Methods of Teaching English First Edition

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Methods of Teaching English First Edition

Dr. Sami Abdulazeez Mohammed Samia Mohammed

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‫املطبعة املركزية ‪ /‬جامعة دياىل‬ ‫العراق – دياىل طريق بغداد ‪ /‬بعقوبة القديم‬

‫اسم الكتاب‪Methods of Teaching English :‬‬ ‫تأليف‪Dr. Sami Abdulazeez Mohammed :‬‬ ‫‪Samia Mohammed‬‬ ‫عدد النسخ‪150 :‬‬ ‫تصميم الغالف‪ :‬عمار مهنا‬ ‫تنفيذ‪ :‬املطبعة املركزية ‪ /‬جامعة دياىل‬ ‫سنة الطبع‪ 3418 :‬هـ ‪ 1037 -‬م‬ ‫االمييل‪[email protected] :‬‬

‫مجيع حقوق امللكية األدبية والفنية حمفوظة للمؤلف وحيظر‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫طبع أو تصوير أو ترمجة أو إعادة تنضيد الكتاب كامال أو جمزءا‬ ‫أو تسجيله على أشرطة كاسيت أو إدخاله على احلاسوب أو‬ ‫ً‬ ‫برجمته على اسطوانات ضوئية إال مبوافقة املؤلف خطيا‬ ‫رقم اإليداع يف دار الكتب والوثائق الوطنية ببغداد (‪ )3133‬لسنة (‬

‫م)‬

Preface Teaching' i.e. ' effective teaching' is a complex and distinct art. With the change in time and circumstances ' teaching-learning' process has changed tremendously. English Language teaching requires special skills. The present work is designed to equip teachers and students with Modern Methods of teaching English. It is hoped that this work may prove a veritable mine of information. The editors acknowledge their gratefulness to all learned writers whose writings are cited or substantially made use of in the present work. Constructive suggestions for improvement of the work from the learned readers are welcome.

Dr. Sami A.Mohammed

Samia M. Erzooki

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Methods of Teaching English

Pages

Contents Chapter One: Definition of Basic Terms

4-7

Chapter Two: Grammar Translation Method

8-16

Chapter Three: The Direct Method

17-26

Chapter Four:The Audiolingual Method

27-34

Chapter Five:The Silent Way

35-41

Chapter Six: Communicative Language Teaching 42-52 Chapter Seven: The Eclecting Teaching

53-58

Chapter Eight: Teaching Listening

59-65

Chapter Nine : Teaching Speaking

66-74

Chapter Ten: Teaching Pronunciation

75-86

Chapter Eleven: Teaching Reading

87-107

Chapter Twelve :Teaching Writing

108-112

Lesson Planning : Chapter Thirteen

113-125

Chapter Fourteen: The Learner

126-150

Chapter Fifteen :General Review

151-207

References

208-214

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Methods of Teaching English Chapter One : Definition of Basic Terms

Definitions you need to know before you start learning methods of teaching English as a foreign language: First language: this term refers to the language a person learns from birth. Mother tongue: One’s first language. It is used for the language that a person learnt at home (usually from his parents).

Target language : the language to be learned.

A second language is a language that is not your native but you have learned it to get by in your daily life. The typical vocabulary of a second-language speaker will be about household items, groceries, various routine needs such as going to the doctor, to the hairdresser, calling a 4

plumber, being familiar with local holidays. Its purpose is to help you survive. One could say that immigrants or ethnic minorities in a certain country will be learning this language as their second language.

A foreign language is a language you learn because you are interested in it for whatever reason. The typical vocabulary of a foreign language speaker will include amazingly varied topics such as politics, philosophy, science, literature – not necessarily useful in real life but picked randomly anyway from textbooks and other media used for the enhancement of language learning. A foreign language may be the one you will never have an opportunity to use in you day-to-day tasks. Approach : is a set of assumptions, theoretical positions and beliefs about the nature of a language, so it is consist on what we belief about language and how language is learned, an approach is axiomatic, it is something evident, because it shows or specify the nature of the subject to be taught.

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A method is the systematic plan, is the orderly procedures based on the approach, the method is the planning that is built based on our approach and this planning is focus in our goals of the teaching and learning. Technique or techniques : are the strategies like exercises, tasks, activities like didactic games, role playing among others, that can be applied in a classroom to students in order a teacher can reach pedagogical goals. Purpose: what you want to achieve when you do something; the reason you do or plan something, and the thing you want to achieve when you do it: The games have an educational purpose. Aim: something you hope to achieve by doing something: The main aim of the plan was to provide employment for local people. Goal: something important that you hope to achieve in the future, even though it may take a long time: The country can still achieve its goal of reducing poverty by a third. 6

Target: the exact result that a person or organization intends to achieve by doing something, often the amount of money they want to get; a particular amount or total that you want to achieve: The Company is on track to meet its target of increasing profits by 10%. Objective: the specific thing that you are trying to achieve – used especially about things that have been officially discussed and agreed upon in business, politics, etc. and agreed upon in business, politics, etc.: Their main objective is to halt the flow of drugs. | We met to set the business objectives for the coming year. Ambition: something that you very much want to achieve in your future career: Her ambition was to go to law school and become an attorney. | Earlier this year, he achieved his ambition of competing in the Olympic Games.

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Chapter Two: Grammar Translation Method

2.1.Historical background of GTM The Grammar Translation Method of foreign language teaching is one of the most traditional methods, dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. At that time , it was believed that the body and mind were separated and the mind consisted of three parts: the will, emotions, and intellect. They supposed that if the intellect is sharpened enough, it can control the will and emotions. It was believed that learning classical literature of the Greeks and Romans, as well as mathematics, is necessary for the development of mental discipline. In other words, the aim of teaching Latin and Greek was not the learners’ ability to speak them. The aims were rather to develop logical thinking and intellectual capacities, to have a generally educational and civilizing effect and also to improve the standard of learners’ mother tongue. 8

2.2. Principles and Characteristics:  The teacher is the authority figure, and students do as told.  The teacher initiates most interaction. The students have little interaction with each other.  Literary language is superior to spoken language.  Culture consists of literature and the fine arts.  Vocabulary and grammar are important. Vocabulary is often taught through lists of words.  Reading and writing are the skills focused on. Little attention is given to punctuation.  The native language is used most of the time in teaching.  Written assignments and tests are given to assess learning.  The teacher provides the correct answer if the students do not know it.

