Running Head: ACTIONRESEARCHREPORT

ActionResearchReport

KelleyBratcher
UniversityofSouthernMississippi

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1.Introduction
Thepurposeofengaginginthisactionresearchwastwofold:1)totestthe
effectivenessoftheexplicitinductivepresentationstrategyonlanguageacquisition,2)to
reflectcriticallyonmyprofessioninordertoimprovemyteachingpractices,specifically
thoserelatedtogrammarinstruction.Throughthisproject,Iwasabletounderstandand
applytheoreticalknowledgeoftheexplicitinductivepresentationmethodtothe
experienceofteaching.Explicitinductivestrategiesallowlearnerstoexplorelanguage
materialthatcontainsthelinguisticfeaturestobeacquiredandlaterprogresstothe
discoveryoftherulesofthetargetedlanguageform.Idecidedtofocusonthisapproach
inmyclassroomafterconsideringresearchinthefieldofsecondlanguageacquisition
(SLA)andmystudents'uniquecharacteristics.Afterdecidingonthistopic,Iformulated
aquestion,implementedaplan,gathereddata,andreflectedupontheresults.Myaction
researchwascarriedoutvia20hoursofinstructionaltimedividedintoeightclass
periods.Thefollowingisadetailedlookatthesetwoweeksandtheircontinuingimpact
onmyinstructionandtheoreticalknowledge.Theappendixincludesaunitplanoutline,
dailylessonplan,andresourcematerials.

2.

Problemformation
Actionresearchcanbeimplementedtosolveproblemsortoallowreflectionon

multipleanswersforcomplexclassroomissues.Iconsideredseveralproblemsor
improvementideastoaddressduringmyActionResearchProjectincluding:

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1.Themoreadvancedstudentsdominatetheclass.Iwouldliketodevelopamore
egalitarianclassroomwherelearnerslearnthroughcollaborations,turntakingand
balancedgroupwork.
2.Iwouldliketoimprovetheknowledgeofeffectivelearningandcommunication
strategiesbybringingawarenesstotheuseofnativelanguageandhowtoemploynative
languageusejudiciously.
3.Iwouldliketoincreasestudentindependence,andtherebydecreasedependencyand
learnedhelplessness,byfacilitatingactivitiesthatinvolveinductiveordiscoverylearning
ofunderlyingrulesoflanguageuseandorganization,aswellasbythoseinvolving
languageanalysisandreflection.
4.Iwanttotryoutanewideainclass:ExplicitInductivePresentation.
Aftercreatingthislist,Ievaluatedeachoptionforitsimportanceandviabilityin
myclassroom.Ichosetofocusonthelasttopic,explicitinductivepresentation,because
ofmyinterestintheworkofKatePaesani'sinductivepresentationmodelandthe
problemsoverallsignificancetomystudents.

3.

Questionformulation
AfterexploringtheproblemandsetabouttoformtheunderlyingquestionthatI

wantedtoaddressinmyresearch.Thepossiblebenefitsofimplementingexplicit
inductivepresentationtechniquesinmyclassroomincludedraisingstudents
consciousnessaboutthetargetlanguage,encouragingmeaningfullcommunication
amonglearners,anddevelopingskillsandstrategiesinthereadingoftexts.Forthis

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project,Ispecificallywantedtofocusonthequestion,Doexplicitinductivepresentation
strategiesassistmystudentsintheacquisitionofgrammaticalforms?
Likemanyteachers,Ioftenaskmyself,shouldIpresenttherulesfirstandthen
engagemystudentsinexercisesthatapplytherules?OrshouldIpresentlanguage
materialfirstandthenprovidetheruleslater?Ifweconsidertheresearch,wefindthat
explicitapproachesaremoreeffectivethantheirimplicitcounterpartsandfurthermore,
thanexplicitinductivepresentationmethodsarethemosteffective(Glaser,2014,p.151).
IthasalsobeenfoundthatfocusedL2instruction,incontrasttosimpleexposureor
meaningdrivencommunication,makesasubstantialdifference.Furthermore,strategies
involvinganexplicitfocusontherulesofL2structuresaremoresuccessfulthan
strategiesthatlacksuchafocus(Erlam,2003,p.242).
InastudybyHaight,HerronandCole,fortysevensecondsemesterFrench
studentsweretaughteightgrammaticalstructures:fourwithadeductiveinstructional
approachandfourwithaguidedinductiveinstructionalapproach.Theresultsofthestudy
indicatedasignificantdifferencebetweenparticipantsmeanimmediatetestscores
favoringtheguidedinductiveapproach(Haight,Herron&Cole,2007,p.288).Students
scoredanaverageof85.77%onthosegrammarstructurestaughtviathedeductive
approachanda91.59%onthosetaughtviaaninductiveapproach(p.297).Infact,Glaser
(p.155)states:
Onereasonforthissuperiorityofinductiveteachingmightlieinthe
elementofguideddiscovery,whichisanintegralpartofmanyinductive
designs.Thismeansthattheinstructionfeatureselementsandactivities

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duringwhichthelearnersactivelyengageinanalyzinganddiscoveringthe
languagethemselves,guidedandhelpedbutnotdominatedbythe
teacher.
Incontrast,theproblemwithadeductiveapproachaccordingtoShaffer(1989)is
that,"...[manystudents]maynotinfactfullyunderstandtheconceptsinvolved.This
approachtendstoemphasizegrammarattheexpenseofmeaningandtopromotepassive
ratherthanactiveparticipationofthestudents"(p.395).Thoughresearchsupportsthe
ideaofexplicitinductivestrategies,willtheyworkformystudents?Therefore,my
questioncentersuponapplyingexplicitinductivepresentationtechniquesinmy
classroomtogaugetheprosandconswithmyownstudents.

