Form‐Focused Instruction: Isolated or Integrated?
Abstract
There is increasing consensus that form‐focused instruction helps learners in communicative or content‐based instruction to learn features of the target language that they may not acquire without guidance. The subject of this article is the role of instruction that is provided in separate (isolated) activities or within the context of communicative activities (integrated). Research suggests that both types of instruction can be beneficial, depending on the language feature to be learned, as well as characteristics of the learner and the learning conditions. For example, isolated lessons may be necessary to help learners who share the same first language (L1) overcome problems related to L1 influence on their interlanguage; integrated instruction may be best for helping learners develop the kind of fluency and automaticity that are needed for communication outside the classroom. The evidence suggests that teachers and students see the benefits of both types of instruction. Explanations for the effectiveness of each type of instruction are drawn from theoretical work in second language acquisition and cognitive psychology as well as from empirical research.
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Learners tend to attend to lexical items more than grammatical items because nouns carry more important value when negotiating for meaning (Spada & Lightbown 2008).
“That learners tend to attend to lexical items more than grammatical items can be explained by the fact that nouns carry more important value when negotiating for meaning (Spada & Lightbown 2008).”
From Interaction and instructed second language acquisition (2018) · cites this paper as Spada & Lightbown 2008
Cites
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“…constructs, but all of them are compatible with the hypothesis that while instruction may not directly alter learners' underlying language systems, it can help them notice features in the input, making it more likely that they will acquire them (Gass, 1997; Lightbown, 1998; Schmidt, 1990).”
BackgroundAcquisition of cognitive skill
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“However, it is also evident that some language features develop very slowly, or not at all, in the absence of guided attention and that some types of FFI can increase the likelihood that learners will make progress in learning these features (Norris & Ortega, 2000).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialCORRECTIVE FEEDBACK AND LEARNER UPTAKE: Negotiation of Form in Communicative Classrooms
Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1997) · Studies in Second Language Acquisition · doi:10.1017/s0272263197001034 · Cited by 2,259 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Research in CLT and CBI contexts has shown that children do not always recognize integrated FFI (including enhanced input and implicit recasts) as responses to language form rather than meaning (e.g., Lyster & Ranta, 1997).”
BackgroundLong, M. (1991) · Studies in Bilingualism · doi:10.1075/sibil.2.07lon · Cited by 1,775 · cited 4× · see citing works
“…while instruction may have only a limited effect on the path learners follow through developmental sequences, it may affect the rate at which learners pass through a sequence (see, e.g., Ellis, 1989; Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991; Mackey & Philp, 1998; Pienemann, 1989; Spada & Lightbown, 1993).”
BackgroundInfluentialAT THE INTERFACE: DYNAMIC INTERACTIONS OF EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE
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“Further, the ability to use unanalyzed chunks of language may free cognitive resources for use in attending to external input (Ellis, 2005).”
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8. The role of learners’ language analytic ability in the communicative classroom
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Focus on formS as a means of improving accurate oral production
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Interactions between type of instruction and type of language feature: A meta-analysis
Spada, N., & Tomita, Y. (2010) · Language Learning · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00562.x · Cited by 746 · see citing works
Self-citationInteraction and instructed second language acquisition
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The Occurrence and Effectiveness of Spontaneous Focus on Form in Adult ESL Classrooms
Nassaji, H. (2010) · The Canadian Modern Language Review · doi:10.3138/cmlr.66.6.907 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
KASPROWICZ, R. E., MARSDEN, E., & SEPHTON, N. (2019) · The Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/modl.12586 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
- Authors
- SPADA, N., & LIGHTBOWN, P. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Concordia University (CA)
- Venue
- TESOL Quarterly
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-06
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 181-207
- ISSN
- 0039-8322 (ISSN-L)
- 1545-7249
- OpenAlex
- W2104373049
- Cited by
- 396
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 90 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 112.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- TESOL Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Office of International Science and Engineering
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Second Language Learning and Teaching
- Keywords
- form-focused instruction, integrated teaching, second language acquisition, interlanguage, first language influence, fluency, automaticity, communicative activities, content-based instruction, language teaching
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