Language Teaching Methodology Series General Edt: Christopher N, Serene rected ie lnguge teaches aoa este Walsh LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY A textbook for teachers aC rrt See eee eed ee cerry ers Feet a ere een Sperone aes Rl oe tT Pap Ces CQUO TRING Nie ch cco) ae Oe EeContents General Eoltor's Preface Preface Classroom Extracts Chapter One An Empirical Approach toLanguage Teaching Methodology 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Defining methodology 13 Research into language processing and production 1.4 The contextand environment of learning, 1.5 Classroomsin action 116 Exploringlanguage classrooms 1.7 How tose thisbook 1.8 Conclusion Chapter Two Communicative Approaches to Listening Comprehension 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Bottom-upand top-down viewsof listening 2.3 Identifying different typesot listening 2.4 Textual connectivity 2.5 Listeningpurpose 2.6 What makeslistening dificult?” 2:7 Listeningtextsand tasks 2.8 Investigatinglisteningcomprehension 2.9 Conclusion ChapterThree Speakingina Second Language 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Identifying diferent types of speskirg 43.3 Predictability and unpredictability ” 9 2vid Contents 3.4 Theconceptof genre 3.5 The difficulty ofspeaking sks 3.6 Classroom interaction 3.7 Stimulating oral interaction in the classroom V/ 3.8 Investigating speaking and oral interaction 319 Conclusion Chapter Four Reading: A Discourse Perspective 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Bottom-vpand top-down viewson reading / 4.3 Schema theory and reading 4°4 Research into readinginasecond language 45 Reading and social context 4.6 Typesof reading text 4.7 Thereadinglesson 48 Investigating reading comprehension 4.9 Conclusion ChapterFive Developing Writing Skills 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Comparing spoken and writen language ¥ 513 Writing as processand writings product 54 Thegeneriestructure of written texts 5.5 Differences between skilledand unskilled writers ‘5.6 Writing classrooms nd materials, 5.7 Investigating writing development 5.8 Conclusion Chapter Six Mastering the Sounds of the Language ( 6:1 Introduction S62 Conteastive phonology $6.3 Recent theory and esearch ‘64 Pronuncitionin practice 65 Investigating pronunciation 6.6 Conclusion ChapterSeven Teaching Vocabulary 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The status of vocabulary inthe curriculum 7.3 Word lists and frequency counts 3 a7 yaa v5 6 ol 6 6 6 co 2 B ” al 2 83 B 3 86 89 OL 9 100 100 wor 103 107 Ha us 116 16 ur 18 14 Vocabulary andcontext 115 Vocabulary development and second language aequisition 7.6 Semantic networks and features 7.7 Memory and vocabulary development 7.8 Investigating the teachingandlearningeef vocabulary 7.9 Conclusion Chapter Eight FocusonForm: The Role of Grammar 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The traditional language classroom 8.3 Second language acquisition esearch adits influence on practice 8.4 Grammatical consciousness-raising 8.5 Systemic functional linguistics and pedagogical grammars 186 Pedagogical materialsand techniques for teaching grammar 8.7 Investigating the te2ching andlearningef grammar 8.8 Conclusion ChapterNine Focus on the Leamer: Leaming Styles and Strategies 9.1 Intraduetion 9.2 Research into earning styles and strategies 9.3 The good' language learner 9.4 Alearner-centred approach to anguageteaching 9.5 Learningstratepiesin the classroom 9.6 Investigating learning strategy preferences 9.7 Conclusion Chapter Ten Focus on the Teacher Classroom Management and Teachor-Student interaction 10.1 Inteoduction 10.2 Amountand type of teacher tale 10.3 Teacher questions 10.8 Feedback on learner performance 10.5 Classroom management inaction 10.6 Investigating teacher tale 10.7 Conelusion ChapterEleven Materials Development 41.1 Introduction \/11.2 Commercial materials VALS Researchonmateriasin se 3 "3 13 144 149 151 155 165 17 167 167 im 178 Ist 185 18? 189 19 19 192 195, 198 206 207x Contents “4.4 Materials and methods MALS Materials design \AL6 Materialsadaptation 7 Investigating materials (118 Conclusion Chapter Twelve Language Teacring Methods: A Critical Analysis 12.1 Introduetion 12.2 The psychological tradition 12.3 The humanistic waditio 124 The second language acquistion tradition 12.5 Investigating methods 126 Conelusion References Author Index Subjectindex 213 214 219 2 228 228 29 234 240 247 29 259 General Editor's Preface A glance at the available literature for teachers-intraining in a range of educational subject matters reveals strong tendency towards revealed truth. Unfortunately for these trainees, however, the pathway towards this goal is not couched in terms of personal exploration but is expressed more as sets of precepts for teachers actions, tied to injunctions and homilies about desirable (and very frequently undesirable) classroom behaviours. Prescriptions for practice abound and are presented un- aquestioningly, placing the eacher/reader ina characteistcally mimetic role, expec ted to mark and follow what has been laid down, often by writers unfamiliar to these readers and from culturally and educationally alien worlds. Very often these pre- scriptions are bundled together to constitute a method, a pathway to presumed effectiveness in the classroom. Language teaching, among all discipines, has sut- fered particularly trom these recipes for ils. ‘Although such an approach has been hugely successful in terms of publication, it has been much lessso in terms of teacher conversion to innovative classroom action. Despite what they may appear to support in theory, or say they are in favour of in training seminars, teachers seem in actuality strangely resistant to changes to theit established practices. It sometimes soems asf they operate in two worlds, 2 world of apparent acceptance in one plane and one of actual rejection in the other. There is "undoubtedly some correlation between being presented with someone else’sanswers to what they perceive to be your problems and your likely unvilingness to adopt such nostrums and to convert them to your personal intellectual and practical philesophy. It this disparity sas prevalent as it appears to he, then there are serious questions to be raised about the nature and process of language teacher education, and about the delivery modes and vehicles for pre- and in-service teacher development. Ways need 1 be found where the experiences of successful teaching. the results of relevant reseaich into language and learning and the exigencies and demands of the classroom ‘aan he woven into a set of principles for practical experimentation and challenge by classroom teachers and their learners. It is this objective that David Nunan sets himse inthis latest contribution to the Language Teaching Methodology Series. First and foremost the reader isintroduced through carefully chosen and apt extracts, to the world of language teaching class- rooms, which, if not directly idemtifiable, are a! least familiar in outline to the practising teacher, whatever her of his context, From these extracts, problems andx General Editor's Preface issues arise to ilustrate and exemplify what research and experience tell us about the teaching of the various components of the language teaching curriculum: the teaching of skills, the teaching of grammar and phonology, the exploration of the roles and potential ofthe learner, thestrategies and management of the teacher, and the innovative ways in which relevant materials can be developed for classroom use In short, Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers provides valuable counterpoint to the author’ already very successful action research book for language teachers, Understanding Language Classrooms, also in the Language Teaching Methodology Series. Ie stares a similar philosophy of exploration and doing; a commitment to the teacher trying out new ways of teaching content and enhancing learner skills and strategies through constructing appropriate curricula for heror hisclassroom. Suggestions and insights for reflective teaching abound and are always linked to practical tasks and relevant action, while the references cited serve to underpin the techniques and researches David Nunan carefully exemplifies, Poresson Ciststontses N. CANDLIN NCELTR Macquarie University, Sydney Preface Frank Lloyé Wright, the great American architect, once walked into his studio and announced that he had just completed his latest project. Mystfied, his students Tooked around the studio for the plans, which were no where in evidence, when Wright said, “All| need to do now is get it down on paper.” Language Teaching Methodology isa book [have been writing for many years the major problem was, getting it down on paper. ‘When I becaane involved in second language teacher education inthe 1970s, Las struck by the discrepancy between the preseripive statements by methodologists About what ought to go on in language elassroorrs, and what actually went on in the classrooms where I taught and where I observed others teach. During the 1970s and. tearly 1980s there was a preaccupation with methods, and the focus of attention was, ‘on finding the right method, While I must confess to flrtations with Sugeestopedia, ‘Total Physical Response, the Silent Way, and 2ven the rather obscure, and now largely defunct, Al's Wel, Iwas uneasy with the notion of classroom practices which were based on prescriptions which were imported from outside the classroom itself It seemed to me that in developing pesdagogical tasks forthe classroom we needed to meld insights into the nature of language learning and use from source disciplines such as lingusties and psychology, with insights from the classroom ise. Tn this book, I have tried to achieve such a synthesis, The two questions which motivated the book were: what does current theory and research have to tellus abot the nature of language learning and use, and what is it that teachers and learners ‘actually doin angoage classrooms? Inseeking answers tothe second question, Ispent many hours observing, recording and transcribing classtoom interactions. While not allof the material [collected has found its way into the book, the final product was in- formed by insights fromover thirty classrooms. [should point out that ny purpose was rot to provide instances of exemplary practice, tbat is, toshow what should be done, buttodemronstrate whataccuallysdone in language classrooms. Toudoptanormative approach would have been to fall into the very tap I was trying to avoid. This is not to say that there fs no such thing as successful practice. However, success can only be ‘evaluated against criteria such es curiculum goals, teacher aims, learner intentions and learning outcomes. Ultimately, itis up to individual teachers and learners to de- ‘elopand apply theirown criteria for determining what isoris not successful practice.atv Preface “This brings me to my final goal in writing this book. Itis not enough toset out wht others have discovered and written about the nature of language learning and use, [Nori t sufficient to point out what others have done. The final step for teachers to identify what works for them and their learners, in their own particular context, ‘through the collaborative exploration of their own classrooms. In this book I have attempted {0 provide the conerete steps through which such exploration might be carried out. I should like to thank Kathi Baily for the detailed and discerning comments and citiciems she made on an earlier draft of this book. Thanks are also due to Charis Candlin, David Haines and Isobel Fletcher de Tellez for their advice, criticism and support. Davip Nuxan Macquarie University ‘Match 1991 Classroom Extracts LL Ajigsaw listening task n 21 Aninteractive listening task 31 2.2. Listeningtothe news 3 51 Task-based interactions 33 32 Groupdiscussion 37 33. Aninformation gap task 9 41 Areadinglesson 16 42. Reading fr factual information 8 51 Awritingconference 2 61 Asmall group pronunciation practicetask 110 62. Leaminghow to learn pronunciation 112 TA Deriving meaning from context ws 72 Spotthe odd word out task 132 81 Grammarlesso 16 82 Teaching grammar through drill and practice 163 9.1 Developingindependent learning skills 182 9.2 _Learningoutside the classroom 183, 30.1 Teacher questions 198 102 Extemporisation 200 10.3 Digressions 202 10.4 Teacherspeech modifications 208 W3 _ Elicitation 20 11” Usingcommercial materialsin the classroom, 20 1.1 ASilent Waylesson Br 12.2 A Total Physical Response lesson 2aChapter One An Empirical Approach to Language Teaching Methodology 4.1 Introduction ‘An important tak confronting applied linguists and teachers concerned with second and foreign language learning is 19 overcome the pendulum effect in language teaching, This effect is most evident in the area of methodology where fads and fashions, like theories of grammar, come and go with monotonous regularity. The ‘way 10 overcome the penclulur effect is to derive appropriate classroom practices from empirical evidence on the nature of language learning and use and fom insights into what makes learness tick. The major purpose of this book is to intro- ‘duce teachers and student teachers to an empirically-based approach to language teaching methodology. Such an approach integrates theory and research into the nature of language learning and use, with insigts derived from the observation and analysis of what actually goes on in classrooms (as opposed to what some say should go on), and uses this knowledge to irform the issues raised and points mae In this chapter L attempt to define methodologyand relate itto the broader eld of curriculum development. [also give some indication of the themes to be pursued in the book and provide an overview ofits contents, The chapter ansivers the following questions: LL Whats methodology, and how does it relate to other important concepts sch as ‘curriculum and syllabus design? 2. What does recent research have to say about the nature of language processing and production? 3. Why is it important to relate theory and research to what actually goes on in the classroom? Why is task’ an important element in language learning and teaching? 5. How can teachers and student teachers explore the ideas i this book to their own classrooms?2 Language Teaching Methodology 1.2. Defining methodology ‘Traditionally, a distinction hasbeen drawnbetween syllabus designand methodology: ‘the former concerning itself withthe seection and grading of linguistic and experien- tial content, the latter with the selection and sequencing of learning tasks. and. activities. In other words, syllabus design is concerned with what, why and when: ‘methodology is concerned with how. However, with the development of communi cative approaches to language teaching, the traditional distinction between syllabus design and methodology has become difficult to sustain. As Breen points out, while syllabus design, as traditionally conceived, is concerned with the learner's destination, communicatively oriented syllabuses should: Prioritize the route tela focusing upon the means towards the learning of anew lan- ‘guage. Hete the designer woul give priority tothe changing processes of earning and the ‘potential of the classroom - tothe psychological and socal esouress applied to # new language by learners inthe classroom context. a greater concern with capacity for ‘commoniation rather than repertoire of commnication, with the activity of learning & Tanguage viewed asimportantas the langage itself, and with focus upon the means rather than predetermined objectives, all inde priority of process over content. (Breen 1984: 523) (For a detailed account of the effect of ommunicative language teaching on syllabus sign and methodology, see Nunan 1988a, 1989.) It is also worth looking atthe orignal formulation of the relationship between the éifferent variables in the curriculum equation proposed by Breen and Candlin in their seminal 1980 paper “The essential of a communicative eurriewlum in language teachin, In the Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics, methodology is defined as follows: (1). «the study ofthe practices and procedures usedin teaching, andthe principles and beliefs that underte hem, Methodology includes: (@) stusy ofthe nature of tancuace ses (e.g reading, writing, speaking, istening) and procedures for teaching them (0) study of the preparation of LxssoN PLANS. materials, and textbooks for teaching languege skis (© te eaion nd comesion lage eting one (og he ment, 2) sich practices, procedures principles, and beliefs themseives, One ean, for exemple chteize or praise the methodology ofa panticular language course “Richards ea, 1985: 177) In this book I consider methodology from the perspective of the classroom. The major focus is on classroom tasks and cetviies and the management of learning. In Chapters 2, 3,4 and 5 we study the nature of language skills and the procedures for ‘An Empirical Approach o Language Teaching Methodoloay 3 teaching them. Ihave presented the skills in separate chapters both for convenience and for the purposes of exposition; I am not suggesting that they should be treated separately inthe classroom. In fact, we see that even in lessons Which are explicit devoted to the development of one or other of the macro-skills, the other skills usually also feature prominently. (For a detailed treatment of the sequencing and {integration of skills see Nunan 1989a.) ‘There has been a tendency historically (equate metliodology with method. As Richards (1987:11) points out, the goal of many language teachersis to find the right ‘method: ‘the history of our profession in the last iundred years has dane much to support the impression that improvements in language teaching, will come about asa result of improvements in the quality of methods, snd that ultimately an effective language teaching method will be developed.” He goes on to say that for many years ‘twas believed that linguisticor psycholinguistic theory would uncover the secrets of second language acquisition, and that then the problem of how to teach a second Tanguage would be solved once and for all In this book I have comparatively litle to say about methods, and one chapter only will be devoted to a comparative analysis and eritique of the more prominent ‘methods, Without wishing to pre-empt what I haveto say later, I should indicate my general orientation. Despite their diversity, all methods have one thingin common. ‘They ail assume that there isa single set of principles which will determine whether ‘oF not learning sill take place. Thus they all propose a single set of precepts for teacher and learner classroom behaviour. and assert that if these principles are faithfully followed, they will result in learning forall. Unfortunately, little evidence hhasbeen forthcoming tosupport one approach rather than another, oF tosuggest that itis the method rather than some other variable which caused learning to occur ‘There is also file evidence that methods ate realised at the level of elassroom action inthe ways intended by thei ereators. For example, Swaffar etl. (1982) found that although the teachers who took patt in their study were specifically trained in a particular method, their aetual classroom practice was characterised by a range of ‘activities and tasks which transcended the method in question. Their study under lines the importance of collecting evidence directly fro:n the classroom rather than assuming that what teachers are taught to do, ot what they say they do, accurately reflects what goes on in their classrooms (see also the study by Long and Sato (1983). ‘which underlines the importance of collecting elassroom data). 1.3 Research into language processing and production ‘An important aspect of methodology is the development of teaching routines, ‘materiels and tasks for use inthe classroom, Inthis byok we look atthe growing body of fiterature on language learning and use by both fst and second language learners whieh ean be drawn on by methodologists in the process of formulating principles for the design of classroom materials and learning tasks. In thie section I review a4 Language Teaching Methodology selection of the literature which addresses most readily the concerns of second language education, The research ispresented more fully in the chapters om language stalls and strategies, and their applications to the classroom processes and teaching materials are spelled out, In terms of language processing, itis now generally accepted that learners need access to both top-down as well as bottom-up processing strategies. Bottom-up Processing strategies focus learners on the individual components of spoken and written messages, that is, the phoremes, graphemes, individual words and gram matical clements which need to be comprehended in order to understand these ‘messages. Top-down processing strategies, on the other hand, focus learners on macro-features of text such as the writers or speaker's purpose, the topic of the ‘message, the overall structure of the text and so on, In comprehending spoken messages, it has been suggested that learners need the following bottom-up and top-down strategies Bortom-up listening involves the Hstonerin scanning the ipa to identity familiar lexical items; segmenting the stream of speedh into constituents, fr example, in order torecognise ‘hat abookomine” consists of four words; wsing phonological ees to identify the informa: tion focus in an utterance using grarsmatical ene to organi the input into constituents for example in order to recognise tht inthe book which fen you the book] and [whieh ent you] are major constituents, rather than [the book which If and len you), Top-down listening sraegis, onthe other hand, involve the listener in assigning an Jimeraction to part of a particular ever, such as story teling, joking, praying, complaining assiqning persons, places and things categories; inferring eause and effect relationships Snlcipating outcomes: infersing the topic of «discourse inferring the sequence between ‘evens: inferring missing deals. (Adapted from Richards 1990 51) Unuil faitly recently, the focus in the language classroom was firmly on the development of bottom-up processing strategies. However, in tecent years, the need for a balance between both types of strategy has been recognised. AA major task confronting the curriculum developer, materials writer and classroom teacher is to sequence and integrate these strategies in ways which facilitate learning. In this book ‘we explore ways in which this might be achieved. Issues and factors similar to those me have seen in relation to listening comprehen- sion also appear in the research inte reading comprehension, For quite a few years there has been a lively debate on the relative claims of bottom-up and top-down approaches to reading comprehension. The central notion behind the bottom-up approach is that reading is basically 1 matter of decoding a series of written symbols into their aural equivalent. According to this approach, the reader processes every letter as it is encountered. These letters or graphemes are matched with the phonemes of the language, which itis assumed the reader already knows. These phonemes, the minimal units of meaning in the sound system of the language, ane blended together to form words. The derivation of meaning is thus the end process in which the language is translated fom one form of symbolic representation to another. More recent interactive models of reading give much greater prominence to top-down ceading strategies, which obviate some of the shortcomings of & purely ‘An Emplical Approach toLanguage Teaching Methodology 5 bottom-up approzch by enabling readers to use their background knowledge of the content of @ text as well as kaowledge of text structure to reconstruct the writer's, original communicative intentions in writing the txt. The importance of interactive approaches t second language reading has been demonstrated in a growing body of empirical research. Nunan (1985). for example, found that the lack of sppropriate background knowledge was 4 more significant factor in the ability of second language learners to comprehend school texts than linguistic complexity as measured by various readability formulae. Carell ef al (1988) also contains a wealth of data on the Sgnificance of interactive models of reading for second language reading programs. It is worth noting that for most of its history, language teaching has focused on writen language (sce, for example, Kelly 1965; Stern 1983; Howate 1984). With 2 few exceptions. itis only comparatively recently that the focus has turned to spoken langeage. Interest in spoken language was kindled, among other things, by the development of tape recorders which made it possible for researchers to record, ‘ranseribe and study in detail oral interactions etween people. This research high- lighted some of the contrasts between spoken and written language. Thus, while swetten texts are characterised by well formed sentenees which are integrated into highly structured paragraphs. spoken language consists of short, fragmentary utter ances in a range of pronunciations. There is often a great deal of repetition and overlap between one speaker and another, and speakers frequently use non-specific references, (They are more likely to say ‘it and'this than ‘th left-handed monkey wrench” or ‘the highly perfumed Freneh poode on the sofa’.) This is not to say that spoken language is unstructused, but that ts structured differently from written language (Halliday 1985) Brown nd Yule (1983) suggest that in contrast with the teaching of writen language, teachers concerned with teaching the spoken language must addres the following types of question: What isthe appropriate form of spoken language to teuch? From the point of view of pronunciation, what isan appropriate model? How importants pronunciation? Is it any more important than teaching appropriate handwriting in the foreign language? 