Drama in the L2 Classroom: A Defense and Practicum

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Matthew Barbee
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
Language Classroom

A case is made for the use and practice of drama and dramatic activities in order to engage students in the second language (L2) classroom. This article also attempts to clarify terms such as drama, theatre, and dramatic activities within a second language classroom context. In order to make the case for drama in the L2 classroom, well-established trends in contemporary pedagogy are presented. Coupled with Maley & Duff’s benefits of drama in the L2 classroom, the overall intent of this article is to empower L2 instructors and give them the theoretical and practical tools to brave potentially hostile educational environments that may not be open to dramatic activities in the classroom. In short, while teachers may instinctively know the value and benefits of drama to their language learners, they may at times need to convince administrators, fellow teachers, and even themselves of the benefits.

Deployment of the formulaic utterance “how about∼” in task-based second language classroom discussions

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-446
Author(s):  
David Aline ◽  
Yuri Hosoda
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Interaction Analysis ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Alternative Procedures ◽  
Japanese Learners

Abstract Formulaic speech has long been of interest in studies of second language learning and pragmatic use as production and comprehension of formulaic utterances requires less processing and production effort and, therefore, allows for greater fluency. This study scrutinizes the sequential positions and actions of one formulaic utterance “how about∼” from the participants’ perspective. This conversation analytic study offers a fine-grained microanalysis of student interaction during classroom peer discussion activities. The data consist of over 54 h of video-recorded classroom interaction. Analysis revealed several positions and actions of “how about∼” as it occurs during peer discussions by Japanese learners of English. Emerging from analysis was a focus on how learners deploy this formulaic utterance to achieve various actions within sequences of interaction. Analysis revealed that participants used “how about∼” for (a) explicitly selecting next speaker, (b) shifting topics, (c) proposing a solution, and (d) suggesting alternative procedures. Although the formula was deployed to perform these four different actions, consistent throughout all instances was the disclosure of learner orientation to the progressivity of the task interaction. The findings show how language learners deploy this formulaic utterance in discussion tasks designed for language learning and highlights the pragmatic functions of this phrase.

What Makes a Child a Good Language Learner? Interactional Competence, Identity, and Immersion in a Swedish Classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 45-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asta Cekaite
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Longitudinal Analysis ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Learning Trajectories ◽  
Interactional Competence ◽  
Novice Learners ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
L2 Development ◽  
Pragmatic Skills

ABSTRACTThe research presented here is an examination of how child language novices (zero beginners) develop interactional competences and repertoires in a Swedish as a second language classroom. Two 7-year-old girls’ learning trajectories are the focus in a yearlong study of their second language (L2) development. The girls’ transition from highly repetitious and formulaic production to formally and semantically more diverse discourse is documented, along with a broadening of the girls’ classroom interactional repertoires. They initiated and took part in interactions with teachers and peers and participated in a growing range of classroom discursive activities. The longitudinal analysis also documents the differences in their two learning trajectories, particularly in terms of their L2 resources and pragmatic skills, as well as their identities as successful or unsuccessful language learners (as ascribed to them by the teachers). The study illustrates an intricate and synergistic, rather than unidirectional, relationship between these two child novice learners’ competences, L2 features, and identities.

scholarly journals ‘LEARNING MOMENTS’ AS INSPECTABLE PHENOMENA OF INQUIRY IN A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-103
Author(s):  
Ricardo Moutinho ◽  
Andrew P. Carlin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Coding Schemes ◽  
Membership Categorization ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
Language Classroom

Learning is an omnipresent feature of social life. However, in educational fields, learning is often studied through indirect instruments, such as surveys, interviews and coding schemes. In this paper, a praxiological approach to observe learning moments is proposed. This means that learning moments are not explored here through schematic reporting or statistical evaluations, but as accountable and inspectable phenomena as they became available in the corpus explored. Using a video-recorded fragment of interaction that occurred during a second language (L2) class in a primary school in Macau (China), the practical, collaborative instructed experiences of participants (teacher and students) in a lesson are analysed. It was observed that classroom participants attend to the categorial and sequential features of learning environments, which provide the contextual details that afford members’ realization of phenomena as learning moments. Stated differently, learning moments should not be confused with the successful accomplishment of a lesson plan just to satisfy programmatic (and disciplinary) requirements, but as something produced and accountable by participants as learning in and through their very practices of concerted interaction. As learning moments are ubiquitous characteristics of educational environments, the discussion of the results has pedagogical implications for teacher training, and for the assessment of teaching. Keywords: conversation analysis, ethnomethodology, learning moments, membership categorization, social competence, turn-allocated categories

scholarly journals Improving English as a Second Language Learners’ Attitudes to Pronunciation through Motivation

