Classroom-Based Input Processing Theory Demonstration

Running head: INPUT PROCESSING THEORY DEMONSTRATION 1
Classroom-Based Input Processing Theory Demonstration
Steven Shook and Monchi Liu
Colorado State University

INPUT PROCESSING THEORY DEMONSTRATION 2
Introduction
This project focuses on the Input Processing (IP) theory which specifically deals with the
initial process that a learner approaches with the act of comprehension and L2 input (VanPatten
& Williams, 2015), and the ideal implementation of the pedagogical developments which are
motivated by this theory. Bill VanPatten’s theory of IP suggests that until learners learn to make
significant form-meaning connections, they will continue to focus on lexical- and semantic-
based strategies for comprehension and production, at the expense of their morpho-syntactical
development. In most situations, the proper form-meaning connection constitutes
comprehension, and this is the cornerstone of acquisition (VanPatten, & Williams, 2015). The
processes of acquisition and comprehension are complementary. Here, we attempt to have
students focus on English-language input while drawing their attention to how forms
communicate meaning.
The goal of this project is to critically analyze the IP theory’s applicability to L2
pedagogy and develop and demonstrate pedagogical developments that utilize the IP theory in
classroom-based instructions. In the teaching demonstration, we use a graded-reading text to
show how common classroom materials can be expanded into IP lessons. Our focus is task-based
learning, negotiation strategies and collaborative writing projects suitable for students of the
intermediate-high level who are the target audience of our textbook.
Literature Review
It is fair to say that the “gap” that needs to be address in IP is how this approach may be
best utilized in the classroom to increase second language acquisition. In an interview with Bill
VanPatten, he explained some of the difficulties of pre-planning lessons with IP, saying, “With
20 different people, you could get ten different learning outcomes, so you can’t predetermine
what’s going to happen.” Our challenge then, is to create classroom materials that will both
utilize IP strategies and allow students to process language information in their own way,
through challenging them to both critically think about what they have read and discover on their
own how the language is put together. Although VanPatten said in the same interview, “I don’t
teach with a textbook,” it would be good to provide classroom materials to teachers unfamiliar
with the IP approach which they can learn from and then later develop their own IP classroom
strategies.
Much of the more recent literature about IP, and its classroom application name,
“Processing Instruction,” discusses whether or not Explicit Instruction regarding grammatical
features is a desirable element of the approach, and whether or not individual Grammatical
Sensitivity needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating results of PI instruction on small
groups. In 2013, VanPatten et al. authored an ambitious paper which set out to explore the
effects of Processing Instruction across four different languages (Spanish, French, German and
Russian) while also attempting to evaluate the role of “grammatical sensitivity.” While the
authors do not explicitly define GS in their paper, the implication is simply that some individuals
are more likely to notice grammatical elements than others, and those individuals are likely to
skew results when testing PI approaches to SLA. Thus, the authors state that “one area missing in
PI research is the role of individual differences…. Do learners with higher levels of grammatical
sensitivity perform better than learners with lower levels of grammatical sensitivity on the
various measures used in PI research?” (p. 507)
In their general overview of PI, the authors explain several of the foundational principles
of this approach, principles that we have attempted to utilize in our lesson plans for this project.
Specifically: “…it is input oriented (learners do not produce the targeted item during the
treatment,) input is manipulated in particular ways to alter processing strategies and increase
better intake for acquisition (structured input,) (and) it includes explicit information for the
learner on both grammatical structure and processing problems” (p. 507).
The first experiment used students in their third semester of Spanish from two
universities whose test scores all fell within a certain range. Test sentences “…consisted of
animate nouns…and verbs that were carefully selected so that either the noun or pronoun was
capable of carrying out the action…(and were) singular such at all sentences contained verbs
inflected for 3rd-sing…(with) female and male nouns and pronouns…randomly distributed
among sentences” (p. 511). Materials for the test “included a pretreatment packet, a pretest, the
grammatical sensitivity test of the MLAT, explicit information for the +EI group and the 50
structured input items…for both groups” (p. 511). Participants then were tested on a computer
program which presented sentences as asked them to decide if they were grammatical or not.
The end result of this experiment was to “confirm our initial hypothesis that EI played no
significant role in this experiment…(and) there does not seem to be any significant relationship
between grammatical sensitivity and when learners begin to correctly process OVS (sentence
structures)” (p. 513). The experiments with other languages were structured in the same way,
drawing from a similar pool of potential participants, and yielded much the same results. The
authors state that “EI did not have a significant effect on final outcome for any
experiment…(and) grammatical sensitivity did nor correlate with any performance” (p. 521).
The significance of this research to teachers like myself is to recognize that Explicit
Instruction may be a valuable, but not necessary part of Processing Instruction, and that while
individual learners may have varying levels of grammatical sensitivity, those variations are
unlikely to cause radically different outcomes in PI classrooms.

