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3 Principles of Instructed Second Language Learning ROD ELLIS

KEY QUESTIONS

~ How do you think about teaching? Do you think about it in terms of what and how you will teach?

Or do you think about it in terms of how you can create the conditions for successful second lan-

guage learning?

~ If you were asked to state general principles that could help teachers create the conditions for

successful learning in the classroom, what would they be?

~ How can you tell that students are successfully learning in the second language in your classroom?

EXPERIENCE All teachers have a theoq' of how teaching can assist learning. However, the theory that teachers hold may be more or less explicit. That is, teach- ers may base their teaching on intuitive notions of what works rather than on explicit principles of how they can best promote learning in their students. Intuitive notions can result in highly successful teaching-and are probably necessary to enable a teacher to take the countless instant decisions needed to accomplish a lesson-but they may not promote critical reflection. If teachers are to undertake a thoughtful evaluation of their own teaching, they need to make the principles that inform their actions explicit. A major goal of this chapter is to offer a set of principles that can inform such an evaluation. Let us look at how one teacher undertook a principled evaluation of her own teaching.

Juanita Watts (2009) elected to plan, teach, and undertake an evaluation of an information- gap task (i.e., spot the difference). This required the students (upper-intermediate learners in a pri- vate language school in Auckland, New Zealand) to work together in pairs to identif)' the changes evident in two pictures of the same location 100 years apart. Each student held only one of the pic- tures. The main goal of Juanita's evaluation was to

determine to what extent the task resulted in the kinds of interaction that have been hypothesized to promote language learning-in particular the negotiation of meaning that occurs when a commu- nication problem arises. To help with this evalua- tion, she recorded two pairs of students performing the task and then transcribed their interactions.

Juanita identified a number of negotiation- and-meaning sequences in both pairs' interac- tions. Interestingly, all the sequences arose from problems having to do with vocabulary or pro- nunciation. There was no negotiation focused on grammatical problems. She also reported some differences in how the two pairs undertook the task. One pair engaged much more extensively in negotiation than the other and also worked harder to resolve the communication problems that arose and was more successful in doing so. There was also a difference in how the two pairs negotiated. The pair that negotiated extensively did so by means of clarification requests, whereas the other pair employed confirmation checks. The two examples that follow illustrate these differences. In Example 1, the two students persist until they success- fully resolve their communication problem with Student 2 (S2) repeatedly requesting clarification. In Example 2, Student 4 (S4) uses a confirmation check to address a vocabulary problem, but even though Student 3 (S3) indicates that Student 4

(S4) has not understood, no further attempt is made to resolve the problem.

Example 1

Sl: on the left, I can see um lam- post. Lam-post. S2: wh-pardon? vVhat? clarification request) Sl: lam- sorry. Lam post. S2: name post? ( = clarification request) Sl: /leim/ post /laem/ post post post S2: L A? clarification request) Sl: L-A-M lam S2: Ah, lamp. Ah lamp post (successfully resolved)

Example 2

S3: And ... can you see the, can you say, electronic lines

S4: road? ( = confirmation check) S3:no,no S4: no (not resolved)

Juanita concluded that the task was successful in generating interaction that created opportunities for learning. She noted, however, that the task resulted in very different behavior in the two students. She sug- gested this was because Sl and S2 had different first languages (Lis) whereas S3 and S4 shared the same Ll. She also suggested that d1ey differed in terms of the extent to which they worked together collahora- tively. S1 and S2 displayed a high level of mutuality, but S3 assumed a dominant role and S4 a more passive role, reflecting differences in their English proficiency.

Juanita's evaluation drew on a number of the principles of instructed language learning discussed later in this chapter. Principle 8 states: The opportunity to interact in the L2 is central to devel- oping L2 proficiency. This principle motivated her to investigate one specific aspect of interaction- the negotiation of meaning. Principle 9 states: Instruction needs to take account of individual d~ffer ences in learners. Juanita found that the two pairs of learners reacted very differently to the task and sought explanations for why this was. Principle 4 states: Instruction needs to be predominantly directed al develojJing irnplicil knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledge. Juanita elected to use an information-gap task because this caters to the kind of incidental acquisition that fosters implicit knowledge. However, in the conclusion to her evaluation, she states that her lesson would have benefited from some explicit attention to language and suggests that this could have been provided in

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the form of a post-task activity that focused directly on the errors the students were making.

Evaluation is a key element of good teaching. For evaluation to be effective, it needs to draw on a set of explicitly formulated principles of insUliCted language learning. It also needs to su~ject these prin- ciples to critical scmtiny in the light of a teacher's reflection on her teaching. Juanita's task evaluation is a good example of how this can be undertaken.

WHAT IS INSTRUCTED SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING?

Second language acquisition (SU\), as a subdisci- pline of applied linguistics, is still a very young field of study. vVhile it may not be possible to identify its precise staning point, many researchers agree that the late 1960s marked the onset of an intense period of empirical and theoretical interest in how second languages are acquired. While some researchers have been concerned with purely theo- retical issues of little direct relevance to language pedagogy, others have addressed how instruction can assist SLA. There are now numerous stud- ies that have investigated the effects of instruc- tion on learning. Norris and Ortega (2000), for example, identified a total of 79 such studies and there have been many more since. Also, much of the theorizing about SLA has been specifi- cally undenaken with language pedagogy in mind; for example, KI·ashen's Monitor Model (KI·ashen, 1981), Long's Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996), DeKeyser's Skill-Acquisition theory (DeKeyser, 1998), VanPatten's Processing Instmction theory (VanPatten, 1996, 2002), and my own theory of instructed language learning (R. Ellis, 1994a) all address the role of instruction in SLA.

