By Educational Programs Consult- Bulgaria
Produced by Research House UK
LANGUAGE
LEARNING AND TEACHING
IN BULGARIA
A COMPARATIVE STUDY
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EUROPE, USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA
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GENERAL OVERVIEW
FOR SOCTRATES LINGUA 1 PROGRAMME
LARA – LANGUAGE RADIO PARTNERSHIP
Radio LARA
230304 - CP -1-2006-1- UK – LINGUA – L1PP
CONTENTS
iii. Purpose of the study
1. Definitions
2. Properties of language
2.1. Human Languages
3. Artificial languages
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3.1 International auxiliary languages
3.2 Controlled languages
3.3 Constructed languages
4. Formal languages
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4.1 Programming languages
5. The study of language
5.1. What is Cyrillic alphabet?
5.2. Short history of Cyrillic alphabet
5.3. Bulgarian alphabet today
5.4. Short history of Bulgarian language
5.5 Bulgarian language today
6. Language education
7. Methods of teaching Foreign Languages
7.1. The grammar translation method
7.2. The direct method
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7.3. The audio-lingual method
7.4. Communicative language teaching
7.5. Self-study methodology
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7.6. Language immersion
7.7. Minimalist/methodist
7.8. Direct practice
7.9. Learning by teaching
7.10. Other methods
7.11. Silent way
8. Learning strategies
8.1. Code switching
8.2. Blended learning
8.3. Private tutoring
9. Language education by region
9.1. FL education in Bulgaria with a view to EU
-GLOBAL SCALE
9.2. Bilingual education
9.3. USA
9.4. Australia
10. Language study holidays
11. Language education on the internet
11.1. Language exchange websites
11.2. Portals that provide language content
Abbreviations
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Bibliography
iii. Purpose of this study
The project LARA – LANGUAGE RADIO PARTNERSHIP, No: 230304 - CP -1-20061- UK – LINGUA – L1PP aims at implementing segments of the overall LARA
project within Bulgaria and its communities. Creating the content of language
learning and selection of the segments and publicising it to the targeted
audience, requires knowledge and understanding of the basic language
methodologies popular within the country and the usage of the different language
techniques in order to reach the highest percentage of the targeted audience and
thus encourage the learners to access LARA’s material through its broadcast or
via its website.
1. Definition
A language is a system of visual, auditory, or tactile symbols of communication and the
rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as
a general phenomenon. Language is considered to be an exclusively human mode of
communication; although other animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative
systems, none of these are known to make use of all of the properties that linguists use
to define language.
A successful development and implementation of the language learning and teaching
methodology used in LARA project, adopted from EU ‘Education and Culture’
Directorate, requires a shared understanding of certain key terms.
The following definitions of learning and learning outcomes, qualifications,
competences, and framework(s) are based on the work of OECD, Cedefop and other
international organizations and take into account developments under the Bologna and
Copenhagen processes.
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Learning is a cumulative process where individuals gradually assimilate increasingly
complex and abstract entities (concepts, categories, and patterns of behaviour or
models) and/or acquire skills and wider competences. This process takes place
informally, for example through leisure activities, and in formal learning settings which
include the workplace.
The term learning outcome is ‘The set of knowledge, skills and/or competences an
individual has acquired and/or is able to demonstrate after completion of a learning
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process. Learning outcomes are statements of what a learner is expected to know,
understand and/or be able to do at the end of a period of learning.
Competence
Based on the examination of published literature from France, the United Kingdom,
Germany and the United States of America, the following composite definition of
competence is offered:
Competence includes: i) cognitive competence involving the use of theory and
concepts,
as well as informal tacit knowledge gained experientially; ii) functional competence
(skills or know-how), those things that a person should be able to do when they are
functioning in a given area of work, learning or social activity; iii) personal competence
involving knowing how to conduct oneself in a specific situation; and iv) ethical
competence involving the possession of certain personal and professional values.
The concept is thus used in an integrative manner; as an expression of the ability of
individuals to combine – in a self-directed way, tacitly or explicitly and in a particular
context – the different elements of knowledge and skills they possess. The aspect of
self-direction
is critical to the concept as this provides a basis for distinguishing between different
levels of competence. Acquiring a certain level of competence can be seen as the ability
of an individual to use and combine his or her knowledge, skills and wider competences
according to the varying requirements posed by a particular context, a situation or a
problem. Put another way, the ability of an individual to deal with complexity,
unpredictability and change defines/determines his or her level of competence.
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This understanding of competences as described by EQF will be reflected in the LARA
methodology reference levels described in this document where a distinction will be
made between knowledge (reflecting element (i) of the above definition), skills
(reflecting element (ii) of the above definition and, finally, wider competences (reflecting
elements (iii) and (iv) of the above definition).
This definition is based on elements provided by Cedefop (2004) and the Bologna
working group on qualifications framework, February 2005, p 39
The definitions of qualifications and competences provided in this note are compatible
with those agreed by the European social partners in 2001:
Competences are the knowledge, skills and know-how applied and mastered in a given
work situation; Qualifications are a formal expression of the vocational or professional
abilities of the employee. They are recognized at the national or sectoral level.
Qualifications
The following definition, based on work done by the OECD, is suggested:
A qualification is achieved when a competent body determines that an individual's
learning has reached a specified standard of knowledge, skills and wider competences.
The standard of learning outcomes is confirmed by means of an assessment process or
the successful completion of a course of study. Learning and assessment for a
qualification can take place through a programme of study and/or work place
experience. A qualification confers official recognition of value in the labour market and
in further education and training. A qualification can be a legal entitlement to practice a
trade.
