“The Role of Imagination in Literacy through Visualization and Creative Language: Teaching Greek as a second or Foreign language-The IINL Rogram”. International Language Association, New York Conference 2009, published in the 8th volume of the Journal of Imagination and Language Learning (Autumn.2009) .
Επιστημονικό Περιοδικό με κριτές -Blind Review. (ΣΤΗΝ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗ ΓΛΩΣΣΑ)
Smaragda Papadopoulou
The Role of Imagination in Literacy through Visualization and Creative Language: Teaching Greek as a Second or Foreign Language - The IINL Program.
INTRODUCTION
What we see around is a tough of gnosis. Imagination as a mental and psychical function works on what the human brain reflects from previous experiences, visual or other stimulation of the senses and reforms the information accomplished in thousands of possible combinations and new images[1]. At this point imagination acts out like in the same potentiality of language function that can be combined in words and sentences in so many different ways as a person can choose in different syntax or vocabulary to communicate with others[2]. Apparently, imagination is a basic element of the cognitive function, but not an autonomic one in the neuron system domain and junction of the neuron-synapses that neurosciences may reveal for the human brain. Since we refer to a complicated function among others, such as emotion, perception, coherence and representations of images of real life, memory and rational thinking it is important to note that junction and combination of images work as a spider’s web to serve consciousness through imagination and language expression. It is the image that makes the idea form into words. Especially, coherence is seen as a teaching tip in language acquisition in terms of brainstorming and reflective thinking. As the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus said[3]: Humans get upset not because of things them but because of what they believe about these things: «Ταράσσει τους ανθρώπους ου τα πράγματα, αλλά τα περί των πραγμάτων δόγματα».(c5). Aristotle also noticed that no truth or false is found in things, but only in our intellect Ούτε η αλήθεια ούτε το ψεύδος βρίσκεται στα πράγματα, αλλά μέσα στη διάνοιά μας. (Μetaphysics, 1027 β30). A positive study of the descriptive function of consciousness, such as imagination demands the study of biological, philosophical, psychological, sociological and anthropological aspects in science in order to obtain a global view of imagination itself.
Ribot showed that we should make distinction of the two forms of imagination, the first is intuitive and the other reflective or cognitive[4]. The first goes from the unity to the details and the second moves from the details to just revealing unity. What Wittgenstein said about this holistic view of imaginative formation is that the wholeness of real thoughts is an image of the world[5]. J.P.Sartre (1905-1980) in his work “L’imagination” has also denoted the relation between the object of real world with the cognition, the idea and the image of the imaginative world[6]. Moreover, in his work with the title “L’imaginable”, he says that to accomplish a phenomenology of image we have to define the certain characteristics of an image that we are conscious of[7].
In our study we concentrate in imagination’s contribution in children’s creative learning and language acquisition. Bergson[8] said that the word is the carrier of memory and imagination, ( “L’effort intellectuel”).The role of imagination is seen from the point of a child’s attempt to create a story, to produce meaningful environment for others and share it in class, regardless if this is based on real events or come up from the unconscious as fantastic reformations of reality. This option of imaginative literacy counts for the educational growth of social and personal development through verbal expression. This study becomes an important issue; especially if we consider imagination as a protection of the self against everyday brutality that a child faces in an increasingly aggressive environment and as a deep desire of a child to fulfill images of the mind[9]. Artistic work at school, such as theatrical roles, storytelling, drawing, music playing tend to prove important vehicles of growing up literate through imagination.
Human civilization is based in pictures. Jianni Rodari[10] described the connection between words and imagination in his book “The Grammar of Imagination”. A word as a rational formation of the human mind is a metaphor of the stone that falls on the peaceful surface of the lake and creates a sequence of concentric circles of brainstorming and association, which are not only rational, but imaginative, too. Spoken words are based on alphabetical multidimensional semantics. Spoken word is like image because it implies the intonation, the clarity of voice that multiplies influence on the mental world and the capacity to strengthen imagination.
