered in, accommodated, honoured?  
Wilson (1996) lists multiple and various goals for assessment including, but not limited to:  a) feedback to students;  b) diagnostic information;  c) summary data for record keeping;  d) evidence for reports;  e) curriculum revision.  Stiggins (1991) reports that teachers use assessments in their classrooms to serve at least three different categories of purposes:  a) to inform decisions related to evaluation, grading, diagnostics and referrals, sorting and grouping;  b)  to support teaching and learning through the communication of expectations, and the involvement of students in self- and peer-evaluation;  and c)  to maintain classroom management or behaviour control.  Natriello (1987) identifies four generic functions thought to be served by evaluation:  a) certification,  b) selection,  c) direction, and  d) motivation.  Wilson (1990, in Wilson 2000) found that "teachers beyond the primary level reported that they used their formal evaluation mainly to generate marks for reporting purposes" (p. 4).   Assessment was used "first and foremost to implement the school's policies on reporting" (p. 4) and other purposes, such as providing feedback to students and informing instruction, were secondary. 
Kohn (1994) describes the distinction between two values systems or paradigms  -- one focusing on what students ought to be able to do, and one focusing on what we can do to support student learning and development.  He calls these "demand" and "support" models.  In the demand model, students are "workers who are obligated to do a better job" (p. 40), and teachers evaluate in order to "report whether students did what they were supposed to do" (p. 40).  The demand model "manifests itself in the view of education as an investment, a way of preparing children to become future workers" (p. 40). 
Aula 5
Reflective Teaching
 
Reflective thinking is the process of making informed and logical decisions on educational matters, then assessing the consequences of those decisions. Campbell-Jones and Campbell-Jones (2002) describe reflection as an “inner dialogue with oneself whereby a person calls forth experiences, beliefs, and
perceptions” (p. 134). Risko, Roskos, and Vukelich (2002) continue the process explanation by adding that the dialogue should both inform and transform knowledge and action. 
Scholars of reflective thinking have categorized it according to the mode of thinking or the process an individual progresses through to reach a level of reflection that complements both the context of the situation and the background the individual brings to the episode. 
Scholars differ on the hierarchical nature of reflective thinking but generally agree on three modes or levels: technical, contextual,and dialectical. 
TECHNICAL LEVEL
Reference past experiences;
teacher competency towards meeting outcomes; 
focus on behavior/content/skill;
simple, theoretical description contextual Level looks at alternative practices;
choices based on knowledge and value commitments;
content related to context/student needs;
analysis, clarification; validation of principles dialectical level addresses moral, ethical, or sociopolitical issues;
disciplined inquiry;
individual autonomy;
self-understanding
Socio-Cultural Theory and SLA
As for SLA, SCT’s ideology is quite different from that of the behaviorism and cognitivism. In behaviorism it is implied that language learning occurs when individuals provide conditioned responses to stimuli and that language learning is a process of habit formation. By contrast cognitivism expects more cognitive participation of language learners in the process of learning and contends that learners make use of their mental processes. However, SCT presented another ideology of learning, which appeared in the field of learning with two perspectives: cognitive and social. Grounded upon SCT, social interaction and cooperative learning are paramount in constructing both cognitive and emotional images of reality. 
Human learning is a continuous reciprocal interaction of cognitive, behavioral and environmental factors. Therefore, SCT provides a new perspective on the process of SLA, in which learners are encouraged or required to think as well as speak in the target language, that is to say, language and thought should be closely connected with each other. The root for this connection lies in social communication activities.
 Teaching Through Interaction
The socio-cultural theorists who work primarily within second language acquisition framework assume that a great deal of language learning takes place through social interaction, at least in part because interlocutors adjust their speech to make it more accessible to learners .The essence of language is to be able to communicate one's thoughts and feelings to another person.
Firstly, Story Telling. Shared story telling is a typical interactive activity in which the teacher will present a set of related pictures that tells a story.