When considering the application of our materials, we believed it would be useful to
examine research regarding its application with one of the more common L2s here at Colorado
State University: Mandarin Chinese. Li (2012) was interested in seeing if IP methods could
improve students learning Chinese L2, specifically in the area of pragmatics. He cites previous
research showing how pragmatics are one of the last skills to be developed when learning an L2,
and this too agrees with VanPatten's “Meaning before Nonmeaning Principle,” given that
pragmatic speech is almost always about form rather than semantic meaning. Li also
distinguishes the difference between pragmatic performance, which is the ability to correctly
interpret the correct pragmatic form for a given situation, and pragmatic performance speed,
which is the time required to produce the correct interpretation. Li explains that past research
“...suggest(s) that accuracy and speed are two distinct components of L2 pragmatic performance
and do not necessarily develop hand in hand. (Therefore) Because pragmatic performance speed
develops slowly, without targeted formal instruction...it is desirable to explore pedagogical
means to facilitate its development” (p. 406). With that in mind, Li asked the question, “Does the
amount of input-based practice affect the development of speedy and accurate performance in
making requests in L2 Chinese?” (p. 409)
Ultimately, Li’s research found that, “Although practice was effective in improving the
learner’s pragmatic performance accuracy, its role in enhancing pragmatic performance speed
was limited” (p. 427). Even so, the difference of improvement between those learners exposed to
IP and those who were not seems significant enough to support adoption of IP practices in the
classroom.
Of course, we wished to also provide evidence that the IP approach is a useful one for the
classroom. Marsden (2006) specifically set out to investigate the role of IP with L2 French
learners, comparing it to a method called “Enriched Input.” French is a solid choice for this
research, as French verbs may be inflected for “number, person and tense (present and past time
meaning)” (p. 509) and so sentences can be set up to require that attention be paid to verb
inflections in order to parse out which subject should be chosen to complete a given sentence.
Marsden asked the important question of how research on IP can be tested through falsifying it’s
results, compared with an alternative strategy (in this case, EnI) and her research attempted to
answer the following questions: “1. Does altering the way in which learners process input have
an effect on their developmental systems? And 2. If there is an effect, is it limited to solely
processing more input or does instruction in input processing also have an effect on output?” (p.
513)
Marsden cleverly subverted the “first-noun principle” by including test-sentences that
were grammatically correct but semantically absurd such as “The cat walked the dog” and “The
child works in a bank” (p. 517) in order to test if students would give a greater weight to the
semantic value of the word or make the semantically absurd choice that was mandated by the
inflection of the verb. Absurd sentences were mixed in with non-absurd ones to ensure that
students did not begin to think only the absurd sentences were correct.
Students received both IP and EnI instruction for “9.5 hr(s) over 7 weeks” (p. 525) and
their performance was measured with “pretests, posttests and delayed posttests...(which) took
place between 14 and 16 weeks after the intervention ended” (p. 526). Students were given tests
on all four language skills. The final results stated that, “statistically significant learning gains
were made in all measures by the PI learners...(while) the EnI learners made no statistically
significant gains throughout the study” (p. 535). For Marsden, at least, the evidence that IP
instruction is beneficial in the classroom seems solidly supported.

