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Reading Comprehension Dr. Andrew DeMil and Talia Ashby University of Tampa

Direct Object à Accusative Pronoun

Nominative Accusative

Masculine Der ihn Feminine Die sie Neuter Das es

Ich suche die Zeitung. à Ich suche sie__. 1. der Bleistift. Ich suche ____. 2. das Buch Ich suche ____. 3. die Schule Ich suche ____. 4. der Mantel Ich suche ____.

+

O Andrew ko`u inoa.

O wai kou inoa?

+How students learn Input (listening/reading)

Intake

Output (speaking/writing)

+NOT INPUT

n Grammar explanation

n Practicing Grammatical forms without meaning

+Traditional Instruction

n 1. Grammar explanation

n 2. Drills

a. Mechanical

b. meaningful drill

c. Group drills

Grammar information

n Grammar information has been shown to be helpful but not necessary when learning a second language

n  Students use the grammatical information in the book as a reference, but the focus of the lesson is not grammar explanation:

n  “The passé composé is on page XX.

+Mechanical Drill n Fill in the blank with the correct form of the

verb to be.

n 1. I _____ 26 years old.

n 2. My teacher _____ very nice.

n 3. We _____ are learning English.

n 4. The students at UCF _____ smart.

+complete without meaning

n 1. I _____

n 2.Teacher _____

n 3. We _____

n 4. Students

+Passé composé Exemple: L’homme ____ la voiture. (acheter)

L’homme __a acheté__ la voiture.

1.  Hier, la femme _____(voir) le garçon.

2.  Ce matin, le garçon ______(parler) avec sa mère.

+Mechanical Drill

n Fill in the Blank with the passato prossimo in parentheses.

n  1. Franceso ___________________ (nascere) a Roma.

n  2. Giovanna___________________ (giocare) nella Roma.

n  3. Il giocatore brasiliano__________ (scrivere) un libro.

+“Meaningful” Drill n Ask your partner the following questions

n 1. Est-ce que tu aimes les chiens?

n 2. Anata no namae wa nan desu ka?

n 3. Was isst du zum Frühstück?

n 4. ¿Cuál es tu apellido?

n 5. Dove studi?

n 6. Você gosta de surfar?

+Group Work Drill

n focus: correct grammar (e.g. preterit tense), students talk in groups

+ Use the passé composé to find out what your classmate did. Model:

manger dans un restaurant (to eat in a restaurant)

Student 1: Est-ce que tu as mangé dans un restaurant hier?

Student 2:

Oui, j’ai mangé dans un restaurant/

Non, je n’ai pas mangé dans un restaurant.

1.  parler français (speak French)

2.  étudier (study)

+Communication? Exemple: panjer dans un reparaunt [nonsense]

Student 1: Est-ce que tu as panjé dans un reparaunt hier ?

Student 2: Oui, j’ai panjé dans un reparaunt/

Non, je n’ai pas panjé dans un reparaunt.

 

+(Wong & VanPatten, 2003: 403)

"There is sufficient evidence to discard mechanical drills from instructional practice."

+What is communication? n Exchange and comprehension of

“new” information

passtimes v. clothes you are wearing

+What is the alternative to (mechanical) drills?

(Meaningful) n INPUT n OUTPUT

+Input Activities

Learners connect

MEANING = FORM.

+Structured Input Activity Students hear or read

(hier/souvent/probable/improbable)

Mon ami…

1. …va à la plage.

2. …a dansé à Broadway.

3. …parle avec sa famille.

4.....a visité la France.

