Interlanguage - Article Analysis for TESOL Professional

Nickel, Gerhard. 1998. The role of interlanguage in foreign language teaching. IRAL 36. 1-10.

This article was somewhat short and difficult to read for a non-graduate level (read normal) person but for the right person this article could be helpful for those seeking a better grasp on the effect that interlanguage is playing in a given classroom. The benefit a TESOL professional might gain from this article seems to be primarily in the realm of 'understanding' and is not that practical. A TESOL professional probably won't gain that much practical use from this article but they certainly will have a clearer understanding of what is going on in the students brain related to interlanguage and therefore will have the opportunity to compensate for the effect that interlanguage is playing in the students brains. Nickel gives a good example towards the middle of the text about the difficulty that those whose first language is german have in learning the difference between continuous and non-continuous verb tenses due to an interlanguage issue and offers some practical advice on how to compensate for that phenomenon. However, that seems to be the only practical bit of advice that is really offered. At any rate a good TESOL professional with a large vocabulary will be able to glean some useful tidbits from this article.

Interlanguage - How Understanding Interlanguage Can Help Us Teach

Cohen, Andrew D. 1995. In which language Do/Should multilinguals think? Language Culture and Curriculum 8. 99-113.

The common belief that second-language learners need to think as much as possible in the target language (TL) for successful learning to take place is examined in a survey of students in an English as a second language (ESL) teaching methods course & teachers of ESL (total N = 16). The Ss' patterns of planned & unplanned thinking are described. In verbal reports, Ss conveyed a belief that they benefited from thinking in the TL. Data from previous studies are presented that suggests that first language (L1) use may be beneficial to TL acquisition. The current data are judged insufficient to determine which method is best, & it is suggested that further research may produce guidelines on the advantages & disadvantages of thinking through the L1 while performing in the TL. 1 Appendix, 20 References. Adapted from the source document

Foster, Pauline. 1999. Task-based learning and pedagogy. ELT Journal 53. 69-70.

The advantage of task-based language teaching over the traditional presentation-practice-performance model is explained. Language learners acquire a second language according to their own internal agenda, regardless of how teachers organize the material; engaging in meaningful tasks allows the students' interlanguage to progress toward target-language norms. Emphasis on meaning should not be at the expense of form, however; frameworks combining both elements are noted. 7 References. E. Taylor

Martinez-Flor, Alicia, and Esther Uso-Juan. 2006. A comprehensive pedagogical framework to develop pragmatics in the foreign language classroom: The 6Rs approach. Applied Language Learning 16. 39-63.

To prepare learners for successful communication is nowadays one of the main goals of teaching practices of lecturers of English as a Second (ESL) or Foreign (EFL) language in the University setting. Consequently, language teaching needs to focus not only on linguistic or strategic aspects of the target language, but also on the development of the learner's pragmatic competence, which refers to the ability of employing target-language linguistic resources in an appropriate way for a particular context. Given this necessity, instruction in pragmatics has recently motivated a lot of research (Rose & Kasper, 2001; Bardovi-Harlig & Mahan-Taylor, 2003; Martinez-Flor, Uso-Juan & Fernandez-Guerra, 2003; Alcon & Martlnez-Flor 2005). Additionally, this need is stronger in the foreign language setting, since the opportunities to be in contact with authentic language use outside the classroom are very limited (Rose, 1999). In an attempt to contribute to this area of research, in this paper we present a comprehensive pedagogical framework, called the 6Rs Approach, aimed at providing EFL lecturers with a pedagogical tool that may help them to integrate pragmatics in their teaching syllabi. This guiding framework, which has been elaborated on previous approaches and techniques from the field of interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), focuses on requests and suggestions as two speech acts that may intrinsically threaten the hearer's face and, therefore, need to be performed in an appropriate way for their successful completion. Adapted from the source document

Nickel, Gerhard. 1998. The role of interlanguage in foreign language teaching. IRAL 36. 1-10.

Interlanguage is argued to be a valuable tool in foreign-language teaching. Previous studies of interlanguage & some attitudes toward it are reviewed, followed by discussion of interlanguage's role in foreign-language teaching. Teaching strategies are expected to benefit from insights into interlanguage, especially concerning simplifications, transfer phenomena, error evaluation, & fossilization. It is suggested that teachers focus more on the positive aspects of interlanguage than the errors in order to maintain students' motivation. Interlanguage also benefits language awareness for students; if introduced to the inevitability & functionality of errors, they will be more likely to sustain their motivation to learn. 29 References. Adapted from the source document

Ohta, Amy Snyder. 2005. Interlanguage pragmatics in the zone of proximal development. System 33. 503-17.

