This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formu... more This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formulated explicit grammar rules during three inductive lessons on the pronominal clitic se. Following Adair-Hauck et al. (2010), each lesson first presented a property of se within a narrative text, and then had learners inductively ‘Co-construct’ grammar rules in groups of 2–3. Groups then reported back to the class, with the teacher guiding them toward a consensus. Recordings of four small groups and the whole-class discussions revealed that although successful rule formulation occurred in all three lessons, outcomes varied according to: (i) time spent on task, (ii) the distribution of turn-taking, and (iii) participants’ familiarity with pertinent linguistic concepts. Variability in learners’ comprehension of peer explanations was also evident, as many requested clarification from the teacher or peers. Thus, learner-generated rules were often only ‘subjectively accessible’ to others, depending on whether references to previously learned grammatical concepts and improvised linguistic terminology could be understood. Implications for L2 pedagogy and the role of explicit knowledge in L2 acquisition are discussed.
This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formu... more This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formulated explicit grammar rules during three inductive lessons on the pronominal clitic se. Following Adair-Hauck et al. (2010), each lesson first presented a property of se within a narrative text, and then had learners inductively ‘Co-construct’ grammar rules in groups of 2–3. Groups then reported back to the class, with the teacher guiding them toward a consensus. Recordings of four small groups and the whole-class discussions revealed that although successful rule formulation occurred in all three lessons, outcomes varied according to: (i) time spent on task, (ii) the distribution of turn-taking, and (iii) participants’ familiarity with pertinent linguistic concepts. Variability in learners’ comprehension of peer explanations was also evident, as many requested clarification from the teacher or peers. Thus, learner-generated rules were often only ‘subjectively accessible’ to others, depending on whether references to previously learned grammatical concepts and improvised linguistic terminology could be understood. Implications for L2 pedagogy and the role of explicit knowledge in L2 acquisition are discussed.
In this chapter, we examine the meta-analytic talk of nine adolescent L2 Spanish
learners and the... more In this chapter, we examine the meta-analytic talk of nine adolescent L2 Spanish learners and their subsequent accuracy on a grammaticality judgment task, with the pronoun se as an instructional target. Data come from a U.S. high school during three 90-minute lessons, where learners “co-constructed” rules for se in groups based on its use in reading passages. We coded learners’ analytic talk as belonging to higher or lower levels of analytical abstraction (LAAs) to distinguish labeling L2 forms and categories from identifying broader patterns and rules. The amount of individual and group analytic talk, as well as talk at higher LAAs, was compared to individual grammaticality judgment scores before and six weeks after instruction. Results show that learners in groups with greater mutuality improved their scores even when their overall individual participation was only low or moderate. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
As a new century begins for The Modern Language Journal, we argue that highly effective pedagogy ... more As a new century begins for The Modern Language Journal, we argue that highly effective pedagogy requires viewing language and language learning as both cognitive and social phenomena, and that teachers who seek to truly understand the nature of their responsibilities do not have the luxury of choosing one perspective over the other. We first identify what we consider to be theory-neutral nonnegotiable boundaries within which pedagogical decision making takes place, including (a) participants' background knowledge , (b) the nature of the object of instruction, (c) the nature of human cognition and social interaction , and (d) available time. Then we discuss learning goals, learning means, and instructional support as the negotiable elements that teachers may manipulate through their instructional decisions. At the heart of the article, we describe in greater detail cognitive versus social perspectives on the dynamic relationship between teaching and learning, and we identify ways in which they diverge and converge in characterizing linguistic development. We then synthesize these perspectives in a holistic, sociocognitive view of pedagogy, which we define as 'a meeting of minds within social worlds.' We conclude by outlining current pedagogical proposals that exemplify sociocognitive pedagogy by engaging learners in iterative cycles of modeling, guidance, and handover to independent language use.
This article compares ordinary conversational topics and targeted second language (L2) forms for ... more This article compares ordinary conversational topics and targeted second language (L2) forms for their effectiveness in building and maintaining classroom discourse cohesion. In this study, 16 learners participated in 2 lessons, 1 with teacher turns determined by a grammatical object of instruction, and the other with turns determined by conversation topics. Based on research by Sperber and Wilson (1995) and Vuchinich (1977), extended latency gaps and remedy sequences in learner turns were taken as evidence of poor cohesion. Both lessons were videotaped, transcribed, and coded. Of the 16 learners, 5 volunteers viewed the videotapes and offered written explanations for their extended latencies. Longer latencies and more frequent remedy sequences occurred during the grammatically-determined discourse, with volunteers likewise indicating greater difficulty understanding the instructor, than during the conversational lesson. It is argued that for grammar instruction to work effectively, a focus on form must be transparent as the instructional objective, and targeted L2 forms must themselves be properly treated as discourse topics.
