ING303 Teaching Language Skills I

Asst. Prof. D

r. Emrah G

örgülü

1

ING303 Teaching Language Skills ILECTURE 1: ENGLISH TEACHING TODAY: WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

2Introduction: Teaching Priorities

What do we want to teach in the language classroom? Fluency and Accuracy

We want our students to speak English fluently ____________________ and accurately ___________________.

It is important for students to use English fluently and accurately in order to ______________________. (do Task 1)

Different styles and Englishes It is important to note that there is not only one ‘style of English’ as a

result of English being used worldwide for all sorts of purposes. What are some styles of English & examples of World Englishes?

______________________________________________________. (do Task 2)

3Introduction: Teaching Priorities (cont’d)

Vocabulary Teaching/learning new words is a significant part of teaching/learning a

new language, particularly for ___________________. Vocabulary learning should be given special importance as courses do

not provide learners with the amount of vocab. they need. (do Task 3) Writing

Writing is generally used as a means for language practice and testing, rather than teaching students how to write well.

Writing has not been given enough attention as much as other language skills (i.e. speaking and listening).

Informal writing is becoming more popular due to the use of ___________ (do Task 4)

4English as an international language

English has undergone a dramatic change from being the languge of certain countries to being a global means of communication.

This development has caused a number of changes in the principles and practice of English language teaching. (do task 5)

5English as an international language (cont’d)

Language Standards A major issue: which English should be taught in the classroom? British,

American or something else? There are differences in terms of ________. This issue is not relevant as the attention has shifted to which lexical,

grammatical, phonological and spelling forms are used worldwide. Two weeks / fortnight The [r] sound in words car, brother and ever! The pronunciation of the words like binoculars, director and can’t! (do Task 6)

The Native and Non-native English Teacher English teachers who are not native speakers of English outnumber

teahers who are native speakers. They should be fully competent in English and set a good example!

6English as an international language (cont’d)

The place of English Literature and Culture The tendency was that the teaching material should be taken from

‘authentic’ texts from English-speaking countries. This is now changing as texts adapted from non-English-speaking

world are used. Students should be taught different cultures. (do Task 7)

The place of the L1 The aim of an Engish course was to make learners communicate like

native speakers. This is not a realistic one since English is basically a tool, like math or

computer skills, an ability the need to have to fuction in today’s world.

The L1 is learner’s primary language and the one they identify with. There is no reason to ban the use of L1 in the classroom. (do Task 8)

7Language acquisition theories and teaching methodologies

Theories of language acquisition: How do we learn a second lang.? Intuitive acquisition: we learn a second language the same way we

learn our first language. Acquisition by way of exposure to the language in authentic communicative situations.

Habit-formation: Language is a set of habits. We mimic and memorize and drill the patterns of language until we learn to produce the correct form.

Cognitive Process: Language involves the understanding of underlying rules: if we master these rules, we will be able to apply them in different contexts.

Skill-learning: Language is a skill. We learn it in school just as we learn other skills: someone explains the rules to us, we understand and practice them until we use them fluently and skillfully.

8Language acquisition theories and teaching methodologies (cont’d)

The main contrasting ideas underlying these four theories: explicit vs. implicit teaching and learning. An implicit model: We learn languages through subconscious

acquisition without actually working out rules or translating words. The implicit model is expressed in the ____________ items.

An explicit model: we need to consciously understand how the language works, expressed in the ___________________ items.

All these theories have some truth in them! None on its own cover the complexity of second-language-learning process.

Which second language acquisition model makes more sense to you?

9Language teaching approaches and methodologies

What is an approach to language learning? Your thoughts and beliefs about how language works and how it is

learned. An approach to language learning consists of the techniques and

activities you decide to use in order to learn a language. What is a methodology?

A methodology is a collection of teaching procedures that are compatible with a particular approach

There have been quite a number of approaches and methodologies used for language teaching in the twentieth century (e.g. grammar-translation method, audio-lingual method etc…)

10Language teaching approaches and methodologies (cont’d)

Grammar-translation method: It was historically used in teaching Latin and Greek. Classes are taught in the students' mother tongue, with little active

use of the target language.  Elaborate explanations of grammar are always provided. Grammar

instruction provides the rules for putting words together. Subject + am/is/are + Verbing (+Object)

Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue, and vice versa. 

Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.

11Language teaching approaches and methodologies (cont’d)

Direct Method: It started as a reaction to the grammar-translation method in an

attempt to use the target language in the classroom. Lessons begin with a dialogue using a modern conversational style in

the target language. Material is first presented orally with actions or pictures. The mother

tongue is NEVER used in instruction. There is no translation.  Questions are answered in the target language. Grammar is taught

inductively--rules are generalized from the practice and experience with the target language.

Culture is considered an important aspect of learning the language.  The culture associated with the target language is also taught inductively.

12Language teaching approaches and methodologies (cont’d)

Audio-lingual Method (Audio-lingualism)  Language learning is viewed as habit formation. Thus this method

promotes the use of repetition, memorization and teacher-led drilling. Structures are sequenced and taught one at a time. Structural patterns

are taught using repetitive drills. Little or no grammatical explanations are provided; grammar is taught

inductively. Skills are sequenced: Listening, speaking, reading and writ. PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production) / Modern Audio-lingualism

It is used to teach functions, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. In a PPP lesson there are three stages: first, the teacher presents the

target language; then, students practise the new language items; and finally they use their own ideas to talk about themselves /things.

13Language teaching approaches and methodologies (cont’d)

The Communicative Approach Communicative Competence: It is the acquisition of the ability to use

a language to achieve your communicative purposes. Communicative competence represents a shift in focus from the

grammatical to the communicative properties of the language. The Communicative approach is based on the assumption that

language is for communication and we learn it through naturalistic acquisition processes (i.e. the way we learn our native language).

The classroom is more learner-centred and conveying of meanings is seen as more important than accuracy.

Some methodologies based on the CA: task-based instruction and CLIL.

14Language teaching approaches and methodologies (cont’d)

The Post-communicative Approach It maintains the idea that the main function of language is effective

communication. Methodologies should involve plenty of comm. tasks. It gives special emphasis on teaching grammar, vocabulary,

pronunciation and spelling. It also includes techniques such as translation and learning dialogues

or texts by heart. This approach is a recognition that there is not one specific ‘best'

way to teach a language. It covers more than just speaking, or performing functional tasks; it also includes literature and other things.

15Computerized Teaching Materials

A massive development in the area of language teaching materials and a significant increase in the use of computers / digital sources.

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) started to be widely used in the 1990s and 2000s.

Students and teachers still prefer to do most of their learning and teaching through a coursebook in the classroom.

The main question is not whether to use computerized materials or not, but how and where to use them.

16Using technology in the classroom

The production of new materials by teachers or of assignments by students could be done more quickly and easily through software.

Data projectors enable presentations and teaching materials to be displayed on a screen.

The interactive whiteboard (IWB) combines the functions of data projector and the whiteboard.

The use of Internet: communication through email outside the classroom, information gathering through the World Wide Web.

17Motivation

Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move toward a goal. It is an important factor in learning language successfully.

Integrative and Instrumental Motivation Integrative Motivation: It refers to the desire of the learner to learn

the language in order to integrate into the community of the speakers of that language.

Instrumental Motivation: It is the need to learn the language for material or educational benefit: to get a (better) job, to go to graduate school.

Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic (outside) motivation involves external conditions such as

material rewards (e.g. prize, money), good grades and praise.

18Motivation (cont’d)

Intrinsic motivation: It is self-motivation and comes from ‘inside’. Intrinsically-motivated students work on an activity because they find

it useful and relevant to their life and their objectives. Self and Personal Identity

It refers to how we see ourselves or wish to see ourselves in the future. A student who sees himself or herself as high-achieving will make more effort in learning.

A student who wants to go and live abroad will learn English or another language quickly and easily. (do the task on page 11)

19What to do to motivate language learners?

Take the opportunity to show them how important it is to speak English – further study and possible employment, free-time activities, getting to know other cultures.

Promoting their self-image as successful learners – teachers should do their best to make sure students succeed in tasks, take every opportunity to encourage them!

Ensure that classroom activities are interesting – teachers need to use certain strategies in task design to maintain student interest.

20Wrap-up

What have we done so far?

Teaching Priorities

English as an international language

Language-acquisition theories and teaching methodologies

Computerized teaching materials

Motivation

21Coming up next!

The Lesson!