Teaching Grammar as Process

Understanding Teaching Grammar as Process ► Process teaching engages learners directly in the procedures of language use. ► In a sense, process teaching is a ‘release of control’ compared to product teaching ► Often considered as task-based teaching

Qualities of good tasks (Candlin, 1987). ► they encourage learners to attend to meaning and to purposeful language use ► they give learners flexibility in resolving problems their own way, calling on their own choice of strategies and skills ► they involve learners with their own personalities and attitudes being central ► they are challenging yet not excessively demanding ► they raise learners awareness of the processes of language use and encourage them to reflect ont their own language use

Process activity vs. process teaching ► Process activity is the unregulated production of language by learners who are unaware or unsure of the purpose underlying their performance. ► Absence of any attempt to regulate what the student is doing (free conversation) ► Process teaching involves regulating language work, taking into consideration different effects that a task can have on the learner’s language. ► Requires careful attention to task design

Regulating and Control ► Regulating in process teaching is different from in product teaching ► Instead of blocking out major aspects of language use, we influence and shape features of context more indirectly. ► Objective is not to carefully control the learner’s accurate production of grammatical forms as in product teaching, but to develop the skill of exploiting grammar to express meaning as clearly as possible. ► Will affect the nature of feedback; will take time

► “If we think of process teaching as a risky and time-consuming way of getting learners to formulate specific forms which can be focused on much more economically in product work, then we are misrepresenting the very nature of process teaching. Learning is learner-centred …the focus in process teaching is on the learner’s own self- expression, and consequently we cannot directly intervene to focus on this or that grammatical form” (Batstone, 1996, p ).

Regulating Time Pressure: ► How? By controlling time available to perform and/or plan. ► Planning – plan for language or for ideas ► Example is by providing a pre task before actual task. ► More time allows for language of greater variety – vocabulary and grammatical structures ► Important that learners do not become overly dependent on time

Examples of Regulating Time Pressure ► Begin preparation in groups, then later asking individuals to prepare on their own ► Gradually reducing the time available for preparation or for performance of a task whatever form it takes ► For listening activities, letting learners refer to written script (and/or pausing the tape as they listen) and progressively reducing the time they have ► “Strategic interaction” (Di Pietro, 1987) – learners get time to present, but when they perform, new and unexpected information is added. Therefore, learners need to activate grammar under pressure.

Regulating topic and familiarity ► ESP contexts ► Unfamiliar topic but lots of time/Familiar topic little time ► Pressure/Stress – Eustress ► How learners respond will be determined by their motivation and tolerance of pressure

Regulating shared knowledge: Context Gap ► Learners may do away with aspects that are redundant ► Shared knowledge leads to less necessity to ‘grammaticise’ ► Reduce shared knowledge ► Share knowledge through the performance of a task

Gapped activities in Product and Process Teaching ► In product teaching, information gap activities are used (i.e. one person has the information, the other does not – teacher knows the answer); ► In process teaching, we want learners to make their own meanings clear. ► Process task creates a partial or incomplete context – e.g. a problem to solve; an argument to conclude. ► Decide what is unclear or unavailable in the task ► How can the learners be motivated to discover and share this information

Context-gap: World creating and reasoning ► In arguments and debates – use of complex language because we want to express our meanings ► Reasoning is the key; meaning making ► Some students may feel uncomfortable in disputing with others. Encouraging positive traits? ► Interlanguage stretching – operating at the outer limits of their current abilities (Long, 1989)

Process Teaching in Review ► Spontaneous expression is demanding ► We need to be clear, relevant, accurate, effective listener and speaker, sensitive turn taker ► In process teaching we subtly regulate these factors ► Also need to observe as Ss perform: Was there too much pressure? Did they have too little to say? Did they look uncomfortable?

Forms of Regulation ► Regulating Time Pressure (Planning or Performance time) ► Regulating Topic and Familiarity ► Regulating Shared Knowledge (Context Gaps)