+L'uomo ha parlato oggi / ieri vero/falso

 

oggi / ieri

 

n 

n 

+ La donna ascolta. n  oggi / ieri vero/falso

+Learners taught with Input

Comprehend > Grammar Practice (listening/reading)

+n English (Benati et al. 2008)

n French (Benati et al. 2008; VanPatten et al. 2004)

n German (VanPatten et al., 2013, White, DeMil, Rice, 2013)

n Italian (Benati 2001, 2004)

n Japanese (Lee et al. 2007)

n Spanish (Fernández 2008; Leeser & DeMil, 2013; Morgan-Short et al. 2006; VanPatten et al. 1993; VanPatten et al. 1996; White & DeMil, 2013)

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Comprehend ≥ Production (listening/reading) (speaking/writing)

n  (Benati, 2005 English simple past; Farley, 2001a, 2001b, 2004a Spanish subjunctive; Morgan-Short and Bowden, 2006 Spanish object pronouns).

1.This week Yes/No I ate in a restaurant. I talked to my mother. I swam at the beach. I read a book. I watched TV.

INPUT (reading/listening)

+THEN, OUTPUT (speaking/writing)

2: Speak in groups. Model:

n This week, I swam at the beach. And you?

+Finally, Demonstration of Comprehension

3: Complete the sentence.

n My classmate (Name) had an (active/sedentary) week because (he/she)

n swam at the beach.

+Why?

“…it is important not to mistake 'getting or exchanging information' as the purpose of the task.” (Lee and VanPatten, 2003;1995)

"Learners will not only get and exchange information—they will do something with it." (Lee and VanPatten, 2003: 62, emphasis in original)

+Scaffolding Complete the sentence

(Name) is (active/sedentary/intellectual) because s/he...went to the beach.

+Why scaffold?

n This allows students to be able to communicate something that they would not be linguistically capable of doing

n “Get in groups and talk about what you did last weekend.”

n What happens when you ask students to do this?

+Other benefits of Input

What else happens when trained to comprehend ?

Lo escucha la abuela.

Him, the grandmother listens .

(direct objects)

+ Le horroriza el tigre. To him, the tiger is terrifying.

(indirect objects)

+Secondary Effects

n English: Past à Present

n French: Imperfect à Subjunctive

n Spanish: Direct object à Indirect Object

n Italian: Adjective agreement à Future

n Cumulative effects? (Benati & Lee, 2008)

+What are textbooks doing?

n Majority self-claimed “communicative”

+Walz, 1989 French textbooks

n mechanical drills disguised in a ‘communicative context’; no more effective

+Suggestions proposed in Walz, 1989

In order to improve textbooks activities should:

n start with forced choice (SI) n the majority should be

communicative

n  Supports (Hauck and Donato, 1994; Hadley, 1993; Savignon 1983).

+ESL Textbooks

n  Aski, (2003), Fortune (1998), R. Ellis (2002), and Islam (2003)  observed:

n  activities: mechanical, fill in the blank, n production: mechanical/listen and repeat n exercises followed the traditional format

+Lally (1998) French textbooks

n    Walz’s  suggestions?

n Of the 6 texts, at least half of the books had a preponderance of mechanical drills

+Fernández (2011) Spanish texts In 6 introductory texts

n  controlled production practice. n  only half provided learners the opportunity to process the form.

“At least half of the textbooks [...]overlook what is currently known in SLA: the central role of input in the development of an L2 grammar.” (Fernández, 2011: 165)

+DeMil (2013) Spanish texts

7 intermediate Spanish textbooks:

Majority:

• mechanical

• contextualized, but not communication

+DeMil & Aubry 2013

6 beginning French texts

Majority:

• mechanical

• contextualized, but not communication

(Lally 1998, Fernández, 2011)

+DeMil & Rukholm, Italian

§  Main method for grammar practice is mechanical, communicative drills

Improvements ? SLA researchers

Avanti - Musumeci,

Liaisons - VanPatten and Wong

Sol Y Viento-Leeser, VanPatten, Keating

+What does this mean?

n  Create Meaningful Activities

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Gender Differences in Second Language Reading Comprehension

Dr. Andrew DeMil and Talia Ashby

+reading comprehension

Research suggests females

n better

n more positive attitude towards reading

n regardless of age or first language

References: n reading achievement studies 1970-2002 (Lietz,

2006) n (Massoud, 2013)

+ Why? 1.  Reading and Language Learning “too girly” (Kissau, 2006)

2.  Few male faculty/students in courses (Kissau, 2006).

3.  Male attitude about reading most influential factor on ability. (Logan, 2009)

4.  Females: higher level of participation (Zeynali, 2012)

5.  Others found no difference between genders (Van der Silk et al, 2015).

+Research Question

Is there a gender difference in reading comprehension ability in intermediate/advanced learners of Spanish?

