Running head: COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT 1
Comprehensible Input: Which activities do students find most helpful?
Jillane Baros
Northwest Nazarene University
COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT 2
Abstract
As foreign language instruction methodologies transition from grammar-based to
Comprehensible Input-based strategies, teachers often struggle to incorporate these methods
into their classrooms. This study asked which strategies students found most helpful in
learning Spanish and investigated the use of Comprehensible Input activities in one Spanish
classroom. Students completed surveys evaluating how much previous week’s activities
helped them learn Spanish and what percentage of class time was spent in Spanish. The
results indicated that all of the activities were somewhat helpful, although students rated
focused review activities and music to be most helpful and the helpfulness of activities varied
between classes. The researcher found that the results were most influenced by classroom
management, however, and suggests that management strategies compatible with
Comprehensible Input would increase the effectiveness of instruction. She suggests further
research into these strategies as well as conducting similar studies in other classrooms would
shed further light on which strategies tend to be most helpful overall.
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Comprehensible Input: Which activities do students find most helpful?
The methodologies and techniques used to teach foreign language are currently
undergoing a major pedagogical shift. “Traditional” foreign language instruction emphasizes
direct grammar instruction, earning these teachers the moniker “grammarians”. Grammar
rules and vocabulary lists are explicitly taught and drilled and students generally spend little
time engaging in organic and meaningful communication. In an effort to increase
communication skills, some teachers attempt to “immerse” their students in the foreign
language and require some or all of class to be conducted in the foreign language. These
teachers are often met with frustration as students fail to comprehend and communicate in the
language despite valiant efforts on both the teachers’ and students’ parts. However, current
research has led to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL)
recommendation of de-emphasizing grammar and, instead, teaching through comprehensible
input, a method of instruction in which students are exposed to the target language in such a
manner that students always understand the meaning. In their 2010 position statement,
ACTFL recommended that “language educators and their students use the target language as
exclusively as possible (90% plus) at all levels on instruction during instructional time and,
when feasible, beyond the classroom” (“Use of the target language,” 2010). Moreover,
ACTFL highlighted strategies for teachers to use when making communication
comprehensible and meaningful, including providing “comprehensible input that is directed
toward communicative goals” (“Use of the target language,” 2010). While grammar is
important, it must be taught within the context of Comprehensible Input (CI) and should not
be presented as a major focus of instruction (Crouse, 2012). More importantly, opportunities
for comprehensible input and communication should not be sacrificed for explicit
grammatical explanations and drills. In turn, student achievement should then be measured
based on proficiency levels rather than answering questions regarding isolated grammar
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(Krashen, 2004). This shift represents a major change in the focus of foreign language
classroom instruction and assessment. Consequently, it is critical for teachers to understand
what qualifies as CI and how to maximize its use in the classroom so that their students may
effectively learn the target language.
The primary research question in this study is to identify which CI-based activities
students perceive to be most helpful in learning Spanish. This is a multi-faceted problem that
must be addressed by first determining what quality CI is and how it differs from traditional
foreign language instruction, including how and when to teach contextualized grammar.
Then, the types of activities that provide the most effective CI must be identified and
implemented. These activities are complimented by classroom management techniques that
are effective in keeping both students and the teacher using CI in the target language, thus
avoiding the temptation to use English unnecessarily (Crouse, 2004). This research is critical
as both new and veteran foreign language teachers struggle to meet the standards presented
by ACTFL in the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (“Standards
for foreign language learning,” n.d.).
Background of the Problem
With this new shift in pedagogy, veteran and new foreign language teachers are often
unfamiliar with the philosophies, methodologies, and strategies proposed by ACTFL.
Teachers who have been trained in traditional methods must change the focus of their
instruction from grammar to actual use of the language in a manner that promotes CI.
Teachers who have utilized an immersion approach to language instruction must adapt their
language and methods to ensure that the input is, indeed, comprehensible. However, ACTFL
asserts that the 90% benchmark should be used as both a lens through which teachers can
become familiar with what is considered best practice as well as a yardstick against which to
measure their instruction (Crouse, 2012). Thus, there is an urgent need for teachers must
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become familiar with and proficient in the CI methods that will best serve them in achieving
this goal.
