Reconceptualizing grammar and vocabulary as meaning-making resources

Questions to consider
What role do grammar and vocabulary play in language use for FL learners?
What are the best ways to learn grammar and vocabulary in a classroom FL context?
What are the challenges associated with teaching grammar and vocabulary to FL learners in a classroom context?

Overview

Key Concepts

• Explicit and implicit knowledge
• Available Designs
• Overt instruction

Grammar and vocabulary are, for many FL teachers, the most important parts of language learning and the foundation for the acquisition of all other elements of FL learning, including listening and reading comprehension, oral expression, pronunciation, and writing, as well as overall fluency. In fact, the importance of grammatical and lexical knowledge has been confirmed by SLA research (e.g., Broady, 2008; Spada, 2011; Zhang, 2012). It is also the case that implementing effective grammar and vocabulary instruction is a great challenge for FL teachers, who often grapple with moving beyond a discrete approach to lexico-grammatical teaching that focuses on the memorization of word lists and rules and accurate production of forms separate from skills such as reading and writing texts and meaningful oral communication. Indeed, such an approach to grammar and vocabulary instruction is not in line with the multiliteracies perspective, given the primacy of meaning design through integration of the various linguistic modalities. The way in which the multiliteracies perspective conceptualizes grammar and vocabulary and how instruction can build on this perspective will be the focus of this module.

What does know knowledge of FL grammar and vocabulary entail?

Although grammar and vocabulary have often been defined prescriptively in the past as involving what “one should and should not say in order to speak and write a language ‘correctly,’” (Katz & Blyth, 2007, p. 264), SLA research has brought to light less prescriptive notions that conceptualize of what it means to understand lexico-grammatical resources in more nuanced terms. Explicit knowledge involves “an understanding of language forms that students can consciously learn and then explain to others” whereas, in contrast, implicit knowledge is “unconscious, used in spontaneous conversation, and not easily explained” (Paesani, Allen, & Dupuy, 2016, p. 77). This contrast can be illustrated by reflecting on how you know your native language—you may have implicit knowledge that allows you to use a certain grammatical structure with ease but you may not have explicit knowledge of that structure that allows you to explain what it is and how it is used in abstract terms in relation to other grammatical structures. Two other important notions are those of productive and receptive knowledge, involving the capacity to actively use a given linguistic form orally or in writing versus the capacity to understand the structure and meaning of the linguistic form without being able to produce it. FL classroom instruction tends to focus more on explicit knowledge, as it is easier to teach and assess. However, as Paesani, Allen, and Dupuy (2016) pointed out, “if we consider grammar and vocabulary within the context of other language knowledge and processes, we move away from a purely prescriptive understanding of language forms and emphasize both implicit and explicit learning” (p. 77).

Grammar and vocabulary and the multiliteracies framework

In the module “Literacies and multiliteracies-oriented approaches in collegiate FL curriculum,” you learned that Available Designs are resources (linguistic, schematic, audio, gestural, spatial) used in Designing, or meaning making, in a FL. In fact, grammar and vocabulary fall within the category of linguistic Available Designs, and their function is to help FL learners engage in the process of discovering form-meaning connections through interpreting and creating texts. In other words, lexico-grammatical structures are not something to be learned as an end in itself but are tools for comprehending and creating oral and written discourse (Celce-Murcia, 1991). From a multiliteracies perspective, knowledge of grammar involves not just understanding the rules that define a particular structure but also the relationships between parts of sentences or discourse and how certain structures signal those relationships. Knowledge of vocabulary, much the same, entails more than definitions of discrete words—it includes understanding how words function in context and what culturally situated meanings are associated with certain words (Paesani, Allen, & Dupuy, 2016).

Designing classroom instruction of new FL lexico-grammatical structures does not, therefore, focus on learners’ mastery of forms but on their meaningful language use and discovery of form-meaning connections within FL texts. By making these form-meaning connections, learners incorporate new linguistic Available Designs into their working knowledge of the FL and use this knowledge to make meaning in new ways (Paesani, Allen, & Dupuy, 2016). Such form-meaning connections are made using the four curricular components, which you read about in the module entitled “Literacies and multiliteracies-oriented approaches in collegiate FL curriculum.” In particular, Overt Instruction activities guide students through text-based learning of forms, beginning with a textual model of correct usage of a particular structure or structures as a starting point for recognition of the new form and how certain forms relate to specific meanings before students are asked to use the new forms in culturally authentic contexts. The Core Readings section of this module will provide you with a number of concrete models for classroom instruction that reflect this multiliteracies-based approach to grammar and vocabulary instruction.

Finally, it is important to point out that from a multiliteracies perspective, grammar and vocabulary represent two of many Available Designs that are used by learners to create, interpret, and transform meaning in a FL. As such, as Paesani, Allen, and Dupuy (2016) pointed out,

“Instruction of language forms should be balanced with other aspects of language use, such as phonetic systems, organizational patterns, or genre, and with other elements of instruction such as conventions or cultural knowledge … students need a working knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, but without contextualizing these resources within specific cultural contexts or textual genres, they are devoid of meaning.” (p. 103)


References

– Broady, E. (2008). Fragmentation and consolidation: Recent articles on vocabulary acquisition. Language Learning Journal, 36, 259-265.

