“Text
(i.e. discourse in any form) will be easier to reproduce, understand
and recall, to the extent that it is structured episodically”. Explain
in layman’s terms and discuss whether you think this is really accurate.
Give examples from personal experience if possible.
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In layman’s terms, episodically structured text is text that is arranged into some sort of meaningful order, such as a story, information over a particular topic, or a conversation. In my personal experience I have found episodic text to be quite helpful in language learning situations. For example, on almost every Spanish test I have ever taken, there was at least one cloze-test or fill-in-the-blank with the correct conjugation of the verb activity that was arranged into a short story or dialogue. This kept my interest, and also provided some background for certain verb choice. Also, structuring the test in this way could allow for use of new vocabulary (and it’s pragmatic applications) within the testing material.
ReplyDeleteThis means that text structured in a meaningful context will be better retained and acquired than text structured randomly or just listed in order to learn. I suppose one could say that using episodic structures for text is the most communicative way to receive L2 textual input as it is engaging and applicable. Specifically, these "episodically structured texts" could be stories, dialogues, instructions, comics, films, plays, etc. Because language itself is a natural and meaningfully structured phenomenon, it makes sense a new language should be acquired by being presented in a natural and meaningful way.
ReplyDeleteI think this is accurate because the grammar and vocabulary I remember most from my L2 classes were from exercises or homework where I had to create storyline and use the same grammar ad vocabulary words multiple times in a single context. That was more efficient than drilling.
Information given in a progressive structure like a story or anything involving actions being done in a specific order will be more easily recalled by students. Episodic text is more life-like and is therefore communicative, it also holds students' interests in the way reading any story would. I agree with this and use this technique for memorization in general. If I can arrange bits of information into a kind of story, things are must easier to remember.
ReplyDeleteIf the text (or dialogue, story, etc..) has an order to it that is meaningful, then it will be easier to remember or be reproduced by the student. I think it is quite accurate, because if things have a logical order and connection, then you are more likely to understand/relate/recall than something that is completely random (even we find it hard to remember a simple list of things if someone just gave us a randomized list of words, but if it had meaning, i.e, say it was a list of what you had to do today, then it probably would be easier to remember rather than random things). I always found it hard to memorize new phrases/vocabulary terms, so I would always try to put them into groups (these are about this topic, etc.), which made it easier to remember. When there was a story to something, it would also make me want to know what the new terms meant, so I can know what is happening in the story (if it was interesting), so I really think that this is accurate because it sparks interest from the students, which might encourage them to want to know more, to ask more questions, or to tell others for example.
ReplyDeleteI agree that episodically structured text is easier to reproduce and understand. In my language class, the teacher always gave tests that had an embedded story. Each section contained content related to a theme, and the test itself contained a story that was interesting and made sense as a whole. I think this is a good example of episodic text. In some language lessons, there are a bunch of unrelated sentences that require the student to produce a certain tense or grammatical construct. Random, dry sentences don’t create interest and curiosity like a paragraph with interrelated sentences. In my studies, I used Norma's study trick. I would create a story that linked verbs with certain characteristics together so I could remember them.
ReplyDeleteThe key difference between the episode hypothesis and a run-of-the-mill ESL dialogue is that the material is presented in an "interest-provoking episode." It draws the learner in and makes them wonder what will happen next. An increased interest level in the material helps the learner better retain and reproduce the material. As Elizabeth said, it's helpful to the learner also to have a context for the verb choice. It gives the student a broader understanding of usage than an isolated sentence would. In my Spanish class as a high school freshman, our textbook had a video series that went along with it. It was like a Spanish soap opera for teenagers but slightly less dramatic. The show integrated structures we were learning from the text, and after each segment we would have discussion and writing assignments about what had happened and what we thought would happen next. At times the teacher would give us dialogues from the show and we'd have to fill in the correct verb forms. We really loved those videos! Sure, they had terrible acting, but they were at least interesting and way better than the usual dry verb conjugation and paperwork. The stories helped us to retain the information and use language in a more authentic way as we discussed and wrote about the shows.