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2.3.Principles and characteristics of GTM 1. The goal of foreign language learning through the Grammar Translation Method was to read its literature and also to benefit from the 'mental discipline' and also to benefit from the 'mental discipline' and' intellectual development' that are the direct results and' intellectual development that are the direct results at this point, emphasize that the language could be learnt through its grammar rules, and further, an application of these rules in translation. This in turn automatically leads one to the conclusion that language learning is nothing but simple memorization of rules and facts. 2. Reading and writing (which eventually means translation) skills were given the major role to play whereas the speaking skill was paid little or no attention.

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3. Memorization and translation were used as means of learning a language. Words, however, were taught through bilingual word lists. 4. The sentence as a unit was taken into consideration as a distinguishing part, in this method. The reason was a distinguishing part, in this method. The reason was simply because the grammar was illustrated through the sentence which later on was translated. 5. Accuracy was emphasized throughout the method and a high standard was demanded. 6. In this method grammar was taught through a deductive method. Rules were presented and learners were given a chance to study and practice the rules and the practice as we know was dependent more on translation exercises.

The mother According to Prator and Celce-Murcia (1991), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows: (1) Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.

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(2) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words. (3) Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given. (4) Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words. (5) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early. (6) Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis. (7) Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue. (8) Little or no attention is given to pronunciation. Tongue of the learner was used as a medium of instruction.

2.4. Advantages of GTM The Grammar Translation Method has been practiced so widely and has survived so long for its main advantages. First, as many schools still have classes with large number of students, GTM with its focus on teacher 12

centeredness is cost-effective and appropriate. Next, its main technique, translation into learner's L1, along with some sort of accuracy in understanding synonyms helps meaning to be clarified and the possibility of any misinterpretation or misunderstanding removed. Further, this method saves a lot of time because via translation from one language into another the meanings, words and phrases of the target language would quickly be explained. So, even teachers who are not fluent in L2 can teach through this method. Finally, teachers are less challenged because the students understand, and will not have any problems in responding the comprehension questions asked in the first language. This helps teachers to understand whether the students have learned what they were taught or not.

2.5. Disadvantages of GTM There have been various disadvantages of the use of the grammar translation method for the teaching of modern languages.

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 Speaking and understanding are more important for learners of modern languages than reading and writing. However, the grammar translation method prefers written language to spoken language.  This method uses a graded grammatical syllabus and learners must gradually accumulate and accurate command of each item in the syllabus. This may be a big disadvantage for learners who want to start using the language straight away.  Learning through exposure, experience and use is preferred nowadays. But grammar translation method uses conscious memorization of grammar rules or vocabulary instead.  In grammar translation method the teacher and the learners speak mainly in their mother tongue. But the last experience shows that the target language should be used as much as possible.  In the grammar translation method the teacher plays a very prominent role and learners interact with the teacher, not with each other. Nowadays it is recommended that learners should make their own

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discoveries independently. They should be able to co-operate as well.  At present it is believed that translation, a basic technique in the Grammar Translation Method, is not the best way how to learn a new language. It is better to think in that language instead.  The Grammar Translation Method insists on accuracy. However, nowadays it is believed that fluency is more important.

2.6. Typical Techniques (1) Translation of a Literary Passage (Translating target language to native language)

(2) Reading Comprehension Questions (Finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience)

(3) Antonyms/Synonyms

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(Finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words).

(4) Cognates (Learning

spelling/sound

patterns

that

correspond

between L1 and the target language)

(5) Deductive Application of Rule (Understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples)

(6) Fill-in-the-blanks (Filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type).

(7) Memorization (Memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms)

(8) Use Words in Sentences 16

(Students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words)

(9) Composition (Students write about a topic using the target language)

Chapter Three: The Direct Method

3.1. Definitions Direct Method: A method for teaching language that avoid the use of the native tongue, and that emphasizes listening / speaking over reading / writing. The Direct Method is a reaction against the Grammar-Translation Method. It is also called as the Natural Method in which the children are trained to learn English in the same nature way in which they learn mother tongue. The Direct Method is a not a method in itself, but it is a set of principles to be followed while teaching. The basic principle of the Method is that English is learnt in the same way as the mother tongue is learnt. 17

On the other hand, the Direct Method is a language teaching method popular in the only twentieth century that emphasized direct target language use and communication skills and inductive grammar without recourse to translation from the first language. 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 through the use of demonstration and visual aids, with no recourse to the student's native language.

3.2. Principles of the Direct Method 1. Objectives (e.g. relia or pictures) presented in the immediate classroom environment should be used to help students understand the meaning. 2. The native language should not be used in the classroom. 3. The teacher should demonstrate, not explain or translate. It is desirable that students make a direct

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association between the target language and meaning. 4. Students should learn to think in the target language as soon as possible. Vocabulary is acquired more naturally if students use it in full sentences, rather than memorizing word lists. 5. Pronunciation should be worked on right from the beginning of language instructions 6. A foreign language can be learnt in the same way as the native language is learnt. 7. Language

is

fundamentally

oral.

Writing

is

subsidiary to speech. 8. Language learning chiefly involves the acquisition of the four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. 9. Repetition was essential if associations had to be formed and reinforced. The teacher should begin with a limited number of items. 10. Memory depends not only on repetition, but attention and interest as well. So, if a learner is motivated and wants to learn a language, he will do it. 19

11. Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language. 12. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught. 13. Grammar was taught inductively. 14. The Direct Method is named "direct" because meaning should be connected directly with the target language without translation into the native language. 15. The Direct Method was developed by maximilian Bertliz towards the end of the 19th century as a reaction to the Grammar-Translation method.

3.3. Advantages of the Direct Method There are certain advantages in the Direct Method:  In the Direct Method, the pupil learns English in the same way he learnt his mother tongue. He listens to the statement and questions from the teacher and practices speech himself.

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 The extensive oral work helps the pupil to think in English, avoid his mother tongue and speak English.  The Direct Method, with its emphasis on speech practice, helps correction of mistakes the moment they are made.  More items on the syllabus can be covered in a short time.  The method helps the learners develop oral fluency and spontaneity.  The learners get a lot of exposure to the English language.  The use of pictures, objects, models, illustrations, actions and demonstrations make the lesson interesting and real.  Their method facilitates reading and writing.  The child gets many opportunities to listen to spoken English, this is very important for language mastery.  It helps in bringing the words of the passive vocabulary into active vocabulary.  This method is based on full of activity, so it is very interesting and exciting. 21

3.4. Disadvantages of the Direct Method Some of the disadvantages of the Direct Method are:  Vocabulary is presented not on the basis of frequency but on the basis of demonstrability in class. Sometimes, unless words are presented easily to learners.  The approach does not involve sufficient emphasis on oral practice. Often only the first few weeks are devoted to oral practice. As a matter of fact, many advocates of the direct method use reading as the skill through which all language activities are channeled.  The teacher often has to use expression very much above the level of his students if he insists on the use of nothing but the foreign language.