Although the initial activities in our lesson plans are proscriptive, with right and wrong
answers, the final questions on each are designed to have students investigate and learn things for
themselves. As VanPatten writes in his 2015 article for DeGruter Mouton, “…the hallmark
assessment of the effects of PI is some kind of interpretation measure. This position stands in
contrast to the vast majority of instructed L2 research that clearly believes that learners
internalize rules from the input or from instruction and involves the testing of rules via such
things as grammaticality judgment tasks, fill in the gap, among others” (p. 97). We do not want
students filling out rows of gapped sentences. We want them to see the input and then discover
for themselves why the English language is expressed in that way.
Of course, not all researchers have found significant advantages to the IP approach, with
a mixed study of Spanish and an artificial language, Lee (1998) writes, “Given the results of the
present study, I cannot assert that the good comprehenders are the good input processors…” (p.
42). Even so, this study is quite old these days, and it seems fair to assert that the sophistication
of both testing measures and production of artificial languages for testing purposes have
significantly advanced since then.
Han and Liu (2013), in their research on ab initio (absolute L2 beginners) learners of
Chinese, also found that, at least with auditory-only input, input-based gains were minimal.
They wrote that, “It thus appears categorically that ab initio learners – no matter what
the target language and what the modality of the input – are only able to minimally
scratch the surface of the input. The content of the processing indicates a form-oriented
approach to input processing, not a meaning-oriented approach, as VanPatten (1996,
2004) has hypothesized for L2 learners, in general” (p. 160). In his interview, VanPatten
states that he begins with a Total Physical Response program for “the first two weeks of (his)
Spanish classes,” and it may be that this TPR approach to ab initio students yields better
results that focusing on a listening-only approach.
These academic articles provided a solid explanation of IP and some aspects of PI, as
well as raising questions about how they should be employed and even if they are effective or
not. Our main take-away from these studies is that the field remains open and fluid; there is a lot
of research that still could be done and many ways that we might experiment with this approach.
Our strategy, then, is to take a popular graded reader and redesign its activities to focus on IP
tasks. This would allow us to, in the future, compare out own outcomes with the outcomes of
those using the original activities in the book. This would permit us to conduct further research
experiments on the effectiveness of our approach to IP instruction.
Pedagogical Developments
We designed a unit of four lessons to embed the IP theory to the actual teaching practice.
The class will take place in a large classroom in an English language training institution with
typically 15-20 ELL students in the US. The students are generally at the Novice-High to
Intermediate-Mid level according to the ACTFL standard. L1s are diverse, including Portuguese,
Chinese, Ukrainian, Farsi, and Nepalese. At this time, there are no students requiring any special
educational accommodations. Although the stories the students will be reading are drawn from
the original text by Alexander, the activities are our own.
Rationale
It is our goal to create a set of classroom lessons that focus students’ attention on the
language input in an increasingly focused way. After each reading exercise, students are asked to
demonstrate their comprehension of the story on a very basic level. This task is one that is often
done without needing to pay specific attention to language forms, but it provides a solid
foundation to work from for the more critical questions. Student's attention is then drawn to
English phrases, which are difficult to master, especially phrasal verbs. As Larsen-Freeman and
Celce-Murcia describe them, “...a construction that is very difficult for EL/EFL students. For one
thing, the meaning of phrasal verbs is often noncompositional; that is someone can know the
meaning of the verb and the apparent meaning of the particle, but when they are put together, a
unique meaning is derived,” (p. 441). After that, students are asked to interpret causes and
effects, which should require greater attention to morpho-syntactic forms. Finally, students are
posed with explicit grammar questions for morpho-syntactic features that will, according to IP
theory, likely be overlooked. For example, in the first lesson plan, attention is specifically drawn
to the “expletive/non-referential ‘it’,” which is an important element of English, as it is
frequently used for discussions about time, weather and distance. Again, according to Larsen-
Freeman and Celce-Murcia, “...the fact that English has two nonreferential
subjects, it and there, is a potential source of confusion to those ESL/EFL students who have no
such structure...” (p. 464). An expletive subject such as it or there is the very definition of a
“meaningless grammatical marker” that VanPatten describes in his “Meaning before
Nonmeaning Principle,” which states, “Learners are more likely to process meaningful
grammatical markers before nonmeaningful grammatical markers” (VanPatten and Williams p.
118). It is our intention that by directing learners' attention specifically to these grammatical
markers that language acquisition through IP will increase.
Unit: Input Processing Theory Demonstration
Lesson Plan #1: Puma
Brief description of classroom setting:
The class is 50 minutes long and meets three times a week.

Pre-lesson inventory:
Printed handouts, extra supplies for students, students' grammar books, working doc-cam.
Content Objectives:
Students will use Input Processing to first focus on comprehension of a short story
followed by group work.
Language Objectives:
Students will gain understanding about selected English phrases and grammar forms.
Materials to take to class: Handouts, extra supplies
Equipment needed for class: Working doc-cam, students’ grammar books.
Assignments to collect from students: None.
Special room arrangements: None.
Warm up: 3-5 minutes
Purpose: To activate students’ knowledge about today’s material and encourage procedural
thinking.
Procedure: Write English word “Evidence” and its definition on the board. “I would like you all
to get into your small groups to start with. Each of you please take a minute or two to tell the
other members of your group about a time that you were afraid of a dangerous animal in your
area. Please tell your group members what ‘evidence’ there was that the dangerous animal was
really there.”
Transition: “Thank you. Now let’s read a story about a dangerous animal called ‘Puma’ in the
United Kingdom and what ‘evidence’ there was for it.”

