Running Head: Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Mengzi Cai & Xichen Nie

E527: Final Project

Colorado State University

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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Introduction

Whether acquiring a first or a second language, the ability to produce language has

a direct relationship with the quantity and quality of the input one has previously received.

Lafford (1987) pointed out that the development of receptive skills largely depends on the

comprehensible input which will promote the development of productive skills. This

statement is widely accepted for language acquisition. For us as second language learners,

we agree with the idea that productive skills development occurs when the learners receive

an appropriate amount of useful input and in order to cultivate the development of receptive

skills. Since after reading or listening much in English, we can acquire a lot of language

unconsciously, and then, we feel that we can better express ourselves with the language

that we acquired though the input. We also agree that the development of receptive skills

occurs as long as the input is comprehensible for the learners. If the input is not

comprehensible, it might be blocked automatically by the learner. However, there has been

limited research into the development of specific skills such as reading and listening in

relation to comprehensible input. Therefore, this paper aims to inform on ways that ESL

teachers can better understand and apply comprehensible input in the class and use efficient

ways to activate the acquisition.

In this project, we propose to develop four lesson plans for intermediate students who

have learned basic English grammar and will study in an ESL class. The goal of the project

is to develop the lesson plans that could be practically used during class instruction, to
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

create a communicative language class by providing sufficient comprehensible input which

will help their receptive skill development and result in productive skill development. Both

task-based language teaching and content-based instruction will be adopted in the lesson

plans.

Literature Review

Comprehensible input

Input hypothesis theory was proposed by Stephen Krashen in 1987. Comprehensible

input is an important factor in his hypothesis. This means that learners acquire language

through understanding the input that is a little beyond their language level (referred to as

i+1) and he emphasized the importance of listening comprehension and reading

comprehension from which speaking and writing ability will be formed naturally.

As Stephen Krashen (1987) said, extensive use of conscious grammatical rules and

tedious drills are not necessary for the language use. In addition, meaning-focus interaction

in natural communication with the target language takes the priority in language acquisition,

so that speakers do not address their attention to the structure of the language they speak

but to the information they convey and receive. The best methods for second language

acquisition should offer students understandable input. Additionally, a relaxing learning

environment is also important. According to the affective filter hypothesis, learners who

are in a comfortable and receptive learning environment have lower filters which allows
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

unfettered access to comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985). Moreover, instead of using

comprehensible input in the early production in the process of SLA, it tends to be used later

in the SLA process when students are “ready”. It means that it is effective to use the

comprehensible input when students recognize the value of communication and the

helpfulness of comprehensible input to the language acquisition improvement, rather than

forcing and correcting production. In a real-world situation, a conversation with a

sympathetic native speaker who would be willing to help learners could be very helpful for

their second language acquisition. In a conversation, interlocutors focus on communication

rather than correcting grammatical errors in the utterance. When they encounter input,

learners are also involved in interaction through receiving diverse types of feedback

through which the input was modified to be more accurate and comprehensible. In the next

part, interaction approaches including different types of feedback will be introduced.

Interaction

Gass (1997) stated that since the 1980s, the study of conversational interaction in

which second language (L2) learners and their interlocutors participate in has maintained

a central position in second language acquisition (SLA). They also pointed out the

importance of interaction in the book Theories in Second Language Acquisition (2014, p.

183) in particular, that in conversation interaction contexts learners do not only receive

“information about the correctness”, but also “information about the incorrectness” in their
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

utterances. In the interaction approach, learners receive information relating to

incorrectness, which is termed “negative evidence”. Further, they explained that negative

evidence is given through interaction feedback following problematic utterances. The role

of negative evidence during the interaction-learning process can be summarized as a

situation where learners notice the errors in their utterances and then they have to determine

what the problem was, and how to elaborate the language knowledge which exists in their

mind (Gass, 1997). From there, the learners think of a possible correct form of their

problematic utterances. Obtaining further input including listening and reading can confirm

or disconfirm the form they thought that was possibly correct. Research conducted by Ellis,

