Volume 22 in the Second language acquisition series.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-177) and index.

"This book makes Relevance Theory (RT) relevant for L2 teachers and L2 teacher educators, in particular those working in foreign language teaching contexts. L2 classroom discourse data collected in seven research projects in the years 1984–2004 are reinterpreted in this book in the light of Relevance Theory - a theory of interpretation of the incoming messages. In this perspective the teachers’ input for instructed L2 learners facilitates shifts in the learners’ attention from meaning to form and vice versa. Such shifts of attention, according to Relevance Theory, change the level of expected optimal relevance of classroom communication, either focusing the students on form-oriented communication (accuracy), on meaning-oriented communication (fluency) or on meaning and form-oriented communication (fluency combined with accuracy). The latter is considered optimal for L2 learning/acquisition. Apart from the main focus on the relevance-theoretic interpretation of the teachers’ input, the book presents an overview of other theoretical approaches to the question of input for instructed L2 learners: the SLA approach, the communicative L2 teaching perspective, and the L2 classroom discourse approach." (Book Cover).

CONTENTS:

1. The Role of L2 Classroom Input in the Light of Second Language Acquisition Models and Relevance Theory
The Role of L2 Classroom Input in the Light of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Models
The Role of L2 Classroom Input in the Light of Relevance Theory

2. L2 Teaching Perspective on the Role of Instructional Input
The Changing Status of L2 Teaching Methods
Native and Non-native L2 Teachers
Secondary Instructed L2 Learners
The Background of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
Communicative Practice in the L2 Classroom
Fluency and Accuracy Practice in the L2 Classroom
Feedback and Error Correction in the L2 Classroom
L1 Use in the Monolingual L2 Classroom

3. L2 Classroom Discourse Perspective on the Role of Instructional Input
L2 Classroom Discourse
L2 Naturalistic and Classroom Discourse
Functions of L2 Classroom Discourse
Patterns of Participation in L2 Classroom Discourse
L2 Teacher Talk and Peer Talk
L2 Classroom Discourse Modifications

4. Evidence from L2 Classroom Discourse Research Projects
Jagiellonian University English Department Projects on Teachers' Input in L2 English Classroom Interaction (1984 - 2004)

5. Classroom Discourse Data Interpreted in the Light of RT: Levels of Expected Optimal Relevance of L2 Classroom Input
Instructional Input in the RT Perspective
Instructional Input: Explicit Teaching
Instructional Input: L2 Classroom Communication
Input for Instructed L2 Learners in the Light of RT: Raw (Primary) and Corrective (Secondary) Linguistic Data Revisited

6. L2 Teaching Implications

Conclusion