Statement of the Problem
For a variety of reasons, teachers familiar the ACTFL standards often struggle and
become frustrated as they fall short of the ACTFLS standards. First, college methodology
courses generally fail to reflect the shift in pedagogy advocated by ACTFL and perpetuate the
use of the outdated traditional methods. Thus, both new and veteran teachers are
inadequately prepared to meet the ACTFL standards and newer proficiency-based state
standards set forth by states responding to updated ACTFL guidelines. Moreover, teachers
are generally unaware of the research-based techniques and resources available to them,
namely those emphasizing comprehensible input, or struggle to make their current curriculum
and instructional strategies work with these standards and methodologies. As a result,
teachers often misunderstand which instructional techniques provide true comprehensible
input and how to incorporate them into the classroom. Finally, teachers who have eagerly
researched and adopted CI methodologies are oftentimes met with obstacles in the form of
support from their department or administration, outdated district and state standards, and
mandated tests and assessments that reflect a focus on grammar rather than proficiency.
However, these last obstacles are already beginning to disappear as state standards, widely
recognized assessments such as the Advanced Placement exam, and individual schools and
districts shift their focus to proficiency over grammatical perfection (“AP Spanish literature,”
2012).
Research Questions
This study explored CI-based strategies and methods that students found most helpful
in foreign language classrooms. It identified which techniques were compatible with
comprehensible input and evaluated which of them were most effective in the classroom
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based on student and teacher feedback and reflection. This included implementing activities
that exposed students to the target language in manner that was meaningful and
comprehensible to students. In addition, grammar instruction was provided in a
contextualized manner when appropriate and classroom management techniques that
promoted CI and the use of the target language were utilized. Both the effectiveness of
methods used in promoting CI and the amount of time spent in the target language were
examined.
Definition of Terms
In this study, target language (L2) is used to refer to the language in which the
students are being instructed, while native language (L1) is used to refer to the common
language used fluently by students regardless of the students’ actual first language. In the
case of this study, the target language was Spanish while the native language was English.
Input is defined as student comprehension of the language and generally refers to listening
and reading (though in some languages this definition is expanded, such as “reading” the
signs in American Sign Language). Output is defined as student production of the language,
generally referring to speaking and writing (though expanded to include production in other
languages, such as “signing” in ASL). Comprehensible Input (CI) refers to a methodology of
language instruction that emphasizes the use of the L2 in such a way that students
comprehend the message through input. This is differentiated from “immersion” in that
straight immersion does not take into account the ability of the student to comprehend the
message. Grammarian teaching methods are defined as those teaching methods that place an
emphasis on the explicit instruction and drilling of grammar rules and application.
Traditional language instruction refers to instructional techniques (particularly grammarian)
that have generally been used to teach foreign languages in the past and present but which are
being replaced by comprehensible-input methods.
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Review of Literature
Introduction
A continually growing body of research developed over the last thirty years
demonstrates that the most effective foreign language instruction is grounded in
“comprehensible input”. Comprehensible Input (CI) involves exposing students to the
language in a manner that makes the message comprehensible. This is in contrast to the
traditional “grammarian” methods of foreign language instruction, which focus on direct and
explicit instruction of grammatical rules. Reflecting this research, the American Council on
the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) issued a position statement indicating that 90%
of class time should be spent in the target language (L2), emphasizing the use of
comprehensible input (“Use of the target language,” 2012). In order to meet these standards,
both novice and veteran teachers alike must adjust their view of the foreign language
classrooms and adopt strategies that promote the use of L2 in a manner comprehensible to
students.
Comprehensible Input vs. Grammarian Methods
Much of the body of research exploring and promoting comprehensible input can be
attributed to Stephen Krashen. At the heart of his research is the distinction made between
language learning and language acquisition. Language learning is the formal process by
which students study grammatical rules and apply them consciously in communication. This
is the form of instruction that has been and is most widely used in foreign language
classrooms. However, for students to be successful in applying grammatical rules to their
language, three conditions must be met: they must understand how to apply the rule, they
must be focused on using it correctly, and they must have time for application. In organic,
everyday communication, these conditions are rarely met. Instead, rather than fluency,
students experience anxiety and interrupted communication as they attempt to modify their
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speech in order to achieve perfection. Many foreign language teachers have experienced
frustration with students who refuse to use the language to communicate for exactly these
reasons. Except for in the cases of a few exceptional students, learning a language almost
always fails to produce fluency (Krashen, 2004).