4.

Developingaplanforintervention
Explicitinductivestrategiesallowlearnerstoexplorelanguagematerialthat

containsthelinguisticfeaturestobeacquiredandlaterprogresstothediscoveryofthe
rulesofthetargetedlanguageform.Totesttheeffectivenessoftheexplicitinductive
methodinmyclassroom,IwillemployKatePaesani'sInductivePresentationmethodas
presentedinherarticle,"LiteraryTextsandGrammarInstruction:Revisitingthe
InductivePresentation."IbelievethatPaesani'smodelmakesalotofcommonsenseand
Iassumethat,likemanywellplannedandexecutedstrategies,itwillyieldfavorable
results.Paesani'smodelemploysexplicitgrammarfocusedtasksthatrequirelearnersto
solvegrammarproblemsusingthestructureitself.Ihavefoundthatstudentstendto
enjoylessonsinwhichtheytakeonrolesofexplorersandleaders.Theyfeelasenseof

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accomplishmentswhentheirgroupcompletestasksindependently.Thesetasksraisetheir
consciousnessofproblematicgrammarpointssothattheyareabletomakeadjustments
totheiroutput.Explicittasksalsopromoteretentionoftargetforms,producecomparable
levelsoftasktalktothatofmeaningfocusedtasks,andpromotegainscomparableto
traditionalgrammarlessons.
AsBirchstates,Learnersneedactiveusageandexposurethroughinteractionfor
implicitlearningintheclassroom.Theyneedmeaningfulandmotivatingactivitieswith
afocusonformsothattheyreceivefeedbackandpracticeforexplicitlearning(p.47).
Paesani'smodelisdesignedtoprovidesuchmeaningfulexperiencesinordertoproduce
sucessfullanguageacquisition.Hermodelusesfocusonformwhich,"describe[s]a
momentaryshiftofattentiontolinguisticfeatureswithinameaningbasedsetting"
(Bjrnsdttir,2016,p.11).SimilartoBirch,Paesaniincorporatesmeaningfulexperiences
intolanguageinstruction.IfavorBirch'sviewofthelanguageclassroomas,aplace
wherelearnershaveopportunitiestogrowcognitively,socially,interpersonally,and
intrapersonally,wheretheyexaminetheiridentityandtheirsituationinlocalandglobal
societyaswellasacquirelanguageskillsandmetalinguisticawareness(Birch,p.54).I
believethatthroughtheuseofauthentictexts,likethosefoundinPaesani'smodel,
studentshavethechancetodevelopinmultiplewayswhileincreasingtheirlanguage
skills.
Unlikesomeotherapproaches,Longstatedthatameaningbasedmethod,like
inductivepresentation,overtlydrawsstudentsattentiontolinguisticelementsasthey
ariseincidentallyinlessonswhoseoverridingfocusisonmeaningofcommunication

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(NassajiandFotos,2011,p.11).Thiscanincludeincidentalandpreplannedexposureto
grammar,butthebasicideaofdrawinglearnersattentiontoformremains.
Inherarticle,LiteraryTextsandGrammarInstruction:RevisitingtheInductive
Presentation,Paesaniprovidesawaytoteachgrammarthatincorporatessaidinductive
andmeaningfulactivities.Thisarticleintroducesthestrategiesbyassumingthatexplicit
grammarinstructionisnecessaryforsuccessfulL2learningandthatcomprehensive,
meaningbearinginputiskeyinexplicitgrammarinstruction.Theauthorsstrategyuses
literarytextsasmeaningbearinginputandforcommunicativepracticeexercises.Instead
ofliterature,IadaptedPaesani'slessontosongs.
Paesani'sstrategyhasfourkeysteps:1)thetargetedformispresentedtolearners
incontext;2)learnerstaketimetorecognizegrammaticalpatternspresent;3)theteacher
givesanexplanationofthetargetedgrammarform;4)studentsengageinmeaningful
practice(p.18).Activitiesoccurprereading,duringreading,andpostreadingandis
similar,inways,tothePACEmodel.
Inherjournalarticle,PaesanislessonplanrevolvesaroundtheFrenchpoem,Le
Message,andtherelativepronounsincludedtherein.Atthebeginningofthelesson,
studentsareencouragedtodrawonbackgroundknowledgetobrainstormvocabulary
associatedwiththetitle,possiblevocabularycontainedinthepoem,andsimilarpoems,
books,moviestoLeMessage.Duringthereading,studentsarerequestedtofocuson
content,andtherefore,theyhavetheopportunitytoinducethemeaningofthetargeted
grammarform.Inoneactivityforexample,studentsidentifythesimilarfeaturesfoundin
certainsentences.Afterafewmoreinductivelearningactivities,Paesanismodelasks