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. p56
Author(s):  
Ameen Akeem ◽  
Noor Zainab Bt. Abdul Rasak
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Motivational Strategies ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The Subject

Pronunciation is an important aspect of English learning. It is however one of the most abandoned or half taught. This is usually due to perceived difficulty in its teaching and learning. Hence, unfavorable attitudes set in, especially in English as a second language situation. In most cases, due to poor technique and methodology employed by the teachers of English, the students are not encouraged to learn pronunciation like other aspects of the subject. This attitude goes a very long way in determining their communicative competence as poor pronunciation could lead a breakdown in communication. It is thus the responsibility of the teachers to help the students learn. This paper thus advocates and presents some motivational strategies that could be employed by the teachers of English to improve the learners’ attitude to learning pronunciation in English as a second language classroom.

Pair versus individual writing: Effects on fluency, complexity and accuracy

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Wigglesworth ◽  
Neomy Storch
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
Single Text ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Language Writing

The assessment of oral language is now quite commonly done in pairs or groups, and there is a growing body of research which investigates the related issues (e.g. May, 2007). Writing generally tends to be thought of as an individual activity, although a small number of studies have documented the advantages of collaboration in writing in the second language classroom (e.g. DiCamilla & Anton, 1997; Storch, 2005; Swain & Lapkin, 1998). Particularly in university contexts, group or pair assignments are widely used in many disciplines. In addition, collaborative writing could be used in second language classroom assessment contexts as formative assessment. However, research which compares texts produced by learners collaboratively to texts produced individually, and the implications of this for assessment practices, is rare. This study is a first step in the investigation of using collaborative writing in second language contexts and comparing the performance of two groups of second language learners: one group worked individually, and the other group worked in pairs. When writing in pairs, each pair produced a single text. All participants completed one writing task: an argumentative essay. The performances of the individuals (N = 48) and the pairs (N = 48) were compared on detailed discourse analytic measures of fluency, complexity and accuracy. This comparison revealed that collaboration impacted positively on accuracy, but did not affect fluency and complexity. A detailed analysis of the pair transcripts recorded during the writing activity provides insights into the ways in which pairs work together, and the foci of their endeavour. The implications of these findings for in-class assessment of second language writing are discussed.

“I Think That Sounds Right”

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-368
Author(s):  
Laura Walls
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Heritage Language Learners ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Spanish Classroom

Many studies have demonstrated the benefits of learner-learner interactions in the second language classroom; however, despite the growing number of heritage language learners (HLLs) that enroll in language courses, only recently have researchers begun to examine interactions among second language learners and HLLs. Still, HLL-HLL interactions go unexamined. The present study fills this gap in the literature by analyzing HLL-HLL interactions during collaborative writing activities in a Spanish classroom. Results indicate that learners resolve lexical, grammatical, and orthographic issues accurately in most cases. It also shows that learners rely heavily on their strengths in Spanish and thus, utilize their implicit knowledge of the language. Their intuition enables them to critically assess the appropriateness of certain words and structures according to their needs and intentions; however, it also means that they tend to not fully utilize the resources at their disposal. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Giving Students a Fighting Chance: Pragmatics in the Language Classroom

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence McLean
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Classroom Teachers ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Completion Task ◽  
Pragmatic Awareness ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
The University ◽  
Potential Use

In order to give language learners a fighting chance outside the classroom, teachers must provide them with consciousness-raising opportunities for developing pragmatic awareness. By attending to pragmatic factors in second-language (L2) situations, students will be better able to make informed decisions in negotiating effective communication., This article examines the potential use of the pragmatic discourse completion task (DCT) as a springboard for discussion in the L2 classroom. A description of a DCT used in a study involving advanced L2 learners at the University of Alberta (Ranta, 2002) is provided. The author also provides suggestions for developing students' pragmatic awareness.

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