However, the research and theory do not afford a uniform account of how instruction can best facilitate language learning. There is considerable controversy (see R. Ellis, 2006). In particular, there is no agreement as to whether instruction should be based on a traditional focus- onforms approach, involving the systematic teach- ing of grammatical features in accordance with a structural syllabus, or a focus-onform approach, involving attention to linguistic features in the context of communicative activities derived from a task-based syllabus, or some combination of the

two. Nor is there agreement about the efficacy of teaching explicit knowledge or about what type of corrective feedback to provide or even when explicit grammar teaching should commence. These controversies reflect the complexity of the object of enquiry (instructed language acquisition), its contextual nature, and the fact that what consti- tutes the most effective approach for one learner may not do so for another.

Given these controversies, it might be thought unwise to attempt to formulate a set of general principles of instructed language acquisition. Hatch's (1979) warning-"apply vvith caution"-is as pertinent today as it was over 30 years ago.

Nevertheless, I think there is a need to try to draw together a set of generalizations that might serve as the basis for language teacher education. I am not alone in this; Lightbown ( 1985, 2000) felt and responded to a similar need. If SU\ is to offer teachers guidance, there is a need to bite the bullet and prof- fer advice, as long a~ this advice does not masquerade as prescriptions or proscriptions (and there is always a danger that advice will be so construed). The guid- ance provided by this chapter should be viewed as tentative, in the form of what Stenhouse (1975) calls "provisional specifications."

I have chosen to present my own provisional specifications in the form of principles. 1 I have based these largely on a computational model of SU\ (Lantolf, 1996). This model, which has informed the bulk of the research that has investi- gated instructed language learning, views acquisi- tion as taking place in the mind of learners as a result of attending to and processing the input that they are exposed to. I do not expect that all SU\ researchers or all language teachers will agree with the principles, not least because the computational model is disputed by researchers who view acquisi- tion as more of a social than a cognitive activity. I hope, though, that they \\~11 provide a basis for argument and for reflection.

Principle 1: Instroction needs to ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire of fonnulaic expressions and a role-based competence.

Proficiency in a second language (L2) requires that learners acquire a rich repenoire of formulaic expressions, which cater to fluency and immediate

functional needs. Formulaic chunks such as: Hlhat's the time?, I don't know, Can I have a_?, and I'm very sony are part of a native speaker's linguistic repertoire and are also important for L2 learners. L2 proficiency, however, also requires that learn- ers develop a mle-based competence consisting of knowledge of specific grammatical rules in order to understand and produce novel utterances of greater complexity and accuracy (Skehan, 1998).

There is now widespread acceptance of the importance played by formulaic expressions in language use. Advances in corpus linguistics have made it possible to identif)' the formulaic sequences in specific language registers and testif)• to their frequent use (e.g., see Simpson-Vlach & Ellis's [2010] Academic Formulas List). Native speakers have been shown to use a much larger number of formulaic expressions than even advanced L2 learners (Foster, 2001). Formulaic expressions may also serve as a basis for the later development of a rule-based competence. N. Ellis (1996), for example, has suggested that learners bootstrap their way to gram- mar by first internalizing and then analyzing fixed sequences into their component parts. Classroom studies by R. Ellis (1984), Myles, Mitchell, and Hooper (1998, 1999), and Myles (2004) demonstrate that learners often internalize rote-learned material from the input they are exposed to as chunks and then break them down for analysis later on.

Traditionally, language instruction has been directed at developing rule-based competence (i.e., knowledge of specific grammatical rules) through the systematic teaching of preselected structures, what Long (1991) has referred to as a focus-on-forms approach. 'While such an approach certainly receives support from research that has investigated direct intervention in interlanguage development, curriculum designers and teachers need to recognize that this type of instruction may result in students learning rote-memorized patterns rather than internalizing underlying rules (Myles, 2004). This need not be seen as an instructional failure, however, as such patterns are clearly of value to the learner. It points, instead, to an acknowledgment of what can be realistically achieved by a focus-on-forms approach, especially with young beginner learners.

If formulaic chunks play a large role in early language acquisition, it may pay r.o focus on these (and, more generally, on vocabulary) with beginner learners, delaying the teaching

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of grammar until later, as I propose in R. Ellis (2002). Lewis ( 1993) has argued that "language is grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar" (p. vi) and has developed his lexical approach to prioritize formulaic chunks at first. One way of achieving r.his is by means of a notional- functional approach. This lends itself perfectly to the teaching of routines (i.e., expressions that are completely formulaic, such as I don't know) and prefabricated patrerns (i.e., expressions that are partly formulaic but have one or more empty slots, such as Can I have a ?) , and may provide an ideal foundation for direct intervention in the early stages of language learning. Clearly, though, a complete language curriculum needs r.o ensure that it caters to the development of both formulaic expressions and rule-based knowledge.

Principle 2: Instmction needs to ensure that leamers focus predominantly on meaning.

The term focus on meaning is somewhat ambiguous. It is necessary to distinguish two different senses of this term. The first refers to the idea of semantic meaning (i.e., the meanings of lexical items or of specific grammatical structures). For example, can in the sentence I can swim expresses a seman- tic meaning (i.e., ability). The second sense of focus on meaning relates to pragmatic meaning (i.e., the highly conrextualized meanings that arise in acts of communication). Can also encodes pragmatic meaning, as when it is used in requests such as Can )'OU pass the salt? To provide oppor- nmities for students to attend to and perform pragmatic meaning, a task-based (or, at least, a task- supported) approach to language teaching is required. It is clearly important that instruction ensures opportunities for learners to focus on both types of meaning, but arguably, it is pragmatic meaning that is crucial to language learning.

