GROUP 7 – BEHAVIORISM

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1. Why should we study the theories of learning?

Language can only be properly understood as a reflection of human thought

processes. Language learning is conditioned by the way in which the mind
observes, organizes and stores information. In other words, the key to successful
language learning and teaching lies not in the analysis of the nature of language
but in understanding the structure and processes of the mind. Unfortunately, we
still know too little about how people learn. Nevertheless, if we wish to improve
the techniques, methods and content of language teaching, we must try and
base what we do in the classroom on sound principles of learning. Developments
in learning theory have followed a similar pattern to those in language
descriptions, and each has had some effect on the other. But, if we are to see the
importance of each for language teaching, it is best to consider the theories
relating to language and learning separately.

2. Describe Pavlov, Watson and Raynor and Skinner’s experiment.

Ivan Pavlov found that dogs automatically salivate at the sight of food — an
unconditioned response to an unconditioned stimulus. If Pavlov always rang a
bell when he offered food, the dogs began slowly to associate this irrelevant
(conditioned) stimulus with the food. Eventually the sound of the bell alone could
elicit salivation. Hence, the dogs had learned to associate a certain cue with
food. 
Watson and Raynor, reported the results of an experiment they had carried out
with a young boy called Albert (Watson and Raynor 1920). When he was nine
months old they discovered that the easiest way to frighten him was to make a
loud noise by striking a steel bar with a hammer. At various intervals over the
next three months they frightened Albert in this way while he was in the presence
of various animals (a rat, a rabbit, and a dog). The result was that after three
months Albert showed fear when confronted with these animals even when the
noise was not made, and furthermore, showed unease when a fur coat was put
in front of him. Pleased with their progress, the scientists then proposed to
continue their experiment by turning the young baby's fear back to pleasure but
they were unable to do so because, unsurprisingly, Albert was withdrawn from
the experiment by his parents.
In a book called Verbal Behaviour the psychologist Bernard Skinner suggested
that much the same process happens in language learning, especially first
 language learning (Skinner 1957). The baby needs food so it cries and food is
produced. Later the infant swaps crying for one- or two-word utterances to
produce the same effect, and because words are more precise than cries he or
she gradually learns to refine the words to get exactly what is wanted.

3. What are the similarities and differences between classical conditioning

and operant conditioning?
Similarities: Involve making association between behaviour and events in an
organism’s environment
Differences: One of the simplest ways to remember the differences between
classical and operant conditioning is to focus on whether the behavior is
involuntary or voluntary.

Classical conditioning Operant conditioning

Associate an involuntary respose and
a stimulus
Involves forming an association with
some sort of already naturally
occurring event
Involves no such enticements
Associate a voluntary behaviour and a
consequence
The subject must first display a
behavior that can then be either
rewarded or punished
The learner is rewarded with incentives
4. What is learning according to behaviorism?
Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are learned through
interaction with the environment. This learning theory states that behaviors are
learned from the environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very
little influence on behavior. The process goes through a three-stage procedure:
stimulus, response, and reinforcement.

5. Discuss the implication of behaviorism in lg. teaching & lg. learning.

Language teaching anticipates certain theories on language learning because
language learning is a fruitful area that embodies the working of human behavior
and mental processes of the learners. In the language teaching area,
behaviorism establishes the basic background of exercises, either oral or written
in viewing language as stimulus and response. In addition, it gives a great deal of
insight into the recognition of the use of controlled observation to discover the
laws of behavior. In a word, behaviorist theory aims at discovering behavioral
justifications for designing language teaching in certain ways, being a hub of
many language teaching and learning theories.

6. Are you for or against behaviourism. Why or why not?

Personally, I would be stuck in the middle since it’s quite important for students,
especially young children when apply the theory to teaching things such as
Grammar, since it will require dozens of reinforcement. However, in other
aspects, since teaching language is for the ultimate goal of communication, so
apply this method can make students acting mechanically.
 GROUP 7 – MENTALISM/COGNITIVISM
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1. What is Chomsky’s view about Skinner’s theory?

Chomsky’s objection centred on the following conundrum: if all language is learnt
behaviouristly, how come children and adults frequently say things they have
never heard before? How on earth would it be possible to create whole new
sentences in conversation and poetry, for example, if all language behaviour has
been conditioned into us? The fact that we can do these things is the result of
having a mental ability to process what we hear, channelling it through the
language-processing parts of our brain where rules in some way reside, and
where all input adds more information for the better functioning of that processor.
This is what stops us from being the mere repeaters, the almost-robots, that
Behaviourist principles would seem to describe us as.
2. Point out the difference b/t Behaviorism & Mentalism in language learning.

Behaviourism Mentalism

- based on observation and empirical evidence - relies on pure belief

- is a theory of learning which states all - is a theory based on the perceived
behaviours are learned through interaction with power of thought processes, learned
the environment through a process called through experience or through an
conditioning.  apprenticeship with an experienced
mentalist.

