Page 90 - Beyond Methods

78 Minimizing perceptual mismatches
written data of the target language to which learners are exposed through various sources, and recognized by them as useful and us- able for language learning purposes (Kumaravadivelu, 1994b). In- take, on the other hand, is “what goes in and not what is available to go in” (Corder, 1967, p. 165, his emphasis). To a large extent, what actually goes in is determined by how learners perceive the useful- ness of classroom events through which they are exposed to input. While the significance of learner perception of learning opportuni- ties has been recognized since Corder made the distinction between input and intake, there have been very few systematic studies on learner and teacher perceptions in the field of classroom L2 learn- ing and teaching. Only recently have researchers attempted to in- vestigate it.
Studies on Learner Perceptions
Four experimental studies conducted in four different countries involving learners of different proficiency levels have shed light on the learner and teacher perceptions of classroom events. These stud- ies were conducted by Kumaravadivelu (1989, 1991), Assia Slimani (1989, 1992), David Block (1994, 1996), and Gary Barkhuizen (1998). A common thread that runs through these studies is an unfailing realization that one and the same classroom event is interpreted differently by each participant.
Slimani (1989) investigated a group of first-year university stu- dents studying English as a foreign language (EFL) in Algeria. She focused on uptake, or the students’ report of their perception of what they learned after each of six lessons she observed and recorded. She found that “on many occasions the teacher focused on various specific instructional features without the learners reporting them” (p. 226) and, conversely, the learners reported to have learned sev- eral items that were different from what the teacher had planned for them. She also found that the learners mentioned only 44 per- cent of the explicit focus of the lessons, and a majority of the items unnoticed by the learners are instances of error treatment provided by the teacher. Thus, Slimani’s study confirmed beyond doubt the widespread belief that there are perceptual mismatches between teaching agenda and learning outcome.
In a study focusing on the similarities and differences between