Lemme Linda Saukas Olafsdóttir

 

The basis for this MA project is a workshop in Icelandic for beginners that I taught in the summer of 2018.

 

I used both methods that may be considered traditional in language teaching, and also a number of methods commonly used in the teaching of music, drama and even dance.

 

I recorded a video during the workshop and wrote in a journal after each teaching session. The video gives some insight into the training methods used during the workshop, and hopefully also a view of the methods themselves. We are able to observe the progress of the language students, and to catch a glimpse of their thought processes.

 

I prepared a draft syllabus before the workshop began, yet made a point of having it open—more akin to a compass to use in the wild, rather than a marked path. After all, the workshop was meant to be a pursuit for new knowledge, both for the teacher and the students.

 

In the academic section of the thesis I make mention of various theories, hypotheses and ideas of academics who have helped me understand the process of language acquisition, educational psychology, neurology and the workings of the human brain. I compare older theories about language acquisition and new knowledge from brain studies in the 21st century, and point out how new studies can improve our knowledge and even encourage us to reassess our position when it comes to language acquisition.

 

I have developed the methods that I introduce in this thesis on the basis of my own experience as a language teacher and language student, as well as various older and newer academic theories.

 

 

 

Lemme Linda Saukas Olafsdóttir
lemme [at] lemme.is
Advisors: María Anna Garðarsdóttir og Sigríður Dagný Þorvaldsdóttir
30 ECTS
Department of Arts Education
2021