Negotiating meaning in the mixed-ability language classroom María F. Muradás-Taylor University of York

Background on the mixed-level content class 2 nd year module - Ab-initio students join A-level students – different language skills and abilities. Module : “Historical memory in the Spanish speaking world” Content: history based module in Spanish, focusing on human rights and social justice. Challenges: creating effective learning environment for all maximising the learning experience bridging the language gap. Reflect on teaching

Bridging the gap in mixed-ability environment student learning needs at the front of curriculum design (Tomlinson, 1999) student as primary focus of instruction teacher becomes a facilitator FLEXIBLE (Berger, 1991) CREATIVE (Woods and Jeffrey, 1996) INTERACTIVE (Savignon, 1983) think outside the box allow for change Encourage communication

How… by promoting collaborative learning (Beckman, 1990; Chickering & Gamson, 1991) fosters learning and critical thinking by actively exchanging, debating and negotiating ideas within their groups and increases students’ interest in learning. by focusing on content based instruction (Brinton, D. M., Snow, M. A., & Wesche, M. B. 1989) promotes intrinsic motivation as learners are exposed to a considerable amount of language through stimulating content. by using authentic learning (Guariento & Morley, 2001) it helps bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and the real world

Input (Ellis, 1985): the exposure learners have to authentic language in use. It comes in the form of listening and reading Con tu compañero resume, en tus própias palabras, el sistema educativo en cada período histórico.

It occurs through interaction between teacher and students amongst students native speakers and students It helps bridge the language gap It promotes learning It encourages understanding beyond the students present level of competence (De la Fuente, 2002; Swain, 1990) Interaction is of primary importance Negotiation of meaning : (Long, 1983, 1996) - is the process that learners go through in order to overcome difficulties in communication. Strategies for negotiation in language acquisition: Confirming Restating Rephrasing Code switching

Activities that elicit language interaction and collaborative work Information gap activities Jigsaw activities Information gathering activities Opinion sharing Reasoning gap activity Group brainstorming Discussion sessions Dialogues and role plays Debates, ETC Rethinking the purpose of individual, pair and group work

Differentiated task Pair work Group work debate authentic materials content based instruction collaborative learning interactive

How can it be done in a beginner's classroom?

Information gap activities: Jigsaw readings or listening Group story building Spot the differences Communicative crosswords Interactive learning games Group story building Information gap Information gathering Communicative games Role play Negotiating meaning in a beginners class

conversation define vocabulary jigsaw reading information gathering reasoning TAREA: investiga sobre la música afro- cubana y analiza las similaridades y diferencias con la música afro-peruana. Eliciting meaning negotiation at the intermediate level opinion

Conclusion The importance of in-class interaction in order to promote and enhance language learning at ALL levels Content based language Collaborative work Authentic materials GRACIAS

REFERENCES Krashen, Stephen (1985). The input hypothesis. London:Longman Krashen, Stephen D. (1987). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. English Language Teaching series. London: Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd. Long, M.H. (1983). Native speaker/non-native speaker conversation and the negotiation of comprehensible input. Applied Linguistics, 4, Long, M.H. (1996). The role of linguistic environment in second language acquisition. Pica, T (1987). Second Language acquisition, social interaction and the classroom. Applied Linguistics, 8, 3-21 Pica, T. (1996). Do second language learners need negotiation? International Review of Applied Linguistics, 34, 1-2 Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. M. Gass & C.G. Madden (Eds). Input in second language acquisition. New York: Newbury House collaborative learning (Beckman, 1990; Chickering & Gamson, 1991) content based instruction (Brinton, D. M., Snow, M. A., & Wesche, M. B authentic learning (Guariento & Morley, 2001) Aronson, Elliot, and Shelley Patnoe. The Jigsaw Classroom: Building Cooperation in the Classroom. 2nd ed. New York: Longman, Task based learning (Ellis 2003; Skehan 2003)