1: language and language teachingWhat is language?nguage is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for humancommunication.2.The answer to this question is the basis for syllabus design, teachingmethods, teaching and assessment procedures in the classroom.3.Different views on language generate different teaching methodologies. Common Views on language1.Structural view （language competence）—The founder: Saussure—The structural view of language sees language as a linguistic system made up of various subsystems (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991): phonology, morphology, and syntax.—The target of language learning is seen to be the mastery of elements of this system, which are generally defined in terms of phonological units(e.g., phonemes),grammatical units (e.g., clauses, phrases, sentences),grammatical operations (e.g., adding, shifting, joining, or transforming elements), and lexical items (e.g., function words and structure words).—Learning the language is to learn the structural items, study the inner structure and rule of language, ignore the social functions of the language.2.Functional view—Representative: Johnson, Marrow, swain canal (the core: grammar)—It views language as a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning, a means of doing things/ combining grammatical rules and vocabulary to express idea.3.Interactional view （communicative competence）—Emphasis: appropriateness—It views language as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social transactions between individuals.—Language is seen as a communicative tool for the creation and maintenance of social relations.—Learners need to know the rules for using the language in certain contexts What makes a good language teacher?1. A good language teacher does not solely depend on his/her command of thelanguage. There are a variety of element that contributes to the qualities of a good language teacher. These elements can be categorized into three groups: ethic devotion, professional quality and personal styles.How can one become a good language teacher?Wallace’s (1991) ‘reflective model’1.Stage 1: language development2.Stage 2: learning, practice, reflection1)The learning stage is the purposeful preparation that a language normallyreceives before the practice. This preparation can include:Learning from others’ experienceLearning the received knowledgeLearning from one’s own experiences2)The practice stage (2 senses)Pseudo practice: short period of time assigned to do teaching practice as part of one’s pre-service education, usually under the supervision of instructorsThe real classroom teaching:what a teacher undertakes after he/she finishes formal education3)Teachers benefit from practice if they keep on reflecting on what they havebeen doing3.Goal: professional competence2: theory of language learning and language learners1.Fluency1)Different levels of fluency：[1]time-filling[2]quality of speech[3]appropriacy of speech[4]aesthetic capability2)In terms of second or foreign language environment, fluency means a level ofproficiency in communication (Richards, 1992).3)Four kinds of abilities:[1]the ability to produce spoken language with ease;[2]the ability to speak with a good but not necessarily perfect command ofintonation, vocabulary, and grammar;[3]the ability to communicate ideas effectively;[4]the ability to produce continuous speech without causingcomprehensible difficulties or a breakdown in communication.2.Accuracy1)Accuracy refers to the ability to produce grammatically correct sentencesbut may not include the ability to speak or write fluently.3.Interaction1)Interaction pushes learners to produce more accurate and appropriatelanguage, which itself provides input for other students. (Hedge, 2002)2)Forms of Interaction[1]Teacher—Students[2]Students—StudentsPair workGroup work3)Advantages of group work and pair work:[1]Students are more involved.[2]More language practices[3]Generating interactive language.[4]Offering an embracing affective climate.[5]Developing co-operative learning[6]Promoting learner responsibility and autonomy.4)Problems of group work and pair work[1]The teacher is no longer in control of the class.[2]The class is noisy.[3]Students will use their native language.[4]Students' errors will be reinforced in small groups.[5]Teacher cannot monitor all groups at once.[6]Some learners prefer to work alone.[7]There are dominant or silent speakers (chauffeurs and hitchhikers).[8]Students talk about other things.[9]No time to practice fully or finish the task.5)Typical group work tasks[1]Games[2]Role-play and simulations[3]Drama[4]Projects[5]Interview[6]Brainstorming [7]Information gap[8]Jigsaw[9]Problem-solving anddecision-making[10]Opinion exchange6)Before the start of group work/pair work tasks[1]Introduce the technique[2]Justify the use of pairs or small groups for the technique[3]Model the technique[4]Give explicit, detailed instructionsa restatement of the purposerules to followstay with your groupshare ideas and informationlisten to other people's ideashelp each otherEnglish onlyestablish a time frameassign roles (if any) to students[5]Divide the class into groups[6]Check for clarification[7]Set the task in motionDo not sit at your desk and grade papers.Do not leave the room and take a break.Do not spend undue amount of time with one group at the expense of others.Do not correct students' errors unless asked to do so.Do not assume a dominating or disruptive role while monitoring groups.reportingdemonstratingworking on points which needs improving4.Learning and communication strategies1)Learning strategies are steps taken by students to enhance their ownlearning. Appropriate language learning strategies result in improved proficiency and greater self-confidence. --Oxford, 