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teacherstoprovideexplicitinstructiononthetargetedgrammarpoint,inthiscase,
relativepronouns.Finally,studentspracticethegrammarusingexplicitactivitiesand
engageinseveralpostreadingactivitiesencouragingpersonalizeduseofthelanguage(p.
2021).
IfindPaesanislessonplanextremelyusefulandworthyofexperimentinmy
classroom.Ilovetheideaofusingliteraryorsongsatalllanguagelevelsasabackbone
forgrammarlearning.Ibelieveitisaninterestingandengagingwayforstudentstolearn.
Studentsareprovidedwithampleopportunitiesforpartnerwork,smallgroupwork,and
individualwork.InPaesanismodel,thereareavarietyoftaskstokeeplearners
attentionandchallengetheirlearning.Duringthelesson,studentattentionisdrawnto
patternsinthesong.Asstudentsareallowedtoinvestigatethelyricsfurther,theydraw
conclusionsastothemeaningofcertaingrammaticalstructure.Throughoutthisprocess,
studentshavetheopportunitytoreflectonthelanguageandincreaseL2intake.
AccordingtoAdairHauck,meaningmakingisrealizedthroughhypothesizing,risk
taking,predicting,approximations,makingerrorsandselfcorrecting(Paesani,2005,p.
19).Afterward,implicitlearningactivitiesandexplicitgrammarinstructionareprovided,
whichgivestudentsthechancetodrawonbothautomaticandcontrolledlanguage
knowledgeandraiseconsciousnessbetweentheL1andL2(p.17).
Researchersinthefieldstatethattextsshouldbeinterestingandmemorablefor
studentsatalllevelsandshouldincludecompellingrealiatexts(p.18).Therefore,I
selectedthreepopculturesongsasauthentictexts(seeAppendixC):1)"StillHaven't
FoundWhatI'mLookingFor"byU2;2)"Hello"byAdele;3)"LadyinRed"byChris

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DeBurgh.Myselectionsincludedfamiliarandinterestingtopics,accessibleyetfresh
material,andahighrepetitionofthetargetedgrammar(p.20).
TotesttheimpactofPaesani'smodelonmylearners,Iadaptedandimplemented
thefollowinglessonplanusingtheaforementionedsongs:

PresentPerfect/InductivePresentationLessonPlan
Part1
Task1:Studentsaregiventhetitleofthesongandinstructedtoworkinsmallgroupsto
brainstormvocabularytheyassociatewiththekeywords.Instructorconductsawhole
classfollowupduringwhichstudentssharetheirresults.
Task2:Instructorlistseveralvocabularywordsfoundinthesongitself(i.e.toclimb,to
crawl,stone,chains).Basedonthis,studentsguessthepotentialcontentofthesong.The
instructorfacilitatesthisactivitybywritingtopicsontheboard.
Task3:Studentsgroupsareassignedatopicfromthelistgeneratedontheboard,andare
askedtomakealistofanypoems,stories,moviesorsongsabouttheirassignedtopic.
Eachgroupsharesitsfindingswiththeclass.
Task4:Theinstructorprovidesstudentswithasetofdrawingsinjumbledorder
depictingtheeventsofthesong(feltfingertips,spokewithangels).Astheinstructor
readsthesongaloud,studentslistenandputthejumbledpicturesincorrectchronological
order.Studentsthencomparetheirresponseswithapartner.Duringawholeclassfollow
up,instructorverifiesthecorrectorderofthedrawings.
Task5:Inpairs,studentsreadthesongagainanddecidewhethertheyagreeordisagree
withanumberofinstructorprovidedstatements(i.e.Thesingerhaswalkedthrough
fields).Duringwholeclassfollowup,studentsreporttheirfindingsanddiscuss
statementswherethereisdisagreement.
Task6:Theinstructorasksstudentstoidentifypatternsinsentencestructure(Whatdo
thefirstsentencesinthefirstfourstanzashaveincommon?).
Task7:Instructormodelstask7byidentifyingthepresentperfecttenseinthefirst
sentence.Studentsthenreadthroughthesongindividually,underliningallexamplesof
thepresentperfectwithinthelyrics.Thenstudentscomparetheirfindingswiththeir
partner.
Task8:Studentscreatearulefortheuseofthepresentperfect.
Task9:Studentsmakeguessesaboutthedifferencestructureofpresentperfect
affirmativeandnegativesentences.Instructorconductsabriefexplanationofthepresent
perfectandsharesmorecontextualizedexamples.
Task10:Studentsaredirectedbacktothesongandafterexaminingamodelsentence,are

