Switching on the light: encouraging ‘noticing’

1. Switching on the light: encouraging ‘noticing’ Alan Marsh MATEFL Malta 2012

2. Sound familiar? I have 15 years How much you want? Do you can drive? I been to Spain I didn’t been there yet My teacher is very sympathetic Last year I have been to England Tonight we will go to Mdina We made a beautiful travel

3. Why don’t they learn what I teach them (sometimes)?

5. Put these grammatical morphemes in the order in which you think learners acquire them. • a. auxiliary “be” “John isgoing” • b. third person “-s” “John likes books” • c. plural “-s” “books” • d. progressive “-ing” “John going” • e. articles “the/a” “The book” • f. possessive “’s” “John’s book” • g. copula “be” “John is here” • h. irregular past tense “John went”

6. Headway English File Language to Go Inside Out • 1 Plural ‘s’: Not taught • “books” (NT) 2 2 4 • 2 Progressive • ‘ing’: Error, NT E-NT E-NT E-NT “John going” • 3 Copula ‘be’: • “John is tired” 1 1 1 1 • 4 Auxiliary ‘be’: • “John isgoing” 6 7 5 6 • 5 Articles: a/the • “the book” 4 3 Not taught Not taught • 6 Irregular past • tense: • “John went” 5 8 6 5 • 7 Third person • ‘-s’: • “John likes books 3 4 4 3 • 8 Possessive‘- ’s’: • John’s book 2 6 3 2 • Dulay, H.C., & Burt, M.K. (1973), ‘Should we teach children syntax?’, Language Learning, 23/2, 245-258

8. Lockstep?

9. A learner’s interlanguage

10. Noticing the gap • Between my interlanguage and proficient language use

11. How is ‘noticing’ facilitated?

12. How is ‘noticing’ facilitated? Comparing learner output with proficient language use Notice the gap The light is switched on

13. Noticing Activity 1: Translation

14. Maltese 1 A Jien inħobb nitgħallem l-Ingliż. B Jien ukoll. Inħobb nitkellmu meta nista’. 2 A Mario dejjem tard! B Nixtieq li jiġi / jasal fil-ħin, imqar għal-darba. A X’inhu n-numru tiegħu? B Nixtieq li kont naf! 3 A Xi dwejjaq ta’ party! B Kieku kont naf, ma kontx niġi. 4 A Miniex f’sikkti / Ma tantx inħossni f’sikkti / Ma tantx qed inħossni tajjeb/tajba B Tridni nċempel it-tabib? 5 A Kemm domt fl-Istati Uniti? B Ġejt lura ix-xahar li għadda. 6 A Kemm ilek hawn Malta? B Għadni kif wasalt issa. 7 A Kemm se ddum Malta? B Tliet ġimgħat b’kollox. Ilni hawn ġimgħa u għandi / fadalli / baqagħli ġimagħtejn oħra .

15. 1 A Jien inħobb nitgħallmu l- Ingliż. B Jien ukoll. Inħobb nitkellmu meta nista’. 1 A I like learning English B Me too. I like to speak it whenever I can. 2 A Mario dejjem tard! B Nixtieq li jiġi / jasal fil-ħin,imgħar għal-darba. A X’inhu n-numru tiegħu? B Nixtieq li kont naf! 2 A Mario’s always late! B (How) I wish he’d arrive on time, just for once! A What’s his number? B I wish I knew! 3 A Xi dwejjaq ta’ party! B Kieku kont naf, ma kontx niġi. 3 A What a boring party! B If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come.

16. 4 A Miniex f’sikkti / Ma tantx inħossni f’sikkti / Ma tantx qed inħossni tajjeb/tajba B Tridni nċempel it-tabib? A I’m feeling a bit under the weather. B Do you want me to call the doctor? 5 A Kemm domt fl-Istati Uniti? B Ġejt lura ix-xahar li għadda. A How long were you in the States? B I arrived back last month. 6 A Kemm ilek hawn Malta? B Għadni kif wasalt issa. A And how long have you been here in Malta? B I’ve only just arrived. 7 A Kemm se ddum Malta? B Tliet ġimgħat b’kollox. Ilni hawn ġimgħa u għandi / fadalli / baqali ġimagħtejn oħra . A How long are you in Malta for? B Three weeks in all. I’ve been here (for) a week (so far) and I have another two weeks.

17. ‘Noticing’ questions • a. Instead of saying X, could we also say Y? • b. Is anything strange, or unfamiliar, to you? • c. Is there anything you would like to ask about? • d. Do you want to ‘steal’ anything from the text?

18. Input 1 A I like learning English B Me too. I like to speak it whenever I can. 2 A Mario’s always late! B I wish he’d arrive on time, just for once! A What’s his number? B I wish I knew! 3 A What a boring party! B If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come. 4 A I’m feelinga bit under the weather. B Do you want me to call the doctor? 5 A How long were you in the States? B I arrived back last month. 6 A How longhave you been here in Malta? B I’veonlyjust arrived. 7 A How long are you in Malta for? B Three weeks in all. I’ve been here (for) a week (so far) and I have another two weeks.

