Page 25 - EL108 Learrning Module

target language, especially “to notice what they do not know, or know

only partially” (Swain, 1995, p. 129).
Long (1996) concurs about the importance of noticing. “Communicative

trouble can lead learners to recognize that a linguistic problem exists,
switch their attentional focus from message to form, identify the problem,

and notice the needed item in the input” (p. 425). Indeed, helping

students to notice their errors is an important function of focusing on
form, a point to which I return later.

E. Grammaring

Larsen-Freeman (2001, 2003) offers “grammaring” – the ability to use

grammar structures accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately as the proper
goal of grammar instruction. The addition of “-ing” to grammar is meant to

suggest a dynamic process of grammar using. In order to realize this goal, it is
not sufficient for students to notice or comprehend grammatical structures.

Students must also practice meaningful use of grammar in a way that
takes into account “transferappropriate” processing (Roediger & Guynn, 1996).

This means that in order for students to overcome the inert knowledge problem

and transfer what they can do in communicative practice to real communication
outside of the classroom, there must be a psychological similarity between the

conditions of learning and the conditions of use (Segalowitz, 2003). Bearing the
need for psychological similarity in mind, Gatbonton and Segalowitz (1988)

offer “creative automatization.”
Rather than automatizing knowledge of rules, as was suggested by

DeKeyser, Gabonton and Segalowitz call for practice that automates control of

patterned sequences, ones that would naturally occur in given communicative
contexts.

Teaching and Assessment of Grammar 13