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    2 Must Read James Dean Brown Chapter 1 Overview of Curriculum

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    Kelsey

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    of 34
    Chapter 1 Overview of Curriculum INTRODUCTION Language teachers have long been faced with a plethora of “methods” from ‘which to choose. Each “method!” has tended to claim fr itself authority con- ‘ering what students need to lear, the best way to match the students’ learn ing styles, or in some cases the truth about how to present or practice language. ‘Most teachers will recognize all, ora least a msjority, ofthe “methods” named in Table 1.1, One aspect ofthis able of "methods" (indeed, one aspect of the ‘vay the tetm “method” is generally used) tha should be ready apparent is that these “methods” do not al represent the same type of activities. "Anthony (1965, p. 93) argues tha this bewildering variety of labels has evolved because, “over the years, teachers of language have adopted, adapted, invented, and developed « bewildering variety of terms which describe the activ: ities in which they engage and the beliefs tha they hold.” Fortunately, three ‘authors have attempted to sort out and make sense ofthis confusion: Anthony (1965), Richards and Rogers (1982), and McKay (1978). 2-0 THE ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE CURRICULUM Anthony (1965) provides a framework for compasing end understanding the relationships among the vasious diferent language teaching activites thot he, ‘ented even at that early dite. His framework inclads three categories into ‘hich all such activities can be clasiid: spproach, method, and technique, For Anthony, the term approach encompasses all points of view on the ‘ature of language end the nature of language teaching and leaning. Anthony ses as his example the aurl-oral approach, which he illustrates in ters of ec, of linguistic arumptions and stendant corollaries about the nature of language learning. Anthony wes the term metbod to describe different plans for presey > ing language to students in an orderly manner. Anthony’ examples of ethers include mim-mem (mimic-memorize) and pattern practice, which he fakes cescribes as two ways of presenting the material within the single aural-ora spprosch, Finally, he employs the tem ‘ecbnigue to define what actually hep pes inthe classroom: “It isa particular tick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective” (p. 96). The example he gives is biel on the stereotypical problem of teaching the pronunciation of Vand /t 10 "avian, [at rdge” (p96), or drawings of the voel apparatus might help. Such teaching Since the publication of Anthony’ article, the list of activities available ro language teachers has grown exponentially. Richards and Rodgers (1982) pre rethod Rebar sd Hodge bite the tne degy sb ey tthe speicton of content a wells peciienon of ele chen teacher nd mates Filly Riche td Hodges elo ashe fotion of chien wa they eal prcedare wich incade ol "cy pacce eerie and aces ina nstuctonl yon, Test yovided auf sep inthe dren of understanding sel Sriveg aa ncn and sini anon the uous toms wed doc eee svalbleolagug teach, Nott Richards and Rodger eee thetem “method (eich hv eas so much cofaios) eget ove term for al hs acti tke open ‘A aemptng to find paren i the confason thats Inguage te ethology, McKay (1978) dss the pes of syabocs ah ak tse in ngs teaching Sh fer a dif someutae seve ne Brown /Oversiew of Curiculurm 3 history of language teaching: structural syllabuses, situational syllabuses, and notional ssllebuses. Then she describes these three categories in an attempt to help teachers understand che nature of at leatt one aspect of teaching languages, in this cas, ways of organizing thee teaching. ‘MeKay’s article led me to search for some systematic way to combine the mort useful aspects of the three articles Ihave just discussed into one st of eate- goties that would classify ll, or at least most, language teaching activities into a clear and useful partern—one that would help language teachers to understand the options available to them, to choose from these options, and to adapt thei choices when necessary to meet the needs oftheir own students. ‘Both the Anthony and the Richards and Rodgers articles created categoies that were sequential and perhaps static steps inthe logical development of sound teachin: fret, teachers star with ast of astumptions about, of a theory of, the nature of language and language learning; second, they make an overall plan and design specifications for theit curriculum; and third, they present the Instruction using tome st of rational techniques ot procedures. ‘The experiences of many language teacher are less sequential than the steps listed above. Few teachers systematically decide on a theory of language learn- Bilkent Universtiy” 40 THE ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE CURRICULUM ing, define and design the course according to that theory, and then rationally adopt the correct techniques and procedures to deliver thir instruction, The ‘experience for most language teachers is much more holistic or even chaotic), ‘ith all the theoretical, planning, and