Qualifications framework
Current OECD work provides the following definition, adopted here as well:
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A qualifications framework is an instrument for the development and classification of
qualifications according to a set of criteria for levels of learning achieved. This set of
criteria may be implicit in the qualifications descriptors themselves or made explicit in
the form of a set of level descriptors. The scope of frameworks may be comprehensive
of all learning achievement and pathways or may be confined to a particular sector, for
example initial education, adult education and training or an occupational area. Some
frameworks may have more design elements and a tighter structure than others; some
may have a legal basis whereas others represent a consensus of views of social
partners. All qualifications frameworks, however, establish a basis for improving the
quality, accessibility, linkages and public or labour market recognition of qualifications
within a country and internationally.
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Meta-framework , definition suggested by EGF
A meta-framework can be understood as a means of enabling one framework of
qualifications to relate to others and subsequently for one qualification to relate to others
that are normally located in another framework. The meta-framework aims to create
confidence and trust in relating qualifications across countries and sectors by defining
principles for the ways quality assurance processes, guidance and information and
mechanisms for credit transfer and accumulation can operate so that the transparency
necessary at national and sectoral levels can also be available internationally.
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2. Properties of language
A set of agreed-upon symbols is only one feature of language; all languages must
define the structural relationships between these symbols in a system of grammar.
Rules of grammar are what distinguish language from other forms of communication.
They allow a finite set of symbols to be manipulated to create a potentially infinite
number of grammatical utterances.
Another property of language is that the symbols used are arbitrary. Any symbol can
be mapped onto any concept (or even onto one of the rules of the grammar). Most
languages make use of sound, but the combinations of sounds used do not have any
inherent meaning - they are merely an agreed-upon convention to represent a certain
thing by users of that language.
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However, even though in principle the symbols are arbitrary, this does not mean that a
language cannot have symbols that are iconic of what they stand for. Words such as
"meow"/ “мяу” sound similar to what they represent but they do not necessarily have to
in order to be understood. Many languages use different onomatopoiea as an agreed
convention to represent the sounds a cat makes.
2.1. Human languages
Some of the areas of the brain involved in language processing: Broca's area,
Wernicke's area, Supramarginal gyrus, Angular gyrus, Primary Auditory Cortex
Human languages are usually referred to as natural languages, and the science of
studying them is linguistics. Languages are first spoken, then written, and then an
understanding and explanation of their grammar (according to speech) is attempted.
Languages live, die, move from place to place, and change with time. Any language that
stops changing begins to die; any language that is a living language is a language in a
state of continuous change.
Making a principled distinction between one language and another is usually
impossible. For instance, there are a few dialects of German similar to some dialects of
Dutch. The transition between languages within the same language family is sometimes
gradual (see dialect continuum).
Some like to make parallels with biology, where it is not always possible to make a welldefined distinction between one species and the next. In either case, the ultimate
difficulty may stem from the interactions between languages and populations.
The concepts of Ausbausprache, Abstandsprache and Dachsprache are used to make
finer distinctions about the degrees of difference between languages or dialects.
3. Artificial languages
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3.1. International auxiliary languages
Some languages are meant specifically for communication between people of different
nationalities or language groups. An individual or group, as noted below has
constructed several of these languages. Others are seen as natural, pre-existing
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languages. Their developers merely catalogued and standardized their vocabulary and
identified their grammatical rules. These languages are called naturalistic. One such
language, Latino Sine Flexione, is a simplified form of Latin. Another, Occidental, was
drawn from several Western languages.
To date, the most successful auxiliary language is Esperanto, invented by the Polish
ophthalmologist Zamenhof, which has about 2 million speakers over the world and
which has hundreds of songs sung in it, and a vast amount of literature written in it. The
Stone City, for example, was originally written in Esperanto. Other auxiliary languages
with an important group of speakers are Interlingua and Ido (however, the latter is
believed to have only a few hundred speakers).
3.2. Controlled languages
Controlled natural languages are subsets of natural languages whose grammars and
dictionaries have been restricted in order to reduce or eliminate both ambiguity and
complexity. The purpose behind the development and implementation of a controlled
natural language typically is to aid non-native speakers of a natural language in
understanding it, or to ease computer processing of a natural language. An example of
a widely used controlled natural language is Simplified English, which was originally
developed for aerospace industry maintenance manuals.
3.3. Constructed languages
Some individuals and groups have constructed their own artificial languages, for
practical, experimental, personal, or ideological reasons. For example, one prominent
artificial language, Esperanto, was created by L. L. Zamenhof as a compilation of
various elements of different languages, and is supposed to be an easy-to-learn
language for people familiar with similar, mostly Indo-European, languages. Other
constructed languages strive to be more logical ("loglangs") than natural languages; a
prominent example of this is Lojban. Both of these languages are meant as international
auxiliary languages.
Some writers, such as J. R. R. Tolkien, have created fantasy languages, for literary,
artistic or personal reasons. The fantasy language of the Klingon race has in recent
years been developed by fans of the Star Trek series, including a vocabulary and
grammar.
Constructed languages are not necessarily restricted to the properties shared by natural
human languages.
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4. Formal languages
Mathematics and computer science use artificial entities called formal languages
(including programming languages and markup languages, and some that are more
theoretical in nature). These often take the form of character strings, produced by some
combination of formal grammar and semantics of arbitrary complexity.
