Circumlocution presentation at CSCTFL '16

1. ARMING STUDENTS FOR A
WORLD OF
INCOMPREHENSIBLE
INPUT
Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell
MUSICUENTOS.COM

2. What do you
call this stuff?

4. CIRCUMLOCUTION:
it’s that thing that you do
when you can’t think of or
don’t know the word or
phrase

5. TWO NEEDS, SAME
SOLUTION
• novice: stuff I don’t know
(it’s a lot)
• intermediate: words that
change when I go
somewhere different (it’s
a lot)

7. BUT…
PROFICIENCY?
• not spelled out below
intermediate mid
• possible below
intermediate mid?
CC-BY Geraint Rowland
https://www.flickr.com/photos/geezawee

9. IF IT’S ABOUT THE INPUT…
• Can novices be taught it?
• Should novices be taught
it?
• Should we require it?

10. SCIENTISTS SAY…
• Ellis: When students
actively negotiate
meaning, they
comprehend more.
• Gass: students use
negotiation strategies to
make incomprehensible
input comprehended
CC-BY-NC-SA Bryan Jones
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bwjones/

11. HOW IT EMPOWERS
The majority of
communication problems
happen because of
vocabulary, not because
of grammar.
CC-BY Vinamwa Agrawal
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bwjones/

12. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?
• by specific region (for whatever reason)
• by widespread use
• by what I learned
• textbook picks for me
CC-BY-NC-SA Lauren Macdonald
https://www.flickr.com/photos/42386632@N00/

13. TEACH
NEUTRAL
WORDS
whenever possible.
CC-BY Davi Sommerfield
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davisomme

14. NOVICE: DESCRIPTION
• person, place, thing;
food, animal, plant
• and
• is, has
Thomas Berg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/decafinata/

15. INTERMEDIATE:
COMPLEXITY
• that
• more verbs: uses,
makes, does
• opposite of, same as

16. CC-BY-NC-SA Bethan
https://www.flickr.com/photos/beth19/
agraffe

17. IN A LESSON PLAN: EARLY
NOVICE• Story: Game Show!
• Processing task: categorize pictures
• Flyswatter: person, place, thing?
• Production task: circulate &
circumlocute!
• Stations: “Guess what?”
• Performance assessment: person,
place, or thing?
• Follow-up: Listening to video
Prior
knowledge:
descriptors, “is”
Target:
I can identify
something as a
person, place,
or thing.

18. IN A LESSON PLAN: LATER
NOVICE
• recycle the basics
• more descriptors &
verbs
• task: identify verbs
• game: “Speak”tionary
• interpersonal: what’s the
regional variation? (grid)
Target: I can describe something or someone
to find out the word for it when I don’t know.

19. Deborah Arteaga
University of Las Vegas
deborah.arteaga@unlv.edu
Lucía Llorente
Berry College
lllorente@berry.edu
Research credit:
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CIRCUMLOCUTION
IN THE SPANISH
LANGUAGE CLASSROOM