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 Reading and writing are neglected or postponed to a later stage. So this is not a complete method in itself.  This method finds difficulty for slow learners.  This method does not suit or satisfy the needs of individual students in large classes.  It is difficult to give the meanings of words in English without the use of the mother tongue.  Audiovisual aids are not easily available, so the method becomes expensive and is beyond the reach of ordinary schools and teachers.  This method is not suitable to all students and would be difficult for average and below average students.  Ignores the use of the mother tongue completely. So it is difficult to explain the meaning of abstract words.  There are not enough competent teachers to use this method effectively.

3.5. Teacher/student role in the Direct Method Although the teacher directs the class activities, the student role is less passive than in the Grammar-

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Translation Method. The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching-learning process In direct method, teachers introduce a new target language word or phrase to the students and there is no mother tongue. Therefore, the role of the teacher is as demonstrator because the teacher demonstrates the meaning of words through the use of realia , pictures or pantomime, they never translate it into the student's native language . The teacher is also a facilitator because he facilitates the students with the target language. The teacher can be the monitor of the students. He watches the students' progress in using the target language. The students' role in direct method is the active learner . They are active in exploring new words, expression ...etc.

3.6. The Techniques of the Direct Method There are a lot of techniques adopted in the Direct Method, some of them as follows: 

Reading Aloud 24

Students take turns reading sections of a passage, play or dialogue out loud. At the end of each student's turn, the teacher uses gestures, pictures, realia, examples or other means to make the meaning of the section clear. 

Question and Answer Exercise

This exercise is conducted only in the target language. Students are asked questions and answer in full sentences so that they practice new words and grammatical structures. They have the opportunity to ask questions as well as answer them.  Map Drawing The class included one example of a technique used to give students listening comprehension practice. The students were given a map with the geographical features unnamed. Then the teacher gave the students directions such as the following, 

Dictation

The teacher reads the passage tree times. First time the teacher reads it at a normal speed, while the students just listen. The second time he reads the passage phrase by 25

phrase, pausing long enough to allow students to write down what they have heard.The last time the teacher again reads at a normal speed and students check their work.

 Paragraph writing The teacher in this class asked the students to write a paragraph in their own words, on the major geographical features of the United States. They could have done this from memory or they could have used the reading passage in the lesson as a model.

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Chapter Four: The Audio Lingual Method

4.1. Definition . The Audio Lingual method id s method of foreign language teaching which emphasizes the teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing. It uses dialogues as the main form of language presentation and drills as the main training techniques. Mother tongue is discouraged in the classroom. 4.2.

Background. The Audio Lingual method was

developed in the U.S. during the Second World War. At the time, the U.S. government found it a great necessity to set up a special language-training program to supply the war with language personnel. Therefore, the government commissioned American universities to 27

develop foreign langue program for military personnel. Thus the Army specialized Training Programme (ASTP) was establishedin 1942. The objectives of the army programme were for students to attain conversational proficiency in a variety of foreign languages. The method used was known as the “informant method”, since it used a native speaker of the language, the informant, and a linguist. The informant served as a source of language for imitation, and the linguist supervised the learning experience. The intensive system adopted by the army achieved excellent results. Linguists and applied linguists during this period were becoming increasingly involved in the teaching of English as a foreign language. In 1941 the first English Language institute in the U.S. was established to in the University of Michigan. The director of the institute was Charles Fries, who applied the principals of structural linguists to language teaching. The result is an approach which advocated aural training first, then pronunciation training, followed by speaking, reading and writing. The emergence of the Audio Lingual method resulted from the increased attention to foreign language teaching in 28

the U.S. towards the end of the 1950s. The need for a radical change and rethinking of foreign language teaching methodology made language teaching specialist set about developing a method that was applicable to conditions in U.S. college and university classrooms. They drew on the earlier experience of the army programmes and the Aural-Oral or structural approach developed by Fries and his colleagues, adding insights taken from behaviorist psychology. This combination of structural linguistic theory, aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the Audio Lingual method, which was widely adopted for teaching foreign languages in North American colleges and universities. The features of the audio lingual method, taken from Brown (1994:57) and adapted from Prator and CelceMurcia (1979). 1. New material is presented in dialog form. 2. There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and over learning. 3. Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time. 29

4. Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills. 5. There is little or no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation. 6. Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context. 7. There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids. 8. Great importance is attached to pronunciation. 9. Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted. 10. Successful responses are immediately reinforced. 11. There is great effort to get students to produce errorfree utterances. 12. There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.

4.3. . The principles of this method are: 1. Instructions are given in the target language.

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2. Language forms occur within a context. 3. Students’ native language interferes as little as possible with the students’ attempts to acquire the target language. 4. Teaching is directed to provide students with a native-speaker-like model. 5. Errors are carefully avoided because they lead to the formation of bad habits. 6. Positive reinforcement helps the student to develop correct habits. 7. The teacher is regarded as an orchestra leaderconducting, guiding and controlling the students’ behavior in the target language. 8. Learning a foreign language is treated on par with the native language learning. 9. Students are taken to be the imitators of the teacher’s model or the tapes. 10.

The dialogue is the chief means of presenting

vocabulary, structures and it is learned through repetition and imitation. 31

11.

Memorization and pattern drills are the

practice techniques that are emphasized. 12.

Listening and speaking are given priority in

language teaching, and they precede reading and writing.

4.4. The teacher role The teacher is like an orchestra leader, directing and controlling the language behavior of his/her students. He/She also is responsible for providing his/her students with a good model for imitation.

4.5. The student role Students are imitators of the teacher's model or the tapes she supplies of model speakers. They follow the teacher's directions and respond as accurately and as rapidly as possible.

4.6. Advantages 32

 Listening and speaking skills are emphasized and, especially the former, rigorously developed. 

The use of visual aids is effective in vocabulary teaching.



The method is just as functional and easy to execute for larger groups.



Correct pronunciation and structure are emphasized and acquired.



It is a teacher-dominated method.



It is a mechanical method since it demands pattern practice, drilling, and memorization.



The learner is in a directed role; the learner has little control over the material studied or the method of study.



It is grounded on a solid theory of language learning.

4.7. Disadvantages

33



The behaviorist approach to learning is now discredited.

Many

scholars

have

proved

its

attention

to

weakness. 

It

does

not

pay

sufficient

communicative competence. 

Only language form is considered while meaning is neglected.



Equal importance is not given to all four skills.



It is a teacher-dominated method.



It is a mechanical method since it demands pattern practice, drilling, and memorization over functional learning and organic usage.



