Module 3 TEACHING THE “WHAT” Contents: 1. Defining grammar 2. Principles for teaching grammar 3. Options in teaching grammar 4. Techniques for presenting and practising grammar Objectives: After this topic students should be able to: 1. Identify what involves grammar and what to teach about grammar 2. Identify and analyse principles of teaching grammar 3. Recognise and evaluate common methods of teaching grammar 4. Identify and evaluate techniques for presenting and practising grammar 5, Teach grammar in a communicative way Key terms: grammar, descriptive grammar, prescriptive grammar, deductive teaching, inductive teaching, form, meaning, use, PPP, Deep-End approach, task-based learning, declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, implicit knowledge, explicit knowledge,.WHAT IS GRAMMAR? TASK 1: 1. Discuss the following questions: a. What do you have in mind when you think of grammar? b. Look at the three examples below and assess whether they are grammatical or not? If not, how would you correct them? (1) Everybody is ready now, aren't they? (2) You've got a sister, have you? (3) Someone has deliberately made themselves homeless. 2. Now read the following text and underline any ideas which appeal to you. Then discuss this question: What would you prefer as a learner, a descriptive or a prescriptive grammar? Why? What would you prefer as a teacher? 14. What is grammar? ‘The grammar of a language is the description of the way in which words change their forms and are combined into sentences in that language. If those rules are violated, communication suffers (Richards et al cited in Nunan, 2003). Let's take an example. The present tense of the verb “be” has two distinctive forms: “is” is used with people or things in singular and “are” goes with those in plural. When “is” is combined with plural, we have what is ‘called an ungrammatical sentence. When we say a learner masters the grammar, we refer to the fact that he/ she has mastered the many sets of rules that govern the use of that language and is able to apply them to express himself/ herself correctly. 2, Prescriptive and descriptive grammars Grammarians often distinguish between prescriptive grammars and descriptive grammars. A prescriptive grammar presents authoritative norms about the structure of a language and determines what is wrong and what is right according to these norms. A descriptive grammar, on the other hand, seeks to describe the actual language use of a speech community and provides rules that are accepted within that community (Nunan, 2003). Let's look at the examples we have discussed earlier:(i) Everybody is ready now, aren't they? (2) You've got a sister, have you? (3) Someone has deliberately made themselves homeless. Those sentences violate grammar rules prescribed in most grammar books. However, people can easily hear them spoken in a native English-speaking environment. So who's right? Both sides have a lot to offer. From a pedagogical point of view, it is not surprising that prescriptive grammar remains common as a huge majority of ELT teachers are non-native speakers, who are by no means in constant contact with actual target language use. A prescriptive grammar is then a reliable resource to draw on. Moreover, current actual assessment methods in many couniries where English is taught as a foreign language also nurture such an approach. That is not to say that descriptive grammar has no place in grammar teaching. With the prevalent teaching and learning a language for communicative purposes, learners are encouraged to be exposed to authentic language - the language used in real English-speaking context. Yet, prescriptive grammar is but a subset of actual language usage. ‘TASK 2: What to teach about grammar? 1, What should the teacher present about a grammar point? Give an example. _ 2. Look at the presentation of will and to be going (with future meaning) from Murphy’s Grammar in Use (24 edition). Discuss: a. What does he teach about these grammar points? b. What doesn’t he teach about them? Do you want to add anything? UNIT 23: I will and I'm going to A. FUTURE ACTIONS Study the difference between will and going to: Sue is talking to Helen: SUE: Let's have a party HELLEN: That's a great idea. We'll invite lots of people.Later that day, Helen meets Dave: HELLEN: Sue and I have decided to have a party, We're going to invite lots of people. Compare: * 'George phoned while you were out.’ ‘OK. I'll phone him back.’ but * 'George phoned while you were out.' ‘Yes, I know. I'm going to phone him back.' *'Ann is in hospital.’ 'Oh really? I didn't know. I'll go and visit her.’ but *'Ann is:in hospital." 'Yes, Iknow. I'm going to it her tomorrow.' B. FUTURE HAPPENINGS AND SITUATIONS (PREDICTING THE FUTURE) For example, you can sa} [think the weather will be nice later, * L think the weather is going to be nice late. * Look at those black clouds, It's going to rain. (not ‘it will rain’ - we can see the clouds now) * Ljeel terrible. I think I'm going to be sick. (not I think Ill be sick’ - I feel terrible now) *Tom will probably arrive at about 8 o'clock. * I think Ann will like the present we bought for her.3, Now read the text and compare it with your answers. Then discuss the questions that follow. What to teach? For effective grammar teaching, we should address these three dimensions: (1) form, (2) meaning, and (3) use/ pragmatics. In the first dimension, our interest is how a particular structure is formed. Regarding the second dimension, our interest is what meaning is expressed through a structure. Finally, the pragmatic dimension is concerned with the reason why a particular structure, but not any others, is selected by the speaker. Lot's take an example of the possessive ‘s Form: the possessive ‘s is formed by adding ‘s at the end of singular regular and plural irregular nouns or adding the apostrophe only at the end of plural regular nouns and singular nouns ending with s. There are three different ways to pronounce ’s /z/, /s/, va /az/ when it is added to voiced consonants (m,n...) voiceless consonants (p, t..) and fricative consonants (0, 8) respectively. Meaning: apart from describing possession, it is also used to describe the characteristics of something (a debtor's prison), or the quantity (a month’s holiday), the relationship (Jones’ wife), a part or a whole of something/ somebody (my sister's leg), the origin or the actor (Shakespeare's tragedies). Use: ‘s is used when the head noun is human, However, violation of this rule is sometimes observed. For instance, native speakers use ‘s for non human head noun when it is the subject of a progressing action (the train's arrival was delayed). Adapted from Nunan (2003) a. Does English grammar teaching at Vietnamese secondary schools cover all three dimensions discussed earlier? b. Which dimension receives greatest attention and which is often neglected? What might be the explanations for this?PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING GRAMMAR TASK 3: 1. Read the following quotes about learning and teaching grammar and decide to what extent you would agree or disagree with each one. What might be the advantages and disadvantages of each method? HA Talways look over a new unit ina textbook. I think it is a good idea to teach my students all the grammar points before we begin the lesson, When teaching a grammar point, I often explain the rules and use different sorts of exercises to make my students practise it and be able to produce the new language they have learnt. In other words, T will teach the grammar point explicitly and have them practise it. That really helps them to be clear about what the unit is about and they can do the activities in the unit better. I think they learn better that way. I don’t really need to teach grammar explicitly, More specifically, I never say thing like, “this is the past tense, it is formed by...... first, it is used to..., second, ..”