Tanaka, and Yamazaki (1994), concerning vocabulary acquisition found that interactional

modifications play an important role in SLA. Their research revealed that comparing with

pre-modified input, interactionally modified input can lead to better comprehension and

vocabulary acquisition. They also emphasized the relationship among interaction,

comprehension, and SLA where interaction helps learners with target language

comprehension since interaction gives the opportunity to negotiate meaning and ask for

clarification. Long (1996) suggested that negotiated interaction is a way in which implicit

negative feedback can be elicited so that learners would pay attention to mismatches

between input and output. They also explained how “negotiation for meaning, and

especially negotiation work that triggers interactional adjustments by the NS or more

competent interlocutor, facilitates acquisition because it connects input, internal learner

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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

capacities, particularly selective attention, and output in productive ways.” Furthermore, it

is proposed that feedback which occurs during negotiation of meaning may help L2

development by giving the learners additional opportunities to pay attention to their

production comprehension. Gass (1997) introduced that there are two broad types of

feedback: explicit and implicit. Explicit feedback refers to the metalinguistic corrections

and explanations, while implicit feedback includes four negotiation strategies:

confirmation checks, clarification requests, comprehension checks, and recasts.

Empirical studies

To learn a second language, learners should receive a large quantity of input, whether by

attending class or talking with others in the L2. As Corder (1967) stated, learners explore

in the environment which is termed “input”, meaning all the information offered in L2.

However, they also proposed another concept “intake” which refers to the exact

information that are noticed and internalized by the learners among “input”. In order to

transit from “input” into “intake”, learners should be firstly provided with the input which

is comprehensible, and then, enhance the comprehensible input to make it internalized.

Generally, in order to make them more comprehensible, L2 teachers modify their language

according to the characteristics of foreigner talk stated by Hatch (1983). For example, they

slow down the pace, use fewer contractions and more high frequency vocabulary; they also
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

tend to provide the students with suggestions for possible answer to give them more hints.

Crossley, et al. (2012) pointed out that intuitive text simplification including more

linguistic cohesive features (e.g. conjunction) helps students to comprehend materials.

Besides those modifications of language, based on some existing empirical studies, in the

following section we have summarized five points of different ways to provide students

with the comprehensible input. From these five points, we have designed activities for 4

lesson plans in order to meet the objective of providing more comprehensible input.

Point 1: Make the sources of input more diverse

It is explained that comprehensible input is not necessarily offered in class, teachers can

give more access for students to immerse in comprehensible input environment. They can

watch online lectures, TV talk shows, TV newscasts, scientific documentaries, because

“the speed of these sources is usually clear and measured without being artificial” (Krashen,

1987). Teachers need to serve as an “information filter” to parse through the input that may

be comprehensible for their students, for example, what kind of news, lectures, or TV talk

shows can be recommended to students. Besides giving them direct instructions, teachers

can also provide them with, for example, more opportunities to chat with each other, like

group discussion, and peer feedback, although the interlanguage input offered from peers

may contain errors, it provides the learners with valuable “i+1” speech for speakers who

are less linguistically sophisticated (Krashen, 1987). Interaction could be another source of
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

comprehensible input. The interactionally modified language is helpful for students to

understand conversations (Pica, Doughty & Young, 1986). Terrell (1990) conducted

research and made a conclusion that some native speakers can offer input which is regarded

as an assistance for L2 learners’ language acquisition in some situations.

Point 2: Use visual support

We can make an optimal use of computer technology to assist language learning in the

classes (Li, 2011), such as, power points, projectors, or online games like “Kahoot”, etc.

We can also use visual tools like graphic organizers, or concrete objects to help students

understand abstract concept and sequence information, or ingrain new concepts, then

develop meaningful and critical ideas.

Point 3: Use stories

Stories are good sources of comprehensible input, since they can provide students with rich

and detailed information and context. Teachers can avoid selecting the stories which have

complicated plot development, characters and character personalities. Teachers can choose

the topics that students are interested in. In addition, culturally related or socially connected

topics are also attractive and helpful for L2 leaners since they already have thought through

many of these topics in their own language, they may feel more secure about the

expressions of their opinions in discussion (Krashen, 1987).

Point 4: Try to narrow the materials

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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Teachers can ask students to read the materials in the same topic, but in different forms. If

topics changes in every class, that would largely increase the difficulties in students’

comprehension. Caspino (2005) proposed that narrow down Listening Libraries, for

example, choosing interesting or familiar topics of material, can help students improve

their English learning. Discussing about the same topic in two or more consecutive classes

can allow for a “natural repetition of vocabulary and syntax as well as familiar context”.

(Krashen & Terrell, 1983).