The learner is in a passive role; the learner has little control over their learning.

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Chapter Five : The Silent Way

5.1. Definition The silent way capitalized on such discovery-learning procedures. Gattegno (1972) believed that learners should

develop

independence,

autonomy,

and

responsibility. At the same time, learner in salient way classroom had to cooperate with each other in the process of solving language problems The silent way is a language-teaching method ,that makes extensive use of silence as a teaching technique Gattegno introduced the method in 1963, in his book teaching foreign language in schools. Gattegno was 35

critical of mainstream language education at the time, and he based the method on his general theories of education rather than on existing language pedagogy. It is usually regarded as an "alternative" language teaching method.

5.2. The principles of the silent way  Teachers should concentrate on how students learn, not on how to teach.  Imitation and drill are not the primary means by which students learn.  Learning consists of trial and error, deliberate experimentation, suspending

judgment, and

revising conclusions.  In learning, learners draw on everything that they already know, especially their native language.  The teacher must not interfere with the learning process.

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 These principles situate the silent way in the tradition of discovery learning, which sees learning as a creative problem –solving activity.  Students need to learn to listen to themselves.  Student can learn from one another the teacher’s silence encourages group cooperation.  The teacher work with the student while the students work on the language.  Errors are important and necessary to learning .They show the teacher where things are unclear.  The skills of speaking, reading, and writing reinforce one another.  The syllabus is composed of linguistic structure.  A teacher’s silence frees the teacher to closely observe the students’ behavior.

5.3. The role of teacher and the role of learner The teacher is a technician and engineer. ‘Only the learner can do the learning,’ but the teacher, relying on what his students already know, can give what help is necessary, focus the students’ perception, ‘force their awareness’, and ‘provide exercises to insure their facility’ with the language. 37

The teacher should respect the autonomy of the learners in their attempts at relating and interacting with the new challenges. The role of the students is to make use of what they know, to free themselves of any obstacles that would interfere with giving their utmost attention to the learning task, and to actively engage in exploring the language. As Gattegno says, the teacher works with the student; the student works on the language. The silent way has seemed somewhat inhuman, with the teacher’s silence acting as a barrier rather than an incentive. But to other, the reliance student are forced upon themselves and upon each other is exciting and liberating. It is students who should take responsibility for their learning; it is the teacher’s job to organize this. The teacher remains silent unless speaking becomes absolutely necessary. The learner write out the sentences learnt. The teacher’s silence encourages peer interaction and group cooperation. The pupils listen and the learner’s main task is to recall and try to imitate the teacher’s presentation as best

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as they can. A lot of peer interaction or correction follows as well. Language learning is done best in anon-threatening atmosphere. The teacher is salient ‘engineer’ in the class and so the learner do not threatened. Learner errors are dealt through self-monitoring and peer correction. No disapproval is indicated by the teacher.

5.4. Advantages of the Silent Way 1. Learning through problem solving looks attractive especially because: a) creativity, b) discovery , c) increase in intelligent potency and, d) long term memory.

2. The indirect role of the teacher highlights the importance and the centrality of the learner who is responsible in figuring out and testing the

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hypotheses about how language works. In other word teaching is subordinated to learning.

5.5. Disadvantages 1. The silent way is often criticized of being a harsh method. The learner works in isolation and communication is lacking badly in a silent way classroom. 2. With minimum help on the part of the teacher, the silent way method may put the learning itself at stake. 3. The material (the rods and the charts) used in this method will certainly fail to introduce all aspects of language. Other material will have to be introduced.

5.6. The Techniques of the silent way  sound-color chart

41

The chart contains blocks of color, each one representing a sound in the target language. The teacher, and later the students, point to block of color on form syllables, words, and even sentence. Although we did not see it in this lesson, sometimes the teacher will tap a particular block of color very hard when forming a word.

 Teacher’s silence The teacher gives just as much help as is necessary and then is silent. Or the teacher sets up an unambiguous, puts a language structure into circulation (for example, Take ……rod’), and then is silent.  Peer correction Students are encouraged to help another student when he or she is experiencing difficulty.  self-correction Gestures We already examined some self-correction techniques in the chapter on the Direct Method. Some of the particular gestures of the silent way could be added to this list.  word chart 41

The teacher, and later the students, points to words on the wall charts in a sequence so that student can read aloud the sentences they have spoken.

Chapter Six : Communicative Language Teaching

6.1. Definitions (A functional approach since 1970s): It is an approach, not a method; a unified but broadly based theoretical position about the nature of language and of language learning and teaching. This approach is found in the changes in the British language teaching tradition dating from the late 1960s. A lot of British linguists contributed to the formation of the Communicative

Approach 42

which

aims

to

make

communicative competence . the goal of language teaching and develop procedures for the teaching of the four

language

interdependence

skills of

that

language

acknowledge and

the

communication.

Communicative competence is what a speaker needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community. CLT it is an approach rather than a method, since it represents a philosophy of teaching that is based on communicative language use. Advocated by many applied linguists, CLT in their views emphasizes notional-functional

concepts

and

communicative

competence, rather than grammatical structures, as central to teaching.

6.2. The Principles of CLT: 1. An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language. 2. The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.

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3. The provision of opportunities for learners to focus not only on the language but also on the learning process of itself. 4. An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning. 5. An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.

6.3. The major characteristics are: • Meaning is primary; contextualization is basic. • Attempts to communicate in TL are encouraged in the beginning of instruction. • Material sequencing is determined by the content, meaning, and function. • First language is acceptable when feasible. • Activities and strategies for learning are varied.

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• Communicative competence is the goal of instruction.

6.4. The dimensions of communicative competence: 1- Grammatical

competence-similar

to

linguistic

competence by Chomsky by what is formally possible 2- Sociolinguistic competence-understanding of the social context in which communication takes place, including role relationships, the shared information of the participants, and the purpose for their interaction 3- Discourse

competence-the

interpretation

of

individual message elements in terms of cohesion and coherence 4- Strategic competence-the coping strategies to initiate, terminate, maintain, repair, and redirect communication.

6.5. Theory of Language

45

a person who acquires communicative competence acquires both knowledge and ability for language use with respect to the following:

1- whether something is formally possible; 2- whether something is feasible in virtue of the means of implementation available; 3- whether something is appropriate in relation to a context in which it is used and evaluated; 4- whether something is in fact done, actually performed and what its doing entails

6.6. Theory of learning Three principles ((communication, task, meaningfulness))  The

communication

principle:

Activities

that

involve communication promote language learning.  The task principle: Activities that involve the completion of real-world tasks promote learning.

46

 The meaningfulness principle: Learners must be engaged in meaningful and authentic language use for learning to take place.