. That is unnecessary. Learners will pick it up for themselves and elicit its use from the context. If they want grammar, I will give them supplementary exercises to do at home, but I would not waste precious class time teaching it. I think it is better to teach learners to communicate, to practise as much English as possible in class with real language. Grammar will look after itself. LAN 2, Read this discussion and do the tasks that follow. Consider the following principles when teaching grammar: 1. Integrate both inductive and deductive methods into your teaching In the deductive classroom, the teacher gives a grammatical explanation | followed by exercises designed to clarify the grammar point and help learners master the point. In deductive teaching, the teacher works from principles to examples. In contrast, in inductive teaching, the teacher presents samples of language and through a process of guided discovery, gets students to work out the rules for themselves. Inductive taching requires greater mental effort andresults in effective learning in the long run. However, it takes more time for learners to come to an understanding than deductive teaching. The choice between the two then depends on the grammar point being taught and learners’ learning style, ic. they learn more effectively in what method. Use tasks that make clear the relationship between grammatical form and communicative function jr many courses, grammar is taught as an abstract system and language is | Presented as isolated sentences, Yet, the teaching of grammar is not an enc! in itself; grammar is a tool for communicating more effectively. The solution is then to present grammar in a context that makes clear the relationship between grammatical form and communicative function. For example, when teaching passive voice, we should show not only the form but also the reason why it is used (emphasis on action rather than the doer, hide identity...). Focus on the development of procedural rather than declarative knowledge Declarative knowledge is knowing language rules. Procedural knowledge is being able to use the knowledge for communication. And knowing the rules of a language does not necessarily mean being able to use the language communicatively. Thus, in teaching grammar the teacher should focus more on developing students’ procedural knowledge by giving them a chance to practise the language in communicative contexts. t Nunan (2003) "a. Look at the following teaching sequence. Is it the example of an inductive or deductive approach? What grammar point is being practised? (1) Students have a picture illustrating the following actions. Students write the number of the activity next to the correct picture. 1. Take a cooking lesson. 2. Take driving lessons. 3. Study English. 4. Take singing lessons. 5. Take a swimming class. 6. Study computers. (2) Students listen to and practise the conversation. What are you doing over the break? Tim going to take a swimming class. Oh really? Where? At the Plaza Fitness Center. That sounds like fun.(3). Students practice the conversation again using different activities from (1). b, Examine an English language coursebook and find examples of tasks that exploit the students’ procedural knowledge. What grammar items are taught through the procedure? Are contexts provided for each grammar point? Compare your analysis with someone who has examined other grammar points. Nunan (2003)OPTIONS IN TEACHING GRAMMAR ‘TASK 4; PRESENTATION - PRACTICE - PRODUCTION 1. Read the lesson plan below and discuss: a. How is the lesson organised? How many stages does it have? What does the teacher do at each stage? b. What do you think is the purpose of each stage? LESSON PLAN Unit8 Out and About Lesson 1 Al P. 82 Teaching Points Present Progressive positive statements with Wshe/he to talk about actions happening now Presentation Pre teach Rub Out and Remember (to) play video games (to) ride a bike (to) drive (to) wait for Presentation Text Model sentences Al P82 Top 3 pictures only I |‘m fam] _| playing games He/|'s lis] riding a bike She » | driving Practice Example Statements Picture Drill a) I'm [walking to school] b) He's / She's [waiting for a bus] Production Noughts and Crosses $1: I'm walking to school walk to |drivea | travel by bus school bus | waitfora. |ridea | play agame train bike He goby plane [drivea | ridea car motorbike2. Now read the text and discuss the questions that follow. PPP stands for Presentation ~ Practice - Production, three possible stages for a | language lesson. According to Harmer (2001), Presentation is the stage where students are led to discover the meaning and use of the new language in context and provided a clear model of it. At this stage most of the work is done by the teacher. In comparison, Practice is the stage where the target language is isolated and practised in a controlled way so that accuracy can be achieved. Practice is necessary because students need to memorise the form and say the target language smoothly. To make students practise, the teacher can use different sorts of exercises, e.g. drills followed by pair work exercises. Because it is important that the students are accurate at this stage, the teacher needs to spend a lot of time on correction. At this stage both the teacher and the students do the work. Finally, Production is the stage where students produce the new language they have learnt on their own (without the teacher). In other words, at this stage practice is no longer controlled by the teacher, and students say what they want to say - not what the teacher wants them to say. This stage is very important because learning takes place via doing but not just by copying a model. To help students develop fluency, the teacher can make use of a number of communicative activities such as role plays, discussion and information-gap activities. At this stage it is important for the teacher not to correct the students’ mistakes directly because this would disturb their speech flow. PPP is a widely used method of teaching English grammar in secondary schools in Vietnam. However, the PPP procedure came under sustain attack in 1990s. Critics argued that it is clearly teacher-centred and does not reflect the nature of teaching and learning as it sees learning as straightforward (through 3 stages) and teaching as rigid (Lewis, 1998, cited in Harmer, 2001) a. Why do you think PPP is popular in secondary schools in Vietnam? b. What are some disadvantages of this approach to grammar teaching?TASK 5: DEEP-END APPROACH (TEST - TEACH - TEST) 1. Read the lesson plan below and discuss: a. How many stages are there? What are they? What does the teacher do at each stage? What do you think is the purpose of each stage? b. What are the similarities and differences between PPP and Deep-End approach (ITT)? Compare them in terms of their effectiveness in teaching grammar. LESSON PLAN Aim: To get students to talk about the past and how things were then, Objectives: By the end of the lesson