3. What is Chomsky’s view about learning?

Chomsky theorised that all children are born with some kind of language
processor - a 'black box' or 'language acquisition device' - which allowed them to
formulate rules of language based on the input they received. The mind, in other
words, contains 'blueprints for grammatical rules' (Pinker 1994:43). Once these
rules have been activated, the potential for creativity follows. This would suggest
that for learners of second languages a methodology based on Behaviourism is
not adequate. It is not enough just to teach students 'good' habits: they also need
to be given input which will allow their 'processors' to work. They should also be
given opportunities for creative language use both in language production and in
the processing of written and spoken text.
4. What is the implication of mentalism in language learning?
Implication of Mentalism: In classroom, teachers can help students learn more
easily by showing them rules and let them have a go on their own. Making up
their own sentences is the objective.
The cognitive view takes the learner to be an active processor of information (see
e.g. Ausubel et al., 1978). Learning and using a rule require learners to think, that
is, to apply their mental powers in order to distil a workable generative rule from
the mass of data presented, and then to analyse the situations where the
application of the rule would be useful or appropriate.
5. What should be the focus of learning in cognitivism?
The cognitive approach focuses on the mental activities of the learner that lead
up to a response and acknowledges the processes of mental planning, goal-
setting, and organisational strategies (Shuell, 1986). Cognitive theories contend
that environmental “cues” and instructional components alone cannot account for
all the learning that results from an instructional situation. Additional key
elements include the way that learners attend to, code, transform, rehearse,
store and retrieve information. Learners’ thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and values
are also considered to be influential in the learning process (Winne, 1985). The
real focus of the cognitive approach is on changing the learner by encouraging
him/her to use appropriate learning strategies.
6. Give examples of some hypotheses by Vietnamese learners.
 GROUP 7 – CONSTRUCTIVISM
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1. What is learning in the constructivist way?

Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise
that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own
understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own
“rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our
experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting
our mental models to accommodate new experiences.
Constructivists view learning as the result of mental construction.
Students learn by fitting new information together with what they
already know. People learn best when they actively construct their
own understanding.
In constructivist thinking learning is also affected by the context and
the beliefs and attitudes of the learner. Learners are encouraged to
invent their own solutions and to try out ideas and hypotheses. They
are given the opportunity to build on prior knowledge.
Cognitive constructivism was developed by Jean Piaget. Social constructivism was developed by Lev
Vygotsky.

2. List of the principles of the constructivist theory

1. Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning
must start with the issues around which students are actively trying
to construct meaning.
2. Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts.
And parts must be understood in the context of wholes. Therefore,
the learning process focuses on primary concepts, not isolated
facts.
3. In order to teach well, we must understand the mental
models that students use to perceive the world and the assumptions
they make to support those models.
4. The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct
his or her own meaning, not just memorize the “right” answers and
regurgitate someone else’s meaning. Since education is inherently
interdisciplinary, the only valuable way to measure learning is to
make the assessment part of the learning process, ensuring it
provides students with information on the quality of their learning.

To summarise:
Constructivism ...
• emphasises learning and not teaching
• encourages and accepts learner autonomy and initiative
• sees learners as creatures of will and purpose
• thinks of learning as a process
• encourages learner inquiry
• acknowledges the critical role of experience in learning
• nurtures learners natural curiosity
• takes the learner's mental model into account
• emphasises performance and understanding when
assessing learning
• bases itself on the principles of the cognitive theory
• makes extensive use of cognitive terminology such as
predict, create and analyze
• considers how the student learns
 • encourages learners to engage in dialogue with other
students and the teacher
• supports co-operative learning
• involves learners in real world situations
• emphasises the context in which learning takes place
• considers the beliefs and attitudes of the learner
• provides learners the opportunity to construct new
knowledge and understanding from authentic experience

3. How does constructivism impact learning?

Curriculum–Constructivism calls for the elimination of a
standardized curriculum. Instead, it promotes using curricula
customized to the students’ prior knowledge. Also, it emphasizes
hands-on problem solving.

Instruction–Under the theory of constructivism, educators focus

on making connections between facts and fostering new
understanding in students. Instructors tailor their teaching
strategies to student responses and encourage students to analyze,
interpret, and predict information. Teachers also rely heavily on
open-ended questions and promote extensive dialogue among
students.

Assessment–Constructivism calls for the elimination of grades and

standardized testing. Instead, assessment becomes part of the
learning process so that students play a larger role in judging their
own progress.

4. What is schema?
A schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved
in understanding and knowing. It contains groups of linked
memories, concepts or words. This grouping of things acts as a
 cognitive shortcut, making storing new things in your long-term
memory and retrieval of them much quicker and more efficient.

5. What is ZPD/ MKO/ scaffolding?

 The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the distance
between what a learner is capable of doing unsupported, and
what they can do supported. It is the range where they are
capable only with support from someone with more
knowledge or expertise
 The more knowledgeable other (MKO) refers to someone
who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than
the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or a
concept.
 Scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques
used to move students progressively toward stronger
understanding and, ultimately, greater independence in the
learning process, where the adult continually adjusts the level
of his or her help in response to the learner's level of
performance.

6. Describe the basic components of Jean Piaget cognitive theory.

Give an example to illustrate
 Schemas: In Piaget's view, a schema includes both a category
of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge.
As experiences happen, this new information is used to
modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas.
For example, a child may have a schema about a type of
animal, such as a dog. If the child's sole experience has been with
small dogs, a child might believe that all dogs are small, furry, and
have four legs. Suppose then that the child encounters an enormous
dog. The child will take in this new information, modifying the
previously existing schema to include these new observations.
  Assimilation: The process of taking in new information into
our already existing schemas is known as assimilation. The
process is somewhat subjective because we tend to modify
experiences and information slightly to fit in with our
preexisting beliefs. In the example above, seeing a dog and
labeling it "dog" is a case of assimilating the animal into the
child's dog schema.
 Accommodation: Another part of adaptation involves
changing or altering our existing schemas in light of new
information, a process known as accommodation.
Accommodation involves modifying existing schemas, or
ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences.
New schemas may also be developed during this process.
 Equilibration: Piaget believed that all children try to strike a
balance between assimilation and accommodation, which is
achieved through a mechanism Piaget called equilibration.
As children progress through the stages of cognitive
development, it is important to maintain a balance between
applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and changing
behavior to account for new knowledge (accommodation).
Equilibration helps explain how children can move from one
stage of thought to the next.

