Hi, Nicole and others who have written on issues of fossilization,
interlanguage (and implicitly error correction), and building language
awareness through the explicit teaching of mini-lessons.  We appreciate
both your examples and your insights
 
I wanted to make sure that we don't leave new teachers or those who come
to adult ESL from other fields in the dust, so I wanted to stop for a
minute and add a few definitions: 
 
Interlanguage:  All second language learners make language errors.
Errors are part of language learning. We make "mistakes" as we try to
create the target language (L2) in our minds. The language we produce in
the early stages of proficiency is only an approximation of the target
language, the language we are trying to learn. Since you cannot memorize
a new language, mistakes must happen.  The language that learners use on
their way to proficiency is often referred to as "interlanguage."  As
students learn and acquire more language through various forms of input
(noticing; practicing; studying, using the language in various
contexts), they make fewer language errors and get closer to full
proficiency. So a student's interlanguage is changing all the time,
based on the "input" they receive (what they hear and read), and the
"output" they are asked to produce (speaking, communicating with others;
presenting). There is some evidence that "corrective feedback"
judiciously applied (more on that later) can help students notice the
errors they make, correct them, and move forward, self monitoring and
self-correcting down the road. 
 
As several others pointed out, creating mini-lessons around some of the
sticky points (where students keep making the same mistake over and
over) can be really helpful, if students are indeed ready in their
language development to understand and integrate new knowledge about
language into their existing knowledge (schema).  You can try to explain
how present perfect or how hypotheticals work in the beginning ESL class
(if I had had the money, I would have bought the car), but your students
will not be ready to take in sophisticated structures of this sort. So
you will hear "I be here 5 years" or "I am here 5 years" or "I have 5
years here" but probably not, "I've been here for five years"  - so
whatever your Level 1 students say when you ask them "how long have you
been in the United States,"  that's interlanguage. 
 
Fossilization. At any time in the learning process a student may become
stuck in some level of interlanguage and may make the same mistakes over
and over again - and language development does not seem to move forward.
That's called fossilization. I've know older students who seem to have
decided that their language skills are close enough and they aren't all
that interested in improving their grammar. Those may be the students
that Lynn (Weintraub was talking about). In many cases, the strategies
we mentioned do get learners moving forward, in others, the learners
seem so focused on communication that little noticing of form takes
place. Perhaps asking learners straight out: 
 
Do you want to improve your English?  If so, which part of English?
(vocabulary, comprehension, pronunciation, grammar). We can then ask
students to identify language they are not sure about (from an audio
tape of their story or a written piece). Or as Nicole explains below, we
can keep trying to isolate a pattern and offer insights. 
 
Corrective feedback: This much we know: If corrective feedback (input
focused on errors, such as "recasting" has to have any effect, it must
be selective, judiciously applied and offered at optimal times (NOT,
when the student is trying to tell us something important - correcting
at that point can be really insulting and most likely make no
difference). 
 
Language learning is extraordinarily complex and so is language teaching
- knowing what to correct, when, why and how (and when to leave things
alone) may be one of the most critical skills new teachers need to
learn. 
 
Examples, anyone? 
 
Heide
 
________________________________

From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Nicole Graves
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 1:12 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 291] Re: fossilization
 
Hi all,
 
Recently, once again, two examples of interlanguage development and
fossilization jumped at me.
 
The first one from a high level student who has been here 15 years: the
person consistently used "privaty" for privacy.  You can see that having
seen the word private on doors at work, at the gym, at school, etc. she
made up the new word "privaty" applying whatever assumptions she was
working with at the time.  I might have corrected her by repeating the
correct form many times but I understood what she wanted to communicate.
My way of correcting her did not work.  It was not enough.  Because
there was no breakdown in communication, there was no need to alter the
utterance.  This week, I stopped and pointed out the mistake directly.
I also mentioned that other people might be confused and possibly would
not understand.  We talked about the two words.  It was a five minutes
direct instruction language awareness lesson.   She self-corrected after
that for a short time.  She no longer uses the wrong word.
 
The second one is from a man who has been here more than 6 years but
just entered a high intermediate class.  He had a smattering of English
when he first arrived and got a job immediately.  He continued to
develop his oral English skills over the years but had no time to attend
classes until now.  When I interviewed him, he said he worked in a
factory that had 3 shifts [shiftes].  In two months [monses], he would
change his shift [shifte].  That would allow him to come to class.  I
asked him how he would write shift and month.  He replied: shifte and
monte.  You can see how he had applied a plural rule he got somewhere to
use these words in the plural.  Another quick mini-lesson: no final "e"
in either of these words.  After a final voiceless consonnant sound, the
plural marker "s" is also voiceless.  He also learned to self-correct
with prompting from the teacher at first and no longer makes the
mistake.  I do not think that he has internalized the rule but he has
corrected 2 words that appeared "fossilized".
 
Nicole B. Graves
 
 
	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Moira.Taylor at domino1.cuny.edu 
	To: specialtopics at nifl.gov 
	Cc: specialtopics at nifl.gov ; specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 
	Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 10:22 AM
	Subject: [SpecialTopics 286] Re: fossilization
	 
	
	Hi all - 
	
	I've been reading all week, and now how some time to respond.  I
hope the following is useful. 
	