5. Ifs0, why? 6, From the point of view of the siactares tought. it all ight to teach the spoken language as if it were exacly like the writin language, but with a few ‘spoke ‘expressions thrown in? 7. Isitappropriate to teach the same stracturesto all foreign language students, no _matter What their age or thelr intentions in learning the spoken language? 8. Are those structures which are described in standard grammars the structures ‘which our students should be expected to produce when they speak English? 9. How is it possible to give students any sort of meaningful practice in pro spoken English?6 Language Teaching Methodology Brown and Yule distinguish between two basic language functions, the transactional function and the interactional function. The transectional function is primarily, concerned with the transfer of information, and the getting of goods and services, ‘while the primary purpose of interactional language isto maintain social relation ships (Brown and Yule 1983b; Richards 1990). In Chapter 3 we look in greater detail at the methodological implications ofthis distinction. ‘Another basic distinction is betweer monologues and dialogues. The ability to give an uninterrupted oral presentation requires different skills om those involved in having a conversation with one or more other speakers: skis which many native speakers never master adequately (Brown and Yule 1983b). Researchers under- taking conversational and interactionalanalysis have also shown that interactions do. not unfold neatly like textbook dialogues, and that meanings do not come ready ‘made, Participants have to work together to achieve mutual understanding, and con- versational skis include the ability to negotiate meaning with one’s interlocutor ‘These are skills which learners must acquire or transfer from their first language, just as they must acquire lexical and morphosyntactio knowledge. ‘There is also a growing body of rescarch into the development of writing skills. Bell and Burnaby (1984) point out that writing is an extremely complex cognitive activity which requires the writer to demonstrate control of several variables at once. ‘Al the sentence level, these include control of content, format, sentence structure, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling and letter formation. Beyond the sentence. the ‘writer must be able to structure and integrate information into cohesive and coherent paragraphsand texts. These discourse level skills are probably the most dificult ofall to master, not only for foreign language learners but for native speakers as well Some of the most interesting work on the development of writing skills is being, carried out by researchers investigating the development of writing in first language users and using Halliday’s systemic functional model as their theoretical framework (Gee, for example, Martin 1985), and itis time for such a model to be applied 10 second language research. ‘To summarise this section, I set outsome of the skills which research shows are needed by learners f they are to become successful usersof the language. These have been extracted from Nunan (1989). Inrelation to listening, learners needskillsin segmenting the stream of speech into, meaningful words and phrases; the ability to recognise words, phrases and word classes; ways of relating the incoming essage o one’s own background knowledge. ‘and identifying the rhetorical and functional intent of an utterance or parts of 30 ‘aural text skis i interpreting rhythm, stress and intonation to identify information focus and emotional/attitadinal tone; the ability to extract the gistessential informa: tion from longer aural texts without necessarily understanding every word. Successful reading involves using word attack skills such as identifying sound symbol correspondences; using grammatical knowledge to recover meaning, for example interpreting non-finite clauses; using different techniques for different purposes, for example skimming and scanning for key words or information; relating text content (0 one's own background knowledge of the subject; identifying the ‘An Empitical Approach to Language Teaching Methodology 7 rhetorical or functional intention of individual sentences or text segments, for ‘example recognising when the writer is offering @ definition or @ summary, even When these are not explicitly signaled by phrases such as"X may be defined as. In:elation to speaking and oral interaction, learners need the ability to articulate phonological features of the language compreheasibly; mastery of stress, rhythm. intonation patterns; an acceptable degree of fluency; transactional and interpersonal skills; skills in taking short and fong speaking turns; skills in the management of interaction; skils in negotiating meaning; conversational istening skills (successful conversations require good listeners as well as good speakers); skills in knowing bout and negotiating purposes for conversations. using appropriate conversationsl formulae and fillers. Lastly, successful writing involves mastering the mechanics of letter formation and obeying conventions of spelling and punctuaton; using the grammatical system to convey one’s intended meaning; organising coutent atthe level ofthe paragraph and the complete text to reflect giveninew information and topicieomment s tures; polishing and revising one’s initial efforts; selecting an appropriate style for one's audience. ‘An area of increasing significance to language teaching methodology is that of learning strategies, and there has been a marked increase in cent years in research into the learning strategy preferences of second and foreign language learners Published coursebooks and teaching materials are also begining to utilise tasks designed to increase learners’ sensitivity to their own preferred learning strategies as ‘well as to develop mare efficient learning strategies. Relevant theory and research and practical applications ofthis research are explored in Chapter 9 1.4 The context and environment of learning The context an¢ environment of learning, as well as the management of language classrooms, are relatively under-represented in the literature on language teaching methodology, and one of the aims ofthis book is to redress the balance by providing detailed and comprehensive overview of teacher and learneractionin theclassroom. Inkeeping with the restofthe book, the discussion isinformed by theory andrescarch, and supported by detailed extracts from a wide variety of language classrooms. In all types of classrooms, teacher talk is important, and has becn extensively researched! and documented. In language classrooms itis particularly important because the medium is the message. The modiications which teachers make to their language, the questions they ask, the feedback they provide and the types of instructions and explanations they provide can all have an important bearing, not only on the effective management of the classroom, but also on the acquisition by learners ofthe target language. In this book we explore the language which teachers use in the management of learning and evaluate the effectiveness of different types of teacher talk8 Language Teaching Methodology In the preceding section I provided a brief summary of what is currently known about the nature of language in use. fn order to develop an effective, empizically ‘based methodology, this knowledge needs to inform and guide classroom practice. In Nunan 1989a, [argue that the concept of the communicative task can provide @ \way of integrating the research on language learning and use, as well as give practical effect to the research atthe level of pedagogical action. The communicative task is described as: 4 piece of elssroom work which involves learners in comprehending, mnipolting, ‘producing or interacting inthe target language while thei attention is principally focused fenmeaningrather than form, The task ould azo havea sense of completeness, being able ‘standalone asa communicative ein its own right (Numan 1989a: 10) ‘Tasks can be typified in many different ways. Jn analytic terms, tasks will eontain some form of input data which might be verbal (for example, a dialogue or reading passage) or non-verbal (for example, a picture sequence) and an activity oF pro- ‘cedure Which isin some way derived ffom the input and which sets out what learners are 10 do in relation to the input. The task will also have (implicitly or explicitly) 3 ‘goal and roles for teachers and learners, In this book we look at the research which has provided a theoretica rationale for ifferent types of classroom task. We also look at ways of organising learners, the efficacy of diferent types of group work, individualised instruction and mixed ability groups. In this analysis, our focus will be on managerial aspects of organising learners for learning as wells the typesof organisation and tasks which maximise the potential for second language acquisition 4.5 Classrooms in action One of the naive assumptions underpinning a great deal of speculative writing on language teaching is that curriculum plans will be faithfully realised atthe level of rer lter — Phonemes andres» Bening» Pronunition — Meaning dsciminted raced According to this model, theeaderprocestescach etter asitis encountered, These lees or graptemes, are matched ith tbe phonemes ofthe language, which ti assumed the reader already koows. These(phonemes, the minimal unit of meaning) inthesoundeytemof the language, ae bleed together o form words. (Phoneme arethe individual units of sound na language.) The derivation of meaning hus the nd process in which the anguage istraslted from one form ofsymbole represent tonto another. (One reason forthe survival of hit approach nthe face of eric is that it seems a reasonable and logia! explanation of what happens when we read. Letlers do tepresent sounds, nd despite the fac that in English twenty-six weittensymbols have torepresentover fort aurasymbols,theelsadegre of consistency. Ont surface, then teens more logical ofeach inital readers to lite hesystematiccorespond tences between writen and spoken symbols han to teach them to recguise every itera wordy encuneby meorsgis nue coniuraion mst ractice favoured by proponents ofthe whole-word’ approach PrOne of te assumptions undetying ths phonies approach shat once a reader has blended the sounds fogether to form x word, that word wil thee be recognised. It ther words, iti asstmed thatthe reader poseses an orl vocabulary which is txtensive enough 0 allow decoding te proceed. This assumption isnot one that ean be made with second language learers for whom any Tor of reading instruction ought io be linked with intensive auralvocabulay development. Infact, the assump- tionthatphonicenalysssilsreall ht fsneededtobecome asccestl dependent reader is questionable with first aswel es second language readers. Mos teachers of reading have encountered children who ae abl to decode print ater a fashion and thereby read’ without actually extracting meaning fom the et ‘Anumber of other majoreiesms ave been madeof the phonics approwch, Much of hs rts is based on research inc human memory. Inthe ist place, with ony tet eters to represent over forty sounds in English, speling-to-ound cot respondences are both complex and unpredictable. Iwas thi talizaton which ed tothe development of primers, in which stories were compote of words which did have regular soundisymbolcorrexpordences, Unfortunately, a8 many of the mos Roading: A Discourse Perspective 65 common English words have irregular spellings and were therefore excluded, the stories in primers tended to be unnatural and tedious Research into human memory also provides counterfactual evidence. Ithas been shown that tho serial processing of every letter in «text would slow reading upto the point where it would be very difficult for meaningto be retained. An early study by ‘Kolersand Ketzmann (1966), for example, demonstrated that takes from ¢ quarter toathirdofasecondtorecognise and assign the appropriatephonemicsoundtoagiven rapheme. At thisrate, given the average length of English words, readerswould only beable to process around 60 words per minute. Infact, it has been demonstrated that the average readcr can read and comprehend around 250-350 words per minute. Given the fact that we can only holdin working memory about seven items at atime, readers would, under the bottom-up model, very often forget the beginning of a sentence (and pethaps even a word) before they hive reached the end. Smith (1978) has pointed out that the serial processing operations underlying the phonics approach are also contradicted by the fact that i is often impossible to make ecisions about how upcoming letters and words ought to sound uatil the context pro- vided by the rank above the one containing the item has been understood. Thus, in ordertoassigna phonemic value toa grapheme itisoften necessary tokrow the mean= of the word containing the grapheme. If, fr example, in reading a text one came. across the graphemic sequence Tho~— it would be impossible to assign a value to‘o" tunfilone knew whether the whole word were hous’, horse’, hot’, "hoot’, ete. Ta the same way itisimpossible roassign aphonemic valuetothe vowelsequencein the word ‘read’ until itis known whether the sentence containing the word is referring to the present or the past. Additional evidence against the notion that reading proceeds ‘rough the serial processing of ever larger units oflanguage has come from line of research initiated by Goodman and Burke (1972), This research involved the analysis of errors made by the reader when reading aloud. Exrors, termed ‘miscues? by Goodman and Burke, provide evidence that something more than mechanical Aecoding is going on when readers process texts. They found that in many instances deviations from what was actually written on the page made sense semantically — for example, a child might read the sentence ‘My father speaks Spanish’ as ‘My Dad speaks Spanish’. (If the child read ‘My feather speaks Spanish’, this would be evidence that he/she is not reading for meaning, but is decoding mechanically.) Insights from sourees such as the Reading Miscue Inventory ledto the postuation ‘ofan alternative tothe bottom-up, phonies approx. Ths hasbecome kttown as the top-down or psycholinguistc approach to reading. As with the bottom-up models, there are a number of variations in this approach, but basically all agree that the ‘eader rather than the texts atthe heart ofthe reading process. Cambourne (1979) provides the following schematisation ofthe approach, Past experience, language ‘intuitions and expectations » Selective aspoets—+ Meaning + Sound, pronunciation of print ‘scesteary From the diagram, itcan be seen that this approach emphasises the reconstruetion ‘of meaning rather than the decoding of form. The interaction of the reader and the188 Language Tesching Methodology texts central to the process, and readers bring to this interaction their knowledge of the subject at hand, knowledge of and expectations about how language works, motivation, interest and attitudes tovards the content of the text. Rather than decoding each symbol, or even every word, the reader forms hypotheses about text clements and then ‘samples’ the text todetermine whether or not the hypotheses are Oller (1979) also stresses the importance of taking into consideration psycho- Iogical as well as linguistic factors in accounting how people read, He points out that the link between our knowledge of linguistic forms and our knowledge of the world is very close, and that this has a number of implications for discourse processing, Firstly, it suggests that the more predictable a sequence of linguistic elements, the more readily a text will be processed. It has been suggested that texts fr inital frst language readers should come close tothe oral language ofthe reader. (The fact that phonics primers written in phonically regularised language present relatively un- predictable language at the levels of clause and text probably helps explain the difficulty many readers have with them.) Even second language learners, despite their limited knowledge of linguistic forms, should be assisted by texts which consist lof more natural sequences of elements at the levels of word, clause and text. A second way of exploiting the relationship between linguistic and extralinguistic ‘worlds isto ensure not only that linguistic elements are moze predictable but also that the experiential content is more familiar and therefore more predictable. (See also Alderson and Urquharts (1984) ‘text-reader-task’ structure for characterising, foreign language reading.) “The significance of content familiarity for compensating limited linguistic know- ledge is explored moze fully in the next section. Here we should note that just as, linguistic sequencing above the level ofthe graphemelphoneme was unfamiliar in pphonics-based primers, so also was the content, the subject matter often being emote from the experiences and imerests of the readers. (For an extended dir ‘assion on linguistic and extralinguisic relationships, see Smith 1978, and Oller 1979.) One of the shortcomings of the top-down model is that it sometimes fails to istinguish adequately between begiming readers and fluent readers. Smith, for example, advances the view that fluent readers operate by recognising words on sight. In other words, fluent reading in now-ideographic languages such as English proceeds in the same way a uent reading in deographic languages such as Chinese Where readers must learn to identify characters by their shape. (In ideographic languages, the characters do not represent sounds. Rather they are derived from the objects and entities they ate suppased to represent.) Of course, it does not necessarily follow that, as fluent readers proceed through sight recognition (assum- ing that this s how they road —something upon which there is by no means universal agreement), this is the way initial readers should be taught ‘Stanovich (1980), in his exhaustive review of reading models, criticises the top- down notion that reading praceeds through the generation of hypotheses about up- coming text elements. He points out, for example, thatthe generation of hypotheses Resting: A Discourse Perspective 67 inthe manner suggested by Smith would actully be more time eonsoming than decoding would be. fa the ght of the erecived defen of bath tom ap and topdown modes, he propos atid which heels an inetace-compentran model. As the name Inceates, this model sugss, that ade proses testy Uiliing information provided simultaneously from ever ailfernt sures and that they an compensate for defences atone level by dingo knowledge stesso tu) Tes onesie ose hed a teprately in ottomaup and topedown processes, ha 1s honolopeal, teal stents ira tome Pesionel lee ‘anvih clans tat is alternative modi sepetioe bees i deals withthe stortcomings inherent other models The major defeeney of the botomep inode! stat issues the itation of higher level proses, sc sey background knowledge, mint vat omer lve decoding process. The top down ode onthe ther hand, doesnot allow loner leet proses to et high level ones he imeractve-copensatory model allows for deicences at ne evel te compensated oat another. Inpatclrhigher eel processes can conpenee tor defences at ower lvls, and this elon fo the sub the reer sh poe teadingsills ot the eves grapheme and word can compensate for hes y og. ier sources of knowledge suchas thesytatc cs of given word or eta Inowiedge. Given defences of lower fvel shill, poor reuers may nly be more dependent on higher lvl proces than od ones 4.3 Schema theory and reading ‘With te insight that there is more to comprehension thatthe words on the page hes come an attempt to provide a theoretical model which will explain the way that our { background knowledge guides comprehension processes: We have looked at aspects ‘ofthis theory in Chapters 2 and 3, and here we take tie ideas litle further, Much of the model-building has been carried out by researcher in the fk of artical inteligence whose ultimate aim bas been to enadle computers to process and produce discourse. Terms chosen by cognitive psychologists and comple spectal- iss nclude:frames', ‘scripts’, scenarios’ and'schemate’» A useful introduction and ovens ofthis work provided by Brown and Yule (183). ne of the most widely reported theories in the cognitive psychology literature is Minsky’s ‘frame’ theory. Minsky suggests thataurran memory consists of sets of Stereotypical situations ({rames) which guide comprehension by providing 2 frame Work for making sense of new experiences) (Pearson and Johnson's 1978 view of reading comprehension as a process of relating thenew to the known isbased on a similar notion.) Whi this theory appeals to our commer bout sense notions about how comprehension might work, it does have a number of problems, For example, it provides no ‘xplanation of why one script rather than another might be selected to guide68 Language Teaching Methodology comprehension. Browa and Yule see this as a major shortcoming ofthe theory, and they detail their major objection by inviting the reader to decide which *rame’ should guide comprehension for a reader processing a newspaper article: Consider the following new situation which presenteditselfat the beginningotanewspaper article, “The Cathedkal congregation had watched on television monitors as Pope and “Achbishop me in froat of « Briteh Caledonian helicopter, on the dowy grass of =| Canterbury creation ground. (The Sunday Times, 30 May 1982) ‘The prablem shouldbe immediately obvious. sa 'Cathedal frame selected? How about a “television-watching frame, a ‘meetin’ frame, a “helicopter frame, aeereation-ground frame? These questions ere not trivial: After all, it probably is necessary to activate something ike a ‘ectestion- ground! frame inorder account forthe definite description “the grass’ mentioned in the text. (Brow and Yule 19832: 241) 6 tem which as gained greater currency in the Hteratuce than any other is “Diem tom fstasos by Bare (135), ike ame thoy, seme theory pues thatthe keowledge we car) around jn our head is organised into inter Felted patterns, These are construed fom(our previous experince of the ox petenitl yorld an guide uses we mae sense of ew experienc, They also enable Us tomakcpredictions about what we might expett o experience ina given context) Given the fat that discourse compretenion fa proces of utising linguist cucs tnd buckground knowledge to recorsruct meaning, these schemata are extremely Important, particularly to second and foreign langusge learners ‘Widdowson (1983) has reinterpreted schema theory from an applicd linguist pe ceo tans dystonic level and a schematic Pesatch betwees our schomatie krowledge and the language whic is encoded Reading: A Discourse Perspective 69 schematic knowledge of the subject in hand, othe functional purposes which the diferent text elements are fulfilling, ‘An important collection of articles on schema theory and reading is Carrel etal, (4988). The collection contains conceptual, postion papers which provide a theor- clical framework, and also a number of empirical studies showing how schema are implicated in reading comprehension. 