Dilemmas and practices

Language, language learning and Method

By Graham Hall

APPROACH
It is a set of assumptions about the
nature of language and language
teaching and learning.
METHOD
It is the plan for how to present
language in an orderly way, which
is based on and does not contradict
the higher order approach.

TECHNIQUES are specific classroom activities consistent with the method,

and thus with the approach.

A theory of language A theory of learning

An account of what the essential
components of language are and
what proficiency or competence in a
language entails.
An account of the psycholinguistic,
cognitive and social processes
involved in learning a language and
the conditions that need to be
present for these processes to be
activated.

1) The nature of language: language has many ways of being

understood.

Cook identifies five major meanings of the term language starting from
knowledge in the mind of an individual to a set of sentences. How
language is conceptualized is an issue not only for theorists because it
has practical relevance in the ELT classroom. As Brown observes, how
teachers understand the components of a language influences how it is
taught. Brown confirms that at some level, teacher’s conceptions of how
language works affects what and how it is taught in the ELT classroom.

2) Teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and assumptions about how

SECOND languages are learned.

Differing conceptualizations might affect how teachers teach because a

particular perspective on language may lead to a view of how languages
are learned.
3) Language learning: is it about the formation of “good” learning
habits, the result of learners engaging their minds, or the
consequence of interaction with others?

 (Habit) Language learning as habit formation is no longer

supported by theorists as a comprehensive account of how
languages are learned. Habit-forming doesn’t offer a full
explanation of how languages are learned.

 (Mind) Chomsky first proposed UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR as a

mechanism that explains how children acquire their 1 st language
during the critical period of their development. It has also been
suggested that UG may provide insights into SLL. If the ability to
learn a language is innate then exposure to language should be a
primary concern in the L2 classroom since it may lead to
language being “picked up” in a naturalistic way. Krashen
developed the monitor model in which he argued that given
comprehensible input and a readiness to learn, then learners
would acquire language. He also proposed that language
acquisition and learning are essentially different processes.

 (Interaction) Long has further developed the input hypothesis

suggesting that interaction between language learners leads
learners to adapt their speech to make it comprehensible. This
acts as a mechanism for making input comprehensible for
learners and thus the importance of the concept of interaction
to the process of learning English.

4) More than just input: Cognitive processes and classroom

concerns.

Cognitive perspectives suggest that UG does not fully explain SLL.

Cognitive approaches focus on the ways our mind stores information,
process and make connections with it, and retrieve it at the right time.

 Should language features be brought to the attention of learners

and, if so, how? If we think that SL learners can only learn a
specific language feature when they notice it then how can we
help them? How can learners’ use of “noticed”, conscious
knowledge be made faster and automatic? Thornbury identifies
different kinds of practice: controlled vs free practice, mechanical
vs meaningful communicative practice, and receptive vs
productive practice. Practice can therefore take many shapes and
forms (more controlled: accuracy; freer practice: fluency).
5) Learning as a social practice

Socio-cultural and social constructivist approaches to language

learning conceive of learning as a social activity where learners are
active and interactive. The support of other enables learners to work at
a level which would otherwise be beyond their reach (ZPD by Vygotsky).
Knowledge is thus developed or co-constructed in a collaborative
manner.

6) Grammar dilemmas: What is the place of grammar and grammar

teaching in the ELT classroom?

How should teachers intervene? Does learning take place best when
grammar features are examined explicitly and consciously or is it
enough to just encounter language?

Explicit teaching of grammar does not guarantee that a learner can

actually use the language spontaneously. It denies other meaningful
learning opportunities. Explicit attention to grammar may only be
effective if learners are ready to learn the particular feature. However,
there is an advantage in addressing grammar explicitly but we should
consider what forms such instruction might take.
Attending to language items does not have to mean teachers and
learners focus on forms which is the explanation of individual
grammar points in a predetermined sequence. On the contrary, there
should be a focus on form. This suggests that attention to language
can happen at any point in a lesson or a series of lessons. It can be
teacher-led or through learner activity. Thus the focus on linguistic
forms emerge as a consequence of the learners’ engagement in
meaningful communication.

7) Learning through deduction or induction?

In deductive approaches to learning learners are first provided with

the rules or generalizations about language, which are explained and
demonstrated before being practised.
In inductive approaches, learners examine language examples, and
work rules out for themselves. Inductive approaches characterize
“discovery” activities. This approach reflects more accurately the way
the mind learns and it has been suggested that it may develop learner
independence and autonomy. However, both approaches may take place
in one classroom because it depends on the learning styles and
preferences of the learners, and the teacher’s view of effective learning.

