Classroom interaction engendered by different form-and-accuracy exercises with advanced students
Author
Summary, in English
Classroom interaction engendered by different form-and-accuracy exercises with advanced students
This presentation focuses on the impact of two different kinds of form-and-accuracy grammar exercises on teacher-student classroom interaction with advanced Swedish-speaking L2 users of English. The purpose is to explore whether the exercises lead to a) the same amount and type of interaction, and b) interaction that seems meaningful to the students. The study forms part of a longitudinal study investigating whether L1-to-L2 translation might be one out of many suitable tasks aiding the acquisition of difficult L2 structures for advanced-level students needing professional-level competency in L2 (cf. Cook, 2007).
The study builds on research showing that a) form-focused instruction in L2 leads to enhanced levels of formal accuracy in test-like performance (Norris & Ortega, 2001), b) explicit instruction leading to accuracy in lexicogrammar is needed for professional-level L2 competency (Byrnes, 2002), and c) acquisition of difficult L2 structures is aided by explicit comparison with the L1 (Kaneko, 1992; Kupferberg & Olshtain, 1996; Rolin-Ianziti & Brownlie, 2002; Spada & Lightbown, 1999).
There is limited research, however, investigating what types of form-focused exercise result in enhanced levels of learning (Ellis, 2005). This paper addresses this issue by exploring interaction engendered by: a) exercises involving L1-to-L2 translation, and b) fill-in-the-blank and transformation exercises in L2 (thus no comparison with the L1).
Students (n=55) were assigned to two different groups based on matched-pair random assignment and were provided either with fill-in-the-blank and transformation exercises, or Swedish-to-English translation exercises. Data measuring learning over 13 weeks were collected, and classroom interaction was audio-recorded. Both groups were taught by the same teacher.
Results show that while fill-in-the-blank and transformation exercises allow for a sharper focus on one structure only, translation exercises engender more questions by a greater number of students. Implications for the design of exercises for advanced L2 users sharing the same L1 are discussed.
This presentation focuses on the impact of two different kinds of form-and-accuracy grammar exercises on teacher-student classroom interaction with advanced Swedish-speaking L2 users of English. The purpose is to explore whether the exercises lead to a) the same amount and type of interaction, and b) interaction that seems meaningful to the students. The study forms part of a longitudinal study investigating whether L1-to-L2 translation might be one out of many suitable tasks aiding the acquisition of difficult L2 structures for advanced-level students needing professional-level competency in L2 (cf. Cook, 2007).
The study builds on research showing that a) form-focused instruction in L2 leads to enhanced levels of formal accuracy in test-like performance (Norris & Ortega, 2001), b) explicit instruction leading to accuracy in lexicogrammar is needed for professional-level L2 competency (Byrnes, 2002), and c) acquisition of difficult L2 structures is aided by explicit comparison with the L1 (Kaneko, 1992; Kupferberg & Olshtain, 1996; Rolin-Ianziti & Brownlie, 2002; Spada & Lightbown, 1999).
There is limited research, however, investigating what types of form-focused exercise result in enhanced levels of learning (Ellis, 2005). This paper addresses this issue by exploring interaction engendered by: a) exercises involving L1-to-L2 translation, and b) fill-in-the-blank and transformation exercises in L2 (thus no comparison with the L1).
Students (n=55) were assigned to two different groups based on matched-pair random assignment and were provided either with fill-in-the-blank and transformation exercises, or Swedish-to-English translation exercises. Data measuring learning over 13 weeks were collected, and classroom interaction was audio-recorded. Both groups were taught by the same teacher.
Results show that while fill-in-the-blank and transformation exercises allow for a sharper focus on one structure only, translation exercises engender more questions by a greater number of students. Implications for the design of exercises for advanced L2 users sharing the same L1 are discussed.
Department/s
Publishing year
2008
Language
English
Document type
Conference paper
Topic
- Languages and Literature
Keywords
- SoTL
Conference name
Second Language Research Forum
Conference date
2008-10-17 - 2008-10-19
Status
Published