There is an important difference in the instructional approaches needed for semantic versus pragmatic meaning. In the case of semantic meaning, the teacher and the students can treat language as an object and function as peda- gogue and learners. But in the case of pragmatic meaning, they need to view the L2 as a tool for communicating and to function as communica- tors.2 In effect, this involves two entirely different orientations to teaching and learning.

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The opportunity to focus on pragmatic mean- ing is important for a number of reasons:

:...1 In the eyes of many theorists (e.g., Prabhu, 1987; Long, 1996), only when learners are engaged in understanding and producing messages in the context of actual acts of communication are the conditions created for acquisition to take place.

:J To develop true fluency in an L2, learners must have opportunities to create pragmatic meaning (DeKeyser, 1998).

D Engaging learners in activities during which they are focused on creating pragmatic mean- ing (and, therefore, treating language as a wol rather than as an object) is intrinsically motivating.

In arguing the need for a focus on pragmatic meaning, theorists do so not just because they see this as a means of activating the linguistic resources that have already been developed but because they see it as the principal means by which the linguistic resources themselves are created. This is the theo- retical position that has informed many highly successful immersion education programs around the world (see Johnson & Swain, 1997). However, in advocating this principle, r do not wish to suggest that instruction needs to be directed exclusively at providing learners with opportunities to create pragmatic meaning but only that, to be effective, instruction must include such opportunities and that, ideally over an entire curriculum, they should be predominant.

Principle 3: Instructioll needs to ensure that leam- ers also focus on fonn.

There is now a widespread acceptance that acqui- sition also requires that learners attend to form. Indeed, according to some theories of L2 acquisi- tion, such attention is necessary for acquisition to take place. Schmidt (l994a), for example, has argued that there is no learning without conscious attention to form. 3

Again, though, the term focus on fonn is capable of more than one interpretation. First, it might refer to a general orientation to language as fonn. Schmidt (2001) dismisses this global attenrion hypothesis, art,llting that learners need to attend r.o specific forms (e.g., the-son a plural noun). Second, the

term might be taken to suggest that learners need to attend only to the graphic or phonetic instantia- tions of linguistic forms. Howe,er, themist~ such as Schmidt and Long are insistent that focus on form refers to form-function mapping (i.e., the correla- tion between a particular fonn and the meaning[s] it realizes in communication). For example, -s on a noun conveys the meaning "more than one." Third, fows on form might be assumed to refer to the awareness of some underlying, abstract rule. Schmidt, however, is careful to argue that attention to form refers to the noticing of specific linguistic items as they occur in the input to which learners are exposed, not to an awareness and understanding of grammatical rules.

Instruction can cater to a focus on form in a number of ways:

:J through grammar lessons designed to teach specific grammatical features by means of input or output processing. An inductive approach to grammar teaching is designed to encourage the noticing of preselected forms; a deductive approach seeks to establish an awareness of the grammatical rule by provid- ing learners with an explicit explanation

:J through structure-based comprehension and production rasks (i.e., tasks that require learners to comprehend and process specific grammatical structures in the input, and/ or to produce the structures in the performance of the task)

o through consciousness-raising tasks that assist learners to discover grammatical rules for themselves and to develop an explicit repre- sentation of them (e.g., see Eckerth, 2008a)

:J through methodological options that induce attention to form in the context of perform- ing a task; two methodological options that have received considerable attention from researchers are: (l) the provision of time for strategic and online planning (Foster & Skehan, 1996; Yuan & Ellis, 2003); and (2) corrective feedback (Lyster, 2004)

Instruction can seek to provide an mten- tional and intensive focus on preselected linguistic forms (as in a focus-on-forms approach or in a lesson built around a structure-based production- comprehension task or consciousness-raising task), or it can offer incidental and extensive attention to form through corrective feedback in task-based

lessons. There are pros and cons for both intensive and extensive grammar instruction. Some struc- tures may not be mastered without the opportunity for repeated practice. Harley (1989), for example, finds that Anglophone learners ofL2 French failed to acquire the distinction between the preterite and impm.fait past tenses after hours of exposure (and presumably some corrective feedback) in an immersion program but were able to improve their accuracy in the use of these two tenses after inten- sive instruction. However, intensive instruction is time consuming (in Harley's study the targeted structures were taught over an eight-week period!), and thus there will be constraints on how many structures can be addressed. Extensive grammar instruction, on the other hand, affords the oppor- tunity for large numbers of grammatical structures to be addressed. Also, more likely than not, many of the structures will be attended to repeatedly over a period of time. Further, because this kind of instruction involves a response to the errors that each learner makes, it is individualized and affords the skilled teacher communicative oppor- tunities for the kind of contextual analysis that Celce-Murcia (2002) recommends as a basis for grammar teaching. Ellis, Basturkmen, and Loewen (200 l) report that extensive instruction occurred relatively frequently in communicative adult ESL lessons through both preemptive (i.e., teacher- or student-initiated) and reactive (i.e., corrective feedback) attention to form. Loewen (2005) shows that learners who experienced such momentary form-focused episodes demonstrated the subse- quent learning of the forms addressed in both immediate and delayed tests. However, it is not possible ro attend to those structures that learners do not attempt to use (i.e., extensive instruction cannot deal with avoidance). Also, of course, it does not provide the in-depth practice that some structures may require before they can be fully acquired. Arguably, then, instruction needs to be conceived of in terms of both approaches.

Principle 4: Instruction needs to be predomi1zantly directed at developing implicit knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledge.

Implicit knowledge is procedural, is held uncon- sciously, and can be verbalized only if it is made explicit. It is accessed rapidly and easily and thus is available for use in rapid fluent communication.