Point 5: Use classroom games

Teachers can create games which provide students with opportunities to talk with each

other. Furthermore, a fast-paced game can also test students’ attention and alertness, as

well challenge ESL students to understand the words and respond appropriately.

Pedagogical development

In this section, we provide pedagogical applications based on established theoretical

approaches in last section. The lesson plans are designed for ESL classes. The materials

and grammar content are selected from the book Grammar and Beyond 2 which is designed

for intermediate level ESL students, but the activities are created specifically for this
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project as supplements to the selections from the respective textbook. Since we know well

about the learning model of Chinese students whose L1 is mandarin which consists of

mainly reading with more academic language learning, and less communicative language

learning and less listening and group interaction, we have created the lesson plans through

this lens and aimed at these students in an ESL context. Therefore, our lesson plans target

Chinese student in ESL class. We provide the knowledge of English grammar in

comprehensible input. We also integrate subskills (e.g. writing and speaking skills) which

serve as assessments for their comprehension.

Brief Description of Classroom Setting

This 50-minute lesson will focus on listening or reading language objectives of

communicative language learning. The four lessons will take place as a part of a series of

English courses, focusing on socially-related and culturally-connected language skills for

real-world communicative competence. The classroom is composed of 15-20

intermediate level students according to the ACTFL (2012) proficiency guidelines. The

L1 of the ESL students in this class is Mandarin.

Brief Description of the Unit

The lesson plans in this unit combine the reading and listening comprehension with

task-based language teaching and content-based instruction. The goal of the overall course
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

is that the students will develop their language acquisition through comprehensible input

and interaction.

Specifically, this unit will involve meaning-focused learning and make learners focus

on receptive language skills which facilitate students developing several ways to

comprehend the reading and listening materials.

The Goals of the unit:

· Students will learn communicative language through listening to the real-world

conversations.

· Foster an environment for the students to immerse in comprehensible input.

· Students will practice their receptive skills of reading comprehension.

· Students will learn life-related knowledge from the meaningful reading material.

Scope and Sequence

Learning
Topic Target skill Subskill
Outcomes
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Speaking skill:
1) Know the
Listening skill: learn how to give
meaning and
Identify the advice and
usage of
purpose of suggestions in a
phrasal
conversations and conversation;
Lesson 1 modals and
the attitude of Critical thinking:
modal verbs.
interlocutors who talk about the
2) Master how
give the advice opinions with
to use phrasal
and suggestions. supportive
modals or
evidence.
Advice modal verbs
Reading skill:1)
& to make
Grasp the general
Suggestions statements
idea and Writing skill: Use
(e.g. I
supportive the modal verbs or
should/ought
information of the phrasal modals to
to make
ideas in a text. 2) give advice.
Lesson 2 changes.) and
Identify the Listening and
questions (
sentence patterns speaking skill:
e.g. Should I
of an advice. 3) group interaction.
take a
Several
different
vocabulary item
job?)
explanations
Listening skill: 1) 1) Know the
Speaking: 1) Use
Identify the logical
comparative
comparative relationship
We are all adjectives to
Lesson 3 relationship between the
different describe a thing or
between two items items.
a person.
in a listening 2) Master how
material. to use
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Reading skill: 1) comparative

The accuracy of adjective to
grasping the differentiate
Writing skill:
information things, ideas
How to use
through key words or people.
comparatives with
in a text. 2)
adjectives and
Lesson 4 Identify the
adverbs.
comparative
Listening and
meaning of an
Speaking skill:
adjective from its
Group interaction.
form. 3) Several
vocabulary items
explanation.
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Topic 1

Advice and suggestions

Lesson #1

Content Objective:

· Students can identify the purpose, the possible situation and relationship between

the interlocutors in the conversation.

Language Objective:

· Students get familiar with the expressions of making advice and suggestions.

· Students will practice listening comprehension of short conversation. (In class:

30’’ to 1’; Out of class: 1’ to 3’.)

Materials: Handouts (20 copies)

Equipment needed for class: Computer, projector, white board, markers.

Assignments to collect from students: None

Special room arrangements: Students are divided into groups of 4 by lots ahead of class.

Warm up: What should you consider when you look for a new job? (7 minutes)

Purpose

· Use a question which is closely related to their life to give the students a cue of

today’s topic to help them comprehend the listening material in the next activity.
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· Have them exchange their thoughts to help them build up the background knowledge

of this field in their mind.