4.4 Research into reading in a second language Ambrosi ven conde ino teens emai tare coimecrspichensig rcs afscond per eeiny tee To sit dumersia(intaycte proces eres area ae cSnpsed 2 mel chneiy eaf fat psa. fe the ene ted Simple ype, Aaron ok them ney ugh ae tht el ey hey ha chose oc hee has eee ast thas inevows inet int cone tps ne alen oe ee s tat and tn ncres ngewe soins pond pe oe ft nan adequate pup of te spe my was Adana dy tn alcnanan knoe sachs an et ci rm cone ke ‘Sovg ceo aver oranda It veaders rely too heavily on their knowledge end ignore the limitations imposed bythe ‘ext, oF vice verse, then they will not be able to comprebend the intended meaning ofthe writer. Whether one has understood the text or not depends very much on text varsbles such as senfence structure and length, vocabulary intensity. number of new concepts intsoduced, the diffeulty and novelty of the subject matter, ste. To understand the reader andthe nature ofthe at of reading more cesly and comprebensvely, one neds slsoto find out and describe che reader'sstrategies and reactions with regatd toe reading tasks, and to see how the reader enpes withthe reading tasks and solves the problems, (Astanian 1985:20) Ina rather different study Nunan (1985) set ou: to test whether the perception of inthe behavioural sciences, suggested that textual elationships is affected by readers" background knowledge. Subjects fo the study were 100 second language, high schoo! stadents who were divided into two soups, Group A consisted of longer-term learners who were orally font but had reading problems. Group B consisted of recently arrived immigrants. Test materials consisted of passages on familiar and unfamiliar topics from hgh school texts. Read atily analyses showed the unfamiliar passage toe easier than the familiar passage) Both passages were analysed for the cohesively marked logical, referetial and lexical relationships they contained (Halliday and Hasan 1976). Ninety-six relation ‘hips were identified witch were matched acxoss bth passages, and these were used 2 the basis for constructing the tes items. To camsruct the test a modified clore Procedure was used in which the second end of the cohesive te was deleted. The "exk for the reader was Co identify the relationship and reinstate the deleted item “Through the we of nerpretaive proved the participant supply meanings and impute Uroderyng patterns even though te ssface content wil ot reveal We meanings (0 at Utnerver unless iswiodelis dered sich cabortions(Cheourel 1973: 40) ‘Widdowson has elated this notion to the wrk on schema theroy. He argues that tuure are two types of schema opeating throug language. Te Best ofthese is oncemed with propositional teaning, wile the second felates othe fontional fever language either of whic ea prove textual connectviy Ths, in Chapter 2 th teeny of et can wna bs eae si aso the anguge inthe text It sto depends on on nterpretve abit) to make ‘Smeaton no xsi the ext but whch Sr povided by ts om out70 Language Teaching Methodology reactant sient ey yw ecm ee aren sea ous vn Lexical relationship ‘Fest item: Green plants grow towards th: because plants need, tor energy. (Deleted item: ‘light’. Cohesive type: lexical reiteration) a Ee ae ss background knowledge was a more significant factor than grammatical complexity in, Reading: A Discourse Perspective 71 ‘ealty and the pupil’ own experience but also provides us with the most certain means we have of teaching language as communication, a8 wie rather than sage, (Widdowson 1978: 16) Another study into the perception of textul relationships ina eross have been generally overlooked (although there are afew exceptions ~ see, for example the papers in Wolfson and Judd 1983). ‘A major investigation by Johnston (1985) into the acquisition of syntax and mor phology of adult immigrants generated great dealofdataon the acquisition oflexisto ‘hich Johnston makes passing reference. Hisreport contains lexical lists of the words used (and presumably acquired) by leaners at different levels of proficiency. tthe time his report was published, Johnstonhad had litle opportunity toanalyse the lexi- caldata, However, hedoesnoteanumber of regularities the lexical behaviour ofthe learners he studied. One phenomenon he observed was the tendency of learners (0 use only one member ofa lexical pair such as good/bad. With post-beginner to low. intermediate learners, ‘good’ occurred fifty times, while “bad” was only produced ‘once. With intermediate level lamers, ‘easy’ was only half as frequent in the data as ‘hard’. Ths tendency only to use one member of lexical pair can be explained by the use of negation (c.g. "aot good’, ‘not hard" asa substitute for the under-used member of the pair. Johnston ciaims that this ptenomenon is important because, pedagogic ally, itisoften assumed thatthe two pairsshould be taught together. Theresultofthisis often confusion, “It seems to be the case that learners have limited memory space for lexical processing and have a greater than normal tendency to recall the wrong word if lexical pair is vying for the one lot’ Johnston 1985: 366) i Vocebulay 129 ‘ons lexical frequency counts make interestng reading. Consider the bllnec ing frequency couats for prepositions and instances of use). Is interesting to compare this order with the order in which the items are taught im coonebeoke Prepostons ‘m0 a(S) y (16) ei em) roman) iniey ind, fort5) FO) rt) abouts) ots) acy Se wth)” neato) ter) TIS)” ste) — your) ine mien mee) tine ual) at) hentia) teen hime) — ens) al they (194) his (23) myself (4) mme(st) thomas) hams ite the fequene coun do onde whether oat the ems have been seacinmegcl by the feamers, they make interesting reading. Most noteweathy 1 Asleamershavegeat ey related (such as pronouns), do not teach these as paradigms, Hetaredosly 2 Inthesame way excl oppose sete inthe same son or even he sane onit more th As leamers tend to equate a single form n one function shoutd not be in narrow rod shld ab node ‘of work, “ witha sige funtion, words that ave duced athe same tine (crore ‘eword there which can acta ether an existential subject or a demonstrate) xd rest of vocaulaty development (iereby, y meron, ing aa ‘uty ositon that lating cannot lead t acquisition), She cee en abut ems aque when he eater can Ment nei nee appropriately. In other words, we can180 Language Teaching Methodology only talk about acquisition when learners have both productive as well as receptive control ofthe new item. Drawing on work in error analysis, Channell compares research into the spcech errors of native speakers with that of second language learners. This research suggests that a learner’s first and socord vocabulary knowledge are linked together in their mental lexicon phonologicaly, semantically and associationally, and that earners can make conscious the links setween them. However, she also points out that much more research is needed, particularly into the errors made by learners in naturally occurring speech. Her paper concludes with the following implications for classroom practice: 1. Since the lexicon appears to be an independent entity ia processing, there isjustieation {or teaching approaches which make vocabulary work a separate learning activity. tis ‘no esental always to integrate vocabulary with general communication. 2, Presentation of vocabulary should psy specie attention to pronunciation, in ‘word ses. So viual presentation aid reading may nt be the best ways (0 new vocabulary 3, Leamers should be encouraged to make their own lexical associations when they ae learning new vocabulary. (However, at present we do not know which kinds of es0- ‘ation re the most useful in aiding retention.) [See the discussion on memory in this tection } 4, Semantic inks play an important rok in production. This suggests ie se of semantic Feld based presentation ethod [se the next setion on semantic networks). (Channel 1988: 94) “The research discussed in this section makes numerous suggestions for pedagogy, some of which run counter to conventional wisdom. In evaluating such research it important for teachers to experiment with these suggestions, in an informed way, ‘with their own learners in their own teaching situations. It may be that some of the suggestions do lead to more effective earning outcomes. On the other hand, they may not. A great deal of research on vocabulary acquisition and use i carried out in Taboratory or simulated settings, and the results may not usefully translate to the ‘classroom, 7.6 Semantic networks and features “The principle of avoiding items that are semantically related in some ways runs counter to the notion of using semanti networks or fields in teaching vocabulary. A semantie network consists of words which share certain semantic featutes or com: onents, A componential analysis canshow, in diagrammatic form, what relates and Gifferentiates members of aparticularsemanticnetwork. Mustration 4 (from Rudaka et al1981) provides a componential analysis for words which indicate different kinds of spatial limit ILLUSTRATION 4 Some: B. Radek, 1. Channel, ¥, Patsy and Ont, Moen, 181). 18, Reproduedbypernition NOME You Need (London inks ooo eins nceaep ee ca evo gh agree ntcictea HaNDouT. one computer — video television sexs the folowing words. Pat a cir cus ME words. Pal aie around the odd word out and say why itis the fourist visitor traveller student imestigate determine explore enquire elderly imeigent stupidly tative utlize neover reveal — disclose182 Language Teaching Methodology re-reading task |, What language would you predict the learners might need in order to complete the task? 2. What role does the teacher play inthis task? Ishe helpful to the students or not? Classroom extract 7.2: Spot the odd word out task ‘SI Tourist vsitortravellerstudent 2: Student [Yedh] -mustbe that one, yea "T. Why dyouthink, whyisstudentthe oddone out? $2: Ob, ours, visitor, traveler—they are ‘moving yeah) ‘Si: Theyare going, ‘2: Theybavesomethingincommon, no? “T. Yeah, yeah, But like youtosay whetitis theyhavein common, youlnow? How would youdeseribeit? ‘Sk Okay, secondinvestigate, determine, explre,enquie.Idhink, determine [determine] yeah, becauseinvestigate explore enguirefs[synonyous, synonymous). -means. .10know Something, Min Okay Si: Thiedelderiy, intelligent, stupidly, and talkative, Ineligenty, and stupid, you know, [thik have ersome relatonstetween tecawe theres the opposvemesning mm ‘$3: How about, er, elderly and talkative? 2: Talkative what means talkative? St: Yeah, toomueh, 2: Talkative Sl: Howaboutthe elderly? [Adjective] fads rare experience andthey get the more yeah ‘ts avelgent,stupily maybe tha'sthe partof thehuman being, whieh's, think Okay. Oh [vait, waita minute} ‘Sk: Okay, thiis this diferentad kind of adjective that the finaudibie] S2: Okay, allright T: Sowhich one did youdecide? Ss: Elderly. elderly 1: Why'sthat? Vocabulay 199 S2: cause ert quit dtferent this became {hismateh with your age, wth your age and theotheroneis ih your, kindof person hat T. Personality. (Personality, yeah) rare Sh: Eruls nener veal os, Yeh, thisisilise, Uncover reveal dele cal of them thesamemesning Uneven reveal aids SP Unsone? Wharsuncver? Si: Youknow,coverand uncover. {Gestures} “ “ St: On. Reveal okay 7: Buthow would you define, how would you ‘ ‘ev eves dctnethoe te wot What mle She toner ection tieeeeet 5 Youmeitheuncoverantieca? T: Reveal anddisctose. Whatis the. - . what is " an " themeseg thay sant 52: Tofndotn someting, reve $8. Andtcthsrone oss asting th find. Theotseroncmeansthcpponee ing soneng nto fancover, tstomel sie ands morahen cn ont. From the extract, we can soe how 7.7 Memory and vocabulary development A area deal hasbeen writen about the roe of ‘econd language lexicon, and techniques for memorsationoosie wince ee ous treatment compared wth ts sein other mpc of sco ange ee, ensue the equstion fst and morpoly. Seve (990 ssn mo the elasc research into memory which hasbeen cafe car rahe Eichologss and eats this to language teaching Tha escah feene hatin odes for new ems fo enter longterm memory some torrets eee194 Language Teaching Methodology shows that regular revision is important, and that revision whichis distributed over a period of time is more effective than ‘massed practice’. Inthe learning ofa list of Vocabulary items, for example, six 10-minute sessions over the course of a week will Tesult in more effective learning than a single 60-minute session. ‘Stevigk makes great deal ofthe notion of ‘depth’, by which he means the amount cof intelleetyal and emotional effort which the learner invests in the learning process, He reports his owa lack of success in imoroving his knowledge of Swahili by listening to Swahili news broadcasts and repeating aloud as he listened. ‘When put his plan into practice, however, was disappointed. I wasindeed ableto reps, along with the tape faily well, but the experience produced only fatigue, with no peveeptible iniprovement in my Swalli-The words were going into my ear and cut my ‘routh alright, but they were not cistarbing anything in between: in the metaphor of “epi the words were flowing over my mind so fastthat they had no time to sink in. They Tenmained instead on the surface, and evaporated almost immediately (Stevik 1976: 35) One rather idiosyncratic method based on the notion that the more active the Tearning the more effectiveitis likely tobe is Asher’s Total Physical Response. Asher (1977) attempted to recreate in foreign language classrooms conditions which he hypothesised underlie successful first language acquisition, He claimed that children received their inital input inthe form ofinstructions couched inthe imperative which requited them to make physical responses. Pick up the blue ball!’ ‘Put your dolly in the box!” He suggested that initial foreign language instruction should follow the same procedure, learners carrying aut commands in the target language, and thereby ttiising their whole bodies as they processed words and short utterances, He claimed some startling feats of memory and retention in experiments carried out to put the ‘Total Physical Response to the empirical test. (In Chapter 12, we look in some surprise by asking a question, and Alice likes white wine Live next door s Tomoko is from Japan. > Alen ives anos the road. —> The wine fend * ‘What do the itbcised referents in he folowing text afer to? After hey saved little money, Howard and Ellen wanted to buy house. they did The oor plan was almost exactly thesameas ha ofEllen'spatents home where she soe cared Buying twas nt easy forthe young couple. but Ellen was determined to gethuough with ‘Ste could notstandivingin heirsmall apartment anyonger. She wanted the Hndofspce that she had always ived with, Howard couldnt quite understand his wifes inaatones on ‘moving to more spacious quarters. Their smal apartinent was bigenough or hin, ln face ‘ss almost lieth once haved nasa hid But he could remembe h mater ying slmost daily, “If only {had mote room (Rutherford 1987: 160-1) Grammatical consciousness-rasing, as discussed in this section, and ilustrated by the above examples, can be reatised in many different ways, and there are numerous creative techniques for sensitising learners to grammatical principles within a coms mmunicative context. The different examples show quite clearly that there ate many rays of teaching grammar, andit is wrong to imply that teachers are confronted with two mutually exclusive choices when it comes to teaching grammar: either avoiding the teaching of grammar altogether, or returning to a ‘traditional’ form-focused approach, 8.5 Systemic functional linguistics and pedagogical grammars One of the major models of language informing this book is that of systemic functional linguistics. This approach argues thal langage exists ingeonten ante the context and porposes for which language is wed willdeieanae Re caysie oh language is realised at the levels of text and grammar. While there is uo one-to-one152 Language Teaching Methodology relationship between form and function (otherwise we should not be able to com- ‘muniate to a very sophisticated degree at all) the relationships between the two ace ‘ot arbitrary. The fact that there are principled links between form and function has been eloquently argued by Halliday (1985a, b). ‘Recent work in systemics has also addressed the issue of grammar, and the debate ‘over whether or not grammar should be taught. Like most contemporary view’ of ‘grammatical consciousness-aising, this approach advocates explicit grammatics] instruction, though not a return to ‘traditional’ grammar teaching. Not surprisingly, sven the general approach to language as summarised above, the approach is top- down one which begins with whole texts and works down, rather than beginning with individual grammatical items and working up (usually, only as far as the sentence), In other words, when the teacher wants (o focus on a particular grammatica item, ‘that item i introduced within a particular context, and learners work from contextto {ext to sentence and clause, rather then from clause/sentence to text (For examples of how this is done see Butt 1989.) The pedagogical approach derived from this ‘model of linguistics also secks to showlearners how language differs according tothe ‘context in which itis produced, the purposes for whieh it is produced, and the audience to which itis addressed . Within the context of literacy development, Hammond suggests that the teaching, ‘of grammar from a systemic functional perspective, in which learners are taught how Janguage actually works atthe level oftext, hasa number of major benefits. Principal ‘among these isthe fact tha it ean contribute to learners literacy awareness. It aso provides teachers and learners with ashared vocabulary for talking about language and the way it works. This, she claims, contributes significantly to successful literacy development. ‘A teacher who, as prtof the regular lavage sesions. talks about, analyzes, compares ‘contrasts and reflect on written texts, whether they be published textsor the students’ own ‘writing, not oly promotes an interest in written texts, but provides the students with 2 language that enables them to reflect en and analyze writen texsthemseves. It enables thestudentsto remove themselves fromthe process ofcreatinga witten text, objectively analyze it and to develop an insight into what makes one text successfl and another ‘usucessful. (Hammond 1989: 19) No one seriously imterestedin the development of second and foreign language has ever suggested that learners do not ned to master the grammatical system ofthe target language: the debate has been over how learners can best acquite the target, srammar (See Widdowson 1990 for an incisive discussion onthe relationship between grammar and meaning). Wilkins, one ofthe principal architects of communicative approaches o language teaching, argues fora notional syllabus, that i, one in which the basic building blocks are the meanings and concepts expressed through the language, not the grammatical elements. However, he also points out that acquiring ‘the grammatical system of the target language i of eentral importance, because 23 inadequate knowledge of grammar would severely constrain linguisticercativity and Jimitthe capacity forcommur notionalsylabus,nolessthana grammatical Focus Form: Tho Rolo Grammar 162 syllabus, must seek to ensure tat he 1 ibm atthe grammatical sytem is properly assimilated te fase (i ly Swain (1985) has aed empire ‘eight to this claim, showing that exposure tothe are! langaaae neha to express themscives is constraed By the oxen eh en meanings grammatically, - Pty cm encode thts Inother words, grammar evs to enable ; . eb uso meen an thou gramme itis Imposibtew communicate beyond very rudimentary eel Treen aly, he debate, as we hae sen, his cheer he pda Ta leamersatsin mastery, whetherandt what exter they shouldnt Pedegoviet grommars are intended ate intended o prove tose ivoted in language teach ing (including fesmers) with information onthe grammar of the laeece ee Purposes of teaching and lati, alas constucton, auras eis andsoon. While they may ref crsen theaisof paneeticl ae ana, pedgoieal grammars dono cesar lee vneae theory hou of hah Pi Corder (198) mates thepoin hata grammatical presentaionil shaped by the belies of the authorson the nature of language, the intended seinng ed th purpse or wich the grammar was wenn his le en fr ther ingistin ode fo presents now parma tag sierentworromanappledingus wtung ior sitean gegen ese le provide material whichean be tse inthe asm ie eeahen et Author — Reader bic of rama? ings Toillastrate nd valiate a pticula ngisie theory - tgs Toteach saci tory inductively thoughts itn sepicaton ts ptf Applica Eduste natie Tosysteatiz in natin mpl linguist sy knowledge of the reuder " Applied Teacherofthe —Tosjtematie tena oc epi inoedge ot Neve msertngie hse in fm utp spi funied Teacherofa Tosysematiz< tempt or expt knowicdp of forign language the reader in a orm ich pedsgenely opreooeae (Pit Corder 