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instructedtoworkinpairstorewriteeachpresentperfectsentencetothepast.(i.e.Ihave
runthroughthefields>Iranthroughthefields)
Task11:Studentsaregivenasetofsentences.Theyworkindividuallyandcirclethe
appropriatepresentperfect(i.eIhavespokenRussianfortwentyyears/Ihasspoke
Russianfortwentyyears).Thenstudentscompareresponseswithapartner.
Task12:Inpairs,studentsperformasentencecompletionactivity.Studentsareprovided
withhave/hasandmustsupplyanappropriatepastparticiple(i.e.Ourclasshas___a
fieldtripthreetimesthisyear.).Thefirstfewsentencesarebaseddirectlyonthepoem
andthelastfewsentencesareoriginal,whichencouragescreativity.
Part2
Task13:Insmallgroups,studentsanswerquestionsthatencouragethemtoanalyzeand
formulateopinionsaboutitsthemes.Thequestionsinthistaskfocusonthenarratorand
hisroleintheeventsofthesong,thepossiblemessageheisconveying,theemotions
studentsassociatewiththesonganditsnarrator.Questionsmaybeprovidedtostudents
inadvance,allowingforpreparationtimeoutsideclass.
Task14:Theinstructorleadsawholeclassactivityinwhichstudentsbrainstormpossible
topics(i.e.relationships,love,hope).
Task15:Studentsselectatopicandworkindividuallytobrainstormappropriate
vocabulary.Studentsthensharetheirvocabularylistswithapartner,whosuggest
additionalvocabularyappropriatetotheselectedtopic.
Task16:Studentswritetheirsong.Thisactivitymaybestartedinclassandfinishedat
home.Apeereditingcomponentmaybeadded.
Task17:Studentspresenttheirworktotheclassintheformofasongreadingora
publishedcollectionofclassworks.

5.

Datagathering
Myresearchwascarriedoutduring20hoursofinstructionaltime.Thistimewas

spreadoutoveratwoweekperiod.Iusedthreedifferentdatagatheringtechniques:1)
ReflectionJournal/Notes,2)Pretesting&Posttesting,3)Studentselfevaluation.

1)ReflectionJournal/Notes
11/07/2016

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AsIpreparedforthelesson,Ireflectionupontheamountoftimerequiredto
gatherthematerialsforthelesson.Toimplementthelessonplaninitsoriginalformat
consistently,onewouldneedtohavelargeamountsoftimetofind,copyandcutimages.
Furthermore,therewasalargeamountofhandoutsandsentencestripstocopyandcut
fortheselessons.Inthefuture,Iwouldneedtoconsiderinductivepresentation
techniquesthatrequirelesspreparationtimeonthepartoftheinstructor.Thoughthe
techniquesemployedwerefunandmeaningful,theamountofpreparationtimewould
maketheseparticularactivitieshardtoimplementonadailybasis.Iwouldneedto
considerhowtomaketheresourcesrecyclable(perhapslaminatingtheimagecards,
whichinturnwouldtakealotofinitialwork,butwouldrequirelittleworklater.Another
optionswouldbetohavethestudentssupplytheimagesaspartofavocabularybuilding
activity.
ThiswasthefirstdayofimplementingPaesani'smodelinmyclassroom.My
studentscompletedTasks18ofthelessonplan.Theywereaskedtoreflectuponthree
questionsforhomeworkandbepreparedtosharetheiropinionstomorrow;Howdidthe
songmakeyoufeel?Whatisthemessageofthesong?Whyisthepresentperfectbeing
used?
11/08/2016
MystudentscompletedTasks913ofthelessonplanusingthesong"StillHaven't
FoundWhatI'mLookingFor."Theyseemedabitoverwhelmedwiththesong,"Still
Haven'tFoundWhatI'mLookingFor."Theycomplainedthattheycouldn'tunderstandit.
Itmaybetoodifficult.ThelyricsarelongandthesingermaybetoodifficultforELLsto
understand.

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11/09/2016
TodaywastheseconddayusingPaesani'smodel.First,wedida'roundrobin'
readingofthesong"StillHaven'tFoundWhatI'mLookingFor."Then,wereviewedthe
vocabularyassociatedwitheachimage.Next,wediscussedthe'SongAnalysis'questions,
someofwhichtheyhadreviewedforhomework.Finally,weusedourknowledgeofthe
presentperfecttocompleteafillintheblankworksheet.Basically,wecompletedTask
13ofPart2ofthelessonplaninadditiontoasupplementalworksheet.Istoppedhere
becausetheydidnotseemreadyforTasks1417.Iplantoengageintheseactivities
duringasubsequentlesson.
Themessageofthesongseemedtobesomewhatlostonmystudents.Theydo
however,seemtobegraspingtheuseandfunctionofthepresentperfecttense.
11/10/2016
TodayIdecidedtodothelessonon"HaveYouEverSeentheRain"insteadof
"Hello"byAdele.Inthissongwewereabletoreviewthepresentperfecttense,create
rulesforusingformingquestionsinthetense(i.e.HaveyouevenbeentoFrance?)and
discoverthecontractionsusedinthepresentperfect(i.e.I'vebeen,He'sbeen).During
thelesson,thestudentscompletedtasks1,2,6,7,8,9and11.Insteadofordering
pictures,thestudentsweregivenafillintheblankworksheetwiththelyrics.Today's
discussionofthesongwasaidedbyshowingthemavideoclipofJuanGabriel'scoverof
thesong,aSpanishtranslationandanarticlediscussingthemeaningofthesongin
Spanish.Next,studentsformed5questionsinthepresentperfecttoasktheirclassmates
(i.e.Haveyouevermetacelebrity?).Finally,theycompletedaworksheetusing
irregularpastparticiples.