ReplyDeleteThis quote makes sense given that most people are linear thinkers. It is easier to follow a story that has a beginning, middle and end with a logical sequence of events than one that skips from the middle to the end and then backs up to the beginning. Think in terms of how you transmit information to another person during a conversation, there is usually a flow to the sequence of events that you are trying to communicate. In terms of language learning, I think this is not only true but imperative. If you are trying to teach a lesson on the past progressive without first having gone through the basic verb tenses it is hard for the student to build a cohesive sense of understanding of verbs. Given that in language development, there is an actual sequence of first language development that occurs I think that the same is probably true for L2 development as well. As far as personal experience goes, I can relate to novels that I have read that are not linear in sequence in terms of a timeline. I had to keep flipping back and forth between chapters to orient them in my mind is the sequence that they occurred. It is not a 'bad' thing, but it does take much longer to read a book that way. I think that if things are not sequenced, it can take longer and more effort to learn a second language.
ReplyDeleteI think episodically-structured text is helpful for students to reproduce, understand and recall. Learning a language needs whole relatively systematic knowledge points not random knowledge. I remember in my English learning class, the textbook we use are classified as many different themes or topics, such as sports, environment, science and so on. Each chapter contains one topic, which we can learn many topic-related vocab, phrases, sentences and dialogues and passages. And also we can practice the four skills in each topic. I think in this way we can be more interested in learning language and easily remember the information we need to learn and we can use them in the appropriate situations.
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ReplyDeleteJarrod Duarte
ReplyDeleteI believe that this statement is true. For example, we have determined that the average human being can remember around 7 digits hence the reason why our phone numbers are 7 digits, however at least in regards to short term memory there have been tests that have shown that the average human can remember a sentence that has 16 words. Obviously this is because there is context and we relate or group the words in the sentence together instead of seeing the sentence as 16 different pieces of information. This is why I think that episodic texts would be easier to learn from, reproduce, and recall.
Jarrod Duarte
Students will remember well-ordered, logical information more easily than random disconnected pieces of information. I think this is probably true. I generally find study tools like flash cards unhelpful because it feels like I'm trying to connect two random things. On the other hand, making up sentences and stories that use the information is very helpful. "Ich lese ein Buch" =(I read a book) is easier to remember than just "lese" =(read) because it is sandwiched between two familiar pieces of information (I and book). The most likely thing to do with a book is read it, so if I forget the verb, it's fairly easy to remind myself.
ReplyDeleteKailey Watson
This quote means that the presentation of language is enhanced if students receive interconnected sentences in an interest-provoking episode rather than in a disconnected series of sentences (definition from the book). So basically, this method is attempting to add a little drama to the presentation of language. When giving a student a basic conversation sample that does nothing but attempt a little "small talk" and the "plot" doesn't exactly go anywhere, needless to say the student is going to get bored. If students get bored, the process of language learning is going to become a lot more difficult. This method attempts to present language in an interesting way that keeps students engaged, interested, and a desire to know what's going to happen next. As long as the information is well-ordered, interconnected, logical, and clearly presented students will not only be able to understand the information given, but will better retain the information if it engages the student. Also, it motivates the student to want to learn more, especially if the story/dialogue given has a "cliff hanger".
ReplyDeleteI think this is quite accurate. I can remember trying to learn spanish, and the method that seemed to be the most helpful to me were reading books in spanish. Obviously when I was at a beginning level this consisted of very short stories, or simply a couple of paragraphs. However, when I would read these stories, I would completely forget that I was doing this to better my spanish. I would become engaged in the story. And, if there was a word or two that I didn't know I would be eager to find out what they were. I didn't get frustrated that I didn't know them. I wanted to know them so I could find out what happened in the story. It was a nice distraction while bettering my spanish skills. I think this method could be quite useful when teaching a language.
Layman's terms: text will be easier to reproduce, understand and recall because its structured in a series of connected parts. I think this statement is accurate. I teach using the the "Ventures" textbook and they tend to keep things loosely episodic. Students are able to follow the text and tie vocabulary and grammar points from the beginning of a unit to the end of that unit. As the next unit starts it builds on what was already learned from the previous unit.
