Assessing intercultural capability: teacher and researcher perspectives Hnadout for presentation given by Melissa Gould-Drakeley and Angela Scarino at AFMLTA conference Sydney 2009

1. Maximising realistically:
Strategies for maximising target
language use
in our classes
Miles Turnbull, Ph.D.
mturnbull@upei.ca
AFMLTA in Sydney – July 11, 2009

2. My Philosophy
• MAXIMIZE TL use! (teachers and
students)
• The teacher is the model!
• L1 can be useful sometimes!And natural!
• Maximized L2 use is not easy for
teachers or students

3. More on my philosophy
• Language is an important thinking
tool
• To learn language you have to use it
• L1 for L2 learners is a powerful tool
to figure things out and to think
through difficult content/tasks
• Bilinguals codeswitch naturally!

4. I am NOT talking about
passing out a license to
use the L1!

5. Focus on Teachers: What
Does Research Say?
• Studies show that the more students
hear and read the TL, the better their
TL skills
• When teachers use the TL more,
students report being more
motivated to continue learning the
TL
• When teachers overuse the L1,
students report being demotivated

6. More Research Findings
• Observation studies have shown that
teachers vary in terms of the quantity
and quality of TL used
• Context, teachers’ personalities,
confidence levels seem to be the
factors that influence teachers’ TL
use the most

7. Why Do Teachers Tend to
Use the L1?
• Translation
• Comparing L1 and TL
• Grammar teaching
• Social interactions with students
• Discipline
• Clarifying instructions

8. Teachers’ Beliefs About TL
and L1 Use
• Teachers agree that TL use is
important
• It is tough to use TL all the time
• Past experiences seem to affect
teachers’ TL use…especially new
teachers

9. Focus on Students: What Does
the Research Say?
• “Kids’ speak”
• Understand the demands
• Make sense of activity
• Sustain interaction
• Natural phenomenon; however,...
• L1 may diminish in tasks over time
• A necessary evil?

10. Maximising TL Use: Teachers
• Start firm and stick to your guns!
• Use examples that relate to students'
life experiences and
interests….personalize
• Point to or show real objects
• Show or draw pictures

11. Sources for Pictures
• Picture files…..students can help!
• Clip art - “www.caslt.org”
• Illustrated vocabulary books

12. More Practical Ideas
• Use gestures, mime, facial
expressions, demonstrations,
models
• Speak clearly and a bit slowly at first,
increasing speed gradually to normal
• Use intonation to emphasize key
words

13. More Ideas
• Repeat more than once...vary
repetitions
• Use synonyms, antonyms,
paraphrasing and simplification
when repeating

14. Other Important Strategies
• Help your students understand that
it’s ok if they don’t understand
EVERY word they hear or read
• Encourage guessing

15. When and How to Use the
L1 Effectively: For teachers
• Use your students’ voices
• Ask your students' permission to
speak the L1 and ask them to ask
your permission to do so as well
• Point out cognates

16. When Teachers Feel They
MUST Switch to the L1
• Do not translate word for word
• Do not switch to L1 immediately
• Wait for at least 30 seconds
• Translate only key words at first….

17. More on L1 Use
• Use the L1 when you can see that a
student is truly frustrated
• Use the L1 after trying every strategy
in the book - Be brief then switch
back to the TL
• Use the L1 to make a comparison
between L1 and TL

18. Other Uses for L1
• Use the L1 for serious or exceptional
discipline situations
• Use the L1 in emergencies

19. Maximizing TL Use: Students
• Let’s not dream in technicolor!  
• Provide and practice common
classroom phrases
• Allow multiple opportunities
• Start short, quick, and then build
• Use clear models, especially for pair
and group work

20. Maximizing Student TL Use
• Provide needed vocabulary and
structures for a given task
• Provide clear TASK with an outcome
• Model for students--use video!
• Listen and understand

21. Students’ Use of L1
• Acknowledge effort and success!
• Advanced students should be
expected to speak TL more, if not
always

22. Strategies for Maximizing
Student L2 Use In Groups
• Concrete and structured activities
• Pre-activity and models
• Give explicit time frame for task,
but...
• not too much time!
• Distribution of specific roles
• Recognize and reward use of TL

23. Notes and questions

24. Notes and questions