7. How many stages of cognitive development are there arcording

to Jean Piaget?
There are 4 stages:
 Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years
 Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7
 Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11
 Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up
8. Point out the differences between cognitive constructivism and
social constructivism
Cognitive constructivism
- Ideas are constructed in
individuals through a per-
sonal process.
- Based on what already
exists, as well as, through
inquiry.
Social constructivism
- Ideas are constructed
through interaction with
the teacher and other
students.
- Based on individual’s
process to gain
knowledge buiding on
experience.

9. What is the role of the teacher in a constructivist classroom?

The role of the teacher in the social constructivist classroom is to
help students to build their knowledge and to control the existence
of students during the learning process in the classroom,
constructivist teachers allow student responses to drive lessons,
shift instructional strategies, and alter content.

The primary responsibility of the teacher is to create a

collaborative problem-solving environment where students become
active participants in their own learning.
From this perspective, a teacher acts as a facilitator of learning
rather than an instructor.
The teacher makes sure he/she understands the students'
preexisting conceptions, and guides the activity to address them
and then build on them.
 GROUP 7 – AFFECTIVE FACTORS
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1. What is the relationship between the cognitive and affective aspects?

The importance of the emotional factor is easily seen if we consider the
relationship between the cognitive and affective aspects of the learner. The
cognitive theory tells us that learners will learn when they actively think about
what they are learning. But this cognitive factor presupposes the affective factor of
motivation. Before learners can actively think about something, they must want to
think about it. The emotional reaction to the learning experience is the essential
foundation for the initiation of the cognitive process. How the learning is perceived
by the learner will affect what learning, if any, will take place.
We can represent the cognitive/affective interplay in the form of a learning cycle.
This can either be a negative or a positive cycle. A good and appropriate course
will engender the kind of positive learning cycle represented here:
 2. List some affective factors influencing learners’ foreign language ability.
There are many general factors that influence learners’ foreign language such as age,
aptitude, intelligence, cognitive style, attitudes, motivation and personality.

3. What is motivation? How many types of motivation are there? Give

examples for each.
- Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented
behaviors. It is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water
to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.
- Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces
that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term "motivation" is
frequently used to describe why a person does something. It is the driving
force behind human actions.
- The most influential study of motivation in language learning has been
Gardner and Lambert's (197Z) study of bilingualism in French speaking
Canada. They identified two forms of motivation: instrumental and
integrative.
a) Instrumental motivation is the reflection of an external need. The learners are
not learning a language because they want to (although this does not imply that
they do not want to), but rather because they need to. The need may derive
from varying sources: the need to sell things to speakers of the language; the
need to pass an examination in the language; the need to read texts in the
language for work or study. The need may vary, but the important factor is that
the motivation is an external one.
Example: a learner’s goals for learning the second language are functional
and useful, for example they need the language to get a better job, to pass tests,
to enable him to read foreign newspaper, etc.

b) Integrative motivation, on the other hand, derives from a desire on the part of
the learners to be members of the speech community that uses a particular language. It is
an internally generated want rather than an externally imposed need.
 Example: a learner studies a language because he is interested in the people and
culture of the target language or in order to communicate with people of another culture
who speak it.

External motivation can be transformed into internal motivation.