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In the view of most researchers, competence in an L2 is p1ima1ily a matter of implicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge "is the declarative and often anomalous knowledge of the phonological, lexical, grammatical, pragmatic and socio-critical features of an L2 together with the metalanguage for label- ling this knowledge" (R. Ellis, 2004, p. 244). It is held consciously, is leamable and verbalizable, and is typically accessed through controlled processing when learners experience some kind of linguisrjc dif- ficult:y in the use of the L2. A distinction can be made between explicit knowledge as analyzed knowledge and as metaling:ual explanation. The fonner entails a conscious awareness of how a structural feature works, while the latter consists of knowledge of gram- matical metalanguage and the ability to understand explanations of rules. Thus a person can possess explicit knowledge even though he or she lacks the metalanguage needed to express it. Neuroling:uistic research (e.g., Ullman, 2001) indicates that different neural stmctures are involved in acquiring and stor- ing these two types of knowledge.

Given that it is implicit knowledge that underlies the ability to communicate fluently and confidently in an L2, it is this type of knowledge that should be the ultimate goal of any instructional program. How, then, can it be developed? There are conflicting the- ories regarding this. According to Skill-Acquisition theory (DeKeysn, 1998), implicit knowledge arises from explicit knowledge when the latter is procedur- alized through practice. In contra<;t, ernergentistisrn (Krashen, 1981; N. Ellis, 1998) sees implicit knowl- edge as developing naturally from meaning-focused communication, aided, perhaps, by some focus on form. Irrespective of these different theoretical positions, there is consensus that learners need the opportuniry to participate in communicative activi- ties to develop implicit knowledge. Thus, communi- carjve tasks need to play a central role in instruction directed at implicit knowledge.

The value in teaching explicit knowledge of grammar has been and remains today one of the most controversial issues in language pedagogy. To make sense of the different positions relating to the teaching of explicit knowledge, it is necessary to consider two separate questions:

1. Is explicit knowledge of any value in and of itself?

2. Is explicit knowledge of value in facilitating the development of implicit knowledge?

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Explicit knowledge is arguably of value only if it can be shown that learners are able to use this rype of knowledge in actual pe1formance. Again, there is a controversy. One position is that this use is very limited. Krashen (1982) argues that learners can use explicit knowledge only when they monitor and that this requires that they be focused on form (as opposed to meaning) and have sufficient time to access the knowledge. Other positions are possible. It can be argued that explicit knowledge is used in both the process of formulating messages and in monitming, and that many learners are adroit in accessing their explicit memmies for these purposes, especially if the rules are, to a degree, automatized. Some current approaches to teaching grammar emphasize the importance of ensuring that learners develop clear and scientifically explicit rules. Systemic-functional instruction (see Lanrolf & Thorne, 2006) is based on three fundamental piinciples: ( l) the instruction needs to be orga- nized around full and precise descriptions of the rules to be learned (as opposed to the kinds of rules of thumb that figure in many pedagogical gram- mars); (2) it needs to provide a material instantia- tion of the target concepts by means of charts and diagrams; and (3) learners need to verbalize the concept-based explanation to foster a full under- standing and internalization of the concepts.

Irrespective of whether explicit knowledge has any value in and of itself, it may assist lan- guage development by facilitating the develop- ment of implicit knowledge. This involves a consideration of what has become known as the interface hypothesis, which addresses whether explicit knowledge plays a role in L2 acquisition. Three positions can be identified. According to the non-interface position (KI·ashen, 1981), explicit knowledge and implicit knowledge are entirely distinct, with the result that explicit knowledge cannot be converted into implic- it knowledge. This position is supported by research that suggests that explicit and implicit memories are neurologically separate and do not interact with each other (Paradis, 1994). The interface position argues the exact opposite. DI-awing on Skill-Acquisition theory (DeKeyser, 1998), this position argues that explicit knowl- edge becomes implicit knowledge if learners have the opportunity for plentiful communi- cative practice. Systemic-functional instruction is similarly premised on the assumption that

properly formulated explicit knowledge serves as the foundation for developing implicit knowl- edge. The weak interface position (R. Ellis, 1993) claims that explicit knowledge primes a number of key acquisitional processes, in particular notic- ing and noticing the gap (Schmidt, 1994a). That is, explicit knowledge of a grammatical structure makes it more likely that learners will attend to the structure in the input and can)' out the cog- nitive comparison between what they observe in the input and their own output. These positions have not been resolved empirically and so con- tinue to be argued at a theoretical level.

The three positions support very different approaches to language teaching. The non- interface position leads to a zero grmmnarapproach, that is, one that prioritizes meaning-centered approaches such as task-based teaching. The inter- face position supports the idea that a grammatical structure should be first presented explicitly and then practiced by means of, first, controlled and, then, free production activities (i.e., an approach known as PPP) until it is fully proceduralized. The weak interface position has been used to provide a basis for consciousness-raising tasks (R. Ellis, 1991). These provide learners with data that illustrate a specific grammatical feature and guide learners to a discovery of the underlying rule. There has been considerable research (e.g., see Eckerth, 2008b) that has investigated whether such tasks are effec- tive in helping learners develop explicit knowledge and whether they are subsequently able to use this in L2 production.

This principle, then, asserts that instruction needs to be directed at developing both implicit and explicit knowledge, giving priority to the former. However, teachers should not assume that explicit knowledge can be converted into implicit knowledge because the extent w which this is possible remains controversial and it is clear that it does not always happen. Teachers also need to recognize that different types of instructional activities are needed to develop the two types of knowledge.

Principle 5: Instructian needs to take into account the learner's built-in syllabus.

