Immersion students form their own grammatical rules through guided exposure

What is it about?

This study examined the effectiveness of an explicit-inductive approach to grammar teaching in improving the linguistic accuracy of Grade 5 and 6 students in 12 Irish immersion classes. Form-focused materials were designed to explicitly draw learners’ attention to the use of the genitive case in Irish over a four-week period. Students engaged in collaborative dialogue when uncovering rule-based knowledge and they recorded explicit grammatical knowledge in a reflective language-learning journal. Results from a pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test design showed a highly statistically significant increase in the mean achievement of pupils from pre- to post-test, with a levelling off at delayed post-test.

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Why is it important?

Young immersion learners enjoy a large amount of exposure to the target language. Much of the form available in this input can go unnoticed as they negotiate for meaning. An explicit inductive approach can help to increase noticing and lead to learning of form.