19902)Learning strategies (O’Malley et al, 1983)[1]Metacognitive strategiesMetacognitive strategies are used to oversee, regulate or self-direct language learning, which include how learners regulate theirlearning by planning, monitoring and evaluating their learningactivities. --Rubin, 1987advance organizer directed attention selective attention self-managementadvance preparation self-monitoringdelayed production self-evaluationself-reinforcement[2]Cognitive strategiesCognitive strategies refer to the steps or operations used in learning or problem-solving that require direct analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learning materials. --O’Malley et al, 1983repetition grouping note-taking deduction auditory key wordcontextualization elaborationtransferinferencing[3]Social mediation strategiesSocial mediation strategies/Communication strategies are those activities learners engage in which afford them opportunities to beexposed to and practice their knowledge.cooperation question for clarification 3)Compensatory strategies[1]enable learners to use the new language for either comprehension orproduction despite limitations in knowledge.[2]Compensatory strategies are intended to make up for an inadequaterepertoire of grammar and, especially, of vocabulary.[3]Knowledge sources for comprehension(1) Knowledge needed⏹Schematic knowledge: Schematic knowledge or schemas(schemata) refers to one’s general knowledge about the worldand about text types, which are cognitive constructs for theorganization of information in our long-term memory.background knowledge: actual, socioculturalprocedural knowledge: how knowledge is used in discourse⏹Contextual knowledgeknowledge of situation: physical setting, participants, etc.knowledge of co-text: what has been, will be said⏹Systemic knowledge: syntactic, semantic, morphological(2) Roles of the knowledge⏹allowing for effective guess (system knowledge)⏹building meanings by drawing on a wider range of sources(including semantic and contextual knowledge. Soundrecognition is not enough.)⏹making effective inference (previous knowledge)⏹Cutting down the range of possible meanings (situationalcontext)⏹meaning understanding is required bottom-up and top-downprocessesprehensible output1)Output can serve a consciousness-raising function by helping learners tonotice gaps in their interlanguages.2)Output helps learners to test hypotheses.3)Learners sometimes talk about their own output, identifying problemswith it and discussing ways in which they can be put right.6.Enlightenment1)Teachers should encourage students to test hypotheses and to notice gapsin interactive processes.2)Students are supposed to learn English by using English and interactingwith others.3. communicative principles and task-based language teaching1.CLT（交际英语教学）:1)Definition: Communicative Language Teaching is an approach that focuseson linguistic functions and on training communicative competence of the learners. It includes both the knowledge about the language and the knowledge about how to use the language appropriately in communicative situations.2)The basis: the theory of sociology and sociolinguistic.3)Communicative Competence: Four aspects included (Hymes, 1979):[1]knowing whether or not something is formally possible (grammaticallyacceptable), which is roughly equivalent to Chomsky's linguistic competence.[2]knowing whether something is understandable to human beings.[3]knowing whether something is in line with social norms;[4]knowing whether or not something is in fact done: Do people actually uselanguage this way?4)Features of Communicative Language Teaching[1]It stresses the need to allow students opportunities for authentic andcreative use of the language.[2]It focuses on meaning rather than form.[3]It suggests that learning should be relevant to the needs of the students.[4]It advocates task-based language teaching. Students should be given tasksto perform or problems to solve in the classroom.5)Principles[1]Communication principle[2]Task principle[3]Meaningfulness principle6)Criteria for evaluating communicative activities[1]Communicative purpose[2]Communicative desire[3]Content, not form[4]Variety of language[5]No teacher intervention[6]No material controls7)Merits of CLT:[1]likely to give the students all skills[2]More relevant[3]Less waste of time and effort8)Demerit of CLT:[1]make great demands upon the professional training and skills of theteacher[2]Difficult to cheek what student have learnt[3]Don't offer the teacher the security of the textbook9)Traditional class VS CLT[1]Listening: to the teacher, to the tape →sth. unpredictable, sth. authentic,sth. meaningful[2]Reading: learning language →get information, exact meaning, differentskills[3]Speaking: repeating, answering, retelling →sth. creating, express oneself[4]Writing: composition, translation →write to express oneself, one’s feeling,one’s thought; write what people write in the way people write.10)Linguistic Competence: tacit knowledge of language structures and theability to use the knowledge to understand and produce language. (Chomsky) 11)Communicative Competence: Both knowledge about the language and theknowledge about how to use the language in communicative situationappropriately.2.Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)1)TBLT vs. CLT[1]TBLT is, in fact, a further development of CLT.[2]It shares the same beliefs, as language should be learned as close aspossible to how it is used in real life.[3]However, it has stressed the importance to combine form-focusedteaching with communication-focused teaching.2)model[1]Pre-task[2]Task cycleTask: do the taskPlanning: prepare to report/rehearseReportHearing task recording or read text[3]Language focusAnalysisPractice3)What is a task?