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Studentsseemedtoenjoytoday'slessonmorethanMondayorTuesdaywherewe
listenedto"StillHaven'tFoundWhatI'mLookingFor."Ithinkitwasmainlybecausethe
singersingsclearerinthissong,thesongisalittleslowerandmorerepetitive,andthey
wereabletorelatetoJuanGabriel'sversionofthesong.
11/14/2016
TodayweusedAdele'ssong"Hello"toexplorethepresentperfecttense.Ifirst
gavestudentsthetitleofthesongandwetalkedabouttheirbackgroundknowledgeofthe
singerandsong.Afewstudentshadheardofherorknewthesong,whichseemedtoamp
uptheexcitementtohearit.Thenwediscussedvocabularyimportanttothelyrics.Next,
Igavestudentsajumbledsetofpicturesandaskedthemtoorderthepicturesasthey
listen.Theyworkedindividuallyfirst,thenconfirmedtheirworkwithapartner.After,
theyhadachancetolistentothesongtwice.Next,Igavethemthelyricsandaskedthem
tocorrecttheirorderedpicturesifnecessarywhileworkingwithapartner.Finally,we
confirmedtheorderalltogether.WereviewedwhatweknewandIintroducedthe
conceptofusingthepresentperfectforchangesovertime(i.e.Ihaveforgottenyour
namesincewelastspoke).Studentswereaskedtodiscovertheruleofusageinthiscase.
Onlyaftertheyhadtimetohypothesize,didIconfirmandexplain.Ithenconducteda
minilectureonthepresentperfecttense.Lookingback,thiswasn'tagreattimeto
introducethisconceptsincetherewerenoinstancesofthisfunctioninthesong.
11/15/2016
Todaystudentslistenedtothesong"LadyinRed"inordertodiscovertherules
associatedwithusingadverbsinthepresentperfecttense.Mymalestudentexpressedto
methathedidn'tlikethesong,butthefemalesseemedtoreallylikeit.Thefirstactivity

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wastobrainstormthetitleandpossiblethemes,likealways.Thentheylistenedtothe
songwhileorderingsentencestripsthatcontainedthelyrics.Theyworkedinteamsso
therewasafun,competitivevibeintheroom.Theythenanalyzedthelyricsformeaning.
11/16/2016
Today,studentsusedthesong"LadyinRed"toexplorethestructureofadverbs
(i.e.always,sometimes,never)inpresentperfectsentences(Subject+have/has+adverb
+pastparticiple).TheyalsocomparedsentenceslikeIhaveneverbeentoThailandtoI
haven'tbeentoThailandyetinordertodiscoverthegrammaticalpatternofyetinthe
presentperfect.TheycompletedaworksheetthatIusedasaformativeassessmenttool.
Basedontheirresponses,Iconductedaminilectureontroubleforms.Throughout
instruction,studentswereaskedtodemonstratetheirunderstandingoftheformby
creatingandsharingsentences.
11/17/2016
First,Iconductedareviewsessionwithmystudents.Wereviewedtheuseof
presentperfect(i.e.experiences,changesovertime,uncompletedactionsyouare
expecting,accomplishments).Then,theycompletedapracticeworksheetandtooka
summativeassessment.

2)Pretesting&Posttesting
Resultsreportedforthe3studentswhowerepresentforeachofthe8lessons.
SeeAppendixBforpretest/posttestexample.

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15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Pre-Test Correct Responses

Post-Test Correct Responses

Student 1

Student 2

PreTest

PostTest

Correct

Correct

Responses

Responses

Student1
Student2
Student2

3)Studentselfevaluation

0
3
2

Student 2

13
12
12

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Studentswereaskedtoratetheirmasteryofthepresentperfecttenseonthepretestand
posttest.SeeAppendixBforexamplequestion.

PreTest

Student1
Student2
Student2

6.

Response
Poor
Average
Good

PostTestResponse
Poor
Average
Good

Analyzingandreflectingonthedata
Thedatashowsthattheinterventionworkedtoincreasestudents'acquisitionof

thepresentperfecttense,butdidnotimprovetheirselfperceptionoftheirlearning.This
contradictoryphenomenonisaccountedforbymanyfactors.First,mystudentstypically
showlowconfidenceintheirabilitiesdespitehighlevelsofachievements.Thiscouldbe
duetoaffectiveand/orculturaltraits.Thisresearchprojecthashighlightedthatfactand
hasmadeitapparentthatIneedtoimplementstrategiestoamplifytheirconfidence.They
areextremelytalentedstudents,howevertheirselfperceptionsfortheirknowledgemay
beholdingthembackfromusingtheirskills.Itisapparentthattheirknowledge
increased,butthattheirfeelingsofprogressdidnotincrease.Thatisworrisomeformeas
ateacher.Mynextinterventionwillbetoresearchstrategiestoincreasetheirconfidence
inthemselves.Ibelievethatthemoreconfidencetheyhaveintheirskillsthemorethey
willusethoseskills.Intheend,thatisourgoal;toacquireanduselanguageskills.

