PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED SLARod Ellis (2008) - Center of Applied Linguistics - University of AucklandPrinciple 1: Instruction needs to ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire of formulaic expressions and a rule-based competence. Formulaic Expressions vs Rule-based competence. There is a wide acceptance of the importance of formulaic expressions and they serve as a basis for the later development of a rule-based competence . Learners often internalize rote-learned material as chunks and then break them down for analysis later. Learners need to develop knowledge of the rules that govern how language is used grammatically and appropriately. A complete language curriculum needs to cater to the development of both formulaic expressions and rule-based knowledge. Blanco - Branderiz - Rojas C.
EXAMPLE: Setting: Restaurant ROLE PLAYOrdering from the menu:I would like a cup of coffee.I would love a piece of cake. As a chunk trigger and then they can change the verb, pronouns and the items from the menu.I hate tea, but I would like some coffee.What would you like to order?I would like to order an orange juice and a sandwich.
Principle 2: Instruction needs to ensure that learners focus predominantly on meaning.HOW?Creating contexts to trigger real communication. Using a task-based approach in order to:
Select a series of communicative tasks to create communicative learning opportunities. Both, teacher and students function as communicators. The second language as a TOOL of communication.
Reasons to focus on meaning: It eases language acquisition. It engages students and helps to develop fluency. It motivates students. (Jorgelina y Victoria)
Activity: Focus on meaning!
In order to foster genuine communication and fluency, we can propose the class to engage in a task with a game-like structure. Imagine st. are working on food and healthy habits. We can encourage them to work on a healthy menu for a school's caffetteria, and find a good name for it aswell. To start with the activity, as a class, we can brainstorm a list of things that we like to eat and of the type of food that is always sold at the schools kiosk or caffetteria and discuss if they are healthy or not. Then, in small groups, students can decide a menu and a name for a healthy shop/space/place like that at school.Finally, each group can tell, in turns, to the rest of the class the resulting menu and the new name for the place, and maybe other details they would like to add!
(Jorgelina y Victoria)
3 Principle: Instruction needs to ensure that learners also focus on form.(Palermo-Godoy)The need to focus on grammar is an accepted principle in SLA, the role of the teacher is key for designing lessons attending to practice a specific form. The teacher can work through:*inductive grammar lessons: guiding sts to notice pre-selected grammar forms in the input.* deductive grammar lessons: sts discover the rule in raising awareness activities.*tasks and opportunities to practice and plan, focusing primarily on meaning* Intensive Instruction and Extensive Instruction Activity
The teacher presents a text to work on. After skimming the text in a first reading, students have to pay attention to a new tense(Past Continuous). The teacher encourages them to look for differences in: the form, the meaning and the use of the tense.(inductive approach)Implicit knowledge is procedural, is held unconsciously, and can be verbalized only if it is made explicit. It is accessed rapidly and easily and thus is available for use in rapid, fluent communication. Given that implicit knowledge underlies the ability to communicate fluently and confidently in a second language, this type of knowledge should be the ultimate goal of any instructional program.Explicit knowledge is conscious and declarative and can be verbalized. It is typically accessed through controlled processing when learners experience some kind of linguistic difficulty in the use of the second language. Explicit knowledge may assist language development by facilitating the development of implicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge can become implicit knowledge providing learners have the opportunity for plentiful communicative practice. The weak interface position ( which addresses whether explicit knowledge plays a role in second language acquisition. Ellis, 1993) claims that explicit knowledge makes it more likely that learners will attend to the structure in the input, which facilitates the processes involved in acquiring implicit knowledge. (Barsotelli, Decristforis)Principle 4: Instruction needs to focus on developing implicit knowledge of the second language while not neglecting explicit knowledge Principle #4- Activity The non-interface position leads to a zero grammar approach: that is, one that prioritizes meaning-centered approaches such as task-based teaching. For example: Creating a brochure about Mar del Plata. During this task students will be in groups engaged in researching and discussing about touristic places in Mar del Plata, designing their brochures and finally exposing them in class.The interface position supports PPPthe idea that a grammatical structure should be first presented explicitly and then practiced until it is fully proceduralized (i.e., automatized). For example: Presenting and teaching the Present Simple, Practicing the form in fill in the blanks exercises , Producing the form in freer forms as students writing their own routinesThe weak interface position has been used to provide a basis for consciousness-raising tasks. These are grammar discovery tasks that provide learners with data that they use to work out the grammar rule for themselves.For example: Presenting students various texts, during an extended period of time, which are written in the Present Simple Tense(third person singular). Designing activities so that students focus on form like, highlighting all the verbs and asking what most of them have in common (-s/ -es) . Students work out the grammar rule. Principle 6: Successful Instructive language learning requires extensive second language Input.Importance of input for developing the implicit knowledge that is needed to become an effective communicator in the second language.Learners need exposure to the target language through motivation and comprehensible input for successful acquisition.How can teachers ensure their students have access to sufficient input?Inside the classroom:Teachers need to maximize the use of the second language (the second language as a medium as well as the object of instruction) Outside the classroom: Teachers need to create opportunities for students to obtain input (reading programs according to the level of the student)(Arocha-Bombina-Bucci- Carrasco)ACTIVITY:Inside the classroom: The teacher provides a song related to an interesting topic for students to work on. Students read and listen to the song. They get new vocabulary (words and phrases) and check the meaning and pronunciation. Different activities can be developed throughout the song, such as fill in the gaps, choose the correct option, order the paragraphs and so on. The song can also be related to the tense (for example) students are learning at that moment.Outside the classroom: The teacher proposes students to follow a sitcom (chosen by learners and accepted by teachers) at home during the year and to comment it in class.
