Simulation in language-learning

Uses of Simulation in Language-Learning: 

Uses of Simulation in Language-Learning Andrew Lian School of English Suranaree University of Technology website: http://ljunction.com/sut3 We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. ( Anaïs Nin) The universe is made up of stories, not atoms (Muriel Rukeyser) When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change (Max Planck) 18 November 2011

What is simulation?: 

What is simulation? There is no clear single definition Role play vs simulation: simulation broader than role play Role playing/simulation follows from the interactional view This view "sees language as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social transactions between individuals....” Language teaching content, according to this view, may be specified and organized by patterns of exchange and interaction or may be left unspecified, to be shaped by the inclinations of learners as interactors ." (Richards and Rodgers, 1986, p. 17) To fulfill their role responsibilities, students must relate to others in the simulation, utilizing effective social skills (Tompkins)

A couple of examples: 

A couple of examples Go into a shop and buy some biscuits. You are a twenty-year old Australian tourist in New Caledonia. It is 10.55 a.m. and the shops are about to close. You are hungry. You need to buy 500 grams of chocolate biscuits. The shopkeeper is a middle-aged French man. You do not know each other. He is obviously in a bad mood. He can tell that you are a tourist (not a good thing). How do you go about obtaining what you need?

Now…: 

Now… Scarcella and Crookall (1990) claim that simulation facilitates SLA and learners acquire language as: they are exposed to large quantities of comprehensible input, they are actively involved, and they have positive affect (desires, feelings and attitudes).

And: 

And Comprehensible input is provided in simulations: students engage in genuine communication in playing their roles Active involvement stems from participation in worthwhile, absorbing interaction which tends to make students forget they are learning a new language Students have the opportunity to try out new behaviors in a safe environment, which helps them develop long term motivation to master an additional language

But: 

But Does this actually happen? Let us go back to the previous slide and review the claims Problems such as artificiality, self-consciousness, lack of involvement, the role play is an end in itself i.e. lack of illocutionary force (essential in genuine communication – participants’ statements are empty: yet another exercice ) But isn’t functioning in a (foreign) language a form of play-acting?

What’s missing?: 

What’s missing? Real communication is all about stakes – the desire to achieve something. It has real, personal, outcomes. An example from youtube Faced with these problems and the need to practise in realistic contexts, are there more interesting ways of organising simulations?

Here are some possibilities: 

Here are some possibilities You can: Make it open-ended in terms of time and outcomes (real life is not scripted) Increase the complexity Increase the time involved Increase the cultural content Increase the level of participant freedom Thus enabling the environment to be quasi self-regulating ***

One possible solution: 

One possible solution Ongoing self-managed macrosimulation It allows the creation, on a large scale, of a simulated situation sufficiently structured by constraints so as to define and organise a broad range of communicative activities similar to those encountered in real life

And…: 

And… It should be flexible enough to allow participants to choose tasks commensurate with their levels of ability and knowledge of the language. It should make room for individual variations in the ways in which the required tasks are carried out. It should develop students’ autonomy through increased self-reliance.

Example: 

Example Creation of a simulated village A village is a geographical, economic, cultural setting in the country whose language is being learned. In turn, this will necessarily define roles, potential conflicts, problems etc. etc.

Example (cont.): 

Example (cont.) Geography Content/ organisation Roles – no rehearsal/ memorisation Situations Triggers All driven by cultural imperatives Agreement: keep simulation running and do what is expected in real life Video + feedback loop – M. Personne Not easy to manage – right person Experimented with at UQ in Australia

Results: 

Results Results were surprising Individual needs were extracted (clash between learners and tasks) People became personally/emotionally involved It became part of their daily lives and extended well beyond the classroom As a result utterances had illocutionary force as people now had stakes in the outcomes of their interactions Here is a quick summary…

Most important impact: 

Most important impact And the major contributor to change Was the sense of history that was created. This in turn… Impacted on personal histories and therefore on… Students’ perception/interpretive mechanisms resulting from … Changes in their personal logical and representational systems

Of course…: 

Of course… This has an impact on many things such as: No pre-established direction in terms of processes, tasks or outcomes No pre-defined course programme ; course objectives emerge as the course develops Tasks are negotiated between participants It is assumed that every learner can make valuable contributions. Contributions may not always be linguistic but may relate to specialised knowledge from real life

The fundamental aspects: 

The fundamental aspects Of systems such as these are: a closed operational space time the potential for producing utterances with illocutionary force (through the use of appropriate structures) considerable resources (technology, including social networks, can help) a good feedback mechanism

More examples: 

More examples A day on French television Community radio broadcasts

Interestingly…: 

Interestingly… And independently Some 10 years later saw the invention of “Simulation globale ”

Why is any of this interesting?: 

Why is any of this interesting? T hough old in years, it is still relevant It is more able to be supported now than in the past because of modern technology and therefore can be extended further (second life) It connects particularly well theoretically with models of personal knowledge construction based on postmodern theory It provides the basis for a self-regulating, autonomous model of (language-)learning It provides an interesting area for research

Different simulations: 

Different simulations Alelo Dialogue generators Also more specialised simulations Voiceovers Mirror exercises Specialised simulations (e.g. medical)

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Thank you!