technical activities going on simultane, ‘ously in fenzy of activity. In other words, all elements ofthe teaching end learning processes might seem to be happening simultaneously, with eachcom ‘ponent interacting with all che others. Theory, planning, and technique often become integrated—each changing constantly and each ifluencing the oer, ‘Thus the distinctions between approach, design, and procedure become blureed For example, good teachers are continuously lesmning new things about the {heory of language and language learning, and changing the design and delivery of this instruction as result ofthis new information. Or, while delivering instruction, some theoretical issue may acs, the pursuit of which wll change the teacher's plans completely and so forth. Is such an adaptable approach oo teaching so unusual? Numerous observations of language teachers m acticg have led me to conclude that good language teachers must be very flexible expe, lly in light ofthe heavy demands tha are placed on them and the iscatton (from other language teachers) that they so often experience, FOUR CATEGORIES OF LANGUAGE TEACHING ACTIVITIES For me the sequential and static nature ofthe categoties proposed by Anthony and those modifications suggested by Richards and Rodgers seem inadequate: 1 ‘suggest that we consider the various language ‘eaching activites in tems elecer ‘to what language teachers and their students actually do that is, that we divele them into categories that describe ways of doing things inthe language teaching ‘Table 12 presents four diflerene categories into which language teaching ‘activites can be divided: (1) ways of defining what the students need to leant (2) ways of organizing the instruction to meet chose needs, (3) ways of actualy presenting the lessons, nd (4) ways of practicing what hs been taught. If as T ngued above, al four types of activities are going on simultaneously, changing any one of them may affect the other three. | WAYS OF DEFINING NEEDS: APPROACHES Every teacher enters th classroom with some idea of what the students need to learn. Untrained teachers will attempt to re-create the activities used when they were taught a language or mimic what they thnk language teaching should ‘be Most trained language teachers will havea more theorsieally motivated ides of what their students need to learn. In either case, teachers begin with precon Brown / Overview of Curiculum 0 5 ceptions that often change after they ener the classroom and begin to work with their stadens, These preconceptions, assumptions, and theoretical underpinnings for what happens inthe lassroom wil be lumped together here under the term approach. Over the yers, lnnguage teachers have deawn on many disciplines in ormulatng their views of what students need. Linguistics, psychology, and edu cation have been the most influential source disciplines. Examples of approaches, ‘or ways of defining what students need to lear, are shown in Table I. [Let's first consider the view held over many centuries by teachers in the asscal approach. Based on notions of Latin usage and belief in the humanistic ‘tradition, teacher felt chat what students needed:in education s a whole was to read the “clastcs” In world in which Europeans could actully hope to reed all the major works of Western thought, this made a good deal of sense. Since ‘the purpose of learning languages was to gain access to these great works, the teachers ofthe time felt cha suadents needed to read, translate, and memorize ‘various bits and pieces of text in the target language. This tradition, like all of the other approuches discussed here, no doubt survives and flourishes today in classrooms allover the globe. © THE ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE CURRICULUM Another strain of thought on what students needed to learn sutfaced sazound the time of World War L Based on notions of prescriptive grammar aod what constituted proper usage, the grammartranslation approath advocared ‘economy af time through deductive teaching of language involving reading and ‘ansation, but also the emergence of writing and speaking a ultimate gous, ‘The direct approach was another view based on prescriptive grammar, Drawing on the work of Gouin and on gestalt psychology, language teachers believed thet students aceded to lear inductively by using only the trge any ‘uage in the’ classroom and learning the oral lls Uistening and spesking) before the writen ones (reading and writing). Notable figures inthis moneneny were Diller, Lenard, and de Sauze, (Owing its genesis during World War Ito the army appraac, the audio anal approach deew on new ideas from descriptive linguistics and upon the "notions of behavioral psychology, especially the ideas of operant conditioning and behavioral modification. The view of what students needed consisted of inductive learning, primarily of listening and speaking, chrough habit formation based on stimulus-response exercises like partern and transformation dil [Notable figures inthis approach were Fries and Lado, Increasingly important since the 1970s is the view thet students need to wm to communicate their own personel intentions. The communicate

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