	First of all, I totally agree awareness is a critical element
for working on fossilization issues. 
	
	And then, just to put another work into the mix, I was just
reading a chapter (Chapter 9) in Ilona Leki's book "Understanding ESL
Writers."  She writes about an interlanguage (an unstable language
developed during the language learning process).   The student is on
his/her way to developing the correct L2 form by receiving input, but
this student stresses and ignores rules based on input.  For example,
s/he may have learned about 3 person "S" and then overgeneralize the
rule to modal forms (She cans...)  Eventually, s/he will stop as s/he
practices more. 
	
	I'm simplifying, but what Leki says at the end of all this is:
"Normally, as language learners continue recieving input from the target
language, their interlanguage reshapes itself in increasing conformity
to the L2.  For reasons not completly understoond, however, certain
interlanguage forms become fixed, or folssilized, and no amount of input
seems to be able to induce a re-analysis of the fossilized form to put
it more in line with the L2...Fossilized interlanguage forms are
particularly difficult to alter, possibly because the learner is for
whaterver reason unmotivated to identify completely with the target
discours community." 
	
	She has more to say about what to do (this particular chapter is
about correcting sentence level errors - what, how, why).  Worth a read
I think. 
	
	Moira Taylor 
	
	Moira Taylor
	CUNY Adult Literacy Program
	101 West 31st St., Room 704 
	New York, NY 10001
	Tel: 212 652 2883
	Fax: 646 344 7329
	www.literacy.cuny.edu 
	
	
 
"Nicole Graves" <cnaamh at rcn.com> 
Sent by: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 
04/12/2007 04:05 PM 
Please respond to specialtopics 
        
        To:        <specialtopics at nifl.gov> 
        cc:         
        Subject:        [SpecialTopics 284] Re: fossilization
	
	
	
	Lynne,
	
	Language awareness works for fossilization too.  If you stop the
student and 
	focus on one point and explain the differences or similarities,
on the spot, 
	chances are the problem will go away.  When the student is ready
to become 
	aware and you make the student aware, it always works.  One at a
time.
	
	Nicole B. Graves
	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: "Lynne Weintraub" <lynneweintraub at hotmail.com>
	To: <specialtopics at nifl.gov>
	Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:36 AM
	Subject: [SpecialTopics 283] Re: fossilization
	
