Chapter 1 Understanding the Role of Contextualized Input, Output, and
Interaction in Language Learning
Discuss and Reflect: Case Study 3
Conducting a Cooperative Learning Task
ACTFL/NCATE 3.a. Understanding Language Acquisition and Creating a Supportive
Classroom; 3.b. Developing Instructional Practices That Reflect Language Outcomes and
Learner Diversity
TESOL/NACTE 1.b. Language Acquisition and Development and 3.a. Managing and
Implementing Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction
Mrs. Gearheart has been teaching high school German for ten years in the Smith River School
District. Her approach to teaching German is traditional and grammar-based. Believing that this
approach is effective, she has not changed many aspects of her teaching since she began her
career. Her classes are teacher-centered: she presents grammar rules, has students do
mechanical exercises to learn the structures, and does some communicative practice as time
permits. Approximately every other week, her students read a short text dealing with some
aspect of German culture and answer comprehension questions. Mrs. Gearheart speaks
German the entire class period except for giving grammar explanations and instructions. Her
students speak German during grammar practice exercises.
Mrs. Gearheart noticed that she was the only one using German extensively in the classroom
and looked for ways to increase student use of the language. Midway through the year, she
attended a workshop for language teachers in which she saw demonstrations of various
techniques for teaching communicative language use and involving students more in creative
self-expression. Since the chapter her students were working on included vocabulary dealing
with family, Mrs. Gearheart decided to have students interview one another in pairs in order to
find out certain information about each other’s families. She presented the task in English:
“Choose a partner and interview one another in German to find out how many people are in the
immediate family, what their relationships are, what their occupations are, and what they look
like.” She gave them fifteen minutes to complete the interviews. However, as Mrs. Gearheart
began to circulate around the room, she found that students were confused. They had no idea
how to form the questions in German, they were speaking in English, they were madly
searching through verb charts and vocabulary lists in their books, and they seemed to dislike
the idea of working in pairs.
Explore the following alternatives that Mrs. Gearheart could have used:
1. She could have asked students to write out the questions for homework and use them in
class the next day to conduct the interviews.
2. She could have introduced the activity by giving examples of some questions students might
form for use in the interviews.
3. She could have integrated grammar practice with functional use by providing more
opportunities for students to use each grammar point through communicative use and
interaction.
4. She could have provided more input in German through such strategies as presenting an
authentic video of German native speakers describing their families.
· After having discussed the preceding alternatives, formulate your own list of probable causes
for the difficulties Mrs. Gearheart’s students are experiencing. Base your rationale on the
theories presented in this chapter dealing with the role of input/output and social interaction.
What advice or information would you give to Mrs. Gearheart to help her understand what was
happening during peer interaction?
To prepare the case:
1. Consult the following sources dealing with pair/group work, student interaction, and
organization of effective lessons: Ballman (1998); Brooks & Donato (1994); Brooks, Donato, &
McGlone (1997); Donato (2000); Johnson & Johnson (1987).
2. Observe a language lesson in which students are interacting with one another.
To prepare for class discussion:
Imagine that you are Mrs. Gearheart.
1.What would you do as you sense that students are having difficulties with the interviews?
2. Describe the elements of your teaching you would begin to change as you learn more about
current research in second language acquisition and its implications.
3. Interview an experienced language teacher and discuss the kinds of changes that he or she
made over the years to update her/his approach to teaching. Describe these changes.