Second Language Acquisi0on: Theory and Prac0ce Class 6: October 9, 2013 LING 200!
S. Katz Bourns!
Fall 2013!
Today’s class •  Exam format •  Teaching grammar: discourse grammar •  Error correc0on: what the research tells us Review In groups: 1.  What are the “3 P’s”? 2.  What are the 3 types of drills? 3.  What is the difference between implicit and explicit instruc0on? 4.  What is the difference between deduc0ve and induc0ve grammar explana0ons? 5.  What is the goal of structured input and structured output? 6.  What are some types of structured input ac0vi0es that Lee and VanPaVen advocate? Problem with using uniquely a structured input/
output approach The issue of explicit instruc-on “The evidence is indicating that explicit information –
although we may like it and it makes us feel good about
what we are doing – is not necessary for successful
acquisition” (124, Lee and VanPatten, Making
Communicative Language Teaching Happen). BUT:
“After learners receive a brief explanation of how pasttense endings work, they might first practice attaching the
concept of past time to verb forms in an activity” (143).
How to provide a “brief explana0on”: induc0vely… Compare the following two sentences and come up with the grammar rule about spoken English: Group 1: There is a dog in the kitchen. There are two dogs in the kitchen. Group 2: There’s a dog in the kitchen. There’s two dogs in the kitchen. But be careful… Not all grammar points are created equal. Some are much simpler than others. And not all languages are equally “difficult.” Come up with a brief explana0on… • 
• 
• 
• 
• 
I ate some cake. I ate cake. I ate the cake. I ate a cake. I ate some of the cake. What should we do about complicated discourse-­‐based topics? Determiners I ate the cake/some cake/cake/a cake. Tense and aspect I was sleeping/I used to sleep/I slept/I have slept. Word-­‐order construc-ons Him, I like. It’s him (he?) that (whom?) I like. He’s the one that I like. I like him. Interroga-ve expressions Where you goin’? Where are you going? You’re going where? Discourse grammar •  Speech acts Asking Apologizing Complimen0ng/reac0ng to compliments Being polite Being sarcas0c •  Regional varia0on •  Register differences •  Divergences between spoken and wriVen forms More complicated grammar points… (and LCTLs) •  The 3 I’s
–  Illustration: learners and teachers examine the data
–  Interaction: learners and teachers discuss hypotheses
–  Induction: learners posit a rule for a pattern or
regularity in the data (McCarthy and Carter, 1995)
Consciousness-Raising (CR) Tasks
•  Definition: “A CR task is a pedagogic activity
where the learners are provided with L2 data in
some form and required to perform some operation
on or with it, the purpose of which is to arrive at an
explicit understanding of some linguistic property
or properties of the target language.” (Ellis, 1997:
p. 160)
Implicit or explicit?
Inductive or deductive?
A Consciousness-Raising Activity
Instructions: Read the following paragraph, and then answer the
questions below. (From a blog by a typical Yale student):
“I don’t know if I have fewer problems than most people, but it sure seems
as if I don’t. I have less free time, less financial security, and less energy. I
also have fewer friends, fewer dates, and fewer opportunities to buy new
clothes and go to nice restaurants. If I had fewer inhibitions and less
insecurity, maybe I could make something out of my so-called life. If only I
could gain more confidence and make more connections with people.
Maybe I should get a dog.”
Questions:
1. What do you notice about the nouns that follow the word fewer?
2. What do you notice about the nouns that follow the word less?
3. What rule you can hypothesize about the types of nouns that follow fewer and those that
follow less?
4. What do you notice about the nouns that follow the word more, as compared to those
that follow fewer and less?
5. What general rule can you hypothesize from all the data given above?
Theory applied -- how to teach grammar
Grammar lesson: TENSE AND ASPECT
•  Tense = when in time something takes place
(past, present, future)
•  Aspect = perfective or imperfective
(completed or ongoing/habitual)
•  Topic: Le passé composé et l’imparfait
The simple past and the imperfect (in French)
Goal and preparation
•  Goal: students will gain an understanding of
which tense to choose to describe past events.
•  Before this class: students will have worked with
the forms of the passé composé and the
imparfait (but only the forms, not the use of
these tenses in discourse)
A few activities that may have been done
in the previous class…
Structured input: to teach the imperfect
Binary options: Are we talking about now or the
90’s?
– 
I ate strawberries every day.
– 
We go to the store after school.
Matching: How things used to be
1. When our professor we young, she used to:
a. 
skip school
c. play sports
b. 
smoke
d. correct her teacher
etc.
Binary options: Then and now. Agree or disagree?
1. 
Life was more difficult for women in the 60s than today..
2. 
There was more pollution in the 70s than today.
3. 
The world was a more peaceful place in the 80s.
4. 
People dressed better in the 80s.
Completion: Complete the following sentences about the world in
the 70s. Use the appropriate adjectives from the list.
1. Cars were…
2. Clothing was… 3. My parents were…
Activity 1: Review imperfect forms through input flood activity
Qu’est-ce que vous faisiez à l’âge de 6 ans? What did you do when you were 6?
Vrai ou faux? True or false?
1. 
J’allais à l’école tous les jours. I went to school every day.
2. 
Je regardais Sesame Street à la télé. I watched Sesame Street on TV.
3. 
Je jouais avec mes amis après l’école. I played with my friends after
school.
4. 
Je faisais la vaisselle pour ma mère. I did the dishes for my mom.
5. 
