W1 - Overview of Language Learning and Language Teaching

Principles And Practice In
English Language Teaching

TSLB3033
Mohd Iskandar Daud
Rini Azrina Suhaimi
Language Dept IPGKKB
Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 1
Topic 1
Overview of language
learning and language
teaching

Areas of discussion
 Teacher awareness
 Roles of a teacher
 Roles of a learner
 Pedagogical principles of teaching young learners
 Factors that influence learning among young
learners
 Factors that motivate/demotivate young learners

Teacher awareness
 What is teacher awareness?

 Knowledge or perception of a situation or fact
 Understanding of a situation or subject at the
present time based on information or experience
 Teachers need to have self awareness as a teacher
as well as having subject awareness (e.g: language
awareness)
Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022

Language awareness
 Language awareness blends
 a) content about language
 b) language skill
 c) attitudinal education
 d) metacognitive opportunities, which allow the
student to reflect on the process of language
acquisition, learning and language use

Teacher awareness
 What do teachers need to be aware of?

 Roles of a teacher
 Roles of a learner
 Traditional roles vs modern (multi-dimensional)
roles
 Think of traditional roles of teachers and
students in language learning

Roles of a teacher

Multidimensional roles of language
a teacher
 To establish conditions and develop activities
so that students are able to practise the
language in a meaningful context
 To develop in the students a positive attitude
 To be a facilitator
 To be a resource person
 To be a language model

Multidimensional roles of
language a teacher
 To predict the possible needs of the students
 To have communicative language activities
readily available
 To give students experience a (high) degree
of success
 To create a positive and supportive learning
environment within the class
 To constantly review of linguistic content
Multidimensional roles of a
language teacher
 To discover or invent ways to encourage students
to communicate meaningfully with each other
 To be student-centred rather than teacher-centred
(the students do most of the talking and the role of
the teacher is to facilitate, advise, assist and offer
direction)
 To become more knowledgeable about theories and
methods of second language instructions

Traditional roles of a language learner
 Passive learner
 Accepting without question
 Firm believer in teacher knows all
 Accepts learning only happens in classroom
 Believes that production should not happen before you
are really good (accuracy over fluency)
 etc

Multidimensional roles of language
learner
 To be more active in their role as learners and play a
major part in many aspects
 To share input and the knowledge that they possess
(raises motivation)
 To make a number of decisions (teachers should
encourage this)
 To reflect on their interests and strengths
 To become more responsible for their own language
learning
 To constantly do self-evaluation on own success
Pedagogical principles of teaching young learners
 Pedagogical principles are the fundamental points

of orientation for professionals in educational
contexts.
 They are keys for certain actions/steps to be taken
or decisions to be made
 Knowledge and good application of pedagogical
principles determine success of learning

Factors that influence learning among young
learners
 Intelligence
 Aptitude
 Learning styles
 Personality
 Motivation and Attitudes
 Identity and ethnic group affiliation
 Learner beliefs
 Age of acquisition

Intelligence
 Traditionally, intelligence refers to the mental
abilities that are measured by an IQ (intelligence
quotient) test.
 It usually measures only two types of intelligence:
verbal/linguistic and mathematical/logical
intelligence

Other types of intelligences
Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner, 1993)

 Linguistic intelligence: speaking, using words,
writing, giving presentations, solving word
problems.
 Logical-mathematical intelligence: using
numbers, logic, calculations; learning and
understanding grammar rules.
 Spatial intelligence: drawing, painting, using
color, art, graphics, pictures, maps, and charts.

Other types of intelligences
• Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner, 1993)

 Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: muscular
coordination, athletic skill, body language, drama and
theater.
 Musical intelligence: using music, tones, hearing;
producing the intonation and rhythm of a language.
 Interpersonal intelligence: talking with other people,
understanding them, using language to communicate.
 Intrapersonal intelligence: self-knowledge, self-
confidence, using language to analyze yourself.

Intelligence and learning
 Research Findings:
1. Intelligence, especially measured by verbal IQ tests,
may be a strong factor when it comes to learning that
involves language analysis and rule learning.
2. On the other hand, intelligence may play a less
important role in language learning that focuses more
on communication and interaction.
3. It is important to keep in mind that “intelligence” is
complex and that a person has many kinds of abilities
and strengths.

