Intermediate Learners - Needs, Problems and Solutions
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This article, originally part of our Delta Module One course, focuses on teaching intermediate
learners and asks:
a)
What are the needs and problems faced by intermediate learners?
b)
How can these needs be met / the problems overcome?
Section a
1) Problem/Need: Lack of the necessary language to express what they want to say or
need to understand in the texts they meet. At intermediate level (especially
at B1 level) there will still be a lot of more complex structures which have
not been taught, such as the “third conditional”, while learners, particularly
those following courses primarily aimed at covering the grammatical system of
English, may find that they still lack sufficient vocabulary to read authentic
texts easily in English, or to express what they want to say, thus affecting
their fluency.
2) Problem: Accuracy - Mistakes may be
starting to fossilise. Eg At intermediate level (B1/B2), learners have
certainly met and understand the 3rd
person singular “s” of the present simple but in spontaneous production may
still omit it. There is therefore a need for a focus on accuracy when
the mistakes are made in order to prevent them from becoming habitual and
fossilising.
3) Problem: There may be a gap between receptive and productive competence. This
may result in a lack of complexity in productive activities. Eg Ls at intermediate
level may have met idiomatic
expressions like “to pour with rain”, but continue to say eg “it rained a lot
all weekend”. They therefore need to be encouraged, and given the
opportunity to upgrade their productive use of the language.
4) Problem: The downplaying of a functional
approach to language common in current coursebooks, and the dominance of
written text and spoken activities based on discussion of topics means that their
language use outside the classroom may not sound fully natural because of a
lack of knowledge of lexical chunks and conversational routines. – which may
also cause comprehension problems – eg the use in a restaurant setting of “Sorry the XXX is off today”, “Let me get
this” etc. This is particularly important at intermediate level where ls
need and expect to be able to start using language effectively in a wide
range of situations. It is particularly important where Ls are going to be
using language to talk to native speakers rather than as a lingua franca.
5) Problem: Motivation – At intermediate level Ls may feel that they have
already been studying for a long time but are getting nowhere. The problems
mentioned above may make them feel they have hit the “plateau stage”
where they are no longer improving but just making the same mistakes and
meeting the same blocks in comprehension again and again. This may be
intensified by the fact that, at this level, they are liable to need to
deal with authentic materials. Listening materials will contain features of
connected speech which make even “simple” language incomprehensible for them,
while both written and spoken texts may contain a large amount of
non-transparent idiomatic language, as well as eg constructions and lexis they
have not yet studied.
Section b
6) Solution: Most intermediate level
coursebooks now use a text-based approach (it is rare to find a unit without at
least one and often more than one long reading texts). This can help solve
the problem of extending lexical range (Problem 1) but only of the items are “noticed” (Schmidt, 2010)
by adding a language focus stage to the comprehension work, where the meaning
of the items (either individual words or chunks) is clarified (including work
on denotation, connotation, style, pronunciation, if the item is a chunk whether it is fixed or
semi-fixed etc). This may involve the development of dictionary skills which
will increase learner autonomy and enable them to go on expanding their
vocabulary with lexis met outside the classroom when the T. is not available to
explain.
7) Solution: However, if language is to be transferred
from receptive competence to
productive use (Problem 3) it also needs to be practiced and recycled.
Stevick (1976) refers to the need for massed practice (ie using the word several times
after first encountering it) and then distributed practice (meeting it again at
regular intervals throughout the course). This is particularly important at intermediate
level where the amount of lexis which may be encountered in each lesson
increases dramatically. The texts where the language was originally met can be
used again for this purpose, adapted to form other tasks such as running dictation (or dictogloss); gapped
passages where the gaps are the focus items; sentences with the words in
jumbled order; etc. Learners can also be encouraged to use active learning
strategies such as creating vocabulary quizzes and games on sites such as
Quizlet, and sharing them with other class members. In addition, Nation and Wang (1999) have emphasised the value of extensive reading (using graded readers at lower levels
to ensure comprehensible input) to ensure that language items which have
already been met are constantly re-encountered.
8) Solution: Scaffolding of spoken activities can help improve fluency (Problem 1).
Before the activity the T. needs to reactivate any language which s/he knows
will be essential. This may be done by eg brainstorming lexis connected to the
topic to be discussed; listening to a recording of proficient speakers having
the same conversation; giving learners time to plan what they want to say and
giving them the chance to ask for any language they know will block them; etc.
