The relationship between implicit and explicit learning has been a subject of extended debate and research in second language acquisition. Do linguistic consciousness and cognitive consciousness operate on two different domains, to be fused together only in communicative activity at social and psychological levels? Lantolf and Poehner (2014) challenge researchers with this question, suggesting that an interface between implicit and explicit learning can be effectively explored through approaches to learning that blend sociocultural learning theory with the conceptual knowledge of cognitive linguistics.

The task of teaching English prepositions to second language learners is an ideal context in which to test this two-pronged construct. Clearly, many nonnative speakers find that achieving competency in the use of English prepositions is one of their most difficult tasks (O’Dowd, 1998). A few studies have attempted to apply cognitive linguistic theory to this challenge, with modest success, and a very small number of studies have investigated sociocultural approaches to classroom learning (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014).

Cognitive linguists have developed sophisticated categories of extended meaning for key prepositions, working toward a framework of meaning that is as compatible as possible with human cognition and experience in the physical world. This usage-based model of language asserts that natural language is never separated from context and that both grammar and syntax have conceptual significance far beyond the lexicon (Tyler & Evans, 2003). Sociocultural theory, formulated from the early twentieth century work of Lev Vygotsky (1987), is an explicit approach of developmental learning that supports conceptual learning with images, diagrams, or other material activities. Through a series of learning stages (motivation, orientation, materialization, overt speech, covert speech, and mental internalization), language acquisition is posited to occur as students move from a mere cognitive understanding of concepts to the use of the concepts in communicative activity (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014).

This study adds to the literature that argues that the blending of these two theories creates the optimal approach for language learning. The learning targets of this study are the prepositions in, on, and of—words that are among the most frequently used in English. Assessment tools were used to measure gains in the accurate use of these prepositions after a 75-minute curriculum treatment. The study was limited to the use of these prepositions in prepositional phrases in four common syntactical functions, across a wide variety of contexts.

Research Methodology

The research study involved both a control group—an advanced ESL grammar class that was taught the targeted prepositions of in, on, and of in a traditional curriculum—and an experimental class of the same skill level. The experimental class was taught the targeted prepositions from a curriculum that was created from the blended contructs of cognitive linguistic and sociocultural theory. The classes were controlled for time and level of proficiency. Gains from the instruction from the short 75-minute curricula of both the control class and the experimental class were assessed through a pretest and a posttest.

The Control Class

Three sections of instruction were used in the control class, followed by a posttest.

1. Introduction. A PowerPoint introduction to English prepositions was given, including an overview of the difficulties they present to ESL learners, their frequency of use in English, and primary syntactic functions. (10 minutes)

2. A traditional curriculum. Using materials that were prepared for and frequently used in advanced ESL grammar classes, the class was given a brief guide to frequent uses and meaning categories of the targeted prepositions in, on, and at. (The preposition at was included, as it is often taught with the targeted prepositions in traditional curriculum.) A paired-group fill-in activity, with class review, followed. Next, the class was introduced to the third targeted preposition, of, with categories of meaning. Students then received a table of frequent collocations of the targeted prepositions for a quick sentence-building oral activity. (40 minutes)

3. Final activity. After a break, the class was given a final activity—a fill-in worksheet, followed by class discussion—involving all targeted prepositions. (25 minutes)

4. Posttest. (25 minutes)

The Experimental Class

Six sections of instruction were designed for the experimental class, followed by a posttest.

1. Motivation stage. As in the control class, students were introduced to the preposition word class together with an overview of the frequent use of English prepositions and the challenging problem of preposition polysemy. (10 minutes)

2. Orientation stage. The targeted prepositions of in and on were explored in a chalkboard illutration. The prototype of each preposition was identified and illustrated with several specific examples of their contrasted uses. The topological extension function of prepositions (spatial relationships tend to be held in relative, not absolute, relationships) was explained and illustrated, as well as the concept of speaker construal that so often plays a role in preposition selection. At the end of this short discussion, all students were provided a two-sided handout; one side contained the Scheme for a Complete Orientating Basis of an Action (SCOBA; Gal’perin, 1992, cited in Lantolf & Poehner, 2014)—aguide to the preposition extensions of meaning—with examples for in, and the opposite side contained the SCOBA for on. An image supported each of the multiple senses of preposition meaning. These multiple senses of meaning, with images and examples, are organized in the SCOBA within common syntactical categories in which they appear, as linguistic consciousness is fundamentally tied to formal structure in the target language, even though we assume that a semantic continuity holds for prepositions across syntactic constraints (O’Dowd, 1998). The syntactic categories of prepositional phrases used in this study are noun phrase modifiers, adjuncts, conjuncts, and complementizers. (10 minutes)

