Targeted vs Non-Targeted input...the great debate

Targeted vs Non-Targeted Input: Our little slice of language teaching is finding itself divided over these terms.  There seems to be WAAAY more animosity and negativity around these than could possibly be justified.  At times, the discourse seems almost political (that is to say horrible, disrespectful, unnerving, unkind).

Ben Slavic demonstrating the power of pause and point in a
demonstration of Non-Targeted input

However, in my exploration of non-targeted input (NT) at the recent Comprehensible Cascadia conference, I learned that we all want the same thing and most of the core beliefs about how languages are learned are identical.


These observations are mine and mine alone.  They do not constitute a manual, plan, or merit much in the way of debate.  I am just thinking out loud and trying to process some of what I learned and match it to what I already know.  Many thanks to Ben Slavic, Tina Hargarden, and all the participants and workshop leaders at Comprehensible Cascadia for discussions and answering my questions.  

First, definitions.  Thanks to Bryce Hedstrom, Tina Hargarten, and the great community over at the CI liftoff Facebook page for creating this definition.

Non-Targeted Input:  The words needed (the input) emerge from the activity. The teacher uses skills to make the students comprehend the language. Acquisition is allowed to develop according to the natural order and the unconscious mind is able to process the linguistic data from understanding the messages. One technique that works well for Non-Targeted (NT) is One Word Images, pioneered by Tina Hargarten and Ben Slavic.

Targeted Input: The words (often called structures or target structures) are chosen from high frequency word lists; often they include the Super Seven (from Terry Waltz) and the Sweet Sixteen (Mike Peto).  Teachers create input around these words using techniques that include TPRS and other comprehensible input techniques. (This is my working definition)


Some similarities:

Non-targeted classroom, comprehensible input

• Languages can be taught most effectively through comprehensible (comprehended) input.
• The core skills- going slow, teaching to the eyes, sheltering vocabulary but not grammar (aka staying in-bounds), personalizing.
• The idea of teaching for mastery, not memorization.
• Creating a classroom community that is safe, welcoming, extremely positive and joyful, and equitable (reaching all kids, not just high achievers) is a huge priority.  In fact, it is necessary to do it in order to be successful. 
• Equity is a core theme: all kids can learn language.  
• Languages can be most effectively taught through comprehensible input.
• Teachers have a responsibility to hold ourselves to best practices and research-based instruction.
• Everyone who is doing it is extremely passionate about their work.  
• Teaching is a very difficult job and as such, teachers have a right to not be miserable in their professional life work-life balance.  As such, low to no prep lesson planning and a joyful classroom allow us to take care of ourselves so we can be the very best we can be when we are with the kids.  
• Much of the content comes directly from the kids- in NT it is One Word Images or Invisibles; in TPRS it comes from story-asking and student suggestions.  But both are student centered and highly personalized.  

Some differences:

• One of the key skills in TPRS is circling.  Often circling is used to get frequent repetitions of targeted words.  
• NT prefers to use light to no circling and does not focus on repetitions in the same way.

My takeaway: As I get more experienced, I focus less on circling anyway.  When I do it,  I *think* it is light circling.  Having Terry Waltz's circling cards is pretty great for this.  However, for less experienced teachers, circling is a basic skill that I think one needs to know how to do for either type of input.

• TPRS is one way to stay in the target language at the recommended (by ACTFL) 90%.  Practitioners (myself included) find it easier to maintain that much language in class. 
•  In a recent workshop with Ben Slavic, he dismissed the notion that staying in the target language for a certain number of minutes is an important goal.  While he didn't actually scoff at the ACTFL 90% recommendation, he pointed out that since a human brain needs 10,000 hours to learn a language and we have at best 120 hours a year, it's ridiculous to stress about it. We aren't going to get 10,000 hours, so why not focus on the important stuff: creating community, having fun in the language with the class.  From a private conversation:  "The stress that it (90%) puts on the teacher and the children doesn't make sense." "It is not practical in a school setting to go at 90%."  

 I think it is important to note that he is not saying we shouldn't teach in the target language. Of course we teach in the target language.  He is merely asking teachers to give ourselves permission to lighten up.
My takeaway: I don't need to stress so much about that 90%, or compare myself to others who do it better.  That is a huge gift!  Also, it reminds me of Karen Rowan's frequent admonition: "Comparison is the thief of joy." 

• Comprehension Checks- TPRS teachers use comprehension checks to, well, check comprehension.  Frequently.  Individually and chorally.  Sometimes cold calling students.  Often by simply saying "What did I just say?" and expecting an answer in the shared language (L1).  In fact, much of circling is comprehension checking, when you think about it.  
• Non Targeted (Non targeting?) CI teachers watch for understanding (look at them- do they understand?) and listen for the weakness of the response (to questions).  In a discussion about this, Ben said: "I am not doing any comprehension checks, I am just paying attention."  Tina mentioned that she no longer cold calls on kids at all and does not do comp checks that put kids on the spot, and reports that it seems to be positive for her classes.  