students will be able to use ‘used to' to describe things in the past that do not happen any more. TEST: (PRODUCTION 1) Set the scene: You're 89 years old. You don't like modern life. Complain about ‘now’. Describe how things were better in the past/ before. Write on the black board: Now Tv eg. all the time Motorbikes alot The countryside | polluted The cities Famil Get students to fill in both columns in preparation for doing the role-play. Role-play: Students role-play two old people complaining about modern life and reminiscing about the past. (Teacher takes notes for indirect correction) TEACH (PRESENTATION) Vocabulary: #7 Ee crowded (adj) aggressive (adj) | easy going (adj) (to) argue polluted (adj) supportive (adj) life fine neni)Grammar: USED TO Models: A: We didn't use to watch TV all the time. B: That's right. We used to talk to each other. Word Cue drill: (PRACTICE) © Watch TV/ talk to each other © Goby motorbike/ walk © The cities... crowded/ life... more easy going © The countryside... polluted/ more wildlife © Ourneighbours... aggressive/ friendly © Our families... argue all the time/ supportive "TEST: (PRODUCTION 2) Repeat the role-play. Example exchange: S1: We didn't use to watch TV. S2: That's right! We used to talk to each other. 2. Read the text and check your opinion. Then discuss the questions. fe Deep-end approach Not every lesson has to follow the PPP pattern, although it is a good method to copy when you first start teaching. A variation of the PPP method is when the teacher starts the lesson with the production stage to find out how much students already know, then comes to the presentation stage to give students more language, followed by practice and perhaps @ second production stage. This approach is called the Deep-end Approach and is also known as 'Test - Teach - Test'. Therefore, instead of PPP being a linear progression, it becomes a circle. There are many advantages of such an approach. First, it is more learner-centred as the teaching and learning are designed according to student’s needs. Second, it involves students in this process and thus makes the lessons more interesting and motivating. Besides, it is a chance for teachers to listen to students and for students to realise what they do not know. It then creates a purpose for students to learn the language. However, this approach is difficult for novice teachers who may not be able to make correct anticipation of students’ problems, which then leads to wrong tasks/activities. Teachers must be very experienced to make changes quickly according to classroom situation at hand. Nguyen et al. (2003)TASK 6: TASK-BASED TEACHING 1. Read the text and discuss the questions that follow. [According to Nunan (2001), one approach to teaching language that has attracted a lot of attention over the past twenty-five years is the task-based approach to teaching and learning. In task-based teaching and learning (TBTL), the focus of | classroom activities is on the task, and ultimately on communication. In Willis’ (1996) flexible model for TBTL, learners begin by carrying out a communicative task, without a specific focus on form. After they have done the task, they report and discuss how they have accomplished this, and then perhaps listen to a fluent speaker doing the same task, Only at the end is there a specific focus on grammar. Below is an example of language practice in a TBTL classroom: Task: Giving a description of a person fo the police Materials: Copies of the photograph of an elderly person and a Police form to complete Level: All PRE-TASK: * Elicit physicol descriptions of peopie in the group * With high levels, make sure the descriptions are in-depth TASK-PREPARATION: «Give students the photo «Tell students that this person has gone missing and they are going to give a detailed discroption of hi,/ her to the police. They couic’ invent mannerism, i.e. the way the person walks e Students work in pairs and make notes about what they will say to the police based on the photo TASK-REALISATION «Students work in different pairs. One hos the photo. The other has ihe form * The police woman/ man interviews the person giving descriptions and fils in his/ her form «Students swap roles and partners and repeat the interviewPOST-TASK: * Police forms can be displayed and compared. Any extra language can be added where necessary. COMMENTS: This can be extended to a more literary description of someone they know, where the physical description leads on fo a detailed ‘story’ of this person's life in narrative form. This can be very interesting when participants share information about people who are very special to them. 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach to teaching grammar? 2. What are the differences between TBTL, PPP and TTT?TECHNIQUES FOR PRESENTING AND PRACTISING GRAMMAR TASK 7; Presenting grammar 4. Make a list of what you think are effective grammar presentation techniques and give examples of each. 2. Now read the text and do the task that follows. Presenting rules and examples Giving a detailed account on a grammar point plus examples to show how it is jused is a common approach in many grammar books (Murphy's Grammar in Use is an example). However, it is not an optimal option as learners’ are left alone in their learning, What they are asked to do is memorising in most part without thinking. Introduction of grammatical structures in a meaningful context will make the| grammar point more easily understood and remembered. As a structure is| presented in a situation, students can grasp its meaning and use it more easily. ‘And as they have chance to make assumptions about how it works before those guesses are checked, they will retain it longer. Presenting visually For some grammar points, using visual means is a good option as it is stimulating, direct and clear. For example, when introducing the structure too + - ladjective + to do.something, the.teacher. could try.to.touch the ceiling and ask students Can I touch it? The student would say No, you can’t, Then the teacher could smoothly slip the structure in You're right. No can’t, Because it’s too high to touch. Presenting through situation But it’s not always possible to present grammar visually all the time, especially in the case of more complex structures/ grammar points. Introducing it in a realistic context in which it could naturally occur is a better alternative as this would help students “feel” the grammar point better and more quickly. What's more, it is useful for their production later as they can see how it works in real situation. When presenting a new grammar point, we use known (not new) vocabulary to make it easier for students to focus on the form. Besides, whenever new materialis presented, related material that has been taught previously should be recycled so that learners’ knowledge is gradually built up. Complete the table. In the appropriate columns, make notes on the advantages and possible problems of each technique. Presenting rules and giving examples Presenting through situation 3. If you have to introduce the present perfect tense for the first time, which of the above techniques would you use? (You may choose to combine several of them). Then demonstrate it in class.‘TASK 8; Practising grammar ‘L. Why do we need to practise grammar? 