Activity 1, 10-15 minutes (See Appendix for Lesson Plan #1)
Purpose: Students practice reading and listening to others read in English.
Procedures: The teacher asks one student to read a sentence, followed by the student seated
behind them reading another sentence, and so on, until the end of the paragraph is reached. At
that point, the teacher may bring student’s attention to any words that were mispronounced. The
teacher may also ask students questions about what they think will happen in the second
paragraph. This procedure is repeated for the second paragraph.
Transition: “Thanks for reading, everyone. Reading skills are like a muscle. They only get
stronger if you exercise them. Now, I would like you to work in your small groups to do the
questions on Comprehension, English Phrases, and Cause and Effect.”
Activity 2, 10-15 minutes (See Appendix for Lesson Plan #1)
Purpose: Students will develop skills related to comprehension of the story, practice critical
thinking related to cause and effect, and develop an understanding of the English phrases used in
the story.
Procedure: Students will work in small groups while the teacher circulates around the room and
observes, offering feedback as necessary. When the majority of the students are done, the teacher
will solicit answers from the students and mark correct answers on the teacher’s own handout
which is displayed on the doc-cam. Students will be asked why they made certain choices and
not others.
Transitions: “That was great. It’s an interesting story, isn’t it? Now, to make sure that we have a
good understanding of the grammar that is being used, let’s get our grammar books out and take
a look at some features of this story.”

Activity 3, 10-15 minutes
Purpose: Draw student attention to English Grammar features and develop their understanding
of those features.
Procedures: Teacher writes on the board the relevant grammar book chapters that explain the
grammar functions that are the focus of the Considering English Structure section of the handout.
Teacher instructs each group to write a paragraph explaining the answer to one of the questions
in their own words. After the groups have done this, each group will select one member to stand
up and explain the answer to the class. Other students may ask questions at this time. The teacher
may fill in any “knowledge gaps.”
Closure: “We read an interesting story today and learned some new English phrases and
grammar structures. Thank you for your hard work!”
HW assignments: None
Announcements: Be careful of the roads on 4/20!
Appendix for Lesson Plan #1
READING: A PUMA AT LARGE

“Pumas are large, cat-like animals which are found in America. When reports came into London
Zoo that a wild puma had been spotted forty-five miles south of London, they were not taken
seriously. However, as the evidence began to accumulate, experts from the Zoo felt obliged to
investigate, for the descriptions given by people who claimed to have seen the puma were
extraordinarily similar.
The hunt for the puma began in a small village where a woman picking blackberries saw ‘A
large cat’ only five yards away from her. It immediately ran away when she saw it, and experts
confirmed that a puma will not attack a human being unless it is cornered. The search proved
difficult, for the puma was often observed at one place in the morning and at another place
twenty miles away in the evening. Wherever it went, it left behind a trail of dead deer and small
animals like rabbits. Paw prints were seen in a number of places and puma fur was found
clinging to bushes. Several people complained of ‘cat-like noises’ at night and a businessman on
a fishing trip saw a puma up a tree. The experts were now fully convinced that the animal was a
puma, but where had it come from? As no pumas had been reported as missing from any zoo in
the country, this one must have been in the possession of a private collector and somehow
managed to escape. The hunt went on for several weeks, but the puma was not caught. It is
disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at large in the quiet countryside.”
(Alexander, 1997, p. 14)
COMPREHENSION: UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN IDEA
1. This story is about
A. a British zoo animal

B. evidence accumulating that there is a puma at large
C. what to do if you see a puma
2. The Zoo probably took the puma sighting seriously because
A. many people gave a similar description of the animal

B. dead deer and rabbits were discovered
C. Both A&B
3. It is disturbing that the Puma is still at large because
A. It makes cat-like noises at night

B. It may be up a tree
C. It is a dangerous animal
UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH PHRASES
1. A puma “at large” means
A. It is a large animal
B. It is loose and not controlled
C. It is hiding from authorities
2. “Unless it is cornered” means
A. It is put in the corner

B. It is in a situation it cannot escape
C. It is inside a building
3. If the puma is “up a tree” then it is
A. In the branches of the tree