One path, lots of ways to get there!

My takeaway: There are many different ways to do comprehension checks.  But everyone using CI effectively is probably doing them in one way or another.  More experienced teachers with strong classroom community building skills (note- I did not say classroom management skills!) know how to pay attention to what they need to and do less intrusive checks, and less experienced ones will benefit from just asking what was understood.  My wondering: I wonder how to teach the skill of listening/paying attention for comprehension checks?  

In conclusion:
We all want the same thing.  We all choose the same path to travel.  We differ in the exact pattern of stepping stones that we jump to get there.

On Being a Student in a Less Commonly Taught Language...part two

OK, I never wrote part one.  Here is the abbreviated version: 

My first experience learning a less commonly taught language with different characteristics was with Betsy Padovan, learning Japanese, at NTPRS 16. 

She did a great job of using the transliterated Japanese (romaji), all the comprehensible input techniques (going slow, slower, and slower; pausing and pointing, and more), keeping it interesting, and helped me recognize a few key kanji to boot! She did it using gestures, lots of direct translation, lots of group comprehension checks, and lots of retell.  She also wove some pretty brilliant pieces of culture into her lessons seamlessly.  It probably helped that my talking buddy was the brilliant Justin Slocum Bailey, who has enough enthusiasm and joie de vivre to overwhelm any potential fear of failure on my part.  

All in all, I feel like I got a taste of what it was like to be a student in a TPRS classroom, taught by a master teacher.  

Fast forward a year.  I am at Comprehensible Cascadia in Portland, OR.  (My old hometown!)  I am taking an Arabic class with a teacher new to some specific Comprehensible Input techniques (One Word Images and creating stories from OWIs, aka "non-targeted input").  He is simultaneously teaching a series of three hour classes while trying to incorporate this new learning, and being coached in the meantime.  Wow.  

This very talented and brave teacher is taking such a risk.  What follows is JUST my reflection on being a student, where I needed support, and what worked for me.  This is not in any way a reflection on his technique- aren't we all learning together?  Also, through the process of coaching, the teacher made changes to make himself more comprehensible.  How amazing is that?  

As I sit in the back (not my optimal place for learning!) I am learning more about what it is like to be a student, and what that discomfort of being lost feels like.  

So, this what it feels like to be lost, to be found, and how important the important things really are.

• Gestures are crucial.  This became more clear to me in the Cherokee class, where the teacher used them more consistently and I felt so much more comfortable immediately, as we established a gesture for each major word.  (In this case, it was scorpion, has, wants.) 
• Pause and Point: When the words for yes/no are nothing like cognates, it really helps me if the teacher goes slow and pauses and points for them too...with the English.  I did not realize how hard these two words were!  Update: the teacher started using gestures (thumbs up and thumbs down) for yes/no verification.  It helps a LOT.  
• Frequent comprehension checks  ("what did I just say?") in English support me when I check out from overload, or go to the bathroom, or get distracted by the really cool sounds of the words, or...I wanted more of these.  I wanted more repetitions.  I wanted to go slower.  (We have about 7 words on the board...and I still want to go slower.) 
• Clearly establishing meaning: One moment of checking out (at the exact moment we decided that our character was a bus) and the word bus not being written under the Arabic text meant that I spent the first few minutes thinking that the Arabic word pronounced baasss was a cognate for some kind of fish.  Writing "bus" under the Arabic would have really kept me from feeling like an idiot when I finally saw the picture!  (Again, the importance of not assuming that your students know what a word means...or remember!) 

  

  This is what a truly responsive, reflective teacher looks like.  

• Using two colors really helps me focus.  Having the Arabic text in one color and the English in the other helped me choose where to look.  If I knew the word, I could ignore the English, but if I was struggling, that English was crucial to keeping me checked in.   Update: The teacher just erased the transliteration of the Arabic, and moved to just English and Arabic- the sense of relief in the room was palpable.  The transliteration was too much noise for me. 
• Personalization keeps interest high. One thing that I am struggling with in this lesson is that we established that the bus (our image) is sad.  For me, it would be very natural to start talking about the students.  "Jenny is sad.  No, Jenny is not sad."  This adding parallel character/personalizing would increase the interest for me as we are only 7 words in, but I am not confident about them.  Update: I guess I wasn't the only one who thought this, as the coach suggested it too.   As soon as the teacher started personalizing,  I was able to identify two more words without really working at it, and felt confident about more.