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Myresearchconfirmedthefearmanyteachershavethattheinductiveapproach
requiresalarge,sometimesunmanageable,amountofpreparationtime.AsGlaser(2014)
notes:
itistimeconsumingtocreatelanguagediscoveryactivities,especially
whenitcomestofindingauthenticmaterials.Noteveryteacherhasthe
timetocombthroughhoursofDVDmaterialjusttofindoneortwo
instancesofdisagreement(e.g.,requests,compliments,thanks)thatare
suitablefortheirlessonthenextday...YetIamconvincedthatachange
inperspectiveonteachingstyleswillalsoentailachangeinhowwe
approachourlessonplanningandthecollectionofteachingmaterials(p.
158).
Whilecompilingthenecessarymaterialsforthisoneunitplanalone(seeAppendixA),I
feltfairlyoverwhelmedwiththeamountofdiscoverymaterialsneededtoimplement
Paesani'smodel.Ihadtoresearchimages(AppendixE),compiletheminadocument,
print,copy,andcutimages.Furthermore,Ihadtocompilethelyrics(AppendixC),
sentencestrips(AppendixD)andsonganalysisquestions(AppendixF).Overall,Ilikely
spentmorethanthreehourscompilingthevariousresources.However,nowthatIam
morefamiliarwiththistechnique,Ihavestartedtonoticemorelanguageresourcesall
aroundmeinthenews,radio,magazines,etc.Hopefullytakingmorenoticeofthe
languagearoundmecanprovideawealthofresourcestodelveintoasneeded.Inthe
future,apossiblequestionImaywanttoinvestigateis,whattypeofmaterials(i.e.

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textbooks,onlineresources,preprintedimages)alreadyexistthatemployinductive
presentationtechniques?
Afurtherworryofminewastheabilityofmylowerlevelstudentstoengagein
thistypeoflearning.Inthepast,researcherssuchasAusubelandCarrollhaveasserted
thataninductiveapproachistoodifficultforlowerlevelstudents,andthatonlyhigher
levelstudentsarecapableofdiscoveringtheunderlyingpatternsofastructure(Shaffer,
1989,p.396).However,Glaser(2014)relievedsomeofmyworriesbystatingteachers
should,"...starthavingmoreconfidencein[my]learnersandtotrust[my]students'
abilitiestocarryoutopen,exploratory,andinteractiveactivities,evenatlower
proficiencylevels"(p.159).Mystudentsseemedwaryatfirst,especiallywhentryingto
distinguishthelyricsofthesongwhilelistening,buteventuallytheybegantoenjoythe
activitiesandthelearningexperience.
Anotherconcernofmineisthelongtermimpactoftheirlearning.Research
showsthat,"Shortlyafterinstruction,oneexpectstoseeamarkedincreaseinlevelsof
accuracybutthenewknowledgeorskillmayatrophyastimepasses.Thishasbeen
shownbye.g.Lightbown&Malcolm(1980)whofoundthatstudentsscoresdwindleto
approximatelyhalfwaybetweenthoseoftheimmediateposttestandasecondposttest
sixmonthslater"(Bjrnsdttir,2016,p.20).Inthefuture,Iwouldliketoevaluatemy
students'retentionofthepresentperfectformtoseehowtheinductivepresentation
techniquecomparestoothertechniquesinitsabilitytoproducelongtermretention.

7.Conclusion

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Thepurposeofthisresearchwastoreflectuponandimprovemyteaching
practices.Overall,Ifoundseveralbenefitsoftheexplicitinductivepresentation.As
Glaser(2014)notes,"Bycombiningtheinductiveandtheexplicitframeworksinour
teaching,weprovide[students]withopportunitiestoencounterthelanguagethrough
embodiment(inductive)aswellascognitiveunderstanding(explicit).Inshortwepresent
ourlearnerswiththebestoftwoworlds"(p.159).Iplantousethisstrategyin
conjunctionwithothertechniquesasitappliestomyuniquelearners.Shaffer(1989)
validatesmypositionagainstthesoleuseofinductivepresentationtechniquesinthe
languageacquisitionclassroombysaying,"Teachersneedtobeflexibleenoughto
incorporatevariousapproachesintotheirlessonsdependingontheparticularsituation.
Anadvantageofaninductiveapproach,however,istheactiveratherthanpassive
participationofthestudents"(p.401).Throughthisproject,Iwasabletoemploymy
theoreticalknowledgeoftheexplicitinductivepresentationmethodtomyrealworld
classroom.Intheend,Igainedavaluableunderstandingofthebenefitsanddrawbacksof
usingexplicitinductivepresentationstrategiesforlanguageacquisitionandtheprocess
ofconductingactionresearchinthefieldofSLA.

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References
Bjrnsdttir,.(2016,September).Focusonform:Deductiveversusinductive
techniquesinteachingEnglish.RetrievedOctober12,2016,fromSkeman:
http://hdl.handle.net/1946/25960
Erlam,R.(2003),TheEffectsofDeductiveandInductiveInstructionontheAcquisition
ofDirectObjectPronounsinFrenchasaSecondLanguage.TheModern
LanguageJournal,87:242260.doi:10.1111/15404781.00188
Glaser,K.(2014).TheNeglectedCombination:ACaseforExplicitInductiveInstruction
inTeachingPragmaticsinESL.TESLCanadaJournal,30(7),150.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v30i7.1158
Haight,C.E.,Herron,C.,&Cole,S.P.(2007).TheEffectsofDeductiveandGuided
InductiveInstructionalApproachesontheLearningofGrammarinthe
ElementaryForeignLanguageCollegeClassroom.ForeignLanguageAnnals,
40(2),288310.
Nassaji,H.,&Fotos,S.(2011).Teachinggrammarinsecondlanguageclassrooms:
Integratingformfocusedinstructionincommunicativecontext.NewYork:
Routledge.