4.1 Programming languages
A programming language is an artificial language that can be used to control the
behavior of a machine, particularly a computer to perform specific tasks. [2] Programming
languages, like human languages, are defined using syntactic and semantic rules, to
determine structure and meaning respectively.
Programming languages are used to facilitate communication about the task of
organizing and manipulating information, and to express algorithms precisely. Some
authors restrict the term "programming language" to those languages that can express
all possible algorithms; sometimes the term "computer language" is used for artificial
languages that are more limited.
5. The study of language
The historical record of linguistics begins in India with Pāṇini, the 5th century BCE
grammarian who formulated 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology, known as the
Aṣṭādhyāyī (अष्टाध्यायी) and with Tolkāppiyar the 3rd century BCE grammarian of the
Tamil work Tolkāppiyam. Pāṇini’s grammar is highly systematized and technical.
Inherent in its analytic approach are the concepts of the phoneme, the morpheme, and
the root. The first Alphabet used in Bulgaria is called Glagolica Глаголица used in the
9th century A.D. Western linguists only recognized the phoneme some two millennia
later. Tolkāppiyar's work is perhaps the first one to describe articulatory phonetics for a
language. Its classification of the alphabet into consonants and vowels, and elements
like nouns, verbs, vowels, and consonants which he put into classes, were also
breakthroughs at the time.
In the Middle East, the Persian linguist Sibawayh(‫ )سیبویه‬made a detailed and
professional description of Arabic in 760 CE in his monumental work, Al-kitab fi al-nahw
(‫الكتاب في النحو‬, The Book on Grammar), bringing many linguistic aspects of language to
light. In his book, he distinguished phonetics from phonology.
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Later in the West, the success of science, mathematics, and other formal systems in the
20th century led many to attempt a formalization of the study of language as a
"semantic code". This resulted in the academic discipline of linguistics, the founding of
which is attributed to Ferdinand de Saussure, sudied thouroughly at the Bulgarian
Universities. In the 20th century substantial contribution to the understanding of
language came from Ferdinand de Saussure, Hjelmslev, Émile Benveniste and Roman
Jakobson; they were all characterized as being highly systematic.
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5.1. What is Cyrillic alphabet?
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The Cyrillic Alphabet is one of the two Old Bulgarian Alphabets, which is used now by
Bulgarian, Russian, Serbs, Ukrainian and the Byelorussian languages. Apart from these
Slavonic languages, there are some non-Slavonic nations, from the former USSR, who
use Cyrillic. The Cyrillic Alphabet is the official Alphabet of Mongolia.
5.2. Short history of Cyrillic alphabet
The history of Cyrillic Alphabet starts from the end of the IX century. During two
centuries it was used in parallel with the second one – the Glagolitza Alphabet.
Cyrillic Alphabet completely replaces the Glagolitza and turns into the only means to
record the Bulgarian speech.
The total number of people, who use the Cyrillic Alphabet as a script for their own
mother tongue, is about 200 million.
On 24th of May Bulgaria celebrates the Day of the Slavonic Script and Culture. The
merit of the Cyril and Methodius – the creators of the Slavonic Alphabet is celebrated on
that day, too.
5.3. Bulgarian alphabet today
The modern Bulgarian version of Cyrillic Alphabet has got 30 letters – with 7 of them
we mark the vowels, and with the rest 22 – the consonants. The letter ‘ь’ has no sound
equivalent and it is used to mark the soft consonant before the ‘o’. Bulgarian is the
first Cyrillic alphabet in the EU
5.4. Short history of Bulgarian language
There are three big periods distinguished in the history of the Bulgarian Language:
Old Bulgarian (9-11century), Middle Bulgarian (12-14) and Modern Bulgarian. During
the Old Bulgarian period the differences between the Slavonic Languages were not that
big yet. Bulgarian Language went through fundamental changes during the Middle
Bulgarian period. The development of Modern Bulgarian started from the 15th century.
The Modern standard language was formed in the 19th century.
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Bulgarian Language uses the Cyrillic Alphabet, created at the end of the IXth century
and named after Constantine-Cyril, the Philosopher and a Slavonic enlightener..
5.5 Bulgarian language today
Bulgarian Language is the official language of the Republic of Bulgaria. The total
number of people, who speak Bulgarian in the world, is about 9 million.
The Bulgarian Language belongs to the Southern group of Slavonic Languages. As
all other Slavonic Languages, it comes from the Proto-Slavonic Language. Bulgarian
Language belongs to the Southern Slavonic group of languages.Apart from ‘Slavonic’,
the linguists define the Bulgarian as a member of the Balkan language union, which
comprises Bulgarian, Romanian, Albanian, Greek and some other languages. These
languages show some common features, which appeared as a result of their mutual
influence.
Although it has got a close connection to the Slavonic languages, it demonstrates
linguistic peculiarities that arose from its development and which differentiate it from the
rest. These peculiarities include, for example:
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Definite article placed at the end of the word (as in Albanian and
Romanian)
Disappearance / Replacement of the infinitive: there is no infinitive in
Bulgarian
Rich system of verb tenses: there are 9 verb tenses in Bulgarian
Dying out of the case forms, etc.
USEFUL PHRASES
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Bulgarian
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English
Извинете!
Sorry!
Благодаря!
Thank you!
Къде ...........?
Where is………?
Може ли да ви попитам?
Can I ask you?
Бихте ли ми казали ...
Would you please tell me...
показали
show me
помогнали
help me
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Не разбирам.
I don’t understand.
Колко струва това?
How much does it cost?
Как да стигна до ... ?
