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Natsuko Shintani University of Auckland *
Natsuko Shintani University of Auckland
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• Intensive production practice did not result in communicative ability.
• Only those who had an opportunity for real communication acquired communication ability.
• L2 learning through communication – TBLT?
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TBLT is an approach to teaching a second/foreign language that seeks to engage learners in communicative language use by having them perform a series of tasks.
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1. A task involves a primary focus on message.
2. A task has some kind of ‘gap’.
3. The learners choose the linguistic and non-linguistic resources needed to complete the task.
4. A task has a clearly defined outcome.
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1. Does it involve a primary focus on message?
2. Does it have some kind of ‘gap’?
3. Do the learners choose the linguistic and non-linguistic resources needed to complete the task?
4. Does it have a clearly defined outcome?
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Model dialogue
There is a table in front of the window. There is a vase ( ) the table. There is a sofa ( ) the table. …..
*Easier More difficult
Information gap Reasoning/ opinion gap
Input-based Output-based
Closed outcome Open outcome
Teacher-class participatory structure
Student-student participatory structure
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Easier More difficult
Information gap Opinion/ reasoning gap
Input-based Output-based
Closed outcome Open outcome
Teacher-class participatory structure
Student-student participatory structure
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Easier More difficult
Information gap Opinion/ reasoning gap
Input-based Output-based
Closed outcome Open outcome
Teacher-class participatory structure
Student-student participatory structure
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*Listen-and-do tasks
One-way information gap tasks
They require learners to listen to commands or descriptions and then perform actions
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An advantage of listen-and-do tasks is that they can cater for beginner learners by providing input adjusted to the learners’ level in order to make it comprehensible and do not require any production.
*present-practice-produce
(1) presenting learners with explicit information about a target feature
(2) providing ‘practice’ in the form of controlled production activities
(3) engaging learners in free-production activities
Although (3) involves meaning-based activities as well as controlled production exercises, learners are likely to be aware that the purpose is not to “communicate” but to “practice” specific linguistic forms.
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Vocabulary
Nouns (24 items)
3 sets of words were taught in the different lessons. One set consisted of 8 nouns and 4 adjectives. 1. Presentation (“repeat after me”) 2. Practice (“What’s this?”, “What
colour is this?”, “This boy is …?”) in Activity 2 and Activity 3.
3. Production practice in Activity 4 and Activity 5.
Adjectives (12 items)
Grammatical feature
Plural –s 6 out of 24 nouns appeared both in singular and plural forms. The learners were not taught the form but were required to produce the words. (“what are these?”) with recast.
Activity 1: Listen and Repeat Activity 2: Guess the hidden items. Activity 3: Throwing dice. Activity 4: Production Bingo game. Activity 5: Kim’s Game.
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Vocabulary
Nouns (24 items)
Appeared in the teacher’s command in the tasks (e.g. “please take the crocodile to the zoo”)
Adjectives (12 items)
Randomly appeared in the teacher’s utterances when the teacher used them to describe the nouns (e.g. “The peacock is blue”)
Grammatical feature
Plural –s 6 out of 24 nouns appeared both in singular and plural forms. The learners were not taught the form but were required to choose either card (e.g. “please take the crocodiles to the zoo”).
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Task 1: Help the zoo and the supermarket Task 2: Help the animals Task 3: Listening bingo
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Tests Target features Types of test Modality
Category task test Vocabulary Task-based Comprehension
Multiple-choice word test Discrete-item Comprehension
Same or Different task test Task-based Production
Discrete-item production test Discrete-item Production
Multiple-choice plural –s test Plural –s Discrete-item Comprehension
Wug test Discrete-item Production
*Test materials
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Nouns?
Adjectives?
Plural -s
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Turn-taking “an organization of practices designed to allow routine achievement of what appears to be overwhelmingly the most common default ‘numerical’ value of speakership of talk-in-interaction: one party talking at a time” (Schegloff, 2000, p. 1). IRF (initiate – response – follow-up) exchange a three part structure, typically consisting of teacher’s initiation, student’s response, and teacher's follow-up to the response (Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975) Exchange a smallest discourse set that consists of initiation and response including expected optional elements such as follow-up.
Sequence a coherent conversational topic. A sequence is defined as a stretch of verbal interaction with a recognizable beginning (sequence opening) and an end (sequence closing).
