SAY IT FORWARD!
Learn a language. Pass it on!
Virginia M. Scott
November 2013
Copyright Virginia M. Scott 2013
All Rights Reserved
“Pay it forward”
“I do not pretend to give such a deed; I only lend it to you. When you
[...] meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me
by lending this Sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the Debt by a
like operation, when he shall be able, and shall meet with another
opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro' many hands, before it meets
with a Knave that will stop its Progress. This is a trick of mine for doing
a deal of good with a little money.”
Benjamin Franklin, 1784
“Pay it forward”
The term was popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1951
book Between Planets.
“Pay it forward”
In 2000, Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novel Pay It
Forward was published and adapted into a
Warner Brothers film. In the story the term is
described as an obligation to do three good
deeds for others in response to a good deed
that one receives. In this way, the practice of
helping one another can spread
geometrically through society, at a ratio of
three to one, creating a social movement
with an impact of making the world a
better place.
What’s the IT?
SAY IT FORWARD!
Learn a language. Pass it on!
Language Awareness
Language Awareness
A person’s sensitivity to and
conscious awareness of the
nature of language and its role in
human life. (Svalberg)
LANGUAGE TEACHING
VS.
LANGUAGE EDUCATION
Language teaching …
 Learn about a particular language and culture.
 Develop skills in a particular language.
(speaking, reading, writing, listening)
Language education …
 Develop language awareness.
 In what ways are the languages you speak part of your identity?
 What is the difference between your language and your
nationality?
 What is a “native speaker”? Are you a native speaker of a
particular language?
 Does your native language give you a sense of power? A sense
of belonging to a group? Explain.
 Have you ever felt like a “language outsider”?
Language education …
 Develop language awareness.
 What languages are/are not “cool”? Why?
 Describe stereotypes associated with particular language
groups.
 Name some languages spoken by people in power. Name some
spoken by marginalized people.
 In what ways can learning a second language give you power?
 What does it mean to be “a global citizen”?
 Can you be a global citizen without leaving home?
Language education …
… goes beyond an exclusive focus on learning the
target language and learning about the target
culture.
… places critical reflection about oneself, one’s
own language and culture, and the target language
and culture at the heart of foreign language
education.
QUESTION?
(pair work)
Does this notion of language education offer
insight into what students might “say forward”?
The language learner
Affect
feelings (fear, joy, sadness)
 Cognition
understanding / awareness
 Motivation
desire / willingness to do something
The language learner
AFFECT
IDEAL SELF
COGNITION
MOTIVATION
The language learner
If a learner is aware of the role that language plays
in his/her life, and feels that knowing a second
language can be an important part of his/her ideal
self, s/he will be motivated to
SAY IT FORWARD !!
Language Awareness Forum
We are doing a research project at Vanderbilt to assess the
ways language awareness affects novice-level students’
motivation to be lifelong learners of French.
Three times during the semester we devote a class period
to a “Language Awareness Forum” presentation in English
and ask students to write a short reflection essay.
1) Language and Identity
2) Bilingualism
3) Intercultural Awareness and Global Citizenship
Bibliography
Byram, Michael. (2012). Language Awareness and (Critical) Cultural Awareness:
Relationships, Comparisons and Contrasts. Language Awareness 21(12): 5–13.
Garrett, Peter & and Carl James. (2000). Language Awareness. In M. Byram (Ed.),
Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning. London:
Routledge, 2000.
Svalberg, Agneta M-L. (2007). Language Awareness and Language Learning.
Language Teaching 40(4): 287–308.
Scott, Virginia, Eva Dessein, Julian Ledford & Annette Joseph-Gabriel. (2013).
Language Awareness in the French Classroom. The French Review
86(6): 90-102.