4. What are some common learning styles? Are there any differences
between learning styles and learning strategies?
Reid (1987) identified four learning styles: visual (seeing), auditory (listening),
kinesthetic (moving) or tactile (touching).
 Visual (seeing): Visual learners learn through seeing. They prefer to see a teacher
during a lesson, learn by visuals: pictures, wall displays, diagrams, videos. They
make notes during lectures and use lists to organize their thoughts.
 Auditory (listening): Auditory learners learn through listening. They prefer verbal
instructions, like dialogues, discussions and plays, solve problems by talking
about them, use rhythm and sound as memory aids.
 Kinesthetic (moving): Kinesthetic learners learn through moving and doing. They
learn best when they are active. It is difficult for them to sit still for long periods.
 Tactile (touching): Tactile learners learn through touching. They use writing and
drawing. They learn well in hands-on activities like projects and demonstrations.
5. How can teachers motivate learners to learn? 
 Teacher discourse: arousing curiosity or attention, promoting autonomy,
stating communicative purpose/ utility of activity.
 Participation structure: group work/pair work
 Activity design: individual competition, team competition, intellectual
challenge, tangible task product
 Encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation and activity design:
effective praise, elicitation of self/peer correction session, class applause.
Education should speak to the 'whole person', in other words, not just to a small
language-learning facility. In a humanist classroom, students are emotionally
involved in the learning; they are encouraged to reflect on how learning happens,
and their creativity is fostered. The teacher can achieve this by keeping criticism to
a minimum and by encouraging them, in plain terms, to feel good about
themselves. In a humanist classroom, learning a language is as much an issue of
personal identity, self-knowledge, feelings and emotions as it is about language.
Some humanist activities encourage students to speak from their 'inner' selves,
saying, for example, how they feel about their lives, their closeness to different
members of their families. John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri describe such
activities as allowing students to 'exteriorise their own internal text' (1986:9). But
critics question whether it is the teacher's job to ask students to reveal things of a
private nature, and sometimes even to monitor and nurture the students' inner
selves. There is some criticism, too, that there is a strong cultural bias to this view
of teaching and learning which would be inappropriate in certain situations.
Furthermore, a concentration on the inner self may limit the range of language that
students can experience, with more emphasis being placed on interpersonal and
informal language at the expense of other kinds. Lastly, some doubters suggest,
paying too much attention to affective issues in learning may mean that teachers
neglect their students' cognitive and intellectual development.
It is certainly true that we want to create an unthreatening environment for our
students (just as we will want to foster their cognitive development). We should
also be concerned not to do anything which damages their self-esteem. But how far
we should act as moral guides and quasi-therapists as well as being teachers of
language is a more difficult question, and one which is intimately bound up with
our understanding of the role of teachers.
6. What are Stephen Krashen’s 5 hypotheses?
In the acquisition/ learning hypothesis, Krashen suggests that we 'acquire'
language as we are exposed to samples of language that we understand in much the
same way that children pick up their first language-with no conscious attention to
language form. We 'learn' on the other hand through conscious attention to form
and rule learning. In Krashen’s view, far more language is acquired than learned.
Next, according to the monitor hypothesis, second language users draw on what
they have acquired when they engage in spontaneous communication. They may
use rules and patterns that have 6een learned as an editor or 'monitor', allowing
them to make minor changes and polish what the acquired system has produced.
Such monitoring takes place only when the speaker/writer has plenry of time, is
concerned about producing correct language, and has learned the relevant rules.
The natural order hypothesis was based on the finding that, as in first language
acquisition, second language acquisition unfolds in predictable sequences, as we
saw in Chapter 2.The language rules that are easiest to state (and thus to learn) are
not necessarily the first to be acquired.
The comprehensible input hypothesis is that acquisition occurs when one is
exposed to language that is comprehensible and contains i + 1. The 'i' represents
the level of language already acquired, and the ‘+1’ is a metaphor for language
(words, grammatical forms, aspects of pronunciation) that is just a step beyond that
level.
Krashen's affective filter hypothesis is proposed to account for the fact that some
people who are exposed to large quantities of comprehensible input do not
necessarily acquire language successfully. The 'affective filter' is a metaphorical
barrier that prevents learners from acquiring language even when appropriate input
is available. Affect refers to feelings of anxiety or negative attitudes that, as we
saw in Chapter 3, may be associated with poor learning outcomes. A learner who is
tense, anxious, or bored may filter out input, making it unavailable for acquisition.
 GROUP 7 – LEARNING AND ACQUISITION
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Questions for discussion 

1. State the difference between acquisition and learning. 
Learning is seen as a conscious process, while acquisition proceeds
unconsciously. In Krashen’s view, we acquire as we are exposed to
samples of the second language which we understand. This happens in
much the same way that children pick up their first language --- with no
conscious attention to language forms. We learn, on the other hand, via a
conscious process of study and attention to form and rule learning.

2. What does Krashen think about acquisition? 

For Krashen, acquisition is by far the more important process. He
asserts that only acquired language is readily available for natural, fluent
communication. Further, he asserts that learning cannot turn into
acquisition. He cites as evidence for this that many speakers are quite
fluent without ever having learned rules, while other speakers may ‘know’
rules but fail to apply them. When they are focusing on what they want to
say more than how they are saying it.

3. What is comprehensible input? What does Krashen think about

this concept? 
Comprehensible input is language input that can be understood by
listeners despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it. 
Krashen asserts that one acquires language in only one way – by
exposure to comprehensible input. If the input contains forms and
structures just beyond the learner’s current level of competence in the
language (what Krashen calls ‘i+ I‘), then both comprehension and
acquisition will occur.

4. What is modified input? What is it called in L1 / L2 learning? 

Point out the features of these types of speech. 
 Modified input: When native speakers adjust their speech in a number
of ways to suit the comprehension abilities of their addressee.
It is called child-directed speech for first language, is sometimes called
foreigner talk or teacher talk for second languages.

5. What is baseline talk? State its features. 

Baseline talk is the kind of talk native speakers address to other native
speakers.
First, grammatical foreigner talk is delivered at a slower pace. Second,
the input is simplified.  Examples of simplifications in the grammatical
foreigner talk shown in Table 5.1 are the use of shorter sentences,
avoidance of subordinate clauses, and the omission of complex
grammatical forms like question tags. Third, grammatical foreigner talk is
sometimes regularized. This involves the use of forms that are in some
sense ‘regular’ or ‘basic’. An example in Table 5.1 is the use of a full rather
than a contracted form (‘will nor forget’ instead of ‘won’t forget’) fourth,
foreigner talk sometimes consists of elaborated language use. This
involves the lengthening of phases and sentences in order to make the
meaning clear. An example of elaboration in table 5.1 is the use of ‘when
you are coming home’ as a paraphrase of ‘on your way home’.

Type of talk Example

Base line talk You won’t forget to buy the ice -

cream                           
 
On your way home, will you?

Ungrammatical foreigner talk No  forget   buying ice- cream, eh?

Grammatical foreigner talk The ice- cream --- you will not forget to   

  buy it on your way home --- Get it

when   
 
you are coming home. All right?   

