Double Talk: L1 in the L2 classroom

1
Double Talk L1 in the L2 classroom

• George Washington University
• March 2007
• Virginia M. Scott
• Vanderbilt University

2
FL teaching in the 21st century

• In the face of complex political, economic, and
  ecological challenges of the 21st century, second
  language learning will play an increasingly
  important role.
• People of all languages and cultures will need to
  talk to each other and, more importantly, be
  sensitive to the many ways that people construe
  and convey meaning.

3
FL teaching in the 21st century

• The emergence of new super powers and the
  shifting roles of the old national languages of
  the west (French, German, Spanish) demand that we
  re-envision the goals of second language learning
  and approaches to second/foreign language
  teaching.
• Those of us in the foreign language (FL) teaching
  profession in the United States can no longer
  afford to rely on theoretical paradigms of the
  past to inform the future.
• In particular, we must deconstruct our
  traditional notions of monolingualism in order to
  empower learners with the necessary confidence to
  function in a multilingual world.

4
Research informs practice

• Theories and research suggest that target
  language input and interaction are essential for
  SLA.
• Good FL teaching practice
• exclusive use of the target language (TL) by both
  teachers and students
• avoidance of the L1
• ? Our (often unspoken) definition of the ideal FL
  classroom is one that is monolingual in the TL.

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Double-talk

• The fact is, however, that real students and real
  teachers use the L1 in the classroom.
• Admitting that the L1 is present in the FL
  classroom is tantamount to admitting failure.
• Suggesting that the L1 might have a role in the
  FL classroom is nearly heretical!
• So, to avoid addressing the issue of the L1, we
  engage in double-talk, or deliberately ambiguous
  language about L1 in the L2 classroom.

6
Bilingualism is the goal

• FL pedagogy seeks to move students from
  monolingualism toward bilingualism.
• There is no single definition of bilingualism.
• BILINGUAL CONTINUUM
• ?----x-------------------------------------x--?
• incipient balanced
• More double-talk promoting bilingualism means
  engaging in a monolingual encounter with the TL
  in the classroom.

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Rethinking the monolingual paradigm

• I believe we should rethink this monolingual
  paradigm and
• acknowledge that the L1 is present in the FL
  classroom.
• recognize the irony inherent in using a
  monolingual model to promote L2 learning.
• Three convincing arguments
• code-switching research
• interactionist theories
• brain imaging research

8
Code-switching
Le prof, elle est really nice.

• CS is
• the alternating use of two or more languages in
  a single conversation event.
• a natural, observable occurrence among people
  of all ages who speak more than one language.
• one indicator of whether a person is bilingual.
• the norm for many bilinguals.

Yeah So, do you want to go prendre un verre now?
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CS in the classroom

• In Colóns teaching, code-switching was clearly
  used as a resource to help students as well as to
  demonstrate that dual language proficiency is a
  resource within a public academic setting. By
  modeling this carefully constructed use of
  code-switching, the teacher taught a lesson that
  students would carry with them into more
  challenging academic settings (Nichols Colón,
  2000, 507-508).
• When given permission to code-switch, students
  did not merely fall back on the L1 when they
  encountered a deficiency in their L2 learning
  they also made frequent use of language
  alternation to indicate changes in their
  orientation toward the interaction and toward
  each other (Liebscher Dailey-OCain, 2004,
  519).
• Levine (2004) proposes a multilingual model for
  the FL classroom which intentionally puts
  learners in the drivers seat in the construction
  of code choice norms, granting them an
  indispensable role in managing classroom
  discourse, and compelling them to reflect
  critically on the ways language is or can be
  used (125).

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Interactionist theories
Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934 Social Development
Theory Thought and Language (1962)

• Intra-personal speech
• In child L1 acquisition, Vygotsky proposed that
  self-talk becomes inner speech, which serves to
  mediate and regulate activity.
• In adult L2 learning private verbal thinking
  plays a crucial role in the case of L2 speakers
  engaged in problem-solving, and therefore it
  should be recognized as very important in the
  process of learning (Centeno-Cortés Jiménez,
  2004, 31).
• Inner speech is in the L1.

