Action Research Findings: Implications for Teaching ELLs

Applied Linguistics Winter ConferenceMarch 1, 2014

Daryl Gordon, Maki Nakayama, Huan RenAdelphi University

Our Context

Process of Action Research

•Defining Action Research •Process and Steps•Framing a Research Question•Scaffolding the Literature Review•Methods of Data Collection•Data Analysis Presentation•Framing Implications of Study

The Research Question

•Researchable •Suits classroom context•Within your locus of control•Connects to ESL, bilingual, or EFL

students•Authentic question which does not

prejudge result•Free of educational jargon•Open-ended

Presentation Agenda

•Maki Nakayama – Process Writing•Huan Ren – Oral Error Correction and

Language Anxiety•Q & A

▫Methodology of action research▫Defining the research question▫Implications of action research projects for

teacher candidates and ELLs.

What happens when ESL students in an intensive English program practice process writing?

Maki NakayamaMA TESOLAdelphi University

English Education in Japan Faces a great shiftElementary school students will start learning English from the 3rd grade in a few years.

3rd grade students will be familiar with English sounds & Speaking English

5th grade students will focus more on output skills including writing skills

English Education in JapanWriting Instruction in Japan Write words and expressions Cloze ActivityTranslate from Japanese to English

WRITING = MEMORIZING 　

Research QuestionWhat happens when ESL students in an intensive English program practice process writing?

How do their writing skills progress through the writing cycle?

How can the teachers help the students’ writing?

SettingAn intensive English language school in Long Island

12 Levels:3 beginners, 3 intermediates, 3 advanced, 3 college preparation classes

Observation: an intermediate writing class that uses process writing4-week sessionMonday – Thursday, 2 hours each

Case Study (a Chinese Student)Came to the US before the session started

Three writing assignments (process writing)

(1) Comparison – Yunnan and Shanghai Food

(2) Biography – Helen Keller (3) City - Bangkok Collected Student A’s work and analyzed

Method of Writing InstructionHand-writing for the first and second drafts, and typed the final draft

Held mini-lessons when the teacher noticed the common errors that students made

Provided a one-on-one conference where students received feedback both orally and in writing

How Useful Is Writing Feedback? Truscott (1996) All error correction is unnecessary,

ineffective, and even harmful.

Ferris (1999) Research studies reviewed by Truscott were

investigated at various settings as well as instructions.

Truscott (1999) Students who did not receive grammar

correction looked happier than those who received it.

Ferris (2004) More research studies required.

Error Correction/ FeedbackEvans, Hartshorn, and Strong-Krause (2011)

Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback “A constant, meaningful, manageable feedback from

the teacher, on a timely manner” (Pickett, 2000) Students who wrote 20 pages without prewriting

and drafting Students who wrote 10-minute paragraphs 3 or 4

times per week with feedback on each paragraph and required to revise the paper until they would be free from error (received dynamic written corrective feedback).

Tested by pre- and post- writing exams Students who received dynamic written

corrective feedback improved their writing accuracy more

Data from a Case Study of a Chinese Student

Challenges Verb tense

No past tense in the Chinese language; 了 (le)

(example 1)

(example 2)

Challenges Run-on Sentence Usage

“

“

Strengths High Cognitive Skills: Self-correctionVocabulary

Grammar

Efficacy of Process Writing Conclusion Strengthened

first draft

second draft

Efficacy of Process Writing Conclusion Strengthened final

draft

ConclusionStudents’ L1 transfers to their

targeted language’s writing negatively and positively.

Process writing benefits students’ writing in various ways through each phase.

Process writing enhances students’ revising and editing skills and this will help students to be an independent writers.

Completing all the phase of process writing will increase students’ academic awareness.

Long-term study is needed.

Implications for Teaching WritingUnderstand students’ first language tendencies & challenging aspects

Provide implicit & explicit feedback

For Japanese English teachers… ○ Shift to the actual writing instruction ○ Understand how the Japanese language transfers to the English language writing

○ More research studies is needed

How does an ESL teacher provide oral corrective feedback without creating language anxiety?

Huan RenMA TESOLAdelphi University

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Rationale Learners’ creative ability to construct language is important in L2 learning.

Learning processes of ELLs become more and more important

Impact of ineffective error correction may last long

Effective feedback benefits learning performance, cognitive and mental development

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Research Question

How does an ESL teacher in a high school setting provide corrective feedback on student oral errors without creating language anxiety about oral accuracy?

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SettingA public high school located in New York City

A pull-out ESL classroom from grade 10 to 12

26 English language learners and 1 ESL teacher

Intermediate English language proficiency

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Data Collection And Analysis

Interviews

Observation journals

Classroom or after class engagement

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Error AnalysisWhat is Error Analysis? A research-based or evidence-based approach for the studying of English language learners’ learning process. Focus more on internal perspectives (Saville-Troike, 2006).

Why Error Analysis? It focuses on learners’creative ability to construct language, has more developmental improvements than prior approaches, study from a learning perspective rather than a teaching perspective, and make learning process itself become more and more important (Saville-Troike, 2006).

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Oral CorrectionWhy oral correction comes with specific significance? Happens authentically in ESL classroom The significance of oral practicing raised

Language Anxiety More frequent in various socio-cultural L2 learning contexts (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986; MacIntyre, 1999; Young, 1991). Arise from many kinds of sources, according to the learners' individually unique frame of reference (Skehan, 1989;

Young, 1991). Has potentially harmful effects--often called "debilitating anxiety" (Brown 1994)

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Types of Oral Correction

Explicit CorrectionRecastElicitationClarificationRepetition

Metalinguistic Feedback

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FindingsLanguage anxiety happens more frequently i

n L2 speaking.