1988: 128) " esresks) wei164 Language Teaching Methodology ‘Rutherford (1980) suggests that the development of some pedagogical grammars involves the principled selection of items which reflect pedagogical experience as ‘well as linguistic theory. He points out that since the development of communicative approaches to language teaching, the selection of structural elements is often con. rained by the prior selection of semantic and functional elements. Several books have been published in the wake of the debate on the place of grammar in the curriculum which are aimed at providing teachers with ways of teaching grammar ‘within @ communicative context, and itis to three ofthese that we now turn, Tin her book on teaching grammar, McKay (1987) suggests that there are three different views on what it means to “teach’ grammar. The frst view is that teaching ‘grammar entails the formal explanation of grammar rules. While learners wip feceivea great deal of grammatical explanation wll end up knowing quite alot about the language, they wil not necessarily be able to put the language to communicative tffect. The second view is that teaching grammar is basically a matter of providing learners with practice in mastering common grammatical patterns through a process of analogy rather than explanation, The learners may become fluent in the structures they have been taught, but may not be able to use them appropriately in genuine ‘communication outside the classroom. The third view is that teaching grammar isa matter of giving students the opportunity (0 use English in a variety of realistic situations. The disadvantage of this approach is that learners will not be able co provide explanations of the grammatical rules ofthe target language. McKay's textis ‘based on the belief that the primary surpose of iastuction in grammar isto help out Students use English correctly and appropriately. While some classroom time il undoubtedly be devoted to tesching grammar Tues and % having students practic grammatical pattern, itis important to remember that such instruction is only the means foward helping out students pain competence and confidence i the language. (MeKay 1987: xi) nother words explicit treatment oframmarshould beseenasameanstoanend, rattcr than tn cod'in sel. Teachers shout therefore keep thin end in view, Fegnrless of the particular pedagogea! techniques and clestoom activities they empo The introduction to er book, Ur (1988) ates heise of whether or nt grammar should be expt tat, She argusin favour of expt teaching the fier that mastering the inva elements ofa Tanguage, be they lak phonological or grammatical a vaable means tosrd exntua bityto com Irunat nthe language. She makes pont which was raked err itis ook. that een to do voting need not nese consstofepentedactempts athe target performance, In other words, learing not neces the sae 2 sles Peformance afhouzh at some stpein the lesning ele, iwllenti an ater? ‘Beara of the sled performance, However formfocued excrete should po fs to meaninyl activites which sould thetseves imately give way to tse Steve he emphasis ison sucessful communication, Ur advosten aly tational qourstage approach othe teaching ogrammaritems en onanism enaanncsanigle Focus on Fom: The lof Grammar 185 1, Presentation Making th structure sont thrush an input extn w sen han input text in which theitem 2, ination and explanation, Essig that students understand i ofthe stature under investigation Seraniitevarowsspee 3. Peatce Geiting stent absorb and maser language, 4. Test. Getting lamers to demonstrate mastery. Frank and Rinvoluci (1987) atempttoprovide aang of iscoom exerciesand ‘ctv which while providing earners wih nenine racic ne ae hae oringacctens dom inacnea ious Somme oer an linguistic” competenes, language n action rales than aaa ne a symbols be manipulated, and aby cater than snonedge Tag cae approach in tems of “aaron, sigestng tha an snares Sate ee control over the students respons 0 he extent that ticaet peeeti e without having understood the sractre being proctsed, tat othe ese ene ise upto the learners. Inther words the earnen conte maar eee aha teacher provides direction on how tis said. “This adcsupto tual mokanier es learner's whol person, wih (otal vespomibly for wha Ie ore rather oo aero of eden (an and Rioters prise na econ, we ok at how De autos ave ap opt eke 8.6 Pedagogical material i Pedagosi Is and techniques for teaching Most contemporary coursebooks and materi (or each éstablsh gamedisiations in which the epete machen ote sacs eens Shout atk whic hasa meaning dinenton. Inter words tn ences sthelenmer isnot ‘Simply performing drills. Mlustration 8, from Ur, is2 good one156 Language Teaching Methodology ILLUSTRATIONS 113 Detectives Alfimative, intrrogatve and agave of ba; simple oral repetition. Procedure: Anobjecta be stl is desided on say a coin ong ‘One student the “derecive is sae out of the oom. Oxe of the remaining students is given ‘he objet he or she i the “hie”. The ‘etectv tetuns and es ofan oon who the ee By asking each partcpant Bo you have eh cng? tach paripant including te Actual thie dene ult and acs somemne ei TNo, don't have it A hast! ‘Whereupon the detective ura 0 A with che same question ~ and 40 ‘mut everyone has boon sed and has denied esponsiality. The “etcive then has ro decide in thre uses who sag who “looks ply The proces is then epated with another detcivznd another thet Varlations: The acivisy may be made more vey by encouraging Students 0 act nnocence oe dination a3 convincingly 85 they ea ‘hey may change the cmphasisor intonation of these eenes a hey Ssh, add geaure and 19 on- Another teinigue, whi abandons ‘erie but helps Mercy, isto ex the class to complete the ound of interogaton" a qucty au porubles (Ler ace sf we ee get Foutidthe whole ls intwowinste” "Ler sacesfwe can do again ‘even less time) Source: P. Ur. Grammar Prac Asis (Cambridge Univenity Pres T9s8)crp. 1. Reproduced by arian ‘A basie distinction in earning theory is between deductive and inductive fearning. Deductive learning is ‘in approach to language teaching in vhich learners are taught rules and given specie Jnformation about a language. They then apply these rules when they use the Language Longuage teaching methods which emphasise the study of the grammatical rules of a Jangnage (or example, the GEsNMAR-TRaNSLATHON MEH1g0) make se of the principles of deductive learning “This may be contrasted with inductive earning or learing by induction n which eaners ze not taught grammatial or ater typesof rules direy butate lett discover or induce xperience of using thelanguape. (Richards ea. 1985: 73) rales fom th Thustrations 9-11 are from the introduction to grammar practice books published since the beginning of the debate on the place of grammar within the communicative curriculum, All are aimed at teaching the simple past. From the extracts, it can be seen that there is considerable divergence in the approaches taken by the authors, some favouring an inductive approcch, while others favour # more deductive approach. Focus on Form: The Fle of Grammar ILLUSTRATION) Incas 2 ice dott i ope wa Be ty 2 deme he uate hy rca pth vm Gather agi fol ba ly Tang has pnt hr ‘scl ste oak gn se ag ee oN Rd Garon epi ny ey propose age win the opi of ane 2 Veet bn te ie _spposte or ever. Don't give examples of how to do this # you do Brea becrenty eed eacoioe na ewan andes a Be Socindenind Bocorteh descent tenes Cried th oe ui to ee oe native. Owe try to Sd pnts wed ie ‘Aa et no caer Cana ey eo ed 4 Gothen usta twa ter Nov ics dare tl ind from your own Bie. We ance tad this wary in da we stint sana nes torte ier hha ns uy Sd ananassae tg © ike hohe tt of one a faved Aina hon or otal een Sore ta 17 Fou bow oan pol hae gs back ed epee rd orp tem wih perc an Sead hon ae ce Aa te tatenest om theo hy he ado then he ep, Retionale fie Sp, here teva nom a te ecg bt proves oo melee ong ae See She Variation sed eg dscns min and tng om apy, ‘ieee bated apy musts sal gee” 7 Altaf ppt canbe iyo, wh iran ‘pew rso inte | Soure: Frank and M. Rive. Gramma Hempsteat Prentice all, 96), pprag r,t" mst 197159 Langage Teshig Meiodsoay ILLUSTRATION 10 nap noe . er eet er a Seer ees ‘Ringer ling pent Seep eee exponent th atten nor thc recta == ua angen oe wind onc i goto ‘Sees gy cnpemtp Si ‘Si pany sexs) eed sda ease oy Sart ede es pase aang pet Sinbcpsnsaacnsagancp frets seceic ney Ts te cane ah Sheep epee weiss eta og. Rochacrpe vine Sage Noveccwnger Segensasnyoeme Se eg ee Focus on Foun: The Rele of Gremmar ILLUSTRATION 11 Use of past for nares minutes each eso. 232 Piling up events Use of pas for nacatives based on given past form “gavel Then sae simple further clause including his atk bench | Yesterday, 1 went tn Source! P. Ur Gran er Prat 23.1. Listening to stories ir; liteningcompecherion and slong; oa Procedure: Tell the stadens a stony — ‘otes or ceading out Irom a exe ae mended sources). The story should hav asl comprehensible the stadt, forms by asking occasion for an ‘or by stopping and geting them to supply the verb borer so eee 22 eee with overall “puto compchensbitye Adee fou ave finished ask them to reall sme {hat were mentioned inthe toy Canmment” You do no hv longer stores, o complete books, and ead shim tte fore he ‘epctiion and consuaion of simple sentences orl, with optional wren fallew-og, Procedure: Give cach aden ver inthe pasttens sat ord? or Yesterday {went to Wa and | bois oehol bree “he fist student comtinucy, tn ‘Yesrrdsy | went to own boushca loot bread and Lat on 9 The second contac kes atk benchy and I toad the ee toe ‘And soon, un sl she stds becomes inponible to remember, 1985). 9218 epee perms improvising from shelton IaLIoGRaPtY for recom plenty of action, and be Ga hein to foc ow past, lation of an ireglar form, ofthe semtencs in the pant, ~esng one word te to og Belt fish sing story in one session ue tain of events wi the Sentence ting your sence but ding « or her ver town, I bought 2 la of bead Isat on a have contd or sn the chain ce Actes (Combis University res. lustration 12is from a self-study book f ‘You might like to make a note ofthe s introducing the simple past and the te for Second and foreign learners of English. Similarities and differences between this way of acher-directed suggestions above. 159160 Language Teaching Methodology ILLUSTRATION 12 2) Sat hi cnmple Tee Ohno not sgt ata all Sy yor Rein athe as smpl ene We che pst simple itera Trey mich eyed Te paay. When veda Manco, fwrke in bon Wc abow action o eatin ‘er nh at spl nin ucietnaocone 1) Meroe ned ee oupcy bt hey eed way hore at aie ors fereaeinionbree s ryhrd fing sen epee 3 oe tenor Sec RSoy Bipot ee ae reer, This mane hath past sil oe no en in, teas meen eee ee eee: atin ot nine 2,20 Mahone eee “The paso he eb be (afar is m/e: Thetbate war welyohes were Ann wera wes angry esas Tom nd Fora To ele verbs see Append 2 + seine (ofopen/sin ete and neprves wee didi’ + ©) I psrsimple questions iid — didi) nnn ~ Pa Paha ener Bar a jy te = Whe Bc Eva = Sd oud he ec? SE, asco = Why yo poe eo sy Nace weer Sash hte = PBR hance won) wo buy sting oat uve donate wih ec ere “They weve aie ems becouse they ware very bs. = Wafers Foc the ps simple else Units 12,30, 21. Press 1985). p. 22 Source: R. Morphy, Rng Grammar & Use (Combrige University ’. Reprod by pores, on . . Focus 90 Form: Tha Role of Grammar 161 Meow turn tothe classroom itself f0 see how these various ideas are realised in Foo re urther examples from a range of foreign language classrooms ex Pose fo tact ae lssoom extracts which follow he two teacher re both reg fitecam way Tuestons to relatively lon-leve learners. However, both have se, segeset was of reatsing their pedagogical intentians. The frat teacher note inductive approach, while the second uses deducton asa teaching strategy re-reading task tat anette would you expect to sce employed in an inductive teaching {esson? What strategies would you expect 10 se in a deductive lesey 2 Asyou read the extract, decide on the teachers objectives (Classroom extract 8.1: Grammar lesson pmaceteher relates around the room, asking question about aia travel, The students al have copies of tran timetable. T Now... backtothe timetable. Where do you atch he train? Where doyoucatchthe tran? {Shepointstoastudentinthe ront row] S: Keswick T Yeah, [She turs and writs onthe whiteboatd Where da you ch ther) Tr Doyouknow where Keswick is? - Okay, where do you catch the train? At Keswiek Keswickisnear thecity-but aot the ig railway station, isabout, oh one kilometre 'wokilometres rom the ety, and the big. {euinsgo from Keswick. Ifyou want teach the ain to Melbourae orto Sydney, orto Alice Springs, you zoo Keswick athe new rallwaystation, Alright. So, whereda you atch the train? At Keswick, Now -what time wit ime does the train leave? ‘Ss Nine. Nineo'clook, Nine pa. Nine pn, Nine am T: [eansoverastudentand checks the timetabie] Okay. Departnine am. So... [She Feturnstotheboard,} what ean [write here? Whattime. . [She writes Whar tine ‘onthe board] What comes next, what time "Does. «does. [She wate ‘does the rain}. doesthetesin. yes? 5 linaudible comment] Novwhatrimedoesthetrain, .. ? What's ‘nother word for ‘depart? Leave. Wha dine oes the train. . eave? [She writes Teave'on162 Language Teaching Methodology theboard] Okay, you, youtellme... leaves i nineam, Okay, whattimedoesitarrive? - ': Erclevenfify-eightam, [Leansoverhisshoulder and checks his fetable] Okay. Now- where oesitarriest ‘leven ify-eight? At Victor Harbour? Se: No. Gooiwa Te ‘Ss: Goolwa. Goolwa. “Goolwa. avea ok styourmapand see Soucan fing Goo, Seo fyoucan ig Geoinaon ines 'S: Near, er, nearthe Victor Harbour. “: Near Vitor Harboe, yeah [She wes What Time ]Okayewhatcomesnest What "Sitar the quenton/Wistine 3. doen Ss sthetrainssrive. 1 Arvve [She wites‘doesthevrainarrive at ‘Goolwa’ Allxight,so wnat timedoes the train ative at Goolwa? Okay. What time! ‘S Fleven, Eleven. Eleven fifty 1T: Blevenfity. eight, Whar'sanother way of ‘sayingeleven ity-eight? Two minutesto twelve. Yeah, twominutestotwelve. Oky [he eontinves inthis fashion attempting t elicit questions and answers from the stadens, sen building up the question paradigm onthe board util the folowing patterns displayed, | Where do you catch te ain? What tie does the rain eave? What time does the rain orive at Goolwa? Hom fong does take ogo 10 Vetor Harbour? How long does itake to come back? “How long do you spendin Vitor Harbour? ‘How much doos cos? ‘Without drawing the attention ofthe stadents to the board, the teacher gives them another brochure aad timetable, and asks them to find similar information to that ‘whieh they have found in relation (othe excursion to Vietor Harbour. Post-reading task 1, In this extract, the teacher is conducting a teacher-fronted question and answer session, She is attempting to intecduce students to wh= questions with “do! insertion through an inductive aporoach, Review the extract. Is there any tevdence that this objective is too difficult for the learners? 2. What modifications would you make to this lesson? From the difficulties the students are having in generating the required structure it ttn uaa annie) stpolying he forms herself. On the other hend, when oeaning tne scram content required by the questions, the student students are quite successful Jt would appear that major problem here is that there is twin focus: on the one ifthat objective hed been spied out ‘The folowing extracts taken rom clas which very similar to that next & con consist of | foprofceney learners). The grammatical focus of the “on (teaching wh- questions) is also similar. However. the te, reatasts (ering in However heteahersguite diterent as Pre-reading task As you ead hssecondentract make soto het as i mes oto the diferenes beeen thisteashe’s roach oe teaching of grammar, tdi teucern the mecetng a Extract 8.2: Teaching grammar through drill and practice The teacher and students ae siting in large Berane dn nina large circle. The teasher has some eardsin her hand, T: Letshavethe question ive [She gestures ‘withherhand.} ee S: What dot T: No, not‘what", what's the question? Wratcos S: Whee |]: Where! Good. Where {Sheleansforwand andgestres with ber ands s: Where T: [Gestures encouragingly rere ragingy} He soearty here ‘Can you help him? ° S: Where { [he teacher begins cou saysthem ing the words off on her fingers andrspens cach word asthe student 5: Wrote) ine T Okay. Listen [The teacher speaks rapidly and Wet makes meg yesares teehee Ie the notin oman Pon ihe? Where yout? Where dyer [20]. . youlyou)164 Language Teaching Methodology Where doyoulive? Everyone. [She sweeps erbandarouad the group.) “T, Okay. Vieor, please ask Roberto ‘T: Wheredo youlive? 5: Wheredo youlive? 5: Wheredoyoutive? 5: live. . ia Smitha 1: Okay, ine, What was umber fve—the ‘question languages"? Sei Whater wat. what. whet languages. T. Whatlanguages, What. languages. do mee s: you. . . speak. 1: Yes. Whangags doyouspek? What Inet Reman? a langue euspent? Okay. Dah Pe 'S: What languages do you speak? &: Topeak ahh 1 ina, Avg Andinyourcoustey. 2 soakVies 'S: [speak Vietnamese. 7 Goat pat Vewance Ant. NEES 1 AndalineE pth, Andalite gis od SiieEngisheand.- siteyine tester pauses geurcsnodniesecousiny a Sot mates a 1: Ota. Linow oedontkeryingyonssk Ste nga fut war eas onc? [anceonst ecard] Ouse, Manes haces & Atejou maria? Ask Rosales " TUNE “ " ‘Si Are you married’ & Yeulam 1 Ya tytn toon ofie mace coma 1 Weg ‘S: Ab, husband. 1 Maisismysband, Oy Heong Haveynugtoy sen? aveyou gs ponttlvepougostnk? Haves gt ;, Develop communicative task (e.g. roleplay, tasks. Were the students who received the Focus n Form: The Rete ol Grammar 165 any brothers or sisters? Remember yesterday? Okay. Helena, could youask Viewr the ‘weston, please? ‘Have yougotany brothers, er sisters? S: Yes. vegotertwo brothers, wasters, Post-reading task J. Which esson do you think is more successful? Why? 2. What would you have done differently in this lesen? In contrast with the teacher in extract 8.1, if one student lals to respond appropriately, she asks another mikes 8.7 Investigating the teaching and learning of grammar Task 8.1 Record a lesson ot lesson segment in which ‘aspect of grammar. Analyse the segment. Whe grammar and leering? Task 8.2 Analyse several coursebooks, looking in particula: at the teacher's edition. What does the analysis andthe exeres bout the author's beliefs about the nature of grammar a Task 83 ind learning? items of grammar tearn-rs will need in order toes the task to two parallel groups or classes, provi take Wee tee aemletng the tsk but not to the other. Record and anaes the plicit instruction better equipped to ‘ary out te task or not? Why or why not? Task 8.4 Reler 2 communicative task (eg. roleplay, discussion, problem) simiar to that wed ‘sk 83, Record some native speakers carrying out the tsk. Tromcere tat this teacher porsists with her probes and, the focus is on teaching an item or at beliefs emerge about the nature of introduction to the ise and activity types reveal iscussion, problem). Decide what “rry out the task successfully. Teach iding explicit grammar instruction to166 Language Teaching Methodology 4 slowing on grt J kt wo patel groups or lass, snaputtoyspoapotantcaere handed eet comps rset ect ese ares a tel better equiped to cary ot he tsk o ot? Wy 6 Fa aac poincand develo olson to each tindstvely an deuctiey ok eson Go two porate cases, Record and analy the lessons. Which {owed the moe scout? Why? 8.8 Conclusion se rr Se Sacer heer, hh rarer hte (nig esi ha evr een ped), Howey, th ew apron normed by recent advances in liguis ie theory and ping sens ae que. say fining amet ad ex fonion a form. Aan in gash Pedtgogyrand ecu within the contest of eommumientve nse hi te replaced b ‘organic, even metamorphical, view in which the devs ‘Pama competence seen eso oes as wells prods i | Chapter Nine Focus on the Learner: Learning Styles and Strategies eee 9.1 Introduction {language teaching, research into learning strategies and cognitive styles has been notable area of growth in recent years (sce, for example. Peerson 158 Rubin 1975; Rubin and Thompson 1983; Wenden 1986, 1991), In ti pam jean result improved learner satstaction andattainment (Willing 1988; 1. ‘This chapter answers the following questions: 1, What are learning styles and strategies? 7 What are the findings from recent theory and reiarc into learing style and Strategy preferences by second language learners? 3, Why should we incorporate strateyy training into cur terching? 4: What are some techniques for teaching learning strategies and developingskillsin learning how to learn’? How can learnersbe encouraged to activate their language outside the classroom? 6. Isthere such a thing asthe ‘good! language learner? 9.2 Research into learning styles and strategies |, Theresa large body ofterstuc on the issues of copie style, learning style and [ESeing stateay and some of ths work is being embraced by second aed forcgn Knnavage researchers. While there is obvious overlap between second langusse Scauisiton research and learning strategies, research which seeks to liek’ weg ands of research is lacking, (A notable exception is work by Rod Ellis see, en SFample, Ellis 1987.) As an example ofthe overlap between these two aren gon thar claim made by Krashen (1981, 1982), refered toi the preceding chaptoe Subconscious process, and that grammatical instruction i168 Language Teaching Methodology “unimportant for this acquisition to occur. Debate about whether learning/acquisition ‘occurs consciously or subconsciously impinges directly onto learning strategy re: earch, the eritical question being: are there certain learners, wito, by virtue of their expressed strategy preferences, are better able to benefit from direct gram. ‘matical instruction than others? “Learning style’ refers to any individual's preferred ways of going about learning It is generally considered that one’s learning style will result from personality variables, including psychological and cognitive make-up, socio-cultural back ‘ground, and educational experience. Tor Willing (1988), an individual’s perceptions (of hishher own strengths and weaknesses will also have an effect. He also suggests that some aspects of an individual's lesrningstyle may be alterable while others may ‘Learning strategies, which we are primarily concerned with inthis chapter, are the mental processes which learners employ to learn and use the target language. Faerch and Kasper (1983 and cited in Ellis 1985) refer to these processes as procedural Knowledge. Ellis provides the typology of procedural knowiedge shown in Figure ‘Sova proceneastatepies (ce donee for managing ‘mteractonia2) Fo leamning 2 (i denees or ternal oF Sutometisng 2 bowed) Protuctoneceptionpoceses tnd wrmteie (i. debe or Forming] singresources automates) Communication steatsis Le ‘deveetorcompensting ok Inadeguite rere) FIGURE9.1 Typology of procedural knowledge (after Elis 1985: 165) In this chapter, we are concerned mainly with those cognitive strategies and pro- cesses for internalising and automatising L2 knowledge. However, [ have included the Ellis typology to show how leaming strategies relate t0 communication and production/reception strategies. 