19. Activity 2: ‘Grammaring’ a text: RESCUE AT SEA STORM RAGE SEA HEAVING BOAT BE FIRE WISH NEVER COME MALTA ALL START FRIEND SUGGEST HAVE WEEKEND BREAK MALTA THINK GREAT IDEA SO OFF GO ARRIVE FRIDAY EVENING SATURDAY BOOK BOAT TRIP AROUND ISLAND HAVE WONDERFUL TIME ENJOY SUN SEA SUDDENLY OUT BLUE STORM BREAK BOAT STRIKE LIGHTNING CATCH FIRE FORTUNATELY CREW QUICK PUT OUT BUT ENGINE CUT OUT NOT START CAPTAIN RADIO HELP MALTESE MILITARY BOAT COME RESCUE AND RETURN SAFELY LAND STAY SHORE SUNDAY HAVE RELAX DAY BUT WONDER WHAT HAPPEN IF RADIO NOT WORK

20. The storm was raging, the sea was heaving and our boat was on fire! I wish I’d never come to Malta! • It all started when my/a friend/ a friend of mine suggested having/suggested that we had a weekend break in Malta. I thought it was a great idea so off we went. We arrived on Friday evening and on the Saturday we booked a boat trip around the island. • We were having a wonderful time (and [we were])enjoying the sun and sea when suddenly out of the blue a storm broke. The/our boat was struck by lightning and caught fire. Fortunately the crew quickly put it out but the engine had cut out and wouldn’t start. So the captain radioed for help. A Maltese military boat came to our/the rescue/and rescued us and we returned safely to land/returned us safely to land. We stayed on shore on Sunday and had a relaxing day but I wonder what would have happened if the radio hadn’t worked/been working.

21. Pre-Intermediate Level Grammaring Text My teacher’s typical summer day DAY UP SIX THEN JOG PARK WHEN HOME SHOWER AFTER BREAKFAST DRIVE SCHOOL WORK THREE AFTER GO BEACH FRIENDS EVENING DINNER HOME BED MIDNIGHT

22. Possible reconstruction Every day I get/wake up at six (am/o’clock). Then I go jogging / go for a jog / jog in the park. When I get home I have a shower and have breakfast. Then I drive to school. I work until three. After that, I go to the beach with some (of my) /my friends. In the evening I have dinner at home. I go to bed at (about/around) midnight

23. Noticing Activity 3: Error Texts –find the mistakes Hello [Maria], Seeing that we will spend some time together, I thought you’d like to know a bit about me. I’m more than half-a-century old (☺!), and from the nationality point of view I’m a mixture in a bag. You see, I’m British but I am actually born in Malta. My father has been a British military man and he has met my mother – and then they had me - while he was in Malta. Recently I acquired Maltese Citizenship. I’m also an italian citizen, by the way – I love picking out nationalities! I suppose I consider me to be European, or a Mediterraneanised Brit!

24. a. Instead of saying X, could we also say Y? b. Is anything strange, or unfamiliar, to you?c. Is there anything you would like to ask about?d. Do you want to ‘steal’ anything from the text? Input: Hello [Maria], Seeing that we’re going to spend/we’ll be spending some time together, I thought you’d like to know a bit about me. I’m more than half-a-century old (!) and nationality-wiseI’m a bit of a mixed bag. You see, I’m British but I wasactually born in Malta. My father was a British soldier and he met my mother – and then they had me - while he was in Malta. Recently I acquiredMaltese citizenship. I’m also an Italian citizen, by the way – I love picking up nationalities! I suppose I consider myselfto be European, or a Mediterraneanised Brit!

25. Learner letter Hi! My name Juan. I have 11 years old. I’m Spain. My town is Barcelona. Is wonderful town! I love very much the football. I like the music rap, too. And you? What you like? I have two parent. My mum work in bank and my dad is teacher. I have two sister. Lourdes and Carmen. They have 14 and 26 years. Next summer I go in England. Last summer I go in USA. In the future I want be musician. You want we chat on Facebook? Juan

26. Pre-Intermediate / Intermediate (Extract) • I am here since three days. My first impressions are that Malta is a very small island. There’s much building going on, and quite a bit of traffic. However, the people is friendly and easy to talk to and understand. • There are eight persons in my class and they are coming from different countries – Germany, French, Spanien and Italien. I like them very much. Our teacher is very sympathetic. She is Maltese and I can understand all that she says. I’m looking with enthusiasm to the rest of the course.