    TABLE 5.1         Examples of baseline talk and foreigner talk

6. Discuss the essential factors for acquisition to take place.
According to Stephen Krashen’s input hypothesis, L2 acquisition takes place
when a learner understands input that contains grammatical forms that are ‘
i+I ’(i.e. are a little more advanced than the current state of the learner’s
interlanguage) Krashen suggests that the right level of input is attained
automatically when interlocutors succeed in making themselves understood in
communication. Success is achieved by using the situational context to make
messages clear and through the kinds of input modifications found in foreigner
talk. According to Krashen, then, L2 acquisition depends on comprehensible
input.

Teachers should make learning more like acquisition

 GROUP 7 – GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD
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Questions for discussion

• When did GTM come into being?
The Grammar-Translation Method is not new. It has had different names, but it has been used by
language teachers for many years. At one time it was called the Classical Method since it was first used
in the teaching of the classical languages, Latin and Greek (Chastain 1988). 

• State its purposes

Earlier in this century, this method was used for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate
foreign language literature. It was also hoped that, through the study of the grammar of the target
language, students would become more familiar with the grammar of their native language and that this
familiarity would help them speak and write their native language better.

Finally, it was thought that foreign language learning would help students grow intellectually; it was
recognized that students would probably never use the target language, but the mental exercise of
learning it would be beneficial anyway.

READ THE EXPERIENCE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

• What is the teaching material used in the class?
Textbook for Reading Comprehension in English

• In the first paragraph, what did the students/teacher do?

The students read a passage in their textbook. The passage was an excerpt entitled 'The Boys' Ambition'
from Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi. Each student was called on to read a few lines from the
passage. After they had finished reading, they were asked to translate into Spanish the few lines they
had just read. The teacher helped them with new vocabulary items. When the students had finished
reading and translating the passage, the teacher asked them in Spanish if they had any questions. One
girl raises her hand and says, 'What is paddle wheel? The teacher replied, ‘Es una rucda de paletas’.
Then she continued in Spanish to explain how it looked and worked on the steamboats which moved up
and down the Mississippi River during Mark Twain's childhood. Another student said, 'No understand
"gorgeous"'. The teacher translated, 'Primoroso'.

• How was vocabulary taught ?

Using antonyms/synonyms and cognates

• In the second paragraph, what did the students/teacher do?

Since the students had no more questions, the teacher asked them to write the answers to the
comprehension questions which appeared at the end of the excerpt. The questions were in English, and
the students were instructed to write the answers to them in English as well.

 How many types of questions did the teacher use? What are they?
In addition to questions that ask for the information contained within the reading passage, the students
answer two other types of questions. For the first type, they have to make inferences based on their
understanding of the passage. For example, one question is: 'Do you think the boy was ambitious? Why
or why not?' The other type of question requires the students to relate the passage to their own
experiences. For example, one of the questions based on this excerpt asks them, 'Have you ever thought
about running away from home?'

• How were errors/mistakes treated?

If the answer is incorrect, the teacher selects a different student to supply the correct answer, or the
teacher herself gives the right answer.

• How was grammar taught?

Teachers teach the grammar rules then gives examples. Students try to understand the grammar
structure first and later apply them to examples.

• What were students asked to do in the two remaining lessons?

In the two remaining lessons this week, the students will be asked to

 Write out the translation of the reading passage into Spanish.

 State the rule for the use of a direct object with two-word verbs, and apply it to other phrasal
verbs. 
 Do the remaining exercises in the chapter that include practice with one set of irregular past
participle forms. The students will be asked to memorize the present tense, past tense, and past
participle forms of this irregular paradigm:

drink drank  drunk

sing sang sung

ring rang rung

begin began begun

• Do you think this teaching method enables students to use L2 to communicate?

This method doesn’t enable students to use L2 to communicate since it relies heavily on translation
from L2 to L1.
Overlooking other skills such as: listening, speaking or pronunciation. Focusing on reading and
writing, grammar and vocab.
 • Is it demanding to teachers?
It is extremely demanding to teachers since the teachers become the main source of information, a
living dictionary, to all of the students.

Read ten questions in reviewing the principles for class discussion, you do not need to type the answers.

List 3 techniques you think you can use in your teaching and state reasons.
Modify the following baseline talks:
- Although studies in animals have suggested that BA.2 infection wasn't entirely mild, data on
human infections from the UK, Denmark and South Africa shows that BA.2 isn't more likely to
result in hospitalization when compared with BA.1.
- The research on more than 1.8 million infections found only 1,739 cases in which people tested
positive for Covid-19 twice within a two-month window. Of those, 47 were BA.1 infections that
were followed by BA.2.
 Findings in animals show that the BA2 type of Covid wasn’t fully easy to get over, but
there is less chance to go to the hospitals for BA2 positive people compared to BA1,
based on data from the UK, Denmark and South Africa.
 Findings on 1.8 million positive cases show only 1739 times when people tested positive
twice in a time period of two months. 47 of them had BA, then BA2.

Mid term
Ý nghĩa việc học là gì ?
Lý thuyết về việc học
Vận dụng trong giảng dạy như nào ?
Reading : đọc hiểu
Nắm key words Learning theory
Learning and Acquisition : phân biệt 2 cái -> vận dụng để làm sao lý thuyết việc học trong lớp
như acquisition
Modified baseline talk
Cho đoạn reading đặt 3 loại câu hỏi
90 phút – đề mở - cá nhân
Show format đề - gửi tài liệu cho nhóm : slide thống nhất nội dung - đề mẫu
 GROUP 7 – THE DIRECT METHOD
Members:
Trần Thị Ánh Linh
Hoàng Ngọc Minh
Phan Thanh Lộc
Tiêu Hà Cát Quân

1. What is the underlying theory of the DM?

2. When & Why did the DM come into being?

Most recently, it was revived as a method when the goal of instruction
became learning how to use a foreign language to communicate. Since the
Grammar-Translation Method was not very effective in preparing students
to use the target language communicatively, the Direct Method became
popular.

