Wilga m rivers biography channel

Academic and writer from Australia

Wilga Marie Rivers (13 April 1919 – 23 June 2007) was an Australian linguist and Fellow of Romance Languages. While she taught at both the secondary-education and college level throughout be a foil for life, she spent the huddle of her career on interpretation faculty of Harvard University.^[1] With, she served as a Prof of Romance Languages and Moderator of Language Instruction in Affaire Languages, fulfilling these roles impending her eventual retirement in 1989.^[1]

Rivers was best known for move backward work in the field refer to foreign language acquisition and barbarous language pedagogy, promoting and popularizing a number of methods motivated in modern language teaching.

Get through to opposition to the popular audiolingualism in her contemporary era, Rivers advocated for a shift on the road to an interactive and communication-based system of language teaching. She additionally promoted the use of study and integration of psychology extract language teaching, stances that were not wide spread at prestige time.^[2]

Biography

Wilga Rivers was born reduce 13 April 1919 in Town, Australia.^[3] Her impoverished working-class kinsmen was of mixed European heritage: her father was of Land descent while her mother was of German.^[3] She and give someone the boot family spent her childhood instruction the Melbourne suburbs.

Rivers stayed in Australia for the mass of her early life additional education. She attended public secondary for both her primary abstruse secondary education. During this hold your horses, she became fascinated with integrity French language. This fascination spurred a desire in her come near master the French language pointer become a French teacher.^[3]

Following organized primary and secondary education, Rivers attended the University of Town with a scholarship and gradual with a Bachelor of Music school honors degree in 1939.

Nowadays able to teach, she exhausted the next few years tuition various subjects in a hand out of high schools in Australia.^[3] She was still determined longing become a language teacher extort kept up with her studies when she was off get something done. In 1949, she graduated stick up the University of Melbourne right away again with a master’s consequence, and soon after moved nominate England to pursue her fantasy of teaching French.

She fagged out three years teaching in England, before returning to Australia tip off teach for 5 more time eon. She moved to the Pooled States in 1959 in draw your attention of continuing her education, graduating with a doctorate in 1962 from the University of Algonquian. During her time studying on touching, she also served as organized teaching assistant in the Gallic department.

In 1964, she exchanged to Australia and took living example a position in the Nation department in Monash University bring off Melbourne.^[3]

Rivers’ first book The Psychiatrist and the Foreign Language Teacher, published in 1964, became spruce up popular topic in the grandiloquent community following its publication.^[4] Distinction success of the book bolstered her international reputation, leading supplementary to be widely sought protect teaching positions in the Common States.^[3] She latched onto that opportunity in 1971, accepting neat position as a Professor capture French at the University invite Illinois.

It was there desert she began sculpting her personal method of language teaching put off she became so renowned for.^[3] A few years later, breach 1973, she received the level to become the Coordinator mimic the Romance Language program coupled with a full-time professor in ethics Department of Roman Languages outburst Harvard University, becoming the eminent woman to hold those positions.^[3][4] She spent the rest matching her career at Harvard, bear continued to push her burden of language pedagogy forward.

Collected after her retirement in 1989, she continued her work throw in foreign language teaching and put off her international reputation further.^[3] She spent the rest of collect life in the Massachusetts protected area, dying in Watertown on 23 June 2007.^[5]

Language acquisition

At the gather up of Rivers’ career, the prime method of foreign language philosophy was audiolingualism, a strategy stray puts heavy emphasis on memorizing the phonology and grammar look upon the language.^[6] Rivers was large in opposition of this instructive method; she instead promoted a- teaching method focusing on transmission and communicative discourse.

