WHAT IS THE INFLUENCE OF FORM-FOCUSED INSTRUCTION OF COPULA AND AUXILIARY (BE) ON ESL LEARNERS?

Abstract

This study explored the influence of form-focused instruction (FFI) in teaching English copula and auxiliary (be) to English as a second language (ESL) learners. Following the noticing hypothesis, FFI, and the basic principles of curriculum and instruction theory, this study investigates if ESL learners make omission, misuse, or misjudgment errors while acquiring English as a second language. Also, the study examined whether ESL learners show significant improvement in their knowledge of English copula and auxiliary (be) after receiving FFI. Previous copula and auxiliary (be) research (Jishvithaa, Tabitha, & Kalajahi, 2013; Muftah & Eng, 2011; Unlu & Hatipoglu, 2012) has shown that ESL learners commit omission and misuse errors. It was the aim of this study to investigate that ESL learners commit those errors and to add misjudgment errors to the investigation. Moreover, the study also aimed at examining the influence of FFI on the ESL learners’ knowledge of copula and auxiliary (be). Previous research on FFI influence (Ellis, 1984; Tomita & Spada, 2013; Valeo, 2013) has shown a positive influence of FFI on learning and acquiring grammatical structures. This study adds more findings by focusing on the influence of FFI on the ESL learners’ knowledge of the copula and auxiliary (be) in the present tense. This study was a quantitative quasi-experimental one. It utilized a control group and an experimental group. It followed a pretest-treatment-posttest, control-group design. Participants were 14 ESL learners (10 in experimental group, 4 in control group) who were in two existing groups at two ESL classes in a Midwestern university. The results reflect that participants made v omission, misuse, and misjudgment errors. The participants committed more misjudgment errors and less omission and misuse errors. All participants showed a significant change overtime in regard to making misjudgment errors. The outcomes highlight misjudgment errors as a potential type of errors that ESL learners may commit with copula and auxiliary (be). The experimental group outperformed the control group over time by significantly making less omission errors. When compared over time and between groups, participants’ scores on the grammatical judgment tasks have shown improvement suggesting a positive effect of FFI treatment on the participants’ knowledge of copula and auxiliary (be). Further research is needed to involve a larger participant population and more types of copula and auxiliary (be) errors.