3. State its basic rule.

The Direct Method has one very basic rule: No translation is allowed. In
fact, the Direct Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is to
be conveyed directly in the target language using demonstration and visual
aids, with no recourse to the students' native language (Dillerl978).

4. Read the experience and answer the following questions:

a. What was the teaching material used in the class?/why? How is

culture viewed?
Books and map were used in the class because this might be a geography
class.
Culture consists of the history of the people who speak the target language,
the geography of the country or countries where the language is spoken,
and information about the daily lives of the speakers of the language.

b. In the first paragraph, what did the students/teacher do?

The students open their books to a certain page number and read a sentence from
the reading passage at the beginning of the lesson

The teacher was calling the class to order as they found seats toward the
back of the room. He had placed a big map of the United States in the front
of the classroom. He asked the students to open their books to a certain
page number. The lesson was entitled 'Looking at a Map.' As the students
were called on one by one, they read a sentence from the reading passage
at the beginning of the lesson. The teacher pointed to the part of the map
the sentence described after each had read his sentence.

c. Why did the teacher point to a part of the map after each
sentence is read?
Because he helped students to understand the meaning of the sentences
they had just read.
d. What kind of language was used? Why?

e. How was vocabulary taught?

When a student asked what a mountain range was, the teacher turned to
the blackboard and drew a series of inverted cones to illustrate a mountain
range.
Another student asks what 'between' means. The teacher gave examples
to explain, 'You are sitting between Maria Pia and Giovanni. Paolo is sitting
between Gabriella and Cettina.

f. Why did students answer the teacher’s questions using complete

sentences in the target language?

g. Did the teacher encourage students to ask questions about the

map? Why?
Yes, he did. Because of this, the students were able to understand the
lesson clearly. Besides, they had a chance to make use of the language to
make sentences so that the teacher could know the mistakes his students
made in order to correct them.

h. What is the role of pronunciation in this class?

It helps students to say the word correctly.

i. How were errors/mistakes treated? How many ways are used to

help students self-correct?
The teacher corrected a grammar error by asking the students to make a
choice: 'What is the ocean in the West Coast? ... or on the West Coast?'.
 j. Did students interact with each other? How?
Yes, they did. When a student asked 'What is the ocean on the West
Coast?', the class replied in chorus, 'The ocean on the West Coast is the
Pacific'.

k. How was grammar taught?

Grammar rules was taught through inductively. Teachers who use the Direct
Method believe students need to associate meaning and the target language
directly. In order to do this, when the teacher introduces a new target language
word or phrase, he demonstrates its meaning through the use of realia, pictures, or
pantomime; he never translates it into the students' native language.
The teacher, employing various techniques, tries to get students to self-correct
whenever possible.

l. What was the topic of all the lessons? Was the syllabus based on
linguistic structures?

m. What did students write? Is writing difficult for them?

They wrote a long paragraph about the geography of the United States.

5. Which techniques do you think are useful to students? Why?

(choose 3)
Question answer session.
Fill in the blank exercise
 Oral communication

6. Why is this method not popular in Vietnamese high schools?

It requires high capability of understandings for students in order to work out the rules.
7. Describe some teaching situations in which you may use the
DM.
For young learners with simple vocabulary

8. Is this method appropriate for teaching in International schools?

Why?
Yes, it is since international schools have resources such as foreign teachers to support for this
method.

9. Compare the Grammar Translation Method with the Direct Method.

How do they supplement each other?
Cue words -> Cue pictures (Pictures are more difficult than words/phrases)

Student to student ?
GROUP 7_CLT_TBLT_Eclectic
1. When & Why did the CLT come into being?

In the 1970s, educators began to question if they were going about meeting the
goal in the right way. Some observed that students could produce sentences
accurately in a lesson, but could not use them appropriately when genuinely
communicating outside of the classroom. Others noted that being able to
communicate required more than mastering linguistic structures. Students may
know the rules of linguistic usage, but be unable to use the language (Widdowson
1978). It became clear that communication required that students perform certain
functions as well, such as promising, inviting, and declining invitations within a
social context (Wilkins 1976). In short, being able to communicate required more
than linguistic competence; it required communicative competence (Hymes 1971)
—knowing when and how to say what to whom. Such observations contributed to
a shift in the field in the late 1970s and early 1980s from a linguistic structure-
centered approach to a Communicative Approach (Widdowson 1990).

2. What is the goal of CLT? \

Communicative Language Teaching aims broadly to apply the theoretical

perspective of the Communicative Approach by making communicative
competence the goal of language teaching and by acknowledging the
interdependence of language and communication.
3. What is linguistic competence/ communicative competence? Which one is
more important?
- Chomsky defined linguistic competence as an idealized understanding of the
rules and construction of a given language. This includes the distinct sounds
used in the language, the combination of these sounds, the creation of
sentences and the interpretation of a sentence. Once a speaker masters this set
of rules, he or she can use this grammar to produce new phrases that will be
understood by all speakers of the same language.
 - Communicative competence refers to “ what a speaker needs to know in order
to be communicatively competent in a speech community.” Hymes 1972
- Communicative competence is more important because a person who acquires
communicative competence acquires both knowledge and ability for using
feasible and appropriate language in relation to the situational context.