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been fruitfully applied in L2 research that examines second & foreign language learning. This paper considers the applicability of the ZPD to interlanguage pragmatics instruction & research. First, the ZPD is defined [Vygotsky, L.S., 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA], & definitions are queried in light of differences between second language learning/development from the child development context for which the ZPD was developed [Ohta, A.S., 2001a. Second Language Acquisition Processes in the Classroom: Learning Japanese. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ; Ohta, A.S. The zone of proximal development & second language acquisition: Beyond social interaction. In N. Negishi, T. Umino, A. Yoshitomi, (Eds.), Readings in Second Language Acquisition & Second Language Pedagogy in a Japanese Context. John Benjamins, Amsterdam, in press]. Then, three interlanguage pragmatics research studies involving instructional intervention are considered through the framework the ZPD provides. These are [Takahashi, S., 2001. The role of input enhancement in developing pragmatic competence. In: Rose, K.R., Kasper, G. (Eds.), Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 171-199.], a study of explicit/implicit instruction of English biclausal requests; [Samuda, V., 2001. Guiding relationships between form & meaning during task performance: The role of the teacher. In: Bygate, M., Skehan, P., Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching & Testing. Longman, New York, pp. 119-140.], a study of the impact of teacher intervention on task-based instruction in English modals; & [Yoshimi, D.R., 2001. Explicit instruction & JFL learner's use of interactional discourse markers. In: Rose, K.R., Kasper, G. (Eds.), Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 223-244.], which examines the impact of instruction on Japanese conversational storytelling. Analysis suggests how the zone of proximal development impacted the development observed in the three studies & how instructional methods tested did nor did not tap into the potential of the ZPD. The paper concludes with recommendations for researchers & teachers, suggesting how the notion of the ZPD can be used both to better understand pragmatic development & to improve instruction in L2 pragmatics. 4 Tables, 40 References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier Ltd.]

Spada, Nina, and Patsy M. Lightbown. 2008. Form-focused instruction: Isolated or integrated? TESOL Quarterly 42. 181-207.

There is increasing consensus that form-focused instruction helps learners in communicative or content-based instruction to learn features of the target language that they may not acquire without guidance. The subject of this article is the role of instruction that is provided in separate (isolated) activities or within the context of communicative activities (integrated). Research suggests that both types of instruction can be beneficial, depending on the language feature to be learned, as well as characteristics of the learner and the learning conditions. For example, isolated lessons may be necessary to help learners who share the same first language (L1) overcome problems related to L1 influence on their interlanguage, integrated instruction may be best for helping learners develop the kind of fluency and automaticity that are needed for communication outside the classroom. The evidence suggests that teachers and students see the benefits of both types of instruction. Explanations for the effectiveness of each type of instruction are drawn from theoretical work in second language acquisition and cognitive psychology as well as from empirical research. Adapted from the source document

Tono, Yukio. 2007. The roles of oral L2 learner corpora in language teaching: The case of the NICT JLE corpus. Linguistic Insights - Studies in Language and Communication 51. 163-79.

After surveying major learner corpus projects & studies devoted to corpus material use in language learning & teaching, the compilation of the NICT-JLE (National Institute of Information & Communications Technology - Japanese Learners of English) Corpus is related, describing its size, design criteria, digital representation, & auxiliary, accompanying tools. On-going research into a spoken learner language based on the NICT-JLE Corpus is reported, discussing studies aimed at identifying the characteristics of spoken interlanguages at different proficiency levels & natural language processing research devoted to automatic error detection & identification & automatic identification of speakers' proficiency levels. Tables, Figures, References. Z. Dubiel

Tseng, Yen-Chu, and Hsien-Chin Liou. 2006. The effects of online conjunction materials on college EFL students' writing. System 34. 270-83.

Misuse of English conjunction related to incoherent writing, according to the literature, comes from learners' first language interference, improper mechanical exercises, & misleading lists of connectors in textbooks demonstrated as if mutually interchangeable without contextual constraints. Form-focused instruction with explicit semantic, stylistic & syntactic properties can help learning of connectors. Additionally, computer learner corpus analysis which identifies systematic interlanguage patterns in Chinese learner data offers pedagogical insights for the current study. Four Web-based online conjunction units based on principles from related literature & learner corpus analyses were designed for 19 EFL college students to use for a month with sentence-beyond contexts concerning stylistic properties & overuse situations. Before & after the project, a gap-filling test on conjunctors & a writing task were used, followed by an evaluation questionnaire on students' perception. Results indicated that students generally held a positive attitude toward the online units & demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the use of connectors in both the test & free production contexts. The case study argues that pedagogically sound instructional design for online conjunction materials can help college EFL learners write more accurate & coherent essays. Tables, Figures, References. [Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.]

Valette, Rebecca M. 1992. Proficiency and accuracy: Enemies or allies? Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics. 174-8.

It is argued that teachers of foreign languages must be concerned with accuracy & accurate language from the very beginning of instruction. It is argued that the "communication first" position, which urges students to communicate however they can, in interlanguages that may be limited, will result in problems for learners if accurate speech & grammar are not emphasized, as, it is claimed, continued used of fluent inaccurate speech can lead to fossilization. Several of claims made by "communication first" proponents in support of their approach are discussed & refuted. 8 References. B. Annesser Murray

Vidal, Rejane Teixeira. 2007. EFL learners' self-evaluation of learning processes after metatalk tasks. Revista Brasileira de Linguistica Aplicada 7. 117-48.

This investigation attempted to combine form-focused instruction with task-based learning in the context of autonomous learning in an English as a foreign language scenario with the aim of stretching learners' interlanguage as related to language accuracy. It intended to contribute to furthering the understanding concerning how producing the target language while reflecting on it may trigger cognitive processes that both consolidate existing knowledge & generate linguistic knowledge which is new to the learner (SWAIN, 1998), helping them understand & become more conscious of their learning process as a whole. The study has achieved the major aims it had set out to accomplish: it provided additional evidence for the claim that successful learners understand the process underling their own learning & that form-focused tasks which explore collaborative dialogue via meta-talk have the potential to shed light on the field of learner development (BENSON, 2001), besides pushing learners in their output. Adapted from the source document