This means the learners have the necessary language at the forefront of their
minds while doing the activity, which at intermediate level may not
otherwise be true, and fluency will be
improved.
9) Solution: The follow-up stage to a spoken or written activity can help both with accuracy
and complexity (Problems 2 and 3). The T. can list on the board a variety
of things that s/he overheard while monitoring and the Ls can be invited to
correct or upgrade them, possibly working first in pairs before a full class confirmation.
Eg if an intermediate L has said “It rained a lot” the teacher can tick
the sentence to show it was correct, but then ask the learners if they remember
another expression : “It p……….. with r………..”
If, on the other hand, the expression has not yet been met, it can be
fed in. Demand High techniques
(Underhill and Scrivener) can then be used to practice the language. Eg if a
mistake has been made with the third person “s” it can be corrected, but
learners can then be asked to “tell me something you know about your partner’s
current life using one of these verbs – live, like, go, study, play, (etc). Ideally,
learners should then have the chance to change partners and repeat the task, in
order to “polish” their performance. This focus on “emergent language” (Thornbury)
provides “pushed output”. In her “Output Hypothesis”, Swain posited that it is
this sort of reformulation of a message to make it more communicatively
effective which promotes acquisition.
10) Solution: Immediate Task repetition (Problems 1, 2 and 3). Once this feedback
has been given, learners can then change partners and repeat the task,
attempting to produce an upgraded version which is more fluent, more accurate
and/or more complex (depending on their problems). Various writers have argued for the value of this type of task repetition. This can then be
followed by further feedback and upgrading and possibly even another repetition
of the task.
11) Solution: Task
repetition at various points in the course can be used to ensure intermediate learners are making progress, and to ensure
that they recognise it (Problem 5) While, the repetition of a speaking task
with a new partner can show them an immediate improvement from the first to the
second attempt, using a task with no follow up at the beginning of the course,
and then later in the course when various items necessary for its successful
completion have been focused on can show them their overall progress. This
might be eg a speaking task which is
recorded (only likely to be feasible with small groups); a reading or listening
comprehension activity; a writing activity – or even a discrete item test. The
initial use of the task can serve a diagnostic purpose for the teacher, while
the second use serves as a progress test. Comparing performance between the
first and second attempts will help motivate the Ls.
12) Solution: To help with the problem of lack of necessary language (Problem 1), Ls can be
taught coping strategies such as circumlocution, so that if eg they need but
don’t know the word “saddle”, they can say “It’s the thing which you put on a
horse and which you sit on when you ride”, which at intermediate level
should be feasible for them. Circumlocution can be taught and practised by eg
the T. showing the learners a number of pictures of objects they won’ know the
word for and describing one of them – the learners have to identify which it
is. The structure used to describe it can then be analysed, and a couple more
examples given. After this receptive phase, Ls can work in pairs to develop
circumlocutions for the other objects.
13) Solution: The situations where the Ls are liable
to need to use English (eg in a restaurant, writing emails etc) can be identified through a needs analysis and
the T. can check to what extent and how effectively these are covered in the
coursebook (Problem 4). By intermediate level it should be possible to
deal with most situations, skills etc needed within the language learners can cope with. If the situations etc
are not included in the textbook, specific lessons need to be developed to
focus on them. If they are, but insufficient attention is paid to formulaic
chunks like those in point 5, these can be fed in as appropriate.
14) The
demotivating effect of authentic texts on intermediate level learners
(Problem 5) can be dealt with in two ways :
Solution 1: Thornbury suggests scrapping long
texts and the “you don’t need to understand everything” approach (which Ls
often find frustrating) and using only short texts which can be fully exploited
so that Ls reach the point of “zero uncertainty” – ie they have a full
understanding of the whole text.
Solution 2: Again, coping strategies can be
taught such as inferring from context and co-text; recognising the difference
between items that are essential or incidental to comprehension etc.
References
Nation, P. and Wang, K. (1999) Graded Readers and Vocabulary
Scrivener. J. and Underhill, A. Demand High ELT
Schmidt, R. (2010) Attention, awareness, and individual differences in language learning
Stevick, E.W. (1976) Memory, Meaning and Method, Newbury House
Thornbury, S. (2011) Z is for Zero Uncertainty
Related Reading from the Notebook
Using Different Dictation Techniques
The Plateau Stage - and how to get over it
Teaching Functionally to Develop Pragmatic Competence
Developing CIrcumlocution Strategies
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