Secondly, Think-Aloud. Give the learners a situation in which they have to make decisions or choose options. While they are deciding on what to do with the situation given to them, they spontaneously say out loud the things that go on in their mind
Thirdly, Language Date. Language date refers to an activity to arrange a day in which students can meet up with native speakers who will serve as their company for the day.
Aula 6
SELF- AWARENESS AND SELF-OBSERVATION
The classroom practices of language teachers are of interest to many different people: Program administrators, supervisors,students, researchers.
Those with greatest interest in knowing what teachers do in the classroom: teachers themselves.
Teachers want to know how well they are doing: supervisor´s evaluations and students´grades / regular observation of their own teaching.
Self-monitoring has much to recommend it as a component of the teacher´s on going professional development.
Self-awareness and self-observation are the cornerstones of all professional development. They are essential ingredients, even prerequisites, to practicing reflective teaching.
Diane Larsen-Freeman- teacher´s need the following in order to “make informed choices”:
1- heightened awareness;
2- a positive attitude that allows one to be open to change;
3- various types of knowledge needed to change 
4- the development of skills 
Diane Larsen-Freeman says about awareness:
I cannot make an informed choice unless I am aware that one exists. Awareness requires that I give attention to some aspect of my behaviour or the situation I find myself in. Once I give that aspect my attention, I must also view it with detachment, with objectivity, for only then will I become aware of alternative ways of behaving, or alternative ways of reviewing the situation, and only then will I have a choice to make.
Descriptive Model of Teaching: The Constituents
Awareness: triggers and monitors attention to:
ATTITUDE: A stance toward self, activity, and others that links intrapersonal dynamics with external performance and behaviors			
Skills-The how of teaching. 
Method/technique/activity/materials/tools
Knowledge- The what of teaching 
Subject matter/knowledge of students/sociocultural/institutional context 
Knowledge Transmission
View of Language Teacher Education
WHAT IS AWARENESS?
Awareness is the capacity to recognize and monitor the attention one is giving or has given to something. Thus, one acts on or responds to the aspects of a situation of which one is aware.
LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
1- Global consciousness is “just being alive and awake
2- Awareness is consciousness of something. It involves perceptual activity of objects and events in the environment, including attention, focusing and vigilance.
3- Metaconsciousness is one´s awareness of the activity of the mind...
4- Voluntary action, reflective processes, and mindfulness are deliberate and purposeful engagement in actions. 
The importance of metaconsciousness is that freedom exists in the acquisition of metalanguage in which to reflect upon and therefore negotiate how one represents and uses meanings in language.
Reflection ‘in’ and ‘on’ practice 
Dewey (1933) was among the first to identify reflection as a specialised form of thinking. 
He considered reflection to stem from doubt, hesitation or perplexity related to a directly experienced situation. For him, this prompted purposeful inquiry and problem resolution (Sinclair, 1998). Dewey also argued that reflective thinking moved people away from routine thinking/action (guided by tradition or external authority) towards reflective.
Action (involving careful, critical consideration of taken-for-granted knowledge). This way of conceptualising reflection crucially starts with experience and stresses how we learn from ‘doing’, i.e. practice. Specifically Dewey argued that we ‘think the problem out’ towards formulating hypotheses in trial and error reflective situations and then use these to plan action, testing out our ideas. 
Self observation
The term self-observation implies checking on something relative to an existing standard or expectation. Self-obsevation implies a professional curiosity- watching, listening, and thinking without necessarily judging.
Aula 7
· Definition: A language or mixture of languages used as a medium of communication by people whose native languages are different.
· The term English as a lingua franca (ELF) refers to the teaching, learning, and use of the English language as a common means of communication for speakers of different native languages.
· Raising awareness of English as a lingua franca (ELF)
English has official or special status in at least 75 countries, with a total population of more than two billion
· one out of four of the world’s population speak English to some level of competence; demand from the other three quarters is increasing
· more than two thirds of the world’s scientists read in English
· three quarters of the world’s mail is written in English
· 80 per cent of the world’s electronically stored information is in English.
· English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is English when it is used by non-native speakers to communicate with native speakers.