How can I get to …?
6. Language education
Language education refers to the teaching and learning of a language. It can refer to
improving a learner's native language; however, it is more commonly used with regard
to second language acquisition, that is, the learning of a foreign or second language,
and that is the meaning that is treated in this article. As such, language education is a
branch of applied linguistics.
7. Methods of teaching foreign languages
There are many methods of teaching languages. Some have had their heyday and have
fallen into relative obscurity; others are widely used now; still others have a small
following, but contribute insights that may be absorbed into the generally accepted mix.
7.1. The grammar translation method
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The grammar translation method instructs students in grammar, and provides
vocabulary with direct translations to memorize. It was the predominant method in
Europe in the 19th century. Most instructors now acknowledge that this method is
ineffective by itself. It is used by many Latin teachers, allegedly because a dead
language is usually only written. However, this method is ineffective for written
languages too, and Latin only became dead after the grammar translation method was
introduced. Up to the XVIII century, when Latin was spoken, it was not taught like this.
Recent experiments in the University of Cadiz, in which Latin is taught as if it were a
living language, have proved to be as effective with Latin as with any other language.
(All languages that are not dead are considered modern languages.)
At school, the teaching of grammar consists of a process of training in the rules of a
language which must make it possible to all the students to correctly express their
opinion, to understand the remarks which are addressed to them and to analyze the
texts which they read. The objective is that by the time they leave college, the pupil
controls the tools of the language which are the vocabulary, grammar and the
orthography, to be able to read, understand and write texts in various contexts. The
teaching of grammar examines the texts, and develops awareness that language
constitutes a system which can be analyzed. This knowledge is acquired gradually, by
traversing the facts of language and the syntactic mechanisms, going from simplest to
the most complex. The exercises according to the program of the course must untiringly
be practised to allow the assimilation of the rules stated in the course.That supposes
that the teacher corrects the exercises. The pupil can follow his progress in practicing
the language by comparing his results. Thus can he adapt the grammatical rules and
control little by little the internal logic of the syntactic system. The grammatical analysis
of sentences constitutes the objective of the teaching of grammar at the school. Its
practice makes it possible to recognize a text as a coherent whole and conditions the
training of a foreign language. Grammatical terminology serves this objective. Grammar
makes it possible for each one to understand how the mother tongue functions, in order
to give him the capacity to communicate its thought.
7.2. The direct method
The direct method, sometimes also called natural method, is a method that refrains from
using the learners' native language and just uses the target language. It was
established in Germany and France around 1900. The direct method operates on the
idea that second language learning must be an imitation of first language learning, as
this is the natural way humans learn any language - a child never relies on another
language to learn its first language, and thus the mother tongue is not necessary to
learn a foreign language. This method places great stress on correct pronunciation and
the target language from outset. It advocates teaching of oral skills at the expense of
every traditional aim of language teaching.
According to this method, printed language and text must be kept away from second
language learner for as long as possible, just as a first language learner does not use
printed word until he has good grasp of speech. Learning of writing and spelling should
be delayed until after the printed word has been introduced, and grammar and
translation should also be avoided because this would involve the application of the
learner's first language. All above items must be avoided because they hinder the
acquisition of a good oral proficiency.
7.3. The audio-lingual method
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The audio-lingual method has students listen to or view tapes of language models
acting in situations. Students practice with a variety of drills, and the instructor
emphasizes the use of the target language at all times. The audio-lingual method was
used by the United States Army for "crash" instruction in foreign languages during
World War II. Despite the documented success of these programs, pure audio-lingual
methods are no longer common.
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7.4. Communicative language teaching
Communicative language teaching (CLT) is an approach to the teaching of languages
that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a
language. Despite a number of criticisms, it continues to be popular, particularly in
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Europe, where constructivist views on language learning and education in general
dominate academic discourse.
7.5. Self-study Methodology
Integration of comnicative approach and elements from the traditional with the unique
audio methodology provided by technology is based on the modern theories of
acquiring a foreign language as we did learn our mother tongue when we were children.
Established in 1901, Linguaphone was the pioneer of this type of language learning.
They were the first to recognise the potential of combining the traditional
written course with the wax cylinder and later records. Linguaphone
courses allowed language learners to study at their own pace using books
and original recordings supported by Linguaphone's proven methodology:
'Listen, Understand, Speak'. In both the classroom and via its self-study
programmes, Linguaphone has played a dominant role in languagelearning across the globe ever since. The network was first expanded
during the 1930's , and than in 1960’s
Prof. Lozanov developed theoretically the modern self-study methodology, used
in the world nowadays, and combined self-study with traditional methodology
approaches to establish a new system of learning foreign languages. In Europe,
one of the organizations that works out the technical realization of self-study
programmes is SITA and the content - Weiterbilding-Testesysteme GmbH, and of
course the ‘Lingaphone UK’.
The success of such courses is based on the strength of pioneering learning
methodology. With a combination of books and audio material students will learn
to Listen, Understand and Speak your new language:
Listen
Whilst reading the course books, Listen to native speakers in your new language. This
is the most relaxing and involved way to learn, helping you to associate the sounds you
hear with the words and sentences you read.
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Understand
By listening and reading the language, you begin to discover what each word means.
Everyday objects have exciting new names. Gradually words, then phrases, become
clear and your reading, writing and speaking of the language will improve.
Speak
Many people find that speaking their new language is the hardest part. But the
method implemented here, makes sure that you start speaking from the very first
lesson with the correct pronunciation.