Visual imagination is rather more vivid in our contemporary world. The screen has placed acoustic stimulation, imagination has more complicated mission in modern teaching strategies. Images and pictures that imagination takes advantage of derive from nature, society, memory, dream, spoken or written language, etc. Imagination that is expressed out in human action is children’s play, theatre, puppets, picture story books, comics, film making, TV creations and other human inventions. A concrete definition of imagination is to say that it the ability of the human mind to form images. In class we can use words in allegories, metaphors, in different grammar and syntax to help the image making of the words meaning an expressive vehicle for children. It is also said that simple words are not making the surprise as imagination stimulus. Teachers need to use compound words, exaggerations, poetic phrases and strange syntax to help children see the images of their own mind. It is not indifferent that imagination is connected with the idea of light and illumination. Imagination as the magic of light is hidden in the etymology of the word imagination in Greek. “Φαντασία”: fantasia derives from faos /Fos, which is the word for light. So light as the opposite of darkness is connected with the capacity of the human brain to create images and imagine. Projects of teaching language in class related with daydreaming and problem solving or the exposure of artwork at teaching activities is also a keen idea of bringing children together with imaginative functions of knowing[11]. Although, inspiration is a fundamental component of organizing teaching tips in class[12] there are some qualities of imaginative objects that a teacher can work in class.
1. The vague ideas to discuss: free creative images of our desire to be combined such as in myth plastic creatures of Greek mythology, where mermaid which is a combination of girl and fish, or an angel which is a man and a bird.
2. The flow, the stream of speech, fleeting expressions: here, for example, we imagine something for a minute or two, but we don’t have to analyze it or criticize it. We just use free expressive language in class.
3. Changeable sequence of a child’s speech that a teacher transforms to a vivid image and passes an idea to the others through a communicative dialogue. This can be done as a process of a group activity for the oral-reading class. For example we talk about gates in class and children come up with phrases from songs, writing plays, everyday life expressions that involve the word “gate” in different or similar meaning. An example ( in Greek) is the phrase “Two gates in life”
4. Symbolic language and symbol making in a language class. Children can create their own words and share them with others to express imaginative or transformational perceptions of reality. Invent words or subjects of a discussion[13]. For example the neologism of the word “lates” for Life-gates, birth of something new in life.
5. The irrational and the extraordinary as accepted time to talk and write about it in reflective journal: an example could be the transformation of memories and impressions in memory which come up in brainstorming of words related to them, we can remember a dog and create a myth about a dog-city. There we can involve an incident we had with a dog in our life.
6. The incoherence, discursiveness as a technique to express ourselves at times of boredom in class. We can arrange a time or place at school where the class can find in order to meet and tell all the incoherence language that find joyful as a game. For example we have the imagination-corner in class, where we go to inspire and come up with ideas.
7. The questionable and ambiguity as a game in story making and writing creatively. There are options of words that can play a role of episodes-making and adventurous storytelling to share in class and improve language learning. Witticism and jokes are parts of an inventive storytelling strategy. For example the word “ room” in the phrase there is no room in a story dialogue, which implies that this certain place in a house doesn’t exist or what we mean by saying “there is no room …for you here”, which is another view of the reality.
8. We can use euphemism and talk euphemistically in order to describe situations from the opposite image making. For example “The cape of good hope” which is of no hope, used in similar cases in a story map.
9. The use of exaggeration and expression of meaningless as the most important to mean. It is a kind of a magnifying method for tinny issues in story making and in life incidents that we usually hear or tell. For example we can describe a little problem, such as that of forgetting our key as a tragedy.
10. The accidental interruption of a narration and the start of a new incident in what is told is another strategy of stimulating children’s imagination to express themselves. For example:Let’s imagine that as the Little Red Riding Hood gets closer to the forest she realizes that a bird is captivated and something else happens. We imagine how this can change the plot.
11. The magical narration, such as fairytales and their surprising problem solving from a mysterious and magical strength. For example, a dream reveals to the main character of a story what to do in order to overcome an obstacle.
