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Article published In: Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education
Vol. 8:2 (2020) ► pp.200–229

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A focus on language in the immersion language arts curriculum

Insights from a fourth-grade Portuguese classroom

ORCiD logo with link | Brigham Young University
 | Brigham Young University
 | Tooele County School District
Published online: 10 August 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.18031.bat
Abstract
Grounded in research on explicit and implicit knowledge and on the role of conscious awareness in language learning, this interpretive case study examined the efforts of one Portuguese teacher to implement a focus on language within a language arts curriculum based on literary genres with a class of fourth grade (9-year-old) students over the course of an academic year. The study found that lessons on authentic literary texts provided a meaningful context for calling students’ attention to nominal and verbal agreement patterns in Portuguese. By the end of the year, students’ nominal and verbal agreement had improved dramatically on a written test, but only their nominal agreement had improved significantly in an unstructured interview, although they had begun to use a greater variety of verb forms. Students were also able to correct many of their own errors and to use metalinguistic terminology to explain the language patterns involved.
Resumo
Fundamentado em pesquisas sobre conhecimento explícito e implícito e sobre o papel da conscientização no aprendizado de idiomas, este estudo de caso interpretativo examinou os esforços de uma professora de português para implementar um foco no idioma dentro de um currículo de língua portuguesa baseado em gêneros literários com uma turma de alunos da quarta série (9 anos de idade) ao longo de um ano acadêmico. O estudo constatou que as aulas sobre textos literários autênticos forneceram um contexto significativo para chamar a atenção dos alunos para os padrões de concordância nominal e verbal em português. Até o final do ano, a concordância nominal e verbal dos alunos havia melhorado dramaticamente em uma prova escrita, mas apenas a concordância nominal havia melhorado significativamente em uma entrevista não estruturada, embora os alunos tivessem começado a usar uma variedade maior de formas verbais. Os alunos também foram capazes de corrigir muitos de seus próprios erros e de usar terminologia metalingüística para explicar os padrões de linguagem envolvidos.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction and background
    • 1.1The linguistic limitations of immersion learners
    • 1.2The focus on form movement
    • 1.3Efforts to incorporate a focus on language in immersion education
    • 1.4A focus on language in the immersion language arts curriculum
  • 2.The present study
    • 2.1Context for the study
    • 2.2Research questions
    • 2.3Participants
    • 2.4Targeted language forms
    • 2.5Sources of information
      • Pre-post interviews
      • Written pre-post test
      • Reflective interviews
      • Observation field notes
      • Conversations with the teacher
    • 2.6Data analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Research question 1: How the teacher incorporated a focus on language
    • 3.2Research question 2: Students’ nominal and verbal agreement patterns at the beginning of the year
    • 3.3Research question 3: Improvement in students’ nominal and verbal agreement
    • 3.4Research question 4: Students’ ability to articulate language patterns and self-correct
  • 4.Discussion and pedagogical implications
  • 5.Suggestions for future research
  • Notes
  • References
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