27. Noticing Activity 4: Embedding in a story 1 Last weekend 2 A Disastrous Day 3 Shopping

28. Listen again – and reconstruct • Last Saturday-shopping-clothes – ages -never have time - hard month, so ..need  - early-for shops - on way – car  -  breakdown service -15 mins-not take long-sort problem - drive-arrive- town – buy -a load of clothes-one shop-go to pay-them - credit card – refuse – no credit! – try  brother - no credit on card! Clothes back - assistant - go home

29. Shout STOP!!!! I ran out of time

30. Instead of saying X, could we also say Y?Is anything strange, or unfamiliar, to you? Is there anything you would like to ask about? Do you want to ‘steal’ anything from the text? Last Saturday I went shopping for some clothes. I had been putting it off for ages as I never have time, but it had to be done, and anyway it had been a hard month so I needed to cheer up. So I set off early for the shops. But on the way there my car broke down. I phoned up the breakdown service and they turned up after 15 minutes or so. They didn’t take long to sort the problem out. I drove on, arrived in town, bought a load of clothes in one shop, went to pay for them … but my credit card was refused. I’d run out of credit! I tried to phone my brother, but I’d run out of credit on my phone card too. So I handed my clothes back to the assistant and went back home.

31. Noticing Activity 5: Reduced Dialogues

32. The reduced version A: …… mind … ask ………………questions? B: …….. all. Go …. A: How ……….you in Malta …? B: Two weeks…………. A: … how ………………………….here, so …? B: Eight days. A: I …. When …… …………….to Germany? B: At ……… ………week, … five …………. A: Yes, ….......! …….., thanks……………….. time. B: You’re …………… ………….

33. The original version A: Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? B: Not at all. Go ahead. A: How long are you in Malta for? B: Two weeksin all. A: And how long have you been here, so far? B: Eight days. A: I see. When do you go back to Germany? B: At the end of the week, in five days’ time. A: Yes of course! Anyway, thanks for your time. B: You’re welcome. Anytime.

34. Tom and Anna’s first date

38. Tom: ______ like ? • Anna: _________. • Tom: ______ like ? • Anna: __________ • Tom: _______like ? • Anna: _________! It’s____!

39. Tom: Do you like fish ? • Anna: No I don’t. • Tom: Do you like pasta ? • Anna: No I don’t. • Tom: Do you like pizza ? • Anna: Yes I do! It’s yummy!

40. Dialogue Dictogloss

41. Alice: My new French student arrived yesterday Bonnie: Oh yes? What’s her name? Alice: Marianne. Bonnie: ___________ name! ______________? Alice: Really nice. I’m sure we’ll ______________. We seem to ________________. Bonnie: Oh really? ______________________? Alice: Well, ________ she _________________, just like me. ___________ films, and the beach of course. Bonnie: Oh, wait a minute! I saw you with someone this morning. That __________________. ____________________________________? Alice: Oh, quite tall, with long dark hair. Bonnie: Oh, ______________________ , then. She was blond. Alice: ____________________________. I was giving ___________. Bonnie: Oh yes, _______________________ ill. ________________? Alice: _____________________, thank __________.

42. Dialogue Dictogloss Alice: My new French student arrived yesterday Bonnie: Oh yes? What’s her name? Alice: Marianne. Bonnie: What a pretty name. What’s she like? Alice: Really nice. I’m sure we’ll get on really well. We seem to have a lot in common. Bonnie: Oh really? What does she like doing? Alice: Well, for a start she likes playing tennis, just like me. Art house films, and the beach of course. Bonnie: Oh, wait a minute! I saw you with someone this morning. That might have been her. What does she look like? Alice: Oh, quite tall, with long dark hair. Bonnie: Oh, that can’t have been her, then. She was blond. Alice. That must have been my niece. I was giving her a lift. Bonnie: Oh yes, I remember you saying she was ill. How is she? Alice: She’s on the mend, thank goodness.

43. How were the following expressed in the dialogue?: • We’ll have a good relationship • We share a lot of interests • What kind of person is she? • What is her physical appearance? • Possibly it was her. • It is impossible that it was her. • I suppose that it was my niece. • I remember that you said she was ill. • What is the state of her health? • She’s getting better (informal)

44. Elementary Dialogue Dictogloss • A ________________________? • B Mmmm .. _______________! • A Sugar? • B Two please. No milk. • A ________________. • B Mmm, ________. • A Would you like a cup of coffee? • B Mmmm .. I’d love one! • A Sugar? • B Two please. No milk. • A There you go. • B Mmm, lovely.

45. Pre-Intermediate Dialogue Dictogloss • A ___________________ to a football match? • B No, I haven’t. ________ you? • A Well yes, _______. Once. • B Really? _______________________? • A Really exciting._________________! • B _____________? • A Yes! I’d love to go again • A Have you ever been to a football match? • B No, I haven’t. What about you? • A Well yes, actually. Once. • B Really? What was it like? • A Really exciting. I really enjoyed it! • B Seriously? • A Yes! I’d love to go again

46. Conclusion As well as the official syllabus … We need a parallel ‘alternative syllabus’ Full of noticing opportunities In the hope that …

47. If you’d like to send me any comments or questions about this presentation and workshop and/or would like the powerpoint slides, please send me an email: alanmarshinmalta@gmail.com Thanks Alan