Aptitude
 Aptitude refers to the ability to learn quickly (Carroll,
1991) and is thought to predict success in learning.
 It is hypothesized that a learner with high aptitude may
learn with greater ease and speed. (But other learners
may also be successful if they persevere).
 Language aptitude tests usually measure the ability to:
1) identify and memorize new sounds
2) understand the function of particular words in
sentences
3) figure out grammatical rules from language samples
4) memorize new words
Aptitude
 Research findings:
1) Early research revealed a substantial relationship between
performance on language aptitude tests and performance in foreign
language learning that was based on grammar translation or
audiolingual methods.
2) However, performance on language aptitude tests seems irrelevant to
L2 learning with the adoption of a more communicative approach to
teaching.
3) Successful language learners may not be strong in all of the
components of aptitude. Learners’ strengths and weaknesses in the
different components may account for their ability to succeed in
different types of instructional programs.
Learning styles
 Learning style refers to an individual’s natural, habitual,
and preferred way of absorbing, processing, and retaining
new information and skills (Reid 1995).
 Types of learning styles related to L2 learning:
1. Perceptual learning styles:
visual, aural/auditory, and haptic (kinesthetic & tactile)
2. Cognitive learning styles:
 field-independent vs. field-dependent
(tendency to see the trees or the forest)
 right-brain dominance vs. left-brain dominance

Learning styles
 Field-independent (FI) vs. field-dependent (FD)

Here’s a puzzle for you. Look at the row of strange
shapes below. Can you find what the message is?

Learning styles

Learning styles
 Field-independent: see things more analytically
 Field-dependent: see things more holistically
 FI is related to classroom language learning that involves analysis,
attention to details, and mastering of exercise, drills, and other
focused activities.
 FD is related to the communicative aspects of language learning
that require social outreach, empathy, perception of other people,
and communicative skills.
 FI/FD may also prove to be a valuable tool for differentiating child
and adult language acquisition due to the fact that FI increases as a
child matures to adulthood.
Learning styles
 Right-brain vs. left-brain dominance
 The right brain perceives and remembers visual, tactile, and
auditory images. It is more efficient in processing holistic,
integrative, and emotional information.
 The left brain is associated with logical, analytical thought,
with mathematical and linear processing of information.
 Though we all tend to have one hemisphere that is more
dominant, it is important to remember that the left and right
hemispheres need to operate together as a “team”.

Learning styles
 Research findings and implications:
1) Every person, student or teacher, has a learning style; therefore,
there is no particular teaching or learning method that can suit the
needs of all learners.
2) Learning styles exist on wide continuums, although they are often
described as opposites.
3) Learning styles are value-neutral; that is, no one style is better than
others.
4) Very little research has examined the interaction between different
learning styles and success in L2 learning; however, students should
be encouraged to “stretch” their learning styles so that they will be
more empowered in a variety of leaning situations.
Personality
 There are a number of personality
characteristics that may affect L2 learning,
such as
 Extroversion vs. introversion
 Inhibition vs. risk-taking
 Anxiety
 Self-esteem
 Empathy

Extroversion vs. introversion
 Are you more extroverted or introverted?

 It is often argued that an extroverted person is well suited
to language learning. However, research does not always
support this conclusion.
 Some studies have found that learners’ success in language
learning is associated with extroversion such as
assertiveness and adventurousness, while others have
found that many successful language learners do not get
high scores on measures of extroversion.

Inhibition vs. risk-taking
 It has been suggested that inhibition discourages risk-
taking, which is necessary for progress in language learning.
 Inhibition is often considered to be a particular problem for
adolescents, who are more self-conscious than younger
learners.
 Inhibition is a negative force, at least for second language
pronunciation performance.
 Be aware that inhibition may have more influence in
language performance than in language learning.

Anxiety
 Trait Anxiety vs. State Anxiety:

a) Trait anxiety: a more permanent predisposition to be anxious
b) State anxiety: a type of anxiety experienced in relation to
some particular event or act; temporary and context-specific
 More recent research acknowledges that anxiety is more likely
to be dynamic and dependent on particular situations and
circumstances.
 Anxiety can play an important role in L2 learning if it
interferes with the learning process.

Anxiety
 Debilitative (harmful) Anxiety vs. Facilitative (helpful)
Anxiety: Not all anxiety is bad and a certain amount of
tension can have a positive effect and facilitate learning.
 A learner’s willingness to communicate has also been related
to anxiety. It is often affected by the number of people
present, the topic of conversation, and the formality of the
circumstances.
 Willingness to communicate or state anxiety can also be
affected by learners’ prior language learning & use
experience, self-confidence, and communicative
competence.
Conclusions for Personality
 In general, the research does not show a single clearly-defined
relationship between personality traits and SLA.
1. The major difficulty is that of identification and measurement of
personality characteristics.
2. Personality variables may be a major factor only in the acquisition of
conversational skills, not in the acquisition of literacy or academic
skills.
3. Most research on personality traits has been carried out within a
quantitative research paradigm (i.e., an approach that relies on
measuring learners’ scores on personality surveys and relating these
to language test performance). More qualitative research is needed
to adequately capture the depth and complexity of the relationship.

