Form-Function Mapping in Content-Based Language Teaching: A Study of Interlanguage Restructuring

342 Pages·2019·9.682 MB·

by  Magdalena Walenta

Second Language Learning and Teaching
Magdalena Walenta
Form-Function
Mapping in
Content-Based
Language Teaching
A Study of Interlanguage Restructuring
Second Language Learning and Teaching
Series editor
Mirosław Pawlak, Kalisz, Poland
The series brings together volumes dealing with different aspects of learning and
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curriculum and materials designers, teachers and undergraduate and graduate
students undertaking empirical investigations of how second languages are learnt
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10129
Magdalena Walenta
Form-Function Mapping
in Content-Based Language
Teaching
A Study of Interlanguage Restructuring
123
MagdalenaWalenta
Faculty of ModernLanguages,
Institute of English Studies
University of Warsaw
Warsaw,Poland
ISSN 2193-7648 ISSN 2193-7656 (electronic)
Second LanguageLearningandTeaching
ISBN978-3-030-04698-9 ISBN978-3-030-04699-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04699-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018962769
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For Mum and Dad
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Prof. Romuald Gozdawa-Gołębiowski, without whose
supportandinspirationthisbookwouldnothavecomeintoexistence.Manythanks
toProf.MirosławPawlakforhisinsightfulcommentsandsuggestionsontheearlier
version of the manuscript. I am also grateful to Lucyna Skwarko (M.A.), the
director of the Foreign Language Centre, Warsaw University of Technology, as
wellastoGrupa5ArchitekciandBoseInternationalPlanning&Architecture,for
allowing me to conduct my research there. Closer to home: Hubert, Marysia, and
Janek—thank you, basically, for everything.
vii
Contents
Introduction... .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... xxv
Part I Theoretical Background—Designing the FFM Model
1 A Broader Design Context—The Form/Function Debate
in L2A/FLL Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 Introductory Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Form-Function Dichotomy in L1A Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Formalist versus Functionalist Orientations in L1A
Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 Drawing Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.3 Looking Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3 Form-Function Dichotomy in L2A/FLL Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3.1 Form-Function Dichotomy and L2A/FLL Theories . . . . . . 9
1.3.2 Form-Function Dichotomy and L2/FL Teaching
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4 Toward Form-Function Reconciliation in L2A/FLL Pedagogy. . . . 20
1.4.1 A System in the Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.4.2 In Search of the Middle Ground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.4.3 Working out a Different Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
1.5 Adult L2/FL Learners’ Needs Revisited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.5.1 Epistemic Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.5.2 Utilitarian Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1.6 Concluding Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2 An Immediate Design Context—The Form/Function
Debate in CBLT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.1 Introductory Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2 Content-Based Language Teaching—Staking out
the Territory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ix
x Contents
2.2.1 Why CBLT?—Terminological Disambiguation . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2.2 CBLT—Definition and Subtypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.2.3 From CLT to Content/Language FUSION—Breaking
New Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.3 The Potential of Content/Language Fusion—Theoretical
Underpinnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.3.1 Input-Based L2A Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.3.2 Participatory L2A Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.3.3 General Learning Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.3.4 The Fulfilled Potential—Research Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.4 The Limits of Content/Language Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.4.1 The Unfulfilled Potential—Research Findings . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.4.2 Processing Limitations—From Content/Language
Fusion to a Tug-of-War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.4.3 CBLT—Classroom Reality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
2.4.4 The Challenge of Form-Function Integration
in CBLT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
2.5 Toward Content/Language Reconciliation in CBLT . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.5.1 Awakening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2.5.2 Gajo’s Saturation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.5.3 Swain’s Languaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2.5.4 Lyster’s Counterbalanced Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2.6 Concluding Remarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3 Toward the Form-Function Mapping Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1 Introductory Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.2 Form-Function Mapping in CBLT—A Preliminary Sketch . . . . . . 65
3.3 Building Material—Adult Interlanguage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.3.1 Child Language Acquisition versus Adult Language
Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.3.2 Adult Interlanguage as an Implicit Dual-Mode
General-Cognitive System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.4 Building Process—Interlanguage Restructuring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.4.1 The Processing Model of L2 Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
3.4.2 Restructuring Triggers and the Centrality of Awareness. . . 82
3.4.3 Enter Form-Function Mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.5 Building Idea—Awareness Structuring through Form-Function
Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.5.1 Form-Function Mapping—Zooming out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.5.2 Form-Function Mapping—Zooming in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.5.3 Enter Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3.6 Form-Function Mapping in CBLT—A Final Touch . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Contents xi
Part II Empirical Findings—Verifying the Model
4 Research Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.1 Introductory Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2 Research Aims and Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2.1 Experimental Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2.2 Questionnaires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.3 Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.3.1 Population Sample. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.3.2 Target Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.3.3 Sampling Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
4.3.4 Experimental and Comparison Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
4.3.5 Experimental and Comparison
Groups—Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.3.6 Experimental and Comparison Groups—Summary
of Differentiating Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.4 Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.4.1 Pilot Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.4.2 Experiment Proper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.5 Instructional Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.5.1 General Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.5.2 Target Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.5.3 Instructional Material—Detailed Characteristics. . . . . . . . . 136
4.6 Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.6.1 Tests—Overall Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.6.2 Tests—Detailed Characteristics and Scoring System . . . . . 145
4.6.3 Questionnaires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.7 Data Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.7.1 Descriptive Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.7.2 Parametric Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.7.3 Other Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
4.7.4 Qualitative Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5 Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5.1 Introductory Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5.2 WHAT Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.2.1 Overall Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.2.2 Interpretation Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
5.2.3 Controlled Production Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
5.2.4 Timed Production Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.2.5 Overview of WHAT Experiment Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.2.6 Summary Discussion of WHAT Experiment Results. . . . . . 169