TRP Cards Freeman and Freeman Chapter 1

Behaviorist View of First Language Learning (B.F. Skinner, 1957) p. 2

In this view, children have the potential for language and, given
the right circumstances, become proficient language users.
Importance: The most important aspect of this view is that it has largely been
replaced with cognitive views. The behaviorist view stresses that language is
learned in the same way that any other skill is learned through stimulus and
response (Freeman & Freeman, 2004). More specifically it is learned through
experimenting with and mimicking sound. The child then receives a positive
reinforcement from a caregiver.
Connection: All Content Areas/Mostly Early Childhood but Applicable to All:
It is important, especially when working with very young children, to remember that
language is largely acquired naturally without the need of constant correction. I
believe that educators should keep this in mind when working with ELLs since there
can be a stereotype that ELLs are deficient in some way just because they have not
mastered the English language. However, they have an innate capacity for
language acquisition and have already acquired one language.

Physical Capacity for Speech in First Year of Life (Pinker, 1994) p. 5

The words name the people and things that are most important to
children.
Importance: Pinker found that the sounds children make between seven and
twelve months of age consistently change. Pre-words (consonant-vowel sounds)
begin at around seven months and by one year many relevant nouns are spoken.
Connection All Content Areas/All students, Specifically ELLs: As a teacher it
is important to remember that most children are born with the innate ability and
drive to express themselves through words. Encouraging exploration with language
is a crucial role of educators of children of all ages.
Factors that Facilitate Language Development (Wells, 1986) p. 9
Encourage them [children] to initiate conversation and make it
easy and enjoyable for them to sustain it .
Importance: The quote above eloquently states the importance of allowing
children to explore and experiment with expression in a low-stress environment.
Connection: Well outlines some useful suggestions for how I can effectively
facilitate language development. He encourages educators to: 1. Value attempts to
communicate, 2. Attempt to really understand their attempts, 3. Respond in a way
that encourages further discussion, and 4. Reply with developmentally appropriate
language and style. I can aim to implement these methods whenever I
communicate with all of my students.
Factors that Facilitate Language Development (Wells, 1986) p. 9

Encourage them [children] to initiate conversation and make it

easy and enjoyable for them to sustain it .
Importance: The quote above eloquently states the importance of allowing
children to explore and experiment with expression in a low-stress environment.
Connection: Well outlines some useful suggestions for how I can effectively
facilitate language development. He encourages educators to: 1. Value attempts to
communicate, 2. Attempt to really understand their attempts, 3. Respond in a way
that encourages further discussion, and 4. Reply with developmentally appropriate
language and style. I can aim to implement these methods whenever I
communicate with all of my students.

TRP Cards Freeman and Freeman Chapter 2

Fossilization (Freeman and Freeman, 2004), p. 44
He could probably explain the rule for each error, but when he uses
English, errors like this keep coming up. Perhaps the best explanation
for this phenomenon is that people have acquired enough of the language
to communicate any idea.
Importance: This is a really important aspect pertaining to adults who learn a
second language. They may never feel the need to perfect the second language
as long as they reach a practical mastery of the language.
Connection: ELLs High School/College Age: This concept might be relevant if I
am teaching older students. They may reach a point where they no longer are
concerned with further improvement. I might have to figure out a way to reconcile
this fact while grading assessments.

Schumanns Theory of Second Language Acquisition (Schumman, 1978) p.

40
Social distance limits opportunities for students to receive the
comprehensible input needed for acquisition. Psychological distance
serves to raise the affective filter and prevent input from reaching the
language acquisition device.
Importance: The capacity for language acquisition has a strong correlation to the
social and psychological distance from the mainstream culture. Language
acquisition will be limited if there is little to no interaction with native speakers of
the mainstream culture as a result of culture shock, motivation, attitude or lack of
necessity.
Connection English Language Learners/All Grades: I should advocate for
mixed classroom experiences for ELL students. They need opportunities to be

around native English speakers and culture. I can also encourage cross-cultural
socialization in and out of class.
Word Recognition View vs. Sociopsycholinguistic View (Freeman &
Freeman, 2004) p. 25
The two views might be seen simply as different routes to a common end.
However, these different routes translate into very different goals and
different methods of teaching as well as different classroom reading
activities.
Importance: The two main views of reading, word recognition view and
sociopsycholinguistic view, differ in both theory and practice. The former
emphasizes word identification and decoding while the latter emphasizes the path
to meaning making.
Connection All Subjects All Students: I definitely agree with Freeman and
Freemans assertion that sociopsycholinguistic view may be more effective but I still
think there is merit in some aspects of the woe recognition view. It would be
interesting to try a combination of both methods in my classroom.