Story Versus Non-Story

5-StoriesPan-SigDo Stories Promote Learning More Than Non-Stories?

This is my talk for the PanSIG 2015 Conference of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT). May 16-17, Kobe City University of Foreign Studies.

Click on the image or here for a PDF of the talk.

Abstract: Two groups of university students read separate variations of one text. The Story Group (SG) read a variation embedded in story grammar, i.e., with a character who faced conflict and tried to resolve it. The Non-Story Group (NSG) read a variation with the same facts, but not embedded in story grammar.

After reading and a delay, SG and NSG Groups took identical quizzes about the text. The SG and NSG groups got statistically similar results on the quiz, but in one subset of the SG Group, learners performed better. The small sample and mixed results indicate a need for more research on this topic.

For some reason, my last name was omitted in the program, so I’m “Joseph Warren” instead of Joseph Warren Poulshock.

Poplingual Update

poplingualfixPoplingual.com is a mashup of the best of the web for applied linguistics and language learning. It’s a one stop site for getting the top language learning news and information. And now it’s updated with a fresh new look and even more stuff. So grab a cup of coffee and get your linguistics fix for the day at poplingual.com!

Keep on Knocking

At BeeOasis.com, we recently published a short story about Bob Dylan’s song “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” Dylan wrote the song at a low point in his musical career, but as fate would have it, the song actually marked a turning point for him. Before the song:

By 1970, his career had reached a low. On June 8th, he released the album “Self-Portrait,” and critics hated it. On June 9th, Princeton University gave him an honorary doctorate in music. But some thought he was a musical thing of the past. It looked like it was “song over” for Bob Dylan.

Then after the song came out:

It’s short, only 80 words. (One of Dylan’s songs is over 1,000 words long.) But this little song became one of his biggest hits. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Over time, many artists covered the song including, Guns N’ Roses, Eric Clapton, and U2. Today, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is listed among the “Top 100 Western Songs” of all time.

Please visit BeeOasis.com to read the whole story, and watch the video to go with it.

Researching the “As If” Principle and ER

AsIfResearch400x300Presentation for the Seventh Annual Extensive Reading Seminar, Sunday September 28, 2014 Keisen University, Tokyo Japan.

Click the image to download the PDF.

“If you want a quality, act as if you already have it” (William James, 1884) This is the As If principle (AIP), and research shows that it applies to many kinds of behaviors.

To apply the AIP in ER, students participated in a photo contest, acting as if they liked reading by taking pictures of themselves enjoying books. They wrote captions on the pictures promoting reading, and they rated the pictures for the contest.

Pre-post questionnaires suggest students might gain reading motivation by doing this activity. Authors will summarize their results and discuss the implications of AIP research in ER.

 

As If Activities for Extensive Reading

AsIfActivities400x300

Presentation for the Seventh Annual Extensive Reading Seminar, Sunday September 28, 2014 Keisen University, Tokyo Japan.

Click the image to download the PDF.

The Philosopher William James (1884) argued for what is today called the “As If principle,” (AIP) that if you behave as if you are a certain kind of person, you become that person. Decades of modern research show that the AIP is a dynamic theory of psychology.

In this short paper, the authors demonstrate seven  practical activities that apply the AIP to motivate students to do extensive reading: (1) A Picture of Reading; (2) Colored Wristbands; (3) Happy Mirror Reading; (4) Happy Talk; (5) Three Minute Drill; (6) Reading Posters; (7) The Confidence Trick.

Besides these activities, authors discuss ways to research the efficacy of the AIP (giving details of that research in a separate presentation).