Procedure:

· Students will be asked to discuss in the groups about this question based on their

experience or imagine.

· Ask some students to share their answers.

Transition: “Thanks for sharing your ideas about this question. Now, let's listen to a

short recording”

Activity #1 Listening & Discussion (8 minutes)

Purpose:

· Practice listening skills by using a socially connected recording about asking for and

giving advice.

· Students will be able to identify the general content of the listening material (from

the CD that accompanies the book).

· Students can get familiar with the way people ask for advice.

Procedure:

· Students are asked to listen to the recording (35 seconds), and discuss within their

groups about the content of the listening material (e.g. what are the problems.)
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· The conversation will be played only once. (See appendix A)

· The teacher walks around to interact with students during their discussion.

· Some students are asked to share their ideas.

Transition: “Any other ideas? Now we know that these are the requests for job advice.

Could you think of any ideas to solve the problems?”

Activity #2 Group discussion (10 minutes)

Purpose:

· Students can form their critical and meaningful idea after they receive some

information.

· During their interaction, students can practice listening, as well speaking and

writing. Moreover, they have change to negotiate the meaning and receive

feedback from their peers.

Procedure:

· Students are asked to discuss within the group, and write down the bullet points

of their solutions.
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Transition: “Good job, I think your solutions would be very helpful! Since we have

listened a recording about requests for job advice, let’s listen to one more recording, after

listening, I will ask you some questions about the content.”

Activity #3 Listening and discussion (10 minutes)

Purpose:

· Have the students more familiar with the topic about advice and suggestions.

· Students can practice their listening comprehension and be able to identify the

content of the complete conversation.

Procedure:

· I will play the recording (53 seconds) (See appendix B).

· After listening, students are asked to discuss about the content. (e.g. What is the

problem for Adam? What are the suggestions given by Lucy? Did Adam accept her

suggestion? etc. )

· The teacher will walk around and interact with students.

· Share the answers with the class.

Transition: “Since we have learned other people’s problem, and advice that are given to

solve those problems. Now, let’s think about the situations in your own lives. What

problem you have, and you have no idea to deal with it?”
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Activity #4 Problem solving (15 minutes)

Purpose:

· To reflect the topic to their own lives, and make them realize that asking for and

giving advice are common in human lives, and it is closely related to themselves.

· Students have more opportunity to receive comprehensible input from peers.

During the process, they might receive different types of feedback.

Procedure:

· Students will discuss in the groups. Everyone should think of a problem based on

the own experience that he/she have no idea to solve it.

· Other group members should come up with suggestions or solutions for him/her.

Closing: “Any questions about anything?”

Announcement: I will give you some homework. Please watch the short video clip on this

website https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6zNc7I0bi4. It is a 3-minute long video clip

which is about giving advice diplomatically. Please write down some bullet points about

the information that you think is helpful for you, and share with the class at the beginning

of next class.
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Lesson #2

Content Objective:

· Students will practice reading and comprehend short articles which are related to their

lives. (e.g. finding a job)

· Students will be familiar with the language that people use to make an advice or a

suggestion.

· Students will be able to identify the attitude of the speaker after learning the meaning

indicated by modal verbs or phrasal modals.

Language objective:

· Students will learn some vocabulary items which may hinder their comprehension of

the text.

· Students will learn the attitude communicated by different modal verbs or phrasal

modals in advice and suggestions.

Materials: Handouts (20 copies)

Equipment needed for class: Computer, projector, white board, markers.

Assignments to collect from students: None

Special room arrangements: Students are divided into groups by lots ahead of class.

Warm up: Homework check (7 minutes)

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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

Purpose:

· To make a connection between this class and the last class.

· Check the homework to make sure that they have receive comprehensible input out

of the class.

Procedure:

· Play the video again.

· Aske students to share their answer within their groups.

· The teacher will walk around the class and interact with students and give some

feedback about their answers.

Transition: It seems that you have learned a lot from the video. Today, we will continue

and more specifically talking about advice and suggestion. Firstly we are going to read a

text...”

Activity #1 Reading (15 minutes)

Purpose:

· Practice reading skills by using a socially connected reading material titled The Right

Job for You.

· Let students learn more background knowledge of the important elements that they

need to considerate when finding a new job.