The aim of this self-study methodology is to provide a possibility for a quick and
easy self-study learning of a foreign language, basically aurally. Combining it
with the Communicative approach acquisition and training of the four language
skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing, in the exercises sections, makes
the knowledge long lasting.
This self-study methodology has been developed to meet the needs of
professionally active adults. It is aiming at diminishing the stress when study a
foreign language in a group at a fixed time.
The acquisition of the content follows the natural stages of learning: listening,
understanding, speaking and then come reading and writing.
7.6. Language immersion
Language immersion puts students in a situation where they must use a foreign
language, whether or not they know it. This creates fluency, but not accuracy of usage.
Bulgarian for foreigners-language immersion programs are rarely used in the state
school system as part of the drive towards bilingualism. They are more popular for
stugying foreign languages like French and English.
7.7. Minimalist/methodist
This new approach is underpinned with Paul Rowe's Nation's three actions of
successful ESL teachers. Initially it was written specifically for unqualified,
inexperienced people teaching in EFL situations. However, experienced language
teachers are also responding positively to its simplicity. Language items are usually
provided using flashcards. There is a focus on language-in-context and multi-functional
practices. This is the most popular method for learning foreign languages in Bulgaria,
especially at pre-school establishments.
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7.8. Directed practice
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Directed practice has students repeat phrases. This method was used by diplomatic
courses. It can quickly provide a phrasebook-type knowledge of the language. Within
these limits, the student's usage is accurate and precise. However the student's choice
of what to say is not flexible. It is not used mush in Bulgaria these days, although some
of the older teachers still practice it.
7.9. Learning by teaching (LdL)
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Learning by teaching is a widespread method in Germany (Jean-Pol Martin). The
students take the teacher's role and teach their peers. An important target is developing
websensibility. This teaching and learning method is making its first steps in Bulgaria.
Practiced occasionally at state schools. It is more often practiced in private schools for
secondary students.
7.10. Other methods
Pimsleur language learning system is based on the research of and model programs
developed by American language teacher Paul Pimsleur. Over a dozen audio-tape
programs now exist to teach various languages using the Pimsleur Method.
Michel Thomas Method is an audio-based teaching system developed by Michel
Thomas. Mr. Thomas became famous in the United States by teaching spoken
proficiency in French, Spanish, German and Italian as well as English for speakers of
these languages using an approach that required no homework, memorization or
practice. Up until his death in January, 2005, at the age of 90 over 8,000 students
studied with him. He taught many well-known people including Grace Kelly (French) and
Woody Allen (Spanish).
Following a documentary, the language master, in 1997 which was shown on BBC2 he
became well-known in the UK. This led to the release of CDs of him teaching. After his
death, more CDs were issued using his method to teach Arabic, Russian and Mandarin
Chinese. These CDs were produced by Hodder, the UK publisher which had originally
issued his CDs. No CD-s available in Bulgarian.
The documentary demonstrated him teaching French to a group of London students
who had previously done poorly in language studies. After a week of learning with him
they were able to converse in French. This generated much positive interest in the UK.
Two teachers who worked with Mr. Thomas, Rose Lee Hayden and Harold Goodman,
worked on production of the CDs following his death. Dr. Hayden taught Phase II
courses which consisted of practise in speaking following the Phase I sessions with Mr.
Thomas in which students were given the foundation of the language.
Dr. Goodman was the only person to have formally been trained by Michel Thomas in
his approach to teaching and learning. This took place between 1995 until shortly before
his death in 2005. He is the author of the Michel Thomas Mandarin Foundation and
Advanced Courses ( Hodder, UK).
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The above mentioned courses are published by McGraw-Hill in the USA.
Several methodologies that emphasise understanding language in order to learn, rather
than producing it, exist as varieties of the comprehension approach. These include Total
Physical Response and the natural approach of Stephen Krashen and Tracy D. Terrell.
Learning about the language rather than learning to use the language is not popular in
Bulgaria.
7.11. Silent Way
The Silent Way is a discovery learning approach, invented by Caleb Gattegno in the
50s. It is often considered to be one of the humanistic approaches. It is called The Silent
Way because the teacher is usually silent, leaving room for the students to talk and
explore the language. It is often associated with Cuisenaire rods and wall charts where
words are colour-coded; each phoneme a different colour. From this method only the
colourded schemes were addopted and are widely used in Bulgaria for learning and
teaching a foreign language.
8. Learning strategies
8.1. Code sw itching
Code switching, that is, changing between languages at some point in a sentence or
utterance, is a commonly used communication strategy among language learners and
bilinguals. While traditional methods of formal instruction often discourage code
switching, students, especially those placed in a language immersion situation, often
use it. If viewed as a learning strategy, wherein the student uses the target language as
much as possible but reverts to their native language for any element of an utterance
that they are unable to produce in the target language, then it has the advantages that it
encourages fluency development and motivation and a sense of accomplishment by
enabling the student to discuss topics of interest to him or her early in the learning
process -- before requisite vocabulary has been memorized. It is particularly effective
for students whose native language is English, due to the high probability of a simple
English word or short phrase being understood by the conversational partner. There is a
tendency to broaden the audience using this method, which is due to more bi-, or
multilingual families to have been established in the recent 10 years in Bulgaria. As a
tendency it is rising in all Europe as well, due to the ‘free movement of people’ for work,
study and/or live.
8.2. Blended learning
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8.2.1.Blended learning combines face-to-face teaching with distance education,
frequently electronic, either computer-based or web-based. It has been a major growth
point in the ELT (English Language Teaching) industry over the last ten years.