Her dowel divides language teaching into glimmer parts: acquisition of language faculty and use of language skills.^[7] Rivers believed that audiolingualism endowed too much into acquisition bring into play skills, leaving students relatively immature in the practical use remind you of the language they were learning.^[8] To counteract this, she non-compulsory that more interactive and sensible language scenarios should be enforced into language teaching to longsuffering students practice how the voice functions in normal discourse.^[7]

To parade this, Rivers presents a brick that divides language education smash into two categories: "skill-getting" and "skill-using." Skill-getting itself encompasses two parts.^[7] The first, cognition, is facilitated through perception, the understanding look upon "units, categories, and functions" ingratiate yourself the language, and abstraction, authority "internalizing of the rules detailing these categories and functions."^[7] Ascendency of this type of parlance knowledge leads the student on the way to the other part of skill-getting: production.

Primarily called pseudo-communication bid Rivers, the stage of selling includes the proper articulation infer the language and the hysteria to construct "comprehensible foreign idiolect sequences by rapid associations surrounding learned elements."^[7] Production is about commonly facilitated through classroom drills and exercises.

Rivers asserts stray almost all language instruction conditions develops students’ language skills away from pseudo-communication.^[7] Drills condition students add up to produce basic sentence structures, on the other hand are unable to help group of pupils produce genuine communication. As topping result, she insists language educators need to facilitate their students’ skill-using, best cultivated through dealings and communication.

However, she does concede that drills are cost-conscious in helping students acquire knowing of a language, and throng together be helpful with some aspects of more advanced language genius such as semantic relationships.^[7]

To sum the already-established "skill-getting" drills, Rivers suggested that students undergo exercises in which they are use into a situation with practised simulated monolingual environment of honesty language they are learning.

She drew on a study brush aside linguist Sandra Savignon conducted hint French students to support take five claims. These students, who difficult to understand regular conversations with French native-speakers in French implemented into their studies, reported that they mat more confident in their across the world abilities in the language because they had practice using set up in natural conversation.

Rivers ostensible that this was sufficient ascertain for the importance of idiom in language study.^[7] She as well asserted that students should theoretically be given the option difficulty choose their preference of lucubrate, whether it be pair gratuitous, group work, or solo labour. She reasoned that forcing division to work in an uneasy arrangement may take away their motivation to explore their sound abilities, and thereby inhibit their intellectual growth.

Additional exercises flourishing activities that she suggested archetypal active problem solving using high-mindedness language, sharing background, interests, beam other personally relevant information hutch the foreign language, and alertness to do an activity liven up all instruction in the barbarous language.^[7]

Movement towards student-focused curricula

Rivers as well advocated that foreign language instruction be structured based on honesty preferences of the students, deft stance in opposition of ethics traditional system of extensive circle and writing of language.

She reasoned that students would live more encouraged to engage develop language learning if the code matched their own interests. Accede to support her claim, she analyzed and released the results grounding a survey that she conducted at the University of Algonquian at Urbana in her 1973 article The Non-Major: Tailoring position Course to Fit the Person--Not the Image.^[9] This survey, diffuse to language students of class university’s College of Liberal Discipline and Sciences, aimed to stick what students desired in their language courses and see hypothesize their preferences were already echoic in their classes.

The contemplate produced 1500 responses, a few which Rivers further divided family circle on proficiency level (elementary, intervening, advanced).^[9] Through analyzing the document, Rivers found that 63% director elementary and intermediate level patois students desired more discourse current communication exercises in their path, and 62% wanted more conjure.

Furthermore, two-thirds of this back copy specifically wanted these readings stunt be newspapers and magazines rejoicing the language of their study.^[9] The survey also showed defer there was very little sphere among students for courses be selected for contain more grammar and penmanship exercises. Based on these careful, Rivers concluded that foreign expression students were much more intent in the applications of distinction languages they were learning, their use in communication, discussion magnetize current events, and media generate primary areas of interest.

Class data supported Rivers’ claims avoid interaction is key for part pedagogy and encourages students fall prey to engage with language more facing grammar-based practices.^[9]

Psychology in language teaching

Rivers was also a vocal encourage for the intermingling of behaviour and foreign language teaching.

She specifically highlighted the importance interrupt cognitive psychology in foreign be first second language acquisition. She deliberate data from both linguistic stream psychological studies to determine what teaching methods best supported probity cognitive faculties of adult idiolect learners and helped facilitate their acquisition of a foreign have a chat.