Early research into naturalistic SLA showed that learners follow a natural order and sequence of acquisition (i.e., they master different grammatical

structures in a relatively fixed and universal order, and they pass through a sequence of stages of acquisition en route to mastering each grammatical structure). This led researchers like Corder ( l 967) to suggest that learners have their own "built-in syllabus" for learning grammar as implicit knowl- edge. By and large, the built-in syllabus is universal (i.e., it is the same irrespective of the learner's age or Ll). Nevertheless, the Ll has been found to have some influence. For example, Japanese learners of English may master plural -s somewhat later than Spanish learners because there is no equivalent structure in Japanese whereas there is in Spanish.

Krashen (1981) famously argues that gram- mar instruction plays no role in the development of implicit knowledge (what he calls acquisition), a view based on the conviction that learners (including classroom learners) automatically proceed along their built-in syllabus as long as they have access to comprehensible input and are sufficiently motivated. He argues that grammar instruction can contribute only to explicit knowl- edge (i.e., learning).

A number of empirical studies were conducted to: ( l) compare the order of acquisition in instructed and naturalistic learners (e.g., Pica, 1983); (2) compare the success of instmcted and naturalistic learners (Long, 1983); and (3) examine whether attempts to teach specific grammatical struc- tures resulted in their acquisition (vVhite, Spada, Lightbown, & Ranta, 1991). These studies show that, by and large, the order and sequence of acqui- sition is the same for instmcted and naturalistic learners (e.g., R. Ellis, 1989a; Pienemann, 1989), that instructed learners generally achieve higher levels of grammatical competence than naturalistic learners, and that instruction is no guarantee that learners will acquire what they have been taught. This has led to the conclusion that it is beneficial to teach grammar but that it is necessary to ensure it is taught in a way that is compatible with the natural processes of acquisition.

How, then, can instruction take account of the learner's built-in syllabus? There are a number of possibilities:

Zero grammar approach. Adopt a zero grammar approach, as proposed by Krashen; that is, employ a task-based approach that makes no attempt to predetermine the linguistic content of a lesson.

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Developmental readiness. Ensure that learners are developmentally ready to acquire a specific target feature. However, this is probably impracti- cal because teachers have no easy way of deter- mining which level individual students have reached and it would necessitate a highly indi- vidualized approach to cater to differences in developmental levels among the students. Also, as we noted earlier, such fine-tuning may not be necessary. While instruction in a target feature may not enable learners to "beat" the built-in syllabus, it may serve to push them along it as long as the target structure is not too far ahead of their developmental stage.

Explicit knowledge. Focus the instruction on explicit rather than implicit knowledge because explicit knowledge is not subject tO the same developmental constraints as implicit knowledge. While it is probably true that some declarative facts about language are easier to master than others, this is likely to reflect their cognitive rather than their developmental complexity, which can be taken into account more easily in deciding the order of instruction. Traditional structural S)'llabuses, in fact, are graded on the basis of cognitive complexity.~

It should be noted, however, that not all researchers accept the universality and inviolabil- ity of the built-in syllabus. Skill-learning theory, for example, is premised on the assumption that declarative knowledge of a grammatical structure can be convened into procedural knowledge at any time given the right amount and type of practice. Similarly, the adoption of Vygotskian sociocultural theory "would require that we ... eradicate the assertion that SL'\ progresses along a predeter- mined mental path" (M. Johnson, 2004, p. 172). However, these researchers do not offer evidence to support their claims-at least, nor where the development of implicit knowledge is concerned.

Principle 6: Successful imtructed language leaming requires extensive L2 input.

Language learning, whether it occurs in a natu- ralistic or an instructed context, is a slow and laborious process. Children acquiring their Ll take between two and five years to achieve full grammatical competence, during which time they are exposed to massive amounts of input. Ellis

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and \Veils ( 1980) demonstrate that a substantial portion of the variance in speed of acquisition of children can be accounted for by the amount and the quality of input they receive. The same is undoubtedly true of SLA. If learners do not receive exposure to the target language, they cannot acquire it. In general, the more expo- sure they receive, the more and the faster they will learn. Krashen (1981, 1994) adopts a ve1y strong position on the importance of input. He points to studies that have shown that length of residence in the country where the language is spoken is related to language proficiency and to other studies that that have found positive corre- lations between the amount of reading reported and proficiency or literacy. For Krashen, however, the input must be made comprehensible, either by modifying it or by means of contextual support. Other researchers (e.g., Swain, 1995) disagree with Krashen's claim that compi'ehensible input (together with motivation) is all that is required for successful acquisition, arguing that learner output is also important (see Principle 7), but there is wide agreement about the importance of input for developing the highly connected implicit knowledge that is needed to become an effective communicator in the L2.

How can teachers ensure their students have access to extensive input? In a second language teaching context, learners can be expected to gain access to plentiful input outside the classroom, although, as Tanaka (2004) has shown in a study of adult Japanese students learning English in Auckland, not all such learners are successful in achieving this. In a foreign language teaching context (as when French or Japanese is taught in schools in the United Kingdom or United States), there are fi:1r fewer opportunities for extensive input. To ensure adequate access, teachers need to do the following:

Maximize use of the L2 inside the classroom. Ideally, this means that the L2 needs lO become the medium as well as the oqject of instruction, espe- cially in a foreign language setting. 5 A study by Kim and Elder (2005) reveals that foreign language teachers of French, Gennan,Japanese, and Korean in Auckland secondai)' schools varied enormously in the extent to which they employed the L2 in the classroom (i.e., between 22 and 88% of the total input).

Create opportunities for students to receive input outside the classroom. This can be achieved most easily by providing extensive reading programs based on carefully selected graded readers, suited to the level of the students, as recommended by Krashen (1989). Elley (1991) reviews studies that show that L2 learners can benefit from both reading and from being read to. Also, ideally, if more resources are available, schools need to establish self-access centers that students can use outside class time. Successful foreign language learners seek out opportunities to experience the language outside class time. Many students are unlikely to make the effort unless teachers: (1) make resources available; and (2) provide learner training in how to make effective use of the resources.

