Uzbek

[Patricia Chaput]

On Thu, 31 May 2001, gthomson wrote:
> It seems to me that the first step would be to find an Uzbek, not to
> find teaching materials. It may take a bit of effort, but languages
> aren't found in teaching materials, they are found in the heads and
> relationships of live people! So I would advise the person to put
> first priority on finding and Uzbek, and second priority on finding
> teaching materials. S/he may study Uzbek on his or his own, but
> doesn't s/he also want to LEARN Uzbek? S/he can't do that on his or
> her own.
> Warmly,
> Greg
>
Statements that seem to denigrate "study" in favor of "learning" always
alarm me.  There is ample evidence that adults benefit from "study" and
in fact may not learn language successfully without it.  Take, for
example, the evidence from study abroad that indicates that the more
grammar structure and instructed study students have before they go, the
more progress they are likely to make.  I am not aware of equivalent
evidence for the ability of students to "learn" successfully (in a
reasonable period of time) from a "speaker" who does not have expertise
in teaching the language.  Adults have developed cognitive frameworks and
cannot reproduce the blank slate of a child, who develops both
linguistically and cognitively at the same time.  Adults who try simply
to "learn" from a native speaker are likely to learn much more slowly,
and to learn imperfectly.  For any motivated student who wants to
understand and speak a language with accuracy and confidence, "finding a
native speaker" is only part of the equation.
        Many people forget (or do not realize) how much knowledge is
involved in learning a foreign language.  If adults, with frameworks and
assumptions from their native language(s) already established, do not
actively (intellectually) confront difference, it is likely to go
unremarked or be misinterpreted.  Trying to learn language merely through
"exposure" and practice with a native speaker is like trying to learn
modern history from someone who has merely lived through a period, or
botany by going out into the garden and beginning to observe, in other
words to start from scratch and ignore knowledge that has been acquired,
described, organized, and open to evaluation.  What materials and
qualified teachers of any subject offer are expertise, organization,
critical interpretation and analysis, and facilitation that permits
adults to "learn" effectively in the limited amount of time that they
typically have available.  (Using those matierials has the indirect
result of advancing knowledge, as imperfect materials stimulate
additional investigation, description, analysis.)  We need to recognize
both the importance of language materials, and respect the knowledge and
expertise of teachers who teach language.
>
Patricia Chaput
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Harvard University

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