Rate each of the characteristics in the grid:
On the second page of the activity on a scale of 1–5, as shown. Type the information out again so it is part of your Word document. As you complete the grid, use 5 to indicate a characteristic that you think is ‘very important’ and 1 to indicate a characteristic that you consider ‘not at all important’ in predicting success in second language learning. The numbers in between (2, 3, 4) can also be used to indicate degrees of importance. (12 points, one for each grid item completed).
For FOUR of your responses to grid items, any four, write a short paragraph justifying your ratings. That adds up to four short paragraphs. Now write another short paragraph explaining why you chose these four. Each short paragraph should be well-constructed, with a theme sentence, clear logical flow and of course no spelling or grammar errors. Please double-space your work.
Do you think that some of the characteristics are ‘innate’ and unchangeable, or are there some characteristics that learners can develop if they have adequate opportunity and good instruction? Answer this question in another well-constructed paragraph that explains your answer.
Answer the final question posed by Lightbown & Spada in this activity: Do you think some of these characteristics might be important for students in classrooms where the emphasis is on learning grammar, while others might be more important for students learning language in the community, outside the classroom? Which ones? Why?