Speaker
Description
Temple University Graduate Student Showcase. This study examines guided inductive grammar instruction through Socratic questioning with Brazilian high-beginner EFL learners. Across five weekly sessions, learners analyzed contextualized examples, compared statements and questions, formulated rules, and applied patterns involving do, does, and did. Pretest-posttest performance and written rule formulations indicated substantial gains in question formation and awareness of auxiliary choice, tense, subject, and base-verb form. The presentation discusses classroom applications and limitations of this exploratory intervention.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
On the 15-item diagnostic, participants frequently omitted auxiliaries, selected the wrong auxiliary, or retained incorrect main-verb inflections after auxiliaries. Following instruction, they demonstrated substantially higher accuracy in producing the target structures on the oral posttest. Worksheets also documented progression from noticing individual forms to explaining that does carries third-person marking and did carries past tense, leaving the main verb in its base form. These findings indicate strong short-term development in both grammatical awareness and production, although the small sample, repeated prompts, change in assessment modality, and absence of a comparison group limit causal claims and generalizability.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
Students completed five weekly online sessions. A 15-item Portuguese-to-English diagnostic assessed questions requiring do, does, and did. Three approximately 90-minute lessons used short dialogues, statement-question contrasts, guided noticing questions, hypothesis formation, error correction, and controlled production. One week later, learners completed an oral posttest using the same prompts. Target-structure accuracy was compared across assessments, while individual worksheets were qualitatively analyzed for changes in learners’ explicit rule formulations.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
English do-support is challenging for Brazilian Portuguese speakers because Portuguese yes/no questions generally require no comparable auxiliary. Research supports attention to linguistic form within meaning-oriented instruction (Tomita & Spada, 2013), while guided induction can foster grammatical awareness and productive learning (Cerezo et al., 2016; Vogel et al., 2011). Drawing on Koshi’s (1996) Socratic approach, this study explores a scaffolded alternative to rule-first grammar teaching. It is particularly relevant to teachers seeking practical ways to engage beginner learners in noticing, reasoning, and rule formation without requiring advanced grammatical terminology.
Abstract section 5: References
Cerezo, L., Caras, A., & Leow, R. P. (2016). The effectiveness of guided induction versus deductive instruction on the development of complex Spanish gustar structures: An analysis of learning outcomes and processes. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 265–291.
Koshi, A. K. (1996). Holistic grammar through Socratic questioning. Foreign Language Annals, 29(3), 403–414.
Tomita, Y., & Spada, N. (2013). Form-focused instruction and learner investment in L2 communication. The Modern Language Journal, 97(3), 591–610.
Vogel, S., Herron, C., Cole, S. P., & York, H. (2011). Effectiveness of a guided inductive versus a deductive approach on the learning of grammar in the intermediate-level college French classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 44(2), 353–380.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
This study investigated two questions: (1) To what extent did guided inductive instruction through Socratic questioning improve Brazilian high-beginner EFL learners’ formation of English yes/no questions with do, does, and did? (2) How did learners’ written rule formulations and instructional responses reflect developing awareness of the relationships among auxiliary choice, subject, tense, and main-verb form? The presentation also considers how Socratic grammar tasks can be adapted for beginner learners.
| Title | Teaching Do, Does, and Did Through Socratic Questioning |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | Teaching mature/lifelong learners |