Unpacking Language Pedagogy
Unpacking Language Pedagogy
Florencia Henshaw
This podcast features short, accessible summaries and discussion of articles, terms, and various topics related to second language acquisition (SLA) and language pedagogy. From classic studies to the latest research, Dr. Florencia Henshaw will give you the gist of it and her own take on it. Created by a language educator for language educators. #languageteaching #secondlanguageacquisition
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 8: "Communicative Language Teaching: Current Status and Future Prospects"
My own summary and views on a 2007 book chapter by Nina Spada: "Communicative Language Teaching: Current Status and Future Prospects." What are the origins of CLT? Is CLT an approach? What are some misconceptions associated with CLT?  Link to the article: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-387-46301-8_20
May 16, 2022
11 min
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 7: "The effects of explicit instruction on written accent mark usage in Spanish heritage language courses"
My own summary and views on a study by Antoni Fernández Parera & Andrew Lynch (2021): "The effects of explicit instruction on written accent mark usage in basic and intermediate Spanish heritage language courses." Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 8 (1), 16-31. How helpful spelling instruction is. Does teaching accent rules explicitly lead to an increase in accuracy?  Does it have the effect we think it does, or does it have any unwanted side effects?
Apr 1, 2022
13 min
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 6: "Training students to use online translators and dictionaries: The impact on second language writing scores"
My own summary and views on a study by Errol O'Neill (2019): "Training students to use online translators and dictionaries: The impact on second language writing scores." International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 8 (2), 47-65. Do online translators enhance learning or bypass learning?
Feb 13, 2022
11 min
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 5: "Understanding the role of the first language in instructed second language acquisition"
My own summary and views on a study by María José de la Fuente & Carola Goldenberg (2020), "Understanding the role of the first language (L1) in instructed second language acquisition: Effects of using a principled approach to L1 in the beginner foreign language classroom."  Should we strive to use the target language exclusively in class? Link to the article: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820921882
Nov 24, 2021
12 min
Unpacking (SLA) Articles - Episode 4: "The relevance of SLA theory to the written error correction debate"
My own summary and views on a 2012 article by Charlene Polio that tackles a question we have all asked ourselves at some point: Is correcting errors worth our time? Link to the article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1060374312000768
Nov 17, 2021
10 min
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 3: "The evidence is IN; drills are OUT"
My own summary and views on the classic Wong & VanPatten (2003) article: "The evidence is IN; drills are OUT"  Link to the article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2003.tb02123.x
Nov 9, 2021
13 min
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 2: "Optimal input for language learning"
My own summary and views on a great article by Michael Long (2020): "Optimal input for language learning: Genuine, simplified, elaborated, or modified elaborated?"  
Oct 30, 2021
11 min
Unpacking (SLA) articles - Episode 1: "SLA Research in/ for the classroom"
My own summary and views on an article by Patsy Lightbown (2003): "SLA Research in / for the classroom." Link to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09571730385200151
Oct 27, 2021
11 min