· English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is English when it is used between two or more people who do not have the same first language. (There may be native speakers present, but they would be in the minority.)
· EFL, ELF, etc. are just different contexts of using English; i.e. the different roles that English plays depend on who is speaking to whom, rather than where English is being used.
· One is not inherently better or more appropriate than another – they’re just different things.
· What learners need/want to learn will depend on the context in which they (want to) use English.· How do you teach English as a lingua franca (ELF)?
· Conduct a needs analysis to find out whether your students use or are planning to use ELF, or whether they need to integrate in an English-speaking country. Then conduct a diagnostic test, like you would with other language areas such as grammar, to find out which areas of the lingua franca core, or LFC, students need to work on producing. It would also be helpful to know the language backgrounds of the people your students will be talking to, in order to work on appropriate accommodation skills, too (in other words, adjusting your expectations of what pronunciation you will hear, according to speaking.)
Being more aware of the issue of familiarity as a listener might also raise students’ awareness of how features of their own accent could cause difficulty for someone who is not so familiar with it. Using listening activities featuring non-native accents can help students accept the reality of accent variation, and challenge negative perceptions of their own accent and others’.
The use of a ‘core-based English’, as opposed to a variety based on the nation state, impacts less negatively on the culture and language(s) of the non-native speaker (there is less need to mimic specific behaviour, to assume multi- identities, to pay lip-service to foreign value systems, etc.). Instead, English, as an international language, is simply a utilitarian communicative tool, one which allows the non-native user to retain, to the greatest degree possible, their distinctive cultural characteristics.
How can be a phonology for EIL?
In an effort to construct a taxonomy for EIL, Jennifer Jenkins (2000)attempts to reconsider ‘the problems of mutual phonological intelligibility . . . with the aim of facilitating the use of EIL’ Jenkins’ perceptions of her findings, situated in a belief that the cultural orientation of English, for the L2 speaker, must by definition be lingua franca-orientated, as opposed to being based on In an effort to construct a taxonomy for EIL, Jennifer Jenkins (2000)attempts to reconsider ‘the problems of mutual phonological intelligibility . . . with the aim of facilitating the use of EIL’ Jenkins’ perceptions of her findings, situated in a belief that the cultural orientation of English, for the L2 speaker, must by definition be lingua franca-orientated, as opposed to being based on a ‘prestigious’ L1 variety, leads her to contend importantly positions ELT as an enterprise primarily dedicated to the acquisition of inter-cultural communicative skills.
Aula 8
COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION IN A CLASSROOM
There are several different approaches for using the Internet to facilitate interaction within and across discourse communities. One way is to use online activities to foster increased opportunities for interaction within a single class. This takes place both through computer-assisted classroom discussion and through outside-of-class discussion.
Electronic communication within a single class might be viewed as an artificial substitute for face-to-face communication. However, it has been found to have a number of beneficial features:
1 - computer-assisted discussion tends to feature more equal participation than face-to-face discussion.
2 - computer-assisted discussion allows students to better notice the input from others' messages and incorporate that input into their own messages, thus expanding opportunities for learning of new linguistic chunks.
3 - computer-assisted discussion, which takes place in writing and allows more planning time than does face-to-face talk, features language which is lexically and syntactically more complex than oral talk.
4 -  since computer based discussion can take place outside of the classroom, it provides students increased opportunities to communicate in the target language. For all these reasons, language teachers (especially but not exclusively in courses which feature writing) have found single-class computer-mediated communication projects to be beneficial.
Computer technology is not a panacea for language teaching; using it demands substantial commitments of time and money and brings no guaranteed results.
The key to successful use of technology in language teaching lies not in hardware or software but in "humanware"?our human capacity as teachers to plan, design, and implement effective educational activity. Language learning is an act of creativity, imagination, exploration, expression, construction, and profound social and cultural collaboration. If we use computers to fully humanize and enhance this act, rather than to try to automate it, we can help bring out the best that human and machine have to offer.
Why include technology in the classroom? 
