Despite the common agreement that the aim of learning foreign language grammar is its implicit (often referred to as “procedural”) knowledge, that is, its use in learners’ speech (Ellis 2006), there is no consensus on how this goal could be reached. Neither is there a tool for measuring the accuracy of the production of certain grammatical features by a learner in their speech, which could be effectively used in a language classroom.
This study, investigating factors that influence the proceduralization of Russian case inflection in a classroom environment, required a means of assessment of the accuracy of case endings use in learners’ unprepared speech. The solution has been found in creating special comic strips, based on a famous Russian novel, which are used to elicit 16-20 unrehearsed sentences from beginner learners of Russian after only 20 hours of study.
This “comics” test has been successfully used for the data collection for this study. In addition, it can be easily replicated for other grammar categories and can be based on various stories and episodes, thus providing a useful tool for language teachers, particularly at the beginner level.
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