Transcript NATESOL_2015_Jane_Willis_plenary

Continuous tenses and continuing learning:
a broader view of grammar, learning processes
and teaching strategies
Jane Willis
www.willis-elt.co.uk
1 There is no direct and predictable relationship
between teaching and learning.
2 Some aspects of language seem to be known
and not known at the same time. (Learning
and acquisition).
3 Learners pick up language they have not been
taught.
4 Learners create language to meet their needs.
5 Instruction does seem to make learning more
efficient.
Grammar of structure:
some examples
Learning process: recognition
Recognition
She working  She is working
The cat black  The black cat
She is working at home  Is she working…?
She’ll be working at home  Will she be working …?
I know a guy who he lives near here.
Grammar of orientation
We use the present continuous tense to talk about
something that is happening at the moment of
speaking:
I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.
We use the present simple tense to talk about
something that is true in the present in general:
He lives in London.
something that happens again and again in the
present:
I play football every weekend.
Explanation
Demonstration
Operation (???)
We use the present continuous tense to talk about
something that is happening at the moment of
speaking:
I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.
We use the present simple tense to talk about
something that is in the present in general:
I’m nineteen years old.
He lives in London.
and something that happens again and again in the
present:
I play football every weekend.
Advantages of recognition
1 The rules are simple and teachable
2 Learning and applying simple rules
provides motivation
3 It can provide a good description of some
aspects of grammar
Problems with recognition
1 It cannot provide full coverage of grammar
2 It often involves gross oversimplification
3 For much of the grammar the rules, particularly
the contrasts, do not work
4 There is no link to operation – to spontaneous use
1. for something that is happening at the moment of
speaking
2. for something which is happening before and
after a given time:
At eight o’clock we are usually having
breakfast.
When I get home the children are doing their
homework.
3. for something which we think is temporary:
Michael is at university. He’s studying history.
I’m working in London for the next two weeks.
4 for something which is new and contrasts
with a previous state:
These days most people are using email
instead of writing letters.
What sort of music are teenagers listening
to nowadays?
5 to show that something is changing, growing
or developing:
The climate is changing rapidly.
Your English is improving.
The interrupted past:
While he was reading the newspaper …
The interrupted present:
At eight o’clock we are usually having
breakfast
The interrupted future:
When I get home the children will be doing
their homework.
The interrupted …
At eight o’clock they might have been
waiting for a call.
We use continuous aspect:
• for something which is happening before and
after a given time – past, present, future...
• for something which we think is temporary.
• for something new contrasting with a previous
state.
• to talk about something changing, growing or
developing.
• to talk about something continuing for some
time
A framework for recycling:
from recognition to system building
Individual
VERB forms
Recognition
aspect
talking about the
present/past/future
System building
PREPOSITION
Recognition
meanings
verb patterns
System building
FOR:
a How long: time and distance:
We waited for an hour
They walked for half a mile
b Reason.
What for? … for example.
c Who wants or needs?
Can you do it for me?
Verb patterns with for
How long:
a Time: live, last, survive,
Distance: extend ; stretch
b Reason: ask; argue; look; hunt; search; shop;
wait; plan; arrange; prepare; train; compensate;
apologise; volunteer; sign on; show up.
c Who wants/needs: work; act; fight; speak;
deputise; substitute; stand in; speak; pray;
speak up; care; feel; grieve.
Advantages of system-building
1 It recognises grammar as a system of choices…
2 … and that choices are determined by meaning
3 It enables us to make powerful generalisations
4 It provides a framework for recycling
5 It encourages learners to look for systems in
language and continue learning independently
Problems with system building
1 It cannot explain why people make their choices
2 Some systems defy explanation because they are
too subtle and complex
3 No link to operation – students still don’t seem to
use it
Recognition
System building
Exploration
(Consciousness – raising)
Task-based lesson
‘Talking about holiday plans’
Task cycle:
Task, planning, report
Focus on form:
Exploration of language in a familiar
text or transcript of a recording
Consciousness-raising
B: Janet, I hear you’re planning a trip to Africa.
