Week 4 - comprehension questions

<Comprehension Questions>

- What are language skills?

    acquired abilities to perform appropriate language functions in need. Usually composed of several separable sets of skills which enables more specific needs. 

- Discuss 'separability of skills' and 'hierarchy of skills'

   1) separability of skills: Skills can be broken down to several subskills that enable higher level of skills. Those subskills are usually distinguished to discriminate the process how a skill is done. However, there is no clear-cut. Those subskills closely interact to perform higher activities. For example, the four skills mentioned in pp 97-98 always interact to perform the activity, "reading".

   2) hierarchy of skills: Skills are organized in a somewhat vertical way. For example, realizing spelling patterns and recognizing phonemic symbols would be a very basic underlying skill, in terms of reading. In this case, those skills takes lower positions in the hierarchy. In contrast, inferring specific information out of a context demands much more complex cognitive ability. This skill, needless to say, occupies the higher position in the hierarchy. In this way, the hierarchy of skills is established.

- Discuss lower-level processing in L2 Vs. Higher-level skills in L2

    Lower-level processing means that active interaction of lower-level skills to convert raw text to literal meaning. Skills such as identifying letters and recognizing phonemes are involved in this processing. It usually demands less cognitive capacity, however, higher reading comprehension will be impeded unless automatized enough. For example, American students learning Japanese as L2 should spare appropriate attention on reading Kanji, otherwise they will have problems later in their reading skill.

    Higher-level processing, in contrast, requires grater cognitive capacity to produce deep interpretation on the given text. Skills such as inferring information or guessing the author's intention will be involved in this kind of processing. Those higher skills are not possible unless lower-level skills supports them. And there is considerable disagreement on which skill is more difficult than others.

- From Table 4.1-4.4, think back what reading skills you haven't used before when you read English textbooks. Do you think ESOL learners should practice these skills (the skills you haven't used)  in English class?

    In my case, I found I haven't even heard of several skills labelled as lower-level skills compared to my repeated experiences on practicing higher-level skills. I never was explicitly taught consonants, vowels, subtle differences on pronunciation, morphemes, and so forth. I think it is due in part to the fact that most children acquire those skills in their early years. Children just 'pick up' those very fundamental skills if enough input is given, at least in my experience. 
    However, the higher skills demand more cognitive capacity and extra attention which are partly responsible for its difficulty. Unless children are cognitively ready to acquire those, they will suffer or even fail. Even though they seem to be ready, they need to achieve the goal step by step. In this regard, I think I was taught about those higher skills much in my schooling.
    This is the reason I argue that both intensive and extensive attention on those skills are in need without any doubt. I myself is also an evidence in this approach, who (relatively successfully) acquired the skills up to mature level, although I was not taught lower-level skills directly. Children learning L2 are already able to pick the skills up, thanks to their cognitive ability and knowledge about their L1. If they are exposed in a reasonably good environment, it is merely a question of time. If they seem to be stuck in a stage, then we need to provide them with more explicit explanations and trainings, which would lead them to acquire higher skills.