Over several decades on foreign language teacher listservs, a debate could be found over whether teaching the language should focus just on the language, not (Continue Reading)
Pat’s Polemics
My new Web site
One Student’s Reaction to Acquisition
12/30/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentMy student in Spanish introduced me (via Zoom) to her former student, an impressive young man majoring in linguistics. Talking about our lessons, she mention (Continue Reading)
More evidence of the efficacy of repetition in input
12/06/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentAn article on child acquisition of the ergative forms in Basque finds that Basque children receiving bilingual input, i.e. two different languages being used in (Continue Reading)
Mistakes in teaching French
12/02/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentI noted in Lesson #51 I wrote il n’a pas des amies when it should be d’amies. I am pretty sure I did not realize (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s lesson #1 June 25, 2018
11/29/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentI am writing this up 8 months after the event and will reference subsequent developments. We went over the principles, incl. signs, comprehension checks via (Continue Reading)
Signs of acquisition
11/19/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentTracking one student has its advantages. When you are working with a group of students, it’s hard to notice what each one is acquiring. My (Continue Reading)
Fossilization as supreme
11/17/2020 Pat Barrett 1 CommentIn FL teaching theory, fossilization became a major issue. The theory went that incorrect forms, once learned, could not be unlearned. That appears to foreshadow (Continue Reading)
How Grammar Instruction Works
11/14/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentRecently I’ve seen some posts on teaching the subjunctive. Most often the requests are for fun ways. That made be wonder what role fun plays (Continue Reading)
Judith lesson # Aug. 25, 2020
08/25/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentContinuing narrative but with lots of new vocabulary. Some good grammar points. Tiene la seguranza medica = she has medical insurance. Tiene una cita para (Continue Reading)
A New Stab At TPRS
07/29/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentAfter almost eight weeks of lessons in Spanish via Zoom, a foundation has been laid. Soon I will get back to transcribing my granddaughter’s French (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Jan. 27, 2020 #
05/31/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentLong hiatus and we agreed on regular 5 day a week schedule.The purpose today was for her to notice how much she knows and think (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Dec. 11 #
05/23/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentVous allez ecrire des notes. Why do I have to take notes?* She picked a gender neutral name for a character who was the object (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Dec. 9, 2020 #
05/20/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentI wrote the following on the flip chartNyah et sa mere ont voyage en FranceA Paris elles n’y ont trouve que de pizza et hamburger (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Dec. 28, 2019 #
05/16/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentI took my cat to the vet?Hier? ?Pas aujourd’hui, hier.Oh, yeah.**Is this the new one or the old one (story)C’est completement nouveau.Oh.*You don’t want to (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Nov. 23, 2019 #
05/16/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentNyah’s BirthdayShe said something in French and I missed recording it! Here is the story again: Deux personnes marchaient dans la foret. Sur le sentier (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Nov. 21, 2019 #
05/16/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentDeux personnes marchaient dans la foret. Sur le sentier il y avait un serpent. A! J’ai peur des serpents, a cri une des personnes. L’autre (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s Lesson Nov. 19, 2019
05/13/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentQu’est-ce que c’est comme carnet?Oh, what kind of notebook?*Marc a un “A” dans toutes les matieres. Est-ce qu’il est un bon etudiant?Yeah.* Chez eux their (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s lesson Nov. 13, 2019 #
05/13/2020 Pat Barrett Add Commentla cantine scolaire – school?* (I read aloud a long piece in francais courant with me making notes on various items but overall not very (Continue Reading)
Nyah’s lesson Nov. 4, 2019 #
05/08/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentReminder: asterisk means indicates she understood the French without props the baby eats solid food?* je ne peux plus……no more* le mais dedans le nez….what? (Continue Reading)
Threats to the program
04/25/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentFinally I got a lesson going via an iPad. It went OK, but Nyah wanted to talk about where we were going with this. Uh-Oh. (Continue Reading)
Ups and Downs with TPRS and the Virus
04/14/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentJust as my granddaughter was getting back into the swing of things with French, the virus hit. She has stayed away for a week or (Continue Reading)
A 1959 remark on acquisition via reading
03/27/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentIn 1959 the author of Hausa Literature and the Hausa Sound System, R.C. Abraham, wrote this: (the Hausa are what is traditionally called in the (Continue Reading)
Nyah lesson 3/17/20
03/18/2020 Pat Barrett Add CommentLong time since I’ve transcribed these lessons but I’ll start with yesterday’s in part because it was amazing. Then I’ll backtrack and catch up. I (Continue Reading)