Je fumais. I smoked.
6. 
Je lisais les oeuvres de Sartre. I read the works of Sartre.
7. 
J’étais très sage. I was very well behaved.
8. 
J’étais timide. I was timid.
9. 
J’avais un copain/une copine, et j’étais très amoureux/amoureuse.
I had a boy/girlfriend, and I was very in love.
10.
Je parlais français comme un Parisien. I spoke French like a Parisian.
Structured output review:
Ask your partner how he/she was and what s/he did at age 6.
Students provide the questions (which are written on the board):
How were you?
What did you do?
They then answer the questions with their partners, taking notes.
•  Together: what was your partner like? (he/she...)
•  In groups: what conclusions can we make about the members of
our class in general? (we...)
Contrast with the passé composé/simple past:
What did you do last night?
Vrai ou faux? True or false?
1.  J’ai étudié pour mon cours de français. I studied for my French
class.
2.  Je suis sorti(e) avec mes amis. I went out with my friends.
3.  J’ai regardé un match de basket à la télé. I watched a basketball
game on TV.
4.  Je suis tombé(e) amoureux/se pour la première fois. I fell in love for
the first time.
5.  J’ai fait une promenade avec mon chien. I took my dog for a walk.
6.  Je suis allé(e) au cinéma. I went to a movie.
7.  J’ai travaillé. I worked.
8.  J’ai dîné seul(e). I ate alone.
9.  J’ai écrit une lettre d’amour. I wrote a love letter.
10.  Je suis sorti(e) au restaurant. I went to the movies.
11.  J’ai écrit un roman. I wrote a novel.
Structured Output review
•  Task: find out at least 5 things your partner did last
night.
•  Students provide the question (which is written on the
board):
What did you do last night?
•  They then answer the questions with their partners,
taking notes.
•  Together: what did your partner do? (he/she...)
•  In groups: what conclusions can we make about the
members of our class in general? (we...)
Differences between the passé composé and
the imperfect
•  Quand j’étais jeune, je mangeais beaucoup de chocolat, et
j’étais amoureuse de Justin Timberlake.
When I was young I ate a lot of chocolate, and I was in
love with Justin Timberlake.
•  Hier soir, je suis sortie au cinéma, puis je suis rentrée chez
moi, et je me suis couchée.
Last night, I went to the movies; then I came home; and
then I went to bed.
Consciousness Raising Task: Students analyze the two
excerpts and give reasons why the imperfect is used in the
first and the p.c. in the second.
The two tenses together. Students read the
passage and then analyze the tense use. Note the
textual enhancement (boldface)
Hier soir, j’étais très fatigué. Il faisait froid, et j’avais envie de dormir. Je me
brossais les dents quand soudain le téléphone a sonné. C’était mon ami
Jean. Il voulait sortir. J’ai répondu que j’étais trop fatigué et que je préférais
rester à la maison. Pendant que Jean protestait, j’ai dit bonne nuit, et j’ai
raccroché le téléphone.
Last night I was very tired. It was cold, and I wanted to go to
sleep. I was brushing my teeth when suddenly the phone
rang. It was my friend John. He wanted to go out. I
responded that I was too tired and that I preferred to stay
home. While he was protesting, I said good night and I
hung up the phone.
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/fivideo/chapitre-09-publicité-fiat
The FIAT commercial
What happens in the commercial? Watch it, and then conjugate the verbs in the
sentences below in the passé composé or the imparfait.
1.
2.
3. 
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
It ________________________ (to rain).
There ___________ (to be) a couple in the car.
The car __________________________ (to be) rouge.
They ________________________________ (to fight).
The man ____________________ (to get out) of the car.
He ______________________ (not to speak) to his wife.
The wife _________________________ (to be) sad.
He _____________________ (a. to walk) in the rain, when he
____________ (b. to see) an ad.
9. He ___________________________ (to think) of his wife..
10. He ______________________________ (to rush) to find her.
11. He ______________________________ (to see) the car.
12. His wife _____________________ (to be) in a traffic jam.
13. She _____________________ (to be) surprised to see him.
14. He _______________________ (to kiss) his wife.
Hyundai
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
Watch the commercial for Hyundai.
Make a list of the actions in the commercial.
Make a list of the “background” information.
Write up a description of what happens in this
commercial, using the passé composé and the
imparfait.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ii7N0Vdr-M
Summary •  Students should be encouraged to work as researchers (using authen0c materials), even at the beginning level. •  Students should receive a great deal of input before being asked to produce gramma0cal structures. •  An induc0ve approach should be used to teach most grammar points. •  Grammar should be taught in context and not at the sentence level. Provide lots of context. •  Grammar should be taught as a component of communica0on. •  An eclec0c approach to teaching grammar is advocated, since not all grammar points are created equal. Compare to… •  hVp://w3.restena.lu/amifra/exos/exprecr/
impe-­‐pc2.htm •  hVp://fran-­‐lang.vaniercollege.qc.ca/
docpedago/Exer/pqpimppc/netquiz.htm Error Correc0on: Discuss What is the general consensus about error correc0on in the L2 classroom? What factors contribute to uncertainty about the best way to correct errors? Which frameworks consider error correc0on vital? And not so vital? •  Posi0ve feedback vs. nega0ve feedback •  Posi0ve evidence vs. nega0ve evidence Types of feedback Come up with a variety of ways to correct the following mistake (made aloud in class): “This issue is between Mary and I.” (Worksheet)