Practical Applications of the Principles of Instructed Second Language

Many of you are aware of the literature review to examine theory and research looking at what constitutes effective pedagogy for the acquisition of a second language in a classroom context. The research identifies 10 general principles that can provide a guideline or a tool for classroom teachers. The purpose of this dossier is to look at what this could mean in terms of practical classroom applications should you wish to reflect on these findings. While the DVD “French Class” (the joint NZAFT/ACENZ/French Embassy project) was conceived as a tool for reflection and not to exemplify these principles, for those of you who purchase this resource, you can observe these principles occurring naturally in the classrooms. Principle 1: Instruction needs to ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire of formulaic expressions and a rule-based competence.Consider signs for the classroom and the provision and gathering of useful expressions to suit the achievement objective. Are formulaic expressions for greeting, apologising, requestiong etc such as « bonjour, ça va? », « pardon », « je ne sais pas », « je peux … s‟ilte/vous plait? », « je voudrais… », classroom instructions etc part of every student‟s everyday repertoire? More complex utterances such as those expressing feelings and opinions would, of course, be expected at senior level. Formulaic expressions help to build-up confidence and innate understanding before breaking everything down for analysis and rule-based, grammar work. These can also be available to students in visual form (visual …graffiti‟), produced by them, for them.Principle 2: Instruction needs to ensure that learners focus predominantly on meaning Students are functioning as language users. Some kind of gap needs to be filled through communicative efforts of learners and need to construct their own language.Do instructions and social interaction between students take place in the target language? Consider the communicative activities which allow students to use the language to construct their own meaning. Tasks to encourage this occur in pairs and small groups and have a clearly defined outcome. They might include information-gap (filling in a table, grid, picture based on information gleaned), negotiation exercises (agreeing on what is important/unimportant, literature discussion), information gathering (finding out others‟ future career plans, job interview, TV/radio presentation), transactional scenarios (in a shop, one with a shopping list for a party, the other acting as a shop assistant; seeking directions…), unrehearsed role plays, story-telling and constructing etc. Activities can be both receptive and productive and focus on communication e.g I missed the planned rendez-vous with my host mother so how do I get to my homestay by bus?Contexts need to be meaningful and appropriate to students‟ interests.Is this an opportunity to look at personal opinion in the context of intercultural understanding?Principle 3: Instruction needs to ensure that learners also focus on formSpecific linguistic features are learned through planned and focused tasks which provide a meaningful context for students e.g prepositions – students draw a picture according to the description heard or read; passé composé and other tenses – introduce the verb forms with the aid of postcards or pictures (remember Béatrice Davies‟ introduction of …aller‟?), songs (remember Etienne?!), horoscopes etc. Wait for, rather than manufacture, the moment when students want to say, for example, “my parents want me to earn my own money‟‟ to explain the subjunctive as a communication tool. Unplanned …grammar‟ lessons also have their place and are in response to students‟ needs and questions.Students need to understand as well as use the targeted structures and progression is ensured through sound sequencing: presentation-practice-production e.g. awareness, noticing; repetition, imitation, substitution (controlled conditions); scrutinizing …form‟ through inductive understanding where learners are encouraged to formulate a rule (e.g in response to a s tudent asking “What‟s the …e‟ for on this adjective?”); deductive approach where students use the rule and extend their use of the structure; freer exchanges using visual or verbal stimuli where the focus is on accuracy; free practice and production through the exchange of messages with the focus on both fluency and accuracy.Exploration – Explanation – Expression (- evaluation)Tasks can be designed around the different skills, around observation, cloze activities etc. Correction should be around the focus on form. Self-correction and naming the form (e.g “past tense?”) are highly effective methods as the students have to process the information themselves rather than simply repeating the teacher‟s correction.Principle 4: Instruction needs to be predominantly directed at developing implicit knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledgeImplicit knowledge – intuitive and approaching native speaker competence.Explicit knowledge – knowing the rules of the language.A blend of the two seems sensible, with emphasis on the former, as implicit knowledge allows students to use the language without thinking as they are very familiar with it (exposure to formulaic expressions and wall/desk/book charts, individual reading programmes, pair activities and dialogues can all be worthwhile). Explicit knowledge helps students to notice patterns and make analogies. Pronunciation activities, verb conjugations etc on wall charts, grammar-based songs, rhymes and acronyms can all help.While not neglecting accuracy, students need lots of opportunities to practise and to