In contrast, Krashen theorizes that fluency is achieved through language acquisition,
which is the subconscious process by which students acquire a “feel” for what sounds right
through meaningful and comprehensible exposure to the language, similar to the process
undergone by young children learning a language for the first time. This results in production
of the language by what “sounds” and “feels” right rather than what is meticulously
calculated to be right through the application of grammar rules. Developing this “feel”
requires meaningful interaction in the language, which is the goal of CI methods. Rather than
explicitly teaching and drilling grammar rules, such as verb conjugation, students are exposed
to a limited amount of vocabulary and focus on the messages rather than the forms. The
primary goal of the instructor is to provide correct and comprehensible “input” (listening and
reading) through use of the language. The CI approach has been shown to be far superior to
the grammarian approach.
CI Curriculum and Instruction
If grammar rules are no longer a valid basis for the foreign language curriculum, then
what should take its place? Language is organic in nature and cannot be mastered by
memorizing facts or vocabulary. Instead, students must constantly manipulate the vocabulary
and language patterns to fit changing and unpredictable circumstances. Luckily, a command
of the entire language’s vocabulary and grammatical patterns is not necessary in order to be
proficient, or even fluent, in a language. Rather, students experience the most success by
focusing on the most common “structures” used in a language and manipulating them as
necessary. Luckily, languages generally utilize a limited number of these “high-frequency”
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structures for the majority of everyday communication and resources are available which
catalog which structures are used most frequently in a given language (Ray, 2012). These
structures are contextualized and meaningful phrases that can easily be changed to
communicate a variety of ideas. For example, while a grammarian class may teach the
Spanish verb “querer” as “to want” and ask students to conjugate the verb with different
subjects and in different tenses (quiero = “I want”, quieres = “you want”, etc.), a CI class
teaches students to say “quiere un perro” (“she or he wants a dog”). Once students have
mastered “quiere un perro”, they can substitute any noun of their choice in the place of
“perro” to communicate a new idea, such as “quiere un elefante” (“she or he wants an
elephant”). Students can even add a subject before the verb to clarify who wants the object,
for example “Susana quiere un elefante” (Susan wants an elephant). Students are instantly
able to take the language into their own hands and manipulate it to fit an infinite number of
possibilities. As students achieve a higher level of mastery, they begin to acquire
grammatical patterns that enable them to communicate with increasing proficiency and
complexity, but the simple structures are at the heart of the curriculum. By teaching the most
common structures used in a language, even students new to the language are quickly able to
comprehend and communicate their everyday ideas and needs on a basic level.
In order to promote mastery, students must receive input that is comprehensible and
highly repetitious. This can be achieved a number of ways, but the critical factors for CI to
occur are that the message is meaningful and contextualized and students are engaged.
Gesticulation is widely used strategy for augmenting student comprehension of meaning,
both by simulating the gestures that students would likely experience when communicating
with a native speaker and creating gestures with the class that visually communicates the
meaning of a new word. Other techniques that teachers utilize in order to be understood
include other visual cues, linguistic adjustments, and conversational adjustments (Agulló,
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n.d.). Songs are often utilized in CI classrooms due to their repetitious and engaging
qualities. Resources such as “SeñorWooly.com” provide songs that middle and high school
students (the ages that are generally found in a foreign language classroom) find interesting
and naturally want to sing along to. These songs also utilize high-frequency structures and
vocabulary that should be taught in Spanish CI classrooms. The students understand the
meaning of the words as they watch the music video and memorize the lyrics. Students can
further interact with the songs by completing packets, puzzles, and games. Learning the
contextualized vocabulary structures is effortless and engaging as students receive
comprehensible and repetitious input. Another example includes Teaching Proficiency
through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). This is a comprehensive method that emphasizes
personalized questioning, creating stories with the classes in the target language, and reading
as means of comprehensible input. Students receive repetition through a questioning
technique called “circling”, during which students answer questions that require increasingly
higher-order thinking processes and proficiency skills that repeat the target structure in a
variety of ways. It is common for teachers proficient in the TPRS method to achieve over
fifty repetitions of a particular structure during a single class period (Ray, 2012). There are
many other methods of CI that teachers can successfully use in their classrooms, and what
each teacher finds effective is dependent on their own personalities and the unique
compositions of their classes. However, the elements that must be constant in order for
effective CI to occur are comprehensibility and repetition made possible through meaningful
and contextualized messages as well as student engagement.
