When Grammar Instruction Undermines Cohesion in L2 Spanish Classroom Discourse

• Published in: The Modern language journal (Boulder, Colo.) Vol. 88; no. 1; pp. 14 - 30
• Main Author: Toth, Paul D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2004; Blackwell Publishing
• Subjects: Classroom Communication; Comparative Analysis; Connected Discourse; Discourse Analysis; Educational activities; Grammar; Instructional Effectiveness; Language; Language comprehension; Nonnative languages; Second language acquisition; Second Language Learning; Spanish language; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Verbs; Videotape Recordings; World language instruction
• ISSN: 0026-7902; 1540-4781
• DOI: 10.1111/j.0026-7902.2004.00216.x

This article compares ordinary conversational topics and targeted second language (L2) forms for their effectiveness in building and maintaining classroom discourse cohesion. In this study, 16 learners participated in 2 lessons, 1 with teacher turns determined by a grammatical object of instruction, and the other with turns determined by conversation topics. Based on research by Sperber and Wilson (1995) and Vuchinich (1977), extended latency gaps and remedy sequences in learner turns were taken as evidence of poor cohesion. Both lessons were videotaped, transcribed, and coded. Of the 16 learners, 5 volunteers viewed the videotapes and offered written explanations for their extended latencies. Longer latencies and more frequent remedy sequences occurred during the grammatically-determined discourse, with volunteers likewise indicating greater difficulty understanding the instructor, than during the conversational lesson. It is argued that for grammar instruction to work effectively, a focus on form must be transparent as the instructional objective, and targeted L2 forms must themselves be properly treated as discourse topics.