I was able to tell my story:

Gifted Language learners and a

Year 11 speech writing task

Dr Robyn Moloney
Macquarie University
robyn.moloney@mq.edu.au

Mrs Sally Mizoshiri
LOTE Teacher, North Sydney Girls High School
Sally.heighway@det.nsw.edu.au


Why?
Almost no research knowledge of the gifted language learner, what
are the catalyst factors which move them from gifted abilities to
talented performance

They are leading linguists of their peer group, potential to enhance
their own and Australias development in future years (Gross, 2002;
Mc Cann, 2005) Best possible role models!

To observe a small group of senior secondary gifted language
learners; what do they get out of a speech writing task ? Why do
they then volunteer in Year 12 to enter National Speech Contest?

To contribute to knowledge in(a) gifted language learners and (b)
the pedagogy which offers them greatest learning opportunity.

The gifted language learner ?

The gifted language learner is first a gifted learner.

Five differences in gifted learner. Capacity to :
1. Comprehend complex ideas at a faster pace
2. find solve and act on problems more readily
3. manipulate abstract ideas and make
connections
4. generate original ideas
5. display preference for independent work
Chandra Handa (2009, p. 57)

But moving from gifted to talented?
factors and catalysts effect development:
*intrapersonal (physical characteristics,
motivation, self-management and
personality),
*environmental (surroundings, which includes
persons, provisions and events)
*chance factors. (Gagne, 2004)
What will the catalysts be for language talent?
Gifted kids should be language
learners
gifted students need, and have capacity for an understanding of
syntactic structure, vocabulary development, and an appreciation
of semantics, linguistics, and want to use structures in real
communicative practice (Deveau, 2006)
Van Tassel-Baska (1998) maximize the linguistic understanding that
is part of gifted kids abilities.
Capacity to learn 2,3,4 languages.


New South Wales Syllabus K-10 (BOS NSW 2003) Making linguistic
connections between languages recognises that intentionally
analyzing the structure of the target language and comparing it to
other languages, allows students to use their verbal gifts and test
their understanding of language.

Other findings
giftedness in bilingual students, and academic
advantage of immersion language programs
for small children
Valdes (2003) not just linguistic ability,
bilingual childrens sophisticated intercultural
or pragmatic abilities
Pedagogy for gifted (language) learners

promote creative thinking, critical thinking,
reflective thinking (metacognition) conceptual
thinking, integration of cognitive technologies,
specific curriculum models, independent study,
and research skills (Chandra Handa, 2009).
development of higher order thinking skills within
language use - work strongly together
must not be just more of the same. Leaver
Ehrman & Schekhtman (2005) E.g moving away
from the textbook..
The study 2013
North Sydney Girls High School: academically
selective, 90% LBOTE
Year 11 class Continuers.
All did (non-assessable) task, but some
participated in the research activities and
volunteered their speech texts.
Data: Mid-task reflection, speech text, post-task
focus group discussion. 5 months
Context of Sallys practice: Lighting a fire in
gifted language learners Mizoshiri (2013) in
Language Teachers Narratives of Practice
(2013)

Speech Task Yr11 Japanese
Continuers
In Japanese you are going to give a brief ( 2 minute)
presentation using ICT in Japanese to teenagers at your
school about your favourite JPOP band/artist and the song
which means most to you. Using ICT, you will talk about
your favourite JPOP artist/band . You must try to
incorporate grammar learnt this year. Dont forget to talk
about what their music means to you. Introduce yourself
briefly at the beginning and ensure you leave time for a
couple of questions from the audience. And
rememberChallenge Yourself!
Speech task allows for rich language, and reduces anxiety.
Scaffolding: revision of structures, previous speech samples



Reporting the data



(1)Mid-task reflections
4/8 students chose theme song of a anime. Emotional attachment
from their childhood,
my song was the ending song of the animation Spirited Away
which is my favourite animation and symbolic of my childhood ..it
left a very deep impression with the meaningful journey and ending.
(S6)
My song is the ending theme for episodes of the animation Naruto
Shippuden. It holds great personal importance and meaning, as I
found comfort in liking such things.(S4)
Connection with other personal experiences while on exchange in
Japan, the songs musical , nostalgia and adolescent idealism
Peer motivation I am looking forward to listening to other
peoples speeches and enhancing my knowledge of J-Pop.
They showed organisational ability : structure, timing, practice

Speech text extracts


(When I was about 5years old, Sailor Moon was my favourite anime. When I was
a child, the song taught me justice and romance) S2


(Since I was in Year 4, I love watching anime and reading manga very often.) S3.

This exposure from an early age has involved family cultural choices, with
positive affect associations, for example:


.(I used to sing it every time when I
went to Karaoke with my family. So when I listen to this song, I feel good.)(S2)

Exposure to culture is an environmental catalyst which has created cultural
familiarity, meaningful context, and motivation for the developmental process
of acquiring Japanese.

Speech texts ctd

Evident that students had been interacting with
Japanese culture from an early age
Strong connection to/with enjoyment of
animation or other media as entertainment
students linguistic ability to comprehend the
lyrics, motivates them to make a personal
connection with the songs content e.g in
adolescent aspirations expressed in future
hopes, dreams, personal individual pathways
and idealism.


For example:

(I like this song
because the lyrics have good meanings, it gives the listeners hope
for future and have the cheering message to achieve dreams
confidently for the listeners) (S8)


(The Lyrics in this song
dont be alone, we are all here makes me feel warm. It is great
as it has encouraging lyrics. It means that Im not alone.) (S7)

(The lyrics contain a lot of meaning

and feeling. The message of the lyrics is that you must find your
own new way in your future. The song is about high school
students, not adults, so it is close to us.) ( S1)


(3) Post-task focus group interviews

I wanted to do something that was personal to me..
I was able to tell my story, basically, through it (S2)
In junior years we learn the basic skills, but then later
we have to think critically about expressing our
opinions in Japanese ( S1) the speech helped us to
connect our Japanese language skills with the critical
thinking we had to do ( S6).
a metacognitive, big picture view of their language
study: when you learn a language, you dont just learn
basic skills, you have to learn about the society and
culture ( S1)


3) Post-task focus group interviews

language represents much more than a school subject,
learning a language isnt like learning another subject
like maths or science. just walking around in the
street, you might hear people speaking Japanese, or
you might see signs or packaging. So youre always
constantly thinking or learning ( S5)
external autonomous learning increases her
vocabulary, and she brought some of it to her speech:
Although it is formal, I put in some modern language,
that young people would use Ive watched dramas,
anime, and it was useful(S2)

Findings of study
*Is an effective task for gifted language learners.
*Why? It meets many of the characteristics
essential for the gifted learner:
*individual choice, original ideas and independent
self-expression, higher order thinking.
*For some, metacognitive perception of a break-
through expansion of their linguistic ability in
Japanese.
*The task affords the activation of individual prior
knowledge, and opportunity to align emotion, and
sense of identity, with learning.

What are the catalysts that move gifted to
talented in language learning?
Intrapersonal: motivation, mind-set
Environmental: teacher, peers, others
Provision: Rich tasks- purposeful, meaningful,
personal. Compact pace of acquisition, to
focus on application. Access to extra
autonomous learning
How can this be adapted to the bright sparks in
Year 8,9, 10, to inspire them to move into Year
11 and beyond?
Discussion
How would you identify a gifted learner in your
class?
What tasks do you use in your classroom for
gifted learners? Do they differ from other tasks?
What tasks do you think are effective for gifted
language learners?
Would you consider a speech task? Why?
How can we encourage our students to pursue
further study of Japanese at university? Develop
image of themselves as adult Japanese speakers?