Much L2 learning is incidental rather than intentional, and this requires access to massive amounts of input. It can be claimed with confi- dence that, if the only input students receive is in the context of a limited number of weekly lessons based on some course book, they are unlikely to achieve high levels of L2 proficiency.

Principle 7: Successful instrncted language leanzing also requires opportunities for output.

Contrary to Krashen's insistence that acquisition is dependem entirely on comprehensible input, most researchers now acknowledge that learner output also plays a part. Skehan (1998), drawing on Swain (1995), summarizes the contributions that output can make:

::1 Production serves to generate better input through the feedback that learners' efforts at production elicit.

::.1 It. forces syntactic processing (i.e., obliges learners to pay attention to grammar).

:J It allows learne1·s to rest hypotheses about the target language grammar.

:.J It helps to automatize existing knowledge. cJ It provides opportunities for learners to

develop discourse skills (e.g., by producing "long turns").

.J Ir. is important for helping learners to develop a "personal voice" by steering COli- versation to topics they are interested in contributing to.

R. Ellis (2003) adds one additional contribution of output:

:J It provides the learner with "auto-in pur" (i.e., learners can attend to the input provided by their own productions).

The importance of creating opportunities for output, including what Swain ( 1985) has called pushed output (i.e., output where the learner is stretched to express messages clearly and explic- itly), constitutes one of the main reasons for incorporating tasks into a language program. Controlled practice exercises typically result in output that is limited in terms of length and com- plexity. They do not afford swdents opportunities for the kind of sustained output that theorists argue is necessary for interlanguage development. Research (e.g., Allen, Swain, Harley, & Cummins, 1990) has shown that extended talk consisting of a clause or more in a classroom context is more likely to occur when students initiate interactions in the classroom and when they have to find their own words. This is best achieved by asking learners to perform oral and written tasks.

Principle 8: The opportunity to interact in the L2 is central to develo-ping L2 proficiency.

·while it is useful to consider the relative contributions of input and output to acquisition, it is also important to acknowledge that both co-occur in oral interaction and that both cogni- tive-int.eractional (e.g., Long, 1996) and sociocul- tural (e.g., Lantolf & Thorne, 2006) theories of SLA have viewed social interaction as the matrix in which acquisition takes place. As Hatch (1978) famously put it, "one learns how w do conversa- tion, one learns how to interact verbally, and out of the interaction syntactic strucmres are devel- oped" (p. 404). Thus, inreraction is not just a means of automatizing existing linguistic resources but also of creating new resources. According to the Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996), interac- tion fosters acquisition when a communication problem arises and learners are engaged in nego- tiating for meaning. The interactional modifica- tions arising help to make input comprehensible, provide corrective feedback, and push learners to modify their own output when they repair their errors. In sociocultural theory, interaction sen1eS

Chapter 3 39

as a form of mediation, enabling learners to construct new forms and perform new functions collaboratively (Lantolf, 2000). According to this view, learning is first evident on the social plane and only later on the psychological plane. In both theories, while social interaction may not be viewed as necessary for acquisition, it is viewed as the primary source of learning.

vVhat then are the characteristics of interac- tion that are deemed important for acquisition? In general terms, opportunities for negotiating meaning and plen t:y of scaffolding (assistance from experts) are needed. K. Johnson (1995) identifies four key requirements for interaction to create an acquisition-rich classroom:

1. creating contexts of language use where stu- dents have a reason to attend to language

2. providing opportunities for learners to use the language to express their own personal meanings

3. helping students to participate in language- related activities that are beyond their current level of proficiency

4. offering a full range of contexts that cater for a full performance in the language

Johnson suggests that these are more likely to occur when the academic task structure (i.e., how the subject matter is sequenced in a lesson) and the social participation structure (i.e., how the allocation of interactional rights and obligations shapes the discourse) are less rigid. Once again, this is more likely to be provided through tasks than through exercises. R. Ellis ( 1999) suggests that a key to ensuring interaction that is beneficial to acquisition is giving control of the discourse topic to the students. This, of course, is not easily achieved given that teachers have a duty to ensure that classroom discourse is orderly, which, in turn, is most easily achieved by taking control of the discourse topic by means of IRF (teacher initiates- student responds-teacher provides feedback) exchanges. Thus, creating the right kind of inter- action for acquisition constitutes a major challenge for teachers.

One solution is to incorporate small-group work into a lesson. vVhen students interact among themselves, acquisition-rich discourse is more likely to ensue. Learners speak more and use the L2 for a wider range of language functions (Long & Porter, 1985). However, there are a number of dangers

40 Unit I

in group work that may militate against this (e.g., excessive use of the L1 in monolingual groups and exposure to interlanguage errors), and some educators (e.g., Prabhu, 1987) have argued that it is more important to ensure that learners are exposed to well-formed L2 input from teacher-class interaction.

Principle 9: Instruction needs to take into account individual differences in leanzers.

While there are identifiable universal aspects of L2 acquisition, there is also considerable variability in the rate of learning and in the ultimate level of achievement. In particular, learning will be more successful when:

Ill The instruction is matched to students' particular aptitude for learning.

II The students are motivated.