communicate, focusing on fluency over accuracy. To some extent this focus will depend on the age, level and type of students (e.g. with experience of other languages; exposed to a …taster‟ course) in front of you. Students at a lower level of instruction need to focus on implicit rather than explicit knowledge.The P-P-P approach and task-based learning approach where students focus on meaning and construct their own language are both useful.Principle 5: Instruction needs to take into account learners' `built-in syllabus'This is a tricky one! Students are at different stages in the learning process and may not be ready at the same moment to acquire new knowledge or may not learn what we think we have taught. One possibility is not to follow a structural syllabus another is to teach no grammar and adopt a task-based approach where you provide the language students require to communicate but it would seem that it is beneficial to teach grammar as long as it iscompatible with the natural processes of acquisition. Opportunities for exposure to new language and structures, to reiterate and revise previous work as well as providing an atmosphere which encourages students to ask questions are all obvious strategies. Another possibility is to provide an individualized programme but this is rather impractical. Focusing solely on explicit knowledge also has its obvious drawbacks. A variety of approaches and revisiting or recycling structures seems the likely way to deal with this.Principle 6: Successful instructed language learning requires extensive L2 inputThe more often you teach your class and expose them to the target language, the better, since limited time = limited access and exposure = limited learning and acquisition!Is the target language both the medium and the object of the instruction? Do the achievement objectives occur naturally in all your classes e.g giving and seeking permission; communicate about routines; communicate about present and past states, feelings, opinions…?? Does social interaction also occur in the target language? Is classroom management performed in the target language? Are native speakers and/or language assistants ever/often in your classroom? Do students hear you using the language with colleagues, other students, native speakers?Language input needs to be comprehensible. Use of …mots transparents‟ or cognates and props such as gesture, visual aids, realia, CDs and classroom routines are essential supports. Opportunities for interaction outside the classroom such as trips and exchanges to French-speaking countries, immersion camps, conversation classes or groups are both motivating and provide extensive input.Access to suitable, graded reading material (with audio support), IT (websites, interactive sites and programmes, school intranet), magazines and other …documents authentiques‟, either on an individualized programme or through self-access centres in the classroom or school library are also very effective providers of extensive input.Principle 7: Successful instructed language learning also requires opportunities for outputWe need to distinguish between output or “pushed output”. At a less advanced level this could include songs, rap, poetry etc. For more advanced students, this provides the opportunity for students to produce the language and test out hypotheses about grammar from the feedback they receive when they make errors. Feedback can come in the form of self-correction, peer feedback or teacher prompts, cues, questions and feedback. It also helps to make their knowledge automatic and leads to greater confidence and fluency. They need to be given opportunities to talk about things that interest them and initiate interactions. This is best achieved through tasks (rather than exercises) that require both oral and written language (such as manipulating and creating texts, producing research and extended writing, responding to surveys) and where students have the opportunity to repeat and refine ideas, to find their own words and to interact with others. They should be encouraged to lengthen their utterances and express their thoughts clearly and explicitly and develop a …personal voice‟. Emailing, chatrooms, real and virtual discussion groups are also areas to explore.Principle 8: The opportunity to interact in the L2 is central to developing L2 proficiency Obviously where input and output take place, social interaction will occur. This is not only a fundamental life skill but learning and language acquisition will occur when students have a chance to do conversation and to negotiate for or clarify meaning when there arecommunication difficulties. Scaffolded activities and information-gap activities which are more open-ended or require students to seek a solution to a problem are to be recommended.The opportunity to interact will be facilitated by encouraging student input into course content and giving them control over the contexts and topics to be included. They can express their personal ideas and should be encouraged to challenge themselves. Opportunities to interact with native speakers are clearly beneficial.Making opportunities for group work where students get a greater chance to use language, to discuss, agree and disagree, and negotiate with each other is essential for this. Students can help each other to communicate effectively and teacher support can be helpful when the communication falters or breaks down.Task design is all important.Principle 9: Instruction needs to take account of individual differences in learners “Apprendre à motiver, motiver à apprendre” is a useful thought to keep in mind. Students are not always interested or motivated and it is our task to change that. The relationship between you and the student