J: Yes it’s very exciting. Going in September to
see my son who’s doing volunteer work in
Zambia. So I’m going to fly to Lusaka and he’ll
meet me there and we’ll do a bit of travelling
round. I think we’re going to be staying most of
the time in Monze, where he’s working. It’s about
a hundred miles south of Lusaka. But we’re
planning all sorts of exciting things. We’re going
to go on safari…
B: How long are you actually going for?
J: Oh, six weeks. Quite a long time so we can do
quite a lot. I think we’re going to one of the big
game parks – Luangwa – a game park – for a few
days.
FUTURE
• Janet, I hear you’re planning a trip to Africa.
• Going in September to see my son who’s doing
volunteer work in Zambia.
• So I’m going to fly to Lusaka
• he’ll meet me there and we’ll do a bit of
travelling round.
• I think we’re going to be staying most of the
time in Monze,
• But we’re planning all sorts of exciting things.
We’re going to go on safari…
• How long are you actually going for?
• Quite a long time so we can do quite a lot.
• I think we’re going to one of the big game
parks.
B: Janet, I hear ***’** ******** a trip to Africa.
J: Yes it’s very exciting. ***** in September to
see my son who’s doing volunteer work in
Zambia. So I’* ***** ** *** to Lusaka and he’**
**** me there and we’** ** a bit of travelling
round. I think we’** ***** ** ** ******* most of the
time in Monze, where he’s working. It’s about a
hundred miles south of Lusaka. But we’re
planning all sorts of exciting things. We’** *****
** ** on safari…
B: How long *** you actually ***** for?
J: Oh, six weeks. Quite a long time so we *** **
quite a lot. I think we’** *****to one of the big
game parks – Luangwa – a game park – for a few
days.
Verbs with for can be divided into groups:
A. Supporting or helping someone or something:
stick up for, fight for, work for.
B. Trying to find something or get something: look
for, listen for, send (away) for, try for
What group do you think these phrases belong to?
1. We are collecting for the National Soc. for the Blind.
2. Jack has applied for a job with the BBC.
3. I’m going to vote for Peter Jackson.
4. She’s hoping for a job in television.
5. Look out for Michelle when you’re at school.
6. The church should speak for the poor.
Why do we need to encourage exploration?
• It provides insights into why choices are made
• It encourages learners to work for themselves on
systems that defy explanation
• It encourages learners to work with open ended
systems (e.g. verbs followed by for)
• It provides a link with operation
1 There is no direct and predictable
relationship between teaching and learning.
2 Some aspects of language seem to be known
and not known at the same time. (Learning and
acquisition).
3 Instruction does seem to make learning more
efficient.
4 Learners also pick up language they have not
been taught.
5 Learners create language to meet their
needs.
The most powerful resource for learning is the
natural capacity of the learner to solve
problems and create language:
4 Learners pick up language they have not
been taught. (Different learners will pick up
different things.)
5 Learners create language to meet their
needs. (Learners’ needs may be different too.)
And we need to give them space and
encouragement to do this, so...
We should help learners with the simple things
(recognition) and introduce them to more complex
grammar (system building) …
… as a means to help them to explore the
language and discover for themselves the real
complexities of grammar as a meaning system.
And we as teachers should continue to
explore beyond the grammar
that is presented in our text books
and look for broader generalisations...
Dave Willis 2003 Rules, Patterns and Words:
Grammar and Lexis in English Language Teaching
Cambridge Language Teaching Library
Dave Willis 2015 Winning the Grammar Wars:
What grammar really is and how we use it
Kindle eBook
Dave Willis and Jane Willis 2007 Doing Task-based Teaching
Oxford University Press
www.willis-elt.co.uk
Dave Willis 2003 Rules, Patterns and Words:
Grammar and Lexis in English Language Teaching
Cambridge Language Teaching Library
Dave Willis 2015 Winning the Grammar Wars:
What grammar really is and how we use it
Kindle eBook
Dave Willis and Jane Willis 2007 Doing Task-based
Teaching Oxford University Press
www.willis-elt.co.uk