4. Read the experience, then answer the questions:

a. What kind of materials was used in this class? Why?
A handout that has a copy of a sports column from a recent
newspaper.

Real – authentic material is used

b. What kind of language did the teacher use? Why?
Target language because the target language is a vehicle for classroom
communication, not just the object of study.

c. What did the teacher do at the beginning of the class?

The teacher told the students to underline the reporter's predictions and to say
which ones they thought the reporter felt most certain of and which he felt least
certain of.
 d. Did the teacher focus on the grammatical structure?
e. Why did the teacher ask students to rearrange the sentences in the article in a
correct order?
Students should work with language at the discourse or suprasentential
(above the sentence) level. They must learn about cohesion and
coherence, those properties of language which bind the sentences
together.

f. Describe how the language game was played. Are there any differences
between this game and the supermarket alphabet game in ALM?
g. Did students have a chance to express their opinions?
The students were asked how they feel about the predictions
h. How were errors treated?
The teacher and other students ignore them.
i. Why did the teacher ask students to work in groups to tell stories?
He wanted to establish situations likely to promote communication.
Communicative interaction encouraged cooperative relationships
among students. It gave students an opportunity to work on
negotiating meaning.

j. What did students do when they do a role play? Any benefits from this
activity?
k. Did students pay attention to form when they do a role play?

l. What did students do for their homework?

For their homework, the students were to listen to a debate on the
radio or watch it on television.
m. What is an information gap/ a truly communicative activity?
Activities that are truly communicative, according to Morrow (in Johnson
and Morrow 1981), have three features in common: information gap,
choice, and feedback.
An information gap exists when one person in an exchange knows
something the other person does not. If we both know today is Tuesday
and I ask you, 'What is today?' and you answer, 'Tuesday,' our exchange is
not really communicative.

n. Are picture strip story and role play trully communicative activities?
- Name the features of the activities
- Indicate if they have 3 features: choice, information gap and feedback

5. What techniques of the CLT do you like to use in your future teaching

situations? Why?

6. Watch the clip and list what the teacher did in this class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kRT-rsKxn4
7. What is an eclectic approach? What should teachers bear in mind when using
this approach?
- Eclectic approach is a method of language learning/teaching that combines
various approaches and methodologies to teach language depending on the
aims of the lesson and the abilities of the learners. In this approach teacher has
 more flexibility & adaptability to choose best elements according to the needs
& aim of the students.
8. What is a task? What does task based language teaching (TBLT) focus on?
How many stages are there?
One way of looking at Task-based learning is to see it as a kind of 'deep-end'
strategy (see Johnson 1982), or, in the words of Jane Willis, 'like a sort of PPP upside
down' (Willis 1994:19). In other words students are given a task to perform and only
when the task has been completed does the teacher discuss the language that was used,
making corrections and adjustments which the students' performance of the task has
shown to be desirable. However, as Willis herself makes clear, Task-based methodology
is in fact considerably more complicated than this. She suggests three basic stages: the
Pre-task, the Task cycle, and Language focus.

Pre-task
Introduction to Topic and Task

Task – cycle

Task – planning

Report

Language Focus
Analysis Practice

9. Read 10 questions in the textbook and answer them.

QUESTIONS GTM DM ALM CLT
1. Goal
2. Role of T/Ss

3. Characteristics
of T/Learners
process
4. Interaction

5. Feelings

6. View of
Language /
culture
7. Language
areas/skills
8. L1

9. Evaluation

10. Errors
REVIEW

Read the passage used to teach a pre-intermediate class and answer the questions
below. 
College life, however, is not at all fun. It has its serious side, as well. The ordinary
college student spends about fifteen hours a week in class. In addition to his regular
classes, the student is expected to participate in the various extra-curricular activities
offered by the school. Such activities include the newspaper, debating, and drama. Many
great journalists actually began their career in their college newspaper, and some people
who are known today as famous actors played their first role in a college dramatic
production. In some ways, these extra-curricular activities are just as important as
formal classes training your minds.
1. Ask 4 reading comprehension questions for this short text (2 for finding
information in the passage, 1 for making an inference and 1 for relating to personal
experience): 
Comprehension questions:
How many hours a week does the ordinary college student spend in class?
What are just as important as formal classes training your minds?
Inference question: 

Personal experience:
Do you take part in any extra-curricular activities?

2. Can you explain the difference between functional/notional syllabus and

structural or grammatical syllabus?