8) Is there a place for the learners’ first language in the classroom?

Cook agrees with the assumption that teachers and learners should use
only the L2 rather than the learners’ L1 in the classroom. There are
good reasons for limiting L1:
  Ls will communicate more in English, which, according to Long
means more input for others in the class.
 All language is potential input for learners.
 Opportunities for English language practice and output will
maximized.

Reasons why L1 could be used in the classroom:

 Language learning is a bilingual experience so Ls keep their L1
and L2 in contact in their minds in the classroom.
 L1 is a resource in the development of their L2. It may enhance
“noticing” of features of English by drawing comparisons between
the two languages.
 L1 translation is a spontaneous learning strategy that brings
student knowledge into play and uses it as a resource.
 It recognizes first-language identities, cultures and linguistic
knowledge.
 Focus on form
In Task-Based Language Teaching

By Michael Long

1) Focus on forms
It is considered the traditional approach.
 The teacher divides the L2 into segments of various kinds and
present these to the learner in models, in a sequence determined by
difficulty.

 It is the learner’s job to synthesize the parts for use in

communication (reason why it is called the synthetic approach to
syllabus design).

 Learners are encouraged to master each linguistic item one at a

time, to native speaker levels using synthetic materials, methodology
and pedagogy.

 Lessons tend to be rather dry, consisting principally of work on the

linguistic items. There is little communicative L2 use.

Focus on forms suffers from at least six major problems:

1. There is no need to identify learner’s communicative needs, learning
styles and preferences. This usually results in teaching too much. It
is discouraging to student and inefficient.
2. A focus on forms often leads to non-realistic models of language use.
Simplification is self-defeating in that it succeeds in improving
comprehension by removing from the input the new items learners
need to encounter for the purpose of acquisition.
3. It ignores language learning processes and it assumes a discredited
behaviourist model. It assumes that SLA is a process of
accumulating entities.
4. Leaving learners out of syllabus design ignores the major role they
will play in language development.
5. It tends to produce boring lessons, with resulting declines in
motivation, attention and student enrolments.
6. Students all over the world have learned languages despite a focus
on forms (this approach assumes the opposite).
2) Focus on form

It refers to how attentional resources are allocated, and involves briefly

drawing student’s attention to linguistic elements, in context, as they
arise incidentally in lessons whose focus is on meaning, or
communication. The purpose is to induce noticing: registering forms in
the input so as to store them in memory.
It is learner-centred in because it respects the learner’s internal
syllabus. It is under learner control as it occurs just when he or she has
a communication problem and is likely to understand the meaning or
function of the new form.
Focus on form refers only to those form-focused activities that arise
during meaning-based lessons.
 Contextualized SLL
Understanding the role of contextualized input, output, and
interaction in language learning

CHAPTER 1 from Teacher’s Handbook

By Glisan & Shrum

NOTE: These are the answers to the reading guide (not a summary of the
chapter).

1) Celce-Murcia’s model of Communicative Competence

The ability to function in a communicative setting by using not only

grammatical knowledge but also gestures and intonation, strategies for
making oneself understood, and risk-taking in attempting
communication. This expanded notion of competence was based upon
communication within a meaningful context.

Discourse competence Linguistic competence

It refers to the way in which It’s the ability to make

language elements, such as meaning when using form
words and phrases, are such as morphology, syntax,
arranged into utterances in vocabulary, and spelling.
order to express a coherent
idea on a particular topic. It Actional competence
is surrounded by
sociocultural, linguistic, and It’s the ability to match
actional competence. linguistic form with the
speaker’s intent.
Sociocultural
competence All these components are
sustained by the:
It is the knowledge about
context, stylistic Strategic competence
appropriateness, nonverbal
factors, and cultural A set of skills that enable
background knowledge. people to communicate and
compensate for deficiencies
in the other competences.
2) The role of input in L2 learning. What type of input is
conductive to learning?

 Input has a very important role in SLA because without it

learners would not succeed in acquiring the language.

 Comprehensible, interesting, relevant and not grammatically

sequenced input is conductive to learning.

Krashen’s input hypothesis attempts to explain in his Monitor Model,

how language is acquired:

1. The acquisition-learning hypothesis: Acquisition is defined as a

subconscious picking up of rules characteristic of the L1
acquisition process. Learning is a conscious focus on knowing
and applying rules. Acquisition leads to spontaneous, unplanned
communication.

2. The monitor hypothesis: The conscious knowledge of rules

prompts the internal “monitor” that checks, edits, and polishes
language output and is used only when the language user has
sufficient time, attends to linguistic form, and knows the rule
being applied.