It is probably beyond the abilities of most teachers to design lessons involving the kind of matching instruction employed in Wesche's ( 1981) study. This used language aptitude tests to identify differ- ent learning styles and then sought to match the kind of instruction provided to the learners' pre- ferred approach to learning. However, teachers can cater to such variation in their students' apti- tudes by adopting a flexible teaching approach involving a variety of learning activities. They can also make use of simple learner-training materials (e.g., Ellis & Sinclair, 1989) designed to make students more aware of their own approaches to learning and to develop their awareness of alter- native approaches. Good language Ieamer studies (e.g., Naiman, Frohlich, Stern, & Todesco, 1996) suggest that successful language learning requires a flexible approach to learning. Thus, increasing the range of learning strategies at the learners' disposal is one way in which teachers can help them to learn. Such strategy training needs to foster an understanding that language learning requires both an experiential and an analytical approach and to demonstrate the kinds of strategies related to both approaches. School-based students often tend to adopt an analytical approach to learning (even if this does not accord \vith their natural aptitude) because this is the kind of approach generally fostered in schools (Sternberg, 2002). They may have, greater difficulty in adopting the kind of experiential learning required in

task-based language teaching. Some learner train- ing, therefore, may be essential if learners are to perform tasks effectively. 6

Dornyei's research has shown the kinds of teaching strategies that teachers can employ to develop and maintain their students' intrinsic motivation. Dornyei (2001) also makes the obvi- ous point that "the best motivational intervention is simply to improve the quality of our teaching" (p. 26). Dornyei and Csizer (1998) conducted a study of 200 high school teachers in Hungary and, based on their self-reported use of moti- vating strategies, identified "l 0 commandments" for motivating learners. Examples are "create a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom" and "increase the learners' goal-orientedness." Guilloteaux and Dornyei (2008), in a study of EFL classrooms in Korea, find a significant positive correlation between the teacher's motivational practice and the learners' motivated behavior. These studies show that motivation is not just something learners bring to the classroom but something that can be generated inside the class- room. Teachers also need to accept that it is their responsibility to ensure that students are motivated and stay motivated. vVhile it is probably true that teachers can do little to influence students' extrin- sic motivation, there is a lot they can do to enhance their intrinsic motivation.

Principle 10: In assessing learners' L2 proficiency, it is important to examine free as well as controlled production.

Norris and Ortega's (2000) meta-analysis of studies investigating form-focused instruction demon- strates that the extent of the effectiveness of instruction is contingent on the way it is measured. They distinguish four types of measurement:

1. metalinguisticjudgment (e.g., a grammaticality judgment test)

2. selected response (e.g., multiple choice) 3. constrained constructed response (e.g.,

gap-filling exercises) 4. free constructed response (e.g., a communica-

tive task)

They find that the magnitude of effect was greatest in Types 2 and 3 and least in Type 4. Yet, arguably, it is Type 4 that constitutes the best measure of learners' L2 proficiency because

it is this measure that corresponds most closely to the kind of language use found outside the classroom. The ability to get a multiple-choice question right amounts to very little if the student is unable to use the target feature in actual communication.

Free constructed responses are best elicited by means of tasks. The performance elicited by means of tasks can be assessed in three ways (R. Ellis, 2003): (1) a direct assessment of task outcomes; (2) discourse analytic measures; and (3) external ratings. Method 2 is not practical for busy classroom teachers because it requires transcrib- ing speech and then painstakingly calculating such measures as number of error-free clauses and clause complexity. Method 3 is practical, but it requires considerable expertise to ensure that the ratings of learner perfom1ance are valid and reliable. Method l holds the most promise for classroom testing. However, it is possible only with closed tasks (i.e., a task for which there is a single correct outcome), such as a spot-the-difference task, where learners are asked to interact to find a specified number of differences in two similar pictures. In this task, assessment consists of establishing whether learners were able to successfully identif)' the differences.

FUTURE TRENDS The 10 principles were first formulated in 2005 as part of a report for the New Zealand Ministry of Education, entitled Instructed Language Acquisition: A Literature Review.' At that time, my work in SLA was largely informed by the computational model of learning, so the principles were mainly based on this model. Since then, SLA has been increasingly influenced by more socially oriented theories of learning, in particular sociocultural theory. This them)' differs from the computa- tional model in a number of important ways, most significantly in how it views learning. In the computational model, learning occurs inside the head of the learner; the role of instruction, therefore, is to prompt the internal cognitive processes required for learning to take place. In sociocultural theory, learning is a social phenom- enon; it occurs in the social interactions in which learners participate. Interaction, in other words, is not just a source of input but a powerful means for mediating learning. Furthermore, research

Chapter 3 41

based on sociocultural theory has provided a much richer account of how interaction can assist learn- ing than does the computational model. It has shown, for example, that the collaborative talk that learners engage in when they experience linguistic problems helps them not only to resolve these problems in targetlike ways while they are talk- ing but also to remember the solutions and use them independently in their own language use at a later date. In short, talking about language leads to learning. Social learning is the precursor to individual learning.

The insights provided by sociocultural theory feed imo a number of the existing principles, as I have indicated in this chapter (e.g., see Principle 8). But they also point to a new principle:

Principle 11: Leanzers need to engage collabora- tively in talk about linguistic problems and try to agree on solutions to them.

This principle can be seen as an extension of Principle 7 (Successful instntcled language learning also requires ojJjJattunities for output) but it is, arguably, so important that it should be stated as a separate principle.

I am also aware of another gap. In general, the principles assume a universalistic view of L2 learn- ing; they view language learning as involving cogni- tive processes that are common to all learners. To a large extent, this is true. We know, for example, that all learners follow a very similar order and sequence of acquisition (see Principle 5), and certainly having plenty of input and having the opportunity to inter- act in the L2 are kev to successful learning for all. I have acknowledged the role of learner factors such as language aptitude and motivation in language learning (see Principle 9), but I have so far made no mention of one important area of individual differ- ence in !em-nel-s-the subjecti\'e nanu-e of language learning_ Learning a new language is not just a question of developing linguistic or communicative ability bur also, potentially at least, an opportunity to acquire a new syrnbolic form. Learners have the opportunity to develop their subjective selves by taking on new identities and even a new personality. Learning an L2 can change how people \·iew 1·eality and how they see the world around them. Thus, I see a need for an additional principle:

42 Unit I

Principle 12: lnstntction needs to take into account the subjective aspect to leanzing a new language.

