Topic: Technology and Innovation | 5 tools for feeding forward
Presenter: Emma Meade-Flynn
Presentation details
The concept of emergent language (EL) (Chinn and Norrington Davies, 2022) is one that has garnered sustained interest in recent years. It’s also universally acknowledged that working with this kind of unplanned language offers some of the richest learning opportunities in the communicative classroom. However, the discussions around EL often focus on how to create the conditions for it to emerge and how to decide what to work with. But once we have the EL “on the board”, what happens next?
Effective language learning requires more than just presentation of language items, emergent or otherwise. It requires opportunities to manipulate, meaningfully use and revisit it. These are all things teachers tend to do with planned or target language. However, given the spontaneous and reactive nature of dealing with EL, the same attention is often not given to vocabulary and structures that emerge.
Drawing on principles of language learning including use (Nation, 2000, Willis, 2003), retrieval (Nation, 2000), and reflection (Willis, 2003), this talk will present 5 kinds of tools for feeding emergent language forward beyond the moment of highlighting it. These tools don’t require any planning and can be used spontaneously, reactively and flexibly by teachers at all career stages and with a range of levels and learning contexts. They include:
- Boardwork tools
- Impromptu practice tools
- Language recall tools
- Lesson take-away tools
- Lesson summary tools
These tools help teachers become better equipped to turn feedback on EL moments into learning that feeds forward and contributes to long-lasting language development for their learners.
About the presenter
Emma Meade-Flynn is a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and course designer based in Ireland. Over her 20 years in the profession, Emma has gained a wide range of experience teaching and training across the private and public sectors in the UK, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Her special interests include teaching listening, emergent language and TBLT. She currently runs a Trinity DipTESOL programme at DublinTEFL and is passionate about teacher development.