2. Look af the three pairs of exercises below and say how the shaded exercises are different from the rest? ‘Anna likes tea but she doesn’t like coffee. a) folk music / pop music b) walking / swimming <) cats / dogs [You are a strange are a stranger. Ask | about places in the | on a café: Is there a cinema near here? a) railway station b) acinema c) ahotel Where are you going? I’m going to the station. ea)-cinemasos sy) ess 4 Ste b) zoo ©) beach 3. Match these activities with the correct examples. Then put them in order of difficulty. 7. Free substitution T: cinema Ss: Why don’t we go to the cinema? T: football Ss: Why don’t we watch football?Ss make up their own sentences, e.g. 1 I'm bored. Why don’t we go for a walk? 3. Repetition ©. Give Ss a picture each time and they have to make suggestion based on it. 4Single word prompts | d. T: You want to go for a movie with a friend. Ss: Why don’t we go for a movie together? T: You want to call him right now. Ss: Why don’t we call him right now? e. T: Why don’t we go for a movie together? Ss: Why don’t we go for a movie together? Why don’t we call him right now? Ss: Why don’t we call him right now? 5.Substitution 4, Read each pair of sentences about drills and tick the one you think is better. 1. [ ] A drill is for accuracy practice so ‘meaning’ ié not important. [ ] A drill should be meaningful: something people in the real world would say. 2. [ ] Addrill should be consistent and use the same grammatical pattern for all the utterances [ ] A drill should change the grammatical pattern of the utterances as much as possible so students do not get bored. 3. [ ] Addrill should have a topic (eg; Places in Hue; The Weather etc.) so that all the cues and utterances belong together. [| Adrill should have random cues to produce as many different utterances for as many different situations as possible. 4, [ ] Anexchange can only be a question and an answer. An exchange is not only a question and an answer; it can be any type of statement and a response. 5. [ ] By the end of the drill students should formulate the utterance for themselves from a cue / prompt. [] Iadrill students should repeat every model sentence after the teacher. 6 [ ] Addrill should move from Teacher/ Whole Class, to open pairs, toclosed pairs. [ ] Adrill should be a Teacher/ Whole Class “controlled” activity throughout. 5, Now read the text and compare it with your opinions. Practising grammar The aim of the practice stage is to get students to say the new language accurately through a process from controlled to less controlled activities. The aim of the production stage is to get students to produce the language on their own. In controlled activities, the teacher dictates and controls what students say, usually through drills like choral repetition or substitution, to help them at their initial contact with the new language pattern. Then the teacher moves on to less controlled practice to help students familiarise themselves more with the new language. Good practice gives students opportunities to practise the target grammar ina meaningful way. Teachers can make this possible by: (1) getting students to says things that are real, and relevant to themselves; (2) giving them situations that imply the target structure but leave them to decide what to say; and @) letting them add their language beyond the target grammar. At the communicative end - free practice - the teacher creates situations in which target grammar points are expected to be used along with other structures to finish given tasks. Fluency is the focus here and the teacher assumes the role of a facilitator ~ providing helps if needed - and of an analyst - analysing if his/her objective is achieved, to what extent and making necessary adjustments towards this aim. What is important is that the teacher constructs these activities insucha way that they promote communication and yet ensure that the new language occurs unprompted, naturally, and frequently in the context of other previously learnt language. The unguided manner in which the new language occurs is what distinguishes a production stage activity from a practice stage activity. In other words, the degree of linguistic guidance the students are given makes these stages different.TASK 9: 1. What are the differences and similarities between practice and production stages? 2, Now read the text and check your ideas. Differences - The practice stage is more controlled than the production stage. Sometimes the production stage is called ‘free practice’ - The teacher normally uses immediate correction during practice and delayed correction during production. - The teacher gives more cues in the practice stage than in the production stage. Students have to make their own sentences and think for themselves more in the production, - During practice, students concentrate on accuracy. During production, students concentrate on fluency. - During practice, the teacher's role is to elicit accurate language from the students and give them lots of exercises so they can memorise the new language or the new language pattern. During production the teacher has two roles: facilitator’, helping and encouraging student to do it by themselves; ‘analyser’, seeing how well the objective has been achieved and what further practice students need. - During practice, the target items are isolated and practised on their own. During production, the target items are added to other structures, functions and vocabulary students already know so they do not just speak in model sentences but in more natural conversation. Similarities - The teacher has to set up activities carefully in both stages. Instructions must be clear, demonstrations or examples provided and there should be a whole class run-through before group work or pair work begins - The teacher must consider mixed ability in the work arrangements. - Practice in both stages happens simultaneously; students don’t wait until the teacher is standing by their table before they start talking. Everyone is talking at once. - Practice and production are more important than presentation. Nguyen et al. (2003) —TASK 10: 1. In groups, read the instructions for some activities below and answer: a. What grammar points do they aim to practise? b. Are they more suitable to the practice stage or production stage? Why? 2. Give examples of grammar items to be practised using these activities (2 items each) and demonstrate to the class. a. Find Someone Who + Start a clean page in your exercise books. Copy this. Find someone who is going | Name to... ~. stay at home ... visit an aunt or an uncle, camp in the mountains ... stay ina tent + Think about the summer holidays. Are you going to stay at home? (SI: Yes...52: No) + Make mea question with ‘stay at home' (Ss: Are you going to stay at home?) «And the next question (Ss: Are you going to visit an aunt or an uncle?) + You, make the next question (SI: Are you going to visit a new city?) + You, stay ina hotel (S2: Are you going to stay ina hotel?) + [The teacher goes through all the cues in the same way] + Ask him, stay at home (SI: Are you going to stay at home? S2 Yes, I am) + What's your name? ($2: Hung) [The teacher fills in Hung's name on the board in the Name column next to 'stay at home! + You have to find someone who is going to do each of these things. How many names are you going to find all together? (6)Soe You cannot fill in someone’s name more than once. So, can I put Hung's name again here? [points to 'visit a new city'] (No) ‘The first one with all the names is the winner, Work in groups of 8. You four turn around. Work with the four behind