(Arocha- Bombina- Bucci- Carrasco)Principle 7:Successful instructed language learning also requires opportunities for output.Krashen----> acquisition is entirely dependent on comprehensible input.Researchers----> learner output also plays an important part in second language acquisition.It is important to:Create opportunities for output, what Swain called pushed output (output where the learner expresses messages clearly and explicitly).Incorporate communicative tasks.Acknowledge that controlled practice results in limited output. (Tabares-Vallejos)Principle 7: the role of output in second language acquisition Output:serves to generate better input through the feedback elicited by learnersobliges learners to pay attention to grammarallows learners to test hypotheses about the language provides the learner, opportunities to develop discourse skills and auto-input.helps learners, to automatize existing knowledge and to develop a personal voice by steering conversation to topics to which they are interested in contributing. ACTIVITY (principle 7)Students have already been working with daily activities, the present simple and adverbs of frequency.Teacher asks students to choose their idol (it could be a singer, an actor, a youtuber, whoever they want). Then they will have to imagine how it would be a day in their lives and write his or her routine having into account all the topics they have learned (the ones previously mentioned). After finishing the activity, we will share the routines with the rest of the class.Principle 8: The opportunity to interact in the second language is essential to develop L2 proficiencyOral Interaction: Helps learners automatize what they already know Serves as a form of mediation Engages learners in negotiating meaning Gives learners the opportunity to construct new forms and perform new functions collaboratively .
To create an acquisition-rich classroom, teachers need to: Create context for language Provide opportunities for learners express their own personal meanings Help students to participate in activities that are beyond their current level of proficiencySuggested activity: Context: Students go on a study trip to New Orleans, and one night, they go out for dinner. They have to ask for traditional dishes, and negotiate meaning with the waitress, to understand what the dishes are made of. Finally they order the food.
Vernica A., Paula R., Nancy I., Paola S. Agustina P., y Sara H.Principle 9: Instruction needs to take account of individual differences in learners.Teachers must take into account particular aptitudes among the students and how to motivate them effectively.
Adopt a flexible teaching approach involving a variety of learning activities.Use simple material.Increase the range of learning strategies: mime, gestures.Enhance their intrinsic motivation.Ensure that students stay motivated.Melisa y VivianaPrinciple # 10: In assessing learners second language proficiency, it is important to examine free as well as controlled production.Norris and Ortega (2000) distinguished four types of measurement:Metalinguistic judgement (e.g. a grammaticality judgement test)Selected response (e.g., multiple choice)Constrained constructed response (e.g., gap-filling exercises)Free constructed response (e.g., a communicative task)
They found that the effect of instruction was greatest in the case of selected response and constrained constructed response, and least in free constructed response. Yet, arguably, free constructed response constitutes the best measure of learners second language proficiency, as this correspond most closely to the kind of language use found outside the classroom.Free constructed responses are best elicited by means of tasks. Task-based performance can be assessed either by means of a direct assessment of task outcomes or by external ratings.Direct assessment: tasks that have a single correct outcome (e.g. spot-the-difference task)External ratings: assessment of different qualities of task performance such as accuracy, complexity and fluency.Araquistain, Micaela and Occhi, Analia
Principle # 10: ActivitiesWarm up: Teacher presents a poster with a scene of a city park. People in the poster are performing different activities: running, resting, reading, having a pic-nic, walking, playing football, etc. Some people are not paying attention to some signs (prohibitions)Stage 1: Students describe the scene using present continuous tense.They are expected to spot the things that are incorrect (e.g. throwing rubbish, dogs running without a lead, etc)At this stage, the teacher monitors the free speaking production (external ratings: accuracy, complexity and fluency)Stage 2: Students are asked to produce notes using imperatives (dont play football in public areas, etc.)At this second stage, the teacher corrects the statements (direct assessment: specified senteces using the target structure)Stage 3: Students produce a new poster using the notes.
