Common Ground

Second Language Acquisition Theory Goes to the Classroom

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Chapter 6 Resources

Contents: Articles & books, blog posts, podcasts, webinars & presentations, videocasts, databases & other resources. 

Articles & Books:

• Erlam, R. (2016). ‘I’m still not sure what a task is’: Teachers designing language tasks. Language Teaching Research, 20(3) 279–299.
• González‐Lloret, M. (2020). Collaborative tasks for online language teaching. Foreign Language Annals; 53, 260-269.
• Hlas, A.C. (2021). High-Leverage Teaching Practices: Designing Tasks for Interaction. CSCTFL Report, available here, pp. 31-45.
• Loewen, S., & Sato, M. (2018). Interaction and instructed second language acquisition. Language Teaching, 51(3), 285-329.
• Leeser, M.J., & White, J.P. (2015). Interactive tasks. Routledge.
• Mackey, A. & Polio, C. (Eds.). (2010). Multiple Perspectives on Interaction: Second Language Research in Honor of Susan M. Gass. Routledge.
• Philp,J., Adams, R. & Iwashita, N. (2014). Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning. Routledge.
• East, M. (2021). Foundational Principles of Task-Based Language Teaching. Routledge. Full book available here.

Blog Posts:

• "Fishbowl Interpersonal Speaking in World Language class" by Allison Wienhold
• “Ordering & Negotiating Activities” (decision-making tasks for novice learners) by Kara Parker
• “My revamped tertulia for Spanish V/VI” by Maris Hawkins
• “Using authentic text as a springboard to interpersonal tasks” by Leslie Grahn

Recorded Webinars & Presentations:

• "Task-based Language Teaching: What, Why, How" by Dr. Julio Torres
• "We need to talk: Tech tools and tasks to foster interaction in the classroom and beyond" by Dr. Florencia Henshaw
• "Video chatting with native speakers: Why, What, How" by Dr. Florencia Henshaw
• "Tasks for Purposeful Communication in Language Learning" by Rebecca Blouwolff, Megan Budke, and Grant Castner.
• "Formative and Summative Interpersonal Speaking Assessments" by Dr. Florencia Henshaw

Podcasts:

• Step Into Mondays podcast: "You want novice students to talk to native speakers? Really?"

Videocasts:

• Black Box Videocast 4 Sociocultural Theory
• Unpacking activities: "Two-way crossword puzzle"
• Unpacking activities: "Finding a time to meet" (info-gap)
• Unpacking Activities: "Spot the differences task"
• Unpacking terms: Task
• Unpacking Terms: Recast
• Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 13: Pairs vs. Groups
• Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 18: Forming pairs
• Brief overview of Task-Based Language Teaching by the Language Resource Center at Cornell University

Databases & Other Resources:

• "I See, I Think, I Wonder": Exploring Cultural Artifacts (lesson plan describing a scaffolded whole-class discussion activity)
• "Silent Discourse" (Interpersonal Writing) (activity idea and downloadable resources created by Rebecca Ahearn)
• TBLT Language Learning Task Bank (searchable database of tasks created by the International Association for Task-based Language Teaching and Learning)
• "Chat mats" (language support during interaction) for Spanish, French, and German by Amy Lenord

Return to the Common Ground Online resources chapter menu page.