Innovations in technology have changed students’ pedagogical expectations, perceptions, and learning styles. In order to meet the needs of this new digital or the millennial generation (students born in or after 1982), scholars and administrators recommend that these learners be taught using the technologies to which they are accustomed (Dede, 2005, Prensky 2001). 
Some emerging characteristics that define this generation are multimedia fluency, communal learning, experiential learning and being “co-designers of learning experiences” that meet the individual needs and preferences of the students. To fulfill this generation’s individual needs as well as the future demands of the workplace, teachers are expected to integrate new technologies and teaching strategies into their practice so that students are better prepared for the world beyond school. By teaching new literacies, or technoliteracies, it is assumed that this new generation of students will be better prepared to cope successfully in real life situations.
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The unequal access to computer technology is referred to by Jenkins as the participatory gap, , also known as the “digital divide”. Without equitable access, the gap between the technology “haves” and the “have nots” will increase, further exacerbating the disparity in education that occurs because of location, status or socio-economic conditions. The digital divide however, should decrease as students are exposed to technology in the classroom (aside from the library or computer lab) and are taught the requisite skills.
Cultivating skills in media literacy helps students use media intelligently, so that they are able to evaluate media content, deconstruct media forms, understand how meanings are socially produced, and even construct alternative media so that they able to express their own voices.
According to Jenkins “one important goal of media education should be to encourage young people to become more reflective about the ethical choices they make as participants and communicators as well as the impact they have on others within a computer technology enhanced classroom, an educator’s shifting role from ‘teacher to co-learner’ is especially evident. With computer and electronic technology changing so fast, teachers often feel ill-equipped compared to the “digi-kids” (reference) who keep themselves updated with advances at unbelievable speeds.
Aula 9
· What is Semiotics?
	Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of signs, symbols, and signification. It is the study of how meaning is created, not what it is.
· The hot debates of the last fifty years showed that there is no ideal language teaching method which would meet all the needs of the language learner. Thus, in order to be successful in target language teaching, the teachers have to make some critical decisions about the course material, activities, content, etc, but these may not be enough.
What is the role of semiotics in Language Learning and Teaching?
· The semiotic nature of language teaching is a complicated and an essential concept to study. In the language classroom, the primary role of the language learner is to transfer and exchange correct information with his/her audience. While doing this, the language learner makes use of the semiotic signs.Most of these signs are used unconsciously by the students and the teachers.
Since semiotics is the combination of signs and symbols to communicate the information, the students and the teachers make use of a number of signs, some of which are iconic and some are symbolic. Thus, it can be said that, semiotics is a fundamental issue to be considered in language teaching pedagogy, because it helps the individual to develop his cognitive facilities at all levels of perception. 
Moreover, semiotics not only offers different models of teaching but also broadens the scope of language teaching by offering tools to consider for visual communication in a given context. To illustrate, non-verbal and visual communication,cultural elements in semiotics and for vocabulary teaching, signs and symbols are used actively in the language classrooms. The language teachers should study many semiotic signs in the teaching process. To illustrate, while teaching a language, the teacher refers to his/her linguistic knowledge. "Linguistics then works in the borderland where the elements of sound and thought combine; their combination produces a form, not a substance." 
In language teaching, the teachers should make use of these semiotic signs (both iconic and symbolic) in the language teaching process to provide a better understanding in the target language, to gain acceleration and perhaps the most important, to avoid cross-cultural failure in the classroom while teaching a foreign language. As Hodge and Kress (1988:26) claim, "Students of cross cultural communication know how often misunderstanding arises because of different assumptions in different cultural groups.
Undoubtedly, it creates heavy demands to extend semiotics in this way, to include the description and analysis of the stock of cultural knowledge in a given society." Therefore, it can be said that semiotics not only helps learners to get the right message through semiotic signs to avoid cross-cultural failure, but also encourages the language teachers to play a critical role in the classroom.