When providing input, care must be taken to provide input that is not only
comprehensible but also lends itself to language acquisition and increase proficiency.
Krashen’s “Input” hypothesis (later renamed the “Comprehnsion” hypothesis) theorizes that
CI must occur at the level of “i + 1”. This is to say that if a student’s current language
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proficiency level is “i”, then input must be provided that is one step beyond “i” in order for
the student to improve upon their current skills. This step above is called “i + 1” and it is
critical for teachers to ensure that they are providing instruction that ensures all students
receive input at the “i + 1” level (Krashen, 2004). Consequently, the teacher’s focus should
be on student mastery rather than coverage of the curriculum. New structures should not be
added until students have mastered the current structures, and a particular structure may be
repeated during multiple lessons while. Students demonstrate mastery by comprehending and
responding to input with confidence and accuracy and without hesitation. The teacher may
utilize questioning techniques, translation, or a variety of other strategies to determine student
mastery. Mastery turns slow language-processors, who must consciously stop to deduce the
meaning of the message before formulating a response, into fast language processors who
respond automatically and without effort.
The Role of Grammar in the CI Classroom
Generally speaking, the goal of foreign language instruction is to produce student
proficiency in all four modes of the language, namely listening, reading, speaking, and
writing. While grammar plays an important role in clarifying meaning, it comes secondary to
comprehensible communication. Communication does not need to be grammatically perfect
to be perfectly understandable. Therefore, the limited time spent within the foreign language
classroom should be dedicated to providing as much comprehensible input as possible and
grammar should not be taught at the expense of meaningful communication. Instead, ACTFL
recommends that grammar can, and should, be taught within a meaningful context. For
example, as students are reading a passage, the instructor might explain briefly (in thirty
seconds or less) why a certain verb form was used in order to clarify meaning. This is often
called “pop-up” grammar and does not take the focus away from the meaning of the entire
message. Occasionally, students will ask for more elaborate explanations, an indication that
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they are ready for and need to understand the grammatical rule to enhance their
comprehension of the message. Still, the explanations should be kept short and meet the
students’ needs rather than diverting attention to a full grammar lesson (Krashen, 2004). The
little time available in class should be utilized to provide as much CI as possible and promote
meaningful communication in the target language. These opportunities for CI should not be
sacrificed for explicit grammar instruction, especially if it is incomprehensible or necessitates
the use of the native language.
Likewise, grammar correction plays a minimal to non-existent role in the foreign
language classroom. Constant correction of grammar that is often incomprehensible to
students produces students who “monitor” their language (Krashen, 2004). Because
correcting grammar places the focus on form rather than meaning, these students plan, edit,
and correct their utterances, thereby interrupting their speech patterns and producing anxiety
over being correct rather than fluency that communicates a message. Instead of correcting
grammar, foreign language teachers should model correct usage. For example, the
grammatically correct phrase can be repeated back to the student or passage written by the
student can be re-written with correct grammar and provided for the student to read. In
higher-level classes where students are already proficient in the language and developing a
better sense of grammatical accuracy, the teacher may limit themselves to highlighting the
first five grammatical errors or only highlighting one type of grammatical error throughout
the paper for the student to edit.
Though direct grammar instruction is de-emphasized in the CI classroom, research
suggests that students taught using this method develop an ear for grammar and can perform
at the same level as their grammar-instructed peers, if not better, on grammar and
communicative assessments (Ponniah, 2008; Rodrigo, 2004). As students begin to acquire
the language through extensive and correct input, they begin to create their own “output”
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(speaking and writing). Through extensive and correct CI exposure, students subconsciously
acquire vocabulary and grammar skills that enhance their own production of the language.
Increasing CI results in increasing language proficiency, including the use of correct
grammar (Krashen, 2004). This further demonstrates the need to spend as much time as
possible using the L2 through CI so that students can acquire the language and attain
proficiency in communication.
The Current State of the Foreign Language Classroom
Traditional methods are still widely used in foreign language classrooms and are
perpetuated by outdated district and state standards. Professional development within schools
rarely address elective subjects such as foreign languages and these teachers are tasked with
finding their own means for improving their instruction. Due to this, many teachers are
unaware of the ACTFL recommendations or struggle to understand their implications, or are
restricted by the outdated standards they are required to meet, and therefore fail to adjust their
teaching methods. As veteran teachers fail to implement comprehensible methods according
to the ACTFL standards, novice teachers are, in turn, unaware of the standards and strive to
perfect the outdated methods of their mentors. Therefore, the majority of teachers are
currently ill-prepared to implement best-practice methods and strategies in order to achieve
the ACTFL standards. That is, of course, if they are aware of these standards and
recommendations in the first place, and they are allowed flexibility by state and district
standards as well as administrators to strive to meet them within their classrooms.