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1. T: ((shows a card to the class)) crocodile 2. Ss: croco[di:] 3. T: [cro]codile 4. Ss: crocodi: 5. T : okay
-Starting the sequence -presenting the form -requesting the repetition
-positive evaluation -requesting another repetition
-positive evaluation -finalizing the sequence
Turn in chorus
I R F+I R F
Turn in chorus
short sequence
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1. T: okay, your turn (3.0) 2. S1: ((turns over one card on the table)) 3. T: ((looks at the card)) what colour is this? ((looks at L1)) what colour is this? ((Takes the card
from S1’s hand and shows it to S1)). 5. S1: ((looks away)) 6. T: black. 7. S1: bla[ck.] 8. T: [okay] ((puts the card on the table and looks at
the next student)) your turn.
display question
showing her ignorance
-feedback -requesting the repetition
-positive evaluation -finalizing the sequence
turns are allocated by the teacher
I R F+I R F
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1. T: okay (1.0) u::::m. okay (.) let’s go to the zoo (.) please take the (1.0) squirrel (.) [squirrel]
2. S1: [squirrel] 3. S5: [squirrel] 4. T: Yeah (.) [squirrel] 5. S1: [whito?] 6. S2: supermarketto? 7. S1: whito? 8. T: (.) no no no [no]. 9. S3: [zoo] (.) zoo [zoo]. 10. T: [zoo] yeah (.) to the zoo (.) squirrel to the
zoo. 11. S1: whito? (.) [whito?] 12. S2: [white?] 13. T: [no] no no no (.) not [white]. 14. S4: [blue?] 15. T: not blue ((looks at the card in her hand and smiles)) (2.0) brown.
16. S2: brown? 17. T: and very ((shows ‘small’ with her hand)) small. (1.0) [small and] 18. S2: ((looks at the teacher with frowning face)) [brown tte nani?] 19. S4: brown tte nani? 20. S3: ((picks up one card from his set and looks at the teacher)) [one?] 21. T: [brown?]
((walks to the wall to point something brown)). 22. S3: ((shows his pointing finger to the teacher)) one? (1.0) [one?] 23. S2: [brown?] 24. T: ((shows her pointing finger)) one (.) yeah (.) very small ((gesture)).
very small ((gesture)) and brown (.) brown ((goes to the wall and points to brown)) and small (.) okay, three (.) two (.) [one (.) Go]
24. S5: [one (.) Go:] 25. Ss: ((hold up their selected cards)) 29. T: ((shows the correct card)) this is the (.) squirrel (.) squirrel, squirrel.
Okay.
1. T: okay (1.0) u::::m. okay (.) let’s go to the zoo (.) please take the (1.0) squirrel (.) [squirrel]
2. S1: [squirrel] 3. S5: [squirrel] 4. T: Yeah (.) [squirrel] 5. S1: [whito?] 6. S2: supermarketto? 7. S1: whito? 8. T: (.) no no no [no]. 9. S3: [zoo] (.) zoo [zoo]. 10. T: [zoo] yeah (.) to the zoo (.) squirrel to the zoo. 11. S1: whito? (.) [whito?] 12. S2: [white?] 13. T: [no] no no no (.) not [white]. 14. S4: [blue?] 15. T: not blue ((looks at the card in her hand and smiles)) (2.0) brown.
Exchanges were overlapped
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Exchange
Initiation Response
1 S1: whito? S1: whito? S1: whito? whito? S2: white?
T: no no no not white.
2 S2: supermarketto? T: no no no S3: zoo, zoo, zoo. T: zoo. to the zoo, to the zoo.
3 S4: blue? T: not blue. brown. 4 S2: brown?
S2: brown tte nani? S4: brown tte nani?
T: brown? (walking to the wall to point something brown).
5 S3: one? one? T: one, yes.
requesting information from the teacher
repeating a question turn when it was not answered
helping other students
providing information as an answer turn
using L1 when L2 didn’t work
referential questions
1. T: okay (1.0) u::::m. okay (.) let’s go to the zoo (.) please take the (1.0) squirrel (.) [squirrel]
2. S1: [squirrel] 3. S5: [squirrel] 4. T: Yeah (.) [squirrel] 5. S1: [whito?] 6. S2: supermarketto? 7. S1: whito? 8. T: (.) no no no [no]. 9. S3: [zoo] (.) zoo [zoo]. 10. T: [zoo] yeah (.) to the zoo (.) squirrel to the
zoo. 11. S1: whito? (.) [whito?] 12. S2: [white?] 13. T: [no] no no no (.) not [white]. 14. S4: [blue?] 15. T: not blue ((looks at the card in her hand and smiles)) (2.0) brown.