B. Inside a hollow tree
C. At the base of the tree
UNDERSTANDING CAUSE AND EFFECT
1. The zoo did not take the first reports of a puma seriously because
A. None of their pumas were reported missing

B. Pumas are not native to Britain
C. The people who reported seeing the puma were not reliable
2. The puma ran away from a woman because
A. Pumas will not attack unless cornered

B. Pumas have not seen people before
C. Pumas are not dangerous
3. The puma was not caught because
A. It could travel 20 miles a day

B. They did not find any evidence of a puma
C. They decided the puma was not dangerous
Considering English Structure (recommended for group discussion)
1. In the sentence that reads, “As no pumas had been reported as missing” there are two
uses of the word, “as.” Do you think that “as” has the same function in both instances?
Why or why not? What does “as” mean here?
2. In the part of the sentence that reads, “puma fur was found clinging to bushes,” why do
you think “ing” is attached to the verb? Why do you think it is preceded by the verb
“was”? What other descriptions could you make that use this form?
3. In the sentence that reads, “It is disturbing to think that a dangerous wild animal is still at
large,” what do you think “it” refers to? If it does not refer to anything, what is it doing
in the subject position? Are there any other sentences that you have seen in English that
start with “It is…” that refer to time, weather or judgements about things?
Lesson Plan #2: Vicar
Printed handouts, extra supplies for students, students’ grammar books, working doc-cam.
Content Objectives:
Materials to take to class: Handouts, extra supplies.
thinking.
Procedure: Write English phrase “Better than nothing” and its definition on the board. “I would
like you all to get into your small groups to start with. Each of you please take a minute or two to
tell the other members of your group about a time that you got something that wasn’t exactly
what you wanted. Please tell your group members why it was ‘better than nothing.’”
Transition: “Thank you. Now let’s read a story about a ‘vicar.’ Has anyone hear this word
“before? (explain the word.) He’s going to get something that he thinks is ‘better than nothing.’”
Activity 1, 10-15 minutes (see Appendix for Lesson Plan #2)

questions on Comprehension, English Phrases, and Cause and Effect.”
thinking related to cause and effect, and develop an understanding of the English phrases used in
the story.
not others.
good understanding of the grammar that is being used, let’s get our grammar books out and take

of those features.
Closure: “We read an interesting story today and learned some new English phrases and
HW assignments: This story uses some words that appear in British English but not in American
English, like “Vicar” for “Priest” and “Torch” for “Flashlight.” Please bring a list of three words
that are different in British English than American English for our discussion next class.
Announcements: Be safe!

READING: VICAR
“Our vicar is always raising money for one cause or another, but he has never managed to get
enough money to have the church clock repaired. The big clock which used to strike the hours
day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.
One night, however, our vicar woke up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! Looking at
his watch, he saw it was one o’clock, but the bell struck 13 times before it stopped. Armed with a
torch, the Vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on. In the torchlight, he
caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill Wilkins, our local grocer.
‘Whatever are you doing up here Bill?’ asked the vicar in surprise.
‘I’m trying to repair the bell,” answered Bill. ‘I’ve been coming up here night after night for
weeks now. You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.’
‘You certainly did give me a surprise,’ said the vicar. ‘You’ve probably woken up everyone in the
village as well. Still, I’m glad the bell is working again.’
‘That’s the trouble, Vicar,’ answered Bill. ‘It’s working all right, but I’m afraid at one o’clock it
will strike 13 times and there’s nothing I can do about it.’
‘We’ll get used to that, Bill,” said the vicar. “Thirteen is not as good as one, but it’s better than
nothing. Now let’s go downstairs and have a cup of tea.’” (Alexander, 1997, p. 18)
1. This story is about
A. How the vicar fixed his clock

B. How people in a small community help each other
C. How having something is better than having nothing
2. Why would you infer that the vicar raise money but then not use it to fix the clock?
A. He thinks that there are more important things to spend money on than fixing the
clock.
B. He asked Bill to fix it for him.
C. He doesn’t care about the clock.
3. Why would you infer that the vicar says “something is better than nothing” even though
the clock tells the wrong time?
A. He likes the sound of the clock.

B. He wants to be kind to Bill.
C. He doesn’t care what time it is.
UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH PHRASES
1. What does “one cause or another” suggest?
A. The vicar raises money for many causes.