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Paesani,K.(2005),LiteraryTextsandGrammarInstruction:RevisitingtheInductive
Presentation.ForeignLanguageAnnals,38:1523.doi:10.1111/j.1944
9720.2005.tb02449.x
Shafer,C.(1989).AComparisonofInductiveandDeductiveApproachestoTeaching
ForeignLanguages.ModernLanguageJournal,73(4),395.

Appendix
AppendixA
PresentPerfectUnitPlan

Lesson1

PresentPerfectPreAssessment
InductivePresentationLesson"IStillHaven'tFoundWhatI'mLookingFor"Part1
(HomeworkTask13)

Lesson2

InductivePresentationLesson"IStillHaven'tFoundWhatI'mLookingFor"Part2
(HomeworkWorksheet,Exercise2728)

Lesson3

FormativeAssessment
InductivePresentationLesson"Adele"Part1
(HomeworkTask13)

Lesson4

InductivePresentationLesson"Adele"Part2
(HomeworkPastparticiplesandTask17)

Lesson5

FormativeAssessment

Lesson"HaveYouEverSeenTheRain"Part1and2

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(HomeworkQuestionsandthePresentPerfect)

Lesson6

"LadyinRed"
(HomeworkAdverbsandthePresentPerfect)

Lesson7

Lesson"LadyinRed"

Lesson8

Review
SummativeAssessment
AppendixB
PresentPerfect(Pre/Post)Assessment
Name:
Date:
1. Howlong______________________(he/live)inNewJersey?
2. Peter______________________(notplay)baseballsince1987.
3. I______________________(speak)Russianfortwentyyears.
4. We______________________(notsee)TomsinceChristmas.
5. ______________________(Alan/fly)inanairplanebefore?
6. Shannon______________________(not/go)tolunchyet.
7. Ourclass______________________(take)afieldtripthreetimesthisyear.
8. Where______________________(they/move)to?
9. Jennifer______________________(ask)thatquestionfourtimestoday.
10. You______________________(noteat)lunchyet,haveyou?
11.Howwouldyourateyourmasteryofthepresentperfecttense(circleone)?
Poor
Fair
Average
Good
Excellent
12.Instructions:Write5sentencesminimum.Focusonthepresentperfecttense.
WhathaveyouaccomplishedsinceyoufirststartedstudyingEnglish?

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Ihavekissedhoneylips
Feltthehealinginthefingertips
AppendixC

Itburnedlikefire

IStillHaven'tFoundWhatI'mLooking

Thisburningdesire

For

Ihavespokewiththetongueofangels

U2

Ihaveheldthehandofadevil

Ihaveclimbedthehighestmountains

Itwaswarminthenight

Ihaverunthroughthefields

Iwascoldasastone

Onlytobewithyou

ButIstillhaven'tfound

Onlytobewithyou

WhatI'mlookingfor

IhaverunIhavecrawled

ButIstillhaven'tfound

Ihavescaledthesecitywalls

WhatI'mlookingfor

Thesecitywalls

IbelieveintheKingdomcome

Onlytobewithyou

Thenallthecolorswillbleedintoone

ButIstillhaven'tfound

Bleedintoone

WhatI'mlookingfor

ButyesI'mstillrunning

ButIstillhaven'tfound

Youbrokethebondsandyou

WhatI'mlookingfor

Youloosenedthechains
Youcarriedthecross

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Ofmyshame

WhatI'mlookingfor

Ohmyshame

ButIstillhaven'tfound

YouknowIbelieveit

WhatI'mlookingfor

ButIstillhaven'tfound

HelloAdele
Hello,it'sme
Didyouevermakeitoutofthattown
Iwaswonderingifafteralltheseyears
Wherenothingeverhappened?
you'dliketomeet
It'snosecret
Togoovereverything
Thatthebothofus
Theysaythattime'ssupposedtohealya
Arerunningoutoftime
ButIain'tdonemuchhealing6
Sohellofromtheotherside(otherside)
Hello,canyouhearme?
Imust'vecalledathousandtimes
I'minCaliforniadreamingaboutwho
(thousandtimes)
weusedtobe
TotellyouI'msorry
Whenwewereyoungerandfree
ForeverythingthatI'vedone
I'veforgottenhowitfeltbeforethe
ButwhenIcallyounever
worldfellatourfeet3
Seemtobehome1
There'ssuchadifferencebetweenus
Hellofromtheoutside(outside)
Andamillionmiles
AtleastIcansaythatI'vetried(I've
Hellofromtheotherside
tried)
Imust'vecalledathousandtimes
TotellyouI'msorry
TotellyouI'msorry
Forbreakingyourheart
ForeverythingthatI'vedone
Butitdon'tmatter,itclearly
ButwhenIcallyounever
Doesn'ttearyouapartanymore
Seemtobehome
Oh,anymore
Hellofromtheoutside
Oh,anymore
AtleastIcansaythatI'vetried
Oh,anymore
TotellyouI'msorry
Anymore
Forbreakingyourheart
Hellofromtheotherside(otherside)
Butitdon'tmatter,itclearly
Imust'vecalledathousandtimes
Doesn'ttearyouapartanymore1
(thousandtimes)
Hello,howareyou?
TotellyouI'msorry
It'ssotypicalofmetotalkaboutmyself,
ForeverythingthatI'vedone
I'msorry
ButwhenIcallyounever
Ihopethatyou'rewell
Seemtobehome2

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Hellofromtheoutside(outside)
AtleastIcansaythatI'vetried(I've
tried)
TotellyouI'msorry
Forbreakingyourheart

Butitdon'tmatter,itclearly
Doesn'ttearyouapartanymore

HaveYouEverSeenTheRainLyrics
RodStewart
Someonetoldmelongago
rain
There'sacalmbeforethestorm

Comin'downonasunnyday?

