Young learner perspectives on four focus form task

Young learner perspectives on four focus-on-form tasks Juliana Shak and Sheena Gardner : 

Young learner perspectives on four focus-on-form tasks Juliana Shak and Sheena Gardner Presented by: Luis Roque All quotes take from Online Article “Young learner perspectives on focus-on-form tasks”, unless otherwise noted. Some quotes appear on slides as supplemental information regarding that subject. These will not be discussed in audio.

I. Introduction : 

I. Introduction “Focus on form (FonF) has gained considerable ground in second language (L2) literature in the light of classroom research that supports the need for pedagogical interventions to push learners towards higher levels of proficiency in L2. “ “Apparently, when left to their own resources, ‘learners do not very readily infer knowledge of the language system from their communicative activities’ .” “Thus some form of instructional focus on linguistic features may be required to destabilize learners’ interlanguage (Ellis, 2006).”

I. Introduction : 

I. Introduction What is FonF? “Meaning and use must already be evident to the learner at the time that attention is drawn to the linguistic apparatus needed to get the meaning across’ (Doughty and Williams, 1998a, p. 4).”

I. Introduction : 

I. Introduction Why use it? “The call for FonF is often triggered by learner problems or difficulties, usually resulting in a breakdown in communication.” “Without FonF, learners with limited L2 processing capacity experience difficulty in simultaneously attending to form and meaning.”

II. The FonF tasks : 

II. The FonF tasks Noticing: “which requires learners to attend to the target features of the input” Noticing the- gap: “which requires learners to make comparisons between their current state of linguistic competence (in their output) and the target language (input).” Noticing-the-hole: “where learners are ‘pushed’ to notice deficiencies in their current state of interlanguage development while attempting to produce the target language (as output).”

II. The FonF tasks : 

II. The FonF tasks “Consciousness-raising tasks is the provision of data to learners which illustrate a specific linguistic form. Using the data, learners are required to understand the targeted form, and may be asked to verbalize a language ‘rule’.” “Noticing plays a prominent role in that learners are specifically required to attend to how certain grammatical structures work.” “The main focus of instruction in CR tasks is thus for learners to engage with input that establishes form–meaning relationships of target structures, rather than produce immediate accurate output.” “In the present study, CR tasks targeted present and past tense verbs.”

II. The FonF tasks : 

II. The FonF tasks “Dictogloss thus overtly directs learner attention to differences between their interlanguage and the target language via the process of ‘noticing-the-gap’.” “The requirement for production in the target language in dictogloss may trigger learners to become consciously aware of their current language competence as they attempt text reconstruction. “ “This process, which involves cognitive comparison, tends not only to raise learners’ awareness of certain grammatical structures but also to reformulate their hypotheses of the structures as they modify their output.” “In the present study, dictogloss was designed to elicit ‘did not' base form.”

II. The FonF tasks : 

II. The FonF tasks “Grammar interpretation tasks engage learners in the process of ‘noticing the- gap’ by making salient distinctions in meaning and use between related forms.” “Learners are required to attend to meaning and to notice the form and function of the grammatical structures in use.” “Learners then interpret the meaning of the text(s), leading to the restructuring of their mental grammar. These tasks enable cognitive comparison.” “In the present study, GI tasks were designed to target active (past) and passive forms.”

II. The FonF tasks : 

II. The FonF tasks “grammaring tasks, learners are required to extend the use of grammatical structures to attain communicative clarity and appropriacy. … these production-oriented tasks attempt to move ESL learners’ language from a lexical-dependent mode to a more elaborate grammatical mode in their output.”

II. The FonF tasks : 

II. The FonF tasks “The four tasks in this study require children to discover rules for themselves through meaningful communication, but vary in their level of ‘noticing’ and emphasis on production (learner output) to induce optimum cognition or learning.”

III. Method : 

III. Method “The present study examined the attitudes of Bruneian children in Primary 5 towards four FonF tasks. In particular it asked: 1. How did children rate the tasks for enjoyment, ease, performance and motivation over the 2-day lessons? 2. What task features influenced children’s preferences?”

III. Method : 

III. Method There were three Groups of Students Took FonF Classes 2 days a week. Each week a new FonF task was used. They were different for each class. Instruments used: FonF tasks, Used Same Characters in Stories, “Allowed” students “to pinpoint tasks they liked or disliked”, Open and Closed Question Questionnaire and Group Interviews.

IV. Results and Discussions : 

IV. Results and Discussions Results vary from one day to another. Tasks were presented during Day 1 and by Day 2 they would work with them again. Getting 2.0 or above was seen as a positive. Motivation was positive on CR Task and Dictogloss Task. It would decrease with GI and Grammaring Tasks. These last 2 would decrease in everything.

Ratings on FonF Tasks : 

Ratings on FonF Tasks CR Ratings Dictogloss Ratings GI Ratings Grammarian Ratings

IV. Results and Discussions : 

IV. Results and Discussions Students comments would help explain results.

IV. Results and Discussions : 

IV. Results and Discussions Two heads think better than one.

IV. Results and Discussions : 

IV. Results and Discussions Task familiarity enhances results Writing sections least preferred. Material design did not affect the preference of tasks, but did call students attention and made the feel interested doing certain tasks. Don’t push him into the pool, nudge him.

V. Conclusions : 

V. Conclusions In the end, students enjoyed the tasks. Less production tasks would be rated more positively. Sense of Accomplishment (Individual and Group work) More studies need to be done.