Teaching Grammar without Teaching Grammar Input-Oriented Grammar Instruction Using Listening and Reading to Provide Structured Input Ken Herbert—Nomen Global Language Centers Jessica Hercules—Granite Peaks Adult Education Intermountain TESOL Conference October 16, 2014

Credits  Material for this presentation adapted from:  Lee, J., & Van Patten, B. (2003). Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen. New York: McGraw Hill.  Farley, A. (2007). PPT Presentation, Texas Tech University.  Benati, A. (2011). Generalizability of Processing Instruction Research. Presentation at International Seminar on Instructed Second Language Learning. Vitoria-Gastiez, May 13, 2011

Do you teach a specific grammar section? Do you have a textbook you are required to use? What does grammar instruction look like in your classroom?

What are some specific approaches to teaching grammar you have heard of? Do you follow any of these approaches in your classroom currently?

Change the following into negative statements: 1.I am happy. _______________________. 1.We are sad. _______________________. 1.They are tired. _______________________. 1.You are funny. _______________________. 1.She is hungry. _______________________. Conjugate the be verb in each sentence. 1.I (be) happy. _______________________. 1.We (be) sad. _______________________. 1.They (be) tired. _______________________. 1.You (be) funny. _______________________. 1.She (be) hungry. _______________________. Have you seen or used activities like these?

Objectives for this session  Demonstrate understanding of  the issues involved in learning and teaching grammar  the nature of input, intake, and input processing  Processing Instruction (PI), Structured Input (SI) and the role of the form-meaning connection by participating in the development of SI activities.

What we will explore in this session  A brief look at traditional approaches to teaching/learning grammar  Processing Instruction (PI) and Structured Input (SI)

Your Take-away  Undergo a paradigm shift in terms of how you teach grammar in relation to the process going on in a student’s head as the brain attempts to construct a version of the target language (implicit, developing linguistic system)  Realize where in the process you are introducing skill getting activities and where you are introducing skill using activities  Catch the vision of what Structured Input activities can mean to your students and to your approach to introducing grammar concepts

If this stuff is so good, why isn’t everybody doing it?  years for published research to work its way through an extremely convoluted system  This particular research is within the context of SLA  Foreign languages (other than English) are often the first to apply the “new” model.  For wider acceptance, there are some closely-held beliefs within “traditional” approaches to teaching grammar that must be overcome.

Some research into the (in)effectiveness of traditional approaches to teaching grammar: Barcroft & Wong (2013); Benati (2003); Bybee (1991); Doughty & Williams (1998); Ellis (1983; Ellis (1989); Farley (2003); Gass (1997); Gass & Selinker (1992); Kaplan (1987); Krashen (1982); Larsen-Freeman & Long (1991); Lee & VanPatten (2003); Lightbown (1983); LoCoco (1976); Muscemi (1997); Pica (1983); Sanz & Morgan- Short (2003); VanPatten & Mandell (1999); Terrell, Baycroft, & Perrone (1987); VanPatten & Oikennon (1996); White (1977); Wong (2003); ……. Lee & VanPatten (2003), pp Traditional Approaches to Teaching Grammar

1.That’s the way I learned, so… 2.Drills are effective tools for learning grammar Mechanical  Meaningful  Communicative 3.Explicit explanation is necessary 4.The first language is the source of all errors 5.Acquisition involves the learning of paradigms Lee & VanPatten (2003), pp

Traditional Approaches to Teaching Grammar Mechanical approaches behavioral in nature focus on form through detailed explicit instruction paradigms/diagrams mechanical drills repetition rote memory do not allow for communication or self-expression usually lead to “planned parrot-hood.” Lee & VanPatten (2003), pp

Traditional Approaches to Teaching Grammar Communicative approaches focus on exchange of information deem explicit grammar instruction unnecessary place focus on form on back burner reward communication at expense of accuracy lead to “false” advanced and intermediate learners Lee & VanPatten (2003), pp