6.7. Objectives  To communicate in the target language in authentic situations . To achieve this goal , students need to know: 1-Linguistic forms 2-Meanings 3-Functions  To acquire knowledge of the TL system  To acquire knowledge of rules of speaking in the TL  To use and respond to different types of speech acts  To use language appropriately

6.8. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized? 47

 Language functions might be emphasized over forms.  Students work with language at the suprasentential or discourse level. They learn about cohesion and coherence.  Students work with all four skills from the beginning: oral communication, reading the article, listening , writing .

6.9. The role of the teacher  A facilitator: facilitates communication in the classroom and establishes situations likely to promote communication.  An advisor in the activities ,answering students’ questions and monitoring their Performance.

48

 A co-communicator, engaging in the activities with the students. 6.10. How does the teacher respond to student errors? - Errors of form are tolerated during fluency –based activities & are seen as a natural outcome of the development of communication skills.

6.11. The role of students  Communicators : they are actively engaged 1- In negotiating meaning. 2- In trying to make themselves understood and 3- In understanding others  More responsible managers of their own learning.  Negotiator  Communicator  Contributor  independent learner

6.12. The role of the students’ native language  Sensible and careful use of students’ native language is permitted in CLT. 49

 The target language should be used not only during communicative activities, but also for explaining the activities to the students or in assigning homework.

6.13. Techniques in CLT 1. Role Play: It involves giving the learner roles and assigning an objective to be accomplished. For example, student A may play the role of a writer in a restaurant and student B may order food and drink.

2. Simulation: Simulation usually involves a large group. For example, the group may be involved in the production of a plan for a new town. This is a more complex task than role-play. Each learner will be given a different role. For example they will be responsible for housing, traffic, communication,

etc.

This

requires

background

information and the creation of a new way of living.

51

3. Drama: Drama is another activity that is similar to role-play or simulation. The group members may write the script and perform it.

4.

Projects:

Members

in

groups

may

prepare

newsletters, fact sheets, etc. for the school.

5. Interview: Interviews can be used for pair work (e.g. employer and a prospective employee) or group work. For example one learner pretends to be a well-known politician/university chancellor/ minister or mayor and the group pretend to be journalists.

6. Problem Solving: In problem solving activities the group is given a problem to solve. The problems may be simple, such as giving directions on a map or quite complex, such as solving amystery in a crime story. All

activities

mentioned

have

three

features

of

communication: information gap, choice, and feedback.

6.14. Advantages of CLT:

51

CLT has made major contributions to modern foreign language teaching for its obvious advantages. For instance, passing the responsibility of learning on to the learners and acquiring those to speak more will increase their fluency, as well as their confidence in the target language. Besides, their communicative competence develops and this sense of achievement helps them to enjoy the class more.

6.15. Disadvantages of CLT CLT has been criticized for the challenge it has for the

teachers.

The

teacher

alone

should prepare

motivating and creative material so that every learner gets involved in the process of learning. Besides, she/he has to decide about the right time to provide feedback, which is really demanding, especially in a big class. Communicative language teaching is considered the best approach nowadays, so it is rarely criticized. However, Brown warns that there are certain caveats. He claims that a teacher should not overdo certain features of this approach; they have to combine it with common sense 52

and balance the approach moderately. Brown further claims that teachers need to be aware that there are numerous interpretations of communicative language teaching.

Chapter Seven : The Eclectic Approach

53

The Eclectic Approach means the collections of all the good points of different methods and then using them for teaching something. It is the label given to those teachers who move away from following one specific methodology into using various techniques and activities from a range of language teaching approach and methodologies. The eclectic approach was proposed as a reaction to the profusion of teaching methods in 1970s and 1980s and the dogmatism often used in the application of these methods. The idea of choosing from different method to suite for one`s teaching purposes and situation is not a new one. For example , Memorandum on the teaching of Modern languages published 1929 on the basis of a British study by Incorporated of Assistant Masters in the secondary

schools

recommended

the

eclectic



compromise method “ as a solution to the language teaching method debate . 7.1. Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions but instead draw upon multiple theories , styles , or ideas 54

to gain complementary insights into a subject , or applies different theories in particular. The eclectic method provides a third option for teachers because it fuses elements from traditional and cognitive methods to deliver on the strengths of both. It includes content integration, knowledge construction, prejudice reduction, equity pedagogy, and empowerment of competitive aptitudes. To accommodate these changes, teachers need a new way of thinking. The concept of bilingual knowledge learning has evolved towards a vision based more on management and creation rather than one based on learning only. Still, how to apply them to bilingual learning is a new concept and continually inspires teachers to move forward. Teachers should help children learn by thinking about controlling, and effectively using their own mental process. Cognitive learning helps children process new information by taking advantage of knowledge and attitudes that children already have. Under the principles of cognitive theory, knowledge that makes sense and has significance to children is more meaningful than inert knowledge and knowledge learned by rote. Knowledge 55

to solve problems and to use skills in situations like those they are likely to encounter in real life or in other senses in which teachers expect learning to transfer to.

7.2. The Principles of eclectic approach 1- The teaching process should serve the pupils, not a particular method. 2- Language learning should be taught in the target language whenever possible. 3- Language learning must be meaningful and interesting. 4- Subject content enriches and provides a cognitive base to the language classroom. 5- Mimicry , memorization , and pattern practice may serve the needs in the classroom at the teacher`s discretion . 6- Vocabulary

acquisition

should

be

used

in

meaningful contexts. Continuous appropriate usage will aid in vocabulary retention.

56

7- Second language learning brings a great of experience and knowledge to their language situation. 8- Learner`s use of translation from native language to second

language

establishes

a

basis

for

communication. 9- Writing and reading should not be delay and should be incorporated in almost every English language teaching lesson.

7.3. Teacher`s Role 1- The teacher is the master of teaching situation and methods of teaching are tools in his hand. 2- An eclectic teacher needs to be imaginative, energetic, and willing to experiment. With so much to draw from, no eclectics need lack for ideas for keeping lessons varied and interesting . 3- This approach requires from the teachers to enough about the various sources, systems and styles of teaching to choose wisely between what is not useful. It requires of both an intelligent skepticism 57

and a ready enthusiasm a willingness to reject both old and new techniques that seem unsuitable and an eagerness to refresh their teaching with useful adaptions of techniques both new and old.

7.4. Learner`s Role 1- Students should be given the opportunity to respond critically to their experience in a particular class. 2- Students should learn from each other not simply from the teacher.

7.5.The Criticism of the Eclectic Approach The main criticism of the eclecticism are the following points : 1- It does not offer any guidance on what basis and by what principles aspects of different method can be selected and combined. 2- May lead to confusion because there are too many views expressed in an eclectic explanation.

