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Striking a Balance: Input, Vocabulary and
Grammar in Teaching Russian
William J. Comer, Portland State University
Lynne deBenedeFe, Brown University
Input
Language that learners encounter and whose
meaning (i.e., communicaIve content and
intent) they try to comprehend
Input • authen'c text
– wri.en – audio, video, graphic
• semi-‐authenIc texts
– authored textbook dialogs – illustrated presentaIon of vocabulary
AuthenIc wriFen input
hFp://www.teaspoon.ru/menu
AuthenIc audio input
from: hFps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdPeWxo8EA4
AestheIc texts as authenIc input
hFp://miniskazka.ru/russkie_razn/kak_ivan_durak_dver_stereg.html
AuthenIc wriFen input -‐ Discourse level
addad
Input • authen'c text
– wri.en – audio, video, graphic
• semi-‐authen'c texts
– authored textbook dialogs – illustrated presenta'on of vocabulary
Semi-‐authenIc input
Semi-‐authenIc dialogs as Input
Golosa, Book 1, Unit 3 Beginner’s Russian, Unit 5
ConsideraIons in choosing semi-‐authenIc input
• Comprehensibility: “i + 1”
• Presence of targeted grammaIcal form
• Alignment of input with output goals
Goals and Outcomes
“What can the learner do with the language
learned from this input?”
– “What can learners comprehend?”
– “What can learners produce?”
QuesIons thus far?
We pause here to allow you to ask any
quesIons you have about the presentaIon to
this point.
Goals and Outcomes -‐ Resumed
• “What can the learner do with the language
learned from this input?”
– “What can learners comprehend?”
– “What can learners produce?”
● Learners will
be able to do:
• ask and tell about activities
(work, relax, stroll, read, listen,
think, write, play) that you and
others are doing or do regularly
know these things:
• verbs conjugate in the present tense
and match endings for different
persons
• making questions and positive and
negative sentences
● Learners will
be able to do:
ask and tell about what you and
others read and listen to, and
compare that to Russian reading and
listening habits
know these things:
verb have different complements: direct
objects, adverbs, prepositional phrases
noun and adjectives endings change for
direct objects (accusative case)
OpIons for input for verbs?
• capIoned pictures
• micro-‐dialogues
• monologic text: leFer or email
http://www.mezhdunami.org/unit03/3_1/index.shtml
http://www.mezhdunami.org/unit03/3_1/index.shtml
Learners and the Input
• Process input for meaning, then form
• “meaning” = learners work parIcularly
on verbs as lexical items
• global comprehension of sentences
• understanding vocabulary
Comprehension work: in class
Comprehension work: at home 1
Comprehension work: at home 2
Comprehension work: at home 3
Full set of characters and their actions
Comprehension work: in class 2
From Meaning to work on Form
✓ Learners understand the global content
✓ They know the vocabulary well
• Forms: help learners
– focus on new forms
– understand them
– begin to use them
Structured input
Structured Input 2
Structured Input 3
Grammar Work: NoIcing
Grammar ExplanaIon 1
Grammar ExplanaIon 2
Checking Comprehension
Pause for quesIons
Before we move on to producIon-‐oriented
acIviIes, we’ll pause here to allow you to ask
some quesIons.
Oral Classroom Output acIvity 1
Oral Classroom Output acIvity 2
Output: WriFen Homework
Output: WriFen Homework
Features of Structured Input
• One form-‐meaning mapping at a Ime
• Both referenIal and affecIve acIviIes
• Learners do something with the structured input
• Keep meaning in mind
• Both wriFen and oral formats
From: Lee and VanPaFen (2003)
Output acIviIes
• Meaning is important
• Personalized content
• CommunicaIon moIvated by a gap in
informaIon, reasoning or opinion
Striking balance?
• classroom Ime spent in communicaIve acIviIes
• acIviIes engage in acIve comprehension
• communicaIve use of the input
• first supported, gradually decreasing support
• reading about the language largely outside class