Iknow

Yesterday,anddaysbefore

It'sbeencomin'forsometime

Suniscoldandrainishard

Whenit'sover,sotheysay

Iknow

It'llrainasunnyday

Beenthatwayforallmytime

Iknow

Tillforever,onitgoes

Shinin'downlikewater

Throughthecircle,fastandslow

[Chorus]

Iknow

Iwanttoknow,haveyoueverseenthe

Itcan'tstop,Iwonder

rain?

[Chorus]

Iwanttoknow,haveyoueverseenthe

Yeah!
[Chorus]

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HaveYouEverSeenTheRainLyrics
RodStewart
Instruction:Listenandcomplete.
Someonetoldmelongago

Iwanttoknow,have______everseen

There'sa______beforethe______

the______

Iknow

Comin'downonasunnyday?

____________comin'forsometime

Yesterday,anddaysbefore

Whenit'sover,sotheysay

Sunis______andrainis______

It'll______asunny______

Iknow

Iknow

______thatwayforallmytime

Shinin'downlike______

Tillforever,onit______

[Chorus]

Throughthecircle,______and______

Iwanttoknow,______you______

Iknow

______therain?

Itcan'tstop,I______

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[Chorus]

[Chorus]

Yeah!
givenhalfachance
AndIhaveneverseenthatdressyou're
wearing
Orthehighlightsinyourhairthatcatch
youreyes
Ihavebeenblind
Theladyinredisdancingwithme,
cheektocheek
There'snobodyhere,it'sjustyouandme
It'swhereIwanttobe
ButIhardlyknowthisbeautybymy
side
I'llneverforgetthewayyoulooktonight
I'veneverseenyoulookingsogorgeous
asyoudidtonight
I'veneverseenyoushinesobright,you
wereamazing
I'veneverseensomanypeoplewantto
LadyinRedChrisDeBurgh

betherebyyourside

I'veneverseenyoulookingsolovelyas

Andwhenyouturnedtomeandsmiled,

youdidtonight

ittookmybreathaway

I'veneverseenyoushinesobright

AndIhaveneverhadsuchafeeling

I'veneverseensomanymenaskyouif

Suchafeelingofcompleteandutter

youwantedtodance

love,asIdotonight

They'relookingforalittleromance,

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Theladyinredisdancingwithme,
cheektocheek

Ineverwillforgetthewayyoulook

There'snobodyhere,it'sjustyouandme

tonight

It'swhereIwanttobe

Theladyinred,theladyinred

ButIhardlyknowthisbeautybymy

Theladyinred,myladyinred

side
I'llneverforgetthewayyoulooktonight

Iloveyou

AppendixD

LadyinRedChrisDeBurgh
Sentencestrips

I'veneverseenyoulookingsolovelyasyoudidtonight
I'veneverseenyoushinesobright
I'veneverseensomanymenaskyou
ifyouwantedtodance
They'relookingforalittleromance,givenhalfachance
AndIhaveneverseenthatdressyou'rewearing
Orthehighlightsinyourhairthatcatchyoureyes

ACTIONRESEARCHREPORT

Ihavebeenblind
Theladyinredisdancingwithme,cheektocheek
There'snobodyhere,it'sjustyouandme
It'swhereIwanttobe
ButIhardlyknowthisbeautybymyside
I'llneverforgetthewayyoulooktonight
I'veneverseenyoulookingsogorgeous
asyoudidtonight
I'veneverseenyoushinesobright,youwereamazing
I'veneverseensomanypeople
wanttobetherebyyourside
Andwhenyouturnedtomeandsmiled,
ittookmybreathaway
AndIhaveneverhadsuchafeeling
Suchafeelingofcompleteandutterlove,
asIdotonight
Theladyinredisdancingwithme,cheektocheek

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There'snobodyhere,it'sjustyouandme
It'swhereIwanttobe
ButIhardlyknowthisbeautybymyside
I'llneverforgetthewayyoulooktonight
Ineverwillforgetthewayyoulooktonight
Theladyinred,theladyinred
Theladyinred,myladyinred
Iloveyou

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AppendixE

IStillHaven'tFoundWhatI'mLookingFor

HelloAdele

AppendixF
SongAnalysisQuestions

Howdidthissongmakeyoufeel?
Whatideaisthewriterconcernedabout?
Whatis/arethemostimportantword(s)inthesong?Why?
Whataresomewords/phrases/sectionsthatarepuzzlingtoyou
aboutthissong?
Howdoesthemusicfitthelyricstothesong?
Whatwasthepurposeofthesong?
Whatisthemoodofthemusic?Isthereamessagethesongis
tryingtoconvey?Ifso,what?Towhom?
Arethereanywordsorphrasesthatneedspecificinterpretation?If
so,identifyanddefinethem.
Howmanyexamplescanyoufindofthepresentperfectinthe
lyrics?
Whydidthewriterofthissongchoosethisverbtense?