58

3- Because the different approaches are very different from each other it is difficult to combine them to make one new theory. 4- It sometimes misunderstood to mean that all approaches are equally valid and that therefore it is not important to know about various methods, ideas , new experience or new trends. 5- It does not recognized the fundamental weaknesses in the method concept. 6- It is the distinctiveness of the methods as complete entities that can be called into question.

7.6. Techniques of the Eclectic Approach Teachers need techniques that work in their particular situation with the specific objectives that are meaningful for the kind of students they have in their classes, and they also need the stimulation of a new approach from time to time to encourage them in reading discussion

with

colleagues

,

and

classroom

experimentation . Trying out new ideas in class is exciting and challenging . it is for these reasons that 59

many experienced teacher are eclectic in their teaching . they like to retain what they know from experience to be effective , while experimenting with novel techniques and activities which hold promise for even more successful teaching.

Chapter Eight : Teaching Listening

61

8.1. Models of Listening Process 1- Top-down and bottom-up processing With regard to language processing, it is now generally recognized that learners need to adopt both top-down and bottom-up processing strategies. Bottom-up processing strategies emphasize the individual components of spoken messages: the phonemes and individual lexical and grammatical elements which need to be understood in order to understand the messages. Top-down processing strategies emphasize the macro-features of text such as the speaker’s purpose and the topic of the message. Chaudron & Richards (1986 cited in Habibi, Jahandar & Khodabandehlou, 2013) explained that topdown processing includes prediction and inference based on facts, propositions and expectations. That is to say it is rather possible to comprehend the meaning of a word prior to decoding its sounds, as individuals have many kinds of knowledge, including world knowledge. This view is taken from real life situations in which

one

knows

what

basically

occurs

and

consequently has expectations of what one will hear. 61

Therefore, top-down processing, occurs from an internal source

from

background

knowledge

and

world

expectations. It was asserted by Richards (1990) that an understanding of the role of bottom-up and top-down processes in listening is the heart of listening comprehension. Even though the cognitive process of listening cannot be observed, comprehending the listening process can be useful in rethinking the methods of teaching listening.

2- Interactive Processing Bottom-up and top-down processing is the view that listening comprehension concerns interactive processing. In other words, listening comprehension is a mix of bottom-up and top-down processing. O’Malley, et al. (1989) found that effective second language listeners employed both top-down and bottom-up strategies to understand meaning whereas incompetent listeners interpret the meanings of individual words. The idea is that listening comprehension is the outcome of an interaction of a numbers of pieces of knowledge. This means that listeners have to use many types of 62

knowledge. The knowledge of specific aspects of language such as word meanings or grammatical structures, and the influence of the listener’s expectation and background knowledge, the particular situation and the topic itself all contribute to the listener’s ability to comprehend spoken messages. In other words, listeners use whatever information they possess to interpret what a speaker is saying. To summarize, in listening comprehension, bottom-up and top-down processing are used together to interpret intended meaning. In order to comprehend the message conveyed, listeners must comprehend the phonetic input, vocabulary, and syntax (bottom-up processing), and employ the context of situations, general knowledge, and past experiences (top-down processing). That is to say, listeners do not passively listen to speakers in order to understand the meaning of the messages, but actively interpret the speakers’ expected meaning and acquire meaningful information by assimilating the sounds, words, and phrases.

8.2. Listening Strategies 63

Successful listening can also be looked at in terms of the strategies the listener uses when listening. Does the learner focus mainly on the content of a text, or does he or she also consider how to listen? A focus on how to listen raises the issues of listening strategies. Strategies can be thought of as the ways in which a learner approaches and manages a task, and listeners can be taught effective ways of approaching and managing their listening. These activities seek to involve listeners actively in the process of listening.Buck (2001:104) identifies two kinds of strategies in listening:  Cognitive strategies: Mental activities related to comprehending and storing input in working memory or long-term memory for later retrieval 1- Comprehension processes: Associated with the processing of linguistic and nonlinguistic input 2- Storing and memory processes: Associated with the storing of linguistic and nonlinguistic input in working memory or long-term memory 3-Using and retrieval processes: Associated with accessing memory, to be readied for output

64

 Metacognitive strategies: Those conscious or unconscious mental activities that perform an executive function in the management of cognitive strategies 1-Assessing conditions

the

situation:

surrounding

a

Taking

stock

of

language

task

by

assessing one’s own knowledge, one’s available internal and external resources, and the constraints of the situation before engaging in a task 2- Monitoring: Determining the effectiveness of one’s own or another’s performance while engaged in a task 3- Self-evaluating: Determining the effectiveness of one’s own or another’s performance after engaging in the activity 4- Self-testing: Testing oneself to determine the effectiveness of one’s own language use or the lack thereof

65

Chapter Nine : Teaching Speaking Language is what we use to 'move ideas' from one person to another. The most common way of doing this is by speech. Every culture in the world uses speech. The written form of any language always develops after the spoken form , not the other way round. 66

Speech is so normal for us that we do not think much about it . However, spoken language is one of the features which distinguishes us from most ,if not all, animals. A teacher uses speech all the time and also has to teach speech as a subject .

9.1. Reasons for teaching speaking There are three main reasons for getting students to speak in the classroom. Firstly, speaking activities provide chances to practice real-life speaking in the safety of the classroom. Secondly, speaking tasks in which students try to use any or all of the language they know provide feedback for both teacher and students. Everyone can see how well they are doing : both how successful they are, and also what language problems they are experiencing. And finally, the more students have opportunities to activate the various elements of language they have stored in their brains, the more automatic their use of these elements become .As a result , students gradually become autonomous language users .This means that

67

they will be able to use words and phrases fluently without very much conscious thought.

9.2. Goals and problems in teaching speaking Of all the four skills (listening , speaking ,reading and writing) , speaking seems to be the most important : people who know a language are referred to as "speakers" of that language ,as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing. And many, if not most , language learners are mainly interested in learning to communicate orally . Classroom activities that develop students' ability to express themselves through speech would therefore seem an important component of a language course. Some courses are explicitly designed to promote oral fluency ; others include specific lessons that are labelled ' conversation classes'. Occasionally students may need to develop the ability to produce formal , extended speech in the form of oral presentations. But in most cases, the primary aim is to improve students' fluency in informal conversational interaction . 68

It is very difficult to design and administer procedures that actually get students to talk : more so, in many ways, than to get them to listen , read or write . The main goals are : 1. the students should actually talk a lot .As much time as possible during the activity should be used for talk by students themselves . This may seem obvious ,but often a lot of the time is taken up with teacher talk ,pauses or classroom management . 2. the language used should be of an acceptable level. Students should express themselves by using language that is relevant , easily understandable and of an acceptable level of accuracy .This does not mean that all the language has to be absolutely correct , only that it is free from pronunciation, lexical and grammatical errors that interfere with the fluent communication of meanings.