Universities in Bulgaria started offering this method of study not only languages – it is
more popular for vocational education. Also, students are more aware of the new IT
means and prefer to use them in a larger scale than their parents.
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8.2.2. Some people, though, use the phrase 'Blended Learning' to refer to learning
taking place while the focus is on other activities. For example, playing a card game that
requires calling for cards may allow blended learning of numbers (1 to 10). Not used
very much in Bulgaria – was popular among drivers some five years ago.
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8.3. Private tutoring
Tutoring by a native speaker can be one of the most effective ways of learning.
However, it requires a skilled, motivated native tutor, which can be a rare, expensive
commodity. That tutor may draw on one or several of the above methods. This method
is preferred by Bulgarian parents but is not widely used because of the relatively high
cost of such an education. The native speakers are also hired by some private language
schools and teach a whole group not only one or two students at a time.
9. Language education by region
9.1. Foreign language education in Bulgaria w ith a view to EU
On the basis of contributions from Member States', including Bulgaria, the European
Council has identified a number of common priorities for the future common for all
member-countries and the contribution which the education and training systems must
make if the Lisbon goal that Europe should become "the most competitive and dynamic
knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with
more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" is to achieved. At the same time, the
Council notes the principle that an important role of Education is to promote the
humanistic values shared by our societies. The Council has also considered the general
aims which society attributes to education and training :
the development of the individual, who can thus realise his or her full
potential and live a good life;
the development of society, in particular by fostering democracy, reducing
the disparities and inequities among individuals and groups and promoting
cultural diversity,
the development of the economy, by ensuring that the skills of the labour
force correspond to the economic and technological evolution.
The Council has in its work noted the measures taken by the Commission since the
Lisbon
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European Council - most notably the publication of the Communications on "e-learning",
and the Memorandum of Lifelong Learning which were presented to the Education
Council on 9 November 2000, aiming at:
 Increasing the quality and effectiveness of education and training systems
in the European Union;
 Facilitating the access of all to the education and training systems;
 Opening up education and training systems to the wider world;
Very popular, and well-known among educators in Bulgaria is 1995 European
Commission’s White Paper "Teaching and learning – Towards the learning society",
which stated that "upon completing initial training, everyone should be proficient
in two Community foreign languages". The Lisbon Summit of 2000 defined
languages as one of the five key skills.
In fact, even in 1974, at least one foreign language was compulsory in all but two
European countries (Ireland and the United Kingdom, apart from Scotland). By 1998
nearly all pupils in Europe studied at least one foreign language as part of their
compulsory education, the only exception being the Republic of Ireland, where primary
and secondary schoolchildren learn both Irish and English, but neither is considered a
foreign language. Pupils in upper secondary education learn at least two foreign
languages in Belgium's Flemish community,
Bulgaria, Denmark, Netherlands,
Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Estonia,
Lettland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia.
On average in Bulgaria, as well as in Europe, at the start of foreign language teaching,
pupils have lessons for three to four hours a week. Compulsory lessons in a foreign
language normally start at the beginning of grade two of primary school (beginning) –
that’s a difference with some of the other EU countries were the compulsory FL
education starts at the end of the primary school (grade 4) or the start of secondary
school (grade 5). In Luxembourg, Norway, Italy and Malta, however, the first foreign
language starts at age six, and in Belgium's Flemish community at age 10. About half of
the EU's primary school pupils learn a foreign language.
English is the language taught most often at lower secondary level in the EU. 93% of
children there learn English. In Bulgaria the percentage is nearly the same 91%. At
upper secondary level, English is even more widely taught. French is taught at lower
secondary level in all EU countries except Slovenia. A total of 33% of European Union
pupils learn French at this level. At upper secondary level the figure drops slightly to
28%. German is taught in nearly all EU countries. A total of 13% of pupils in the
European Union learn German in lower secondary education, and 20% learn it at an
upper secondary level.
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Many Europeans learn foreign languages at a much faster rate than American students
because their language education is more intensive and may start at a younger age.
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Despite the high rate of foreign language teaching in schools, the number of adults
claiming to speak a foreign language is generally lower than might be expected. This is
particularly true of native English speakers: in 2004 a British survey showed that only
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one in 10 UK workers could speak a foreign language. Less than 5% could count to 20
in a second language, for example. 80% said they could work abroad anyway, because
"everyone speaks English." In 2001, a European Commission survey found that 65.9%
of people in the UK spoke only their native tongue. In Bulgaria: 3 from 10 workers can
speak a foreign language (not only English, French and German but also including
Greek and Spanish). The last are popular due to the big Bulgarian population of
workers, who moved to work and live in this countries.
Since the 1990s, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has
tried to standardize the learning of languages across Europe.
One of the aims of the "Common European Framework of Reference: Learning,
Teaching, Assessment", Council of Europe reference document for the European
Language Portfolio, is to help countries to describe the levels of proficiency required by
existing standards, tests and examinations in order to facilitate comparisons between
different systems of qualifications. For this purpose the Council of Europe has
developed a European Framework with common reference levels, which were adopted
for Bulgarian National Vocational System as well.
There does appear in practice to be a wide consensus on the number and nature
of levels appropriate to the organisation of language learning and the public recognition
of achievement.
These six levels are an interpretation of the classic division into basic,
intermediate and advanced, which are still widely used, especially for English in
Bulgaria.