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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

· Learn some vocabulary items which help them comprehend the text.

Procedure:

· They can choose to read the article with people around you, or individually. (See

appendix C)

· Students are asked to circle the words that they don’t understand during reading the

text.

· The teacher walks around, and see what are the words that most students have circled.

· The teacher introduces these words by explaining with simplified language and

pictures from websites.

· The teacher will ask what some specific information they have received from the text

(e.g. the general content of the five pieces of advice).

Transition: Ok! We have learned that this text introduced five suggestions from experts.

Giving advice diplomatically is an art, the right way of will earn you respect, but a wrong

way will bring bad effect to a relationship! Now I want to specifically introduce you to

some sentence patterns that people use to make advice and suggestions.

Activity #1 Advice and suggestions (15 minutes)

Purpose:
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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

· Introduce the language objective of today’s lesson – making advice and suggestions

with modal verbs or phrasal modals (e.g. ought to/ should/ had better not) (See

appendix D).

. Students will be able to identify which sentences in this text is providing an advice

or suggestion (e.g. You also might want to think about your personal relationships.),

and what attitude is communicated by modal verbs or phrasal modals in these

sentences (e.g. strongly/ less strongly advised).

Procedure:

· Introduce the sentence patters of giving advice and suggestions with modal verbs or

phrasal modals, and different attitude communicated by the modals.

· Ask the students to identify the advice and suggestion sentences in this text, and

discuss about the attitude communicated in these sentences.

Transition: “Are there any questions about the sentences? Ok! Now, it is the time for

group interaction.”

Activity #2 Giving advice and suggestions (15 minutes)

Purpose:

· Students can practice using correct modal verbs or phrasal modals to express their

advice and suggestions.

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Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction

· Students can practice listening with interlanguage input which may contain errors,

offered from peers who are less linguistically sophisticated, so they will negotiate

the meaning and receive different types of feedback from their peers.

Procedure:

· Each group will get a piece of paper which tells them a scenario (e.g. I have my first

job interview next week, I’m very nervous, can you give me some advice of what I

should do to release my nervousness?). (See appendix E)

· They are asked to come up with some advice and suggestions to solve the problem

in the scenario.

· Each group will choose a representor to share their advice or suggestions to the class.

Other groups and teacher can accordingly give some feedbacks.

Closing: “Great job! Thanks for kindly giving your advice! Do you any questions or

comments about what we learned today?

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Topic 2

We are all different

Lesson #3

Content objectives:

· Students will be able to know there is a general rule of the difference between siblings

(e.g. older siblings tend to be more intelligent than younger siblings).

Language objective:

· Students will be able to know the comparative relationship in the listening material.

· Students will be able to use the comparative pattern in a conversation.

· Students will be familiar with vocabulary which are used to describe people in the

listening materials.

Materials: handouts

Equipment needed for class: projector, white board

Assignments to collect from students: none

Special room arrangements: students sit in groups in front of the teacher

Warm-up: Watch a short video (8 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksY7flScoEo

Purpose:
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· The short video provides the description of the special skills of several heroes to attract

students’ attention and make connection to the topic in this lesson.

Procedure:

· The video provides several heroes in different characteristics, and after the short video,

students are asked to talk about their thinking of the heroes.

Transition: “OK. We know that there are different characteristics of heroes. It is an

interesting video and the topic today is similar to the video. The topic is we are different.”

Activity 1: Listen to a news report (15 minutes)

Purpose:

· To practice student listening skills and grasp important information in listening

material. Students will try to understand the listening material in group discussion.

Procedure:

· The instructor will play a video about the news report which is related to the different

intelligence between families (See appendix F). Students will be asked to listen to the

video and fill in the blank. After playing the video for the first time, the instructor

will ask students whether they need to listen again to make sure they all understand

this listening material. When students finish the fill in the blank, they will be required
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

to have five-minutes group discussion for the answer and their understanding of this

listening material. Finally, the instructor will correct the answer with the whole class.

Transition: We did a good job in the listening part! I think you all have your understanding

of this material. Next, I want to have a comprehension check for you to make sure you all

comprehend this part.

Activity 2: Graphic organizer. (15 minutes)

Purpose:

· Enable students to check their understanding of the listening materials and pay

attention to the detail of the listening material.