B. The vicar raises money for exactly two causes.
C. The vicar is not sure how many causes he raises money for.
2. “Armed with a torch” suggests
A. The vicar is carrying a flaming stick of wood.

B. The vicar is holding a flashlight like a weapon.
C. The vicar is holding both a flashlight and a weapon.
3. “Caught sight of a figure” means
A. He captured a figure.
B. The figure captured his attention.
C. He watched the figure for a long time.
1. The Vicar woke up in the middle of the night because
A. He wanted tea with his friend.

B. He heard Bill working.
C. The clock woke him up.
2. The vicar used a torch to find his way because
A. It was one o’clock in the morning, and his house was dark.
B. He wanted a weapon because he was afraid.
C. His house did not have electricity
3. Why would you infer that the Vicar offered Bill tea?
A. It was the normal time for tea.

B. He wanted to thank Bill for his work.
C. It was cold in the house.
Considering English Structure (recommended for group discussion)
“...in the torchlight, he caught sight of a figure whom he immediately recognized as Bill
Wilkins…” What are the rules for using “whom” in English. Why was “whom” used in this
sentence?
The story uses several different words to report speech: “asked,” “said,” and “answered.” When
is each word appropriate to report speech?
In the sentence, “You see, I was hoping to give you a surprise.” what is the name of the verb
form used with hope and why is it used here. Write an example sentence that uses the same form
for the same reason.
Lesson Plan #3: Goddess
Content Objectives:
thinking.
Procedure: Write English word “archaeologist”, and its definition on the board. “I would like
you all to get into your small groups to start with. Each of you please take a minute or two to tell
the other members of your group about your knowledge of “archaeologist”. Please tell your
group members if you once had any experience on archaeology.
Transition: “Thank you. Now let’s read a story about an interesting discovery made by a group
of archaeologists. They found an unknown goddess.”
questions on Comprehension, English Verb Tense, and Cause and Effect.”
thinking related to cause and effect, and develop an understanding of the English Past Tense used
in the story.
not others.
good understanding of the grammar that is being used, let's get our grammar books out and take
of those features.
Closure: “We read an interesting story today and learned English past tense and grammar
structures. Thank you for your hard work!”
HW assignments: Review the Past Tense that we’ve learned today and finish the homework on
your grammar book.
READING: AN UNKNOW GODDESS
“Some time ago, an interesting discovery was made by archaeologists on the Aegean island of
Kea. An American team explored a temple which stands in an ancient city on the promontory of
Ayia Irini. The city at one time must have been prosperous, for it enjoyed a high level of
civilization. Houses – Often three storeys high – were built of stone. They had large rooms with
beautifully decorated walls. The city was even equipped with a drainage system, for a great
many clay popes were found beneath the narrow streets.
The temple which the archaeologists explored was used as a place of worship from the fifteenth
century B.C. until Roman times. In the most sacred room of the temple, clay fragments of fifteen
statues were found. Each of these represented a goddess and had, at one time, been painted. The
body of one statue was found among remains dating from the fifteenth century B.C. Its missing
head happened to be among remains of the fifth century B.C. This head must have been found in
Classical times and carefully preserved. It was very old and precious even then. When the
archaeologists reconstructed the fragments, they were amazed to find that the goddess turned out
to be a very modern-looking woman. She stood three feet high and her hands rested on her hips.
She was wearing a full-length skirt which swept the ground. Despite her great age, she was very
graceful indeed, but, so far, the archaeologists have been unable to discover her identity.”
(Alexander, 1997, p. 22)

1. This story is about:
A. How people preserved ancient statues.

B. How archaeologists explored an unknow goddess.
C. How a high level of civilization city declined.
2. Where did the archaeologists find the clay fragments of fifteen statues?
A. Beneath the narrow streets.

B. On the third level of the house.
C. In the most scared room of the temple.
3. What did archaeologists do to reconstruct the statue?
A. They put all the pieces they found together.

B. They carefully preserved all the pieces.
C. They found that it represented a goddess.
UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH PAST TENSE
1. Some time ago, an interesting discovery __________ by archaeologists on the Aegean

island of Kea.
A. was making
B. was made
C. has been made
2. The temple __________ as a place of worship from the fifteenth century B.C. until
Roman times.
A. was used
B. was using
C. was use
3. Its missing head __________ to _____ among remains of the fifth century B.C.
A. happen, be
B. happened, be
C. happened, being
1. The archaeologists knew that the ancient city must have been prosperous once
because__________
A. it enjoyed a high level of civilization.