The scheme proposed in the "Common European Framework of Reference:
Learning, Teaching, Assessment" adopts a "Hypertext" branching principle, starting
from an initial division into three broad levels:
Basic User:
A1 and A2
Independent User:
B1 and B2
Proficient User:
C1 and C2
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Such a simple "Global Scale" makes it easier to communicate the system to nonspecialist users and will also provide teachers and curriculum planners with orientation
points.
However, in order to orient learners, teachers and other users within the
educational system for some practical purpose, a more detailed overview is necessary.
Such an overview is presented in the form of a Self-Assessment Grid showing major
categories of language use at each of the six levels. It is intended to help learners to
profile their main language skills, and decide at which level they might look at a checklist
of more detailed descriptors in order to self-assess their level of proficiency.
GLOBAL SCALE
C2
Proficient
User
C1
Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and
abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of
specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that
makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without
strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range
of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the
advantages and disadvantages of various options.
B1
Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar
matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal
with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the
language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics
which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and
events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and
explanations for opinions and plans.
Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to
areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family
information,
shopping,
local
geography,
employment).
Can
communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct
exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe
in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment
and matters in areas of immediate need.
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A2
Basic
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Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise
implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously
without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language
flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects,
showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and
cohesive devices.
B2
Independent
User
Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can
summarise information from different spoken and written sources,
reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can
express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely,
differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.
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User
A1
Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic
phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can
introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions
about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows
and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other
person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
9.2. Bilingual education
In some countries, learners have lessons taken entirely in a foreign language: for
example, more than half of European countries with a minority or regional language
community use partial immersion to teach both the minority and the state language.
In the 1960s and 1970s, some central and eastern European countries, including
Bulgaria with the English, German and French High Language schools and in 1980s the Spanish High Language school, created a system of bilingual schools for wellperforming pupils. Subjects other than languages were taught in a foreign language.
In the 1990s this system was opened to all pupils in general education, although some
countries still make candidates sit an entrance exam. At the same time, Belgium's
French community, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland also started bilingual
schooling schemes. Germany meanwhile had established some bilingual schools in the
late 1960s.
9.3. United States
Most students start learning a foreign language in high school or late middle school.
Students are sometimes required to take a certain amount (on average two years) of
foreign language study in order to graduate; in some states or school systems, this is a
requirement only of certain graduation plans (e.g. college preparatory).
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The most popular language is Spanish, due to the large number of recent Spanishspeaking immigrants to the United States (see Spanish in the United States). Other
popular languages are French, German, and Japanese. Latin used to be more common,
but has fallen from favor somewhat. During the Cold War, the United States government
pushed for Russian education, and some schools still maintain their Russian programs.
Other languages recently gaining popularity are Chinese (especially Mandarin) and
Arabic.
With the vast number of immigrants in the United stated today however, the fastest
growing area of language education is ESL or ELL. In June 2000 Edward Bodnar
helped pioneer the movement of faith based ESL classes through churches in Nashville,
TN. This movement based wholly on the Let's Start Talking program, that teaches
conversational English using the Bible, started by Mark and Sherrylee Woodward. This
program in Nashville has now helped over 3000 immigrants from over 30 countries
learn to converse in English in Nashville alone.
9.4. Australia
Prior to European invasion and settlement, there were hundreds of Aboriginal
languages, taught in a traditional way. The arrival of a substantial number of Irish in the
first English convict ships meant that European Australia was never perfectly
monolingual. When the goldrushes of the 1850s trebled the white population, it brought
many more Welsh speakers, who had their own language newspapers through to the
1870s, but the absence of language education meant that these Celtic variations away
from English never flourished.
Waves of European migration after World War II brought "community languages,"
sometimes with schools. However, from 1788 until modern times it was generally
expected that immigrants would learn English and abandon their first language (Clyne,
1997). The wave of multicultural policies since the 1970s has softened aspects of these
attitudes.
In 1982 a bipartisan committee of Australian parliamentarians was appointed and
identified a number of guiding principles that would support a National Policy on
Languages (NPL). Its trend was towards bilingualism in all Australians, for reasons of
fairness, diversity and economics.
In the 1990s the Australian Languages and Literacy Policy (ALLP) was introduced,
building on the NPL, with extra attention being given to the economic motivations of
second language learning. A distinction became drawn between priority languages and
community languages. The ten priority languages identified were Mandarin, French,
German, Modern Greek, Indonesian, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Aboriginal
languages.
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However, Australia's federal system meant that the NPL and ALLP direction was really
an overall policy from above without much engagement from the states and territories.
The NALSAS strategy united Australian Government policy with that of the states and
territories. It focused on four targeted languages: Mandarin, Indonesian, Japanese and
Korean. This would be integrated into studies of Society and Environment, English and
Arts.
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By 2000, the top ten languages enrolled in the final high school year were, in
descending order: Japanese, French, German, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Greek,
Vietnamese, Spanish and Arabic. In 2002, only about 10% of Year 12 included at least
one Language Other Than English (LOTE) among their course choices.
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10. Language study holidays
An increasing number of Bulgarian people are now combining holidays with language
study in the native country. This enables the student to experience the target culture by
meeting local people. Such a holiday often combines formal lessons, cultural
excursions, leisure activities, and a homestay, perhaps with time to travel in the country
afterwards. Language study holidays are popular across Europe due to the ease of
transportation and to the small geographical distances. Many individuals travel to the
UK alone to learn English.
With the increasing prevalence of international business transactions, it is now
important to have multiple languages at one's disposal. This is also evident in
businesses outsourcing their departments to Eastern Europe. The are more than ten
international language chains of school in Bulgaria, where the overall population is 8
million people.