	
	> Heide--the GED grammar question reminds me of a related
question I've had 
	> on
	> my mind for a long time. Over the years, I have run into a
number of
	> students who seem to be "fossilized" in their language
development. They 
	> get
	> to a certain point, and then they just don't seem to make any
progress
	> anymore in terms of pronunciation, structure, or even
expanding their
	> vocabulary. Has any research been done on this problem? Do you
have any
	> ideas on how to break through? I'd like to offer some hope
(and 
	> strategies)
	> to their tutors, but so far I haven't found any that are
genuinely
	> successful.
	> Lynne Weintraub
	>
	>
	>>From: "Wrigley, Heide" <heide at literacywork.com>
	>>Reply-To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
	>>To: <specialtopics at nifl.gov>
	>>Subject: [SpecialTopics 282] Re: (no subject) teaching grammar
in the
	>>GEDclass
	>>Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:41:16 -0400
	>>
	>>Hi, Cheryl
	>>
	>>I'm sorry it took me awhile to get to the grammar question. I
just got
	>>back from D.C. and am off to Austin in the morning, but here
it goes.
	>>
	>>First of all, it is indeed very difficult to help students
write with
	>>expression and help them develop their language skills so that
they are
	>>able to write sentences that are grammatical. It is quite a
challenge,
	>>especially once students are able to communicate quite well
orally and
	>>aren't particularly keen on working on their grammar skills.
	>>
	>>Complicating the enterprise is the fact that at this level the
	>>difficulties that students have may differ from learner to
learner so
	>>anything you teach to the entire class will probably bore some
students
	>>(since it's not their problem) and frustrate others (cause
they are not
	>>ready - given where they are in their language development -
to absorb
	>>whatever rules you are presenting). So any time there is a
presentation
	>>to the entire class on grammar at this level you may only have
a few
	>>students who are with you. (Cheryl, correct me if I'm wrong in
your
	>>case, since I am speaking in general terms and obviously don't
know your
	>>students).
	>>
	>>One thing that doesn't work very well, is to have students
write their
	>>paragraphs on the board and have everyone else point out the
grammar
	>>mistakes. Students generally are not particularly engaged in
what other
	>>students have written, particularly if asked to focus on form.
And
	>>again, some students may be able to detect errors and correct
them (and
	>>what are they learning?) while others are nowhere near ready
and the
	>>explanations make no sense to them - again, if some of you
have had
	>>great success with this strategy, let us know.
	>>
	>>Ok, here then are some strategies that you might try:
	>>
	>>1. There is a hypothesis in second language acquisition that
	>>emphasize the notion of "noticing" and holds that students
won't be able
	>>to acquire accurate linguistic forms and structures, unless
they first
	>>notice them, that is unless they pay attention to their own
language and
	>>the language of others and say to themselves "oh, that's how
it's said
	>>(or not said); this is how you write it; this is what people
do"  And
	>>once student pay attention to these forms, it becomes easier
for them to
	>>use correct forms or edit their own writing. So one suggestion
I would
	>>make to build in your students a curiosity about language, an
eagerness
	>>(well, may-be not eagerness, but an interest) in seeing how
language
	>>works. This notion is also known as "language awareness" and
it goes a
	>>long way in helping students pay attention to how the language
they use
	>>in expressing their ideas is similar or different from the way
other
	>>people say or write things.
	>> a. One way to help students build language awareness and
	>>look at their own language output is to ask students to circle
the kinds
	>>of phrases or words that appear in their writing that they are
not sure
	>>about. Sometimes students a way to self-correct, but you can
also work
	>>with them to find better ways of expressing their ideas
(sometimes that
	>>means fixing up the grammar and other times that means
rephrasing a
	>>sentence and using a different structure altogether, one that
the
	>>student is more familiar and comfortable with).  After you
help students
	>>use fix-up strategies, you can then ask them to pay attention
in their
	>>reading to see if they can identify the structure in question
in other
	>>people's writing.
	>> b. Another way is to have students read their writings into
	>>a tape recorder and then listen to it again to see if it
sounds right.
	>>I first saw this technique used when I was up in Vancouver at
the
	>>Invergarry Learning Centre where Janet Isserlis taught for
awhile. It
	>>was amazing to see how students would read their essays and
then
	>>self-correct as they noticed that the language they used was
awkward or
	>>ungrammatical. The tape recorder acted as a tool for editing
and
	>>revision that was fun for students to use (many students I've
known just
	>>hate rewriting - in their mind it was hard enough to put pen
to paper
	>>and get their thoughts in writing, they don't want to prolong
the
	>>agony). So the tape recorder adds a new dimension (students
can just
	>>take turns using the machine as they finish their writings).
	>>
	>>Of course, building language awareness and helping students
self-monitor
	>>their writing is only one strategy to help students gain
greater
	>>accuracy in their writing. And self-monitoring is not a great
deal of
	>>help if students don't have much experience with the standard
ways of
	>>writing. So you may want to see if there are some common areas
of
	>>difficulties that your students share (subject-verb agreement;
passive
	>>constructions; irregular past verbs) and then teach
mini-lessons that
	>>zero in on those areas. While some students respond well to
rules
	>>because they are good at deductive thinking, others do much
better when
	>>you present patterns of language and then draw their attention
to the
	>>commonalities within these patterns - so that you help your
students
	>>abstract the grammar rules from the sentences they see -
helping them to
	>>get to the aha! moment. This approach is also known as
"discovery
	>>grammar".
	>>
	>>If particular grammar forms are new to students and they need
to know
	>>them because there are no simpler work-arounds, they will need
some
	>>guided practice in using these forms in different ways so that
they
	>>become internalized.  I would then include these structures in
a grammar
	>>editing check-list that students can use when they look over
their own
	>>writing - once again, building language awareness in the
process.
	>>
	>>Another insight that might help you: Just correcting students
each time
	>>you see a mistake in their writing and giving them a quick
explanation
	>>generally doesn't work unless the student made a careless
mistake. This
	>>sort of "drive-by" grammar lesson usually doesn't stick. It is
much
	>>better, generally, to set some time aside, either with an
individual
	>>student or with the group and ask the student(s) to focus on a
	>>linguistic form when they are not in the middle of writing or
reading
	>>their writing to others.
	>>
	>>Finally - and you will notice a theme here - a lesson that I
learned as
	>>an adult second language learner:  Quite a few of the mistakes
that I
	>>made in writing English disappeared when I spent more time
thinking
	>>about and discussing what it is I wanted to say and write.
	>>
	>>Quite often, at the intermediate levels, the language that
learners use
	>>is muddled and the sentences awkward or ungrammatical, because
the
	>>thinking is still fuzzy. Once a writer is clear on what it is
exactly
	>>(s)he wants to say, it is easier to construct sentences that
are clear
	>>and concise.
	>>
	>>I used this model of talking things through to discover what
it is you
	>>want to write with my students when I taught Developmental
Writing and
	>>for many students it did make a quite a difference.
	>>
	>>Others did need some structured lessons on the grammar they
had missed
	>>along the way.
	>>
	>>So no silver bullet here (ha! another cultural reference to
mess with
	>>the uninitiated).
	>>
	>>Good night all!
	>>
	>>Heide
	>>
	>>________________________________
	>>
	>>From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
	>>[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of cheryl
gentry
	>>Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2007 9:01 PM
	>>To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
	>>Subject: [SpecialTopics 261] (no subject)
	>>
	>>I teach GED at CRC...a prison in Norco, Calif. I have many
students who
	>>grew up speaking Spanish in the home and have difficulty with
English
	>>grammar. Are there any special tricks?
	>
	>
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