B. they had large rooms.
C. houses were well built and decorated, and the city was equipped with a drainage
system.
2. The city was even equipped with a drainage system because __________
A. the houses were often three storeys high.

B. the city was built of stone.
C. a great many clay popes were found beneath the narrow street.
3. Why did the archaeologists have been unable to discover the goddess’s identity?
A. Because her body and head were found in different places.

B. Because there was no evidence showing her identity.
C. Because there were other statues found at the same time.
Lesson Plan #4: Double Life
Content Objectives:

thinking.
Procedure: Write English phrase “double life”, and its definition on the board. “I would like you
all to get into your small groups to start with. Each of you please take a minute or two to tell the
other members of your group about your knowledge of “double life”. It could be a story or your
own experience.
Transition: “Thank you. Now let’s read a story about Alfred Bloggs. He ran a secret double
life.”
questions on Comprehension, English Verb Tense, and Cause and Effect.”

thinking related to cause and effect, and develop an understanding of the English Past Tense used
in the story.
not others.
good understanding of the grammar that is being used, let's get our grammar books out and take
of those features.
Closure: “We read an interesting story today and learned how to use English past tense and

HW assignments: Review the Past Tense that we’ve learned today and finish the homework on
your grammar book.
READING: THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ALFRED BLOGGS
“These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work
in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as ‘white-collar workers’ for the
simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a
great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-
collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who
worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.
When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He
simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a
smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman.
Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for
over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret. Alf’s wife has never discovered that she
married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be
working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise
in status in well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others
will call ‘Mr. Bloggs’, not ‘Alf’.” (Alexander, 1997, p. 26)
1. This story is about:
A. People value jobs with high social status more than high salary.
B. People who do manual work often keep it as a secret.
C. People who do manual work often receive more salary than ‘white-collar workers’.
2. What did Alfred tell his wife about his work?
A. He told her that he worked for the Ellesmere Corporation.

B. He was too embarrassed to say anything.
C. He told her that he was a ‘white-collar worker’.
3. What did Alfred do as a dustman over two years?
A. He ran a double life.

B. He worked as part of a ‘white-collar’ and part of a dustman.
C. He kept the secret that he found a new job to his wife.
UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH PAST TENSE
1. When he __________, Alf _____ too embarrassed to say anything to his wife.
A. get married, is
B. got married, was
C. married, was
2. He then __________ into overalls and __________ the next eight hours as a dustman.
A. changed, spent
B. change, spend
C. changing, spending
3. Alf __________ this for over two years and his fellow dustmen __________ his secret.
A. does, keep
B. did, kept
C. did, keep
1. Alf wanted to be a ‘white-collar worker’ because__________
A. he liked to wear a smart black suit with white collar.

B. he wanted to work in an office.
C. his social status would be raised.
2. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as ‘white-collar workers’ because
__________
A. they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work.

B. their social status is higher than other jobs.
C. they earn a high salary.
3. Why did Alf keep his job as a secret to his wife?
A. Because he already found a new job.

B. Because his fellow dustmen asked him to do so.
C. Because he thought being a dustman was very embarrassed.
Discussion
In this paper, we have attempted to demonstrate our knowledge of Input Processing,
drawn from multiple sources, and offer a plan of how that knowledge might be applied in the
classroom. By utilizing a popular graded reader, we have sought to provide an accepted
foundation to build our experiment on, as well as leaving room for comparative research once the
lessons are implemented. It is our hope that, by bringing students’ attention to the morpho-lexical
details of the reading while providing comprehensible input, and then challenging students to
research explicit grammatical features of the language on their own, we will provide a better
learning opportunity than the original reader and its activities would have.
References
Alexander, L. G. (1997). New Concept English 3. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and
Research Press.
Han, Z., & Liu, Z. (2013). Input processing of Chinese by ab initio learners. Second Language
Research, Issue 2, P145-164.
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=1&sid=1c7ed4c6-203c-4088-8e84-96573e8403dd%40sessionmgr4007
Larsen-Freeman, Diane and Celce-Murcia, Marianne. (2015) The Grammar Book, National
Geographic Learning-Heinle Cengage Learning
Lee, J. F. (1998). The relationship of verb morphology to second language reading
comprehension and Input Processing. The Modern Language Journal, Issue 1, p33-38.
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/stable/328682?seq=1#page_scan_tab
_contents
Li, S. (2012). The effects of input-based practice on pragmatic development of requests in L2
Chinese. Language Learning: A journal in Research in Language Studies, issue 2, P403-
438. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1467-
9922.2011.00629.x/abstract
Marsden, E. (2006). Exploring Input Processing in the classroom: An experimental comparison
of Processing Instruction and enriched input. Language Learning: A Journal of Research
in Language Studies, Issue 3, P507-566.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1467-
9922.2006.00375.x/abstract
VanPatten, B. (2018, March 2). Personal interview

