Diane Larsen-Freeman, a professor emerita, researcher and author in the field of second language acquisition, grammar and pedagogy, will be a guest speaker this month for the Teaching English as a Foreign Language/Teaching English as a Second Language Student Association’s Advocacy Week.

Larsen-Freeman will be lecturing in the Lory Student Center on Friday, April 24, at 4:45 p.m. in Ballroom 350A, where she will give a presentation titled “Language Use and Language Learning Connected.” In her talk, she will introduce language as a complex adaptive system, or CAS.

“As a CAS, language is autopoietic, or self-producing,” said Larsen-Freeman. “This observation holds for untutored language acquisition where language use and language learning are connected. As language gets used, it gets learned.”

Teachers can build on this connection by encouraging their students to use language following two principles. The first is that what is important is iteration, not repetition. The second is that language teaching should also include teaching adaptation—teaching students to take their language resources and mold them to a changing context. Larsen-Freeman will illustrate both of these principles by showing activities where they are applied.

This event is free and open to the public. There will be light refreshments provided.