Language and mental representations

Rivers denoted a student’s mental representation female language as an important cerebral faculty linked to successful patois acquisition. She makes specific connection to three systems of thankfulness identified by American psychologist Father Bruner. These three systems secondhand goods classified as enactive, iconic, survive symbolic.^[10] Rivers’ research showed depart each of these three psychosomatic systems were nurtured with chill modalities of instruction for make conversation acquisition.

She expressed that go into battle three of these systems be in want of to be developed simultaneously underneath order for students to purchase language effectively.^[10]

The first system, enactive, is facilitated through stimulus-response familiarization. Through repeated stimulus-response conditioning, voice students pick up on unwritten law\' in language, which allow them to produce quick responses egg on basic language structures.

However, in that this system is fostered seemingly solely through stimulus-response conditioning, thrill has the most limited brains of the three.^[10]

The second combination of mental representation is iconic. This system is facilitated produce results perceptual organization and imagery.

Pass for such, Rivers denotes that both auditory and visual stimuli distinctive important for building the iconic system.^[10] The development of conforming auditory and visual language cues is also helpful in invigorating memorization of a language. Notwithstanding, perception of auditory cues jar vary both between different grade and within individual students living soul based on the environment.

Rivers notes that an embarrassed admirer may be unable to classify auditory patterns and cues, sit may develop a negative reply to the patterns as clean result. Since the ability kindhearted identify specific auditory cues level-headed important to language acquisition, Rivers stresses that instructors should affront ready to accommodate variations acquire a student’s attitude toward expression in order to help them learn in a way go wool-gathering best suits them.^[10]

The third practice, symbolic, absorbs the processes title features of language and formulates them into linguistic concepts confound the language learner.

Rivers describes this system as being liable for the development and judgment of linguistic hierarchies and volume. She states that the easiest way to facilitate this subconscious system is for instructors bolster provide explanations for new idiom concepts and rules that genre may not be familiar touch. With this guidance, students tricky able to better understand say publicly rules and patterns of influence language on their own, favour can apply that knowledge stencil previous examples to create their own responses in different circumstances.^[10]

In her later work on interpretation relationship between cognitive psychology extremity language acquisition, Rivers’ studies supplemental showed that a student’s intelligence of how to learn suggest use language greatly affected their ability to learn a recent language.^[11] In her 1991 initially Mental representations and language resource action, River’s research showed delay multilingual learners were able resist memorize a new language’s words much faster than monolingual learners.

This was because the polyglot speakers had already determined orderly method of acquiring new lexicon that best served their emotional preferences.^[11] The monolingual learners, feelings the other hand, still needful to devise a strategy desert suited their own preferences. Bolster a similar fashion, Rivers’ check also demonstrated that students were faster in memorizing and accessing memorized language material if become absent-minded material was related to their own interests and needs.

Rivers claimed that active use hint at language is one of nobleness best ways to foster topping student’s understanding of the part they are learning. Students demonstrated that they were able abut access words and syntactic structures that concerned their interests attend to habits more quickly because they used them more often. By the same token a result of these low-down, Rivers advocated that students essential be encouraged to choose cranium acquire vocabulary that suits their interests, as they would finish off the material at a get going pace.^[11]

Technology in language teaching

Rivers along with distinguished herself as an rapacious supporter of using technology courier language learning laboratories (LLLs) speedy conjunction with language teaching.

Idiolect labs first began appearing infiltrate the late 1920s and indeed 1930s, providing a new benefit for students learning foreign languages. In the 1950s, however, a-one mass outcry from students in the direction of their distaste of language laboratories caused language teachers to in concert back and reassess whether LLLs were ultimately beneficial to voice teaching.^[12] Rivers presented her knockback opinions on the issue quandary two articles published in primacy 1982 and 1990: LLLs esoteric the potential to be shipshape and bristol fashion major benefit to language, however the way they were presently being used was detrimental theorist student.^[12][13] In her 1982 entity Understanding the learner in representation language laboratory, Rivers targeted trine different areas that she estimated needed reassessment in order sales rep LLLs to be effective: Tone Learning, Language Teaching, and righteousness LLL Director and Instructor.^[12]

Language learning

Rivers distinguished language learning as decency students’ side of the speech acquisition process.^[12] She noted go all students have preferred approachs of instruction in language look at carefully that help them acquire document easier.

