Input comes in various forms. Kumaravadivelu
(2005) makes the distinction between three types:
● interlanguage input: the developing language of the
students and their peers, including both accurate and deviant language forms;
● simplified input: the language used by teachers,
textbook writers and other speakers when they are talking to language learners;
● non-simplified input: the language of competent
speakers and the media.
In most classrooms it is the first
two which are most commonly encountered. Non-simplified (‘authentic’) listening
input is also used, but chosen by the teacher to be accessible. Bear in mind,
however, that input does not
necessarily become intake, i.e. even
though the language students hear may be comprehensible,
it may not actually be comprehended
(noticed and processed). As Corder (1967) pointed out, language has to be
comprehended to be acquired. Anything
you can do to help this happen is valuable.
Kumaravadivelu (2005) has put
forward an apt acronym for the factors which affect intake:
●
Individual factors: age and anxiety;
● Negotiation factors: interaction and
interpretation;
●Tactical factors: learning and
communication strategies;
●Affective factors: attitudes and
motivation;
● Knowledge factors: language and
metalanguage knowledge;
● Environmental factors: social and
educational context.
Thus, a key skill for teachers
when doing interpersonal listening is to make the input understandable to
students at all times, (e.g. Pica, Doughty and Young, 1987). If classes are
subject to lots of language they simply cannot understand they will soon switch
off. Alongside the skilled use of QA, a number of specific techniques can be
used to make language comprehensible and learnable when talking to students.
These techniques include Long’s (1981) modified
input and modified interaction, whereby we
simplify input and check for understanding (as a caregiver would with a young
infant). They form part of effective use of formative assessment.
●
In general
pitch your language at or fractionally above the current level of the students’
comprehension. Avoid using too many new words or phrases.
●
Modify the
input to make accessible by simplifying the syntax, e.g. by using simple
sentences and avoiding subordinate clauses.
●
Select
vocabulary students are more likely to recognise, e.g. cognates or vocabulary
they have encountered before.
●
Do not speak
at native speaker speed; use repetition, rephrasing and pausing.
●
Allow
students to ask questions or seek clarification, including by gesture. Teach
them simple phrases such as Can you
repeat, please?
●
Maintain
eye contact with as many students as possible, using facial expression to
enhance meaning. ‘Teach to the eyes.’
●
Use
generic teacher skills to hold attention, such as varying your physical
position in the class, scanning left to right and front to back.
●
Use humour
to reduce anxiety and produce more engagement. Research suggests that students
echo their teacher’s behaviour and are more likely to use language
spontaneously when relaxed (Hawkes, 2012). Put another way, students learn
better when their affective filter is
lowered (Krashen, 1982).
●
As
mentioned previously, make judicious use of translation into L1 when there is
no efficient alternative. Do not feel obliged to use 100% L2.
●
Use
gesture, pictures and classroom objects. You can spot a language teacher by the
number of gestures they use when making everyday conversation!
●
Be
predictable in your routines, including questioning style, use of choral and
individual repetition; students become familiar with what is expected of them.
●
Reinforce
listening by using the written word, e.g. writing words and chunks on the board
or providing transcripts of dialogues.
●
Use
formative assessment techniques such mini-whiteboard responses to check for
meaning, e.g. students may write true on
one side of their board and false on
the other. Or check for understanding by asking individual students to
translate back what you have said
- Avoid talking for too long; observe when a class may be losing enthusiasm for an activity. Make use of your emotional and cognitive empathy skills.
Making it comprehensible: an example classroom
exchange
Here is an example of a typical classroom dialogue
which allows you to model language repeatedly in an organic, communicative
fashion (adapted from a lesson observed in Nava and Pedrazzini, 2018).
Suppose
you want to explain the new word sporty.
Teacher:
Are you sporty? I love sport. I’m very sporty. I play football, tennis
and love to go walking (gestures). Do you like sport? Hands up (gesture)if you
like sport.
(Students raise hands)
Teacher: Lionel Messi is sporty, isn’t he? Harry Kane
is sporty. Who else is sporty?
Student: Rafael
Nadal.
Teacher: Yes! He’s sporty. Is Homer Simpson sporty?
Students: No!
Teacher: Homer loves sport!
Students: No! He loves donuts!
Teacher: Is an elephant sporty?
Students: No!
Teacher: Is a hippopotamus sporty?
Students: No!
Teacher: All together: “sporty”.
And so on. Note how students receive plenty of
modelled L2 input, including multiple repetitions of the words sport and sporty, before they are expected to produce much language
themselves.
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