1 making repetition interesting penny ur 2006. 2 repetition as a component of language learning i...
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Repetition as a component of language learning
I would argue that there are three major channels of learning in the FL classroom:
1.Explicit consciousness-raising (explaining, talking ‘about’ the language)
2.Communication (using the language purposefully to convey or receive meanings)
3.Practice (focusing on repetition of target items)
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Why repetition through practice?
The ‘skill’ model: declarative knowledge transforms into procedural knowledge (the ‘strong interface’ model (Dekeyser, Johnson)
The ‘frequency’ hypothesis (Ellis, 2002).
Teachers’ professional intuitions
Learners’ preferences
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Effective repetition through practice
Quantity
Pre-learning
Success-orientation
Teacher assistance
Heterogeneity
Interest
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Interim recap
In this session we shall be looking at ONE of the components of an effective language teaching/learning program: repetition through practice…
… and at ONE crucial feature of this component: interest.
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a) From dependence to independence
It’s not that learners move from ‘not knowing’ to ‘knowing’…
…But rather from ‘not knowing at all’ to ‘noticing’ to ‘knowing if you remind and support them’ and finally to ‘knowing on their own’ (Vygotzky,1978).
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b) From passive recognition to active production
Learners normally achieve passive mastery (recognizing something when they see it, but wouldn’t have been able to produce it on their own) before they achieve active mastery.
So, putting a) and b) together, we’re talking about at least four stages in the gradual acquisition of new language items:
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The learner perceives and ‘notices’ the new item, with help
The learner can recognize it only if helped, can’t produce
The learner can recognize it on his/her own, but can produce only if helped
The learner can both recognize and produce it on his / her own
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For example:
Supposing you’ve presented the words ‘dog’ and ‘cat’ for the first time last lesson, using pictures, and now want to review them.
Do you:
1) re-present the words yourself at the beginning of the lesson?
2) elicit the words at the beginning of the lesson?
Do you:
1) Show the pictures and ask learners ‘what’s this?’?
2) Show the pictures, say ‘It’s a cat’ and get them to point to the appropriate picture?
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Research:
a) Adults / adolescents need between 6 and 16 encounters with a new word before they remember it (Zahar et al., 2001). Younger learners probably need even more.
b) ‘Distributed’ practice is probably better than ‘massed’ (Baddeley, 1990).
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What are the implications of a) and b) for practice?
Probably we need to do an immense amount of deliberate re-cycling of new language (letters, sounds, words, ‘chunks’, grammatical structures).
This recycling, or repetition, needs to be scattered (‘distributed’), not all in one go.
So we should be leading constant ‘cumulative’ review exercises.
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Interim summary: repetition at the various levels of learning
1. Noticing
simple display
pictures and explanation
(significant) occurrence in a story
(significant) occurrence within teacher-talk
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3. ‘Scaffolded’ Production
recitations
dialogues learnt by heart
(prepared) dictation
games based on set basic patterns
answering (lower-level) questions
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4. Independent Production
(unprepared) dictation
response to a picture
answering (higher-level) questions
discussion
free writing
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Interest-creating features Variety
Purposeful meaning-making (communication)
Success-orientation
Visual focus (use of board, pictures …)
Game-like tasks
Personalization
Entertainment (songs, jokes, drama, humour)
Open-endedness (lots of right responses)
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1. VarietyMatching (recognition)1. Format
1.blacka)short
2.tallb)small
3.bigc) sad
4.happy
d) white
1. black2. tall3. big4. happy
a) smallb) whitec) sadd) short
happy
big tall
white sad
short black
small
a cowa birda chairthe floor
is small
has four feet
can sing
I can sit on it
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What’s your name? It’s six o’clock
Where is it? Fine, thank you
How are you? My name’s Elliot
What’s the time? Over there!
Can I … sit down!
What’s the … understand!
I don’t … help you?
Please … matter?
happy a clock sad
a cat
Matching2. Content
positivedangerous
delighted
shocked
ugly
attractive
negativebrave
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an ancient an aged an antique an old a mature
house soldier student book dolphin woman
the beautiful lots of the tall the long the first a cold the good the last a sad a good-looking
hair tree friend train winter people princess money bus day water kids prince
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Different ways we can vary the content of matching exercises:
‘Closed’ matches‘Open’ matches
opposites
word-picture
parts of ‘chunks’
L1 – L2
synonyms
etc.
adjectives-nouns
associations
verbs+objects
verbs+adverbs
collocations
etc.
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2. Purposeful meaning-making
Information-gap exercises
Picture dictations
Guessing
Filling in information on a grid
Combining arrangement
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3. Success-orientation
easy to get right
more than one way of getting it right
use of L1 to clarify
choice between ‘success’ and ‘more success’ (rather than ‘success’ and ‘failure’)
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Find at least three things to put in each column
a clock, a dog, a dress, a mother, black, a pen, bread, pants, bag, a husband, red, boots, a cat, rice, a frog, a baby, pink, a teenager, a hat, a banana, a book, a sheep, meat, kids, a desk, green, an elephant, salt, a t-shirt, white
animalscolorsthingsfoodclothespeople
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4. Visual Focus
picture-based activities
adding graphic components:joining-with-a-linefilling-incirclingchanging
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JackieJoe Mitch
DanSid
Chuck
Jackie has a big hat. Mitch has a dog. Chuck has a bottle of Coca Cola. Dan is running to a house. Sid has long hair.
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5. Game-like tasks
Guessing-games (mime, what’s in my bag, I-spy, what’s the picture etc.)
Beat-the-clock games
Dialogue-based games (detectives, ‘wrangling’, acting)
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What’s your favourite? Write in order.
red, yellow, green, blue
1._______ 2.________ 3._______ 4._________
singing, dancing, reading, watching TV
1._______ 2.________ 3._______ 4._________
mangoes, oranges, apples, bananas
1._______ 2.________ 3._______ 4._________
Introducing self
Rewriting texts
Interviews
Surveys
Telling (true) stories
Opinion essays
Filling in forms
Questionnaires
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Match
We’ve just got married!
I’ve failed my driving test.
I’ve broken up with my boyfriend!
I’ve lost ten kilos!
We’ve won the lottery!
Well done!
Never mind, you’ll get over it!
Wonderful news!
What a shame!
Congratulations!
What’s that?It’s a book!
Come here!Go to the door!Sit down!
What’s that?It’s a frog!What? It’s a frog?Yes, it’s a frog!Amazing!
Come here at once!Who, me?Yes, you!What’s the matter?Be quiet!
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8. Open-endedness
Two or more possible right answers
Brainstorming:‘sun-ray’ (e.g. words with ‘l’ in them;
associations)how many things can you think of that …what can you do with a …what does a (cat, baby, teacher …) do?
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To recap:
Repetition (review) of newly-learnt language is essential for learning.
This repetition needs to be systematic and deliberate
As repetition-based exercises proceed there should be a gradual withdrawal of ‘scaffolding’ (teacher support) …
… and progression from ‘noticing’ to ‘recognition’ to ‘production’.
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In order for students to continue to attend, enjoy and progress, it is essential to make sure that repetition activities are designed to arouse and maintain interest.
Some practical principles for making repetitive exercises interesting are: