ENVIRONMENTS PROPITIOUS TO LEARNING ENGLISH AS

In education and language instruction there are several sorts of "environments": pedagogical, linguistic, psychological, socio-economic, physical, and, of course, internal and external environments. This short paper briefly touches upon the physical environment to concentrate on the pedagogical, linguistic, and psychological/social environmental factors which clearly affect the learning and acquisition of a second language--particularly for the Japanese young child.

If the pedagogical dynamics of the classroom can be professionally controlled, so can and should the physical environment. Temperature; humidity; light color, intensity, and distribution; color and reflectivity of walls and furniture, etc. all contribute to the creation of an attractive (i.e. positively motivational) environment. Too hot or too cold, too dry or too humid, too dark or too bright an environment affects learning negatively. So does fatigue and/or hunger in the children (and the teachers!): hence, the importance in schools catering to low socio-economic populations to provide good meals and rest-periods. Wall and furniture colors ought to be selected judiciously for their effects on learning, rather than on the basis of a teacher's or administrator's wife's amateurish whims. There are studies which show which colors and color combinations are best for different age and cult

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e teachers is... to maximize opportunities for language acquisition to take place" (p. 47). One approach to the "perfect" environment is that preconized by Whole Language advocates. They recognize that language is both individual and social. Authenticity is fundamental to the Whole Language classroom. "Real is a byword in whole language classes" (Rigg, 1993, p. 72). The approach stresses student choice and collaboration, thus creating a collaborative or community-type environment. Language is always used purposefully and meaningfully, rather than through insipid sentences such as "La plume de ma tante est dans le jardin". There is a commitment to real activities, i.e. to those relevant to the children's interests, lives, and communities. Basals are proscribed. Real literature is "in", i.e. both fictional and informational literary works of appropriate literacy levels are made available. Classroom libraries and visual, auditory, and audio-visual resources are well stocked and freely accessible. Writing is fostered concomitantly with reading and speaking and is as "real" as reading and speaking, i.e. it is purposeful: the children write to each other, to their parents, to the teacher, to themselves in their diaries, because they ha
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Chapman Kohn, Physical Environment, Cazden Bellugi, L1 Conclusions, CS Chomsky, Code Theory, Moustafa Penrose, Dulay Burt, Koreans Japan, Finocchiaro Bonomo, language acquisition, language learning, learning environment, physical environment, learning language, l2 environment, york ny, language classroom, classroom environment, language teaching, heinle heinle publishers, mass heinle heinle, boston mass heinle, child's preferred mode, 1978 comprehension strategies,
Approximate Word count = 3802
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)