From extensive reading to form-focussed learning
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The document describes an activity where students read graded readers before class and then retell the stories to the teacher or their peers. As students tell the stories, their speaking is written down so it can be analyzed for errors or places where alternative language could be used. This allows the class to focus on form during communicative speaking activities. Implementing this in larger classes would involve students retelling to small groups first before sharing with the whole class. The goal is to give students massive comprehensible input through extensive reading while also prompting them to produce accurate output through focused feedback on their spoken retellings.
From extensive reading to form-focussed learning
- 1. From extensive reading to form-focussed learning Michael Carroll Momoyama Gakuin University, Osaka carroll@andrew.ac.jp
- 2. What we’re going to do today • I’ll describe an activity I’ve been doing: using graded readers as source material for students to speak and then using this to talk about about grammar and lexical learning (among other things) • I’ll point to the reasons for doing this • I’ll ask you to try out the activity briefly • We’ll discuss the rationale, and look at how to implement the activity in larger classes
- 3. What we did 1. Kenya and I
- 4. Whose idea was it?
- 5. 仁老師 My Chinese teacher Ms Ren
- 6. 土井 健矢 Doi Kenya
- 8. The activity • Before every class: read one graded reader • Bring it to class and tell me the story • I’ll write down the story as you tell it • We’ll discuss the language you use in telling the story
- 9. As I wrote the story down I … • noted errors • prompted • suggested alternative ways of saying things • asked questions
- 14. Workshop task: collaborating to produce a text story teller (learner) • tell your partner any narrative/recount • ask for help when necessary (“how do you say ….?”) • be prepared to accept suggestions listener • write down what your partner says • prompt when necessary, ask questions, suggest alternative constructions
- 15. The rationale
- 16. Why Graded reading (Extensive Reading)? Learning a language (getting a ‘sense’ of a language) requires • MASSIVE exposure to written or spoken language • COMPREHENSIBLE input (language) • DEEP learning of a variety of usages, nuances, collocations, structures, and so on
- 17. What is graded reading? • reading within a learner’s comfort zone (98% + vocabulary knowledge) • reading fluently and fast • recycling already ‘learned’ items • consolidating grammatical and lexical processing abilities
- 18. Focussing on form in oral communication activities • Much research on combining focus-on-form with communicative activities - but usually separate (Lightbown and Spada, ) • Long: Focus on Form vs Focus on FormS “an attempt to draw attention to linguistic forms as they arise in activities whose primary objective is communication of meaning” • Ellis: “I … reject the commonly held view that teachers should not 'interfere' when students are performing a communicative task.”) • comprehensible OUTPUT is not enough: leaners need to use forms correctly (and to be made aware of correct forms) in order to acquire them
- 19. Problem: how to notice form in the act of communication? • giving feedback on speaking in real time is difficult • story telling - recording in writing provides a useful text for feedback and lexical/grammatical learning
- 20. It’s easy when it’s one-to-one How could I do it in a class? but
- 21. Stage 2: class activity • Before every class: read one graded reader • Bring it to class and tell YOUR PARTNER the story • YOUR PARTNER will write down the story as you tell it • Discuss WITH YOUR PARTNER the language you might use in telling the story
- 22. Sounds easy but …. • the listener/writer’s task requires skill • therefore we need to demonstrate and explain the process carefully
- 23. • understanding the story is essential: if you don’t understand, ask • think about each phrase or sentence: could you say it another way? • if you think you see an error, ask (politely) “should it be ….?” , “do you mean ….” • first language is useful sometimes Guidance for listener/writers
- 25. OR • Before every class: read one graded reader • Bring it to class and tell YOUR GROUP the story • YOUR GROUP MEMBERS will write down the story as you tell it • EACH GROUP IN TURN RECOUNT THE STORY TO THE WHOLE CLASS • We’ll discuss AS A CLASS the language you use in telling the story
- 26. What’s the take-home from all this? • communication should be primary, but not to the exclusion of form • creating a structured oral communication task (about a well known topic) helps learners to produce a variety of spoken texts • writing down the spoken text in real allows for form focus