二语习得6.pptVIP

Assessing the proposals (Cont.) ‘Teach what is teachable’ No strong evidence that teaching according to learners’ developmental level is necessary or desirable, or that it will lead to long-term benefits. Most valuable feature about this proposal is that it helps teachers set realistic expectations about the way learners’ interlanguage may change in response to instruction and that ‘progress’ does not always appear as increased accuracy. Assessing the proposals (Cont.) ‘Get it right in the end’ Strong evidence that form-focused instruction within the context of communicative and content-based language teaching is more effective in promoting L2 learning than instructional approaches that are limited to an exclusive emphasis on accuracy, comprehension, or interaction. Decisions about balancing form-focus and meaning-focus must take into account differences in learners’ characteristics (e.g. age, goals for learning, etc.). Summary It is not necessary (or desirable) to choose between form-based and meaning-based instruction. The challenge is to find the best balance between these two orientations. Many questions about L2 teaching remain to be answered by classroom-based research on L2 learning. How Languages Are Learned Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada Chapter 6 Second language learning in the classroom Five proposals for classroom teaching Get it right from the beginning Say what you mean and mean what you say (Let’s talk) Just listen ... and read (Get two for one) Teach what is teachable Get it right in the end Research approaches to assess proposals Quantitative research Descriptive or experimental Goal is to identify specific variables that may affect learning similarly in different contexts. Often involves large numbers in order to draw conclusions about learners in general. Qualitative research Descriptive (e.g. ethnographies, case studies) Emphasis on a thorough understanding of what is particular about a classroom/a learner. Often involves small nu