Maximizing L2 exposure in the classroom and beyond. Suzanne Graham (University of Reading)

Universitat de Barcelona Workshop:

Maximizing L2 exposure in the classroom and beyond.

25/11/19 Suzanne Graham (University of Reading)

Learning through literature and other authentic texts: The role of teaching approach

Introduction
Professor Suzanne Graham’s presentation summarized a project, conducted as part of a major European study, which explores the connection between multilingualism and creativity. Her research team looked at the impact of creativity on language learning outcomes of learners of French at secondary school in the UK. 
In her introduction, Prof. Graham pointed out that the concept of creativity itself resists definition. She chose Kharkhurin’s (2009) description:

The ability to come up with novel, yet appropriate solutions to a given problem, often diverging from conventional thought patterns.

Professor Graham introduces her session

Creativity and Language Learning

In spite of the problems of definition, the concept deserves further exploration, as there is evidence (Dolinger, et al. 2007; Runco, 2007) to suggest that creativity is associated with flexibility, openness to a range of experiences and emotions, sensitivity, empathy, curiosity and tolerance of ambiguity, all of which are believed to facilitate language learning.

While bilingualism from birth has been shown to improve mental flexibility and agility (e.g. Leikin, 2012), there is, so far, only limited evidence that the same benefits might stem from learning to be bilingual (Landry, 1973; Lasagabaster, 2000). Hence the primary research question in this study:

Do ‘creative’ teaching approaches enhance language learning?

As is well known, learners of FLs in English-speaking contexts have limited access to the Target Language (TL) outside class, which inevitably has a repercussion on motivation. There is a very low uptake at secondary level when Modern Foreign Languages (MFLs) become optional (post 14 y.o). Furthermore, evidence from learners suggest that MFLs are considered a ‘difficult’ (and rather boring) subject.

Opinions of English students learning French. How do they compare to students learning English in your context? 

A further challenge to educators in Anglophone contexts is that learning gains are typically measured in terms of vocabulary size. When compared to their counterparts in other countries, English-speaking learners of MFLs have a low vocabulary size, reflecting the lack of exposure to input. Therefore any approach which would encourage out-of-class exposure would be considered beneficial.


Rationale for introducing a more ‘creative’ approach

Learners recognize that MFLs are important, but they demonstrate little intrinsic motivation, which leads to dropping the subject (Graham, 2002). Intrinsic interest is known to include an interest in the TL cultures (Fisher, 2001, Graham, 2002, 2004, 2018), and the identification of ‘personal relevance’ (Taylor & Marsden, 2014). The curriculum designers’ response to this has been to introduce greater emphasis on literary texts, starting at Key Stage 2 (KS2), ages 7-11, with stories, songs and poems. The introduction of literary and authentic texts is believed to engage learners on a more emotional and therefore personally relevant level.

Emotions and language learning

However, little research measures the impact of this approach on school learners’ motivation and language gains (see slide below). Most of the studies that have been carried out were conducted with adult (or university age) learners.

Using literature in the MFL classroom

Existing literature indicates that teachers tend to use literary texts to ask for information-based responses, e.g. Put these events into chronological order according to the text.
However, literature offers the potential to engage with emotions and focus on empathy (which would counteract the general conception that language classrooms are sterile, theory-based environments). The next consideration would be: what kind of texts and how should they be used? There seems to be a general consensus that using literary texts is important as part of a ‘personal growth approach’, but less agreement on how they are used.

Previous studies, e.g. The French Language Education Unlocking Reading project (glorying in the acronym FLEUR) have found that the introduction of literary texts can lead to increases in reading fluency, vocabulary (measured by X-Lex) and self-efficacy, but especially when reading strategies are explicitly introduced. Feedback from learners indicated they appreciated using texts and enjoyed learning about French life and culture.

Are English students bad at learning languages?

The Creative Multilingualism study

Context and participants

The study involved 433 adolescent (13-14 y.o) learners of French across 13 schools in a range of geographic and social contexts in England. Most of the learners had started learning French at age 11 and typically had 1.5-2 hours of class time a week, in lessons of 40m duration each.

Study design

Half of the sample were introduced to ‘literary’ texts: poems containing figurative language, while the other half used factual reading material. Both sets of texts contained the same lexical items, were of the same language level and dealt with similar topics: love, death, etc. Participating teachers were asked to use two different teaching approaches:

1. Creative
2. Functional

Creative vs Functional approaches

In each case, the teachers were provided with material, lesson plans and a script, to ensure consistency.
In the creative approach, the teacher paid more attention to the emotional content, metaphors and imagery. A lesson would typically start with images to elicit emotions associated with the text.
In the functional approach, the teacher paid attention to informational content and grammar, and the teacher might introduce the text by eliciting facts, historical background, etc.

In the first phase of the study (8 months), there were four different conditions:

 

Literary texts		Factual texts
A	B	A	B
Creative approach	Functional approach	Creative approach	Functional approach

In the second phase of the intervention, the text type was maintained for each group, but the approach was reversed.


Analysis

The analysis focused on these linguistic outcomes: reading, writing (tasks) and vocabulary (X-lex), controlling for the following factors:

- Time
- Text type
- Approach type
- Prior attainment (data from previous school)
- Contexts (different schools, different teachers)

Non-linguistic outcomes were measured by means of questionnaires and interviews, using validated test batteries for assessing motivation and attitudes. Creativity was measured in terms of production (see following slide)

Creativity was also measured by the widely used Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA) (Goff & Torrance, 2002) which assesses divergent thinking and verbal and figurative expression via a verbal, problem identification task, a picture completion task and a picture construction task. The results are scored on number, and novelty of responses as well as content which indicated an emotional reaction.

(On a side note, you can’t help noticing this is a test designed for adults – no mention was made of what impact this might have on the results).

Tasks within the ATTA

Results

Learners in all four conditions made significant gains in vocabulary, but those in the creative approach groups made the largest gains, irrespective of text type (literary or factual). Curiously, the functional approach proved to be more successful for literary, rather than factual texts.

The learners who made the largest gains were those that had started with the lowest levels of previous attainment AND were exposed to a creative approach with literary texts. On the other hand, those learners with higher levels of previous attainment benefitted most from non-matching approaches, i.e., a creative + factual, or a functional + literary.

There was a significant increase in measures of creativity between T1 and T2 but only for those learners exposed to the literary texts.

Summary of findings from the Creative Multilingualism project

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that it is possible, and even beneficial, to use literary and authentic texts with school-aged learners. The texts in general, were of interest to the learners, which led to greater engagement with French overall. Having said that, Graham admitted that learner feedback was, on the whole, lukewarm (they were fourteen year olds!), but that learners found the creative tasks significantly more ‘helpful’ and ‘interesting’ than the functional equivalents.

The use of both types of texts led to language gains, especially regarding development of vocabulary. The choice of approach could be determined by the learners’ previous language attainment levels. The creative approach prompted the most gains overall, and a matching condition (e.g. creative + literary) was beneficial for those with lower attainment. However, for those with higher previous attainment, the more difficult, more novel, non-matching approach seems to encourage noticing, possibly because, being ‘unusual’, it was more meaningful for the learners.