Traditional Approaches to Teaching Grammar Some research into the (in)effectiveness of traditional approaches to teaching grammar: Benati (2003); Bybee (1991); Doughty & Williams (1998); Ellis (1983; Ellis (1989); Farley (2003); Gass (1997); Gass & Selinker (1992); Kaplan (1987); Krashen (1982); Larsen-Freeman & Long (1991); Lee & VanPatten (2003); Lightbown (1983); LoCoco (1976); Muscemi (1997); Pica (1983); Sanz & Morgan-Short (2003); VanPatten & Mandell (1999); Terrell, Baycroft, & Perrone (1987); VanPatten & Oikennon (1996); White (1977); Wong (2003); ……. Lee & VanPatten (2003), pp

Some working assumptions Input “... acquisition involves the creation of an implicit linguistic system, one that exists outside of awareness.” (Lee and VanPatten, 2003, p. 132).  This developing system  is dependent upon input  grows as learners receive and process a significant amount of input  requires input that is both comprehensible and meaningful

Some working assumptions  “The concept of input is perhaps the single most important concept of second language acquisition.” (Gass, 1997, p. 1)  “All cases of successful first and second language acquisition are characterized by the availability of comprehensible input.” (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991, p. 142)

Some working assumptions  Successful Language Acquisition Begins with INPUT  Language Acquisition Cannot Happen Without INPUT

Some working assumptions  Input defined in the context of this presentation  Samples of meaning-bearing language that learners are exposed to in a communicative setting  This meaning-bearing language communicates some kind of message

Some working assumptions  Intake  Intake = linguistic information in the input that learners attend to and hold in working memory during real-time comprehension.  The way in which learners process input can have a huge effect on the intake they derive from it.

Some working assumptions  Input Processing  Attempts to explain how learners get form while their primary attention is on meaning.  Humans possess  a finite, short-term “working memory”  mechanisms to selectively filter the input coming in  “…during the act of comprehension, learners will do whatever is necessary to grasp whatever meaning they can from the input.” (Lee & VanPatten, 2003, p. 138)

Some working assumptions Structured Input (SI)  Input that is structured in ways that push learners to become dependent on grammatical form and structure to get meaning  Form-meaning connections (mapping)  SI is more effective than input provided through traditional means.  SI helps the learners build the their developing linguistic system.

Some working assumptions  Input = raw, unfiltered, unprocessed linguistic data  Intake = the linguistic info that learners actually attend to  Filtered and stored in working memory for processing  Processing Mechanism = converts intake into form- meaning connections that build the developing linguistic system  Structured Input = input that has been modified to force learners to become dependent on grammatical form and structure to get meaning

Traditional Lesson Introduce the simple past  Review present tense  Introduce simple past tense  Compare/Contrast structures  Go over rules  Explore paradigm charts  Show how certain words require a past form  “yesterday” requires “walked”  Complete practice drills—Mechanical  Meaningful  Perform a “communicative” activity

Traditional Lesson Listen to each sentence. Does the action take place in the past or in the present? (Teacher reads each sentence aloud.)  1. Yesterday, I walked my dog around the block.  2. Right now, the restaurant across the street is open.

Why traditional approaches to teaching grammar are ineffective Input Intake Developing Linguistic System Output Focused Practice Processing Mechanisms Rules Paradigms Explicit Instruction Without access to meaning

Tarzan and Joe J: “Hi, I’m Joe.” T: “Me Tarzan.” J: “Awesome outfit. Where are you going?” T: “Go to dance.” J: “Really?! Are you part of the entertainment?” T: “Find Jane. Dance.”