9.3. Some Problems 1. Shyness and inhibitions. Unlike reading ,writing and listening activities , speaking requires some degree of 69

real – time exposure to an audience. Students are often inhibited about trying to say things in a foreign language in the classroom because they are worried about making mistakes , scared of criticism or losing face ,or simply shy of attention that their speech attracts. 2. Finding things to say. Even if they are not inhibited , you often hear students complain that they cannot think of anything to say. Just providing an interesting topic is not enough . Students need to feel that they have something relevant and original to contribute to the discussion so that it is worth making the effort to speak . 3. Low participation of individuals. Only one participant can talk at a time if he or she is to be heard ; and in a large group this means that each one will have only very little talking time . An added problem here is the tendency of some students to dominate , while others speak very little or not at all. 4. First Language Use. In classes where some or all of the students share the same first language , they may fall back on it when they could , with a bit more effort ,use English .They do so because it is easier and feels more 71

natural to talk to each other in their own language . Sometimes first language use can be very helpful in solving specific vocabulary problems , for example – but if students spend most of their time speaking their own language , they will obviously have little opportunity to improve their speaking skills in English . However, there are a few useful , simple and practical principles that can help achieve the goals while avoiding or reducing the problems .

9.4. Practical Principles for the design of speaking activities 1. Use group or pair work . This increases the amount of learner talk in a limited period of time and also lowers the inhibitions of students who are unwilling to speak in front of the whole class. It is true that group work means the teacher cannot supervise all speech produced by students , and there is a risk , therefore, that errors may go uncorrected and the students may occasionally lip into their L1. Nevertheless, even taking into consideration occasional mistakes and L1 use , the amount of time 71

devoted to talking in English by individual members of the class is still likely to be far more than it would be in a whole –class discussion . 2. Base the activity on easy language. In general, the level of language needed for participation in the interaction should be lower than that used in intensive language-learning activities in the same class. The necessary vocabulary and grammar should be easily recalled and produced so that the participants can speak fluently without too much hesitation . It is a good idea to review essential vocabulary before the activity starts , and may be even to teach some new items for students to write down and refer to , if necessary , during the activity. 3. Make a careful choice and task to stimulate interest. On the whole, the more interesting the topic and the clearer the purpose of the interaction , the more motivated participants will be . 4. Make students aware of the purpose of the activity and conditions of its success. This is useful pedagogical principle for any classroom activity ,but in oral 72

interaction in groups it becomes essential. Students need to understand how important it is to talk a lot , to make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak , and to try to keep to English all the time so that they will take responsibility for seeing that these conditions are fulfilled . If several groups are working at the same time , you cannot possibly monitor them all : it is the students themselves who should do so.

9.5. Practical Tips 1. Discussion leaders . Appoint one member of the group as discussion leader, whose job is to make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate and that nobody over-dominates the process , and to keep an eye on the time . 2. L1 monitors. With classes who have a strong tendency to overuse L1, invite one student ( not the discussion leader) to act as monitor for each group. The monitor's job is to note and tell you later about instances of L1 use. Even if their language helps participants to be more careful. 73

3. Pair Work. Where feasible , use pair work. That way the amount of talk overall in the class is maximized ( at any one time half the members of the class will be speaking ). Also, pair work is far easier to organize than group work : it just involves turning to face a partner , rather than actually moving tables and chairs to get into groups . 4. Correcting errors. In general , give corrective feedback on errors only rarely during oral fluency work .Stopping students to correct them may distract them, and focusing too much on accuracy will discourage them from trying to express themselves freely. On the other hand , there are places where correction can actually help: if the student is obviously hesitant and needs a confirmation of the correct form , for example .An alternative is for you to note errors and discuss them with the class later. 5. Feedback. If the students have been working in small groups and want to share the result of their discussions at the end, it may get tedious to have to listen to them all. Alternatives are to hear only a selection; and / or to invite

74

the groups to post their results in writing on a class website or on the classroom noticeboard.

Chapter Ten: Teaching Pronunciation

Pronunciation involves far more than individual sounds. Word stress, sentence stress, intonation, and word linking all influence the sound of spoken English, not to mention the way we often slur words and phrases together in casual speech. 'What are you going to do?' becomes 'Whaddaya gonna do?' English pronunciation 75

involves too many complexities for learners to strive for a complete elimination of accent, but improving pronunciation

will

boost

self-esteem,

facilitate

communication, and possibly lead to a better job or a least

more

respect

in

the

workplace.

Effective

communication is of greatest importance, so choose first to

work

on

problems

that

significantly

hinder

communication and let the rest go. Remember that your students also need to learn strategies for dealing with misunderstandings, since native pronunciation is for most an unrealistic goal. A student's first language often interferes with English pronunciation. For example, /p/ is aspirated in English but not in Spanish, so when a Spanish speaker pronounces 'pig' without a puff of air on the /p/, an American may hear 'big' instead. Sometimes the students will be able to identify specific problem sounds and sometimes they won't. You can ask them for suggestions, but you will also need to observe them over time and make note of problem sounds. Another challenge resulting from differences in the first language is the inability to hear certain English sounds that the native 76

language does not contain. Often these are vowels, as in 'ship'

and

'sheep,'

which

many

learners

cannot

distinguish. The Japanese are known for confusing /r/ and /l/, as their language contains neither of these but instead has one sound somewhere between the two. For problems such as these, listening is crucial because students can't produce a sound they can't hear. Descriptions of the sound and mouth position can help students increase their awareness of subtle sound differences. Here

are

some

ideas for

focusing

on specific

pronunciation features. 

Voicing Voiced sounds will make the throat vibrate. For example, /g/ is a voiced sound while /k/ is not, even though the mouth is in the same position for both sounds. Have your students touch their throats while pronouncing voiced and voiceless sounds. They should feel vibration with the voiced sounds only.



Aspiration Aspiration refers to a puff of air when a sound is 77

produced. Many languages have far fewer aspirated sounds than English, and students may have trouble hearing the aspiration. The English /p/, /t/, /k/, and /ch/ are some of the more commonly aspirated sounds. Although these are not always aspirated, at the beginning of a word they usually are. To illustrate aspiration, have your students hold up a piece of facial tissue a few inches away from their mouths and push it with a puff of air while pronouncing a word containing the target sound. 