Summary
As the world of teaching foreign language teaching shifts from grammar-based
approaches to Comprehensible Input, teachers must be adequately prepared to integrate CI-
based strategies into their classrooms. These strategies stress comprehension and
communication above accuracy and grammar drills. In order to be successful, teachers must
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understand what CI truly is: a focus on student acquisition via listening and reading to
comprehend and then communicate in a comprehensible method. Then, they must
understand that the role of grammar in the CI-based classroom is to provide brief and
contextualized clarifications as to the structure of the language. Once teachers fully
understand CI-based instruction, they must then be equipped with the resources and training
necessary to integrate the methodology and strategies into their classroom.
Research Methods
Purpose
This study sought to determine student perception of how effective instructional
activities were using Comprehensible Input methods to learn Spanish. The researcher
established her goal to work toward the ACTFL recommendation of 90% of class time spent
in the target language using CI-based instruction as part of her instructional goals set during
administrative evaluations. Research was completed using existing data generated during the
regular teaching duties of the researcher, including the use of student surveys completed as
part of the students’ regular classroom activities. In addition, the researcher used her own
evaluations of lessons and classroom experiences to determine which activities resulted in
student learning. Through completion of this study, the instructional and classroom
management methods that were most successful and provided quality CI were identified.
Setting and Participants
This study examined data produced as part of the researcher’s normal classroom
responsibilities. The researcher was a second-year Spanish teacher at Somerset Academy
Sky Pointe, a charter school in Las Vegas, Nevada. The classes that participated in the study
included two Beginning Spanish courses totaling 39 students. Most of the students were in
seventh grade, although 3 were in sixth grade and 1 in eighth grade. Many of the students
had prior Spanish instruction as part of their elementary school “specials”, the weekly or bi-
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weekly classes, such as Music or Physical Education, taught in addition to the core
curriculum, as well as an introductory class in sixth grade. There was one Spanish I class
consisting of 19 students in eight, ninth, and tenth grade. Many of these students were new to
the school and thus had limited prior Spanish experience. There were two Spanish II Honors
classes totaling 45 students in primarily eighth grade with some students in ninth and tenth
grade. The majority of these students had a similar elementary Spanish instruction as the
Beginning Spanish students as well as secondary classes. Most took Spanish I from the
researcher during the prior year. Finally there were 5 Spanish III Honors students that were
in ninth and tenth grade and had taken Spanish for at least two years prior to this course.
These students were mixed with one of the Spanish II sections. There were 108 students
between the ages of twelve and sixteen, with 52 girls and 56 boys. Ethnicities of the students
were primarily White but with a significant number of minorities that included Hispanic,
Black or African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and American
Indian or Alaskan Native.
Research Design
Prior to this study, the researcher identified during an administrative evaluation that
she would like to focus on reaching the ACTFL 90% standard in her Spanish classes using
Comprehensible Input methods. Subsequently, she made an intentional effort during the
2014-2015 school year to increase the amount of Spanish used in her classes and monitor the
effectiveness of her instructional techniques. Students completed feedback surveys on which
they indicated which activities were helpful, which were not, and why as well as the
percentage of class they felt was spent in Spanish (Appendix A). In addition, the researcher
reviewed her regular teacher reflections on lesson and activities. Quantitative data included
student ratings of classroom activities on a Likert scale from 1 (“didn’t help me at all”) to 5
(“helped me a lot”) and the percentage of class students felt was spent in Spanish.
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Qualitative data included student explanations for their ratings as well as teacher reflections.
This information was used to inform and adjust instruction to meet student needs. The data
generated as a result of these efforts was analyzed for the purposes of this study.