you [When most of them have finished] Good. Stop there. Tell me about some of the people you have found. (S1: Dao's going to go camping....etc.) Noughts and Crosses Do you remember this game? [The teacher draws a ca-to board on the board] ‘The English version is called Noughts and Crosses. It looks like this. # How can you win? (Ss: three in a row) Actoss? (Ss: Yes). Down (Ss: Yes) Like this? [The teacher draws a diagonal line] (Ss: Yes) We're going to play it with these words. walk to school | drive abus _| travel by bus wait for a train | ridea bicycle | play a game goby plane |driveacar |ridea motorbike [The teacher points to 'walk to school'] Make a sentence using "I'm walking..." (Ss: I'm walking to school) Practise making sentences with your partner. Take it in turns. Now, two teams. You're noughts and you're crosses. Who are you? (S1: Noughts) And you? (S2: Crosses) Noughts begin. Choose a word, make a sentence. (SI: I'm riding a bicycle) Good. [The teacher puts a 0 in the ‘ride a bicycle! square]. Crosses, your turn. (62: I'm riding a motorbike) Good. [The teacher puts a X in the 'ride a motorbike! square] [The two teams continue to make sentences until one team wins]+ [The teacher puts the class into pairs:] Noughts, crosses; noughts crosses, noughts crosses (etc) Hands up noughts? Copy the table in your books. Hands up crosses? Don't copy! Crosses begin. Play the game again with your partner. c. Mapped Dialogue | «Look at this [the teacher puts the Mapped Dialogue on the board] «like? »-.Can Tho + Where is he? (in Can Tho) Where's she? (in Hanoi) + He asks a question about the weather in Hanoi. What does he ask? (What's the weather like in Hanoi?) What does she reply? (It's cold!) Now she asks about the weather in Can Tho. What does she ask? (What's the weather like «in Can Tho?) And what does he reply? (It's hot!) Good. Practise that with your partner, + What'snext? Make her next question (What kind of weather do you like?) And his reply?(Llike cold weather). And where is it cold, in Can Tho or Hanoi? (In Hanoi) so what does she say? Listen, "Come to Hanoi!" Everyone repeat (Come to Hanoi. + Practise again with your partner. + What does he then ask her? (What kind of weather do you like?) What does she reply? (Llike hot weather) so what does he say? (Come to Can Tho!) + Who can do the whole thing [The teacher chooses 2 students to model the whole dialogue]+ Now practise in pairs again. d. Information sheet + We are going to ask friends about food they like and don't like. + Copy this. Name Likes Doesn't like + Look at the table on the blackboard. How many columns are there? (3) What's in the first column? (Name) What's in the second column? (Likes) What's in the third column? (Doesn't like) + Hong, answer my question. Do you like chicken? (Yes) Do you like fish? (No) So Hong likes chicken but she doesn’t like fish. Class, answer my question. Where do I write her name? (the first column) What do I write in the next column? (chicken) Where do I write “fish”? (the last column) (The teacher fills in the table on the board.) Name Likes [Doesn't like Hong chicken fish + You two, turn around and work with the two people sitting behind you. Ask your friends the questions and fill in the table. + (When most students have got some names in their table) Good. Stop here. Tell me about some of the people you have found. e. Roleplay + Youare going to the market to buy some food. Think for a moment about the things you will buy. Tell me one of the things you want to buy. (e.g. sugar) How much do you want? (a kilo) What else? Anything else? (The teacher write those things on the board like this.)Shopping List 1kg sugar 500g beef 6 apples buy) Will you write only one thing? (no) Make your shopping list now. What do you write in this list? (things I want to (when most of the students have finished) Good. Stop. Imagine you are ina shop now. There are the two important people in the shop, the person who sells things and the person who buy things. What do you call the person who sells? (a storekeeper) What do you call the person who buys things?(a customer) row, customers, etc, This row, storekeepers. This row, customers. This row, storekeepers. This Storekeepers, hands up. Customers, hands up. You, customers. (Ihe teacher gives out the role cards to students). In a shop who speaks first? The customer or the storekeeper? (The storekeeper.) Look at your cards. Store keeper Customer Can Thelp you? Ineed / want... How much / how many Vd like... Anything else? Do you have any ...2 That's ... dong, please. , please./..., thank you. ‘Thank you. What does the storekeeper say? (Can I help you?) What else does the storekeeper say? How much do you want?) What does the customer say? (I want .. Ineed ,. Do you have any ..?) I'ma storekeeper: Hong, you are my customer. Use your shopping list to help you, (The teacher talks to one student as a model.) T: Good morning! Can [help you? Una: Var sles. Turant feame chicken!How much do you want? : [300 gl], please. ‘Anything else? : Yes, Ineed some [cooking oil]. One bottle or two? One, please. Anything else? No, thanks. How much is it? 24,000 dong, please : There you are. Thank you + Now storekeepers work with customers. (When most students have finished) Stop! Change roles! Storekeepers, you are customers; Customers, you are store keepers. MICROTEACHING Step 1: For micro teaching grammar, choose either - the Language Focus part in a unit in New English 10; - ORa grammar point that emerges from the teaching of other skills in that unit. Step 2: - Decide how you are going to get students to understand how that grammar item works - Design activities to guide students towards the communicative use of that grammar item. Step 3: Write a clear and detailed lesson plan to teach the grammar items you have chosen in Step 1. Make sure your plan is clear. Step 4: Experience the lesson. Your teacher/trainer will decide whose lesson plan to use for the microteaching and who will teach it, One student/trainee will teach the whole class. Step 5: Evaluation: As a student teacher: Your teacher and your peers will give you their feedback Please think about it carefully and evaluate your lesson with the following guiding questions: 1. What do you like most about your lesson? 2. What don’t you like about your lesson? 3. What have you learned for the future lesson? 4, What improvements do you want to make to the lesson?As peers: = Observe your peer’s lesson and think about these questions yourself: ~ What have you learned from your peer’s lesson? ~ How were the grammar items presented and practiaed? How effective were they? - Ifyou were your peer, what would you do to improve the lesson? + Give feedback to your peer by filling in the evaluation form given by your teacher/trainer or by answering the following guiding questions: - What are positive aspects of your peer’s lesson? - What improvements would you like to suggest to the lesson so that his/her instructions might become more effective? GLOSSARY declarative knowledge: the knowledge of the rule deductive teaching: the teaching in which rules are given and explained first and followed by a set of exercised designed to clarify the grammar points and enhance learners’ knowledge. descriptive grammar: grammar that sets out to describe the way people actually use the language. grammar; a description of the structure of a language and the way in which units such as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences. implicit teaching: the practice in which the sample language is given and Jearners are got to work out the rules for themselves through teachers-guided steps. prescriptive grammar: grammar that lays down the law, saying what is right and what is wrong. procedural knowledge: the ability to use the knowledge of the rule in communication.FURTHER READING Nunan, D (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. New York: McGraw Hill/Comtemporary. Willis, J. (1996). A Eramework for Task-based Learning. London: Longman. Ur, P. (1988). Grammar practice activities. Cambridge: CUP REFERENCES Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (1995). Grammar and the spoken language. Applied Linguistics, 16, (2), 141-58. Doff, A. (1988) Teach English: A Training Course for Teacher, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Doughty, C. & Williams, J. (1998). Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd Edition). Malaysia: Pearson Education. Hoang, V.V., Hoang, T.X.H., Do, T.-M, Nguyen, T:P., & Nguyen, Q.T. (2006). New English 10, Students’ Book, Hanoi: Ministry of Education and Training. Larsen-Freeman, D. (Series Director). (1997). Gramnar dimensions: Form, meaning, and use, Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Lewis, M. (1993). The Lexical Approach. Teaching Publications. Long, M. (1991). Focus on Form: A Design Feature in Language Teaching Methodology. In K. de Bot, R. Ginsberg and C. Kramsch (eds), Foreign Language Research in Cross Cultural Perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 39-52. Nguyen, B., Bui, L.C, Truong, V.D,, Ho, T.M.H., Nguyen, H., Bao, K. et al. (2003) BA Upgrade: English Language Teaching Methodology. Hanoi: NXB Van Hoa- Thong Tin.Nunan, D. (2001). Aspect of Task-based Syllabus Design. Karen's Linguistic Issues. Retrieved from World Wide Web on 12 August 2006 at htt www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/syllabusdesign.html Nunan, D (2003). Practical English Language Teaching. New York: McGraw Hill/Comtemporary. Prabhu, J. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: OUP. Richards, J.C. & Rodgers, TS. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seedhouse, P. (1999) Task-based interaction. ELT Journal, 53, (3), 149-56. Willis, J. (1996). A Framework for Task-based Learning, London: Longman.Content of this module: 1. Defining vocabulary 2. Principles of teaching vocabulary 3. Classroom techniques and tasks Objectives of this module: After this module students should be able to: 1, Review what vocabulary involves. 2. Recognise the different aspects of vocabulary that need to be taught in second language classrooms. 3, Recognise the different types of vocabulary and ways to deal with them. 4, Demonstrate their understanding of ‘the major principles of teaching vocabulary and apply these principles to their classroom practices. 5, Recognise the basic steps in teaching vocabulary and apply this knowledge to their classroom practices. 6. Recognise the purposes of different classroom techniques, evaluate their effectiveness, and apply them to their teaching practices. 7. Teach vocabulary in an integrated way. Key terms: “vocabulary, active vocabulary, passive vocabulary, low frequency words, high frequency words, meaning-focused input, deliberate learning, meaning-focused output, fluency development, visual presentation of vocabulary, contextual presentation of vocabulary, consolidating and checkingWHAT IS VOCABULARY? TASK 1: Discuss the following questions 1. What is vocabulary? a, Does vocabulary involve only single words? What about groups of words like perfectly OK, at once, in a minute, portable TV, take medicine? b. Do you consider the names of people - Elizabeth, Phillip, Charles, Anne ~ to be vocabulary? What about the names of products like Pepsi, Big Mac, Gillette, and Toyota? 2. What are the major aspects of vocabulary that can be taught to students? Match each category with the correct description. An example has been provided to help you. of the same concept 4, Collocation. ‘D. Words that mean the same or nearly | Make trouble but Do the same = [EDenotation | E. The additional meaning that shows | Nightfall: The close of the ite what the word refers to | ie Connotation | F. Whether a word is appropriate to use | Excuse in She made an Pee | in certain contexts excuse for being late has gative meaning. | [ZFormality G. What a word looks like i Thank you - Thanks 8. Synonym HH. The core meaning that refers the word | Bright, Clever, Smart to the real world 9, Antonym I. Restrictions on how words can be used | Rich vs. Poor What aword soundslike | Bus, car, lorry, van | Change of form (especially if it is| Sink > sinkable > | building irregular) unsinkable Adapted from Ur, 1996Then, put the different categories under the correct headings of “form”, “meaning”, and “usage”: Form Meaning Usage 3. What aspect(s) of vocabulary does each of the following exercises deal with? ‘A. In English, which of the following can we peel, which can we shell, and which can we skin? Tick ¥ the boxes. Shell __ Peel | __‘Skin Potatoes Oranges Eggs Shrimps Nuts Tomatoes Grapes Fish Hubbard et al 1989 B. Match the words and definitions. Loot at the phonetics. Say the words. cartoon fun funny joke laugh _witt 1. (1) Noun - a funny story, something which makes you laugh [d3ouk] (2) Verb - say things which are not meant to be serious 2. tomake sounds which show you are happy or amused [la:e] 3. (1) a funny drawing that makes a joke, often about a current event (2) afilm using moving drawings, e.g. Donald Duck [ka:'tusn]4, activity or person who gives enjoyment [fan] 5. (1) that makes you laugh or smile [ani] (2) strange or peculiar 6. clever and amusing with words [witi] English File Upper-Intermediate Student's Book C. Write the plurals of these words. 1. birthday irthdays. 8. foot 2. man 9. tomato 3. glass 10, hero 4, tooth 1L woman 5. factory 12. box 6. child 13. banana 7. journey 1d. sandwich Lifelines Elementary Student's Workbook D. Find one word to classify each of the groups of words below. Then write it in the box. 1. Arabic, Swedish, Dutch 1G: 2. bracelet, ring, earring i 3, theft, murder, robbery 4, lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage 5. 10/12/44, 1/9/58, 21/2/91 6. knife, fork, spoon 7. Africa, Asia, Europe 8, Grapes, pineapples, peaches |) 9. van, car, lorry Adapted from Watcyn-Jones, 1992 E. Fill each of the sentences below with the correct form of the word in CAPITALS at the end of it. 1. I don’t really think there is a ——- near future (SOLVE) 21s ————— arguing with her. She never listens to what you say (USE) to the problem; at least not on the3. We could hear the dog barking —~ knocked on the front door (ANGRY) 4, Do you want to go to the pub or the cinema tonight? You decide. It’s your ———~ —-~-—- (CHOOSE) 5. The accident was due to the bus driver's ~- from inside the house as we (CARE) Adapted from Watcyn-Jones, 1992 F. Underline the odd one out 1, clever smart bright dumb 2.sad amused delighted happy 3.decrease rise drop reduce 4.famous unknown renowned __ well-known S.repair fix break mend G. Circle the correct answer Which word has a more positive meaning? 1. Our trip to the amusement park was a) fine b) wonderful 2. Wesaw animals in the animal house. a) fascinating b) weird 3. Some of the monkeys made faces. a)hilarious _b) amusing Which word has a more negative meaning? 