Bringing the benefits of grammar knowledge closer to L2 practitioners
Submitting Institution
University of GreenwichUnit of Assessment
Modern Languages and LinguisticsSummary Impact Type
SocietalResearch Subject Area(s)
Education: Curriculum and Pedagogy, Specialist Studies In Education
Language, Communication and Culture: Linguistics
Summary of the impact
The research focuses on the second language acquisition (SLA) of tense
and aspect, which are persistently problematic areas of grammar for
language students to master. It has led to the development and delivery of
workshops for language teachers which deliver three impacts:
- an enhanced knowledge of the linguistic properties of tense and
aspect;
- an understanding of the reasons underlying learners' difficulties;
- the consideration of effective pedagogical techniques in grammar
teaching.
The teachers' improved confidence and skills lead to greater motivation
and engagement by their students, delivering the main impacts which are
improvements in education and the learning of second languages.
Underpinning research
The research insights of Dr Sarah Liszka, (Lecturer in Applied
Linguistics & Language Acquisition, University of Greenwich, since Jan
2012) have contributed to three main issues in the field of SLA:
- the transfer of grammatical properties from the first language (L1)
- the nature of ultimate attainment
- whether or not a critical period for second language acquisition
exists.
Within tense and aspect studies (tense locating an event in time while
aspect marks it as durative, complete or repeated), she has found that
native-like attainment is rarely achieved. For example, Chinese speakers
of English who learn English as a second language as adults appear to have
persistent difficulties developing and producing the past simple tense in
English (eg I walked to work), even at high levels of proficiency
in English [3.5]. A further example is the acquisition of the present
perfect (eg I have walked to work), where difficulties persist at
high levels of proficiency across learners from many L1 backgrounds [3.6,
3.8].
To tackle the issue of why these persistent difficulties arise, and in
turn help teachers to understand their students' lack of attainment, it is
fundamental to understand what learners bring from their first language
and how the relationships between forms and meanings are constructed in
the second language (L2). To this end, theoretical and empirical work
undertaken by Liszka (1998-current) has contributed to shedding light on
the acquisition pathways of different tense and aspect forms. She has
raised and tested hypotheses concerning the reasons for lack of complete
attainment in SLA.
The findings suggest:
a) tense and aspect properties are transferred from the L1 and continue
to influence L2 development, even at very high levels of proficiency;
b) where the L1-L2 pairing shares a certain property, learners acquire
that property in a native- like way;
c) where the L1-L2 pairing does not share a certain property, learners
continue to have persistent difficulty acquiring that property;
d) these persistent difficulties appear to be linked with the age
learning begins, suggesting a critical period around or after puberty.
If Liszka has identified which learners have problems and why,
Professor Benati (Professor of Applied Linguistics & Second
Language Studies, 1992-current) complements her findings with an expertise
in teaching grammar to second language students, ie helping students pick
up grammar which is alien to them. He is a pioneer in the fields of Input
Processing and Processing Instruction. Input processing argues that
learners can be taught to note grammatical items, often without resorting
to conscious knowledge; processing instruction looks at how best to
enhance and present materials to learners.
Benati's research (2003-current) has been productive and informative for
second language teachers. He has repeatedly demonstrated the effects of
processing instruction under a variety of conditions, teasing out
variables and testing the effects with different languages, different
structures, and different learners. His research provides pedagogical
solutions for a range of issues including tense and aspect, e.g. for
teaching redundant forms such as -ed- and third person singular -s- and
for syntactic structure as passive constructions in English.
References to the research
3.1 Benati, A. (2005). The effects of processing instruction,
traditional instruction and meaning—output instruction on the acquisition
of the English past simple tense. Language Teaching Research, 9(1),
67-93.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/1362168805lr154oa
**3.2 Benati, A., Lee, J. (2008). From Processing Instruction on
the acquisition of English Past Tense to secondary transfer of teaching
effects on English Third person singular present tense (pp.88-120). In A.
Benati & J. Lee (Eds.) Grammar Acquisition and Processing
Instruction: Secondary And Cumulative Effects. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
3.3 Benati, A., & Mavrantoni, M. (in press, 2013). The
effects of Processing Instruction and Traditional Instruction on two
different School-age learners: the case of English Present Simple Tense.
In J. Lee & A. Benati (Eds.), Individual Differences and
Processing Instruction. London: Equinox.
3.4 Angelovska, T. and Benati, A. (2013). Third Person Singular
(in press, 2013). In J. Lee & A. Benati (Eds.), Individual
Differences and Processing Instruction. London: Equinox.
3.5 Hawkins, R. & Liszka, S. (2003) Locating the source of
defective past tense marking in advanced L2 English speakers (pp. 21-44).
In R. Van Hout, A. Hulk, F. Kuiken & R. Towell (Eds.) The
Lexicon-Syntax Interface in Second Language Acquisition, LALD Vol. 30.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
3.6 Liszka, S. A. (2004). Exploring the effects of first language
influence on second language pragmatic processes from a syntactic deficit
perspective. Second Language Research, 20(3), 212-231. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/0267658304sr238oa
**3.7 Liszka, S. A. (2009) Associating meaning to form in
advanced L2 speakers: An investigation into the acquisition of the English
present simple and present progressive (pp. 229-246). In N. Snape, Y-K. I.
