Applying Csikszentmihalyis Concept of Flow to a North Americans Learning of Southern Min in Taiwan
This paper reports on a classroom-based case study of a North Americans learning of the Southern Min (aka, Taiwanese) Language in a dyadic (one-on-one) context over the course of three months at a private language school in Taiwan in light of Csikszentmihalyis (1990) concept of flow. Data were gathered via interviews, the focal participants reflective journal, audio-recordings, class notes, personal communication, and stimulated recall, and analyzed qualitatively according to Strauss and Corbins (1990) grounded theoretical coding procedures. The studys findings underscore the need for a more specific definition of flow for dyadic L2 learning environments that depicts it as more of a students right or teachers obligation than as merely an enhanced state of consciousness. These realizations stemmed from the discovery of a flow window that was found to open during the first five to seven minutes of class that governed whether or not the focal participant would achieve flow during that particular lesson. In the cases in which the instructor did not proffer a flow window, the focal participant turned himself off and spent the remainder of class in frustration. Results also indicated that the focal participants flow experiences were discerned as being both mental and physical in nature; curiously enough, he reportedly experienced flow withdrawal-symptoms and spiraled down into a flow-downer stage when flow-enhancing instruction failed to occur or when he was unable to steer the instructor into what was termed as flowdelivery mode. Needless to say, the studys findings underscore the need for foreign language instructors to employ time-tested teaching tools such as advance organizers (Ausubel, 1968) early on in class periods to increase the likelihood that students will reach the flow state in their language learning. The studys pedagogical implications and suggested directions for future flow-related research are presented in the studys discussion section and conclusion, respectively.
Timothy Erb Robert E. ohanson
Department of Applied Foreign Languages National Taiwan University of Science & Technology
国际会议
2009 International Conference on Applied Linguistics & Language Teaching(2009应用语言学暨语言教学国际研讨会)
台湾
英文
76-86
2009-04-01（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）