Transcript Slide 1

Connecting second language
acquisition theory and
Accelerated Literacy pedagogy
Rhonda Oliver
&
Kate Mullin
• The National Accelerated Literacy Program
(NALP) operates in an ESL or ESD medium
across Australia (Gray and Cowey)
• It targets Indigenous students with low levels of
English language literacy
• It operates successfully across a spectrum of
settings
ie Data collected from participating schools show that it can
significantly raise the literacy levels of even the lowest performing
student
Connection to SLA
• The Accelerated Literacy (AL) program
makes no explicit reference to Second
Language Acquisition (SLA) theories
• This is despite the fact it is primarily used
to teach students who speak either a
traditional Aboriginal language as their first
language, or a variety of English that is not
Standard Australian English (SAE)
SLA theories
• Theories are used to explain the learning of
second language or dialect
• SLA draws inspiration from a number of
academic disciplines including psychology,
linguistics and language education
• Like other social sciences the theories of SLA
can be represented along the ‘nature versus
nurture’ continuum
SLA theoretical perspectives
• Behaviourism
• Nativism
• Interactionism
- cognitive
- social
Implications for pedagogy
• Nativists – provision of abundant
comprehensible input (e.g., early
immersion programs, literacy ‘language
bath’, communicative approach)
• Interactionists – input + interaction +
opportunities for comprehensible output +
focus on form (with attention/noticing) +
feedback
Mapping
• So what is the connection between AL and
SLA?
• The following represents a mapping of
SLA theories onto the different stages of
the AL teaching sequence
Transformations
Spelling
Literate orientation
Writing
Literate Orientation:
a foundation for successful reading
Low Order
Shows the possibilities for
enjoyment of this text.
Establishes literate mindsets in
students as teachers ‘loan their
consciousness’ about what it
means.
High Order
High Order
Examination of the actual
language choices that create
the meaning in a text.
Low Order
Mapping low order literate
orientation onto SLA theory
• In this stage students are given a ‘literate reading’ of the text (ie
input from the teacher)
• The teacher directs the attention of the students to a particular way
of ‘thinking, valuing, talking’ (Gee, 1996) the text (ie further
meaningful input)
• This may involve teachers briefly introducing structural features and
discussing such things as characters’ motivations, the author’s
ideology and, highlighting meanings embedded in pictures (ie
continuing the development of comprehensible input, but with a
focus on the form that students notice)
• Thus this stage is all about getting meaning from the written text as
comprehension is seen as critical to both student engagement and
participation
Schmidt, Van Lier and others insist that to
learn something new (in the context of
language learning) one first must notice it:
Paying attention is focusing one’s
consciousness, or pointing one’s perceptual
powers in the right direction, and making
mental energy available for processing.
Perceiving involves linking something that is
perceived on the outside world to structures
that exist in the mind. (van Lier,1996, p. 11)
Mapping high order literate
orientation onto SLA theory
• In this stage students are directed to pay attention to significant
words or groups of words as identified by the teacher
• Once students locate and identify these words, the teacher can then
provide further input
• In this stage there is greater opportunities for interaction than the
previous stage through the use of a particular questioning cycle preformulation (ie the teacher cues the students to ‘notice’ lexical
form with a series of directional, wh- or paraphrase cues)
• In this stage students are also required to produce comprehensible
output (Swain 1995, 2000) – to which the teacher interactively
responds and this is used to build a ‘common knowledge’ in the
classroom
• It is important to note that through this interaction elaborated (rather
than reduced) input is provided
…this result is especially important because
most current methods of simplifying input,
especially readability formulae and structural
grading applies to written ESL materials,
concentrating on facilitating comprehension
by shortening sentences and removing
embedded clauses. This procedure, while
intuitively appealing…, may actually impede
rather than aid understanding.
(Pica, Young, and Doughty,1987, p. 750)
Learner ‘internal’ factors
• Although students are not asked to predict, and generally do
not have questions directed at them unless the teacher is sure
they know the answer (as often occurs in mainstream reading
lessons) they are encouraged to interact when teachers
ponder and think aloud as they are apt to do
• Scaffolding of the learners’ language production means that
learners are supported interactively with their production (ie
output) and as such are able to avoid explicit correction from
teachers which, in turn, reduces learner stress
•
Like Krashen before them, Gray and Cowey believe that
learning will only happen when student stress levels are low
(ie when the ‘affective filter’ is low - Krashen, 1983) and when
motivation is high
The final stages
• As the students progress through the final
stages of AL (spelling and writing) there are
greater opportunities not only for focus of
form (and directed noticing), but .enhanced
opportunities for comprehensible output and
interaction
• The building of classroom common equates
to collective and collaborative forces in which
language is used as a tool to mediate and
enhance learning
Conclusion
• There is not a convenient one-to-one
relationship, the AL teaching sequence, in
different stages, embraces a number of
SLA theoretical positions …
Mapping AL onto SLA:
Movement along the continuum
• Nativism → cognitive interactionism → social interactionism
• AL begins with a focus on meaningful input
• As students develop, interaction becomes more important
e.g., When there is incomprehension teachers will negotiate
meaning with their students; there is a focus on form to
enhance focussed attention and noticing; and opportunities
for meaningful interaction
• There is recycling, or scaffolding in the middle and latter
stages, and in the final stages language is used to mediate
and enhance learning
Thank you
Rhonda Oliver
[email protected]
This talk is dedicated to the memory of Kate
Mullin