'A major problem for learning strategy theorists has been the development of a coherent taxonomy of learning strategy types. Most researchers have developed their own lists, and there is now a pleora of these in the literature, which makesit difficult to compare research findings and suggestions for pedagogy. Ellis (1985) Suggests that strategies can be categorised under three broad process types hypothesis formation, hypothesis testng, and automatisation. Hypothesis formation includes such strategies as simplification and inferencing, and refers to strategies Focus onthe Leamer 169 whereby lamers conte to conclusions about th by am ons about the stastve ofthe target tnguaye bused on samples ofthe language, or by transferring {fons brownies a eee, guage. Hypothe testing refers tatpes sich sting oan cng evaluate whether or aot the rule set ie rule scems to work. Autor for practising the language. G. Ells and Sinclair (1989) theis macroskll focus (that i, whether and wring wel for vocabulary aad seat 1989) draw a primary aston beeen seteies for managing the taming proces and satgis for manasing infomation Nemung fee R ss involves such things as developing an understanding of one’s own langu: . eatmng preterenes, mansging communica sivas practising, monitoring and evaluating. Managinginfermation aegewsuch ng stle differences attributable to different learner biographical varablen Wisi accepted by teachers that sucht an sffct om prefered ways of leaning. The vaables veal by Wings | 2 Eahnic group 2 Age group 3. Level of previous education | 4. Length of residence in Australia 5. Speaking proficiency level ¢ & Type of earning programme (e.g. whether in fll-sime or patti 1 courses) cc lestud came up with several surprsng dings. Inthe it place, there were qtainleamingatvites wich were ont snheraspoputrIecalnce these were ates which id not enoy as popu among he aes shown in folowpivesgation of teachers prterences by Nenae aah) Pe Sane, crecon bythe tacher as Meh alae yan aso a 5 fxr was vena low ttng Fr teasers. the ns | "Petia the mst surprising Hing was that none ofthe biographical ‘orate signicanly with any othe earning peteencan SMH Yaables170 Language Teaching Methodalogy enka enon aba thera etc of pri Dopp it 1us, any statement to the effect that ‘Chinese are X° or Americas pre orvoangr nr ihe ZF Taco pada eer sa oh cto st mporant pe dng het as oan hen erg {Rc the plea! spectrum of opinions on hat sue were represented, in ‘os wi any biographical ab-rou. (ing 1988 150-1) 7 suggests that personality factors are more significam wn 90 cult is an eatin honor oing sae pete, O te thet ‘study was conducts in a second rather than fore eft to rep te the study in foreign language contexts. “Opel igo estat aes sole tego y pe aor learners liked studying gamma, sdying 2: ‘analytical leeners. ‘These ainng ean aig xntsh books and reading newspaper, sung alone, fnng th ndworkingon robemeset by the tescher i tik tolearby watching, steing “ype3: ‘communicate’ learners These students it ing sing toa ‘speakers, talking to friends in English and watebing televis or Es ngs, (Gina glen out flass in shopo tat, learingew words by hearing thm, and earning conversations. red the teacher to explain "ape ahari-oretd tearmers Tes ues prefered he acer xin ‘everything, liked to have their own textbook, to wate everyting ina ‘study grammar, learn by reading, and learn new words by seeing satire mutatis ca ee Sree of strategy preferences, then you wil Ca pet Focus onthe Loamer 171 Mistatows such as these need to be interpreted careful ‘or example, to ne ¢ House, OF « semi oF & unit or a town Data such a8 these need ta be interpreted caetally. For example, they do net newapupr Find ne Ke eae mouse? How much per week i a? Buy a ere oth cna ences Pe 8 mean that we should abandon the teahing of grammar. However, we may need 0 think again about how we go about teaching it: we need to be more explicit in Look inthe Yeo Pages Find showing learners how grammar instruction relates to the achievement of com> 1 38) Fit some real estate aot, Ca Imunicative objectives, and we need to incorporate into our teaching some of the strategies and techniques discussed in Chapter 8. Findings relating tothe limitations fof classroom work are more competing. The data reinforce the desirability of encouraging learners to activate thei 2 outside the classroom, and there are i \ & i the answers y's ask How man bedrooms? “How much ite vent “Thankyou humetous ways that this can be achieved, (rom sling homework to eneouragMg Hang tearners to keep diaries and journals, The foreign language subjects who took pant {a#ine Youve S.00.00 0 ie peal al ie apenas pela henes ting ouside the elasstoom, and nominated a wide range of activites including the 28 television programme oF fda programme inthe newspapc. Py espe Put wcirce ‘eae ae Seger am sds t peeespyotan gllapugesowpiper tached sree ae | ueammryonite """ Cn rake | wuarsinmyeeroer in wk Hornyaeniemwu net suitable, 2, Listen tan English language news nd weather broadsaston the radio, Find out how any ‘separate tems there are, What ithe forecast maximum temperature for tomorrow?178 Language Teaching Methodology polis | people | sport | money Gato th ee wr rte ing nny inion 5 ae ha at Se the following information: ica 1S atuepay eran ee er reed cin tte Fe Noon sama 2 Minracyaeente eh yes ery Soteetiancenpoy edie along to elass to discuss Gifferent items did you hear? Write dovn one thing you hear. 9.4 A learner-centred approach to language teaching Centred approach is based on a belief that learners wll bring to wie lea gutaton Sire bets and tues sou ar of nguge a nga ee sooo cc's atin {The approach contrasts with the doctor-krows-best proach wich, Focuson the Leamer 179 acknowledge that leamers have different preferences and beliefs, discounts these on ya kounds that the teachers the expert and that the learners views are itelevase fears pet earnets are tobe ina postion to make informed choles, they need o> Te eges fo mmake such choices. Informed choie presupposes knowledge, and knowledge presupposes instruction. CGiesPartculerly thse at more udvanced proficiency levels, canbe encour aged to reflect on their attitudes, beliefs and prefers surveysand inventories such as the following, The res ‘8 the basis for subsequent classroom discussions fry Zou tude tthe folowing statements by cating them fom { (totaly dares) tos otal agree), Disagree Agree General 1. Learner behaviours aot fixed, but changes in response to both internal andenternl pressures, eople can and.dolear throughout the cone Witetime. 12345 2 Learnersenter leaning actives wth an organised set of descriptions iilecings about themselves whichinfuncetheirlearing process. 12-4 4 5 2. Thepast experience a learner brings to any lesthing acti cot elpfl resource fo further learingendan unavotabe socear hinderance. 12345 ‘ Partofthe learners pastexpetience is organised andinteyrated into his self-concept andselt-esteem, ras4s 5. When past experience canbe applied iret tocurent experience, learnings facitated. 12345 4, [te eaPerince becomes ineeasinglyimpovtat asa person grows ldet 12343 7. Leaners with a postive self-concept and high seltesteon area respontive to learning andes threatenedby learning envivonnoreand the process ofchange raa4s 8. Adultlearing tends to focus the problems, concen, sks, and ‘needs oftheindividua's current lifestuation 12345 9 Anygroupof earners wil eheterogeneousinermsflesrning and ognitiveryes. 12345 (Eaxeracted from Brundage and MacKeracher1980:97-116) Language leoming 1 Aculshave aright oe involvedincureuum decision making, ©. ‘scleetingconten, selecting leutning atvitce and vain, 2 Adults earn besif the content relatesto thet own experience and Knowiedge 4 Adulishave xed ideas about language lamin which necé tobe taken into accountin developing language program 12345 ‘Adal who have developed skilsia earning howto earn ar the most effective students 12345 5 Adults re es oferestedin earning or learning'ssae thaninfearing ‘morderto achieve immediate or nat too fat dst ile goo 12345180 Language Teaching Methodology 46. Adults ave different learning stylesand strategies which need tobe {ken into consideration in developing earning programmes. 17. Adults who have developedshilsinsefasessmentandsell-evalution farethe mosteffectiveleamess. In addition, all anguage classes, irrespective oftheir goals and the types of learner they are catering for, can incorporate elements of learner training. Some of the strategies and skills which can be encouraged are set out in the following list. Monitoring performance ‘Making errors work Evaluating communication skills Using formalised routines Evaluating progress Using linguistic knowledge Evaluating learning tasks Keeping an interaction going Evaluating content Developing conversational techniques Evaluating learner groupings Finding one’s own best ways Keeping the conversation going Following instructions Techniques for memorising Using an index Identifying patterasin language Using learner's dictionary Applying skils in the real world . ‘The following sample exercises from Nunan and Lockwood (1989) illustrate some of the tasks and exercises which can be given to learners to develop the sorts of fearning skis indicated in the above list. They have been designed for post-beginner learners, and show that learner training need not (and indeed should not) be restricted to advanced learners. 1, Howand where do you like learning? Number the following from 1 (best) t07 (least. ‘Learning home by yourself. earning at home witha fiend Tiel, etoning tthe teacher. Tnelase, working in pais Tnetass, working in groups. Inciass, working alone. Working inthe selfacces centee ‘Talk about you choices with your teaser andthe other students 2. What do you ikedont you ike? Tithe box. 1234s 12345 “Activity ike | Don'tike ‘Comment Learning new words Learning grammar Listening to cassettes ‘Speaking toother stadents Reading ‘Writing Fonte tetsere Compaen hte Tash ent 3. Work in smait groups and make a sn 4. Which at Compete by plecngs kn he ceva ators sumein are Use Read, dacs nd wie Readand pace Langone fis, Fronciaion Rolepny 8. Rea compare andre 9. Otstclsnk Exsy More | Less res pour respons ith een a hoe den 5. Do tesesttenens de ens desi he wy 30 er Ci J Mabcatneriftaonamandace ee 2 Ioyantusnen wordensomintine erty 1 appropriste response. yes yes es yee yes ye ses we yes 2. Ley 040 se my ounlantonnne 10. Udoos' tower nwt mstesinane referred ways of learning, but | 181 Tyan which were bard? Which would you ike mores of? One ofthe a ates of systematically incozpo fgiow-o-ea asks that learers become se gai thes one avare no aly of ther Iso of the fact that the no what aaredcpot there are choices nonlin ae, ft a in how et. They shuld encourage Inne mwa iment with a range of Iearni ne ning | SA Incractive tasks becoming bth commuted fa ae ean se nd enthesite abot ane182 Language Teaching Methodology re-reading task 1, Make a lst of the ways in which you might encourage learners to activate their Tanguage outside the classroom. 2. As you read the extract, note the ways in which the teacher's beliefs are given practical expression a the level ofclassroom action Extract 9.1: Developing independent learning skills, “The students are siting in small groups oftwo to four asthe teacher addresses them. 7; Well students, you know, thismorsing we're going tbe lookingat waysthat ve can belplearnersimprove their Englshwithouta teacher, without, un, acasstocome to. ‘What ve we got all around usthatcan sips? ‘Well he frst thing that we're goingto ne looking tare these things. [She Dendsown and picksupa plastic shoppingbag.Nowin thebag-Tve got abapfallof mystery objects inhere~ilferenthings, but they all ave one thing incommon, Wecan ase chem to telp improve our language. Nowthsisgoingto be lucky diptype activity. Have youeverdonea ky ain? Ss: Yes, yes, “T; Yes, Where you putyourhandin and youtake ‘one thingout. [Ml doitthebsttime. Ptiny handinand ijustbring.. someting out [She pullsouta mirror }Ob,aenizror. Now how canthishelp usimprove our language ~ yougotany ideas? rene?” S: Wecanhelp.er,ourvoc. - vocabulary. “T; Vocabulary'sone thing, yes. How? S: Wecanlook,er,how we pronounce the words [Mmm] We can ookin the mirror and seehow ‘our mouth moves. “T: Good, Yes, wecanseetow our mouth moves “by looking tour reflection nthe ior. For example, the sound’. Can youll sey'th"” Ss: No. [Laughter] {The teacher distributes the rest ofthe objectin the bag andthe students, working in groups, spend ten minutes diseusting the way inwhich thedifeveat objects they have chosen cn be the for practising English outside the ches, The teacher then calls the activity toa bat ‘T: Well,abviousl los ofideasvecomect of that, What Paike to dois les just suramarisethesorafthings youve Been | sage of the esson, in which ste sta Nainnanudecintnasincstas sean Focusonthe Leamer 189 ing about by going round the groups To Sst ecole wo ce aegis ht you thnk somebody cold we his for And thnk about no ony the np conn tik how yen tien Fgh? Wl sale begin ovr erst egy Moria Kins ble? Kin, wouldyowige ten Sexi? How emote help ous 5: oldest oadphons)Tiseanepme tolenbetpesmtes cen corestie the ronson vin speek And Teaneariowto eng ‘T Right, the fist point ~ the listening. say Seatonromepe 10 nthe pre reordedenscic an ‘hen you speaking andseeing and then “ plying anda oengon you Sanreeodyoutomnoieion tors snd? You haste otlearcanae Ses wehadchampapne, And ein hier ean maha i eyes sical spak- to slo potideroaroe lebitelampage. Theoret, lagi}. wtsoncitens oto Some Atsralanpeoplean tse Soin hmpegnes ohh and Extract 9.2: Learning outside the classroom ‘The teacher hasspentsome tie in teach ‘en others who ying to learn Engl stoenis shout some ofthe ws er fee rote de asion wih he as, king bouts out of ns he has hed gas ht ian, Ti proms eet sy working sia cup, will ead second language leamers, and come up wit they miphten abe ner endl wcome up with advice on wap they might go ates ar 7 [Holling upseverlshetsofpaper] Wel Ive Yilens fener pts about eterno! som: Forexanple, there Phang fare os Isto bate ely howtos that rein ee, sat Undereath hte Demetton sie tavekone our each dt gett work. ane wea aon how hecanank ase ofthat tine Kin750, Newnten dows informattonabout ther people. Tmnjectcing logveyouwodieren pooper prt eadthom samo andthen dike184 Language Teaching Methodolocy liscuss and come up with afew other waysand pieces of advice that would give to belp Innprove their English [The students are given two profiles each, and begin reading nd discussing them ip smt groups. The teacher responds toa query from one of he students} ': Iwatcha im, and Tlisteningto lm, how can do, wheal. -tolearn more (more wards) ‘words from watching TV? Ty Iyouhearanewword, don't worry bout the spelling, Justwriteitdowa phoneticaly. ': Fivenew words? Tr Yes, iteould befve ': Forone lm? T: We. . itdepends.er,whatlevelyouxre. Um, youcoulddamare Tmsureyou'rekeenenough odomore..-. Well,saytennewwords,ten phrases [The teacher seturnstothefrontofthe classroom] Okay. Now, what didtableone come "upwith? HowcanyouhelpPhung? Whatadvice ‘would yougiveter? Maria? . Maria's group hes eon working withthe folowing workshet: ‘The following language learners ces advice. Can you help them? Phung has television but she slmostnever watches, Her friends tel heritcan hep to ‘make er English beter, but she dacs not know howto se itt lara, Should she just, swatch television? What kinds of programmes should ste choose? What can she do sle hoi watching? S: Wehaveastory about Ph. . Phung. Shehasa {elevsion, but she never watchitand think ste'sa wrong... because er friends tell ber {elevsion ean help herimprove her English 1 What programmes would you recommend? ': Ithinkthatifshe doesn'tunderstand, because ‘tspossbleshe doesn tunderstand everythin shecanfind, haven choice, andshecan ind any programmes~ maybe he has tostart with ‘asler programmes or children - cartoon or, ‘oesa't matter wharkind of programmes. And [think very seta isChannel SBS [the ethnic {elevsionchannell because wecanreadsubtiie ‘nd fwedon’tunderstandsome words we fan witeand after we can check ncichonary Iyer, good) think, watch television. is very goodandusefulforour,- improving Focuson the Leamer 135 | getnront darter aaa 2 Be following quotations taken from an ters a! ways are er beliefs reflected in her tesehy Asa teacher ee my / 1 see my ole as being twofold, Onis f feel my other very important role is to ast th Team hana but he feamers 0 take a growing we hain fac weconplcieda meouatedfor25per cen aac dio ll aking enromen~ and oy tat, M mathe ching up chien fa it lly does how iat vat anew ‘continuing their leara te aie ther sort pr fortes, a how ty looking atever o Hingatcrerycayatectstatoaulbe nea ain 18 goup a stimu fr, um. language learn iis classroom extract, and the teacher's commen, (© one way in which 7 ss 's¢0 lesson can embody a oy an both language and earning by wang eens a sears #8 the point of focus forthe lesson Be ny an ak inc Sense bat of focus forthe lesson. By etting ok in hich th learners a opinor acher also achieves fh "Arners are required (a give adv ed (0 Bie aie and opinons. the teasher lsh ache 9.6 Investigating learning Strategy preferences Task 9 Willig 1969) suggests that at clssoom tak led Iarving stat. pros ala Ctasroomaty Read story: learners pay attention ‘o and lst names of mai characters | Doaroleplavonavinitothe sere j Mt activities will comtain some examples: Learig eee which i Seles oc tate Practising in meaningful context186 Language Teaching Methodology CConssiously monitoring own use of English ‘Using contertual cues to “ucss! meaning tr we ing survey toa group of students 7. Do you agree or disagree with the learning experiences of these students? Student A ted mates 1 oteara Engi Let's see-reaing also of printed material, ceeaee tate ocaer onthe ado non a ns, Big oppotntes 0 listen English out of class sou ney ore any usegrooncutaagredstongydsagsee Tngage it to make a person # competent {pcan the eal mr, Chen ol male misoes hy lo the ttre of Srna: or ate ees om ives anaes cise de good. mala ‘telling, but notgood at written work. [wonder whether the tor Besineratone te mae colt artng poi forsabu elm sod Paeiag ly television with subtitles ‘Mowderoiear he ‘sufficiently well Teas language. Stronginterest, see seciminatonsndmodasnssicenascomd langue wether ‘nes ome ‘strongly agree/agree/neutralldisagree’strongly disagree Toul ay teaceat lpedame ls Looking ek, wt aden eee oppor ities to use the language in 2 especially speaking it inside and sie eestoom: Trwoukliave een more fun andchallengingitIvastarown int the er Srsom twee strongly agree/aaree/neutraVdisagree/strongly disagree a i Fecuson the Leamer 187 Student Bs thing Liked east was nopative oral criticism and punishment for wrong answers. ull teachers who do not encourage creativity 01 who are inactielcanne be hes leary Student ‘What helped me mast was constant driling, and when thud my own textbook and made notes from teacher explanations, Strongly agree/aprelncutraldisagreelstrongly disagree Strongly gresiagre/ncutaltisagreelstrongly disagree 2, Write down three things that help you most and shee things that help ou least in Tearing English, What do you think of yourself asa language leaene:? Problem. thavea groupofstudentswho needto impravetheic conversations, [know {ommy workasteacher and from the research have done thatthe best wayforthen te improveistotakepartinsmallgroup discussions, carrying outprablemsalsgtonteend so 0m My problem stat he students donot ike talking cach otter niet thee nly want to work with ne, What should le! Discuss the results ofthe questionnaire withthe stadents. What do they reveal about that learning strategy preferences? What implications do they have for teaching these students? Task 9.3, Develop a list of strategies which students can use to practise their English out of GS Get them to use the strategies over a number of weeks. Ask them to Keep a Gary of their language learning experiences. Atthe end ofthe period of tin, reviews the diaries asa clas exercise. To what extent did conscious attention tothe netraton ‘of language use outside class help improve language still or alter student atittades? Task 9.4 Review your programme/eoursebook(s) and deviseastriesof exercises similarto the {nes included inthe preceding section for developing learning skills Ineorporste {hese into your teaching, To what extent dothey enhance learners perception of het, own learning prefercaces? Do they appear to make your students betiey 9.7 Conclusion ‘hose involved in leamer-centred curriculum develogment, and learner strategy ‘esearch and teaching suggest that language progranisshoul have twin goals ove ‘et relating to the development of language Skilis and the other set teating to the éevelopment of learning skills and skill in learning how to learn. In this chapter we have looked at some recent learning strategy research and also atthe effect nat thece ‘suggestions have had on classroom practice Data are presented from recent investigations which show that in terms of specific188 Language Tesching Methodology vith tepapieal vara sich bts, eduction, or peo ring one's hoo lassroom seem to be particularly important an Stn re weer ain Seance cy ec ae han ae ace aa Gtebichared scribed and excmpliedn Nunan 19894. Chapter 11 of this book i‘ ‘coherent unit of work | j Chapter Ten Focus on the Teacher: Classroom Management and Teacher-Student Interaction oe 10.1 Introduction Sago Management and tescher-student interaction ate integral to sound qrespodological practice, as we soo inthis chapter. In partular,ffecus ca Language which tuchers se. Teacher talk is of ene importance, not only lord patntation of the classroom but also fr the processes of acquisition. Hisimportane thar neaeeambation and management oftheclasroom becauseitis through langasee {hat eachers either succeed oF fail to implement their teaching plans In etna oe Seauisition, teacher talk is important because itis probably the major source or comprehensible target language input the learner i likely to recone Ja the fis part of the chapter, we look a theory and research into the amount and pe of teacher talk, speech modifeation and its effect on camprehenion, teach fp st does clasroom research sty about the amount and ype of teacher tlk? 2 Do some types of teacher speech modification facilitate sompreheneran sone than others? 1 Wea eachers improve the effectiveness of their questioning techniques? $ RUMYPeS of question simuate students to masimise ther output?” 5 How ean teachers provide fective feedback lostudents on ther behaviour and language? 6 Whats the effect of digressions and extemporisations? 10.2 Amount and type of teacher talk {1J8 20 surprising that in all sors of classrooms, not only those devoted to the ana armingof languages, isthe teacher who does by far the most talking However teachers who bain an objective recordoftiir caching by raved190 Language Teaching Methodology reviewing their lessons are generally surprised by just how much talking they don ‘an inscrvice programme in which teachers were asked to record and analyse one of their fesons, one of the most frequent comments made by teachers asked what surprised them most, was the amount of talking they did. (For an account of this programme, see Nunan 199, )Of course, whether or notitisconsidred a good thing for teachers to spend 70 or 80 per cet of class tine talking will depend on the ‘objectives of a fesson and where it fis into the overall scheme of the course or programme. Normative statements sometimes appoar that teacher talk is ‘bad’, and ‘while it can be argued that excessive teacher talks to be avoided, determining what Jsoris not ‘excessive’ willalwaysbe amatter ofjudgement.Itean also be argued that in many foreign language classrooms, teacher talk i important in providing learners ‘with the only substantial live target language input they ae ikely to xeceive. When determining the appropriateness of otherwise of the quantity of teacher talk, then, we need to take into aecounta varity of factors including: 1, The point in the lesson in which the taking occurs. 