Teaching Beliefs

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L & S Ch. 5
Observing Learning and Teaching in the Second Language Classroom

  • Consider social, cultural and political contexts that are related to second language learning
  • Different approaches of second language instruction
  • Structure-based instructional settings
  • Communicative instructional settings
  • Specific pedagogical features
  • Corrective feedback
  • Explicit Correction- When you point out the errors
  • Recast- Restating with corrections
  • Clarification Request- Asking for a restate while implying an error
  • Metalinguistic Feedback- Giving comments, questions, or information that doesn’t say they did anything wrong
  • Questions types
  • Interaction with students

Natural and instructional settings

  • Natural settings
  • Learners are exposed to language at work, in school, or in social situations where most of the speakers are native speakers of the target language.
  • Instructional settings
  • Structure-based: The focus is on language itself rather than on the messages carried by language.
  • Communicative, content-base, and task-based: The focus is on language and interaction, conversation and language use.

In natural acquisition settings

  • Language is not presented step by step.
  • Learners’ errors are rarely corrected.
  • Learners are surrounded by language for many hours each day.
  • Learners encounter many people who use the target language proficiently.
  • Learners observe and participate in a wide range of language events.
  • Older learners may encounter the written language in video and web-based materials.
  • Learners must often use their L2 ability to respond to questions or obtain information.
  • Modified input is available in many one-to-one conversations.

In structure-based instructional settings

  • Language is presented one item at a time.
  • Errors are frequently corrected.
  • Learning is often limited to a few hours per week.
  • The teacher is often the only native or proficient speaker the student comes into contact with.
  • Students experience a limited range of discourse types.
  • Students often feel pressure to speak or write the second language from the beginning.
  • Teachers may use the learners’ native language to give instructions or for classroom management; when using the target language teachers modify their language to ensure comprehension.

In communicative instructional settings

  • Input is simplified and made comprehensible by the use of contextual cues.
  • Limited amount of corrective feedback on the part of the teacher; emphasis is on meaning not form.
  • Learners have limited time for learning.
  • Usually only the teacher is proficient in the target language.
  • A variety of discourse types is introduced.
  • Little pressure to perform at high levels of accuracy.
  • Modified input is a defining feature of this approach to instruction.

Two approaches to classroom research

  • Observation schemes: Researchers use pre-planned checklists to describe (and often to quantify) the occurrence of specific instructional behaviours and events.
  • Ethnography: Researchers describe what occurs in classrooms, without using predetermined categories.

Observation schemes

  • Many different observation schemes exist.
  • These differ in many ways (e.g. number of categories, whether used in ‘real’ time or for later to analyse audio recordings or transcripts).
  • Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) observation scheme
  • Part A describes teaching practices in terms of content, focus, and organization of activity types.
  • Part B describes specific aspects of the language used by teachers and students.

Classroom comparisons

  • Teacher–student interactions
  • Classroom A: Structure-based approach
  • Classroom B: Communicative approach
  • Student–student interactions
  • Communication task A: Picture description
  • Communication task B: Jigsaw

Corrective feedback categories
(Lyster & Ranta, 1997)

• Explicit correction

• Recasts

• Clarification requests

• Metalinguistic feedback

• Elicitation

• Repetition

Studies of corrective feedback

  • Recasts in content-based classrooms (Lyster and Ranta, 1997)
  • Recasts and private speech (Ohta, 2000)
  • Recasts in different instructional settings (Lyster and Mori, 2006)
  • Corrective feedback in context (Oliver and Mackey, 2003)
  • Oral and written corrective feedback (Sheen, 2010)

Questions in the classroom

  • Teachers’ questions in classrooms (Long and Sato, 1983)
  • Scaffolding and display and referential questions (McCormick and Donato, 2000)
  • Open and closed questions (Dalton-Puffer, 2006)
  • Wait time (White and Lightbown, 1984; Long et al., 1985)

