Stafford LumsdenVictoria University Wellington

Focus on Form(s)

An introduction to

LALS 520 Learners & Second Language Learning

Form Focused Instruction

• FFI involves attempts to intervene directly in interlanguage construction

• Draws attention to specific linguistic features

• Looks for opportunities for learners to practice linguistic features

Direct Intervention

Prior specification of the language forms and / or functions and teaching th

eir linguistic realization.

Ellis, 2008: 837

Focus on Form

Type "A" Curriculum• Syntactic

• Analytic

• Focus on accuracy

• "Skill getting"

•Widdowson: "Investment for the future"

White: 1988

In the language

P

P

P

resent

ractice

roduce

Controlled practice

Freer practice

classroom

• Explicit attention to form occurs during presentation.

• Practice stage has students using the explicitly taught form in controlled atmosphere

• During production learners use the explicitly taught form in (semi-) authentic ways.

Form Focused Episode

FFE

Form Focused Episodes

• Classroom interaction

• Teacher-led: Teacher -> Students

• Student-centered: Student ->Student

• Student-led: Student ->Teacher

•When do FFEs occur?

FFEs can occur both during explicit instruction and during meaning focused communication

Used by both learners and teachers for dealing with linguistic difficulties.

(Zhao & Bitchener, 2007: 445)

• In classroom settings interacting patterns can take the form of

• T->Ss / Ss->T

• Or between students Ss->Ss

• Of these student dyads (pairs) used in interactional scaffolding activities proved to be the most effective in terms of focusing on form

On Teacher - Student Interaction:

• T->Ss interaction not so good for promoting mutual comprehension.

• Ss centered approaches work better.

FFE example

S: I go to the school every day.T: I go to the school...?S:...uh...I go to school...

Student -> Student

•Where initiated by students themselves, and not the teacher, there is significantly better uptake of forms during an FFE

Why focus on form?

•While instruction may not be necessary for L2 acquisition...

• (Krashen - implicit / explicit knowledge, or self taught learners e.g. "Wes" (Schmidt, 1983))

...it does help learners to acquire it more quickly.

Ellis (1993)

Theoretical positionsFocus on form

The Zero Option

• The zero option advocates the abandonment of for all education

• Classroom not effective

• Students should be allowed to acquire (inter)language "naturally"

• ...the development of competence in a second language requires not systemization of language inputs, or maximization of planned practice, but the creation of conditions in which a learner can engage in an effort to cope with communication

• (Prabhu, 1987: 1)

Non-interface Hypothesis

• Grammatical competence cannot be taught (Krashen, 1982)

• Learning is not the same as acquisition

• Implicit knowledge required for comprehensible communication not taught in formal instruction

• "learning" is about explicit knowledge

• "acquisition"is about implicit knowledge

•Krashen acknowledges that formal instruction does contribute to explicit knowledge learning

•BUT

•It's use is limited because only clear and simple "rules"can be learnt.

Instruction as facilitation

• Interface hypothesis

• Teachability hypothesis

• Variability hypothesis

•Weak interface hypothesis

The Necessity of FFI

•We can see that acquisition of an L2 can occur naturally (No formal instruction and no focus on form)

•But

•We also see that learners do not achieve full target language competence as a result of exposure alone (Ellis, 2008: 846)

Interface hypothesis

• Supplies learners with conscious rules

• Providing practice converting conscious "controlled" knowledge into "automatic" knowledge

• DeKeyser (1998) declarative knowledge converted to procedural knowledge by learners engaging in communicative practice.

Just like my classroom

Conclusion• Learners are just as able as teachers in initiating Fo

rm Focused Episodes

• Learners are more likely to preempt an episode with a peer than a teacher AND it is more likely to be effective in repairing or solving the linguistic problem.

• Therefore spoken interaction between students and between students and teachers should be encouraged

• Teachers and learners provide similar amounts of information during FFEs.

• Pedagogically speaking FFEs during meaning focused communication is beneficial for L2 acquisition.

• Teachers need to think about how they can deal with incidental FFEs

• But not at the expense of fluency.

(Zhao & Bitchener, 2007: 445)

Further Research Opportunities.

• Teacher performance in generating teacher-fronted focus on form

• Explaining relationship between teachers FFE practice and their beliefs about incidental foxes on form

(Zhao & Bitchener, 2007: 445)