12. Imaginational dynamics of reshaping memories in between cognitive images and emotional pictures. For example, we combine memories of things we know, of things we experienced and of things that we desire to happen in real in the same story making.
13. Τhe potentiality to use real events or stimulation at the classroom reality. For example, we make stories with children about thunderstorms, when outside it is raining and we see the lightings.
14. Sometimes, it is the strategy of the unexpected that a teacher is free to accept, when an association is made from a child, a memory needs to be expressed. For example the teacher intends to work on a thematic union about the environment and a child’s comment about the village that he/she visited helps the teacher to be eligible and involve descriptions of the children about villages in order to work about environments.
15. Critical thinking and the need to put into logical coherence all the imaginative thinking is a demand of a language class since the teacher wants to take care of inspirations of the moment that are very common in teaching everyday life. It is the case of how we criticize imaginative scripts. Let’s suppose that there are no boundaries in countries and there are no different countries with the names we know about them. We describe what could be different, we find advantages and disadvantages. Would words like “passport”, “refugies”, “nationality”, “issuing country” be in our dictionaries? What other words would appear that we haven’t still invented?
16. The emotional component of children’s involvement in the language class is important in designing a project related to imaginative forms and the senses. Music is not just sounds to listen, painting is not just colors[14]. We can explore what music could be our name? For example if our names where colors, what color would we be? What color fits better for the word “ fear” or the word “happiness”. Children make connections and use persuasive language and argumentation in order to persuade in class, express themselves about certain opinions or suggestions.
Description of the Project IINL
I. Scientific Background
The difference between what a language learner can do with imaginative learning strategies and what he or she can do with special teaching strategies at the same stream line that we described earlier for imaginative teaching is a concept; often abbreviated ZPD for the zone of proximal development, a concept that Lev Vygotsky[15], the Russian social constructivist and Psychologist founded and developed as a theory. Our perspective doesn’t follow any standardized test to gauge language learners’ ability in learning the second language. Independent learning and scaffolding is the scientific background that we provide for the purpose of this example of applied imagination with language learners in multicultural settings[16].
As Nancy Balaban has noted among others, “Scaffolding refers to the way the adults guide the child’s learning via focused questions and positive interaction”[17] (Balaban,p.52). Since ZPD proves to be an acceptable measurable concept in the reading software Accelerated Reader[18] (Renaissance Learning, 2007).
II. OVERVIEW
The IINL program.(Imagination in Language )
Teachers involved at the program of Teaching Greek as a Second Language for the Elementary Education( 2008-2009), were encouraged from the program to follow a Whole Language Approach[19] (Holdaway,D.,1979,Goodman,K.., 1986,Papadopoulou,Sm.,2000) in using the teaching materials which were illustrated and written in accordance to creative procedures of learning. From this perspective, none of any dialects or languages is rejected in order to ensure a safe learning environment for minority students. Since the program was designed to assist Teaching of Greek as a Second Language at Elementary Greek Public Schools of Northern Greece, in twenty six (26), experimental special education accession classes, ( 312 children involved , 32 repatriated and 280 foreign children), we encouraged physical learning from children’s everyday life and we tried to adjust these materials to the special needs and interests of each accession class in terms of age, level of language acquisition, cultural background and personality of the children. Pluralistic approach was expected to help children understand the global dimension of knowing and learning with respect to the different and to the unfamiliar culture[20]. Another crucial aim was to develop children’s respect for their own mother country and their own self. Respect for the different was combined with the attempt to learn the Greek pronunciation, to take advantage of common mistakes in expressions and dictation[21], to look for the meaning making and communicational skills through play and visualization[22]. Teachers within this program responded to the needs of a new perspective for the curriculum and struggled to leave away preservative methods of teaching language such as exercises and tests. They felt safer to follow the extraordinary and the creative methods by extemporize in class and this was accepted from the administration of the Public Schools since the teachers of the program were accepted to be working in a self-adjusting program that protected them from the austere obligations of the mainline.