Input-based grammar pedagogy: a comparison of two possibilities

Abstract

This article presents arguments for using listening and reading activities as an option for techniques in grammar pedagogy. It describes two possible approaches: Processing Instruction (PI) and Enriched Input (EI), and examples of their key features are included in the appendices. The article goes on to report on a classroom based quasi-experiment which compared their effectiveness for the learning of French verb inflections amongst 13- to 14-year-olds from two different secondary schools in England. The key feature of PI is that it comprises activities which systematically force learners to interpret the meaning of formal features in the input, rarely seen in published material and classroom activities. In this study, EI provided brief awareness-raising strategies followed by a flood of the target features. The study suggested that PI may indeed constitute a viable and effective option for grammar pedagogy for learners who are starting to develop a verb inflection system. These results were clear in the class from school 2 but more ‘fuzzy’ from school 1, demonstrating the importance of taking contextual factors into account when gathering evidence regarding practice.