3. The natural order hypothesis: Learners acquire the rules of a

language in a predictable sequence, in a way that is independent
of the order in which rules may have been taught.

4. The input hypothesis: Acquisition occurs only when learners

receive an optimal quantity of comprehensible input that is
interesting, a little beyond their current level of competence (i+1)
and not grammatically sequenced but understandable.

5. The affective filter hypothesis: Language acquisition must take

places in an environment where learners are “off the defensive”
and the affective filter (anxiety) is low in order for the input to be
noticed and reflected upon by the learner.

3) How learners process input (input-intake-output)

When input is simplified and tailored to the level of the learner,

learners are able to make connections between form and meaning and
thus convert input into intake. Intake is language that is
comprehended and used by learners to develop a linguistic system that
they then use to produce output in the language.

 Which aspects of that input do learners process first?

Learners pay attention to meaning before they pay attention to

grammatical form. They attempt to understand the meaning of
 the message before they process grammatical structures.
Learners process content words in the input before anything else.

4) The contribution of interaction to L2 learning

Long’s interaction hypothesis

According to Long, input comes to the individual from a variety of

sources, including others. Individuals make their input comprehensible
in three different ways:

1. By simplifying the input.

2. By using linguistic or extralinguistic features.
3. By modifying the interactional structure of the conversation.
This third element accounts for ways in which input is modified and
contributes to comprehension and acquisition. Long maintains that
speakers make changes in their language as they interact or negotiate
meaning with each other. Negotiation of meaning has been characterized
as exchanges between learners and their interlocutors as they attempt
to resolve communication breakdown and to work toward mutual
comprehension. Through negotiation of meaning, interactions are
changed and redirected, leading to greater comprehensibility. These can
lead to language development by the learner. By working toward
comprehension, language input is made available for intake, cognitive
inspection, and thus acquisition.
Long’s theory implies that learners cannot simply listen to input. They
must be active conversational participants who interact and negotiate
the type of input they receive in order to acquire knowledge.

5) Swain’s output hypothesis

Claims about the need for promoting output: Swain maintains that
input is a necessary but insufficient condition for language development.
She argues that learners also need opportunities to produce output:
learners need to speak the language to achieve higher levels of language
competence.

Ways in which output contributes to successful SLL:

 Output facilitates acquisition because it helps learners to

discover that there is a gap between what they want to say and
what they are able to say.
 It provides a way for learners to try out new rules and modify
them accordingly.
 It helps learners to actively reflect on what they know about the
target language system.
 Swain also refers to pushed output which is what allows learners to
move from what they want to say to how they say it (grammar and
syntax).
Additionally, by repeatedly using the target language in natural
communicative situations and focusing on their output, learners
eventually develop automaticity and move from analysing what they
want to say to being able to say it with ease.
As learners create output in the target language, focus on form
naturally arises. Teachers need to provide opportunities for output that
is meaningful so that students can consolidate what they know about
the language and discover what they need to learn.

6) I+1 is not ZPD

The i+1 concept The ZPD

It is primarily a cognitive It posits that language

view that holds that learning is an activity that
language learning makes use happens through interaction
of innate knowledge within and collaboration in social
the mind of a learner. It is settings while the learner
about language and input. responds to those around
him. Learners use the
language with the support of
others while simultaneously
learning it. The ZPD is about
working together,
participating in a community
and obtaining the assistance
needed to enable continued
participation in that
community.

7) How the sociocultural perspective understands LL

According to sociocultural theory, language learning is a social process

as well as a cognitive process since it is socioculturally constructed.

8) Mediation in the ZPD

Learners use tools to mediate between themselves and the world. They
use tools as a way of assisting and supporting their learning and
making sense of the world around them, including the language
 classroom. In collaboration students use language to reflect on the
language they are learning.
Mediation tools:

 These can take the form of the textbook, visuals, classroom

discourse patterns opportunities for interaction in the L2,
teacher assistance, etc.
 One type of mediational tool is the portfolio, which students can
construct to reflect on language, to clarify and set goals, to select
effective strategies to enhance performance, and to provide
concrete evidence of strategy use.
 Language itself is also an important mediational tool.
 Self-talk serves a mediational tool. It is a type of thinking aloud
that helps to structure and clarify a task to be done or a problem
to be solved.

9) Interactional competence

In collaboration with others, students use language to reflect on the

language they are learning.

Input is a necessary but insufficient condition for acquisition to occur.

Input must also occur within meaningful contexts and be situated
within real communication.