Chapter 1 – Teacher’s Handbook, Contextualized Language Instruction
1. Analyze the script presented above for characteristics of a real conversational model using the criteria suggested by hall (1995): opening utterance, ellipsis, use of related lexical items, and expressive reactions.
2. Now analyze the script to find uses of L1 and L2. Who uses each language and for what purpose(s)?
3. What larger conversational topic might the teacher develop on the basis of the authentic gloria Estefan music? Look at the full description of the TESOL P-12 Professional Teaching Standards suggested for this Case Study.
For an ESL or an EFL class, how might such a discussion of authentic music from any of the cultures represented in the class fit into a content-based lesson?
4. What types of language-promoting assistance, as presented in Appendix 1.2 on the Teacher’s Handbook website, might the teacher have used to encourage students to speak and engage in conversation?
5. Teachers often require students to respond to questions in complete sentences so they can practice various grammatical points and new vocabulary. As we saw in the previous script, this teacher’s goal caused problems in the conversational exchange.
Students need to be able to talk in sentence form, yet a question-answer format does not always lend itself to responses in complete sentences without making the conversation seem unnatural.
What type of activity might you design that would more naturally elicit a discussion in which students express their likes and dislikes (sentences) in the language you teach?
Techno Focus: Live oral practice with native speakers using WeSpeke and LiveMocha. Throughout this chapter, you have learned about the importance of engaging learners in meaningful interactions with native speakers of the TL outside of the classroom.
Technological advances have made possible the creation of online programs through which learners can be paired up with native speakers for purposes of live oral interaction and practice.
Two popular programs available at this time are: LiveMocha (http://livemocha.com/) and WeSpeke (http://en-us.wespeke.com/).
Select one of these programs (or a different one if you are familiar with another option or if these are no longer available), access the program’s website, and explore the information you find there about the program as you answer the following questions:
1. What specific types of interactive opportunities does the program offer learners?
2. how would the opportunities afforded by the program support the SLA theoretical base presented in this chapter? Describe in detail the connections to three theoretical frameworks.
3. how do you think this type of experience might impact learner motivation? Cite several examples from the research on motivation described in this chapter to support your answer.