21 What prompts the teacher talk: whether it is planned or spontaneous, and, if spontaneous, whether the ensuing digression is helpful or not. 3. The value of the talk as potentially useful inpit for acquisition, Another iesue of concern is code switching between the fis and target language by the teacher and the effect of this on pupi talk. In many foreign language classrooms, ithas been found that teachers and leamers make far greater use oftheir mother tongue than they doof the target language. Zlm (1955), in an investigation of target Janguage use in her German classes, discovered code-svitching was affected bythe following factors: 4. ‘The nataze ofthe activity 2; The teacher's perceptions of how the students learn. 3, Teacher perceptions of the role and funetions of the naive and target language (Gor example, English was sed exclusively for disciplining student). 4, Student perceptions of the role of the target and native language (students regarded German asthe ‘end? rather than the means to learning, and tended only to vale its use in controlled situations such asset tacks and manipulative dri) 5. Theuse of English by the teacher. The relationship between the teachers use of the frst o target language, and the pupils use of the fist o target language was an interesting finding. Ina follow-up tection esearch project, Zilm discovered that when she increased her use of German in clas, her students use of German, the target language, rose proportionally. (See also Stronp’s (1986) research on teacters’ target language use in bilingual and submersion lasses.) Inthe hteratute, there are literally dozens of investigations ofthe speech modiia- tions made by teachers. This esearch folows.onfeom thal which has investigated the speech modicatons made by primary caregivers to children and by native speakers {0 non-native speakers (0 called motherese and foreigner talk). Fovestgators have 1: Ratesotspec appear toe dover, se, sich may be evidence of the speaker Seer he speaker lansing more, are possibly more onto end tobe exaggerated adi 4 ecb ce nmore se omni 5: Dees ftom elves Mote decatives nd statement ae used th 7, Teachers may setf-repeat more fr rently mnavesions (Chaudron 1988: 85) mt “vent j i : iit os studies teacher sesh modieatins ave taken se inca pases mi sfifestions have not been deliberately made, nor manipul ted exe ntally, there are a number of experimental investigations te effect, of esch modieations on comprehension (and thetlore eh neces cet Guistion). Some sues have loked atte ete if sli ea ose the redundaney being achieved ti | on. These studies typically pre | listening text and another group lary do not have as significant an effe Deon ferent odicationa categories. The fet thatthe enenon meee oe pretension is typically a cloze, multiple choice or true/false. test also raises vestion comet ofthe sides. Unis teresa as Tapa ae {enaion te view that when aking to second ngage meee sil 12 (2 ts elaborated rather than simpli language. Inter wend ae oo weather 's rather than simplifying their grammar and ‘vocabulary. “192 Language Teaching Methodology 10.3 Teacher questions "ee rng te of et eon i th nen lssr00 hat is, classrooms devoted to teaching science, mat rematics, geo- tray, ee) and anguge coon foc many yea (Gsrt 189) Thies hay Serori siven the importance of questions to pedagogy, (Questions are ako sng aoc rs a i te commenting on the use of question in content clasfooms, conclude that. len i arrot-like sessions, with teachers. frase inoo many sams desis ae tn sisting en forth. such discussione typically ae eringand acompish iti oh ota rarest pate et heen ais sinnerman shotnows tie answers When tices cso Seapets ‘eee se: amen pee inten gn rani sh lesson intended to teach content ort engage students na meaning de SoBe ei nh ha ako eh cin ef sng ei determine whether or not students know basic information are far snore ie muon than fig ode quests whch encuape steents tet on te ie atitudes and belt, or which requir hem oolow though andes pare venation tions is extracted from a teaches flloving running sequene of acer ques tomar ienexchang In whch teacher tying gt he sc oa co Excursion they Wen onthe prewous week Iie won noting that tally ote theater Let Wesnesin, yu woo frame celeted.yu Siento an Nedoo Toners Dut athe annals wee Zt il you go? Siar ann ous? Wome Cony ew eens Mita you? come [langatettsilBuronshoprodeathennstomsih tse questioner i Foousonthe Teacher 199 scene ¥en specie training, some teacher never mange to extend ther rmamage ond one Or two seconds. In those clasrooms where tse there as aan it wai time from tne oie seconds ater asking nseenios ‘students. Ie particular, the following effects Fyne ts an increas inthe average length of stadent responses, 3+ Unsolicited, but appropriate, student responsesincremed 3. Failures to respond decreased 4. There was an increase in speculative responses, 3: Phere was an increase in student-to-stadent comparisons of da 6. Inferential statements increased. 7. Student-nitisted questions increased. 5. Students generally made a greater variety of vertalcontbutions tothe lesson is sue of walt time is obviously important in anguage classoonis, aon only Recausc of the greater processing time required to eonrchend ns interpret Ite belicne heen or foreign language but also because ofthe ndings oy Renee yebeiove that acquisition willbe maximal factiated vente ea pushed receatof theircompetence, then, on the evidence ot Rowe, walrus ees increased, ‘The limited ay Grasses nod atu and Tech (1985) investigated Fench and Germas hah hong Sfasee and came to similar conclusions xs Rowe, fnding that walt cere folowing {fate in an investigation of ESL teachers in Hawai. Holley an King (1971) found ane sehen fachers of German were trained to increase thts a te me fength and complexity of student responses increased, ster nil by Long and Crookes found tht increased wat time dd not lead to Fine sare ty of content by ESL pupils although tis may have beon doc ee rosacea te study. It had heen conducted over a longer period of dee we donotagpeint we obtained asignicat result. Untertunately Longo reo Raotteport whether increased wait time ledto mote gartciperone sae ‘complex language by students ceramer sue relevant othe management of lating conceins the distbution of | Sandentraer Geral considered desirable to disrbute questions among a _ Sadensratherthan restricting them asclect few, Whlesomeatadente when an194 Language Teaching Methodology actively participate in lessons do well, tke overwhelming evidence presented in this book is that, al other things being equal, students will improve more rapidly if they are actively engaged in interaction than if they are passive. In teacher-lronted interactions, by distributing response opportunities widely, allearners are kept alert and given an opportunity to respond (Good and Brophy 1987: 495). (There are, ff course, some students, who might appear to be passive in that they are not ‘responding overtly, but who are, infact, mentally engaged in their lessons ~ Bailey, personal communication.) ‘While most teachers probably imagine that they are even-handed in thei treat- ‘ment of students, they might find, if they obtain an objective record of their teaching, that they favour certain students over others with our questions. Research shows that there isa great deal of variation in the chances afforded to different pupils, to speak in class. Jackson and Lahademe (1967), for example, found that some Students were up to twenty-five times more likely to be called upon to speak than others. Furthermore, itis generally the more able students who get called upon. Ifwe ‘accept that one learns to speak by speaking, this means that those most in need of the opportunity to speak are probably given the east amount of classroom talking time. ‘One way of monitoring this aspect of our teaching i to audiotape or videotape our teaching over several lessons, or get a trend or colleague to observe us, and note «down the number of questions we directto each student. (Techniques for doing this, ‘through the use of seating chart observation records, are set out in Nunan 1989} Researchers have also found that there is a tendency for teachers to restrict theit questions to certain “ction zones? in the classroom (these are usually towards the front) ‘One final aspect of questioning behaviour worth looking atisthe use of display and referential questions. Display questionsare those to which we know the answer (for ‘example, when we hofd up a book and ask, “Is this a hook?’) Referential questions, fon the other hand, are those to which the asker does not know the answer. In Classrooms of all kinds, display questions are far more common than referential ‘questions. Outside the classroom, however, they are virtually never used —to begin asking display questions in social situations outside the classroom could lead to highly undesirable consequences. ‘Several investigations have been carried out into the use of display and referential ‘questions in language classrooms. Long and Sato (1983) looked at forms and functions of teachers’ questions. They found significant differences between the types of question that learners encountered in class and out of class: for example. teachers asked more display questions and fewer referential questions. Brock (1985) discovered that teachers could be trained to increase the number of referential ‘questions they ask, and that this prompted stodents to provide significantly longer {nd syntactically more complex responses. Nunan (1987a) also found that the we (of referential questions by the teacher resulted in more complex language by Students. Student interaction was also more like natural discourse (that is, the discourse typical of out-of class encounters). Focus on the Teacher 195 Toe folowing fers, wi re da: concent ist tpi nomic tei of eine omic, spe inte hc length and compienty of sade tans; the hepston ef aes Not all researchers agree that {questions isa useful one. Van Lier (1988), 10.4 Feedback on learner performance Instructing students and : sand providing feedback on prt most comionly conceived classroom functions oftencies Int eae eae tojincrease motivation throug (981) provides guidelines for effective praise (sce Mutation 13)Focus on the Teacher 197 196 Language Teaching Methodology Much of the feedback provided by teachers often seems to be rather automatic, Ana its ultimate effect onthe learners is doubtful. Consider the following feedback sequence taken from portion ofa lesson, Revd Allright Okay Clock? Good Good Right Okay What? Right Very good Very good Allright The... 2” Okay "Right In the lesson from which this sequence was taken, the postive feedback consists of short interjections of ‘good! ‘okay’ and ‘allright. Negative feedback coneine on lusively of the teacher repeating the student's response with arising intonation ll students, even low proficion have no trouble recognising incorrect response hus been given, toned eons male Joes sues infteton sot te teacher sa exer aba Tracie pe Te ied rdomly or unsyematicly In the section on questions, I referred to research which indicated that more able Students were much more likely tobe given the opportunity to speak than les able ‘students. The research on who gets postive and negative feedback isust a tlling When high achioving time. Lowachieving students were peaised on fare who ir manipulating 12, Inui nto te coping proces, tctingatenton from ws rs, ee) ampeiion or ewer 11, Fons ee aeaon 17, Oks ta accomlthuents of pers athe context for deeting ‘ste pean sccomplents less praise. Similarly, ‘wrong answers. They were ertcized 4, Reward mere pststion, without coieraton of performace «5, Ingen wut rep tote lft expended or the mean of be Sow oh sk for eternal eons plete he eee, Wi ‘edonplstnent a 9, rela sucess te ty lone or exes sch a ek ‘aspen a ° 10, Race gectt aioe (es tive tal ey exead 3. Shows od unformy ht sapges 3 on 6, Ors ec towarl comparing thes wih er and tke 2 reared to sol pole encons ‘vith inal seaton Brevis ne infomtion a al eg (powstes o comer ‘ter vant order. It is important that we develop an awareness, provide feedback to learners, but also that we me lear from research that teachers, in general. transmit to individual students. Th ot only of the ways in which we iontor who gets the feedback. Its fre not aware of the signals they is particularly inportant in content classrooms aguage speakers, Investigations carried out in 18 address the non-native speakers much less fend to be managerial rather than instructional, and ‘ore negative feedback than the mative speakers. (For Fxamples of this research, see Laosa 1979, ited in Chaudron 1988, and Schigke, Hane 1983.) A rather idiosyncratic view of the iy, Review of EdcatonalRescarc St 5-22 (1981) Reproduced by permision ‘that such learners receive m fend eietle ashetons tbo, tak ‘event behvor ser the proces ie compled Nets sitive to provide appropriate responses to carn the spproval ofthe teacher, and that this inhibits the development oftheir omn aneerna {hers for ndging the coreciness or otherwise of their attempts a using the tenet language. QUDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAISE ‘recta prove ‘loon he beat they eno he tae adr wat develop rea gating te ple chy 1. Gastar ler seca be cot a b exer i he Re vo, ts etopnces nibs (dent tle that they expend -lvardsemingety hie scconplshnets (6, Guess sen toward beer aprecion of tec own eee aon os 9, Reso cs fa iy, ping ht snd es Fates preci 4 Rewunh alnmem ef species performance citeia (which can ILLUSTRATION 13 In my approach, Ido not elaborate further their eri teachers’ demand for im correct lames; 1 only throw them back onto themselves to teria and 10 use them more completly. Against # common mediate corrcetness through so-aled iiation, I take Upon198 Language Teaching Methodology myself the burden of controling myselfsoas not to interfere. By doing so give time toa ‘Student to make sense of ‘mistakes’ (which are precious indicators ofthe discrepancy between what is and what should be) and co develop exercises that foster progress {(Guttegno 1972:31) ‘Whatever the merits of otherwise of this approach (ana we look at Gattegno's Silent Way in greater detail in Chapter 12) tis extremely difficult not to provide cor rective feedback in the classroom. In addition, these is compelling evidence that learners expect feedback. In a major investigation of the learning preferences of adult ESL learners, error correction bythe teacher was one ofthe most highly valued ‘and desired classroom activities (Willing 1988). 10.5 Classroom management in action In the preceding sections we have locked at the role of teacher talk and teacher- student interaction in the management of learning. Research inthis area shows thet teachers need to pay attention to the amount and type of taking they do, and to ‘evaluate its effectiveness in the light of their pedagogical objectives. Questions are also extremely important, and here weneed to monitor the types of question we ask, particularly in terms of their potential to stimulate extended student responses. ‘Another important consideration is wait time, thats, the thinking space we give to students between asking a question and demanding a response. Feedback and ercot correction are other important aspectsof teacher talk, and here we need to monitor, rot only how and when such feedbackis provided, but ulso whether the feedback is positive or negative, and who receives the feedback. In the next section we see ‘aspects of teacher tain action. In this section we see how the ideas and insighs set jut in the preceding section have been realised at the level of classroom action, Pre-reading task Thefirst classroom extracthasbeen presentedin wosequences. While both sequences wolve the same teacher, students and materials, the interactions which emerge are very different. As youread these accounts, consider what the differences.re between the two interactionat sequences focusing in particular on the teacher questions, Classroom extract 10.1: Teacher questions Sequence 1 ‘The teacheris working with a small group ofstudents. She stands athe roa ofthe lassroom, hile the students stat desks. Most ofthe students are middle-aged an are from Southeast ‘Asia, They are working with six pictures which show the following road acident, Aik van ‘swerving to avoid a cog which has ran sero the road, knocks a boy off is biel, A passe" byruns to & public telephone snd cllsan anbulance. Each student hasa set of pictures whi has been shuffled upso they are ost of sequence. ! | Ts Canyouputthe pictures tumbertwo {Ste demonstes that se wants the students ‘hey think the nsdn occur Then Pei anon Teens go) tnveatook (Ore student looks at 1 {Cre sndeoks ah sgvnce ths ee ara by he peo oni] 5: No, thier, you know Nout, youknow, hoa esoe et T: Ths thesame, same this fic] Look atpiture one healt umberone, secant teen 1. Themansona icy, an, Ss: Whereare where are, um, biyee, bcyte S: Andaman bead, being 7 behind aca Bicycle 1 What sthenameot is? What sthe name? nnd! Bets ca Notin Chinese T: Van. Whatsinthetackotthevanr °° Ye" Yen Te Mit, Se Milk, ik T: Amitkvan Se Mik, Mite T: Whavsthisman? Si Milkvan, 1: The driver S: Driver T: The milkman, 5: Thedriver, T: Milkmen S: Milinan, Ss Milken Sequence? ‘The students and teacher are sitting ina circle. Havi ‘urns tothe students siting next to fer, ng completed the activity, the teacher T DaSheng, have youbeenin an accident? T No? Goode. 5: [Powses]No, S: My motherisbybiyele By bicyete, many,many water Biv, yes,200 Language Teaching Methodology ‘T Shehadanaccident? ‘ InChina, my motherisa teacher, my father Ssateacher. Oh, she go fnshy biyele, er, go S: Hone? 5: Nohowse gto. : School? 5: Noschool. My mother. powses] 1 Mam. S: Gotoher mother. ‘T: Oh, your grandmother. S: Grandmother... .Oa, yes, bby. By bicycle, oh, sum, acsident [She gestures with herhand.] 1: Inwater? S: Tnwater, yeah T: Inariver? S: River, hea iver. ‘Ss: Dead! Dear! Oh! ‘Oh, yes um den. ‘T; Dead? Yourmother? [There fe general consternation asthe students repeat the story teach othe. The basic difference between the two sequences is that the first is driven by a sequence of display questions whereas the second is initiated by questions from the teacher to which she does not know the answer. This, as can be seen, his a marked effect on the language produced by the students. In general, the length and com- plexity of the responses increases. Jn interactional and discourse terms there are Also notable differences: students initite interactions, nominate topics, disagee with the teacher, and generally use a greater range of language functions. Although such interactions driven by referential quesions are extremely rarein the data, when they do occur, they generally stimulate much richer learner language. ‘The next extrac is taken from a clus of low proficiency students, many of whom are from Asian first language backgrounds. It illustrates what happens when the teacher digresses in the course of bis lesson. Such extemporisations are. quite common i the data, although their general utility is questionable. Pre-reading task Asyouread the extract, think ab the net effect of the digression 1 what causes the teacher to digress, Consider also Classroom extract 10.2: Extemporisation “The students, all Asian, and all low proficiency, are siting in groups onthe floor. Each hava set of picture showing a man geting ou of bed, having 2 shave, having breakfast and performing a numberof other tasks which ically oceur between getting up in the moming Focuson the Teacher 267 and going to work. The teacher chet i describing ach ction tu the tre associated with ht parla ain nmin MM an the studenshve tod T. Fath picture ofFredgetingou oe in eet mma though ther ictus Sever, vo inane id, wait ati the beter students hae ou ‘T: Putthe picture downoa your righ, ive obviously net understood indthe correct picture and then Ss: Light. Ligh [The teacher calls «hal tothe activity. He lop his hands and (to the activity. He elops his hands and st Ps his hands and stands on one leg, pointing 4 What's that? Lettorright? Te What's that? Ss heft se Rio ‘T: Notlight, right. So Leh Ts What's that? SS Rhee Te What's that? Se te i Se Rig, T: [Pointing to the light just above his " Whats 2 Moebovenberd | wars She se: Like Allo se He pons tohisrgh ta Whar hat? | Se: Latte Sle 7 Rig, ph [Mepoins above tis | That'stight. Wee ‘shewad T: That’sright, Se Hae Se Rig T: [Shakes his left hand.) That? fe ss: Let |B Mopsonhisrighteg. That? 7 Otay. (the teacher sison he ooraeas ts the students So when Esay to patton the lett, you Ss: Left vou [He picks ap acardand demonstrates) puted the Andon the right putit down there. ant202 Language Teaching Methodology Post-reading task ‘What advice would you give this teacher about whatto do when an error occursin the course ofa lesson” ‘One of the roblems of error correction is that it generally happens spontaneously, In this extract, we se the teacher having to make an on-line decision about whether ‘of not to correet the pronunciation error. Asa participant observer in this lesson, it ‘seemed doubtful (o me whether such a digression was of much use 0 the students, ‘several of whom were clearly mystifec by the break in the routine of the lesson. Itis also worth noting that the teacher chose not to further digress by correcting the student who mispronounced ‘left’ as‘les’ ‘tis something ofa truism to say that classrooms are busy, complex places, and it is therefore not surprising that extemporised grammatical explanations and error corrections are not always as clear, consistent or appropriate as we would like them tobe. These problem points in eachingean be reduced, if not minimised, by thinking through and decidingin advance whick errors you intend to correct, when you intend to correct them (you may, for example, decide not to correct grammatical errors uring communicative, meaning-focused tasks), and how you will correct them, Tn analysing the lesson Transcripts which formed the, database for this book, 1 found that digressions in the form of anecdotes by the teacher were also quite common. Inthe following teacher-froated exchange, the teacher digresses to tell an ‘mecdote about something that happened at home. The point and purpose of the teedote are not entirely clear to the students within the overall structure of the lesson, even though they most commonly occur during the opening phase ofa lesson, or during a changeover point from one activity to another. Classroom extract 10.3: Digressions “The teacher has spent several minutes athe beginning of the lesson talking about what the students have done over the weekend. She then asks them about thei rip to an anil and Conservation reserve daring the procedingweek where they saw native Australian animals, Tr Wehaveapossumathome. - S: Bima roof, it goesintheroof 'S Smells T: Yes,itsmelis tmakesa lotofoise. My husband gota trap you know tap? You wantiocttch.. «[Shedemonstetest process ofentchingan animal with rap) ‘Se: ALY “T; Hegota trap and he caught the possum [Snedemonstrates again... -inthetrapand itwasat night ime eleven o'ock acright, Tr. -stourhonse yes, yes. Ol | T InChina,alitdeor ator? 1: Motor bike. Focusonine Teacher 209 | anatew | yet Woe Oh, por pain Poor pam, somite Chet thst gonow pote aiee Se fedrenedogouprotheisandgatons haboowandstpoctecnuetie fees save Hepes tctecge aa he rinopen- andthe pun guess 7: $2 tat wostheposun.Ok,emsota Wednsiy youvenofmeseiae ote burners mina Wat yee ‘ace name dotesjon hay Post-reading task What isthe nt effect ofthis digression? fala weal anction® Is, wa Oe Yu think that digressions Such as this tuanscripts, Pre-reading task Makea note of the speech modifications as seagate peschma Yyouencounter them. (Note, in particular Classroom extract 10.. 