Traditionally, the four language skills, namely reading, writing, speaking and listening, have been essential components of EFL classes. These skills are supposed to help students increase their communicative competence, which is the goal of most EFL instruction, in order to use the language system appropriately in any circumstance. Brown (2000) claims that the best way to attain communicative goals is to pay attention to language use rather than just usage, to fluency rather than just accuracy, to authentic language and contexts, and to the students’ ultimate need to apply classroom learning to real-life circumstances.
A number of studies have shown that teaching by combining verbal and non-verbal semiotic elements has a better outcome than teaching either with verbal or non-verbal elements only (Jin and Boling, 2010; Mayer, 2003). Although some students find visual images to some degree distracting (ibid.), Clark and Lyons (2011) argue that the educational benefits of visual images are indisputable.
Aula 10
Why ecology? 
Since its first application to linguistics, two decades ago, the ecological perspective has offered an alternative to the somewhat mechanistic and de-contextualised ‘computing’ metaphor for language learning, with its inputs, outputs and feedback. The ecological perspective situates language and language learning, not in the head, but in its social and cultural contexts – the linguistic ecosystem, if you like Just as organisms adapt to their environments, and in so doing shape their environments, so to do speakers use language both to integrate into, and to influence, their discourse communities.  Through this reciprocal process of interaction and mutual adaptation, the linguistic system (both the individual’s and the community’s) evolves.
	This, at least, is the view propounded in a number of recent publications, including Leo van Lier’s The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning (2004) and Larsen-Freeman and Cameron’s Complex Systems and Applied Linguistics (2008)
	Van Lier, for example, identifies the following concepts that underpin an ecological approach to language and language learning:
1. Relations: “If we see language as a system of relations, rather than a collection of objects, a number of consequences follow in terms of… how we conceptualize learning” (p. 5) e.g. that it involves acquiring the capacity to relate more effectively to people in the world.
2. Context: Ecological linguistics (EL) “regards context as not just something that surrounds language, but that in fact defines language, while at the same time being defined by it” (ibid.).
3. Patterns, systems: “EL sees language as patterns of patterns, and systems of systems” (ibid.)
4. Emergence: “EL regards language learning not as gradual, linear acquisition, but as emergence. Emergence happens when relatively simple elements combine together to form a higher-order system” (ibid.)
5. Diversity:  “In biology, diversity is essential in an ecosystem” (p. 7) Van Lier argues for “the value of having different learners and teachers in a class (or school)” and that the target language should not be presented as “one monolithic standardized code, but a collection of dialects, genres and registers” (ibid.)
6. Activity: Language is activity, and emerges out of activity: “We visualize a community of practice in which learners go about the business of learning by carrying out activities of various kinds, working together, side by side, or on their own” (p. 8 )
Van Lier uses, as an analogy, the self-organizing nature of learning how to play a game:
How do kids learn the rules of playing soccer?  Certainly not by being lectured on them for several years.  They learn by participating in certain practices.  Two pivotal practices in this respect are a) playing the game; and b) participating in stories and comments about the game perhaps combined with watching games.  When they start playing, children tend to run after the ball in a single swarm, kicking it around in seemingly random directions.  Then at some point a ‘feel for the game’  emerges.  The game reorganises itself (not for all players at once, but for some) from ‘running after the ball where ever it rolls’ to ‘moving the ball around collaboratively in strategic ways.’ 
At that point the rules of the game become learnable, in an interaction between bottom-up discovery, and top-down instruction, within the social context of playing the game (p.81).
Arguably this analogy applies as much to language learning as it does to soccer. (In fact, playing games using language may be the best of both worlds).  In short, an ecological perspective argues that learning involves “aligning one’s resources with situational demands and shaping the environment to match the language resources one brings. …  In sum, acquisition is social practice” (Canagarajah, 2007).
A number of studies have shown that teaching by combining verbal and non-verbal semiotic elements has a better outcome than teaching either with verbal or non-verbal elements only (Jin and Boling, 2010; Mayer, 2003). Although some students find visual images to some degree distracting (ibid.), Clark and Lyons (2011) argue that the educational benefits of visual images are indisputable.