This principle indicates the need for instruc- tional activities that encourage learners to engage in language play and to form an emotional identification with the target language. One way this can be achieved is through the introduction of literature and creative writing into the L2 curriculum.

Finally, I emphasize that the 12 principles I have proposed are not cast in stone. As I have just shown, they will be subject to modification as a result of new theoretical perspectives on L2 learning.

CONCLUSION These general principles have been derived from my understanding of SLA. I have drawn on a variety of theoretical perspectives, although predominantly from the computational model of L2 learning. I am aware that this model has its limitations and is open to criticism; in particular, it is not socially sensitive because it fails to acknowl- edge the imponance of social context and social relations in the language learning process (for an extended critique along these lines, see Block, 2003). Clearly, it would be useful to formulate a set of principles based on the broader conceptu- alization of SLA of the kind advocated by Block and others, but this is not my aim here. There will always be a need for a psycholinguistic account of how learners internalize new linguistic forms and how they restructure their linguistic knowledge during the process of acquisition. Social theories emphasize language use, but language use is nol language acquisition, only a means to it. To my mind, the computational model, along with sociocultural theory, provides a solid foundation for developing a set of principles that articulate the relationships among instruction, language use, and language acquisition. It also constitutes a metaphor that teachers can easily relate to.

SUMMARY

This chapter draws together findings from a range of second language acquisition studies to formulate

a set of general principles for language pedagogy. These principles address such issues as:

)to- the nanu·e of second language competence as formulaic and rule-based knowledge

)to- the contributions of both focus on meaning and focus on form

)to- the need to develop both implicit and explicit second language knowledge

)to- the problems posed by the learners' built-in syllabus

)to- the roles of input, output, and interaction in learning

)to- the importance of catering to individual differences in learners

)to- the need to assess language learning in terms of both free and controlled production

The principles are otfered as provisional speciftca- tions for a leaming-centered language pedagogy.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Do you agree that formulaic sequences and

vocabulary are more imponant than grammar in the early stage of L2 learning~

2. Explain the difference between semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning, and think of one instructional activity for each.

3. The chapter describes four ways of focusing on form (see p. 35). \Vhat do you see as the advantages and limitations of each way?

4. Given that the main goal of teaching should be to help students acquire implicit L2 knowl- edge, how do you think this can be best achieved?

5. \Vhat are your own views about the value of teaching explicit L2 knowledge?

6. Make a list of ways in which you can maximize the input that your students are exposed to (a) inside the classroom and (b) outside the class- roon1.

7. "Controlled practice exercises typically result in output that is limited in terms of length and complexity" (p. 39). Do you agree with this statement? Do you see any advantages of such exercises?

8. In many classrooms, students have only limited opportunities to interact using the L2. vVhy is

this? What can you do to provide students with more opportunities to interact?

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES 1. Observe a lesson of a teacher whom you

know well. Your aim is to investigate to what extent the lesson manifests the principles of instructed language learning. You can use these questions to help you carry out your observation:

Principle 1: Do the students use formulaic chunks in the target language during the lesson? Do the students produce utterances in the target language that contain complex constructions?

Principle 2: Are there opportunities for students to focus on pragmatic meaning during the lesson? Does the lesson contain any commu- nicative tasks? What proportion of the lesson time engages learners in processing pragmatic meaning?

PrincijJle 3: What evidence is there of attention to form in any of these ways?

:J through grammar/vocabulary I pronuncia- tion lessons designed to teach specific lin- guistic features

:J through focused tasks :.:..J through methodological options designed

to induce attention to form (e.g., plan- ning, preemptive attention to form, and reactive attention to form)

D through an intentional (intensive) and incidental (extensive) approach to lessons

Principle 4: What opportunities are there for the learners to develop implicit L2 knowl- edge? Does the teacher attempt to teach explicit knowledge of the target language? If so, how?

Principle 5: If the lesson takes a focus-on-forms approach, what specific grammatical structure is the target of the lesson? How did the learn- ers appear to handle this grammatical struc- ture: (a) very easily, (b) with some difficulty, (c) with great difficulty, (d) not at all?

Chapter 3 43

Principle 6: Hmv extensive is the input that the learners are exposed to in the lesson? What does the teacher do to try to make the target language input comprehensible?

Principle 7: ~When the students speak in the target language, how long are their utterances typically: (a) single words, (b) short phrases, (c) full clauses, (d) multiple-clause sentences?

Principle 8: Vlhat evidence is there that negotia- tion of meaning is taking place? vVhat evidence is there that the teacher is scaffolding students' attempts to use the target language? Do the students work in groups? If they do, do they use English or their Ll?

Principle 9: To what extent are the instruction- al activities designed to take into account dif- ferences among the students? How intrinsically motivated do the students seem to be during the instructional activities? vVhat indicators are there of their motivation or lack of it?

2. When you have finished your observation, dis- cuss your findings with the teacher and ask him or her to comment on them.

3. Choose an ESL or EFL textbook that you know well. To what extent do the method- ological approach and the activities in the textbook accord with the principles discussed in this chapter?

4. "\<\Thile it is probably true that teachers can do little to influence students' extrinsic moti- vation, there is a lot they can do to enhance their intrinsic motivation" (p. 41). Note the difference between extrinsic motivation (efforts made by the learner in anticipation of external rewards) and intrinsic motivation (efforts made by the learner when there are are possible inter- nal rewards). Dra\\~ng on your own experiences as a language learner or as a teacher, make a list of the strategies that teachers can use to enhance their students' intrinsic motivation.