Procedure:

· The instructor will have some cards for students which represent the comparative

relationship in the listening material in activity 1. For example, there is a group of

cards in which one person is smart and the other one is less smart than the former. The

instructor will have two categories: old siblings and young siblings. Students should

match the card to the related categories. After they finish their task, they have to

discuss the answer in a group. At last, the instructor will ask each group to share their

answers.
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Transition: Do you think this is an interesting finding that families would have different

intelligence? I think you might have some opinion about this topic. Next part I want you to

discuss this topic.

Activity 3: What’s difference between you and your siblings (10 minutes)

Purpose:

· Students will be able to use the comparative form to describe the difference and

students will listen to expressions from other students to practice their listening skills.

What’s more, during the interaction, students could check whether they understand

the meaning of comparative form.

Procedure:

· Students will be asked to draw their siblings or friends and themselves, and then they

should use the comparative form to describe what differences between the person they

draw.

Closure（2 minutes）: Do you have any questions about this lesson? Today we have rough

understanding of comparative form. Next class I will introduce more usage of comparative

adjectives and adverbs. Thanks for coming today.

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Lesson #4

Content objectives:

· Students will be able to know the idea of birth order would affect the personality.

Language objective:

· Students will be able to read and understand the article which the grammar of

comparatives is used.

· Students will be able to learn vocabulary of personality.

Materials: handout

Equipment needed for class: projector, white board

Assignments to collect from students: none

Special room arrangements: students sit in groups in front of the teacher

Warm-up: Do you have brothers and sisters? (8 minutes)

Purpose:

· To warm up and relate to the topic in class and increase students’ participation in the

class.

Procedure:

· The instructors will have a short communication with students talking about their

sisters and brothers and ask them how do their brothers or sisters like.
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Transition: “OK. Some students have brother or sister. Recently, there is a research on

the effect of the birth order in personality. We will get to know this interesting concept. ”

Activity 1: Reading an article (15 min)

Purpose:

· Students will read an article which contain some difficult words for him and help

students to use the inference skill to predict the meaning of the words as well as the

article.

Procedure:

· The instructor will provide the article which title is Does Birth Order Affect

Personality?(See appendix G) Students will be asked to read the article in a group.

Then the instructor will ask them to underline the words of which they don’t know

the exact meaning. The instructor will give some indirect instruction for students

instead of giving the meaning of the words directly. The instructor would find the

sentences which the words locate and enlighten students to predict the meaning of the

words in the sentences.

Transition: I think you might have a rough understanding of this article and I will have

some exercises for you to check if you have any questions in this article.
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Activity 2: Comprehension check (15 minutes)

Purpose:

· Students will be tested for their understanding of the article and have practice to their

ability of grasping the key information.

Procedure:

· The instructor will provide two exercises about the reading: one is matching the

description to the items and one is fill in the blank (See appendix H). The next part is

to have group discussion and group member should raise their opinion of what the

article talks about. Each group has to share their answers in class.

Transition: We finish our reading part and you all did a good job. Next activity, I need

you to use what you learn to compare two persons.

Activity 3: comparing (10 minutes)

Purpose:

· Students will be assessed whether they understand these two pieces of information and

make students know how to compare.

Procedure:

· The instructor would provide two individual introductions which contain the age,

height, and weight etc. (See appendix I). Students are asked to compare these two
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

pieces of the information in every aspect of the information and write it down. The

instructor will ask several students to share their answer.

Closure（2 minutes: This lesson is connected with the last lesson and I hope this two

lessons are helpful for you. If you have some questions, feel free to contact me. Thanks for

cooperation.

Discussion

In order to make sure the authenticity, and the difficulty level of the content is fit for

intermediate ESL students, we selected the texts and some of the listening conversations

from the Grammar and Beyond Level 2 Student’s Book (Reppen, 2012) which is used as a

text book for ESL classes in Colorado State University. Grammar teaching is not the

emphasis of these classes, but we involved some of the grammar rules explained in this

book. This grammar rules can help students understand the sentence structure which is

commonly used in their life. The materials selected to the lesson plans contain plentiful

example patterns to make student familiar with the correct language use, and help students

to make a connection between form and meaning.

It is helpful if the content of materials is closely related to their lives, for example,

considerations about finding a new job, personalities affected by the order of birth.

