Teaching Grammar - Vanderbilt University

Center for Second Language Studies Orientation Session Presentation August 21, 2012 Virginia Scott Rethinking Grammar Teaching INPUT PROCESSING THE Questions

WHEN should I teaching grammar? Every day? At the beginning of the lesson? HOW should I teach grammar? Deductive lesson (rule example) Inductive lesson (example rule) Should I use L1 or L2 to teach grammar? Definition & Principles Input Processing Input processing is an approach to grammar instruction that guides learners to process what they see or hear.

This approach helps learners connect language forms with their intended meanings. Learners must DO something with the input they see or hear. Traditional approach Traditional approach: input developing system output focused practice a) Learners see or hear input. b) They think about it (?)

c) They practice during output. Input processing approach IP approach: input developing system output focused practice a) Learners see or hear input. b) They DO something with what they see or hear. c) They produce the word or structure.

Traditional / Input processing: A review 1) Traditional approach: input developing system output focused practice 2) IP approach: input developing system output focused practice NOTE For BOTH the traditional approach and the input processing approach teaching grammar includes

three main phases: 1) providing input 2) fostering learners developing language system 3) encouraging output Structure: verbs with ing Topic: leisure activities Going to the movies Shopping at the mall Eating pizza at Mafiosas Watching TV Talking to friends

Riding a bike Dancing at a club Hiking at Radnor Lake Park Reading a book Sleeping late Four kinds of IP activities: 1) 2) 3) 4)

Binary options Matching Selecting alternatives Supplying information **Reminder: Students are listening OR reading and DOING something with what they hear/see. They are NOT speaking. 1. Binary options Indicate if you think the statements are TRUE or FALSE: I

I I I I I I I TRUE FALSE like eating pizza. _____ _____ enjoy going to the movies. _____ _____

do not like hiking. _____ _____ hate watching TV. _____ _____ really like reading books. _____ _____ do not like riding a bike. _____ _____ like hiking. _____ _____ love dancing. _____ _____ (ORAL or WRITTEN input?) 2. Matching What do you like?

I like books. movies. music. nature. pizza. jokes. new clothes. (ORAL or WRITTEN?) I like hiking.

shopping. eating. laughing. reading. dancing. watching TV. 3. Selecting alternatives When I have free time I enjoy ___ watching TV. ___ reading a book. ___ talking to friends. When I am hungry I prefer

___ going out to a restaurant. ___ cooking dinner at home. ___ getting fast food. When I go out with my friends we like ___ going to the movies. ___ sitting in a bar. ___ dancing in a club. (ORAL or WRITTEN?) 4. Supplying information Fill in the blanks below and be prepared to share the information. Name ____________________

I I I I I like eating _______________________________. love drinking _____________________________. enjoy watching ___________________________. prefer reading _____________________________. do not like going _____________________________. Elicit the rule

State the rule clearly You can add ing to verbs. You can state preferences before the ing verb: I like going / I hate eating / I prefer dancing ing verbs are preceded by a helping verb: to be (I am reading) to like (I like shopping) Guiding principles for input processing:

Use both oral and written input. Focus on meaning before form. Have learners DO something with input. Design activities that require both discrete (one answer) and open-ended (personal opinion) answers. Have learners state the rule as final phase of the lesson. References Farley, Andrew. 2004. Structured Input: Grammar Instruction for the Acquisition-Oriented Classroom. New York: McGraw Hill.

Lee, James and Bill VanPatten. 2003. Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Wong, Wynne. 2004. Input Enhancement: From Theory and Research to the Classroom. New York: McGraw Hill.