Short summary of the discussion:
We started with our own experiences with learning English as a second language.

We discussed the "Questions for reflection" in "How Langugages are Learned" by Lightbown & Spada (p.100).
1. Think of an example of a member of a majority group learning the language of a minority group and one of a member of a minority group learning a majority group’s language. How might the power relationships between groups of speakers affect the attitudes of language learners? How might the status of the languages affect opportunities for learning? (Question 1)

There is a power imbalance between the minority group and the majority group. This can be both motivating but also be a hinder. Motivation is a key factor. Is the learner a student in the country to learn second language or is the learner a refugee who wants to be somewhere else (presumably his or hers native country)?
Another factor could be if the learner has positive or negative feelings towards the majority group’s language/population. 
• Learners communicative needs. If learners need to speak the second language in a wide range of social situations or to fulfil professional ambitions, they will perceive the communicative value of the second language and are therefore likely to be motivated to acquire profiencie in it (87) + (Own experience) instrumental motivation
• Integrative motivation.
• Power imbalance might cause people to feel reluctant to speak (minority speaking with a majority)


2. As a second/foreign language teacher or learner, what are your views about teaching grammar? Do you have any specific preferences for how it should be taught or when? Do you know what your students' preferences might be for grammar teaching. If not, do you think it would be useful to find out?
(Question 2)

How do you like to learn grammar? What methods of teaching do you prefer when learning grammar? Important to correct when someone is talking. We remember doing tests to learn the correct grammar in school, but don’t remember that the teachers correcting us during a conversation? Is it ok to correct when someone is speaking? In practice we would focus on the grammar oral communication, but of course think about how you do it. Recast – repeating what the students are sying with correct grammar. Some pupils might recognize this an an adjustment. Metalinguistic correction: Get the student to reflect on what thy said out loud while the teacher asks supporting questions. Have a dialog in the start of the semester, to find out what each individual students preferences are.  Bring different learning different learning activities to class.

3.If you were teaching English as a foreign language in a country with limited opportunities for secondary and post-secondary education in English, what recommendations would you make regarding the age at which English instruction would begin? What research would you draw on in supporting your recommendations? (Question 3)

The theory we found suited this group the best was Munos’ theory. Munos says that ”younger” learners might not have enough time and exposure to benefit fully from the alleged advantages of implicit learning. Older learners may be able to make better use of the limited time they have for second language instructions and will provide them with enough knowledge to have everyday communication and read texts.

Google Hangout Wednesday 12th September 2018 at 8pm

Camilla Sandman, Ida Renate Skaret, Sigvat Brustad, Ole Anders Krogstad

Camilla: Group chat is a very handy tool for setting up time and place and giving notice of technical hiccups. Google Hangout seemed to work pretty well for smaller groups, but can be tricky in larger group with people talking on top of each other.

Ida: It was smart to move on from email to Group chat to Schedule a time for the video chat. That way everyone's response was visible to all of us, and it was easier to agree.

Ole:  It is very nice to get acquainted with other teachers and their stories from classrooms. I also need training to speak English.

Sigvat: I feel that email was useful to agree on a common platform, the chat was useful for agreement on topic and after-meeting work, and the meeting was as already mentioned: OK with 4 participants.

A very short summary of your work. Comments from the group:

We used Lightbown and Spada p. 37, 47, 76 – 77 to talk about learning characteristics, how to use this in the classroom and challenges connected to this.

We agreed that we have too little time with English in our classrooms to accomplish a safe environment, learning about our pupils and ensuring they speak the language frequently enough.

The table and the figure was a good starting point for a discussion, even though some of the points in the figure on page 47 aren't as relevant for secondary level (at least upper secondary) as it is for primary level students.

We also agreed that the models on pages 37 and 47 are quite fruitful and ready to use practically. The former a scheme for mapping learner background, and the latter a general model of learners sequential acquisition of morphemes.

We shared some experience and ideas as to how we can encourage students to participate in oral exercises, and how to break the "sound barrier" - working in pairs with interlocutors.

We discussed using learner characteristics to map our pupils and adapt our teaching to their needs.

We agree that using the language to communicate is important, more so than memorizing words. However, having glossary tests can lead to feelings of accomplishment.

We also discussed strategies for how to get pupils to communicate even when missing words in their vocabulary (using descriptions, drawings, talking around the word) and thus keep the flow in the conversation.

It's a complex situation to give children the right attention with the right timing.

And Camilla summarized neatly that even though we represent teaching on all levels our challenges in the classroom is quite similar.

We also talked a bit about realizing that errors can actually mean the pupil is evolving their language, and that we have to be aware of that and not just "count errors" when grading and giving feedback to pupils.

We spoke of different ways of approaching the language, reading and writing, but also gaming and playing.

It was important for students to be allowed to look at what they know about the subject they should learn. This way they can be confident of what they have of background knowledge in relation to the new topic they are going to learn. Learning conversation.