On page 52-53, Lightbrown and Spada point out that at times more advanced learners need to be placed in less dominant roles when paired in activities with lower level learners. I understand that this will allow/force the lower level students a chance to work to learn the material, but this comment makes me wonder if the same is true for other non-language learning situations. I think that this kind of pairing might put the more advanced students in a more cheerleading/coaching role, rather than the "I know how to do this, so I'm going to do it all" role. I'm not sure if this would work or if the pairing would end up not doing anything. I think that it might encourage some students to really put some effort in at least attempting work that they might feel is too difficult.

The last pages of Lightbrown and Spada's chapter 6 reaffirmed a few of my beliefs. They point out the fact that instruction should include guided-form focused instruction and corrective feedback in certain circumstances. They also allude to the fact that the teacher needs to know when each one would be beneficial to use and when to shift between them. For me, this part demonstrates exactly how vital a teacher's role is. Toward the end they add the comment that most teachers don't think about how to improve their teaching strategie because it can be very difficult. "It is not always easy to step back from familiar practices and say, 'I wonder if this is really the most effective way to go about this'" (180). I find this to be a great point. I'm tempted to type it in large print and print it out. I think having this quote on a sign somewhere teachers would see somewhere every day. I'd be willing to bet that it might encourage some more reflective teachers.