Reflection #2 - SPPT 5999

Providing Oral Corrective Feedback to Improve Learner Proficiency

·      Summary –

o   This chapter focuses on a variety of ways to giving corrective feedback to students, the differences between these ways, and how to present them to students. The chapter then goes over considerations to think about regarding context factors, learner factors, and CF strategies in order to give CF to students.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Uptake

§  This article focuses on corrective feedback and this concept is important for how students interpret and use the feedback given to them.

o   Scaffolding

§  This is what I practice in my classroom everyday: me, being a proficient Spanish learner, assisting and guiding the learning of less proficient learners. This is critical for less proficient learners to learn more and learn well.

·      Reaction –

o   This chapter seems quite intuitive after going over feedback in class last week. However, I did appreciate it going over the different types of CF and clearly defining them as well as the table showing where on the spectrum of implicitness/explicitness and prompts/reformulations the CFs fell.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   Has research shown that one or two types of CF are more effective?

o   How should I correct a student, if at all, if his/her error is beyond his/her ZPD?

Oral Corrective Feedback in Second Language Classrooms

·      Summary –

o   The article first presents previous research on CF, the types of CF, and issues with CF. However, effectiveness is also covered, which highlights the differences between teacher-student relationship and student-student relationships and how CF fits into these both. Overall, what is shown is that a variety of CF should be used, it is better to use CF than no CF, and students have a stronger preference for CF than teachers do.

·      Key Concepts –

o   Target

§  This is what we want students to aim for and achieve. It also will help improve a student’s language abilities if (linguistic) targets are met. It also gives a reference point for students and teachers to aim for.

o   Recasting

§  Repeating what the student said, but with the correct grammar/vocab/etc. was shown to have a positive effect on students, specifically when it focused on just one (or very few) consistent error.

·      Reaction –

o   I thought this study was interesting, helping answer a previous question of mine (effectiveness of different types for CFs). It also encourages me as a professor to include more CF when talking with students because studies have shown that students want more CF! Finally, I enjoyed that a variety of linguistic targets were looked at for CF and it reminds me that CF doesn’t just have to be for grammar but can encompass more aspects of a language.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   What are practical ways I can practice CF in my classroom that encompasses more linguistic targets?

o   Is there a type of CF that lends itself to more contexts than others? How does the context of CF affect how it is received?

Developing Oral and Written Interpersonal Communication

·      Summary –

o   This chapter goes over the ACTFL guidelines for proficiency, which flows into discussing different classroom activities (hopefully all improving the proficiency of the students.) Each activity is given a definition, a model, and explanation as to why this type of activity is important or could be used practically. The activities range from group work to pair work to role playing to journaling (and many more) in order to give students a good basis for demonstrating their abilities in a variety of ways

·      Key Concepts –

o   Proficiency

§  This is what students aim for and can be difficult to achieve varying levels of this. Essentially this is the final end goal that all second-language learners: to be considered a skilled speaker/writer/communicator in a language in many different contexts.

o   Repair

§  This is important to ensure that communication continues to flow between the speaker/writer and the listener/audience. It also encourages the student (speaker/writer) to improve their language and use different language to explain the intended meaning which in turn improves his/her proficiency.

·      Reaction –

o   This chapter was awesome and helped me brainstorm more and new ideas for my classroom! I feel as though I repeat activities frequently and I want to introduce new activities but am only so creative where I run out of ideas quickly. I will be saving this chapter for future reference and will most likely look back at it a lot as I continue to design lessons for this semester and future courses.

·      Discussion Questions –

o   Is it beneficial to have activities that are normal for students to do? In other words, is having too much variety in activities done in class detrimental to students improving?

o   Is there a way to provide cultural contexts for students of lower levels of a language without being too abstract? (Apart from “pretend you are a foreign exchange student in ….”)