2 Teacher speech modiications etches aking ersten boat oad TnAusaacr eye er wewesrotelons 5" Helmet T: Special helmet. [She gestures to; mm Oe Shatshemenns ms showshen ccidents and satey, Si: Ob, Fs Smeaton) S: Mataysa, same, same, Ss: Yes, yes 5: Moto, moto S: Motor. Somemotor bicycle204 Language Teaching Methodology S: Yes, yes. Bieyle, no, China, bieyle no, Motor yes ‘Cap, eap. 5: Cap S: Hlaton, bat, bat. Ty Hat {ltisnotclearhere whethersheis config the utterance ofthe preceding speaker or conrecting the student who said ‘ep’ 1 Abhuht Se: Hat. Hat, ‘Ts Ab,in Australia, motorbike yes. Yes, yes, yes Bicycle, yes, good. [Oh] Children, Special helmet Helmet}, Helmet, mem, Speciathelme. Post-reading task 1, Whatis the overall effect of the speech modifications? 2. What advice would you give to this teacher about her teacher talk? ‘The final extract illustrates another commonly employed technique: the use of elicitation as a device for extracticg information from the students which might ‘otherwise have been provided by the teacher. While this can be an effective device forelicting learner contributions, and getting students involved, itcan be overdone. Classroom extract 10.5 Elicitation ‘The teacher and students are discusing a forthcoming dassroom test, about which the students are seeking some aditional laifiation, The questions will beon diferent subjects 30, cer, well, one will beabout, er, well some of thequestons willbe about polities ar some of them willbe about, er... what? S: History ‘T: History. Yes, politiesandhistory and, um, ‘+ Grammar Ts Grammar's good, yes. but the grammar ‘qestions were too ey ‘Ss: No, Yes, ta lke before.Youcan use [naucibe] Ts Why? .Thehardest grammar question L could thik up -the bardestone, Iwasteven Sure aboutthe answer, end you got S: Yes. a fitness | Repeats ‘something different. . Sonstode | Focusonthe Teacher 208, s today, er, we're going to, = | wicrewercrientoacemce te i fact, we're not goingtolistentoone | conversation How manyconeeetons i ‘Boing 10 listen to? mene i r T: Howdoyoukaow? Stee? S: Bo Wo, Joule, estes 1 thet three points, wand | terest ane EEE ict heey Ss: Sbjct Sbjct T it they iallbe onthe same subject. Be Seton. Sto illerent conversations, bathe saa sabjet Andso,Timgoingtoiaterinticcere are | theese inte 7 Ri Andeach group ech roy, 9 OO <7 Abhukt S Esens | Postreading task | Do you feet the elicitation s overdone or not? UN208 Language Teaching Methodology findings on wait time, have particular pertinence for language classrooms, where Tanguage is both message and medium These and other extract presented inthe bouk underline the importance of teachers being aware of the research, and of ‘contesting the outcomes of such rescach in their own classrooms. 10.6 Investigating teacher talk Task 10. Record your teaching over several lessons. (Alternatively, if you are not teaching, ‘and cannot get access toa class, see whether you can obtain a recorded sample from Someone else's classroom.) Sclect ore lesson for analysis, ané, if itis your own ‘classroom, estimate the amount of time you talked as a percentage of the lesson asa ‘hole. Ifyou are analysing someone ese's lesson, ask them to estimate how much of the lesson was spent in teacher talk. Now measure the amount of teacher talk there js and express this a6 a percentage of te total lesson, How accurate was your (or yout caleagué’s) estimate? Were you surprised by the amount of teacher talk? Task 10.2 1. Using the recorded lesson from task 101, analyse the teacher talk 2. At what stage in the lesson docs the talk ocour? 3. What prompis the teacher talk? 4 Init planned, or spontaneous? (Ifspontancous, i the digression helpful or notin terms of the lesson asa whole”) 5. Does the talk seem to be comprehensible tothe students? Task 10.3 1. Using the recorded lesson from tack 10.1, o another lesson, investigate the issue ‘of wait time. How long does the teacher wait after asking questions? 2. What percentage of questions does the teacher answer her/himselt? 3, Make alist of the strategies adopted by the teacher when students fal torespond, or fail to provide the required response ‘Task 10.4 1, Audiotape or videotape a lesson (alternatively, get a friend or colleague to sit in ‘na lesson and make a record ofthe distribution of questions inthe lesson) Does the record show that you favour certain students over others? ‘Aze these the better students? {De you favour male students over female students or vice versa? ‘Do you tend to direct your questions to one part ofthe room rather than another? Do you think you should modify your practice asa result of your investigation? Focusonthe Teacher 207 ‘Task 10.5 Tan wie Esme a eat ee in eas 2. Review the audio- oF vide Review ideotaped lesson. Did you, infact, inadvertently provide 3. How difficult was it not to provide feedback? 4. Survey a group of learners an Survey group sd find out what they think about the issue of teacher 10.7 Conclusion Taek ston and teachers life, and there are man + interaction are i y facets to structuring and mana iportant aspects of classroom ging learning, Inthischapter ing that this i central toChapter Eleven Materials Development 11.1 Introduction , fo, Vv In this chapter we take up some of the issues surrounding the selection, adaptation) ancl eceation of teaching materials. While the focus of attention will be principally on! {te evaluation, adaptation und use cf commercially produced materials, we shallalso took at teacher-developed materiab, As we'sall see, materials, whether comier- ialy developed or teacher pres, are apimportant element within the Teulon an re often the mos tabs ap tbe ceo este os defines the goals and objectives, the linguistic and experiential content, instructional ‘materials ean put flesh on the bones ofthese specifications. Richards and Rodgers (1986) suggest that instructional materials can provide detailed specications of content, evenin the absence of asylabus, They give guidanceto teacherson both he] intent of coverage and the amount of attention demanded by particular content or pedagogical tasks. They can help define the goals ofthe syllabus, and the roles of teachers and learners within the instructional process (Wright 1987). Some at designed to be used by inexpetienced or poorly trained teachers, while others ae intended t replace the teacher completly In ac, the best matetials, if used i the ‘ways intended by their author can bea useful professional development too “The chapter answers the following questions What are the deta by which materia canbe Waluated? Inwhat ways can one research materials in use? Whats the relationship btweer materials and methods? What ace some Key prinipls for materials design? ow can different task and activity types be integrated into units of work? ey 11.2 Commercial materials ‘There isa certain amount of controversy associated with the use of eommercial mat- rials, particularly coursebooks. Swales (1980), for example, refers tothe textbook ‘Materials Development 209 money in promoting and securing contracts for he San the best commercial materia fal nah the gn and oes ote pera eet 0a With one's Betts about he mature of fanguage mn eee 3 bei and preferences, Evang anole es 40 casy ask AS Low (1988) pont ot shes Menem 3 abick a, even when nipponga in the selection procesey cam sss can be grety faite 9y the we of ann Sraeaton procedures which help ensue that materearcconee oe materials antares of the aren they ar intended toserve: sel sere ees ‘it initutonal ideologies en the nature of fanpage and eae cider 988) provides an extensive eho of queso whch can id in he SeRuIR Tomer materia He proposes tat mcr sean as Soca 2 sh te ronal acestblysiyearaedane ya {Gundlin 1987). Tie checks ives the teacher oacop a eae eee a Wek Latte endof sedan) CPs ao ae repre .iteoha and Windest (199) propose amore odes scheme for vex ial materi They sugges that mater on be craleaed ea pepecves: 4 Te genera orsubjectkrowiedge comand in th mates 2 Yvert nae ad action owe & Roterelationsimpictin mater 5. Opportunities forte deve 6, The values and attitudes: herent in the materaie femic subject matter, «focus on language itself aed nacsntcai »210 Language Teaching Methodology literature, Littlejohn and Windeats also add learning how to learn (see Chapter 9) ‘and specific purpose content tothe list. Tn considering the views on the nature and acquisition of knowledge inherent in materials, Littlejohn and Windeatt make reference to work in general education by sociologistsf knowledge such as Young (1971), who have pointed out that what gets included in materials largely defines what may count as legitimate” knowledge, The way materials are organised and presented, as well as the types of content and activities, sil help to shape the learners view of language. They provide examples ‘of grammatical explanations which convey the simplistic and sometimes erroneous notion that the grammatical system consists of objective watertight rules, and that gaining “knowiedge’ in language learning is basically 2 matter of accumulating objective facts, (Rutherford, 1987, provides an incisive critique ofthis ‘accumulated entities’ view of language learning.) Beliefs on the nature of learning ean also be inforred from an examination of teaching materials. These will often relate to psychological and/or psycholinguistic theories of language learning or acquisition land may be explicitly spelled out in the introduction to the materials. (Some of the ‘more prominent psychological models which have informed the development of approaches and methods in language teaching ae diseussed in the next chapter.) The importance of role relationships in the classroom is being increasingly recognised within the profession. A key variable here is the amount of initiative and control which learners are allowed to exercise and the extent to which they are active participants in the learning process. Wrght (1987) provides the mast comprehensive treatment available om roles of teachers, learners and materials in language class: rooms. (See also the diseussion later inthis chapter.) Tn discussing the opportunities provided by materials for cognitive development, Littljohn and Windeattcontrast the “empty bucket’ view of earning with tsemphasis ‘on the accumelation of linguistic knowledge with 2 more active approach in which learners are encouraged to negotiate ard interpret meaning and engage in problem solving activities which challenge ther: cognitively as well as linguistically. They suggest that if this latter view becomes more widely accepted, we shall see a re- ‘orientation away from ‘language learning as reproduction” to ‘language learning ss problem solving’, Beyond problem-solving, we have problem ‘posing’. This more critical perspective is presented in Candlin (1984) and developed in Candlin (forth coming) ‘The final area in which materials can be csitiqued relates to the values and attitude which are inherent in them: itis possible to evaluate materials for their sexism, racism and so on, Litlejohn and Windeatt provide examples of textbooks ‘which are biased in numerous subtle and not so subtle ways. For example, one book showed only two black people, one of whom was a muscular athlete, the other a manual worker, Another contained over thirty references to smoking and drinking in the frst wenty-fve pages, perhaps thereby ‘legitimising and sanctioning suci behavious on { tlejohn an}! WisideattLonclude their survey of perspectives on materials design by posing he foowingevaluatve quesions: Materials Dovolopment 211 1, Do the materials exend he eames general or 2 What view of knowlege do the mates pe forhow earners memptiolenn 2 Do the mater decoy he ere sundetand aning and how they my help tomueless 44 How doe mater stractre he teach leaner matonhip Wh laced on classroom interaction? “we |. othe mates develoy the earner leaner general eo | 4, Risen reproduction or as patios tes specialist knowledge? resent? What implication might this have ig of what i involved in language trae’ ifany is enkive abilities? ls tanguage laming 6, What soci attides dothe mateo (Litdejohn and Windeatt 1989: 174) " ean laim of eufturat in. as an excuse for refraining from action. It may also bloce ‘nays we can only judg he ay sand stothisparseua et | 11.3 Research on materials in use + A'major theme ofthis book isthe need to relate theory. fassroom action. This also importam in the case ofr, frovided by Sheldon, Litlejohn and Wi research and methods to i als. While the checklists indeatt are extremely valuable, they only fering questions such as, does th 7 ling of new linguistic ems seem tobe shalmtegp sr Fane Students”, ultimately, sue cet nag imately, such questions can only be settled with reference we a 4 There are, infact, comparative “nent and use inthe classroom. 0} ‘Mepossible diferences between i yew empirical inesigations of materia ne study reported in Nenan (1980) invented ieapericnodandexpertncedachersineniogs212 Language Teaching Methodology teaching resources in the classroom. Twenty-six teachers, who wore differentiated according to theit years of experience. were given an authentic listening text and an accompanying set of worksheets, and asked to prepare and teach a unit of work based on the materials. They were asked to provide detailed information on the following 1, The aims of he uit. 2. The length of time it took to teach the unit (including the time allocated to different learner configuracions: teacher-fronted, small groups, pair ad in dlividualised work), 3. An indication of how the unitwas introduced 4. A deseription ofthe steps inthe lesson. 5. A description of any changes that were made fo the unit, 6. An evaluation of student reaccion to the material 7. An indication of intention to use similar materials in future. 8. An indication ofthe best liked feature of the material. 9. An indication of the least liked features (0. An estimation of the suitability of the materials for the designated learner group. A great deal of data were genercted by the study, and itis beyond the scope of this chapter to report on all of these. Some of the major autcomes are worth noting, hhowever. Bleven different aims were nominated by te teachers, as follows: Listening for gist. Vocabisiary development Identifying key words Listening for specifi information, Revision of previous language points Developing fluency Encouraging prediction, Promoting dscussio Developing functional skill Introducing theme ‘shopping’ Developing listening skills Despite some minor variations, there was noting in the data to suggest tha the more experienced teachers seleced aims that were qualitatively diferent from those selected by theless experienced teachers. The major difference between the ‘experienced and inexperienced texchers wasin the amount of ime taken to teach the materials the number of steps i he unit of work, and the learner configurations ‘Average unitlength of the mostexperienced groupof teachers (more than eight year experience) was 164 minutes, compared with 98 minutes fr the least experienced {group (les than fou yeas’ experience) However, in erms of learner eonfiguraion. the lesexperienced teachers had amore equitable balance between eacher-troated small group, pei-work and individual work. The two most experienced groups o teachers spent 64 and 70 per centof theetime on teacher fronted activities, wile the 1 2 3 4 5. 6 4 8 9 10. H | Materials Development 213 mental interpretation of these data was thai tt recupncreeaat oan t Crawford (1989), however. suggests that i sresacege ten teacher uctonexperenes whi aight e ireeeue then importance of group and pair-work. Inoverall terms, howeve isgeme hat no significant differences between the more and les = experienced mena meted. the study vas eoncidedthat tensed mene sional development: Tasroomenporcne activities the more experienced teachers felt is more than duration (endurance!) it lentprogrammesare about structuring 11.4 Materials and methods made their appearance over ra, Without marae ch ave “oro amt man eee SA met he bok nde214 Language Teaching Methodology {cachers look to materials to provide new information on how language works at a formal level, to provide focused pracice in manipulating language forms and in practising sub-skils, to provide ‘comprehensibie input’ (we look in some detail tthe Frature and function of ‘comprehensible input’ in Chapter 12), grammatical ang ‘Communicative ‘consciousnest-aising’on the part of learners, to provide opportuni- ties for simulating and rehearsing communicative situations to be encountered ‘outside the language classroom, for testing and self-assessment, and for increasing totivation and interest in learning. OF these, Rossner considers the provision of ‘Compichensible input, consciousnestsaising and rehearsal the roles which have ‘een patticularly enhanced by communicative language teaching. “The work of writers such as Richardsand Rodgers (1986) and Rossner (1988) (who ‘are authors of major coursebook series) ilustrates the theory-laden nature of al) ‘aspects of language teaching, even the so-called practical business of writing materials. Despite the need for pragmatism, the decisions made by coursebook ‘weters are inevitably influenced by theoretical statements and research outcomes in ‘applied linguistics, They will also be influenced by other factors, not the least of ‘which is the rather conservative outlook and unwillingness of commercial publishers to take risks, a conservatism which reflets the dangers and expense associated with producing commercial materials Despite the dramatic improvementsin foreign tanguage materials withthe advent cof communicative language teaching, Rossner (1988) articulates a number of ‘worries. Inthe fist place, current materials tend to overburden the user with an embarrassment of riches, (Breen and Candlin, 1987, have also pointed t0 the Abundance of data at the expense of process in commercial materials.) This creates more work forthe teacher, who's forced to spend more time coming to grips withthe materials, and creates the possibility that language lessons may become a fragmented "eabaret’ of unintegrated activities. Secondly, few materials provide opportunities for genuine commenication with a ‘eal’ purpose. (Given the fact that these are related to learners’ needs, Rossner asks whether published materials can ever provide such activities.) Thirdly, ia Rassner's view, British and American publishers have too much power, and project cultural attitudes which are inappropriate tothe needs ofthe vast majority of learners of English as a foreign language. 11.5 Materials design In the preceding section, one of the problems raised by Rossner relates 10 the potential for fragmentation of materials developed since the advent of communica- five language teaching. The problems of grading, sequencing and integration, so Crucial (0 the development of coherent language programs, are the constant pre ‘occupation of syllabus designers and materials developers. Materials design exits Gt the interface of syllabus design and methodofogy, and issues associated with Sequencing illastrate the difficulty of separating syllabus design from methodology Matrils Development 215, tin ™aniy eeently published coursebooks, iency learners. Consider, for example, the (Sunan 19883). Fragmentation vie particularly those aimed at low prob following sequence of activities: r Read shor pgs dd over comprehension questions sot thera } Repeat the dialogue based on the Passage. passe orci parte. ask que onthe contet ofthe pate Study aden elated tothe Look at 4 mep related to the questions mere gue based on the passage. ' about the passage and complete a fori based age and describe it, ssage and answer a series of comprehension ce of activities is carefully structured and ie the lesion a confusing, unprinted Ga much depends on the skill ot the lave been sought to problems of in and piecemeal; although, of course, this teacer‘n inking tones tev Sera solutions ito pr sere or “Tived immigrants and short-term visitors, ar cived -ds of the learners, are reflected in the topics * Soran the pecsived Unit 1 First contact i lato Unit9—sightsen U2 Getingabot ——Uni10 NEw Seater sis Enertinnemt Unt tye Units Mectngpeople —Uniti2 Conmoniations une taney Unit13 Eating out - Un Houng Unit Edveaton Gm? es hit Hots These contest with the top . h the topes in a foreign langage com and Walter (1585) which ctdes the natural wo, ee ean any S28 anya and aparion, mus ve and mating sonatas oftext Thisisan approach advocated y pepe wf work are organised around * : ts ener are aug he gene lets are tes Ingle 0 tha pie but ape bse eahing. Unie re postions ee ractire ofthese textes, wel he wat ne of the peat advantages of besming ae216 Language Teaching Methodology authentic writen or poke ets a aso work erence aan he umcrs wil encounter outside the starroonn, Catena Bboy ones ha dao ‘be based on authentic native 5) argues that casroom langge mosis must be (are apske donne Ske provies empl evidence (0s tht “Benlated excerpts may serve tomisendstodens abouthe nature ofeverydy intr rio" (Catncrt 1989" 105) (Foran extended disconsion on the se of authentic Sata commorteative language teaching, see Novan 198.) a Inset thetcaser a tenbok wie wl probsby epi et ats ctonets senting matron, Dxenig, props th a ope sth 3 alg Mmaaton clecting aul and sien texts relating tothe tpi, and then eat ates vi efx the sommonicative msds of he learners elation ‘Sinetgpc Th procedurefone whch cane eal adoptedadaptd by teachers hace ontent surf Avan example othe poser, conser the devclopment ofthe folowing nit of work rom asetof daft materials based on top, ext and task Step: Sle op Fintng ssmmton ep 2: Colt at Senn Recorded conversation between estate agent and client Nowmer adersemene Prtmesilstations of diferent types of housing tog ge rem el eae roche ‘Step 3: Determine what learners wll etd to don elation to the texts For czample: ‘Read newspaper To Let advertisements Make enguiries about homes to et ‘alle abou housing and furniture Get basic information from newspaper articles siep Crete peas actitespeedres Povexanpi: Tein for git Rotepisy Informton gap siepS: Anas tess nd activites oder the language elements For pesin: I'm ingng bout as stati aalbe? ‘jective: i. tw: cheapy sal ne -expesive Pret conto Fi ooking sat ‘Wir gue: oho, hat, whe, hw mucnasy Entel tose Theretoare Step 6: Creat activities focusing on language elements For example (Coze passage Sentence sequencing exercise ‘Match question and answer exercise Motera's Development 217 Step: Crest atvities focusing on learning skillvststegies For example “Think sf Discuss your answers with the es ofthe elas, about the tasks inthis unit and in smal groups decide which were usefl/not Step 8: Create application tasks For example ‘Think about a pace you would ike to ent. ‘What rca is 1 in? How many bedrooms hat it gor? Is ita house. oF at, oF oadominiuin? How much per week sit? Buy anewspaper. Find the cased advertisements Find he “To Let section. Find a place you woul hike to ent (Adapted from Nunan and Lockwocd 1989) (Tow (1989) outlines 2 number of procedures for developing units of work, He Suggests that the tradtional four-phase unit structure, which was rellvted in ‘materials design, isa follows 1, Presentation: (a) of language to be learned. (0) of language description. 