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FOCUS ON MEANING, LANGUAGE AND FORM : A THREE WAY DISTINCTION.

Dave Willis

dave@willis- elt.co.uk

www.willis- elt.co.uk

TESOL ARABIA 2008

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Fluency Accuracy

Fluency Conformity Accuracy/

Meaning Form Language

Appropriacy

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Three reasons why we can’t teach grammar:

1 It’s too complex.

2 There’s too much of it.

3 That’s not how learners learn.

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Lana’s Story

Lana daddy horseyMan upHorsey pooDaddy poo bagLana daddy home

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Grandpa, that water not for drinkin’. It for puttin’ in a hole.

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MEANING

Focus on meaning involves all three of Haliday’s ‘macro-functions’:

- IDEATIONAL (getting the message across)

- TEXTUAL (making the message readily accessible)

- INTERPERSONAL (taking account of the receiver and presentation of self)

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Why do we need grammar?

1 To express some complex notions.

2 To be receiver friendly. (Textual)

3 For precision. (Textual)

4 For presentation of self. (Interpersonal)

5 To respect the receiver. (Interpersonal)

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FOCUS ON FORM (CONFORMITY)

1.A focus on one or two forms, specified by the teacher.

2.Learners’ language production is controlled by the teacher.

3.The success of the procedure is judged in terms of whether or not learners do produce the target forms with an acceptable level of accuracy.

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FOCUS ON LANGUAGE

(ACCURACY/AUTONOMOUS LEARNING)

Learners pause in the course of a meaning-focused activity to think for themselves how best to express what they want to say, or a teacher takes part in an interaction and acts as a facilitator by rephrasing or clarifying learners language.

AND…

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Success is judged subjectively by the learners according to whether or not they achieve their communicative goals.

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How strict were your parents?

Work in groups. Talk about your childhood. Whose parents were the strictest? Whose parents were the most easy-going?

(With thanks to Tim Marchand, Smith’s School of English, Kyoto, Japan)

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1.Were your parents were strict or easy- going?

2.Did they allow you to stay out late at night?

3.Did they let you go on holiday on your own?

4.Did they make you help about the house? 5.Did you have to wash the car?6.What other jobs did they make you do? 7.When you went out did you always have

to tell them where you were going?8.Did you always have to do your

homework before supper?

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My Dad is a quiet man really, so he didn't really make me do much at home. He sometimes asked me to wash his car or cut the grass, but I was never forced to do it, and I could usually get some pocket money for it as well. I think my Mum was also pretty easy-going; she let me stay out late with my friends. As long as she knew where I was, she wouldn't mind so much what I did. 

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My father was definitely stricter than my Mum. If I had been in trouble at school, it was always left up to him to tell me off. But I wouldn't say that my Mum was easy-going exactly. She would sit me down sometimes and make me do my homework in front of her, or force me to eat my greens, things like that. I guess I was just more scared of my father.

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Priming + Mining + Rehearsal

Focus on meaning/fluency.

Focus on language. (Autonomous learning)

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TASK PLANNING REPORT

The TASK is predominantly ideational. There is a strong focus on meaning, on getting the message across.

At the REPORT stage learners are more concerned with explicitness and precision (textual) and the presentation of self (interpersonal).

SO….

During PLANNING there is a strong autonomous focus on language.

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LISTENING + SCRIPTReview + Extension

Focus on meaning.

Discussion promotes focus on language (autonomous learning).

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QUESTIONNAIREPriming + Mining + Rehearsal

TASK PLANNING REPORT

LISTENING + SCRIPTReview + Extension

FOCUS ON FORM

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Focus on form.

Think about your schooldays…

1 List three things you had to do.

2 List three things you weren’t allowed to do.

3 List three things you were supposed to do but didn’t.

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1.Do you think your parents were strict or easy-going?

2.Did they let you go on holiday on your own?3.When you went out did you always have to

tell them where you were going?4.Did your parents make you help about the

house5.What jobs did they make you do?6.Did you have to wash the car?

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1.Do you think your parents were ****** or ****-*****?

2.Did they *** *** go on holiday on your own?3.When you went out did you always **** **

tell them where you were going?4.Did your parents **** *** help about the

house5.What jobs did they **** *** do?6.Did you **** ** wash the car?

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1.think you do parents your strict easy-going or were

2.let you holiday on go they did own your on

3.help house about the make your you parents did

Etc.

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Complete these to make true sentences:

1 When I was a child my parents made me ….2 They let me ….3 I was forced to ….4 I was allowed to ….5 I was supposed to ….

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A focus on form:

… destabilises the learners system

… makes forms salient and facilitates acquisition in the future.

… enhances motivation by providing specific learning aims.

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Autonomous learning/focus on language:

… maximises learning opportunities.

… encourages learners to incorporate ‘new’ forms in their language.

… promotes genuine learning.

AND …

Without autonomous learning no one could possibly learn a language. The systems are too complex and too numerous for conscious learning.

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A final look at a three way distinction:

Meaning Language Form

Autonomous learning

Fluency ConformityAppropriacy/

Accuracy

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Doing Task-basedTeaching

Dave and Jane Willis 2007 OUP

dave@willis-elt.co.uk

www.willis-elt.co.uk