[1]A task is essentially goal-oriented; it requires the group, or pair, to achievean objective that is usually expressed by an observable result, such as brief note or lists, rearrangement of jumbled items, a drawing, a spoken summary.[2]This result should be attainable only by interaction between participants:so, within the definition of the task you often find instructions such as ‘reach a consensus’, or ‘find out everyone’s opinions’.[3]Four Components of a Task: purpose, context, process, product[4]Differences among Exercises, Exercise-tasks and Tasks:Tasks are the activities which let students focus on the complete act of communication.Exercises are the activities which let students focus their attention on the individual aspects of language, such as vocabulary, grammar orindividual skills.Exercise-tasks are the activities which helps the students to master the individual aspects of language by using them in certain kinds ofcontexts.[5]The Principles in Designing Tasks:authenticity principleform-function principletask dependency principleleaning by doingscaffolding[6]steps in designing tasks:Think about students' needs, interests, and abilitiesBrainstorm possible tasksEvaluate the listChoose the language itemsPrepare materials[7]Types of Taskslistingordering and sortingcomparingproblem solvingsharing personal experiencecreative tasksjigsaw tasksdecision-making tasksopinion exchange tasks3.PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production)1)Differences between PPP and TBLT[1]The way students use and experience language in TBLT is radicallydifferent from PPP.Free of language controlA genuine need to use language to communicateA free exchange of ideasAppropriateness & accuracy of language form in general, not production of a single formA genuine need for accuracy and fluency[2]TBLT can provide a context for grammar teaching and form-focusedactivities. PPP is different in this aspect.A task-established contextEncouraged to think, analyze, not simply to repeat, manipulate and applyA more varied exposure to natural languageLanguage forms not pre-selected for focusLearner-free selection of languageTBLT cycle lead from Fluency to accuracy (+fluency)In TBLT Integrated skills practiced4.Total Physical Response1)Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching method developed byJames Asher who advocates the coordination of speech and action.2)Language is taught through physical (motor) activity.3)Features:[1]TPR reveals structuralist or grammar-based views of language.According to Asher, the verb, especially the verb in the imperative, asthe central linguistic motif around which language use and learning areorganized.[2]The language learning theory in TPR is behaviorism. Learning iseffective and meaningful through stimulus-response action.[3]The objective of a TPR course is to develop learners’ communicativeability through the use of action-based drills in the imperative form.[4]TPR syllabus is a sentence-based one with teaching items of grammarand vocabulary. However, the focus is not on the structure, but onmeaning in a way that grammar points and vocabulary items areselected according to situations in which they are used.[5]The learning and teaching activities in TPR are imperative drills such asorders, commands or instructions, which are used to elicit physicalactions and activity on the learner.[6]TPR learners are listeners and performers. They are required torespond and monitor and evaluate their own progress.[7]The teacher in TPR is active, directing the classroom interaction andturn taking to make sure everything goes well.4)Merits[1]Physical activity helps retain the language.[2]Learning is made a matter of effortless process.[3]It gives due attention to right-brained learning, which is supposed toprecede left-brain language processing.[4]It facilitates students to communicate uninhibitedly.5)Demerits[1]It may not appeal to learners as they advance in their competence.[2]A lot of complex language structures cannot be effectively incorporatedinto the imperative.[3]Learners’ needs for unrehearsed language cannot be met by suchdramatic nature of language learning.[4]It does not have basic textbooks, which may be difficult for bothteachers and learners.4. The English curriculum and coursebooks1.Curriculum: Curriculum refers to the programme of studies of an educationalinstitution. It refers to the substance of what is taught in a given subject: (a) defining objectives, (b) determining content, (c) indicating some sort of sequence or progression.2.Syllabus: A syllabus provides a focus for what should be studied, along with arational for how the content should be selected and ordered.1)Characteristics of a Syllabus:[1]consists of a comprehensive list of content items (words, structures,topics) and process items (tasks, methods)[2]is ordered (easier, more essential items first)[3]has explicit objectives (usually expressed in the introduction)[4]is a public document[5]may indicate a time schedule[6]may indicate a preferred methodology or approach[7]may recommend materials3.coursebook:1)definition: A coursebook is a textbook of which the teacher and, usually,each student has a copy, and which is in principle to be followed systematically as the basis for a language course. Coursebooks are best seen as a resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in terms of learner needs.2)Role of coursebooks:[1]Coursebooks should not determine the aims themselves or becomeaims.[2]The role of the coursebook is to be at the service of teachers andlearners but not to be their master.[3]The aims of the coursebook should correspond as closely as possible tothe aims of the teacher, and both should seek to meet the needs of thelearners to the highest degree.3)英语教学材料包括教科书以及教师用书、练习册、活动手册、读物、音视频材料、挂图、卡片、教学实物、软件等。