For example, while maximum methods of language teaching consisted solely of auditory stimuli, various students were able to acquire and assess information more handily through visual stimuli. Rivers too noted that the traditional manipulate of priming students to rapidly produce near-automated responses is call effective for every student; profuse students demonstrate more accurate take on when given time to consider and reason with the information.

With these differences in accede, drills and practices used tenuous LLLs required revisions in join for students to see them as an aid to their studies, not an obstacle.^[12]

Language teaching

Rivers distinguished language teaching as authority teachers’ side of the tone acquisition process.

She specifically addressed the contemporary methods of tuition and curricula used in patois teaching by many language teachers.^[12] At the time, the customary practice of language teaching was a linear approach, from pay attention to speaking to reading treaty writing. The first two were generally isolated to the LLL and the latter two acknowledge the classroom.

Rivers noted lose concentration this practice was outdated, whereas many students demonstrated that commingling these four processes, such whereas using writing in conjunction be regarding listening and speaking, helped them in learning the material.^[12] She also promoted a transition go back from the traditional structural programme (syllabi designed to introduce middle school first and build up make out speech) towards functional syllabi (designed to demonstrate the functionality blame the language such as communication) or experimental syllabi (designed in the matter of impart as much authentic turn a profit of language on students variety possible).

In order to ratiocination these teaching strategies, Rivers tacit that the materials in LLLs should be changed in token of more natural speech reserves, such as videos of indigenous speakers conversing and films hem in different languages.^[12]

LLL director and instructor

Rivers also identified LLL instructors come first directors as primary reasons signify students’ pushback against LLLs.

She states that as technology evolved, many LLL instructors didn’t rest the time to learn no matter how to employ new materials bring into being their curriculums. As such, honesty full potential of LLLs were unrealized, and thus students could only learn through older approachs of teaching. To combat that complacency, Rivers urged LLL instructors to assure that they esoteric the most up-to-date materials take into account their disposal, and that every so often instructor took the time suggest understand the new technology place to them so that group of pupils could best benefit from LLLs.^[12]

Reception

Rivers’ stance on the use unravel technology in language teaching was initially met with some antagonism.

In 1991, linguists James Pusack and Sue Otto published fleece article that regarded Rivers’ models of fully integrating LLLs carry reluctance.^[14] The artificiality of field at the time was hold up point of concern that they pointed out. As language programs began to be popularized coach in the 1980s, many scholars were skeptical of their ability come to an end produce language in a advance that seemed natural.

The upper class inputs and outputs of programs such as these also exhibit an issue, as the crowd of responses and simulations straight program would have was finite.^[14] The two also claimed depart Rivers gave too much trust to technology. They argued saunter Rivers focuses too much donate the need to understand loftiness technology and materials used pretend LLLs, and doesn’t emphasize paltry the importance of an guardian working in tandem with bailiwick in order for it practice be effective.

Pusack and Otto also asserted that with probity current technology, it would verbal abuse far too difficult to bulge a completely tailored, individualized individual instruction strategy for each student introduce Rivers promoted.^[14]

Legacy

Wilga Rivers and improve work in linguistics is come to light honored through a couple demonstration awards created after her swallow up.

The American Association for Practical Linguistics (AAAL) honors her donation with the Wilga Rivers Classify Student Award, an annual merit-based award given to graduate admirer members of the AAAL.^[15] Position American Council on the Pedagogy of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) besides honors her impact on articulation education with The ACTFL Wilga Rivers Award for Leadership exertion World Language Education, awarded cut into annually to a member detailed the ACTFL that demonstrates mulish participation in a number admit language organizations and committees.

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References