Teachers' Reactions to Foreign Language Learner Output

Abstract

OF THE DISSERTATION:<br/><br/>"Teachers' Reactions to Foreign Language Learner Output"<br/><br/>BY: Leticia Vicente-Rasoamalala<br/><br/>TEXT:<br/><br/>A series of theoretical and practical educational studies have suggested that learners need teacher assistance to progress in their learning. Therefore, a considerable amount of language classroom research has been concerned with the study of teacher activities, especially those focusing on their instructional methods.<br/><br/>In an attempt to contribute to this research area, the general objective of the dissertation is to develop a better understanding of one recurrent practice in formal FL instruction: how teachers react to FL learner output in classroom oral interactions. To this end, the formal features and phenomena involved in Teacher Reaction Episodes (TREs) are addressed. 'Teacher reactions' refer to any instructional strategies that handle language learner oral productions. In traditional SLA research, this teacher practice has been conceptually examined under the rubric of 'corrective feedback'.<br/><br/>This thesis covers multidisciplinary theoretical and methodological approaches related to TREs. Part I (Chapters 1-4) puts in perspective the general conceptual framework that underpins the empirical second part of the thesis. A literature review encompasses: i) general and specific components comprising TREs), ii) the features surrounding these instructional moves, iii) their potential benefits for FL learner acquisition and, iv) the methodological frameworks previously used to examine teacher reactions.<br/><br/>We have identified the key questions that SLA research has addressed in relation to "Teacher Reactions to Foreign Language Learner Output" by covering different methods of enquiry such as:<br/><br/>1) SLA theories<br/>2) Socioculturalism<br/>3) FL classroom social interaction studies<br/>4) Teacher reaction features in the light of SLA works<br/><br/>Part II (Chapters 5-8) describes microanalysis case studies carried out for observing and identifying the turns of TREs. Video data collected from two Senegalese international bilingual schools illustrate the differential effects of teacher reactions on FL learner uptake. Through corpus-based evidence from three immersion settings, an attempt is made to discover conditions and means for felicitous TREs in acquisitional terms. The term "immersion" refers to the teaching approach in which students receive academic instruction of core content subjects in a language that is not usually their mother tongue (Wesche, 2001).<br/><br/>Specifically, 3 language teachers were observed with their students in their FL immersion classrooms in three main differentiated learning settings, which involve different levels and languages: i. Advanced English immersion (Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) at the primary school (Setting 1); ii. Intermediate English immersion (Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) at the primary school (Setting 2); iii. Spanish as L3 immersion (Years 9 and 10) at the secondary school (Setting 3) In order to conduct further research in the area of teacher feedback (Lyster & Mori, 2006; Lyster & Ranta, 1997), this study has focused on teacher reactions to foreign language learner output in such peculiar formal instruction (FI) learning contexts. A total of 14 lessons were observed to this end in each classroom year level.<br/><br/>This part of the dissertation has been theoretically and methodologically framed into one hybrid approach covering diverse complementary perspectives. For instance, the SLA social interactionist views, socioculturalism, Conversation Analysis and ethnomethodology. In methodological terms, this study aimed at:<br/><br/>1) describing the way(-s) in which learners and teachers verbally and non-verbally engage didactic negotiations during TREs;<br/><br/>2) identifying how TREs might be salient for language acquisition in engaging learner noticing of their deviant target language forms; <br/><br/>3) investigating if learners engage after teacher interventions, pay attention to their errors, and if they might fruitfully self-repair; <br/><br/>4) surveying teacher and learner beliefs on TREs.<br/><br/>The results seem to reflect certain trends in relation to the error types, the kinds of teacher reactions and the immersion settings, classroom years and levels vis-à-vis learner uptake. Globally, learners receiving metalinguistic feedback appear to generate more uptake than those receiving recasts.

<I>EXTRACTO DE LA TESIS:<br/><br/>TÍTULO: Reacciones docentes ante el output de los aprendices de lenguas extranjeras<br/><br/>TEXTO: <br/><br/>Una serie de estudios teóricos y prácticos que versan sobre aspectos educativos han postulado que el soporte del profesor es necesario para la progresión del aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Por esta razón, un número considerable de trabajos ha indagado sobre las actividades docentes haciendo especial hincapié en los métodos didácticos aplicados con el fin de examinarlas.<br/><br/>En un intento de contribuir en esta área de investigación, el objetivo general de esta tesis es profundizar en una práctica docente recurrente en la enseñanza de idiomas. Se trata de las reacciones de los profesores ante el output de los aprendices que tienen lugar durante las interacciones orales en las aulas de lenguas extranjeras. En particular, se pretende examinar los rasgos formales de los "episodios de reacciones docentes" (ERD) y los fenómenos circundantes que se manifiestan en ellos. Las "reacciones docentes" se refieren a la totalidad de estrategias didácticas verbales y no verbales que se despliegan ante las producciones orales de los aprendices de idiomas. Tradicionalmente, el campo de la adquisición de lenguas segundas examina de manera conceptual esta práctica docente como "feedback correctivo".<br/><br/>Este trabajo contextualiza los estudios teóricos y metodológicos multidisciplinarios afines con los ERD abarcando: i) los componentes generales y específicos de los episodios de reacciones docentes, ii) las condiciones que rodean estas acciones, iii) los beneficios potenciales para el aprendiz en relación con el "feedback" o la retroalimentación docente en diferentes contextos de adquisición de lenguas y iv) los marcos metodológicos previamente aplicados para examinar las reacciones del profesor o del instructor de lenguas.<br/><br/>Los datos recogidos mediante una videocámara en dos escuelas bilingües internacionales privadas de Senegal ilustran los efectos diferenciados de las reacciones docentes sobre las producciones subsiguientes ("uptake") de los aprendices. A través de un corpus basado en datos empíricos extraídos de tres contextos de inmersión, se ha intentado hallar las condiciones y los recursos que podrían posibilitar que las reacciones docentes ante el output de los aprendices de idiomas sean más facilitadoras en términos de adquisición. En el presente estudio, la provisión de feedback metalingüístico pareció generar más "uptake" por parte de los aprendices que en el caso de las reformulaciones. </I>