Pedagogical Psychology Institute of Moscow
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Interactionist theories

• Inter-personal speech
• Swain Lapkin (1998) incidentally found that the
  L1 was a mediational tool fully available to
  learners, to regulate their own behavior, to
  focus attention on specific L2 structures, and to
  generate and assess alternatives (p. 333).
• Storch Wigglesworth (2003) found that when
  students used their shared L1s, they reported
  that it was useful for task management, task
  clarification, determining meaning and
  vocabulary, and explaining grammar.

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Brain imaging research

• All references for these studies are not
  included in the bibliography.
• Paradis (2004, 116) states that there is no
  evidence that the languages of bilinguals are
  each represented in a different locus in the
  brain. Both language systems seem to be
  represented as distinct microanatomical
  subsystems located in the same gross anatomical
  areas.
• In people who have acquired a L2 after the
  sensitive period for language acquisition, it
  appears that the two languages access a common
  semantic system (Dehaene et al., 1997 Illes et
  al., 1999 Klein et al., 1995 Marian, 2003
  Marian, Spivey, Hirsch, 2003 Xue et al.,
  2004).

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Brain imaging research

• Bilingual people are able to switch back and
  forth between their two languages with ease. This
  language switching involves increased executive
  functioning, and it appears that the left caudate
  plays a universal role in monitoring and
  controlling the language in use (Crinion et al.,
  2006 Marian, Spivey, Hirsch, 2003 Hernandez
  et al., 2001 Hernandez, Li, MacWhinney, 2005).
• There is a significant adaptation in the corpus
  callosum to accommodate multiple language
  capacity in bilingual people compared to
  monolingual people (Coggins, Kennedy,
  Armstrong, 2004). In addition, there is evidence
  that early learning of one as opposed to two
  languages predicts divergent patterns of cerebral
  language lateralisation in adulthood (Hull
  Vaid, 2006).

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Brain imaging research

• There is little understanding of the differences
  in grammatical processing for the two languages
  among late bilinguals. It appears that
  grammatical processing may be more sensitive to
  age of acquisition than semantic/lexical
  processing (Hyltenstam Abrahamsson, 2003
  Wartenburger et al., 2003).
• Fabbro (1999) cites evidence that syntactic
  processing and semantic processing are organized
  in separate areas of the brain. He states that
  the frontal lobe structures organize the
  syntactic components of a language only if it is
  learnt before the critical age. Afterwards, other
  brain structures account for the organization of
  the grammatical aspects of the second language,
  probably through explicit learning (101).
• ? All research suggests that for both early and
  late bilinguals, their languages operate in
  tandem.

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Research questions

• How/when do students use their L1 to support L2
  learning/acquisition?
• Under what conditions is L1 a hindrance / a help
  in L2 learning/acquisition?
• During input processing, how does L1 inner speech
  affect L2 comprehension?
• How does L1 inner speech affect L2 production?
• How/when is CS productive during peer
  interaction? During teacher-student interaction?
• What can fMRI studies tell us about the
  differences / similarities in processing L1 and
  L2 for late L2 learners?

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Scott de la Fuente

• Whats the problem?
• L2 learners use of L1 during CR form-focused
  tasks.
• This qualitative study provides preliminary
  insight into the role of L1 when pairs of
  intermediate-level college learners of French and
  Spanish are engaged in consciousness-raising,
  form-focused grammar tasks. Using conversation
  analysis of audiotaped interactions and
  stimulated recall sessions, we explored the ways
  students used L1 and L2 to solve a grammar
  problem. Students who were allowed to use the L1
  (Group 1) worked collaboratively in a balanced
  and coherent manner students who were required
  to use the L2 (Group 2) exhibited fragmented
  interaction and little evidence of collaboration.
  

