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Two tenses are better than one

Two tenses are better than one PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present findings from a learning study (Lindström, 2015) with Swedish sixth grade pupils on the English grammatical structure, the progressive aspect (PROG). The focus is on how the lesson design and the treatment of the subject content, informed by variation theory, affected the learning of the PROG.Design/methodology/approachFour teachers of English as a foreign language, including the teacher researcher, collaborated to plan, teach, evaluate and analyse a series of six research lessons. The theoretical framework was the variation theory of learning which was used both to design the lessons and analyse teaching and learning. A basic assumption is that learning is a function of discernment, and discernment is conditional upon experiencing variaion. Empirical data consisted of interview transcripts, pre- and post-lesson assessments, and video recordings of the lessons.FindingsThe use of the present tense when teaching the PROG was insufficient. When the past tense was introduced, along with particularly powerful examples, pupils’ understanding of the PROG improved. Furthermore, reversing the conventional order by instead beginning the lesson with examples in the past tense, helped the pupils to generalise the meanings of the PROG. Improved pupil learning outcomes were observed when the PROG was treated from the perspective of wholeness, simultaneity and complexity.Originality/valueThe findings challenge conventional ways of teaching the PROG and thus have value for instruction of English as a foreign language. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies Emerald Publishing

Two tenses are better than one

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References (18)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
2046-8253
DOI
10.1108/IJLLS-10-2016-0034
Publisher site
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Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present findings from a learning study (Lindström, 2015) with Swedish sixth grade pupils on the English grammatical structure, the progressive aspect (PROG). The focus is on how the lesson design and the treatment of the subject content, informed by variation theory, affected the learning of the PROG.Design/methodology/approachFour teachers of English as a foreign language, including the teacher researcher, collaborated to plan, teach, evaluate and analyse a series of six research lessons. The theoretical framework was the variation theory of learning which was used both to design the lessons and analyse teaching and learning. A basic assumption is that learning is a function of discernment, and discernment is conditional upon experiencing variaion. Empirical data consisted of interview transcripts, pre- and post-lesson assessments, and video recordings of the lessons.FindingsThe use of the present tense when teaching the PROG was insufficient. When the past tense was introduced, along with particularly powerful examples, pupils’ understanding of the PROG improved. Furthermore, reversing the conventional order by instead beginning the lesson with examples in the past tense, helped the pupils to generalise the meanings of the PROG. Improved pupil learning outcomes were observed when the PROG was treated from the perspective of wholeness, simultaneity and complexity.Originality/valueThe findings challenge conventional ways of teaching the PROG and thus have value for instruction of English as a foreign language.

Journal

International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies – Emerald Publishing

Published: Apr 10, 2017

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