Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 4

Article #1

Pronunciation is a key element of second language (L2) proficiency. It can also be one of

the more difficult elements for students interacting with the L2 for the first time outside of the

critical period (before puberty). Gonzales-Bueno and Quintana-Lara (2011) completed a study to

assess the effectiveness of a specific instructional approach, Pronunciation Processing Instruction

(PPI), on teaching proper pronunciation. The team adapted the methodology from VanPattens

Input Processing Model in which learns complete strategically controlled drills that require their

active attention to the form of the input in order to attach meaning to it (Gonzales-Bueno &

Quintana-Lara, 2011, p. 53). The study is situated within the broader research spectrum that

examine and support the value of formal pronunciation instruction by attempting to clarify

which particular type of instruction is best for the acquisition and/or improvement of L2

pronunciation (Gonzales-Bueno & Quintana- Lara, 2011, p.54).

Thankfully, PPI falls within the parameters of current standards of teaching foreign

languages within a communicative context and ultimately is designed to help promote effective

communication. Therefore, the study was completed within a classroom setting over the course

of 9 weeks. Even though this implementation doesnt allow for as much control as one would

typically like in such a study, the results tended towards the improvement of production;

therefore, Gonzales-Bueno and Quintana-Lara (2011) recommend that teachers incorporate PPI

as a strategy for teaching proper pronunciation of L2.

Work Cited:

Gonzales-Bueno, M. & Quintana-Lara, M. (2011). The Teaching of L2 Pronunciation through

Processing
Instruction. Applied Language Learning, 21 (1&2), 53-78. Retrieved from:

http://www.dliflc.edu/publications.aspx

Article #2

Service learning (SL) has been a popular topic in recent years within the foreign language

teaching community. It is an endeavor that corresponds excellently with current standards by

allowing students to have more challenging and meaningful experiences while building better

relationships with the target language community beyond the classroom (Bettencourt, 2015).

This article takes a more intensive look at the benefits SL offers for student language learning.

The study adds to current literature that advocates for SL in the foreign language classroom due

to it being a pedagogy that supports ACTFL World Readiness Standards and the 5 C goal

areas.

In order to have a successful, positive experience, Bettencourt (2015) stresses the

importance of properly designing and identifying student learning outcomes before partaking in a

SL activity. Additionally it is critical to create appropriate measures of student learning;

Bettencourt (2015) recommends the use of reflective assignments completed in the target

language following the DEAL (D: detailed description, E: examination of experiences, AL:

articulation of learning including future actions) model. His study followed a group of students

through a SL experience and required them to complete oral journals, interviews, mid and end of

year surveys (Bettencourt, 2015). The results, an analysis of growth in the areas of Communities

and Communication, supported the use of SL to enhance language learning. Participants sited

both the specific activities completed in the community as well as the various opportunities they

were given to reflect as contributing factors to their language acquisition.


This article provides an excellent defense of the use of SL in the foreign language

classroom. Unfortunately, it does not offer many ideas of how to overcome the time and cost

limitations present when attempting to incorporate such activities at the K-12 level.

Work Cited:

Bettencourt, M. (2015). Supporting Student Learning Outcomes Through Service Learning.

Foreign

Language Annals, 48(3), 473-490. Doi: 10.1111/flan.12147

Article #3

The era of kill and drill grammatical practices in the foreign language classroom ended

several years ago. Research has shown over and over again the value of analyzing grammar

within a meaningful context; however, such an approach often requires extensive planning and a

good amount of creativity on the part of the teacher. Frantzen (2013) proposes that using

literature in the target language as both a source of authentic input but also to demonstrate

appropriate uses of grammatical rules. This approach helps to avoid the problems that result

from the tendency of textbooks to present rules of thumb, given that these generalizations often

neglect fairly frequent instances when actual usage contradicts them (Frantzen, 2013, p. 629).

The article looks specifically at the rules and uses of the preterit and imperfect tenses in Spanish.

Throughout the article Frantzen (2013) offers several literary examples that contradict the

common explanations given to students about the preterit and imperfect. The examples serve

both to draw attention to the lacking nature of such explanations and also to advocate for the use

of literature and the larger context of a story to force students to use higher level thinking skills
to analyze the different uses of each tense. The article continues to expand on the benefits and

the importance of incorporating literature and language analysis of said literature into the

curriculum siting the effectiveness of creating a sense of discovery to facilitate learning over the

current tendency of allowing reading to be a passive activity (Frantzen, 2013). The suggestions

within this article provide for a fantastic place to start when attempting to furnish your classroom

with rich contexts where students can obtain higher levels of proficiency.

Work Cited:

Frantzen, D. (2013). Using Literary Texts to Reveal Problematic Rules of Usage. Foreign

Language Annals,

46(4), 628-645. Doi: 10.111/flan.12057

Вам также может понравиться