ARMING STUDENTS FOR A

WORLD OF

INCOMPREHENSIBLE

INPUTSara-Elizabeth Cottrell

MUSICUENTOS.COM

What do you

call this stuff?

WHY?because you went to study abroad and stepped off the

plane in Buenos Aires and heard this…

TWO NEEDS, SAME

SOLUTION

• novice: stuff I don’t know

(it’s a lot)

• intermediate: words that

change when I go

somewhere different (it’s

a lot)

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?• by specific region (for whatever reason)

• by widespread use

• by what I learned

• textbook picks for me

CC-BY-NC-SA Lauren Macdonald

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42386632@N00/

TEACH

NEUTRAL

WORDS

whenever possible.

CC-BY Davi Sommerfield

https://www.flickr.com/photos/davisomme

rfeld/

CIRCUMLOCUTION:

it’s that thing that you do

when you can’t think of or

don’t know the word or

phrase

AND

PROFICIENCY

• not spelled out below

intermediate mid

• possible below

intermediate mid?

CC-BY Geraint Rowland

https://www.flickr.com/photos/geezawee

zer/

IF IT’S ABOUT THE INPUT…

• Can novices be taught it?

• Should novices be taught

it?

• Should we require it?

SCIENTISTS SAY…

• Ellis: When students

actively negotiate

meaning, they

comprehend more.

• Gass: students use

negotiation strategies to

make incomprehensible

input comprehended

CC-BY-NC-SA Bryan Jones

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bwjones/

HOW IT EMPOWERS

The majority of

communication problems

happen because of

vocabulary, not because

of grammar.

CC-BY Vinamwa Agrawal

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bwjones/

HOW HARD IT IS TO SPEAK

SPANISH!side note: Try EdPuzzle

CONTENT: NOUNS

• person

• place

• food

• animal

• plant

CONTENT: VERBS

• has

• is

• uses

• makes

• does

Thomas Berg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/decafinata/

THESE GUYS AGAINside note: Try EdPuzzle

CONTENT: MORE

• subordination: who, that

• descriptors (colors, etc.)

• opposite of / same as

CC-BY-NC-SA Bethan

https://www.flickr.com/photos/beth19/

agraffe

IN A LESSON PLAN

• “it’s” + categories

• task: categorize pictures

• descriptors

• task: describe pictures

• verbs

• task: identify verbs

• game: “Speak”tionary

• interpersonal: what’s the regional variation? (grid)

ONE MORE TIMEside note: Try EdPuzzle

Deborah Arteaga

University of Las Vegas

deborah.arteaga@unlv.edu

Lucía Llorente

Berry College

lllorente@berry.edu

Research credit:

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CIRCUMLOCUTION

IN THE SPANISH

LANGUAGE CLASSROOM