Incidental Focus on Form in Free Discussion EFL Classes

Most of the recent studies on incidental focus on form have been conducted in textbook-based classes where opportunities for meaning-based interaction and communicative negotiation of ideas were limited in length and scope. However, in free discussion classes where there are normally no predefined textbooks or linguistic focus, both EFL teachers and learners feel compelled to get engaged in meaningful interactions while drawing attention to language on a temporary and needs-driven basis incidentally. This book deals with the rate of reactive and preemptive focus on form and their linguistic coverage in a free discussion EFL class. It also explores the relationship between the linguistic coverage of reactive and preemptive form focused episodes and the rate of uptake as an indicator of the effectiveness of focus on form episodes. ESL and EFL teachers who run meaning-oriented forums or debates in their classes will get inspiring ideas in this book on employing incidental focus on form in their classroom practices both to engage their learners in fruitful exchange of ideas and to foster their language proficiency development unobtrusively.

Javad Gholami is an assistant professor in TESOL from Urmia University, Iran. His main publications have been on integrating focus on form instruction and communicative language teaching in Iran. Bita Asadi, an experienced EFL teacher and ESP lecturer, is an MA graduate in TESOL from Urmia, Iran.