Entry by Cara Bailey
Paesani, K. (2005). Literary texts and grammar instruction: Revisiting the inductive presentation. Foreign Language Annals, 38(1), 15-24.
Paesani proposes a method of L2 grammar instruction which employs literary texts as comprehensible input in the novice level. Situating herself as a proponent of inductive grammar instruction, Paesani notes that research supports L2 instruction which presents meaningful input and then progresses toward the recognition of forms. She writes that “input-rich” grammatical instruction links grammar to communication in students’ understanding of language (16). As a result, she advocates for an interactive model (Barnett 1989) of foreign language reading, one which combines top down and bottom-up approaches so that learners’ background knowledge and linguistic knowledge all come together in the process of reading. At the end of her article, Paesani provides a lesson plan in which students learn relative pronouns in French through the poem “Le message” (1949) by Prévert. This instructional cycle allows for students to re-read the text for multiple purposes, as well as combining the steps for inductive grammar instruction and interactive reading so that they may overlap and inform each other. The first steps combine pre-reading and decoding activities designed to enhance their comprehension of the text. Students then hypothesize about the meaning, and the instructor presents the form before guiding students in meaningful communicative practice of the form before continuing with the post-reading activities. The lesson is designed for two courses, the first of which would focus on pre-reading and the latter on post-reading.
Paesani underscores how the stratification of reading in language courses, from bottom-up approaches in the introductory courses to full-length texts in advanced courses, creates “obstacles” along the path to content-oriented classes (17-18). Since “linguistic and literary development are intertwined” (17), Paesani argues that literary texts should be incorporated at all levels of language classes. These texts not only provide various structures and characteristics not found in other types of texts (Shook 1996), but they also provide rich cultural information which enhance learners’ personal connections with the target language. She also cites Bill VanPatten and Cadierno (1993) on benefits of comprehensible input and meaning-focused grammar instruction in acquisition, as well as Ellis (1992) on the benefits of “consciousness-raising” tasks in clarifying meaning throughout the early stages of reading a text. Furthermore, she advocates for whole language learning (Adair-Hauck 1996) for its emphasis on meaning first and its use of inductive grammar instruction. In advocating for literary texts in lower-level grammar instruction, Paesani has also implied a necessary change in the division of how upper-level L2 courses are designed versus beginning courses. If learners start the language program with fiction and poetry as tools for meaning-creation, then they will be better prepared for upper-level content-based tasks. Likewise, advanced students will also benefit from instructional sequences such as Paesani’s. The pre-reading tasks would then focus on forms which are important to questions of style, genre, etc. frequently discussed in advanced literature courses.