Embodiment of Trace Theory in Teaching Verb Tenses

Embodiment of Trace Theory in Teaching Verb Tenses Hankuk University of Foreign Studies 韓國外國語大學校 Kilryoung Lee Jan. 17 2009 Background   There have been many studies related to language forms and the grammatical errors Korean students often make when they use English.  One of the most frequent errors made by Korean students are verb tense errors (Chung and Chung, 1998). Why are English verb tense difficult? Why are English verb tense difficult?  Verb tense is one of the most difficult grammar parts in mastering English since it is concerned with invisible concept of ‘time’.  Each of verb tenses are taught separately and inconsistently. Simples present /present continuous, simple past/present continuous, future continuous/present perfect  Koreans are not as much sensitive about verb tenses as English native speakers.  It is urgently needed to teach the verb tenses more effectively.  Many scholars such as Asher (1977), and Walter, Patty and Becking (1981) have found that physical activities can enrich the language learning in various ways.  The idea of physical motion’s advantage on the language learning ability is very closely related with TRACE THEORY of learning. Trace Theory-1  Theory that if we are correctly said to remember some fact or event (as against relearning it, guessing it, and so on) there must be some physiologically identifiable trace in the brain which carried the information in question right through from the time when we first learnt it (Bursen, 1978).  The trace need not be a physical object; it could be an electrical circuit or such like. Trace Theory-2  Trace theory of memory (Katona, 1940)  The more often or the more intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely it will be recalled.  Memory is stimulated or ‘traced’ and increased when it is closely associated with motor activity (Brown, 2001). Trace Theory-3  Retracing can be done verbally (e.g., by rote repetition) and/or in association with motor activity. Combined tracing activities, such as verbal rehearsal accompanied by motor activity, hence increase the probability of successful recall.  In this study, a new teaching method called ‘Teaching Verb Tenses through Actions (TVTA)’ (Song & Lee, 2007) is suggested to help students understand verb tenses easily.  In this study, verb tenses are associated with spatial time. They are represented in hand signal actions.  Learning languages with physical actions can enhance language learning and reduce learners’ stress.  These actions could be very expressive and helpful for L2 learners. [...]... The space in front of the speaker indicates the future time d Present Continuous    To talk about things that are happening now Things are still doing now “ You are playing soccer.” Rotating your hands in the location of the speaker indicates the present continuous e Past Continuous    To say that somebody was in the middle of doing something It’s for a time before now “ You were playing soccer.”... Post-test To find out the improvement of students' English ability on learning verb tenses Questionnaire To investigate what they think about TVTA 1 Pre-test   Pre-test (40 questions of verb tenses) was conducted No significant differences of pre-test scores (Mean: Exp 65.24 / Cont 65.91) 2 Teaching Verb Tenses through Actions (TVTA)  The students in the experimental group learned TVTA when using a grammar...The purposes of this study  To corroborate the new teaching method called Teaching Verb Tenses through Actions (TVTA)’  To help students use appropriate forms of verb tenses Review of the literature e 1 Time Orientation Metaphor  Lakeoff and Johnson (1999) suggest that we have a rich and complex notion of time built into our conceptual system All of our understandings of time are relative... Rotating your hands in the space behind of the speaker indicates the present time f Future Continuous    To say that something will be in progress at a particular moment in the future “ You will be playing soccer.” Rotating your hands in the space i n front of the speaker indicates the future continuous g Present Perfect    To say that you want to talk about things that have happened in your... whereas the students in the control group learned verb tenses using the grammar book without actions  In TVTA, the time metaphor applies to a spatial schema to let the students understand the verb tenses more easily and cognitively  In TVTA verb tenses are linked with physical activities and spatial time schema a Present Simple    To talk about things that you do again and again If you try to express... location of the speaker to the space in front of the speaker indicates the future perfect j Present perfect Continuous    To talk about situation which started in the past and are still going on “ You have been playing soccer.” Move your hands from the space behind the speaker to the location of the speaker and then rotate your hands at the location of the speaker ⑪ Past Perfect Continuous  ... had continued up to the past moment “ You had been playing soccer.” Make your hands from before the space behind the speaker to the space behind the speaker and then rotate your hands at the space behind the speaker ⑫ Future Perfect Continuous    To say that something will have been done or completed by a certain time in the future and it will be still going on “ You will have been playing soccer.”... hand signal activity, saying this example sentence “ You play soccer.” The location of the speaker indicates the present time b Past Simple     To talk about events that happened in the past It is for things that are finished “ You played soccer.” The space behind the speaker indicates the past time c Future Simple    To say that you have decided to do the things in the future and to talk... the space behind the speaker to location of the speaker indicates the present perfect h Past Perfect    To say that one thing happened before another thing happened “ You had played soccer.” The movement before space before the speaker to the space behind speaker indicates the past perfect i Future Perfect    To say that something will have been done or completed by a certain time in the future... language very easily when they learn through physical activities (Lee, 1971) Research Questions Is Teaching Verb Tenses through Actions (TVTA) effective for students to learn verb tenses? Methodology Subjects: - 61 middle school students (14-15 years old) in Seoul, Korea - They were taught a course called ‘Intensive grammar lesson’ for 10 weeks - The Experimental Group : 31 students (F:16/ M: 15) - The . Embodiment of Trace Theory in Teaching Verb Tenses Hankuk University of Foreign Studies 韓國外國語大學校 Kilryoung Lee. corroborate the new teaching method called Teaching Verb Tenses through Actions (TVTA)’  To help students use appropriate forms of verb tenses Review of the literature