– Celce-Murcia, M. (1991). Grammar pedagogy in second and foreign language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 25, 459-480.

– Katz, S., & Blyth, C. (2007). Teaching French grammar in context: Theory and practice. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

– Paesani, K., Allen, H. W., & Dupuy, B. (2016). A multiliteracies framework for collegiate foreign language teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

– Spada, N. (2011). Beyond form-focused instruction: Reflections on past, present and future research. Language Teaching, 44, 225-236.

– Zhang, D. (2012). Vocabulary and grammar knowledge in second language reading comprehension: A structural equation modeling study. Modern Language Journal, 96, 558-575.


This module includes:
• A short webinar led by an expert on the topic
• A few core readings and a set of learning activities to consider before, during, and after reading
• A series of pedagogical applications
• A reflective teaching prompt which engages teachers to think back on their experience preparing and implementing a literacy-based lesson
• A few additional resources, which will include: 2-4 annotated references, including one that focuses on advanced instruction; links


Webinar

Webinar

Webinar

Coming Soon


Core Readings and Reflective Questions

Core Readings and Reflective Questions

Core Readings and Reflective Questions


– Paesani, K., Allen, H., & Dupuy, B. (2015). A multiliteracies framework for collegiate foreign language learning. Pearson Education

Chapter Three in this book presents ideas for teaching and assessing FL grammar and vocabulary as meaning-making resources. The chapter demonstrates how the four curricular components, with an emphasis on Overt Instruction, facilitate the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary when instructional activities are grounded in FL texts.

Pre-reading reflection questions
What were your own experiences like in relation to grammar and vocabulary when you studied a FL? What techniques and strategies did you find effective and ineffective and why? How might multiliteracies-based instruction of FL grammar and vocabulary address some of the less effective strategies that you have experienced?

Post-reading reflection questions
How has Chapter Three expanded your views on teaching FL grammar and vocabulary? What remaining questions or concerns do you have about lexico-grammatical instruction from a multiliteracies perspective?


– Donato, R. (2015, in press). PACE: A story-based approach for dialogic inquiry about form and meaning. In J. L. Shrum and E. W. Glisan, Teacher’s Handbook, Contextualized Foreign Language Instruction (5th edition). Heinle Cengage Learning.

In Chapter Seven of this book, Donato presents a dialogic model for grammatical instruction, referred to as PACE, wherein learners are guided to reflect on meaningful language form in the context of a cultural story.

Pre-reading reflection questions
What experience do you have, as either a learner or teacher, with a deductive approach to FL grammar instruction, or one characterized by teacher explanations of rules followed by related exercises to practice the form? What is your opinion of this approach’s strengths and weaknesses? What experience do you have with an inductive approach to grammar instruction, or one that relies on sufficient comprehensible input from the teacher for learners to induce how the structures work? What is your opinion of this approach’s strengths and weaknesses?

Post-reading reflection questions
What features of multiliteracies instruction do you see reflected in the PACE model? Be specific and note as many literacy-related concepts as apply. What remaining questions do you have regarding the PACE model and its application in the FL classroom? What challenges would you foresee encountering if you decided to try using the PACE model in your own teaching?


– Kelton, K., Guilleteau, N., & Blyth, C. (2004). Français interactif.

This open-source first-year collegiate French online textbook includes a model of vocabulary instruction that emphasizes the importance of moving beyond the study of vocabulary in isolation to provide learners with opportunities to understand and use vocabulary at the sentence and discourse levels. Each set of activities moves learners from word-level understandings of vocabulary toward understanding and use of vocabulary in contextualized discourse.

Pre-reading reflection questions
What have your own experiences been as either a FL learner or teacher with vocabulary instruction? What are the most effective ways to present new lexical items to FL learners and why? What are the most effective ways to facilitate the incorporation of lexical items into learners active language use?

Post-reading reflection questions
After having explored the Français-Interactif website, reflect on the vocabulary-focused activities and resources found there. In what ways do you see these activities and resources as well aligned with the multiliteracies perspective, thinking back to literacy-based concepts that you have learned about here? Do you see any ways in which they are not well aligned with the multiliteracies perspective? What remaining questions do you have about the Français-Interactif approach to FL vocabulary instruction?


Pedagogical applications

Pedagogical applications

Pedagogical applications


Activity #1
In this activity, a simplified version of Learning Activity 3.4 in Chapter Three of Paesani, Allen, and Dupuy (2016), you will use Lesson 1 of the Grammar module of Foreign Language Teaching Methods, an online resource from the University of Texas at Austin (Salaberry, 2010).

Part I. Download the two grammar lessons in the box labeled “Analyze Two Grammar Lessons” and write up a description of each, deciding if each reflects (or not) the following concepts: deductive, inductive, isolated, meaning-focused, mechanical practice, meaningful practice, inauthentic language, authentic language, inauthentic cultural content, authentic cultural content.