ReplyDeleteAs a student learning my L3 (Italian), I was glad my instructor chose a book that was colorful, easy to follow, and it built on itself. The units covered different parts of Italy but each unit built on the knowledge from the last unit. So the chapters weren't stand-alone. You had to understand the grammar from Unit 1 to get Unit 2. My instructor did a wonderful job making the text seem less of a chore, so as a class we looked forward to the next unit.
Stefani Goode
This statement simply means that if information is given in a format such as a story or is somehow interconnected with a clear context, it is easier to remember than random pieces of information presented in a vacuum.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this very accurate, and is particularly connected to communicative language learning. In my past language-learning experience, it was far easier for me to reproduce and recall information I learned within a framework or in a real-world kind of scenario rather than when I had simply memorized an unconnected list of items. In particular, when I was learning Korean it was much simpler to recall information I learned watching scenes from TV dramas than it was when I had just been given random phrases to memorize with no context attached to them. Also, when I learned Greek we began by memorizing huge numbers of vocabulary words, but I never really 'got' them until later in the year when we began translating stories and verses which were episodic. Placing information in an episodic context makes it easier for the mind to fully grasp what it is learning.
I believe that text that is structured in episodically is easier to reproduce, understand and recall. I go through a lot of fiction books and I can pretty much recall any element in them at will. The content is structured in a way that the human mind finds receptive. It’s just a natural way of receiving and maintaining information. But give me a book with random un-episodic information and I won’t recall a single thing and I know for a fact that I’ll stress out if I’m told I’m going to be tested on it. If I’m really hard pressed to learn this way I will take that information and craft it episodically so I can recall it later. It’s just the way human minds work. It’s just a more natural way of learning and retention.
ReplyDeleteIn layman’s terms this means that people have an easier time understanding a story (text) when it is presented in a logical, chronological order. I think this is accurate to a point, as long as there isn’t information overload for a language learner. I’ve been in a language class where a speech was given by the instructor and everything was presented in chronological order, but the presentation was much too long and I got hung up on the upper level vocabulary and I couldn’t have said what it was about to save my life. This is definitely an instance where “know your students” comes into play.
ReplyDeleteOller’s episode hypothesis was that students will remember language better if it is structured in a meaningful, attention grabbing order such as a compelling, easy-to-follow narrative or dialogue. Perhaps an example of this is my Berlitz method mp3’s which teach me Japanese through stories, attaching Japanese syllables to images. For example, the instructor will say “Imagine you saw a cow that was so cold it was naying like a horse. Now say “sa-moo-ee-nay.” This means “It’s cold isn’t it?” This helps me remember the phrase “is it cold” because it gives me some mental hooks or images to recall that attach meaning to otherwise meaningless syllables. Another non-linguistic example is this year’s lesson for my Sunday School class. I’m teaching the Old Testament and most weeks I will review for them what we’ve been learning from the beginning of the year up to that day’s lesson. This way they are constantly reviewing past lessons in narrative form and hopefully understanding that day’s lesson in the context of the narrative arc of the Old Testament. Today one of my students called me to share how he was asked by a classmate what the Bible was all about and was able to answer him based on the narrative flow of the Bible that I teach each week. I think it is useful then to incorporate language into stories so that the brain doesn’t have to put unrelated words into memory but can follow a story that naturally helps it recall the relevant information.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Oller’s idea. This is natural that people can remember something more easily if the things are familiar with their own experiences, or the things are related each other. For example, it is easier to remember someone’s phone number than meaningless numbers of ten digits. (Of course, sometimes people give some meanings to the meaningless array of phone numbers to remember effectively.) In language learning this is also useful to understand or recall some whole dialogues. If students learn target languages with the dialogues that are related to real-life situations, this makes students understand and remember the conversations effectively in contexts than learning dialogues that do not fit to real-life or contexts. Moreover, because the episodically structured text will be more interesting, it will motivate students more than nonepisodic one.
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