The data generated from the regular classroom duties of the researcher was analyzed
to determine how helpful students found classroom activities for mastering the Spanish
language. Evaluated activities included Lecture (Direct teaching of terms), Discussion
(conversations in Spanish), Songs, Mnemonics, Reading Spanish as a class, Writing, Review
activities, Individual reading, Warm-up activities (writing responses to questions in Spanish),
Conducting class in Spanish, adding actions to vocabulary, worksheets, use of authentic
resources (reading and listening to native Spanish), and Verb Karate (direct teaching of
grammar). The researcher used descriptive statistics, including mean, median, and mode, to
evaluate the perceived helpfulness and amount of time spent in Spanish. Using qualitative
feedback, patterns were identified between teaching methods and the amount of Spanish used
as well as whether it was observed to be comprehensible and the researchers attempted to
explain why students found particular strategies to be helpful and others less helpful.
Strategies that maximized quality comprehensible input were identified. This data was used
to answer the primary research question as to which CI-based activities students found most
beneficial for learning Spanish.
Results of Analysis
Overall, students found almost all of the classroom activities to be at least somewhat
helpful with means, medians, and modes of 3 to 5 on the Likert scale. Students consistently
rated singing vocabulary-based songs as the most helpful activity, with average scores
ranging from 3.90 (SD = 1.22) to 4.32 (SD = 0.88). Unsurprisingly, focused review activities
immediately prior the test also received high ratings. These activities included writing
sentences using the target vocabulary (Test 1: M = 3.95, SD = 1.09; Test 2: M = 3.82, SD =
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0.95); activity stations that included Pictionary, vocabulary matching, charades, and similar
activities (M = 4.28, SD = 0.78; Test 2: M = 4.13, SD = 0.96); reviewing the related songs (M
= 4, SD = 1.12); completing a study guide (M = 4.20, SD = 0.83); in-class free study time (M
= 4.09, SD = 0.91), and a quiz game (M = 4.21, SD = 0.90). As a whole, none of the
activities received average ratings of less than 3. However, differences occurred when
broken down by class period. During Week 1, Fourth Period’s (Spanish II Honors) average
rating for singing songs was 2.95 (SD = 1.40). The average rating for songs increased for the
remainder of the weeks, although it was typically lower than other classes’ ratings as well as
the ratings for other activities. During week 5, this same class rated reading as a class as an
average of 2.64 (SD = 1.05), and then rated class discussion as an average of 2.90 (SD = 1.09)
during Week 6. Period 2 (Beginning Spanish) often rated Individual Reading lowest, with a
mode of 2 during Week 5 (M = 3, SD = 0.87), and an average of 2.91 during Week 7 (SD =
1.30).
The amount of Spanish used in class varied greatly depending on the types of
activities completed in class and teacher preparation for activities. According to student
feedback, the overall percentage of class spent in Spanish ranged from 61.85 (SD = 20.29) in
Week 1 to a peak of 86.68 (SD = 10.85) in Week 7 with a general increase in the usage of
Spanish over time. Students rated the amount of Spanish used during the latter half of the
study (Weeks 6-10) as an average of 78% or higher. When broken down by class period, the
same general trends appear although First and Fourth Periods (Spanish II and III Honors)
typically gave lower scores than the other class periods, with Fourth Period giving the lowest
average score for five out of the ten recorded weeks.
Teacher reflections primarily related to classroom management and preparation.
There was a distinct discrepancy between her own feelings about the percentage of class time
spent in Spanish and student ratings, with her ratings much lower than student feedback. She
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struggled with classroom management and feeling adequately prepared to integrate new
activities smoothly into the classroom routine, including giving instructions and maintaining
expectations for student performance. Student comments on surveys further supported this as
they frequently complained about student disruptions and behavior while at the same time
praising the teacher and activities. Moreover, classroom management issues resulted in less
Comprehensible Input as the researcher resorted to using English to communicate
expectations and lost instructional time for the activities. She felt that more experience,
better classroom management, and an overall cohesive curriculum would have improved
lesson plans and increased student success with the same activities used.
Findings
Implications for Practice
Overall, student feedback indicated that the strategies used where generally helpful
and students were provided a significant amount of Comprehensible Input through a number
of activities. As indicated by varying scores, students responded differently to different
activities, indicating that different learning styles were catered to in order to ensure success
for all students. Music seemed to be universally helpful as long as managed correctly and it
connected directly to current student mastery goals. However, certain activities could be
adapted to particular classes. For instance, Second Period (Beginning Spanish) struggled
with independent activities and benefitted from peer and teacher interaction and assistance.
