Rationale
The blended approaches that were used to create this lesson substantiate what we have
unraveled in this course; one particular method of teaching language to students may not be
enough to allow them to reach their language competence.
The approaches used in this lesson to assist students in reaching their learning competence are
task-based, communicative language teaching, explicit knowledge and noticing.
These approaches were used in an overlapping nature to achieve the objectives of this lesson:
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To introduce new vocabulary about events that have already taken place
For students to recognize the function of the past simple - to talk about the past
For students to identify the differences between the past simple forms of regular and
irregular verbs
To create an awareness of the past simple form of the verb ‘to be’
For students to demonstrate an understanding of the form of the past simple through
practice exercises
For students to share their knowledge of the past simple through a communicative
activity
Task-based Approach
The task-based approach in this lesson allows for the development of students’ verbal,
listening, reading and writing skills. Since students are at the beginning level in their grammar
learning, task-based activities will provide them the opportunity to listen to the text, read it as a
group and draw their attention to its grammatical features, e.g. the past tense of the verb “to be”
and noticing the difference of the past simple forms of regular and irregular verbs (Ellis, 2006).
In this structure-focused task activity, in addition to the new vocabulary being introduced,
students are expected to notice form. They are asked to engage in a structured task that relates to
a real-world situation, which will allow for students to be involved in the discussion of
information and information sharing. This interactive communicative task will be achieved
through students’ participation (paired and group contributions and teacher/peer scaffolding).
This task-based activity also presents students with an opportunity to engage in meaning-focused
interaction where they can demonstrate an understanding of the simple past.
Communicative Approach
The communicative approach was appropriate for this lesson as it encourages activities that
involve real communication and allow for students to carry out meaningful tasks that make their
learning experience more interesting (Liu & Shi, 2007). In using the communicative approach a
focus on form was addressed as students will be challenged to notice how, when and why the
simple past is used. In addition, students will be able to relate to real-world situations and their
grammar learning is emphasized by communication through the approaches of 'learning by
doing' (Chang, 2011). It is hoped that students explore their own beliefs about and behaviors in
group tasks; reflect on how they can change their behaviors, to improve their learning skills and
gain independence in their learning.
Explicit Approach
In this lesson the use of explicit instruction was necessary, e.g. the visual of the timeline on
the white board was needed for students to establish the timeline of events in the personal
narrative; that the events took place prior to 2015. The explicit approach was necessary to get
students to retell the facts of the story they had read. In this exercise students are being given the
opportunity to verbalize what they have learned and demonstrate a conscious awareness of the
structural features that are involved in the lesson. Explicit grammar in this context is meaningful
because students have the opportunity to practice the target feature of the lesson through their
task-based activities. Explicit knowledge teaching is also incorporated in this lesson in the focus
on form. In this case the lesson is planned and students are expected to recognize how, when and
why to use the simple past through the task-based activities (Ellis, 2006).
Noticing
As Svalberg states when students’ attention and awareness come together (noticing), learning
is facilitated. To ensure students’ “noticing” in this lesson, the salient features were bolded.
After presenting the new grammar topic, the teacher will read her personal narrative to the
students (paying attention to punctuation and intonation, - although they are not featured in this
lesson). Punctuation – pausing for effect- and intonation will be included because Svalberg
implied that students’ attention improved when it was drawn to intonation. Students’ will be
given the opportunity to read the written narrative as a group (with scaffolding if needed) to
ensure they are not passive recipients in the learning process. They will answer questions on
parts of the narrative that are aimed to draw their attention and awareness to the aspects of the
grammar being featured. The students will then attempt their own personal narrative using a
strategy such as underlining or quotation marks to bring noticing to their salient features
(Svalberg, 2007).
Conclusion
As was implied in several of the course readings, no one approach can be said to be the
answer to the teaching/learning process. However, when blended, a student’s learning
competence stands a better chance of being reached. With that notion in mind, this lesson
presents a combination of blended approaches that might target the strengths of our students. For
example, if a student’s strength requires interaction and engagement to promote learning, we
have provided the task-based and the communicative approaches. Likewise, if the strength to be
tapped into is visual and auditory, we have provided noticing and explicit approaches.