Motivation & Attitudes
 Questions:
1. Do positive attitudes and motivation produce
successful learning or does successful learning
engender positive attitudes and motivation?
2. Are there other factors that affect both
attitudes/ motivation and the success of
learning?
34
 Types of motivation (in terms of communicative needs):
Source Intrinsic (Internal) Extrinsic (External)

Purpose
The learner wishes to learn Someone else (e.g., the

Integrative L2 for personal growth and learner’s parents) wishes the
cultural enrichment. learner to know L2 for an
integrative reason.
The learner wishes to External power wants the

Instrumental achieve more immediate or learner to learn L2 for a
practical goals using L2 practical purpose (e.g., a
(e.g., for a career). corporation asks its staff to get
language training).
1) Both integrative and instrumental types of motivation
are related to success in L2 learning. Most L2 learning
situations involve a mixture of each type of motivation.
2) Research strongly favors intrinsic motivation, especially
for long-term retention. Intrinsically motivated learners
are striving for excellence, autonomy, and self-
actualization.

 Dörnyei (2001) – a process-oriented model of
motivation that consists of 3 phases:
1) choice motivation: getting started and setting goals
2) executive motivation: carrying out the necessary

tasks to maintain motivation
3) motivation retrospection: appraisal of and reaction

to learners’ performance

Motivation in the Classroom
 Motivating students into the lesson. The content needs
to be relevant to their age and level of ability, and the
learning goals need to be challenging yet manageable
and clear.
 Varying the activities, tasks, and materials to increase
students’ interest levels.
 Using cooperative rather than competitive goals to
increase students’ self-confidence.
 Cultural and age differences will determine the most
appropriate way for teachers to motivate students.

Identity & Ethnic Affiliation
 The social dynamic or power relationship between

L1 and L2:
 Minority group members learning the language of a
majority groups may have different attitudes and
motivation from those of majority group members
learning a minority language.
 Think of why an ESL learner’s and an EFL learner’s
attitude may differ in motivation and attitudes.
39
Identity & Ethnic Affiliation
 An imbalanced power relationship between L1 and L2 may limit
the opportunities learners have to practice and to continue to
develop the L2.
 Identities are not static and can change over time. Learners’
identities will impact on what they can do and how they can
participate in classrooms, which affects how much they can learn.
 The relationship between feelings of ethnic affiliation and L2
learners’ mastery of pronunciation can be complex. Learners may
want to speak with a strong “foreign accent” to maintain their L1
identity.

Learner beliefs
 What is your learner belief? How should language be learned?
 Virtually all learners, particularly older learners, have strong
beliefs about how their language instruction should be
delivered.
 Learner beliefs are usually based on previous learning
experiences and the assumption that a particular type of
instruction is better than others.
 Learner beliefs can be strong mediating factors in learners’
experience in the classroom.

Learner beliefs
 Conclusions:
1) Learners’ preference for learning, whether due to
their learning styles or to their beliefs about how
language are learned, will influence the kinds of
strategies they choose to learn new material.
2) Teachers can use this information to help learners
expand their repertoire of learning strategies and
thus develop greater flexibility in their second
language learning.

Age of acquisition
 The relationship between a learner’s age and his/her potential
for success in second language learning (Critical period
hypothesis) is complex or controversial.
 The relationship needs to take into account
1) the learner’s cognitive development
2) the learner’s motivation
3) the learner’s goal for learning L2 (i.e., in what aspects of
the L2 the learner has achieved)
4) the contexts in which the learner learns L2 (including
quantity & quality of language input, learning environment,
learning time, and socio-cultural contexts)
Age of acquisition
1) L2 development in informal language learning environments
where the L2 is used primarily:
 Children can eventually speak the L2 with native-like fluency,
but their parents and older learners (i.e., post-puberty
learners) are hard to achieve such high levels of mastery of
the spoken language, especially in pronunciation/accent.
 Adults and adolescents can make more rapid progress toward
mastery of an L2 in contexts where they can make use of the
language on a daily basis in social, personal, professional, or
academic interaction.