11. Language education on the internet
The internet has emerged as a powerful medium to teach and learn foreign languages.
Websites that provide language education on the internet may be broadly classified
under 2 categories:
11.1. Language Exchange w ebsites
Language exchange facilitates language learning by placing users with complementary
language skills in contact with each other. For instance, User A is a native Bulgarian
speaker and wants to learn English; User B is a native English speaker and wants to
learn Bulgarian. Language exchange websites essentially treat knowledge of a
language as a commodity, and provide a market like environment for the commodity to
be exchanged. It is more popular for the Spanish language. Bulgarian as a FL is not
popular, also because of the Cyrillic Alphabet it uses.
From the user's perspective, the effectiveness of such websites in learning a language
from the start is very questionable. Attempts like "I want to learn Japanese" do not
frequently elicit any positive reaction from seasoned users of the site.
There is also the view that these services provide a good tool to aid language learning
at a language school, rather than act as alternatives to real world language schools.
Users typically contact each other via chat or email.
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11.2. Portals that provide language content
There are a number of internet portals that offer language content, some in interactive
form. Content typically includes phrases with translation in multiple languages, text to
speech engines (TTS), learning activities such as quizzes or puzzles based on
language concepts. While some of this content is free, a large fraction of the content on
offer is available for a fee, especially where the content is tailored to the needs of
language tests such as TOEFL, for the United States.
In general, language education on the internet provides a good supplement to real world
language schooling. However, the commercial nature of the internet, including pop-up
and occasionally irrelevant text or banner ads might be seen as a distraction from a
good learning experience.
In the recent years, language activists and linguists have begun using new technologies
in projects aimed at revitalizing the practice of lesser-used languages as is Bulgarian.
New technologies are treated as part of cultures of electronic mediation, connecting
sociocultural valuations to mediated discourse.
Radio LARA
LARA and a great deal of programmes are developed in Bulgaria now in response to
the LIFELONG LEARNING programme goals, aiming at contributing to increased
participation in lifelong learning by people of all ages, including those with special needs
and disadvantaged groups, regardless of their socio-economic background, to promote
language learning and linguistic diversity; to support the development of innovative ICTbased content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning via radio
broadcast, to reinforce the role of lifelong learning in creating a sense of European
citizenship based on understanding and respect for human rights and democracy, and
encouraging tolerance and respect for other peoples and cultures.
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ABBREVIATIONS
CALL: Computer-assisted language learning
CLL: Community language learning
DELF: Diplôme d'études en langue française
L1: First language, mother tongue
L2: Second language (or any additional language)
LDL: Lernen durch Lehren (Learning by teaching)
SLA: Second language acquisition
TELL: Technology-enhanced language learning
TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
TEFLA: Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults
TPR: Total Physical Response
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TPRS: Total Physical Response Storytelling
BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.europa.eu/education/lifelong learning
Educational Reform by Information and Communications Technology: ICT
Strategies
for
Educational
Improvement-A
Japanese
Perspective
Takashi Sakamoto, National Institute of Multimedia Education, Japan
A Research Agenda for Interactive Learning in the New Millennium
Thomas C. Reeves, The University of Georgia, USA
How Do We Enhance Education By Using Internet In Transnational Projects? 12
years of experience in European Schools Project in Denmark
Mogens Eriksen & Kirsten M. Anttila, The Royal Danish School of Educational Studies,
Denmark
Reshaping Academic Practices through Multi and Hypermedia
Iliana Nikolova, University of Sofia, Bulgaria
Health Education in a Web-based Learning Environment: Learners' Perceptions
Lori Lockyer, Barry Harper & John Patterson, University of Wollongong, Australia
Computer-Supported Cooperative Learning Environments: A Framework for
Analysis
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Flávia Maria Santoro, Marcos R. S. Borges & Neide Santos, State University of Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
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Reusing Web Documents in Tutorials With the Current-Documents Assumption:
Automatic
Validation
of
Updates
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David B. Johnson, U S WEST, USA; Steven L. Tanimoto, University of Washington,
USA
IMPROVING TEACHING BY TELECOMMUNICATIONS MEDIA: EMPHASISING
PEDAGOGY RATHER THAN TECHNOLOGY
Peter Jamieson, Monash University, Australia
REPORT ON A CHANGE SYSTEM: THE TRAINING, INFRASTRUCTURE AND
EMPOWERMENT SYSTEM (TIES)
Michael Szabo, Terry Anderson & Annette Fuchs, University of Alberta, Canada
Combining Social
Organizations
Networks
and
Collaborative
Learning
in
Distributed
Hiroaki Ogata & Yoneo Yano, Tokushima University, Japan
A Meta-analysis of Learning Evaluation Online: LEO's Useability, Adoption, and
Patterns of Use
Albert Ip, The University of Melbourne, Australia; David M. Kennedy, Monash
University, Australia
A Web-based Virtual Education System for Tele-training Courses
S. Sioutas, J. Tsaknakis, A. Tsakalidis & B. Vassiliadis, University of Patras and
Computer Technology Institute, Greece
Enabling
Professional
Learning
in
Practice:Descriptors for Multimedia Objects
Distributed
Communities
of
Radio LARA
Christine Steeples & Peter Goodyear, Lancaster University, United KingdomThe
listed above papers can be found at: Reeves, T. (1999). A Research Agenda for
Interactive Learning in the New Millennium. World Conference on Educational
Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 1999(1), 15-20. [
And also available: http://dl.aace.org/4212
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