is paramount for successful learning to take place. Students bring different skills and aptitudes to the classroom and we need to adapt to these by adopting a flexible teaching and learning approach, both analytical and experiential, and by providing a variety of learning activities. Again, a task-based approach is appropriate to allow students to experiment with language without being overly concerned about making mistakes. To develop and maintain interest and motivation, short, varied activities that are clearly and simply explained, and well-paced are desirable. Ask questions which might have several right answers; use activities that have to be accomplished within a time limit in pairs or groups with time for reporting back; use visual, oral, tactile approaches; give strategies for learning vocabulary; provide opportunities for students to be active and creative; provide challenges; use up to date, authentic materials. Have directed fun!Principle 10: In assessing learners' L2 proficiency it is important to examine free as well as controlled productionFree response is perhaps the best measure of what students are capable of as it usually involves real communication. Using relatively closed tasks where you can directly assess the outcomes is one way of examining free production e.g “spot the difference” where learners interact in order to successfully identify the differences between two similar pictures. The principles can be found at:/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=10599&data=lFurther useful information relating to teaching additional languages is available in a booklet, “Teaching additional languages”, by Elliot Judd, Lihua Tan & Herbert J. Walberg) produced by the International Academy of Education which provides syntheses of research on educational topics of international importance. It presents some key general principles of …communicative language‟ teaching with summaries of the research and a discussion of classroom practices that follow from it. In brief, the principles are:prehensible input–learners need exposure to lots of meaningful and understandable language (listening and reading materials),somewhat above the learners‟ current level of mastery.nguage opportunities –classroom activities should allow students to use natural and meaningful language with their classmates. Pair and small group work should beencouraged and include the exchange of real information, ideas and feelings and problem-solving activities.nguage practice – classroom activities should encourage students to use the additional language for genuine communication. As well as controlled exercises, teachers should use freer, open-ended activities that allow students to experiment with language to develop both oral and written fluency. Materials used should represent real, natural language and the teacher should provide feedback on the students‟ performance as well as suggestions for improvement.4.Learning strategies –students should be taught strategies that enable them to increasingly learn language on their own, from their classmates and others without the teacher‟s help. Reduce anxiety, raise pertinent questions about difficult points andprovide strategies for memorizing words, guessing and checking meanings and maximize opportunities for language practice.5.Listening – students should be given practice in understanding naturally spoken additional languages.Strategies to be encouraged include tapping into students‟ prior knowledge or previewing vocabulary before listening to a passage; after listening to a passage ask about general points, request recall of specific information, allow note-taking; use a variety of activities – one-way, two-way, informational and emotional6.Speaking –students should be given practice speaking in language comprehensible to others. Grammar and vocabulary learning alone does not lead to fluency. Students need to learn how to manage real conversation by engaging in …unscripted‟ and spontaneouslanguage. Teachers need to provide controlled practice then have students use thepatterns in natural situations e.g asking directions, requesting accommodation.7.Reading –students should be given practice in comprehending natural texts. (See No. 5).Students need to read literary, non-literary, academic, non-academic (letters, forms, lists, resumés), formal and informal texts (traditional reading passages, maps, schedules, signs and menus). Both intensive and extensive reading opportunities are needed.8.Writing - students should be given practice in creating effective, natural language that communicates their intended message. Teach students the stages in the writing process: brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, proof-reading, editing, final drafting; provide and discuss models of successful writing samples; focus on different …genres‟; select tasks that are both relevant and of interest to students.9.Grammar – formal grammar instruction may have some benefits in certain situations, but may be of limited benefit in others. Present the grammar form in natural discourse;provide numerous examples of natural language in which the form can be studied;practice recognition before production of the form and its functions; provide meaningful feedback if errors occur.prehensible pronunciation –pronunciation instructions should make students understandable to other users of the language. Teachers need to work on vowel and consonant sounds and sound combinations as well as intonation, stress and rhythm patterns.∙Integrate the various language skills∙Use a broad approach to assessment∙Ensure course material is appropriate and activities are authentic, motivating and challenging/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac06e.pdf。