Age of acquisition
2) L2 development in formal language learning conditions (i.e.,
classrooms) where the L1 is used primarily :
 In the early stages of the L2 development, older learners
(adolescents and adults) are more efficient than younger learners
(children).
 Learners who began learning an L2 at the elementary school level
did not necessarily do better in the long run than those who began
in early adolescent.
 It is more difficult for post-puberty learners to attain native-like
mastery of the spoken language, including pronunciation, word
choice, and some grammatical features.
Age of acquisition
 Conclusions (I):
- At what age should L2 instruction begin?
 Those who support critical period hypothesis (CPH):
Younger is better (particularly in the phonological achievement)
 Those who consider that the age factor cannot be separated
from factors such as motivation, social identity, and the
conditions for learning:
Older learners may well speak with an accent because they
want to keep their L1 identity, and the language input for
adults is different from that for children because they rarely get
access to the same quantity and quality of language input that
children receive in play setting.

Age of acquisition
 Conclusions (II):
 When the goal is basic communicative ability of the TL, rather
than native-like mastery, and when children’s native language
remains the primary language, it may be more efficient to begin L2
or FL learning later (e.g., in early adolescence – at age 10, 11, or
12).
 When learners receive only a few hours of instruction per week,
those who start later often catch up with those who began earlier.
 One or two hours a week will not produce very advanced L2
speakers, no matter how young they were when they began
learning. Older learners may be able to make better use of the
limited leaning time.

Age of acquisition
 Conclusions (III):
 Age is only one of the characteristics which affects L2
learning.
 The opportunities for learning (both inside and outside the
classroom), the motivation to learn, and individual
differences in intelligence, aptitude, personality, and
learning styles have also been found to be important
determining factors that affect both rate of learning and
eventual success in learning the L2.

Summary
1. The research on individual differences is complex and the results
of the research are not easy to interpret.
This is because of
a) the lack of clear definitions and methods for measuring individual
characteristics
b) The fact that the characteristics are not independent of one
another: learner variables interact in complex ways.
2. It remains difficult to predict how a particular individual’s
characteristics will influence his or her success as a language
learner.
3. Teachers should take learners’ individual differences into account
and to create a learning environment in which more learners can
be successful in learning an L2.
Characteristics of a ‘good language
learner’
1. is a willing and accurate guesser
2. tries to get a message across even if specific language
knowledge is lacking
3. is willing to make mistakes
4. constantly looks for patterns in the language
5. practices as often as possible
6. analyzes his or her own speech and the speech of others

Characteristics of a ‘good language learner’
7. attends to whether his or her performance meets the

standards he or she has learned
8. enjoys grammar exercises
9. begins learning in childhood
10. has an above-average IQ
11. has good academic skills
12. has a good self-image and lots of confidence

Factors that motivate young learners
 Varying classroom activities as young learners have short

attention span
 Use stories – young learners love stories, be creative in story
telling, be animated
 Use colourful pictures
 Get them moving – movements of body parts or out of their
seats
 Play games – short and conclusive
 Get them to do pair or group work – social skills
 Create projects – sense of achievement
Factors that motivate young learners
 Get their hands dirty – eg: painting wall, use sand, etc
 Use songs
 Be encouraging – praises and positive attention
 Build good rapport
 Show genuine care
 Come up with a reward system
 Be part of them, not apart – get involve in activities, games, etc
 Use ICT – interactive activities, cartoons, etc
 Attractive teachers (?)

Factors that demotivate young learners
 Harsh words
 Unkind/Unfair treatment
 Monotonous teaching
 Poor rapport/teacher-student relationship
 Excessive punishment
 Poor classroom management
 Difficulty to cope with lessons (learning difficulty,
different learning styles, etc)
 Pace of the lesson and speech (too fast or too slow)

Factors that demotivate young learners
 Problems at home or with peers (bullying)

 Low self-confidence
 Language anxiety
 Can you suggest more?

Tutorial
 Group task (3/4 per group):
Read up on teacher’s role and
learner’s role in second language
learning
Present your findings to the
whole class

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Principles And Practice In

English Language Teaching

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 2

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 3

 What is teacher awareness?

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 5

 What do teachers need to be aware of?

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Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 7

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 8

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 10

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 11

 Pedagogical principles are the fundamental points

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Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner, 1993)

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• Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner, 1993)

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 Field-independent (FI) vs. field-dependent (FD)

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 Are you more extroverted or introverted?

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 Trait Anxiety vs. State Anxiety:

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Source Intrinsic (Internal) Extrinsic (External)

The learner wishes to learn Someone else (e.g., the

The learner wishes to External power wants the

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2) executive motivation: carrying out the necessary

3) motivation retrospection: appraisal of and reaction

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Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 38

 The social dynamic or power relationship between

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Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 40

Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 41

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7. attends to whether his or her performance meets the

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 Varying classroom activities as young learners have short

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Mohd Iskandar Daud IPGKKB Feb 2022 54

 Problems at home or with peers (bullying)

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