This study compares quantitative and qualitative results for task-based second language (L2) gram... more This study compares quantitative and qualitative results for task-based second language (L2) grammar instruction conducted as whole-class, teacher-led discourse (TLD) versus small-group, learner-led discourse (LLD). Participants included 78 English-speaking adults from six university classes of beginning L2 Spanish, with two assigned to each treatment (LLD = 25; TLD = 28) and two others comprising a control group (n= 25). Instruction involved seven lessons targeting the anticausative clitic se, with one recorded and transcribed in each treatment. Results on grammaticality judgment and guided production tasks administered as a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest indicated a stronger performance for TLD learners on both tasks. The transcript data suggest a potential for teachers to facilitate L2 learning by directing attention to target structures and providing procedural assistance for processing output.
This study addresses the role of output in second language (L2) acquisition by comparing processi... more This study addresses the role of output in second language (L2) acquisition by comparing processing instruction (PI) to communicative output (CO) tasks. Participants included 80 English-speaking adults from six university course sections of beginning L2 Spanish, with two assigned to each treatment (PI = 27; CO = 28) and two others comprising a control group (n = 25). Instruction lasted 7 days and targeted the anticausative clitic se. One lesson was videotaped and transcribed in each treatment group. Results on grammaticality judgment and guided production tasks administered before, immediately after, and 24 days following instruction indicated similar grammaticality judgment improvements, but more frequent uses of se by CO learners on guided production. Transcript data suggest a role for output in acquisition involving attention to, and metalinguistic analyses of, L2 structure.
This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formu... more This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formulated explicit grammar rules during three inductive lessons on the pronominal clitic se. Following Adair-Hauck et al. (2010), each lesson first presented a property of se within a narrative text, and then had learners inductively ‘Co-construct’ grammar rules in groups of 2–3. Groups then reported back to the class, with the teacher guiding them toward a consensus. Recordings of four small groups and the whole-class discussions revealed that although successful rule formulation occurred in all three lessons, outcomes varied according to: (i) time spent on task, (ii) the distribution of turn-taking, and (iii) participants’ familiarity with pertinent linguistic concepts. Variability in learners’ comprehension of peer explanations was also evident, as many requested clarification from the teacher or peers. Thus, learner-generated rules were often only ‘subjectively accessible’ to others, depending on whether references to previously learned grammatical concepts and improvised linguistic terminology could be understood. Implications for L2 pedagogy and the role of explicit knowledge in L2 acquisition are discussed.
This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formu... more This article documents how second language (L2) Spanish learners in an American high school formulated explicit grammar rules during three inductive lessons on the pronominal clitic se. Following Adair-Hauck et al. (2010), each lesson first presented a property of se within a narrative text, and then had learners inductively ‘Co-construct’ grammar rules in groups of 2–3. Groups then reported back to the class, with the teacher guiding them toward a consensus. Recordings of four small groups and the whole-class discussions revealed that although successful rule formulation occurred in all three lessons, outcomes varied according to: (i) time spent on task, (ii) the distribution of turn-taking, and (iii) participants’ familiarity with pertinent linguistic concepts. Variability in learners’ comprehension of peer explanations was also evident, as many requested clarification from the teacher or peers. Thus, learner-generated rules were often only ‘subjectively accessible’ to others, depending on whether references to previously learned grammatical concepts and improvised linguistic terminology could be understood. Implications for L2 pedagogy and the role of explicit knowledge in L2 acquisition are discussed.
In this chapter, we examine the meta-analytic talk of nine adolescent L2 Spanish
learners and the... more In this chapter, we examine the meta-analytic talk of nine adolescent L2 Spanish learners and their subsequent accuracy on a grammaticality judgment task, with the pronoun se as an instructional target. Data come from a U.S. high school during three 90-minute lessons, where learners “co-constructed” rules for se in groups based on its use in reading passages. We coded learners’ analytic talk as belonging to higher or lower levels of analytical abstraction (LAAs) to distinguish labeling L2 forms and categories from identifying broader patterns and rules. The amount of individual and group analytic talk, as well as talk at higher LAAs, was compared to individual grammaticality judgment scores before and six weeks after instruction. Results show that learners in groups with greater mutuality improved their scores even when their overall individual participation was only low or moderate. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
As a new century begins for The Modern Language Journal, we argue that highly effective pedagogy ... more As a new century begins for The Modern Language Journal, we argue that highly effective pedagogy requires viewing language and language learning as both cognitive and social phenomena, and that teachers who seek to truly understand the nature of their responsibilities do not have the luxury of choosing one perspective over the other. We first identify what we consider to be theory-neutral nonnegotiable boundaries within which pedagogical decision making takes place, including (a) participants' background knowledge , (b) the nature of the object of instruction, (c) the nature of human cognition and social interaction , and (d) available time. Then we discuss learning goals, learning means, and instructional support as the negotiable elements that teachers may manipulate through their instructional decisions. At the heart of the article, we describe in greater detail cognitive versus social perspectives on the dynamic relationship between teaching and learning, and we identify ways in which they diverge and converge in characterizing linguistic development. We then synthesize these perspectives in a holistic, sociocognitive view of pedagogy, which we define as 'a meeting of minds within social worlds.' We conclude by outlining current pedagogical proposals that exemplify sociocognitive pedagogy by engaging learners in iterative cycles of modeling, guidance, and handover to independent language use.