Effectiveness of oral correction varies under different conditions.

Negotiation of meaning is more effective in providing corrective feedback during communication.

Negotiation of meaning •Negotiation of meaning is a process that

speakers go through to reach a clear understanding of each other.

•Strategies for the negotiation of meaning: Asking for clarification, rephrasing, and confirming what you think you have understood

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Language anxiety happen more frequently in L2 speaking

Language anxiety usually can potentially hamper the optimal learning and teaching, thus pose a challenge to all language teachers (Ohata, 2005).

L anguage anxiety happens more frequently in L2 oral activities, especially among individuals who are emotionally more sensitive, more vulnerable, and more shy.

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Why languge anxiety happens

-Me: G, how do you think about the discussion we did before in class?

-G: Good. They talk interesting things.

-Me: I didn’t hear your voice that often. Why not join them?

-G: I...I sometimes know the answer, and know what to say. But I don’t know they are right or wrong. They, my classmates, will think I speak nothing or I am stupid. And I speak too slow.

-Me: If given more time, do you think you will speak more, and talk more with other classmates?

-G: I don’t know. Sometimes I am afraid make mistakes, and my classmates will laugh me.

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Effectiveness of oral correction varies under different conditions

T eacher feedback and student uptake does not yield conclusive results (Lyster & Ranta, 1997).

Different types of oral correction are used under different conditions, and may have different effects, the effectiveness of different types of oral correction also varies.

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Types of Corrective Feedback

Recast

Repetition Explicit Correction

Elicitation Metalinguis-t ic Clues

Clarificatio-n Request

Type of Error and Tim

es

Pronunciatio-n3

Pronunciatio-n3

Pronunciatio-n2

Pronunciati-on2

Pronunciatio-n0

Pronunciati-on1

Grammar6

Grammar4

Grammar3

Grammar2

Grammar2

Grammar0

Vocabulary1

Vocabulary1

Vocabulary1

Vocabulary1

Vocabulary1

Vocabulary1

Time in Total 10 8 6 5 3 2

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Little Uptake

Student: The man named Sam. He’s America...Teacher: He is? Ameri-can.Student: ...(skipped) and talk to everyone. Very smart. When people all the time...complin...Teacher: Complain.Student: ...(skipped) all the time...about carrying water, he start contest. He said how adul couldn’t solve problem...Teacher: Ok, He said how adult (rise tone) couldn’t slove problems (emphasize ‘-s’ sound).Student: He say he give twenty dollars to child under twelve who has best idea.Teacher: He...what?Student: (silent)...Teacher: It is ‘He said’ here.

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Negotiation of meaning is more effective

Negotiation of meaning proved to be more effective at leading to immediate repair.

Corrective feedback creates opportunities to negotiate the meaning by encouraging more active learner involvement in the error feedback process (Lyster & Ranta, 1997).

Language anxiety will be released to the most extent.

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Strategies for negotiation of meaning

Teacher: Good morning! How’s everything? Are there any interesting things happen to you?Student A: Yea! Yesterday is my birthday!Teacher: Oh wow! Yesterday was your birthday?! Happy birthday! How did you celebrate your birthday?Student A: I go to..., oh! I went to the park, with my parents. We have...had? (Looked at the teacher to make sure) ...had lunch there. Then I went shopping with my friend.Student B: Happy birthday! I saw you yesterday in the mall!Student A: Really? You should call me!Teacher: You two were not together yesterday?Student B: No. She was with another friend… (Stopped, looked at the teacher and asked) “Another?”

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Strategies for negotiation of meaning Teacher: Yes! Another!Student A: Yea, I was with C! We didn’t see each other for a long time!Teacher: Wow! How long? Student A: Almost two year!Teacher: Oh so you haven’t seen your friend for almost two years?Student A: Yeah! I haven’t seen her for long! ‘Haven’t’, right?Teacher: Yes! When we talk about something that happened before, and had already finished now, we use the past perfect aspect!Student A: Ah! I see!

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Why TalkMe: Do you want to be corrected by others when you are speaking?Student A: Sometimes. When my teacher corrects me in class, I will feel a little embarrassed.Student B: Me too. But if I am corrected when I am talking with my friends--like we do before class--I will feel more relax.Me: Why do you feel more relax at that time?Student A: Because nobody is listening to you so seriously, and we just talk!Student B: Yes! You can just say what you want to say, but you will feel pleasure when your friend and your teacher find your small mistake and help you to make it right!

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Why Talk Students C: I feel I want to speak more when we are talking together. Mistakes are not important because I can understand my friends and my teacher. If I don’t understand, I will ask them, and they will explain, and tell me more! Student B: Yeah! I can speak more clear when my friends and my teacher ask me to explain more. I also feel more confident when I speak more and more. Student C: Yes. You will not be...be... (ask her classmates in Spanish for the word ‘anxious’ in English)...? Student A: Anxious! Student C: See?! You will not be anxious when you ask something, or make mistake. Student B: That’s true. I can also practice more in this way. Student A: Practice make perfect! Oh! Makes! Practice makes perfect, right? Me: Yes! Practice makes perfect!

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ImplicationsStimulate students’language learning motivation and inspiration Engage in active negotiation actionsProvide more interactive oral correction practices Build up a less anxious classroom environment

Further Q uestionsHow can we improve our correcting strategies to lead to more successful uptake for students?

Questions?

•Methodology of action research

•Defining the research question

•Implications of action research projects for teacher candidates and ELLs.

Thank you!ありがとうございます。

谢谢 !