4, We bought souvenirs at the amusement park. a) cheap _b) inexpensive 5. Mike. us to go to the funny house. a) nagged_b) reminded 6. Itmade me feel___. a) uneasy b) annoyed Which is better? 7. Which is worth mote? a) something old __b) something antique 8. Which would you like to be called? a) tobeskinny | _ b) to be slender 9. Which is more serious? a) problem b) disaster 10. Which would you be if you hadn't eaten for several days? a) hungry b) starving (http:/ /www.dowlingcentral.com/MrsD /assign /literature/POV/ConnandDet Quiz.htm)H. Complete the letter with the appropriate words in the brackets. —-- (Hello/ Dear) Prof. Lee (Thank you/ Thanks) very much for your email. Shall we/Let’s) meet Monday at 10 a.m.? (Bye/ Regards) -Tom TASK 2: Read this text and check your answers to Task 1. VOCABULARY: WHAT NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT? 1, Form: Pronunciation and Spelling The learner has to know what a word sounds like (its pronunciation) and what it looks like (its spelling), These are fairly obvious characteristics, and one or the other will be perceived by the learner when encountering the item for the first time. In teaching, we need to make sure that both these aspects are accurately presented and learned. 2. Grammar The grammar of a new item will need to be taught if this is not obviously covered by general grammatical rules, An item may have an unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts or may have some idiosyncratic way of connecting with other words in sentences; it is important to provide learners with this information at thé same time as‘we teach the base form. When teaching a new verb, for example, we might give also its past form, if this is irregular (think, # , and we might note if it is transitive or intransitive. Similarly, when teaching a noun, we may wish to present its plural form, if irregular (mouse, mice), or draw learners’ attention to the fact that it has no plural at all (advice, information), We may present verbs such as want and enjoy together with the verb form that follows them (want to, enjoy-ing), or adjectives or verbs together with their following preposition (responsible for, remind someone of) 3. Collocation The collocations typical of particular items are another factor that makes a particular combination sound “right” or “wrong” in a given context. So this is [another piece of information about a new item which may be worth teachin;When introducing words like decision and conclusion, for example, we may note that you fake or make the one, but usually come to the other; similarly, you throw a ball but toss a coin; you may talk about someone being dead tired but it sounds odd to say * dead fatigued. Collocations are also often noted in dictionaries, either by providing the whole collocation under one of the head-words, or by a note in parenthesis. 4, Aspects of meaning (1): denotation, connotation, appropriateness/ formality The meaning of a word is primarily what it refers to in the real world, its denotation; this is often the sort of definition that is given in a dictionary. For example, dog denotes a kind of animal; more specifically, a common, domestic carnivorous mammal; and both dank and moist mean slightly wet. A less obvious component of the meaning of an item is its connotation: the associations, or positive or negative feclings it evokes, which may or may not be indicated in a dictionary definition. The word dog, for example, as understood by most British people, has positive connotation of friendship and loyalty, whereas the equivalent in Arabic, as understood by most people in Arab countries has nogative associations of dirt and inferiority. Within the English language, moist has favorable connotations while dank has unfavorable; so that you could describe something as “pleasantly moist “where “pleasantly dank” would sound absurd. A more subtle aspect of meaning that often needs to be taught is whether a particular item is the appropriate one to use in a certain context or not. Thus itis useful for a learner to know that a certain word is very common, or relatively rare, or “taboo” in polite conversation, or tends to be used in writing but not in } speech, or is more suitable for formal than informal discourse, or belongs to a certain dialect. For example, you may know that weep is virtually synonymous in denotation with cry, but it is more formal, tends to be used in writing more than in speech, and is in general much less common. 5. Aspects of meaning (2): meaning relationships How the meaning of one item relates to the meaning of others. It is also useful to teach. There are various such relationships: here are some of the main ones. * Synonyms: items that mean the same, or nearly the same; for example, bright, clever, smart may serve as synonyms of intelligent. e _Antonym: items that mean the opposite; rich is antonym of poor.* Hyponyms: items that serve as specific examples of a general concept; dog, lion, mouse are hyponyms of anintal. * Co-hyponyms or co-ordinates: other items that are the “same kind of thing; red, blue, green and brown are co-ordinates. © Superordinates: general concepts that “cover” specific items; animal is the superordinate of dog, lion, mouse. * Translation: words or expressions in the learners’ mother tongue that are (more or Jess) equivalent in meaning to the item being taught. Besides these, there are other, perhaps looser, ways of associating meaning that are useful in teaching. You can, for instance, relate parts to a whole (the relationship between arm and body); or associate items that are part of the same real-world context (tractor, farmer, milking and irrigate are all associated with agriculture). ‘All these can be exploited in teaching to clarify the meaning of a new item, or for practice or test materials. 7. Word formation Vocabulary items, whether one-word or multi-word, can often be broken down into their component "bits’. Exactly how these bits are put together is another piece of useful information - perhaps mainly for more advanced learners. You may wish to teach the common prefixes and suffixes: for example, if learners know the meaning of sub, un and able, this will help them guess the meanings of words like substandard, ungrateful and untrarislatable. They should, however, be warned that in many common words the affixes no longer have any obvious connection with their root meaning (for example, subject, comfortable). New combinations using prefixes are not unusual, and the reader or hearer would be expected to gather their meaning from an understanding of their components (ultra-modern, super-hero). Another way vocabulary items are built is by combining two words (two nouns, or a gerund and a noun, or a noun and a verb) to make one item: a single compound word, or two separate, sometimes hyphenated words (bookcase, follow-up, swimming pool). Again, new coinages using this kind of combination are very common. (Ur, 1996)REFLECTION: Now answer these questions 1. Which of the above aspects do you think would be most problematic for second language learners in general and Vietnamese learners in particular? Why? Give examples to illustrate your points. 2. Nowadays people are getting more and more aware of the necessity to use non-discriminatory language. Words that are associated with sexism (eg. businessman, female doctor etc), racism (a white novelist, a noted Asian-American writer etc.), ageism (senile citizens, a feeble 70-old man etc), or able-bodiedism (handicapped children, an epiteptic etc) are deliberately avoided. What implication does this fact have for you as a language teacher? 