This article compares ordinary conversational topics and targeted second language (L2) forms for ... more This article compares ordinary conversational topics and targeted second language (L2) forms for their effectiveness in building and maintaining classroom discourse cohesion. In this study, 16 learners participated in 2 lessons, 1 with teacher turns determined by a grammatical object of instruction, and the other with turns determined by conversation topics. Based on research by Sperber and Wilson (1995) and Vuchinich (1977), extended latency gaps and remedy sequences in learner turns were taken as evidence of poor cohesion. Both lessons were videotaped, transcribed, and coded. Of the 16 learners, 5 volunteers viewed the videotapes and offered written explanations for their extended latencies. Longer latencies and more frequent remedy sequences occurred during the grammatically-determined discourse, with volunteers likewise indicating greater difficulty understanding the instructor, than during the conversational lesson. It is argued that for grammar instruction to work effectively, a focus on form must be transparent as the instructional objective, and targeted L2 forms must themselves be properly treated as discourse topics.
This study compares quantitative and qualitative results for task-based second language (L2) gram... more This study compares quantitative and qualitative results for task-based second language (L2) grammar instruction conducted as whole-class, teacher-led discourse (TLD) versus small-group, learner-led discourse (LLD). Participants included 78 English-speaking adults from six university classes of beginning L2 Spanish, with two assigned to each treatment (LLD = 25; TLD = 28) and two others comprising a control group (n= 25). Instruction involved seven lessons targeting the anticausative clitic se, with one recorded and transcribed in each treatment. Results on grammaticality judgment and guided production tasks administered as a pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest indicated a stronger performance for TLD learners on both tasks. The transcript data suggest a potential for teachers to facilitate L2 learning by directing attention to target structures and providing procedural assistance for processing output.
This study addresses the role of output in second language (L2) acquisition by comparing processi... more This study addresses the role of output in second language (L2) acquisition by comparing processing instruction (PI) to communicative output (CO) tasks. Participants included 80 English-speaking adults from six university course sections of beginning L2 Spanish, with two assigned to each treatment (PI = 27; CO = 28) and two others comprising a control group (n = 25). Instruction lasted 7 days and targeted the anticausative clitic se. One lesson was videotaped and transcribed in each treatment group. Results on grammaticality judgment and guided production tasks administered before, immediately after, and 24 days following instruction indicated similar grammaticality judgment improvements, but more frequent uses of se by CO learners on guided production. Transcript data suggest a role for output in acquisition involving attention to, and metalinguistic analyses of, L2 structure.
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Papers by Paul D Toth
learners and their subsequent accuracy on a grammaticality judgment task, with
the pronoun se as an instructional target. Data come from a U.S. high school
during three 90-minute lessons, where learners “co-constructed” rules for se
in groups based on its use in reading passages. We coded learners’ analytic
talk as belonging to higher or lower levels of analytical abstraction (LAAs) to
distinguish labeling L2 forms and categories from identifying broader patterns
and rules. The amount of individual and group analytic talk, as well as talk at
higher LAAs, was compared to individual grammaticality judgment scores
before and six weeks after instruction. Results show that learners in groups
with greater mutuality improved their scores even when their overall individual
participation was only low or moderate. Implications for theory and practice are
discussed.
learners and their subsequent accuracy on a grammaticality judgment task, with
the pronoun se as an instructional target. Data come from a U.S. high school
during three 90-minute lessons, where learners “co-constructed” rules for se
in groups based on its use in reading passages. We coded learners’ analytic
talk as belonging to higher or lower levels of analytical abstraction (LAAs) to
distinguish labeling L2 forms and categories from identifying broader patterns
and rules. The amount of individual and group analytic talk, as well as talk at
higher LAAs, was compared to individual grammaticality judgment scores
before and six weeks after instruction. Results show that learners in groups
with greater mutuality improved their scores even when their overall individual
participation was only low or moderate. Implications for theory and practice are
discussed.