However, the researcher also observed a high need for structure and students struggled with
whole-class discussions, so activities with concrete objectives and tasks worked best.
The researcher was surprised at the percentage of class time students felt was spent in
Spanish, often double what she would have rated herself. This could be interpreted to mean
that students felt they were often exposed to Spanish in some form, even if class was being
conducted and instructions or assistance were given in English. Moreover, this could be
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interpreted as the amount of effort students feel they expert in attempting to comprehend and
communicate in Spanish during the class time, in which case many students feel that they
spend the majority of, if not the entire, class period communicating in Spanish. In general,
students reported positive, although sometimes apprehensive, feelings about conducting class
in Spanish. They appreciated the exposure to Spanish and feeling that they were actually
utilizing the Spanish to complete activities and communicate with one another and the
instructor, putting the language to “real” use and learning as they did so.
A clear trend indicated that the classes where the instructor struggled with classroom
management the most, namely Fourth Period (Spanish II Honors) often reported the lowest
feedback scores. This could either be because classroom management affected learning or
that the learning expectations for students were above student ability. Researcher familiarity
with the students and comparisons with the First Period Spanish II Honors class lead her to
rule out student ability as a concern and instead assumed that classroom management was the
issue. Based on independent observations, student test scores, and her observations in
conjunction with the student feedback surveys, the researcher identified numerous classroom
management concerns that, in turn, affected the overall instruction effectiveness. Classroom
management improved throughout the study, which corresponds to a general increase in the
amount of Spanish used. Though not a part of this study, the researcher participated in
professional development after the data collection and felt that activities were more
successful and overall classroom environment and order improved along with the amount of
Comprehensible Input provided. Additional improvements, including incorporating routines
and teaching students key, repetitive words to communicate instructions and expectations
should allow the researcher to further increase the use of Spanish in the classroom.
Limitations of Study
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There are a number of limitations to this study with regard to the researcher’s
background. First and foremost, the researcher was a second-year teacher that was still
struggling with basic teaching fundamentals. For example, the researcher suffered from a
lack of classroom management strategies that would allow her to implement her lesson plans
more effectively as well as increase the amount of Spanish. Second, the school did not have
a set Spanish curriculum and the researcher was required to plan lessons and activities with
minimal guidance, especially as she was the only foreign language teacher during the course
of this study. Adopting a set curriculum and increasing collaboration with other foreign
language teachers would likely improve continuity and effectiveness of lessons and activities.
Third, as the majority of the data was reported on student feedback surveys, it is likely
influenced by factors related to student perception such as feelings about the subject, course,
teacher, classmates, and mood. Thus, the findings are primarily useful in the teacher’s own
classroom and to guide future instruction and approaches. However, other foreign language
instructors may benefit from the data when deciding which activities to implement in their
classrooms and how to best approach them.
Recommendations for Future Study
Based on teacher reflections supported by the data, the primary factor that influenced
activity effectiveness was classroom management strategies. By definition, Comprehensible
Input requires students to be actively engaged in communication with one another and the
teacher. Constant comprehension checks are of critical importance. Thus, the classroom
management approaches that ensure successful CI-based instruction differ from those in a
traditional classroom based on lecture and independent work and can become quite complex.
The research suggests further research into classroom management systems and strategies
that are compatible with a CI-based classroom, particularly with regard to whole-class
discussion and cooperative learning strategies. Finally, as the research was limited to the
COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT 21
researcher’s own classroom, similar studies in other foreign language classrooms may reveal
important trends in student perception of activities. Teacher experience, both in years of
teaching as well as experience using CI methods, is likely to play an influential role on the
effectiveness of implementing these strategies.
Conclusion
As foreign language classroom and curriculum transition from grammar-based
instruction to Comprehensible Input, teachers must adequately understand the underlying
philosophy and the practical applications of the methodology. Integrating CI strategies into
foreign language classrooms is a difficult task, even for teachers familiar with the theories
and research behind the strategies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of strategies used
in one CI-based classroom and concluded that students received high levels of beneficial CI,
although classroom management issues limited how effective the strategies could be.
Nonetheless, students reported that music was highly effective for language acquisition when
connected to the vocabulary structures students needed to master. They also found that
focused review activities were helpful. Other strategies varied by student and classroom and
highlighted the need to reach students of all learning styles in order to ensure success.
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Appendix A: Example of Student Feedback Survey
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Appendix B: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Certificate