Teacher’s control of turn
Control of turn-taking
16. S2: brown? 17. T: and very ((shows ‘small’ with her hand)) small. (1.0) [small and] 18. S2: ((looks at the teacher with frowning face)) [brown tte nani?]
(what’s brown?) 19. S4: brown tte nani? (what’s brown?) 20. S3: ((picks up one card from his set and looks at the teacher)) [one?] 21. T: [brown?]
((walks to the wall to point something brown)). 22. S3: ((shows his pointing finger to the teacher)) one? (1.0) [one?] 23. S2: [brown?] 24. T: ((shows her pointing finger)) one (.) yeah (.) very small ((gesture)).
very small ((gesture)) and brown (.) brown ((goes to the wall and points to brown)) and small (.) okay, three (.) two (.) [one (.) Go]
24. S5: [one (.) Go:] 25. Ss: ((hold up their selected cards)) 29. T: ((shows the correct card)) this is the (.) squirrel (.) squirrel, squirrel.
Okay.
Teacher’s control of turn
Control of turn-taking
1. T: please take the crocodile to the supermarket.
2. S1: ((taking the ‘crocodile’ card from his table)) (2.0)
supermarketto?
3. T: oh, sorry, zoo, zoo. not supermarket.
4. S2: crocodile, supermarket ((gestures))
5. T: yeah, it’s scary isn’t it, if a crocodile is in the supermarket.
6. S1, S2: ((laughter))
(Task 1, Lesson 9)
Topics
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Form and accuracy contexts Meaning and fluency contexts
Sequence organization
Adjacency pairs consisting of a teacher prompt, learner production, and an optional evaluation (IRF exchanges)
Turn-taking sequences more varied than in form and accuracy contexts
Control of turn-taking
Tight control of turn-taking (who says what and when)
Turn-taking managed by students but eventually controlled by the teacher
Topic Topic is not developed Interactional space is available to students to nominate and develop a topic
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Form and accuracy contexts Meaning and fluency contexts
Sequence organization
Adjacency pairs consisting of a teacher prompt, learner production, and an optional evaluation (IRF exchanges)
Turn-taking sequences more varied than in form and accuracy contexts
Control of turn-taking
Tight control of turn-taking (who says what and when)
Turn-taking managed by students but eventually controlled by the teacher
Topic Topic is not developed Interactional space is available to students to nominate and develop a topic
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Nouns?
Adjectives?
Plural -s
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Production Comprehension
Learners do not need to engage in production practice in order to develop productive knowledge of new words.
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Production Comprehension
In all tests, the TBLT group outperformed the PPP group.
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PPP group TBLT group
Nouns Adjectives Nouns Adjectives Required 2601 1028 0 0
Optional Self-initiated 6 3 2 263 Borrowed 159 49 50 38
Number of Students' tokens with ‘Self-initiated’ and ‘Borrowed’ Speech
TBLT
1. T: Please take the ostrich to the zoo. 2. S1: Green? 3. T: Not green. 4. S1: Blue? 5. T: No. 6. S1 Gold? 7. T: Gold? No. The ostrich is big. 8. S2: Big. 9. S3: Black? 10. T: Yeah, kind of black.
PPP
1. T: What’s this? 2. S: … 3. T: Ostrich. 3. S: Ostrich.
Required
Self-initiated
Optional
Borrowed
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Borrowed
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‘acquired’ students
PPP (n=15) 0
TBLT (n=15) 2
Wug test
The TBLT lessons induced ‘noticing’ of the plural –s because it was functionally relevant to achieving the task outcome (i.e. it induced a cognitive comparison of singular and plural forms). This did not occur in the PPP instruction.
1. T: okay the next. okay, listen listen listen. please take the squirrels, squirrels to the zoo. squirrels. zoo, that's right.
: 6. S3: two? 7. T: two, yes. three (.) two (.) one (.) go 8. Ss: (all the students showing the correct cards) 9. T: yes everyone is correct.
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1. Teachers of young learners need not be wary of repeating tasks. How a task is navigated changes each time it is repeated.
2. Teachers need to be actively involved in the activity that results from a task. As shown in the data, the teacher helped the learners to perform the tasks in various ways (e.g. use of the L1, gesture, hints in the L2, providing feedback).
3. The teacher needs to make the task outcome clear from the beginning, and then make it clear when the outcome has been reached.
4. Learners’ L1 use should not be prohibited, but the teacher should make efforts to use only the L2.
5. The teacher can encourage learners to negotiate.
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