3. Materialization stage, Overt Speech stage, and Covert Speech stage. Students were arranged in groups of two for a concrete materialization activity, an activity designed to prompt both covert and overt speech. Each partner on the left was assigned to be “Mr./Ms. on;” the other partner was assigned to be “Mr./Ms. in.” Each student was provided a piece of clay to model the protytype of the assigned preposition. Clay modeling, demonstrated to improve second language acquisition of prepositions (Serrano-Lopez & Poehner, 2008), is fun, even for college students!A 40-card activity set was provided to each group to elicit overt and covert speech; each card contained a sentence of context with a blank for one of the missing targeted prepositions, along with its associated image. The partners chose the correct preposition, and then the card was “stuck” into the proper clay model—a convenient place to hold the cards for subsequent counting and instructor assistance. (30 minutes)

4. After a short break, the students were introduced to the of SCOBA, which follows the cognitive linguistic research of Jang and Kim (2010), who posit that three categories of meaning have developed from this highly frequent English word—separation (e.g., north of here), partness (e.g., a piece of cake), and genitive (association or belonging to, e.g., colors of the rainbow). (10 minutes)

5. Students, remaining in paired groups, reformed the two previous clay figures and were provided an additional piece of clay to form three models, illustrating the three meaning categories of of. Each group was given an additional 40-card set with sentences that use the preposition of. This time, the cards were separated by category of meaning across varied contexts, aided by the image on each card—an easier and quicker activity than the previous card activity. For remaining class time, the students were provided a table of common prepositions with complementizers for a quick, around-the-room sentence-building oral exercise. (15 minutes)

6. Posttest. (25 minutes)

Results of the Study and Pedagogical Implications

The 75-minute experiment for this study was conducted in the control and experimental classes during the Spring 2015 semester, preceded and followed by assessments tests of similar length and design. A key for the texts was established from native English speakers who were current ESL instructors. All scores were computed and analyzed as a mixed-factorial repeated measures analysis of variance. While the experimental class clearly outperformed the control class on all parts of the test, no statistical significance was found as attributable to the curriculum effect, F (1,21) = .321, p < .6, ns. In two subsequent semesters of the application of this experiemental procedure by the researcher, gains by the classes also exceeded the gains of the original control class. While no statistically significant results have yet been achieved, these consistent gains point to the need for additional experimental research in this area.

It is often lamented that empty formalism has resulted from student learning in traditional classrooms, which typically focus on the development of grammatical forms. If cognitive linguistics provides a contruct for what we are to teach, the principles of sociocultural theory offer guidance in regard to how we are to teach. The gains of the experimental class, the SCOBAs, the card-set activities, and the clay-modeling projects used in this study provide substantial groundwork for additional research in the use of these approaches for spatial and linking learning targets in advanced ESL classrooms.

References

Jang, E., & Kim, K. (2010). A study on the semantics of preposition of: Based on prototype theory and cognitive categorization.Studies in Linguistics, 18, 211–230.

Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2014). Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative in L2 education: Vygotskian praxis and the research/practice divide. New York, NY: Routledge.

O’Dowd, E. M. (1998). Prepositions and particles in English: A discourse-functional account. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Serrano-Lopez, M., & Poehner, M. E. (2008). Materializing linguistic concepts through 3-D clay modeling: A tool-and-result approach to mediating L2 Spanish development. In J. P. Lantolf & M. E. Poehner (Eds.), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 321–346). London, England: Equinox.

Tyler, A., & Evans, V. (2003). The semantics of English prepositions: Spatial scenes, embodied meaning and cognition. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky (Vol. 1-5). (R. W. Rieber, & A. S. Carton, Eds.) New York: Plenum Press.

Donald Englund is a lecturer in the Applied English Center at the University of Kansas.