Last week we looked at Bill VanPatten’s comments on “Input Enhancement” and saw that he gives it a tepid endorsement at best but acknowledges that it at least seems to do no harm.
This week we’ll take a look at Focus on Form in this chapter of Van Patten’s book While We’re On the Topic.
Here are VanPatten’s opening remarks about Focus on Form:
Focus on form can be called a type of input enhancement but was developed as a separate idea by Michael Long. The idea behind focus on form is that during a communicative event, teachers might draw learners’ attention to some property of language in a way that does not break communicative flow. Unlike input enhancement in its original concept, focus on form is not pre-planned or purposeful. It arises incidentally during a communicative interaction. (2017, p. 103)
While he uses the same term, “Focus on Form”, VanPatten has a very different take on it from Glisan and Donato. For my discussion of their presentation of Focus on Form, see here, here, here, and here. In their book Enacting the Work of Language Instruction, Glisan and Donato champion the PACE model of focus on form. Just to review, here are the steps in PACE:
- PRESENTATION of a text that contains the form on which the teacher wishes to focus
- ATTENTION is drawn to the form that is important to understanding
- CO-CONSTRUCTION of an explanation of the form through discussion and dialogue
- EXTENSION and use of the form in a new context
A fundamental difference between what Glisan and Donato present and what VanPatten presents is the idea of planning. For Glisan and Donato, Focus on Form is highly planned and extremely purposeful. VanPatten maintains that “… focus on form is not pre-planned or purposeful. It arises incidentally …”
I know that VanPatten rejects the PACE model. At the 2018 ACTFL convention, I was able to be part of a group telephone call to VanPatten. During the conversation, someone mentioned the PACE model. VanPatten categorically and strongly rejected the validity of this model along the same lines that I outlined in my discussion of it: it relies on some form of the Output Hypothesis, it involves conscious learning and knowledge of language (which do not lead to acquisition), and it is really the old Present – Practice – Perform model in modern dress.
Nonetheless, VanPatten advocates some very common practices as part of his understanding of Focus on Form. These include
Recasts: The teacher “unobtrusively recasts” what the learner says so that it sounds like a native speaker. This raises some questions, but we’ll get to them in a moment. Most importantly, VanPatten maintains that the purpose is not correction but affirmation of the message and a continuation of the conversation.
One of the questions that VanPatten’s statement raises is the efficacy of recasting. If the purpose were error correction, then recasts would not be very efficacious (if at all). Students often do not even recognize that a recast has been made, especially if the recast is “unobtrusive”.
Another question is whether or not the recast accomplishes the purpose. As an affirmation of understanding, i.e. as part of the negotiation of meaning, the recast can be useful in that it allows the conversation to continue. And this brings us to the next strategy for “focus on form”:
Negotiation of meaning: If a student uses a present form of a verb but the sentence seems to indicate a past action, the teacher (or other interlocutor) may need to clarify which is meant. This will generally involve some rephrasing, if not recasting.
“According t0 focus on form, this negotiation may draw learner attention to an aspect of language through a natural facet of communication: clarifying meaning. In a nutshell, any attempt to negotiate meaning could be a focus on form.” (2017, p. 104; emphasis mine)
Here, it seems to me that VanPatten is hedging his bets. Once again, his endorsement is tepid at best. He also places strictures on the use of “focus on form” that are far different from the mainstream understanding – and Glisan and Donato’s presentation – of focus on form. VanPatten notes that “focus on form fits within the parameters of how acquisition happens:
- The event is couched within some kind of communicative interaction; it is not an ‘explicit teaching moment.’
- Somewhere in the interaction, the learner receives focused input that may provide more data for the internal mechanisms responsible for acquisition.” (2017, p. 104)
Thus, we see VanPatten returning to the unconscious, abstract, and implicit nature of language and language acquisition. There is still no ringing endorsement of focus on form. VanPatten notes that “As with input enhancement, it is not clear to what extent such events actually ‘speed up’ or ‘help’ acquisition.” (2017, p. 104)
I’m still trying to figure out why VanPatten has included these two strategies or practices in his book, given his unenthusiastic presentation of them.
Next time, we’ll look at Structured Input. For now, though, I’ll end this post with a reminder from Bill VanPatten that I find apt:
We can’t force the learning of mental representation – or the learning of communication, for that matter. We can only provide oppourtunities for it to develop.