Part II. After completing your brief descriptions, write up a short evaluation of each grammar lesson in light of their alignment with multiliteracies instruction. Are either well suited for teaching in a way that reflects this perspective? What changes would you need to make to each lesson, if any, to better reflect the multiliteracies perspective?


Activity #2
Plan an instructional sequence for teaching a new FL grammatical concept based on either the template found on p. 94 of Chapter Three of Paesani, Allen, and Dupuy (2016) or the PACE Model (Donato, 2015, in press) and what you have learned about multiliteracies-oriented FL grammatical instruction. Your instructional sequence may entail more than one lesson or class session. For the purposes of this activity, you need not plan out every detail of the instructional sequence, but you should create in writing:

  1. Objectives for the instructional sequence (See the module “Establishing Instructional Goals and Objectives for Teaching and Assessment” for help with writing lesson-level instructional objectives), including a clearly defined grammatical objective
  2. Choice of a written FL text (provide a title, author, and genre) and a statement of rationale for why you believe this document is well suited for teaching this grammatical concept
  3. A summary of what each stage of the chosen model might entail in terms of the focus of the learning activity, participation structure, materials, etc.
  4. What role that formative and/or summative assessment might play in this instructional sequence
  5. Challenges or questions that you are encountering as you begin to plan this instructional sequence, particularly in light of what you have learned about FL grammatical instruction from a multiliteracies perspective.

Activity #3
In this activity, you will create an Action Plan for teaching FL vocabulary in the next (not the current) chapter of the textbook used for your course. The goal of this activity is to take a broad view of what you need to accomplish in terms of lexical content and student learning in the upcoming chapter and create a sort of “roadmap” for presenting FL vocabulary in context, facilitating form-meaning connections, and guiding your students to use new lexical items in culturally authentic ways. Include the following in your written Action Plan:

  1. What lessons within the chapter will be heavily vocabulary-focused, meaning vocabulary will be the primary component of those lessons? Identify them by the category of vocabulary to be presented and examples of specific lexical items.
  2. What textual resources could you use as means of contextualizing each set of new FL vocabulary items? Brainstorm 1-2 for each lesson listed.
  3. What types of preparatory activities might learners complete outside class to establish the basic meaning of vocabulary words associated with each lesson?
  4. What strategies might you use in class to facilitate learner comprehension of vocabulary within texts and form-meaning connections?
  5. What types of activities might you use in class to facilitate production activities at the discourse level, i.e., going beyond simply using new vocabulary words in isolation?
  6. What challenges do you foresee in relation to teaching vocabulary in this chapter based on the principles of multiliteracies instruction? What remaining questions do you have?

Reflective Teaching Journal Prompt

Reflective Teaching Journal Prompt

Reflective Teaching Journal Prompt


To write/post your reflection, you may want to create a personal blog or use the journal feature that comes standard with many Classroom Management System (CMS) like Blackboard, D2L, or Moodle.

After learning about multiliteracies-based FL lexico-grammatical instruction and completing some of the activities in the Pedagogical Applications section of this module, what do you see as the benefits and drawbacks of text-based grammar and vocabulary teaching for both teachers and students? Which models that you read about in this module do you see as best suited for your current instructional context and your own priorities as a teacher and why?


Resources

Resources

Resources


While some of the readings and links provided here do not focus on FL teaching and learning specifically, they nonetheless offer resources and ideas that can be useful for FL teachers interested in learning more about the concepts and pedagogical applications introduced in this module. Frequent updates will be made to this area as new articles, books and online resources become available.

Further readings
– Nassaji, H., & Fotos, S. (2011). Teaching grammar in second language classrooms: Integrating form-focused instruction in communicative context. New York: Routledge.

The chapters of this book demonstrate how form-focused instruction can be incorporated into a meaningful communicative context. Concrete examples of teaching activities are included.


– Paesani, K. (2005). Literary texts and grammar instruction: Revisiting the inductive presentation. Foreign Language Annals, 38, 15-23.

This article explores strategies for weaving together the teaching of FL grammar and reading by using literary texts as comprehensible, meaning-bearing input. A sample instructional sequence is included based on a 20th century French poem by Prévert.


Lesson Planning

Lesson Template

The five-stage lesson plan template proposed here will allow you to organize and implement effective multiliteracies-based activities and assessments that facilitate lexico-grammatical development in the FL:

  1. Introducing ideas for accessing background knowledge and preparing learners to interact with lexico-grammatical content of texts;
  2. Understanding meaning for gaining global and detailed understanding of the text itself;
  3. Hypothesizing for noticing linguistic patterns, constructing rules, and seeing connections between part of language and the larger text;
  4. Establishing relationships for exploring choices related to linguistic forms and understanding their effect on textual meaning; and
  5. Applying knowledge for using new knowledge of linguistic forms in creative production activities.
Sample lessons

Coming soon