From the Classroom: Grounded Activities for Language Learning.

St. John, Jennifer

From the Classroom: Grounded Activities for Language Learning

Miles Turnbull, Jill Sinclair Bell, and Sharon Lapkin (Eds.)

Toronto, ON: Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des

langues vivantes, 2002; 202 pages

This bilingual volume is a collection of 17 teaching activities (six in French, 11 in English) originally published between 1995 and 2002 in the section A Touch of Class in the Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes. As editors, Turnbull, Sinclair Bell, and Lapkin have selected a wide range of theoretically sound and classroom-tried techniques for second-language (L2) teaching--most originating from an FSL teaching context--described by experienced L2 teachers. The description of each activity details a theoretical rationale for its use and intended purpose and includes a step-by-step procedure for its implementation. Cognizant of the varied student needs and the multiple contexts in which Canadian L2 teachers work, the editors have "identified the key objectives for each suggested activity, and provided adaptations that make the activities suitable for a wide range of programs" (p. vi). To this end they have developed a conceptual and organization framework in which each pedagogical technique is classified for its primary and secondary foci. This descriptive classification system, based principally on Stern's (1983) and Stern, Allen, and Harley's (1992) multidimensional approach to curriculum design for L2 teaching, includes communicative/experiential, language, and cultural foci, plotted against the four skill areas and language and learning awareness. The bilingual Introduction to the volume provides a clear and comprehensive description of this framework.

Each activity begins with the editors' classification, brief notes on the applicability of the activity to particular grade levels and programs, and an editors' abstract of the activity (in English only). Although these notes initially appear useful as a type of index, readers will be wise to read through the complete description in order to give adequate consideration to how to use and adapt the activity to their context. When relevant, the authors supply support documents (i.e., questionnaires, Web addresses, references) and reflect on modifications for future implementation. Following each original description, the editors outline two adaptations (in English only), each of which involves a change in the focus of the technique (e.g., from writing to speaking, from language to culture) or a modification making it more suitable for another age or language group. These adaptations, albeit brief, are intended to encourage teachers to evaluate their own learners' needs and to consider how a good teaching idea in one context may apply just as well to another.

This volume is recommended as a resource for novice teachers and teachers seeking to add a new dimension to their teaching, and it includes many popular techniques (e.g., bookmaking, reading buddies, journal-writing, portfolios, media studies, newscast analyses). The activities range from those with a focus on a single skill (e.g., effective error correction for writing) to multidimensional foci (e.g., a unit on the culture of love). For teachers already experienced in teaching in an experiential and communicative approach, a few innovative ideas offer slightly varied ways to apply familiar techniques.

The editors are successful in presenting a useful and theoretically sound collection of L2 teaching activities. Although almost all the ideas originate from FSL teaching contexts, the proposed adaptations allow all L2 teachers to explore worthwhile modifications in order to meet their students' needs. Two observations about this volume include: (a) given the bilingual content of the volume, it is surprising that the title appears only in English; and (b) the order in which the activities are presented appears random, thus reducing the practicality of the volume as a reference book. Furthermore, although the editors' classification of each activity is insightful, this information might also have been indexed in summative form, which could have provided a complete list of the content, allowing readers to identify readily and recall those activities with similar classifications and relevance to their context.

This Canadian resource may not apply directly to all L2 teaching contexts, but most if not all of the activities can be adapted through experience and a creative outlook, always bearing in mind one's own teaching context and specific students' needs. At first glance, the volume appears to be simply a reprint of A Touch of Class articles from CMLR, but in fact it is much more: it provides ideas for varied Canadian contexts for L2 teaching, including adaptations showing a full range of possibilities.

References

Stern, H.H. (1983). Fundamental concepts of language teaching. London: Oxford University Press.

Stern, H.H., Allen, P., & Harley, B. (Eds.). (1992). Issues and options in language teaching. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press

The Reviewer

Jennifer St. John has taught ESL to adults at the Second Language Institute of the University of Ottawa for over 20 years. Her focus includes teaching pronunciation and accent awareness skills, teaching and testing oral communication skills, and developing pedagogical tools to access students' multiple intelligences with a view to enhancing learning outcomes.