+Methods

Two separate readings from textbook (10 min)

Five True/False statements.

+Results: Intermediate Learners

n 2 m/ 16-17 f

Males significantly better

+Results: Advanced Learners

4-5 m / 13-14 f

no difference

+Discussion

n Males in university language classes higher motivation

+ Reading Comprehension for communication

Step 1: Select passage to read

Step 2. Vocabulary

Step 3. Grammar with meaning in focus

Step 4. Discuss as you read.

Step 6. Have learners communicate

+Reading Selection

n Did you know that in Spain, the biggest meal is lunch? Sometimes people eat very little for breakfast, just a cup of coffee at times, even at a very young age. Most people take time off from work and school to go home and eat with the family for 2-3 hours and then take a nap. Dinner, again, is very small and not eaten until around 10pm. What about you?

+Vocabulary

Step 1: Usually Sometimes Never

For breakfast I eat/drink: a. café

b. hot chocolate

c. a muffin

d. an arepa

e. a Spanish omelet

f. orange juice

Step 2 (In groups): For breakfast, I usually eat/drink__________. And you?

n  Step 3: My classmate has a (very/not very) healthy breakfast because (name) (eats/drinks) ________________.

+Food: Grammar (present)

n  During the week, I usually Yes/No ...eat (#) meals a day.

...prepare food at home (#) time(s).

...dine in a restaurant (#) times.

...use (salt/pepper) on my food (rarely/often).

...choose a (lot of/few) fatty foods.

...drink (water/soda/juice/milk) at every meal.

Step #2 In groups: Last week, I ate (5) meals a day. And you?

+Complete the sentence.

(in target language)

My classmate (Name) was (very/not very) healthy last week because (he/she)...

...ate (#) meals a day.

...prepared food at home (#) time(s).

...dined in a restaurant (#) times.

...used (salt/pepper) on my food (rarely/often).

...ate a (lot of/few) fatty foods.

...drank (example) at every meal

+More with input!

n In general, our class had a

(very/not very) healthy week

because we (ate/drank/dined...)

+Divide up the Reading!

n Did you know that in Spain, the biggest meal is lunch?

n Q. What is it in America?

n  Sometimes people eat very little for breakfast, just a cup of coffee at times, even at a very young age.

n Q. How old were you when you first drank coffee.

n  Most people take time off from work and school to go home and eat with the family for 2-3 hours and then take a nap.

n Q. Do you often take time to eat with Friends and Family?

n etc.

+Communicate

n 1. My biggest meal is (breakfast/lunch/dinner).

n 2. I first drank coffee at age (#).

n 3. I usually eat lunch with (friends/family/alone).

n 4. I usually eat dinner at (# o’clock pm)

+Now Compare

n My biggest meal is (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and in Spain it is _______________.

n I first drank coffee at age (#) which is (earlier/later) than in Spain.

n I usually eat lunch with (friends/family/alone) which is (common/uncommon) in Spain.

n I usually eat dinner at (# o’clock pm) which is (earlier/later) than in Spain.

+Use reading to communicate

n In general, the students in are class are

n (alike/different) from people in Spain,

n because in Spain the biggest meal is

n lunch, and our biggest meal is dinner.

+ Reading Comprehension That is communication

Step 1: Select passage to read

Step 2. Vocabulary activity (information exchange)

Step 3. Grammar with information exchange

Step 4. Discuss as you read.

Step 6. Have learners communicate using what was read

+ Grazie! Thank you! Merci! Gracias! Arigato! Danke! Obrigado! Shokran! спасибо! Xiè Xiè!