VanPatten, B., Collopy, E., Price, J., Borst, S., & Qualin, A. (2013). Explicit Information,
Grammatical Sensitivity and the First Noun Principle, A cross-linguistic study in
Processing Instruction. The Modern Language Journal, Issue 2, p506-527.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1540-
4781.2013.12007.x/abstract
VanPatten, B. (2105). Foundations of Processing Instruction. Degruyter Mouton IRAL, Issue 2,
p91-99. https://www-degruyter-
com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/downloadpdf/j/iral.2015.53.issue-2/iral-2015-
0005/iral-2015-0005.pdf
VanPatten, B., & Williams, J. (2015). Theories in second language acquisition: an introduction.
New York: Routledge.

Classroom-Based Input Processing Theory Demonstration

Transféré par

Informations du document

Titre original

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Classroom-Based Input Processing Theory Demonstration

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Running head: INPUT PROCESSING THEORY DEMONSTRATION 1

Classroom-Based Input Processing Theory Demonstration

Steven Shook and Monchi Liu

Colorado State University

development. In most situations, the proper form-meaning connection constitutes

processes of acquisition and comprehension are complementary. Here, we attempt to have

The goal of this project is to critically analyze the IP theory’s applicability to L2

classroom-based instructions. In the teaching demonstration, we use a graded-reading text to

intermediate-high level who are the target audience of our textbook.

“Processing Instruction,” discusses whether or not Explicit Instruction regarding grammatical

various measures used in PI research?” (p. 507)

learner on both grammatical structure and processing problems” (p. 507).

unlikely to cause radically different outcomes in PI classrooms.

When considering the application of our materials, we believed it would be useful to

develops slowly, without targeted formal instruction...it is desirable to explore pedagogical

making requests in L2 Chinese?” (p. 409)

an effect on their developmental systems? And 2. If there is an effect, is it limited to solely

Marsden cleverly subverted the “first-noun principle” by including test-sentences that

instruction is beneficial in the classroom seems solidly supported.

for themselves why the English language is expressed in that way.

significantly advanced since then.

approach to input processing, not a meaning-oriented approach, as VanPatten (1996,

results that focusing on a listening-only approach.

experiments on the effectiveness of our approach to IP instruction.

the original text by Alexander, the activities are our own.

to the “expletive/non-referential ‘it’,” which is an important element of English, as it is

“meaningless grammatical marker” that VanPatten describes in his “Meaning before

grammatical markers before nonmeaningful grammatical markers” (VanPatten and Williams p.

markers that language acquisition through IP will increase.

Unit: Input Processing Theory Demonstration

Lesson Plan #1: Puma

Brief description of classroom setting:

The class is 50 minutes long and meets three times a week.

followed by group work.

Materials to take to class: Handouts, extra supplies

Equipment needed for class: Working doc-cam, students’ grammar books.

Assignments to collect from students: None.

Special room arrangements: None.

Warm up: 3-5 minutes

United Kingdom and what ‘evidence’ there was for it.”

Activity 1, 10-15 minutes (See Appendix for Lesson Plan #1)

Purpose: Students practice reading and listening to others read in English.

paragraph. This procedure is repeated for the second paragraph.

questions on Comprehension, English Phrases, and Cause and Effect.”

Activity 2, 10-15 minutes (See Appendix for Lesson Plan #1)

a look at some features of this story.”

Activity 3, 10-15 minutes

may fill in any “knowledge gaps.”

grammar structures. Thank you for your hard work!”

Announcements: Be careful of the roads on 4/20!

Appendix for Lesson Plan #1

READING: A PUMA AT LARGE

COMPREHENSION: UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN IDEA

1. This story is about

A. a British zoo animal

2. The Zoo probably took the puma sighting seriously because

A. many people gave a similar description of the animal

3. It is disturbing that the Puma is still at large because

A. It makes cat-like noises at night

UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH PHRASES

1. A puma “at large” means

2. “Unless it is cornered” means

A. It is put in the corner