Time for learning languages in school

  • How to increase learning time.
  • Content-based language teaching not always feasible.
  • Intensive instruction is an alternative––either more time or same time delivered more intensively.
  • (Lightbown, 2012; Lightbown and Spada, 1994; Collins et al., 1999; Collins and White, 2011; Netten and Germain, 2004; Lapkin, Hart, and Harley, 1998)

Ethnography

  • Observer takes extensive notes of the activities, practices, and interaction––looking for patterns to emerge.
  • Participant and non-participant ethnography
  • Qualitative research that focuses on social, cultural, and political realities and their impact on learners’ cognitive, linguistic, and social development.

Ethnographic studies

  • Language in the home and school (Watson-Gegeo, 1992)
  • Separation of second language learners in primary school (Toohey, 2000)
  • Sociopolitical change and foreign language classroom discourse (Duff, 1995)

L & S Ch. 6
Second Language Learning in Classroom

  • Further Introduction about Immersion Program
  • Make a balance between form focus and meaning focus
  • Depending on the contexts of your teaching
  • Teaching objectives
  • Student populations
  • Learning styles and individual differences

Research approaches to assess proposals

Quantitative research

  • Descriptive or experimental
  • Goal is to identify specific variables that may affect learning similarly in different contexts.
  • Often involves large numbers in order to draw conclusions about learners in general.

Qualitative research

  • Descriptive (e.g. ethnographies, case studies)
  • Emphasis on a thorough understanding of what is particular about a classroom/a learner.
  • Often involves small numbers (e.g. one class or one or two learners)

Action research

  • Carried out by teachers in their own classrooms
  • Essential to answer specific, local questions

Six proposals for classroom teaching

  • Get it right from the beginning
  • Just listen ... and read
  • Let’s talk
  • Get two for one
  • Teach what is teachable
  • Get it right in the end

Proposal 1

Get it right from the beginning approach

Structure-based approach

Grammar translation method- Classical Language learning

Audiolingual method- reaction to GTm

Memorization, mimicry and learned dialogues and sentence patterns

Works well for students who have a background in grammar from their L1.

May not work well for students with different levels of motivation and aptitude.

Little room for error has also been thought to deter students from acquiring the new language.

Studies:

Audiolingual Pattern drill- worked for the pattern, but not for whole language

Grammar plus communicative practice- 3 groups, communicative, culture and control

Even with focus on accuracy in one area, competency in whole language use was not found to be successful.

Proposal 2

Just listen….and read

* Proponents of this proposal believe the learners do not need to produce output. Learners learn by hearing or reading the L2.

Comprehensible input

Comprehension-based instruction: the input is manipulated to increase students attention and interest

Input forms

Input flood: using many forms of a certain language feature.

Enhanced input: The input is altered or highlighted to make the input more tangible to the learner.

Processing instruction, Bill VanPatten (2004) This form of instruction has the learners focus their attention of the language itself. Learners can’t use contextual clues, prior knowledge. Learners focused on production tasks that were taught to them through explicit explanations

Interpreting the research

Overall, the research is very good regarding the effectiveness to this approach. Comparable to non-test samples

Research also says that this is not an end all but rather a good augment to other methods of SLA.

More research must be conducted

Proposal 3

Let’s Talk

Access to comprehensible input and conversational interactions

Task-based language teaching (TBLT)

Meaningful dialogue compared to rote memorization

Studies:

Learners talking to learners- paired participants, grouped according to skill level, found no less errors among the groups

Learner language and proficiency level- learners paired in tasks, found that lower skilled speakers did not improve based on who they were paired with

Other grouped studies, paired L2 learners with L1 native speakers found that improvement was made for students who participated in the task based simulations,

Grouped, tasked learning is beneficial, but again not always successful depending on what conversations are like. Corrective feedback is not a large part of these studies.

