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Chapter 7Processing Instruction and Structured Input

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In this chapter we explore:

Processing instruction: grammar instruction that has structured input at its core.

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Rethinking grammar instruction: Structured input

We now have some idea of what learners are doing with input when they are asked to comprehend it.

We can begin to develop a new kind of grammar instruction-one that will guide and focus learners’ attention when they process input.

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Processing instruction

Processing instruction consists of three basic components:

– Learners are given information about a linguistic structure or form.

– Learners are informed about a particular processing strategy that may negatively affect their picking up of the form or structure during comprehension.

– Learners are pushed to process the form or structure during activities with structured input- input that is manipulated in particular ways to push learners to become dependent on form and structured to get meaning.

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Processing-oriented grammar instruction

InputIntakeDeveloping SystemOutput

Processing Mechanisms

Focused Practice

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An example of relating processing strategies to instruction: Verb morphology

We turn to activities that focus learners’ attention on verb endings; the goal is for learners to use these morphological endings to comprehend tense rather than solely rely on lexical items.

After learners receive a brief explanation of how past-tense endings work, they might first practice attaching the concept of past time to verb forms in an activity such as the following.

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Listening for time reference

Listen to each sentence. Indicate whether the action occurred last week or is part of a set of actions oriented toward the present.

1. John talked on the phone.2. Mary helped her mother.3. Robert studies for two hours.4. Sam watched TV.5. Lori visits her parents.

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Structuring the input

Note that only the very ending encodes tense in the input sentence.

Lexical terms and discourse that would indicate a time frame are not present, thereby encouraging learners to attend to the grammatical markers for tense.

The input has been structured.

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An example of relating processing strategies to instruction: Adjective agreement

This time we focus on the following strategy: P1d. Learners are more likely to process meaningful grammatical forms before nonmeaningful forms, irrespective of redundancy.

Some features of language do not have inherent semantic or communicative value.

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For example…

In the Romance languages, adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify, but this feature of grammar contributes little or nothing to the meaning of the utterance in most cases.

In the following Spanish-language activity, learners’ attention is directed toward proper adjective form by a task in which the adjective endings must be attended to.

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Who is it?

Listen to each sentence in which a person is described. Determine which person is being described and then indicate whether you agree or disagree.

David Letterman Madonna

1. Es dinámica. (She’s dynamic.)

2. Es comprensivo. (He’s understanding.)

3. Es reservada. (She’s reserved.)

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Remember that learners apply a first-noun strategy to determine subjects and objects of sentences (“who did what to whom”)

With the French causative, this leads to misinterpretation and nonacquisition.

In this activity, learners are pushed to process correctly; to be sure this happens, sentences with the noncausative faire (faire du ski, “to ski”) that involve two people are also included.

An example of relating processing strategies to instruction: The French causative

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Who is performing?

Listen to each sentence. Then answer the question.1. Who cleans the room?2. Who packs the bags?

[Teacher’s script] Read each sentence ONCE. After each sentence, ask for an answer.

1. Claude fait nettoyer la chambre à Richard. (Structured)

2. Marc fait les valises pour Jean.

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Results!

The pretests yielded no differences among the groups on the two tests prior to treatment.

In the posttesting phase, the processing group made significant gains on the interpretation test whereas the traditional and control groups did not.

On the production test, both the traditional and processing groups made significant gains but were not significantly different from each other.

The control group did not make significant gains.

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Surveys

In a survey, one or both of the following can happen:– The learner responds to a survey item– The learner elicits survey information from someone

else. Surveys can use a variety of the response

formats already discussed (binary options, supplying information, selecting from alternatives, and matching)

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Summary of chapter

Viewed in as much detail as possible the nature of processing information

Examined the nature on structured input activities and how they push learners toward more optimal processing of language data

Reviewed research on processing instruction that demonstrates in effectiveness

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Summary of Chapter 7

Viewed in as much detail as possible the nature of processing instruction

Examined in particular the nature of structured input activities and how they push learners toward more optimal processing of language data

Reviewed research on processing instruction that demonstrates its effectiveness, an effectiveness that comes essentially from carefully constructed activities.