Ok, so now it's time to apply what you've learned. Take a look at the cartoon and do the following:
1. Decide whether students would have to use top-down or bottom-up processing (or both) to understand it and justify your answer.
2. How can you as a teacher make it easier for high-beginner students to understand the cartoon?
1. Decide whether students would have to use top-down or bottom-up processing (or both) to understand it and justify your answer.
ReplyDeleteI think a reader would have to try to use both top-down and bottom-up processing in order to decipher the meaning of the cartoon. First, the reader would use his background knowledge to guess the meaning of the text. The stone wheels and the cave dwellers talking around them as well as the words rotate and balanced allow the reader to at least have an idea of what the cartoon is about. In addition, the reader would be able to understand the sentences and have a general idea of the cartoon by carefully looking at the grammatical structures, cognates and vocabulary. However, the reader might have problems understanding the humor of the cartoon. One could understand it and still not think that it is funny. Here, the problem is cultural. There are things that are really funny for Hispanics that are definitely not funny for other cultures. Once I used a Mafalda cartoon with my American students. All of them agreed that the cartoon was easy to understand, but that it wasn’t funny.
2. How can you as a teacher make it easier for high-beginner students to understand the cartoon?
It all depends on the class objective, audience and time. If one of the class objectives is to teach vocabulary about cars, I would definitely ask them simple questions like: How much do you know about cars? What parts can you mention?
I would also draw stone wheels and explain the meaning of the word balance. In other words, I would activate their background knowledge. Then, I would try to explain aspects of the cartoon that might be difficult to understand. Of course, it all depends on the group; for example, if I’m sure they don’t know the use of colloquial expressions such as ‘em, I will focus on that particular aspect. I might also ask them to scan the text and tell me what they understood, and then ask them questions based on what they understand. I could also draw/use body language to explain some parts of the cartoon (e.g. I could use my hands to explain the first sentence: we’ll rotate them for free).
Leonardo,
ReplyDeleteI think that you are completely right when you say that they would need to use both top down and bottom up strategies. However, I found your explanation of how they would need to use their backgrounnd knowledge a little confusing. Could you clarify it for me? What exactly would they need to know to understand the cartoon?
However, I feel that the way you would approach bottom up processes in class is excellent. You made sure to cover most of the important aspects.
Orlando's response:
ReplyDelete1. Decide whether students would have to use top-down or bottom-up processing (or both) to understand it and justify your answer.
They would have to use both. On theory they are separated, but all persons would be using intrinsic knowledge while reading, for example the capability to read. It is basic for each one who can do that . When learning to read the persons need to apply the prior knowledge to become able on this skill. But they should have an idea about the proper word in the language that is trying to learn to read. From the beginning of process on , the people use both at the same time. It would not be the case if the person does not know to read, it is , there would not be neither top down nor bottom up process. When there is process of reading, and if the person know to read or is learning to do that, both process run.
2. 2. How can you as a teacher make it easier for high-beginner students to understand the cartoon?
T can do that by some ways. One could be, giving instructions to the ss according to which they had to describe what they are inferring from the cartoon. T would have feed back that gives chance of thinking what to do about the use of this material for.
Other way could be seen when the student is driven by the cartoon itself and the words related showed on it. It would be requiring from the student to be assertive and to find a meaning.
A third case could be when the T introduce the idea of the cartoon. Going from this, it is, having been prior guided, the ss could be driven by the cartoon and the words into it. After that, the meaning would be easier understood.
What I mean by activating their background knowledge is that I would make them look at the cartoon and see what they think the cartoon is about. They would use their background knowledge, or information that they already know, to guess the meaning of the text. The stone wheels and the cave dwellers talking around them allow the reader to at least have an idea of what the cartoon is about. They need to know some vocabulary: the verbs to rotate and to balance.
ReplyDelete