Proposal 4

Get two for one

Content based language teaching: Students learn the L2 while being taught content based or subject matter instruction. This was introduced through a variety of immersion programs with different methodologies

Immersion programs:

1) French Immersion programs in Canada. Native english speakers were immersed in french language class. According to the research the learners develop fluency in language usage

2) Late immersion under stress in Hong Kong. Learners were taught their primary language in primary school and then taught the second language in secondary school. Students had a hard time learning the content at the secondary level in english and often fell behind.

3) Dual immersion. Both native speakers were taught the second language and the ELL’s were taught the L1 at the same time.

4) Inuit children in content-based programs. Inuit children were taught content in their native language until grade 2. Hereafter students were taught in one of two of Canada's official languages. Students did not have adequate age-appropriate materials

Proposal 5

Teach what is teachable

Teaching based on developmental features

Targeted instruction and input to when students are ready developmentally.

Even if learners can produce more advanced forms on tests, etc; instruction should still follow the natural developmental course.

Studies:

Stage 2 students were pushed to skip to stage 4 instruction and failed because they were not developmentally ready and fell back to using stage 2 rules. Students who progressed to stage 3 learned and used the stage 3 material naturally.

Developmental stage and first language influence

Study showed that 11-12 yr old ESL students that were exposed to forms that were 1-2 stages beyond their developmental level did not make any significant progress in oral or written work. Beyond that, the students were influenced greatly by their first language as well.

Teaching to students who are developmentally ready helps, type of instruction helps as well.

These studies help teachers with planning lessons and answering why students are not learning what they are supposed to be learning, but no answers are 100% accurate.

Proposal 6

Get it right in the end

Form-focused instruction: Proponents of this theory argue that “some aspects of language must be taught and may need to be taught quite explicitly”. It draws the learners attention on the forms and structure and to be used for communicative output. There are many case studies regarding the research to form focused instruction.

Corrective feedback : Corrective feedback is important to the “get it right in the end” proposal because it allows the learner to adjust their language acquisition by getting feedback on grammatical forms from native speakers and higher proficient L2’s.

L & S Ch.7
Popular Language Learning Ideas

Language are learned mainly through imitation

Parents usually correct young children when they make grammatical errors

Highly intelligent people are good language learners

The best predictor of success in second language acquisition is motivation

The earlier a second language is introduced in school programmes, the greater the likelihood of success in learning

Most of mistakes that second language make are due to interference from their first language

The best way to learn new vocabulary is through reading

It is essential for learners to be able to pronounce all the individual sounds in the second language

Once learners know 1000 words and the basic structure of a second language, they can easily participate in conversations with native speakers

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L & S Ch.7
Key Concepts (Cont.)

10. Teachers should present grammatical rules one at a time, and learners should practice each one before going on a another

11. Teachers should teach simple language structures before complex ones

12. Learners’ errors should be corrected as soon as they are made in order to prevent the formation of bad habits

13. Teachers should use materials that expose students only to language structures they have already been taught

14. When learners are allowed to interact freely, they copy each other’s mistakes

15. Students learn what they are taught

16. Teachers should respond to students’ errors by correctly rephrasing what they have said rather than by explicitly pointing out the error

17. Students can learn both language and academic content simultaneously in classes where the subject matter is taught in their second language

18. Classrooms are good places to learn about language but not for learning how to use language

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Other Interesting Arguments

  • Most of mistakes that second language make are due to interference from their first language
  • It is essential for learners to be able to pronounce all the individual sounds in the second language
  • Teachers should use materials that expose students only to language structures they have already been taught
  • Classrooms are good places to learn about language but not for learning how to use language

Conclusion

  • Various factors that influence Language learning
  • Personal characteristics
  • Experiences of the learner
  • The social and cultural environment
  • The structure of the native and target languages
  • Opportunities for interaction with speakers of the target language
  • Access to corrective feedback
  • Form-focused instruction
  • Why do we need SLA research
  • Insights and implications
  • Reflection of teaching practice