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Scott de la Fuente

• Findings from the stimulated recall sessions
  suggest that reading, thinking, and talking
  appeared to be simultaneous and integrated
  processes for students in Group 1 whereas these
  processes appeared to be sequential and competing
  for students in Group 2.
• In addition to suggesting that using the L1 for
  these kinds of tasks reduces cognitive overload,
  these findings invite teachers to tackle the
  problem of the L1 in the FL classroom.

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Scott de la Fuente

• GROUP 1 L1
• PROCESS L2 INPUT ? OUTPUT
• (L1) (L1)
• translate
• recall
• review
• Reading, thinking, talking appeared to be
  simultaneous and integrated processes.
• GROUP 2 L2
• PROCESS L2 INPUT ? PROCESS L2 OUTPUT ? OUTPUT
  (L1) (L1) (L2) translate translate
• recall plan
• review
• Reading, thinking, talking appeared to be
  sequential and competing processes.

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Practical questions

• In the FL classroom, what is productive use of
  the L1 and what is too much?
• When should the L1 be used in the classroom? By
  teachers? By students?
• Should students have a say in classroom L1 use?

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Scott HuntingtonModern Language Journal 91(1),
2007

• Reading Across Culture(s)
• Literature, the Interpretive Mode, and Novice
  Learners
• This qualitative study analyzes how novice
  learners develop the interpretive mode (as
  outlined in Standard 1.2) in a classroom setting
  when reading a literary text in L2. Using
  conversation analysis, we examined transcripts
  from video and audio recordings of students
  discussions in a teacher-moderated classroom
  setting (Group A) and in small groups of three to
  four students (Group B). Our findings indicate
  that novice learners were able to interpret and
  understand a challenging literary text in the L2
  if they were in the teacher-moderated group. In
  addition, our findings suggest that L1 was
  effective in encouraging interpretive talk among
  students in Group A but not among students in
  Group B. Ultimately, these findings indicate that
  the nature of the teacher-moderated, yet
  distinctly student-centered, interaction in Group
  A had a clear impact on developing the
  interpretive mode in novice learners.

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Scott HuntingtonForeign Language Annals 35(6),
2002

• Reading Culture
• Using Literature to Develop C2 Competence
• In this study we compared student attitudes and
  performance after reading a fact sheet about Côte
  dIvoire and after reading a poem about Côte
  dIvoire. The findings indicate that the students
  who read the fact sheet learned about the culture
  of Côte dIvoire in a rigid way that could foster
  stereotypes. Students who read the poem, on the
  other hand, explored their own feelings about the
  language and the content of the poem. The study
  supports our notion that literary texts
  contribute to students affective awareness and
  cognitive flexibility, and are therefore more
  effective for developing C2 competence. We also
  believe that this study furthers our
  understanding of ways to achieve the national
  Standards goals for gaining knowledge and
  understanding of other cultures.
• NB Students discussed both the fact sheet and
  the poem in L1.

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Cooks L2 user

• A L2 user
• uses a language other than L1 at any level for
  any purpose.
• exploits whatever linguistic resources s/he has
  for real-life purposes, such as reporting
  symptoms to a doctor, negotiating a contract, or
  reading a poem.
• stands between two languages (L1 and L2), even
  when apparently only using one.
• has the resources of two languages (L1 and L2)
  readily available whenever needed.
• Cook, V. 2002. Portraits of the L2 User.
  Clevedon, UK Multilingual Matters.

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The L2 user in the FL classroom

• knows when and why L1 is used in the classroom.
• understands the difference between CS and
  simultaneous translation.
• works with sophisticated TL texts and discusses
  them in L1.
• uses L1 (both intra- and inter-personal speech)
  to solve complex grammar problems.
• writes creatively in the TL and uses L1 for peer
  editing.

Quoi?
What?
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Double talk

• I remain convinced that L2 input and interaction
  are essential to SLA.
• However, rather than engaging in double-talk and
  avoiding the issue of L1 in L2 learning and
  teaching, we need to specify when and why L1 is
  useful.
• In so doing, I hope FL teachers will focus on
  promoting bilingual functioning (double talk).
• We will have achieved this goal when our students
  view themselves as proficient L2 users rather
  than deficient native speakers.