Leung and M. Sharwood Smith (Eds.) Representational Deficits in SLA:
Studies in Honor of Roger Hawkins; LALD Vol 47. Amsterdam:
John Benjamins. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/9316/
**3.8 Roberts, L. & Liszka, S.A. (2013) Processing
tense/aspect-agreement violations on-line in the second language: A
self-paced reading study with French and German L2 learners of English. Second
Language Research, 29(4), 413-439.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0267658313503171
Benati: research dates
2003-2005 - L2 Acquisition of the Past Simple in English
2006-2008 - L2 Acquisition of the Past Simple in English and Present
Simple third person singulars- in English
(The above research was supported internally at the University of
Greenwich).
2011-2013 - L2 Acquisition of Present Simple third person singular -s- in
English (adults vs. young learners). This was partially support by the Processing
Instruction and Individual Differences project. Leverhulme Trust,
Visiting Fellowship Grant (Ref. F00345/F). £18,470.
Liszka: research dates
Development of Tense and the Present Perfect in Second Language English.
1998-2005. This research incorporates Liszka's doctoral studies
(October 1998 until May 2002) and was funded for two years
(1999-2001) by an ESRC Postgraduate Research Grant (Award Number:
R00429924496).
2006-current - L2 Acquisition of the Present Simple and Present
Progressive in English;
2007-current - Acquisition and Psycholinguistic Processing of Tense and
Aspect in L2 English.
(From 2005 to 2007 the research above was supported by a reduction in
teaching hours)
Evidence of the quality of research
Evidence that the research underpinning the case study is of 2* or above
is justified by:
- international publications arising out of the work- at least two of
which are included as output in the UoA28 submission to the REF;
- invited/peer reviewed international conference presentation of the
work.
Details of the impact
Learning a second language is one of the key ways individuals access
other cultures and improve their chances in the employment market. Higher
linguistic attainment is in direct relation to more opportunities of
social integration and economic prosperity. However, many adults have
problems learning grammatical features.
This research focuses on the second language acquisition of tense and
aspect, areas of grammar which practitioners find particularly difficult
to teach and learners find persistently problematic to acquire. The
findings, which explain where the problems lie and provide solutions to
overcome them, have led the research team to develop and deliver professional
development workshops for language teachers.
The workshops have three impacts for participants:
- an enhanced knowledge of the linguistic properties of tense and
aspect;
- an understanding of the reasons underlying learners' difficulties;
- the consideration of effective pedagogical techniques in grammar
teaching.
The workshops are offered with the aim of equipping teachers with
practical and theoretical knowledge to boost their self-confidence, and
transform tense and aspect instruction into a more meaningful and
rewarding experience. In turn this motivates and engages language students
to develop their language skills in this area.
The project is currently in the pilot phase: the workshops were first
piloted at the University of Greenwich with in-house language teachers and
their feedback provided the opportunity to improve, eg to make sure that
more everyday language was used for some of the technical vocabulary. To
date the workshop has been facilitated at two language schools in London
(May and June 2013). The first workshop was unavoidably delivered on two
dates, with five participants attending the first part and eight attending
the second part. The second workshop had five participants.
Two types of feedback are gathered. The first is a questionnaire
completed by participants immediately after the workshop. The second is
feedback requested from line managers after two weeks. An example comment
is: "They (the teachers) got a lot out of it in terms of their
professional development as teachers, in deepening their understanding of
L2 acquisition, their individual learners and the concept of fossilised
errors." The feedback offered the following evidence of the three impacts:
-
Expanding teacher knowledge of tense and aspect
The first impact of our research has been that teachers have become more
confident and knowledgeable practitioners, by giving them a deeper
understanding of the properties underlying tense and aspect forms. Of
the thirteen participants, twelve claim to have found it very useful to
have increased their knowledge of the underlying properties of tense and
aspect.
-
Understanding students' persistent difficulties with tense and
aspect
The second impact has been that twelve out of the thirteen teachers
found it extremely helpful to explore why L2 learners find tense and
aspect so difficult to acquire. One teacher commented that "teachers
tend to ignore the reasons why students find it so difficult to acquire
tense and aspect due to a lack of insight". They now understand
that there will be different rates of progress amongst learners from
different L1 backgrounds within a class, as well as different levels of
attainment, and they can act upon this accordingly in the classroom.
-
Learning effective pedagogy
The third impact has been to enhance participants' understanding of
effective pedagogical techniques in grammar instruction. Nine out ten
participants found it very useful. They particularly welcomed the
practical applications and examples, as exemplified by "much to test in
the classroom, with some practical advice on task development".
Participants reported that they had incorporated the newly learnt
knowledge and strategies into their lesson plans and teaching practice,
providing a long-term effect of the impact of the activity. Finally,
according to the feedback, seventeen out of eighteen participants would
definitely recommend the workshop, with one teacher commenting "It was
extremely useful. The workshop raised valid points; therefore all teachers
should attend one." Both Directors of Studies have also asked the team to
facilitate further workshops.
The learning and teaching principles apply to other areas of grammar, eg
gender concord and determiners, so new workshops covering these aspects
are being developed as well as rolling out the tense and aspect workshop.
Sources to corroborate the impact
Beneficiary contact at language schools:
Two workshops, Friday 24 May 2013 and 14 June 2013:
A corroborative statement is provided by the Director of Studies, Language
Teaching Centres London.
28 May 2013:
The corroborative contact is the Director of Studies, East London School
of English.