3. Is it feasible to teach students all the aspects of a word within the time frame of a lesson? If not, what aspects should be prioritised? Why? Give reasons to justify your answersPRINCIPLES OF TEACHING VOCABULARY TASK 3: Discuss the following questions: 1. How do we learn vocabulary: by deliberately memorising a few words every day or by doing communicative activities such as listening, reading, speaking, and writing or in both ways? 2, Should we teach vocabulary when we teach the four skills or should we teach it separately? 3. When dealing with new vocabulary in a reading or listening lesson, should we teach every new word that occurs in the text? 4, What do you think is the optimum number of words that can be taught in a lesson? 5. Should groups of words like absolutely fine, take medicine, in a minute, at once be learnt as whole units or as separate words? 6. Should a word be taught in its spoken form before it is taught in its written form? Why/ Why not? 7. Is the fact that students understand and can recognise a word guarantees that they can use it? 8, How can we help learners to learn vocabulary effectively by themselves? Now read the texts and check your answers BACKGROUND TO THE TEACHING OF VOCABULARY Like any other language feature, vocabulary can be developed through: }1. meaning-focused input: learning through listening and reading 2. deliberate language-focused learning: learning from being taught. 3. meaning-focused output: learning by having to produce language in speaking| and writing. 4, fluency development; becoming quick and confident at listening, speaking, reading, and writing. There must be a balance in all the four learning opportunities and no opportunity should overwhelm the others. Learning from meaning-focused input: Learning from meaning-focused input involves learning through listening and reading. For vocabulary learning to occur in this strand, learners need to know 98% of the running words already (Hu and Nation, 2000). The unknown words then can be learned through guessing from context.Deliberate learning: Deliberate learning is sometimes called form-focused instruction, language- focused learning, or language study. It involves paying deliberate attention to vocabulary items that are isolated to be taught. Some of the deliberate learning activities are: -Having the meanings of words explained and examples of use provided. -Learning prefixes and suffixes, and breaking words down to see their parts. -Studying vocabulary on bilingual word cards. -Learning and using mnemonic techniques. Practising spelling rules. -Doing cloze exercises where the missing words ina text are recently met items. -Building word families by adding prefixes and suffixes to a stem. Learning to use the vocabulary learning strategies such as using word cards, guessing from context, using word parts, and using dictionary. Learning from meaning-focused output: [Learning from meaning-focused output” involves learning through speaking and| writing where the learners’ main attention is on communicating messages. Using} vocabulary productively can strengthen learning and can push learners to focus on aspects of vocabulary knowledge that they do not need to attend to when| listening and reading (Swain, 1985). For example, when having to say that! someone took their medicine, the speaker has to choose the right verb - do people eat, drink, or take medicine? When listening and reading, no such decision ‘has to be learned. Fluency development: Vocabulary must not only be known, it must be readily available for use. Fluency development activities aim at helping learners make the best use of what they already know, so they should involve only known language items, should be message-focused, should involve substantial quantities of input and output, and should involve some pressure to perform faster than usual. Below are some fluency activ’-A very basic listening fluency activity involves the learner pointing to or writing numbers as the teacher quickly says them in an unpredictable order. At a slightly more advanced level, learners can listen to stories from graded readers which are well within their vocabulary knowledge. -Speaking fluency activities involve speaking on very familiar topics with some pressure to speak faster as I 4/3/2 activity where the learners speak to one Jistener for four minutes on a topic, then give exactly the same talk to a different listener but in three minutes, and then to a different listener in two minutes. -Very elementary reading fluency activities can involve learners responding! orally to flash cards of words and phrases. -Once learners have a vocabulary of around seven or eight hundred words, they can do speed reading training using very easy graded readers or a speed reading| course with a controlled vocabulary. -Reading lots of very easy graded readers for pleasure can develop reading} fluency. Nation (2003) PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING VOCABULARY 1, Teach and practise words in their spoken | form first, otherwise students will try té"prondunce the words as they are written. 2, Students will remember new vocabulary better if i presented in a memorable way to start with and then put to regular practice. 3, Always check your students have understood the new words, no matter how they have been presented. 4, Unless you only want your students to have a passive knowledge of the lexical items, you must put them into context and get the students to practise them. 5. As with teaching anything else, revision is essential; otherwise the new words you have taught will be forgotten.6. Ligh frequency words should be given more teaching time and attention than low frequency words because they are more useful. They should be fluently accessible for both receptive and productive use and become part of learners’ active vocabulary. 7. For people beginning to learn a language, a way of quickly developing fluency is learning groups of words as units. 8. Learners should be trained in vocabulary learning strategies (using word cards, learning by means of word association, guessing meaning from context, using dictionary, etc.) for effective self-study. Hubbard et al (1989); Nation (2003) REFLECTION: 1. Which of the following activities for vocabulary learning can be classified as (1) learning from meaning-focused input, (2) deliberate learning, (3) learning from meaning-focused output, and (4) fluency development? Tick the correct columns, meaning- | deliberate | meaning- _ | fluency focused | learning | focused | development é | input output Intensive reading [Learning word parts ie (Speed reading Listening to stories Listening to morning talks | Reading easy graded readers Extensive reading Prepared writing Strategy trainin; ‘Communication activities with written input2. Read the two lesson extracts. Note the differences in the way the teachers deal with new vocabulary in each lesson. Can you say what these differences are? Why do you think there are such differences? Extract I: Low frequency word —_| Extract 2: High frequency word S: What does regurgitate means? S: What does punish means? T: It means “repeat ideas from the book” | T: That's a useful word, although I hope it is not needed on this class. See if you can guess its meaning from these sentences: “He was punished for eating in the class”, “She was unished for coming home late” (Nation, 2003)