2. Controlled exploitation 3 Free exploitation (generalising to areas other than those inthe presentation). 4 Synthesis (pulling disparate strands together and sometimes ereating an “ond- product’ Materials incorporating this fourstage procedure ypically took a reading or listen ing text as their point of departure. Invalexplotction exeriss included vompre hhension questions, repetition and grammatical drils. The rigidity inherent an thas approach. slong with shortcomings in the psychological model on witch it was based (see the discussion on behaviourism in the next chapter) led to 9 search for alternatives. Among the options discussed by Low are “feeding and bleeding Solutions’ the writing last solution’ and the ‘storyixe solution’ Feeding and bleeding solutions focus on the relationship between presentation materials. of input texts, and the exercises which ascompany them. A ‘eeding selationship exists when succeeding tasks can only be completed if those which recede it have been successfully carried out. Bleeding relationships accur when the inital task takes away from the value ofthe second, for example, when the solution {0 a problem is provided before the problem iscif. An example ofthe feeding solution is given in Mlustration 14218 Language Teaching Methodology ILLUSTRATION 14 Fige 1 Outline ofa possible mlitext sequence “Anorectal design of Se ee Joon (et), The Sond Language ‘Gian (ag Uacy Pr. BO), ps. Reprod permiion ‘The writing last solution at the cor it of work and serves ta integrate the work that has gone sae pctiouth nt devoted exclusively towntng. ihe application task in thecione Fal peeeedute ftom Nunn and Lockwood (1989) discussed above is intended vo fulfil this fonction ms opine solution, in which a naratve serial is presented one episode at a Rein (ogee ct Popular in commerical coursebooks over many years, Graves ond Sei C1288) present a mystery entitled “Moon of India’, about a lamons nena Tech epnears from a New York City museum. Probleme confronting shone on ating stories into their mates incude the efculy o& preseuting tans seohiscated content at low proficiency levels and the frequent messing eee wr gt emmersto detective stories. Corel attempts toovercom tese pvt Trprenty ration tothe strane solution which te ells the "action cenencee One couiaaisapProach, the storyline and attendart exercises make upthe whole of the course, Materials are designed through a foursvage proseduce 1+ Identify the learners’ aceas of interest in broad thematic terme 2% [deny «series of communication suations related to that theme and link them to form an action sequence 4 Gilet ot devise materials appropriate to he sitatonsin the ation sequence 4. Choose language points to focus on from the mater (Corbet 1985: 74) 11.6 Materials adaptation Mork commercially produced materials can be adapted to fit «range of needs and Sateran, really envisaged bythe materials writes. However, befor adapting rates ft should be kept in mind that material fiom reputable author og pushers have been carefully writen and extensively trialled, and it's thes ieaable to teach such material at least once in the ways suggested by the aenee before experimenting and adspting them Jn ais ection, illustrate the way in which a teacher adapted a uni from a set of Peg creal materials o suit her own purposes. The unit on which the leecns gon pase ecatained a tape consisting of io pats. Part A was 2 descrpton ot hon Mane: Keith. Sue, John, Alexandra and Jane. Part B consisted of or eamente cack eeu each ofthese people, The students’ book contained photograph of ‘each ofthe five individuals, along witha blank information table,220. Language Teaching Methodology Pre-reading task Before reading the extract, consider ways in which you might modify the materials to provide an interactive dimension. Classroom extract 11.1 Using commercial materials in the classroom “The lesson evolved through five tacks ‘Task 1: Warmer ‘The teacher revises vocabulary, andthe questions one asks to extract personal information, ‘T: Height_yep. Height. Height. And, weigh Whatabout, nto much weight bo! ‘What do you eal this? [Shim] What's the word {orthis, when you deseribe somebody it they're slimorfator thin? This begins with they're strongor thi. S: Body? T: Body? No. [Laughter] Good guess, What about build? Bud? Build. Somebody's bul Ifyoutalk aboatsomebody'sbuild. You cesrie they esl orthinormaybe ft oF rmaybestcong. Likes building. (Ob) Likes building. Bul. Likea building. A nouse somebody’sbuilt Anythingese? Hr Height. What about this? [Gesturesto sfothing] TT: Clothes. Clothes. What's the question? [inavd.] Not colour, What’ the quertion for ‘lathes, you ask the question for elothes? ‘What. The question. Come on, we didthis lastweek. Can you remember? The question? ': Whatclothes do you like? Si Whatkindofaclothesdoyou ike? 5: Clothes 1: Notte 5: Wear. ‘T: Wear, yeah, What's the question? Weat ‘Task 2: Talking boat the photographs ‘The teacher gets the students to stay the photographs and say as much ae they cam abou the peopleinthem. ‘T: Okay, justlookingat the pictures, justlooking atthe pictures-whatean youtell about thie People? Obviously you don't know their ‘mame, do you? You don'tkaow their name ‘Materials Development 224 Maybe youcan guess... how od they ae, miesstheirage,ortheir-.ifthey'e peer children. Have think abou these People. ntwostWo. two, two twotwo, Maybe you can tall together about wht you think about hein what these people ike, From the photos. Doyouthink they Imartied? How old are they? {The studemttak together nd the eacher cults. king end Fesponding to suestions.) id, ‘Tes 3: Listening for key information ‘The teacer sve ou and explains the following rd Name wa 7 Sen Keith sue ok Married? Children Azes? Job Height Hie Build Chthes Hours worked Books red Smokes Drinks Chur ‘T: What we're going to do is lstento some ‘information about these people. And! went ‘autodccide which photograph matches tic information,Lershavea look atthe sidehere, Lerssce,tsaye ‘age’ marted' i's question mack whether we're single marred Fsingle. Children. Maybe they weet cfuldren. maybe they haven't, Yesor no Job Height ar Build. Andlothes, Whats the ‘weston yan withelothes Alexandra Jane Se Whatare ‘T: What we youwearing, wharshe weatingorae wearing? [Mesadensthenitentodescrpsonso ie people snd werkia pao compe the rid Whotare you weating? Tash: Sequencing the coversnton Ze fal to tats the lesson the authentic itersews a thee ‘ere enscly fe ngts the eh ders pone eee222 Language Teaching Methodology introdvetion tothe tape. She also wantsto encourage the earners to co-operate and tonterset, vith eachother inthe course of completing the isteing tasks. She achieves these objectives by letting the states see the fist interview, The students are put into groups of three and provided with a photocopy of the tapescrst which i cut iat chunks. The students are Teauired to sequence the conversation. They are then given the opportunity o listen tothe tape and to cheek that their sequence was comet. ve youfiveminutestodo this, five [Thestadents workin tei groups forsevera inate.) "T; Twominates, Ts Comean,thisgroup'snearl finished. One ‘minute. One minute et ‘T: Okay, wellistento the conversation now. Okay. soasyou'relisteningto the conversation, can youcheck your sequence? [Te students listen 10 the interview and check that thei seips of paper are correctly sequenced] rt: Task: Splitistening FForthe ial part ofthe lesson, the cass dive into wo groups, and cach groups given its cowa recorder and tape. Group A listens to fverviews with Keith and Sue. Group Blstens to {mtcrviows with John and Jane. The students completed thels pat ofthe grid. group B returs, tnd students frm group B form pairs with stents from group A. T: Okay, before westar, IWant you to ask the properquestions, Soplease dow'tjstaokand Copy. What youhave todois okay, Keith Fist (question. Whats the first question? What thoars}hoursdoeshe work? Interests, What's te question? * |S: What are his interests. 1: what Se. ate Te. isiterst, Again Se What stehisincerets? “T: Whatare hisinterests, Nest question. What's thequestion? What... ? ‘: Whatkindofbooks Smokes? ‘Se Doyousmoke? “T; Whatkind of tooks~ doesheread? Tr Keith. Doashe smoke Se Doeshesmoke? [The pared students sit back-to-back and askand answer questions tocomplete thie ris. To ‘complete the lesion, the teacher ets student to match te photos and the names.) In this extract, we see a teacher modifying a set of commercial materials to suit her ‘pedagogical ends. While she liked the authentic nature ofthe tape, she wanted her students to be active rather than passive listeners. Therefore, she modified the intended by the authors. However the fact that one need not be tied eed mot be tied book. Modifications should be snad: only after one has become thoroug 11.7 Investigating materials Task U1 PHASE ONE: ntl questions 1 What ote metre Patras an odo end wha do the cometar 1. When they finish their course, waa sal ‘target language? . Whar sto tey be abit 3 fo do in and wth the angaage? ‘What knowledge about language and ‘what guidance ‘what should your learners know of and about the 4 What d 5 6 1 What do the merits ma raters mae your earners do while 7. How ou think you etiam alengeage ee re How oo thin ® language? What fsmost useful for learaersto do 8. What procedure or seq Successful at the task? 9. Which pes of ask seem toh 10. Which ketpfl ways of earn matenate? Hen of work dosthe laaneshave to follow inorder tobe 03 conducive to earning? nescem th Neem tobe missing From the asks provided inthe I Hove do the materials expect yout ac our eck deter epeyo learners he asroom? Te Ween! daateacher ticheandethelpmy eameciete ew ‘pected to do to help your learners work ‘successfully through ie 13, Domsterat give yo ~ those oles which for you are most helpful to learners ‘tn corre gene iscovering new language?224 Language Teaching Methodoay Me Arypuatety conden dh tregmeseppepae? | 15. Dore ater mt wt you want to dose teacher ang wearers? emai olen clog ing? 16 What contin cant coon and partion make to lating and Sitch Styour cont classroom work are referred t jextended in the 7 mera Jourcontbt beach Your awe onto av talvorstaproplvor tions of other classroom resources? tals oras roopsor the omibaton ne 18, Dering lsroom work, sich of those contains are atonal th fctered to and exendeir the materiale? "gets eta gem Fw ase at ety alow your rn xd ow of an 2 pou he ngage sndeseath cn ae whan eng! 21, How for doth materials eet he imedate logusge lating, needs Of yur ow ad desire of individual learners to focus % See ane sar “Task 11.2 fe a materials against the six areas outlined by Littlejohn 1. Evaluate aset ofcommercial mi ‘and Windeatt in section 11.2 ; 1 Develop a unit of work following the ‘feedin Materials Development 225 2 Did the evaluation reveal aspects ofthe materials which were not immediatety apparent from a casual inspection? 3. What were the major weaknesses, and how might these be redcessed? Task 11.3 Select a reading or listening text and some attendant a three oF four colleagues (more, if possible) to teach th ith the following information: ctvities oF worksheets. Get Ne materials and provide you 1. The aims ofthe unit ‘The length of time it took t0 teach the unit (including {cacher-tronted, small group, pair and individual asks) How the unit was introduced, ‘The steps in the lesson, (Changes that were made to the activites or worksheets ation of student reaction to the material, ion of intention to use similar materials in future An indication of the best liked feature ofthe materiel An indication of the least liked features, Anestimation ofthe suitability ofthe materiats for apparent Provided by your colleagues. What similarities and iifferendes ne they cela a eatment ofthe materials? How would you aecount forshen’ ane thepelated tothe teachers’ education and experience? Tower seer eee theic ‘heoris of language and learning reflected in te choices they mes 8 the time allocated to 10. the designated learner group, Task 114 Feat and Rodgers (1986) suggest that a panicular design for an instruction ay ahh Pl Particular set of roles for materials. Examine ast of mace instrocaaee fs fmiiar and anaise them im terms ofthe sake ene instructional system. Task 11.5 1. Devetopa unit of work following the eight-ste Teach the unit and record the lessons 2. Review the lessons and evaluate the materials 3. Did anything unexpected iiappen? $: Di the materials take longer to teach than expected? 5 6 PProvedure set out in section 11.5, What modifications would you make tothe materials? ‘What modifications would you make tothe materials development procedure? Task 11.6 18 procedure developed by Low, Teach the unit and record the lesson of lessons 2. Review the lessons and evaluate the materiale226 Language Tesching Methodology 3. Did anything unexpected happen? 44. Did the materials take longer to teach than expected? 5, What modifications would you maketo the materials? 6. What modifcations would you make to the materials development procedure? ‘Task 11.7 In this chapter we looked at some cf the philosophical and ideological issues associated with commercial materials. The ideological principles underpinning aext- book, as well as the writer's beliefs about the nature of language and learning, can, be inferred from the textsand tasks thatmake up the materials. They are also usually explicitly referred to in the introductionto the teacher'sedition. This isevident inthe following extracts. As you read these, consider what the authors’ beliefs are, and ‘what types of activites you would be likely 0 encounter in the books themselves, etn and Listening ae developed by aig an extes « event mater bch onpose te are fue fungus ty ae kt neourerin cl In prtclrte-ecnded tnenigmaterolvaec ume ditferetspeaers wth wh native and nontatie aces Speskng sod Wing ate tis celydoclope ina mum of communcrv acc su ale lage and jrobiem solving seston. (Garton oregon Grecrol 986i) Most people scem to learn a language if itis tidied up for them. This helps them to focus ‘om high-priority language and to see the grammatical regularities. However. leaves also ‘need t9 encouster a certain amount of untidy” natural language (even if this seems too dificult for them). Without this unstactred input, peoples unconscious mechanisms for Aaguiting languages may not operate effetvey. A course should cater for both these ways _Ataproaching language (sometimes cafe Yearning’ end acquisition respectively), The ‘eof unsiepliied autheaticmaterialsmy require ahangein learner expectations: as ‘Sludents and teachers are used only to fects in which every new word and structure has 10 ‘be explined and learnt (Swan and Walter 1987. vi) 3 Hi the development of commricatve language taching, te portance of acuscy A hassometimesteen neglected in favour encouraging tency in spoken English sums Clear thas balanced approsch where both Guency ad accuracy ave developed i esentat itstudentsaretodomerethansimpy survive inEnglshspeakingstuatoon, Students anno sudely and miracloity achieve accuracy in spoken English THe bes they inope for isa proresve improvement naccuraey. oto isan exert tol to ie Students towards nfiOVEMAT OU ces o pln incovecing every error that sade Instead, the teacher should concentrate on erecting relevant errors. Eventhough tonto the ates it his book focus on scuracy, he teacher mst be cxremely pete nd tactful when coreetng errs. Senstive or difident student often fel hat heya being reprimanded or even mocked i ty ae told they are "wrong Even welded therege tudentscanbeoput by tnctesro apgenve coresonehniques (Toes 185 56) 11.8 Conclusion component of edsgors Wh ouside the clsroont Gach {uestons presented inthe body otis hans Cvaluated in elaon ). their real potential~ or real learners in real clase. Inthe next ch Apter We ttn Wo the ise of ‘appeared in this chapter are devel and Aiferen oes thames pay eaten ‘thods'. Some of the themes which nd Welook among othe terials play in different ‘teaching methods. other hres attheChapter Twelve Language Teaching Methods: A Critical Analysis 12.1 Introduction For much of its history, language teaching has been obsessed with a search for the ‘right’ method. I was felt that somewhere or other there was a method which would work forall learners in all contexts, andthat once such a method hed been found the language teaching ‘problem’ would be solved once and fo all (Richards 1987). More recently, it has been realised that theie never was and probably never will be a method for all, and the focus in recent years has been on the development of classroom tasks and activities which are consonant with what we know about processes of second language acquisition, and which are also in keeping with the ‘dynamics ofthe classroom itself Given ths shift away from 2 focus on methods, itmight seem odd that a chapter of this book is devoted tothe subject, Ihave provided a description and critique of some ‘of the more prominent methods which have made their appearance in the market place for two reasons. In the first place, itis valuable for teachers to be aware of ‘where we have come from as a profession. It is also interesting to note the ways in Which theoretical and ideological belies about the nature of language and learning fas well as the results of empitical research, have been realised at the level of pedagogical action. Lastly, I should ike to give readers themselves the opportunity to evaluate some of the methods which have influenced and which continue 10 influence classroom practices and teaching material. Thave chosen to assign methods to three categories: the psychological tradition, ‘the humanistic tradition and the second language acquisition tradition. While any act ‘of categorisation wll often mask important differences between category members, believe that the groupings highlight essential similarities between the different ‘methods in each category. ‘The chapter answers the following questions 11, What has been the contsibutioa of disciplines suchas linguistics, psychology and sociology to the development of language teaching methods? 2. What are the key characteristics, sirengths and weaknesses of the more ‘prominent methods? Language Teaching Wethods: A Grical Analysis 229 3. Why is it dangerous tb us t0 base second language teaching o fis Hi gs 8 ane ames: A Stud sited in Nunan (1991) provides only very patil song 3 442 7p 3 ih mst Ken and Ase sa el FO or i BE ages? Frou references to evens which are dpsed nine an pues ak 4 it pe rrHt tie thee (i Plenty of evidence thatthe child attends conscously tthe eae es i ae qj ge rege 3 funson of anguage. Lastly, the data show that the child is very active in the cons i Poa: 22 faa z 2 . sit i tie ae! aly a i eH # HEH Bae : Sp REGU: alia? i ul aHug u Bed : PRS 7 acca agiste giaegiai a a Tey : j Sugiay eribtya | r ine 3 Hau. y } : yal iz io 2 aa (p. 428), Hid guy by > y ail nan £22] 125 investigating methoas i Gian Gide ! ih i 3] AEs HHEEP EE) man 3 Bde ct > ge Select « grammatical structure and construct a TER lesson similar to the one outlined i Hunn 8 HE Lig | tsetpttmescoconmastmn uns ienateomectins x iy H inky i reg digis (al watherccionofthestaens? Were srt sew epee ane i Sd iitvagd Hig] Uswencec: i paing Ulahenpa) oe 2 apiiiiiigeet 22hhi geiiistigy they co 180 Fecenty published coursebooks andanalye the tasks and actives 4 dhgasedadg pla PEs PE Metncanain. To what extent do the books rect princes fon aie ane ee | ebay Po oar} 3 methods we ive looked at in this chapter? Is there ‘udio-lingual techniques? How might you account for this? ny evidence ofa persistence of248 Lanquage Teaching Methodology i rethods analysed in this Trposie, nda teacher who subsides on of the methods analysed ' leson, In what ways does the lesson cod ant anayee the ache ss a supprt or wolate the pice uncrying he method? What odieaons the teacher make and why? 12.6 Conclusion we etc us Lng) et se Sic in ttt echarioeie op ron, fe of language ‘aken here, the two major shortcomings ela scr er as cea recep ot are imported into the classroom, rather than being. erved fro n eon ene ‘not have any redeeming features. ea a cea ce stout lowever, individual classroom exercises anc ° SERN oncom pe ch eR pumbnons of Cocoa tno oc anoiher needa be ented withesotin ; eee ee nate References ion, TESOL Quarterly. 18 (1): 71-8, eating ina Foreign Language. London Anderson, A. and T. Lynch. 1988. Listening. ‘Anderson. R. (ed). 1981" New Rowley, Mass: Newhury House Asher, J. 1988, Learning Another Lan Guidebook. Sed edn. Los Gas, Ca: Sky Oaks Prodan Arma st he esting problem ef ESL seen An ternative, BLT Journal, 39,1): 20-7 Blley, N.C. Madden, and S. Krashen. 1978 thea “a language earning? Language Leung 24,236.45 Bart, 9, 1275. From Consmunaionto Curcwhon. Harmondynat Penstin Bartlet, F.C. 1922. Remembering: A Study on Experi ‘ad Social Paschology. bridge: Cambridge University Prose Beebe, L. 1983. Risk-takin Oxford: Oxford University Press Dimensions in Second Language Acquistion Research tage Through Actions: The Complete Teacher's ral Sequence’ in adult second he language earner. IH. Slice and M. 1, Long (ed) "chin Second Language Acson. Rowley, Macs eke, sourees, In. Anderson (ed) Ne Rowley, Mass: Newbury Howse Balytock,F. 1982, On the seatiosh Linguisies.3 8): 181-206 Blooraleld L195. Language. New York: Holt, Borg. W., M. Kelley. P- Langer and M, Gail Approach 10 Teacher Education Bransford, .D, and M. K tohnee ‘vestigations of comprehens havior 11 Papetg Mt dORe Processes in syllabus dsin, nC, Brunt (ey. Gonna Design. Oxtord: esgomon Began, M1985, The socal context for tnguage leering ~ ng ‘Second Langurge Acquistion, ipbetween knowingand usin ings forms, Appied 1970 The Mintcouse: A Micro-euching Beverly Hill, Ca: Macmillan Educational econ m. 1972 Contextual preequistesforundersaning vone tnd recall. Journal of Verba! Learning and Verbal Be English Syllabus reelevted situation, Studies in250° Reteronces breen,M. and. N. Cain, 1980, Te een communicative cara ia anguage Teomg plied Lng, 1 (2). 89-12 pase Mae. Cain, 867 Whichiaterias? A consumersand designe’ gi. In TGatlion (ed) ELT Tenbvotsand éevrads:Probtonsin Fvauation and Developmen ELT Doctmon 26. London; Modere Bngsh Pcntons. 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R95 (edn Richard 190), The oss pprach torn _Laaimeration students 1A dseation Unveryof igeag tomes cure tien FcemanD. 1975. The cgusttona gamete eit aay aig ome vo mae nen eS. arsenFresman. D176, An explnntion forthe morpheme ssqiion Ls mae earners ameiage Learning 26 (1): rs “eSon oer of scont anertreeman, Dani M. Long, 18 A Ian Tecra nanD, aM Lone V3. AW tara Sond Langage Auton "soi, L.'1979 Inequly nthe clsroom: obser ‘ta ea bservional seach on teacher student

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