Let’s Take a Break

Brief Recap  Importance of learner’s developing linguistic system  Reasons for focusing on input/intake  The role of intake  The interaction among input, intake, the learner’s developing system, and output  How the traditional approach reinforces the learner’s faulty processing strategies (“yesterday”; “right now”)

Processing-Oriented Approach to Teaching Grammar  Lee and Van Patten propose a different model of instruction  Processing instruction  focuses on input and  how learners process input (intake)  proceeds from input to output  from decontextualized sentences to  richly contextualized connected discourse

Processing-Oriented Approach to Teaching Grammar Before producing output, learners  are given information about a particular linguistic structure or form  are provided with information about helpful strategies for learning the form or structure  process the form or structure using structured input activities to promote form-meaning connections Only after this phase will learners be required to produce output.

Input Processing  Two main principles: 1. The Primacy of Meaning Principle. Learners process input for meaning before they process it for form.  Today, Jill is working at home. 2. The First Noun Principle. Learners tend to process the first noun or pronoun they encounter in a sentence as the subject or agent.  With John, he has to be extra careful. (Lee and VanPatten, 2003, p. 139)

Input Processing  The Primacy of Meaning Principle. Learners process input for meaning before they process it for form.  The Lexical Preference Principle. Learners tend to rely on lexical items as opposed to grammatical form to get meaning when both encode the same semantic meaning.

Input Processing  The Lexical Preference Principle. Learners tend to rely on lexical items as opposed to grammatical form to get meaning when both encode the same semantic meaning.  Listen to each sentence. Does the action take place in the past or in the present? (Teacher reads each sentence aloud.)  1. I walked my dog.  2. The restaurant is open.

Things to Notice I walked the dog. ___Past ___Present  Highly decontextualized  The form, “walked” encodes meaning (past time)  The learner must extract meaning from form  As the learner connects form with meaning, intake is occurring

Rethinking Grammar Instruction: Processing Instruction and Structured Input Input Intake Developing System Output Structured Input Processing Mechanisms Rules Paradigms Explicit Instruction Structured Output Focused Practice with access to meaning (Adapted from Lee and VanPatten, 2003, p. 142)

The Goal of Structured Input  To push learners away from faulty processing strategies…  lexical preference  first noun strategy  sentence location Yesterday, Bill walked home. With John, he has to be extra careful. Adapted from Farley (2007)

The Goal of Structured Input To push learners toward better processing strategies…  attending to the form itself to get meaning and build form-meaning connections  identifying the function of nouns (and other parts of speech) correctly.  processing sentence-medial items Adapted from Farley (2007)

From Theory to Practice

Change the following into negative statements: 1.I am happy. _______________________. 1.We are sad. _______________________. 1.They are tired. _______________________. 1.You are funny. _______________________. 1.She is hungry. _______________________. Conjugate the be verb in each sentence. 1.I (be) happy. _______________________. 1.We (be) sad. _______________________. 1.They (be) tired. _______________________. 1.You (be) funny. _______________________. 1.She (be) hungry. _______________________.

●ordering and ranking ●surveys ●matching ●selecting alternatives ●agree/disagree ●true/false Alternatives to “make these sentences negative”

Guidelines for Developing SI Activities  Present one thing at a time  Keep meaning in focus  Move from sentences to connected discourse  Use both oral and written input  Have the learner do something with the input  Keep the learner’s processing strategies in mind.

Guidelines for Developing SI Activities  Keep the learner’s processing strategies in mind.  Learners should focus on grammatical items NOT ON other elements of the sentence

2 Types of SI Activities Referential Affective Referential activities are those for which there is a right or wrong answer and for which the learner must rely on the targeted grammatical form to get meaning. Affective structured input activities are those in which learners express opinions, beliefs, or have some other personal response in processing information about the real world.

Referential Affective Follow-up Teacher assesses intake

Follow-up Activities: Output  Agree or Disagree  Voting “for” or “against” something  Share and compare  Survey  Compare old and new opinions following new information The culminating task:

Now, it’s your turn! It’s your turn to create a Structured Input activity. Here are some optional topics to plan around: ● 3rd person singular ● gerunds ● passive voice ● present progressive ● too vs very ● possessive -’s You have 15 minutes to develop an activity with your group