Transcript Structured Output: A Focus on Form in Language Production

Structured Output:
A Focus on Form
in Language Production
(Chapter 8)
Jennifer Robison
Why Output?
Input is necessary but not sufficient
 Processes involved in production: access,
monitoring, production strategies
 Access: the ability to express a particular
meaning via a particular form or structure
 Does not follow automatically from
acquisition into a developing system
 Linked to fluency and accuracy

Why Output?
Access comes not only from input, but
also from opportunities to create output
 Focus on output should involve learners
producing language that communicates
something (is meaningful) to someone

Pause to consider…

What factors influence the ability to
access?
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Strength of binding
Phonological (sound) shape?
Relationship to other forms and structures?
Number of functions attached to one form or
number of forms attached to one function
Practice Makes Perfect?
Traditional approaches
Drills – purpose: good habits
mechanical
meaningful
communicative
◦ SLA Reasearch – bypasses deeper levels of
processing
◦ Learners concentrate on the form, abandon
meaning
Structured Output:
Form with meaning
Structured Output:
Form with Meaning
Two major characteristics:
 Involve exchange of unknown information
 Require learners to access a particular
form or structure to express meaning
Guidelines for Developing
Structured Output
Present one thing at a time
 Keep meaning in focus
 Move from sentence to connected
discourse
 Use both written and oral output
 Others must respond to the content of
the output
 The learner must have some knowledge
of the form or structure

Evaluating
Form-focused Activities
What are you doing this weekend?
Make a list of three things you are going to
do or places you are going this weekend.
 In groups of three, ask each other:
“What are you going to do this weekend?”
 Write at least 3 sentences that summarize
what the members of your group are going
to do this weekend. For example:
Javier is going to play basketball. Veronica
and Malik are going to a movie. We’re all
going to study.

Nobody’s coming!
You and your friend are giving a party, and you
invited lots of people, but nobody can come.
You talked to Marta, Travis, and Marie.Your
friend asks why each person can’t come: Why
can’t Marta come? Tell her why no one is
coming. Make sentences like: Marta can’t come
because she has to work.
Marta
work
Travis
write a paper
Marie
clean the bathroom
Did you go to the store?
1.
Brainstorm with the class 4
stores/places to go in your
community and three things one
does at each place. Have a student
make a chart on the board. For
example:
The post
office
The
grocery
store
The gas
station
The movie
theater
 Buy stamps  Buy milk  Buy milk  Buy
popcorn
 Mail a
package
 Buy
stamps
 Get gas
 Get mail
 Buy
 Go
medicine
through
the car
wash
 See a
movie
 Play video
games
2.
Students form pairs. Give each student a
card with the name of one of the places
written on it. Tell students that their job
is to figure out where their classmate
went last night. They take turns asking
each other one question: “Did you buy
stamps?,” Did you see a movie?”, etc. The
first pair to write down each student’s
name and where they went runs to the
front of the class to ring the bell!
Safe Driving
Write down 5 things you should or shouldn’t
do to be a safe driver. For example:
oYou should fasten your seat belt.
oYou shouldn’t put on makeup in the car.
 Compare your list to your partner’s. Do you
agree or disagree? Choose the three most
important ones. Why are they the most
important?
 Share your answers with the class. As a class
choose three to put on a poster about safe
driving.

A few more questions…
How do we ensure that the learner has
“some knowledge of the form or
structure?”
 How do structured input and structured
output occur at the same time? Why do
both?
 What’s the difference between
information based communicative tasks
and structured output?
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