Functional/notional syllabus Structural/grammatical

syllabus

Theoretical  A notional-functional syllabus  Based on a theory of

base is based on the premise that
communication is a
meaningful behavior in a
social and cultural context that
requires creative language use
rather than synthetic sentence
building.
 Underpinning this syllabus is
the idea that language is
cyclic, rather than linear.
language which assumes
that the grammatical or
structural aspects of
language forms are the
most basic or useful items
in learning languages.
 Structural syllabus is
based on the assumption
that language rules are
learned in a linear fashion
and learners should
demonstrate complete
mastery of one rule before

Definition  A notional-functional syllabus
should comprise three
categories of meaning:
semantico grammatical
meaning (including time and
quantity), modal meaning
(including an indication of the
certainty and attitude of the
speaker) and communicative
function (including requests,
complaints, and compliments,
among a vast array of others)
 Grammatical structures are
taught not as an end in
themselves but as a means of
carrying out communicative
functions.
 Students must learn to express
different types of meanings
Objectives  Helps learners to use language
communicatively, leading to
better learners’ competence.
3. List linguistic forms you can use for the function of requesting. Which would
you teach to a beginning class, an intermediate class, an advanced class? Why?
Beginning class:
We use could you … and would you … as polite ways of telling or asking someone to
do something:
moving on to the next.
 Consists of a list of
grammatical items
selected and graded in
terms of simplicity and
complexity
 Structures are generally
presented one by one,
usually, but not always, in
contrasting pairs, for
example, simple present
versus simple past or
singular nouns versus
plural nouns.
 Helps students monitor
their utterances before and
after they are produced.
 Helps learners notice
certain features in the
input.
 If learners know about a
particular feature they are
better equipped to detect
the difference between
what they themselves are
saying and how the
feature is used in the input
they are exposed to.
  Could you take a message, please?
 Would you carry this for me, please?
can and will are less polite:
 Can you take a message, please?
 Will you carry this for me, please?
Intermediate class:
Would you mind ...ing (...)?
Advanced class:
It’s high time/It’s time + V (past simple form)

4. What are some of the characteristics of the Direct Method that make it so
distinctive from the Grammar Translation Method?  

Aims – goals – language skills – areas – keys features

5. List some main benefits that Vietnamese learners may gain if they are taught
by the Communicative Approach.

 Improved communication capabilities



6. According to Jane Willis, Task Based Learning is ‘like a sort of PPP upside
down.’ What do you think about this idea?

7. Can you explain the difference between deductive and inductive treatments of
grammar?
8. Identify the structure in each of the following sentences and give 3 other
examples for each one:
a. If I had a lot of time, I would spend a long holiday in Nha Trang.
Conditional type 2
b. The teacher advised us to listen to the recording more often. 
Reported Speech (Advice)
c. He would not only review his lessons carefully but also write down important
notes.
Not only…but also
d. Because of the heavy rain, they canceled the football match. 
Because of + Noun/Gerund
e. She presented her ideas based on the information in her textbooks. 
Reduced relative clause with Past participle

A clause + Present Participle

f. Although it rained heavily, he went to school on time.
Concession (Although + Clause)
g. I’d like to clear up the common misconception that American society is based on
money. That + Clause?

10. Suggest three shortcomings of the ALM and state how these weaknesses are
overcome by Communicative Language Teaching?
- Students practice lots of drill – that makes them become parrots
10. Describe the following utterances in terms of their grammatical form and
their communicative function.

FORM FUNCTION
Can you tell me where the post office is?  Indirect Requesting
Of course, he may not pass the exam questions
Don’t do that again.
Please don’t do that again.
If I were you, I’d sell it.
If you eat any, I’ll smash you.
Warning
If you eat some, I’ll give you sixpence.
Conditional
Why don’t we go to the cinema? Giving
Type 1
I won’t have that man in my house again. suggestions
Conditional
Shall we go camping this weekend?
Type 1
You’ve got a terrific bike!
I can’t agree with you less. Giving
It might be a good idea to go over your speech suggestions
before you deliver it tomorrow. 

11. Match the utterances (1-10) with the functions listed A-K. Mark the correct
letter (A-K) on your answer sheet. There is one extra option which you do not need
to use. 
Utterances
1. Let's go to that new restaurant.
2. They might win - you never know in cup matches!
3. Watch out! That’s dangerous.
4. My son can speak three languages fluently.
5. Is it okay if I open the window?
6. Shall I show you how the camera works?
7. Could you pass me my bag?
8. You can say that again.
9. Peter will never go back to this shop. 
10. Sally, you have been quite silent!
Functions
A. describing ability
B. describing possibility
C. asking for permission
D. requesting
E. asking for advice
F. suggesting
G. offering
H. warning
I. agreeing
J. predicting
K. asking for opinions

Write your answers here.

1.  F 2. B 3. H 4. A 5. C
6.  G 7. D 8. I 9. J 10. K

12. Name the technique and the method of the following activities. 
Activity 1: 
Go around the class and find out 
Who ... ?
1. went to the cinema last week
2. bought some clothes last month
3. was fond of candies when (s)he was a child
Activity 2: 
Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct comparative form:
1. John is (intelligent) than Bob.
2. Janet is (good) at Math than Mary. 
Activity 3: 
This book is on the table. What is on this chair, Nam?... Good. Now ask your friend what
is on something in our classroom…
Activity 4: 
“What do you think about scary movies? I found them terrifying”. Now, Hung, ask Nga
the same question. Nga, give the answer. Good… Nga, ask Van that question… Go on,
everybody.
Activity 5:
What are the uses of the present perfect tense?

Truly communicative ones: 1, 3 and 4

Info gap: asking questions (người học phải có nhu cầu giao tiếp - yếu tố đầu tiên làm nền
cho các yếu tố khác - một người có thông tin, những người khác không có)
Choice: Students will have a choice to choose the answer for the question
Feedback: People who ask will have a chance to construct their feedbacks.

13. How would you modify the following baseline talks to a group of post-
elementary students? 
Perhaps the most significant consequence of the agricultural revolution was the ability to
produce a surplus of food beyond the immediate needs of daily subsistence.

Maybe the most important  result of the farming-based revolution was the ability to produce an
extra amount of food more than the immediate needs of daily living.

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