Therefore, when they are reading the titles of the texts, they can predict the content of the
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

text based on their own experience. Prediction is a good way to help comprehension and

build critical thinking skills, since during prediction, students are getting prepared or

“ready” to receive input. In addition, we selected the topics that they might have thought

about or talked about previously in their first language, so students will feel more secure

when they are asked to have critical thinking and express their own opinion in group

discussions. Moreover, materials which follow their interests can also help their

comprehension. For ESL teachers, we can make a simple survey about students’ interests

and needs in English learning by asking them to write down their ideas on a piece of paper

and hand-in to us. Then we can customize the topics according to their interests and needs.

Since the listening and reading class in the lesson plans should be consecutive, we

assigned some homework for students after listening class. The reason is that: 1.) the two

class are within the same topic, so we need to make connection between the two classes

and remind students of what they learned in last class; and 2.) Out-side-class listening or

reading is also a good way to diversify the source of comprehensible input that students

can learn in their pace.

In these lesson plans, the feedback and negotiation of meaning mainly take place in

group discussions. When students interact with their group members, they receive different

types of feedback. Meanwhile, teachers should walk around the class to observe and

interact with the students, as well to make sure that everyone has engaged.
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Both formative and summative assessment can be adopted to evaluate the students’

learning outcome. However, since we didn’t develop lesson plans for the whole semester,

we didn’t involve the summative assessment for the end of the semester. In the lesson plans,

we evaluate students’ learning outcome through tasks and homework. Besides, we

designed a group discussion after almost every listening or reading task in which the

subskills (listening or writing) are involved. These subskills serve as assessments to

evaluate their comprehension of the input.

Limitations

There are some limitations of the project. The lesson plans were developed based on

the theoretical approaches and empirical studies, so they have not been practically

implemented. The effectiveness of the lessons should be tested in practical contexts.

Furthermore, the lesson plans are designed for small-sized ESL classes since time is limited

and every student needs to engage in interaction and receive feedback. Finally, the

activities are designed for intermediate students, therefore, the materials and tasks may be

not suited for beginners or advanced students.

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix

Appendix A

1. I’ve been offered my dream job. However, it is far from my family and friends. Should

I take the job?

2. I need help to make plans for my career, who can I talk to?

3. I’ve been looking for a job for several months. I finally have an offer, but it’s not the

perfect job for me. However, I really need money, should I take the job?

4. I absolutely hate my job! I want to look for another one, but I have lots of student loans.

What can I do?

5. I would like to change careers, but I don’t have experience in the career I like. My

friend told me to do volunteer work to get experience. How can I do this?

6. I’m almost finished with school and I don’t know what kind of job I want. What should

can I do?

7. My parents think money is the most important thing in a job. I want to look for a job

that makes me happy. Should I listen to my parents?

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix B

https://elt.oup.com/student/newenglishplus/level03/level03_dialogues/level03_dialog

ue05?cc=us&selLanguage=en

Lucy: You look upset, Adam. What’s the matter?

Adam: Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.

Lucy: Come on. What’s up?

Adam: Well, I’ve just got this text message from a guy in my class. He wants me to take

a photo of the math exam paper tomorrow and them send it to him. What should I do, Lucy?

Lucy: Well, whatever you do, don’t cheat. That’s for sure. They can expel you for that.

Adam: Right.

Lucy: And I think you should tell your teacher.

Adam: What? Tell on him? I can’t do that!

Lucy: Yes, definitely. Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll understand.

Adam: Yes, you’re right. Thanks, Lucy.

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix C
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix D

Subject Modal verb/ Phrasal Basic form of verb

modal phrase

I should

You shouldn’t/ should not

He/ She/ It ought to

We ought not to make changes

They had better (not)

would better (not)

Wh- Modal verb Subject Basic form of verb

word

When should I call?

who you

he/

she/ it

we

they
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix E

I can’t sleep because of my neighbor who plays the piano until 1

a.m.
I think my parents read my text messages, but I can’t prove it.

I got a bad mark in math, I haven’t told my parents because I’m

afraid they’ll get angry.

I think one of my classmates suffers from bulimia (can’t stop

himself from eating too much. How can I help him?

My parents want me to go to law school but I’m interested in arts.

Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix F
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix G
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix H
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

Appendix I
Providing comprehensible input in ESL instruction 34

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1. revised some expressions

2. revised goals and objectives in lesson plans

3. revised the formates of the lesson plans