How can concept-based approaches to grammar be made more accessible to L2 learners?
(2018) 8th International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association — Location: Koblenz (2018.September.25AD)
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- Concept-based approaches to grammar teaching generally adopt the cognitive linguistic view of language and presents grammar as a conceptually motivated system that is rooted in embodied expe-riences (e.g. force, dynamics, space, etc.) and other principles of human perception (figure-ground) (cf. Langacker 2008). Although the potential benefits of concept-based explanations for the visualization of grammatical principles in the context of foreign language teaching has been amply described, empirical class¬room-based research so far has not been conclusive about their pedagogical added value, especially when compared to form-based approaches (cf. Niemeier 2017). In this vein, previous studies suggest that consi¬derable attention must be paid to other factors affecting the successful imple¬men-tation of such concept-based approaches in the classroom: On the one hand, concept-based explanations need a presentation mode that allows for an adequate illustration of the embodied nature of grammar and brings the learners’ attention to the relevant aspects of the material (e.g. multi¬media animations, cf. Roche & Suñer 2016). On the other hand, the presentation of such concept-based explanations should be supplemented with learning activities that adequately foster conceptualization processes as well as the internalization of functional meanings (Williams et al. 2013). In fact, the sole exposure to cognitive linguistic notions does not automatically make learners actively engage in a process of meaningful learning and develop the respective conceptual categories (Tyler et al. 2011). Against this backdrop, the present paper reports on a study which aims to investigate the potential of multimedia animations and learning activities based on sociocultural theory (Williams et al. 2013) to leverage a concept-based approach to teaching the German passive. To this end, forty-nine first-year students of German were divided into two groups: The experimental group was presented with a concept-based explanation of the German passive supplemented by multimedia animations and tasks that set out to foster the relevant conceptualization processes. The control group worked with a form-based explanation and performed tasks that set out to illustrate the syntactic features of the German passive without providing any further pedagogical support to address the meaning of the passive. The results reveal that the students in the experimental group significantly outperformed those in the control group, especially in the tasks where the passive was tested in larger context. Furthermore, the comparison of the essays written by both groups of L2 learners with those written by a group of German L1 speakers reveals that the students in the experimental group and the L1 speakers made use of the different subtypes of passive constructions in a very similar way. Taken together, the results show that the combination of multimedia animations and learning activities based on sociocultural theory offers an intriguing venue for leveraging the effectiveness of such concept-based approaches. The present paper will discuss the pedagogical implications of these findings and suggest some directions for further research. References - Langacker, R. W. (2008), Essentials of Cognitive Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University. - Niemeier, S. (2017), Task-based grammar teaching of English - where cognitive grammar and task-based language teaching meet. Tübingen: Narr. - Roche, J. & Suñer, F. (2016), Metaphors and Grammar Teaching. In J. Goschler & S. Niemeier (Eds.), Yearbook of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association 4(1), 89-112. - Tyler, A.; Mueller, C. & Ho, V. (2011), Applying Cognitive Linguistics to Learning the Semantics of English to, for and at: An Experimental Investigation. VIAL 8/2011, 180-205. - Williams, L.; Abraham, L.B. & Negueruela-Azarola, E. (2013), Using concept-based instruction in the L2 classroom: Perspectives from current and future language teachers. Language Teaching Research 17(3), 363–381.
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Suner Munoz, F., & Arnett, C. (2018). How can concept-based approaches to grammar be made more accessible to L2 learners? 8th International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association, Koblenz. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/127371