MouthPosition Draw simple diagrams of tongue and lip positions. Make sure all students can clearly see your mouth while you model sounds. Have students use a mirror to see their mouth, lips, and tongue while they imitate you.



Intonation Word or sentence intonation can be mimicked with a kazoo, or alternatively by humming. This will take the students' attention off of the meaning of a word or sentence and help them focus on the intonation.

78



Linking We pronounce phrases and even whole sentences as one smooth sound instead of a series of separate words.

'Will

Amy

go

away,'

is

rendered

'Willaymeegowaway.' To help learners link words, try starting at the end of a sentence and have them repeat a phrase, adding more of the sentence as they can master it. For example, 'gowaway,' then 'aymeegowaway,' and finally 'Willaymeegowaway' without any pauses between words. 

VowelLength You can demonstrate varying vowel lengths within a word by stretching rubber bands on the longer vowels and letting them contract on shorter ones. Then let the students try it. For example, the word 'fifteen' would have the rubber band stretched for the 'ee' vowel, but the word 'fifty' would not have the band stretched because both of its vowels are spoken quickly.

Accuracy and Fluency We often think of pronunciation teaching in terms of helping students achieve accurate pronunciation so 79

that their production of sounds, stress, rhythm, and intonation begins to match an ideal pattern. But accuracy is only one part of good pronunciation. Fluency in producing sounds and other aspects of pronunciation is equally important. The two don’t always go together. For example, many students learn to produce a new sound correctly when they’re concentrating carefully and saying it alone or in a single word. When they need to use that same sound in conversation, however, it’s much more difficult to keep producing it correctly—they can’t pronounce the sound fluently. After all, in real-world speaking, pronunciation is just one among many things that students have to think about. Vocabulary, grammar, the ideas they want to express, and the appropriate degree of politeness and formality also occupy their attention. It’s hard to use pronunciation accurately and fluently at the same time. Because of this, when we’re practicing pronunciation, we should include some activities that emphasize pronunciation fluency— speaking smoothly and easily, even if not all the sounds are perfect—along with activities that emphasize accuracy—producing sounds correctly. Both accuracy 81

and fluency are important in pronunciation, just as they are in speaking in general, and both deserve attention and practice.

Effects of Differences between First Language and Second Language What happens when learners hear and try to pronounce strange, new sounds in a new language? These types of problems often occur: Merging. When learners hear unfamiliar sounds in a new language, they tend to interpret the sounds of the new language in terms of the categories of their original language. The learner’s brain may hear two sounds as being the same when they’re actually considered separate sounds in the new language. This is called merging and leads to pronunciation errors. When our brains and ears can’t tell the difference between two similar sounds, we tend to pronounce both of them in the same way. For example, many languages don’t have separate vowel sounds like the ones in reach (/iy/) and rich (/ɪ/).

81

Speakers of these languages may merge the two sounds and pronounce them both in the same way. Substitution . When learners hear a new sound that doesn’t match any of the sounds they know, they often substitute a familiar sound that is somewhat similar and easier for them to produce. For example, the first sound in think and three is found in relatively few languages in the world. Speakers of languages that don’t have this sound often substitute /s/, /f/, or /t/ so that think sounds like sink, fink, or tink. The

effect

on

intelligibility.

The

processes

of

substitution and merging can cause serious problems for learners’ intelligibility. When listeners expect to hear one sound but actually hear a different one, communication can break down. Even when teachers make learners aware of what’s happening, it’s difficult not to fall into one of these traps.

Problems with Individual Words So far we’ve been thinking about pronunciation problems that are very general—they affect all the words with a particular sound or combination of sounds. 82

However,

sometimes

specific

words

can

cause

pronunciation problems. Two causes of this are described here. 

Spelling. English has many words with irregular or

unpredictable spellings, and this can lead students to mispronounce those words. For example, if students learn the words rain, plain, and maintain, they will naturally assume that the letters ain must represent /eyn/. Then if they see the written word mountain, they may mistakenly pronounce it /mawnteyn/. Since students often meet words first in their written form, this can lead to incorrect pronunciation of many words. 

Borrowed words. Many languages have borrowed

words from English, adapting their pronunciation to fit the sound system of the borrowing language. (Sometimes the meanings of the words have also changed, but that’s a separate issue.) 

Fossilization .One of the most stubborn problems

that we face in teaching pronunciation is fossilization. Fossilization is a process that occurs when a language learner progresses to a certain point but then has a hard 83

time making further progress. For example, a student who has been studying English for many years might still not be able to differentiate /v/ as in very and /b/ as in berry; this error just seems to have become a permanent part of the person’s English. When students begin to learn a new language, they usually feel like they’re making progress fairly quickly. Since they’re starting from zero, any new knowledge feels like a great step forward. But after a while, students may find that their teacher and classmates understand them when they say /b/ instead of /v/, and so they lose their incentive for trying to say /v/ accurately. Their habit of saying /b/ for /v/ seems frozen in time, like a fossil of an ancient animal. Their mistake has become fossilized, and at this point, it becomes very hard to change. 

Hypercorrection. A less common pronunciation

problem is hypercorrection, which means “too much correction.” This happens when a student has learned a rule and tries to apply it, but applies it in too many cases. For example, a common error among Korean learners is to substitute /p/ for /f/, since /f/doesn’t exist in the Korean language. The predictable error is to say pan 84

instead of fan or punny instead of funny. But sometimes a learner has been concentrating so hard on not saying /p/—on saying /f/ instead—that he or she sometimes says /f/ even when the correct sound actually should have been /p/. The speaker might say fan instead of pan. Hypercorrection is a much less frequent and less serious source of error than fossilization— more like an occasional slip of the tongue than a long-term problem.

What Do Teachers Need to Know? To teach pronunciation effectively, you need several types of knowledge: 1. You need to know the facts about pronunciation: How speakers’ mouths move when they produce the sounds of language, and how word stress, rhythm, connected speech, and intonation work. 2. You need to understand and be able to predict the kinds of problems your students might have with pronunciation and why they happen. 3. You

need

to

know

many

ways

to

teach

pronunciation to your students, adapting your methods to fit them and their needs, and helping 85

them practice effectively to overcome any problems they might have (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010). You also need to know these basic principles of teaching pronunciation:  Include more than just “repeat after me.” Having students listen to a recording or to the teacher’s voice and then repeat is a useful part of a pronunciation lesson, but by itself it is not enough.  Encourage students to use more than one of their senses, which is more effective anyway. We can use many different ways of learning—through sight, sound, and movement—to help students understand and remember better. Keep lessons practical. For most students, even adults, theory and technical explanations are hard to understand and are easily forgotten. Simple, concrete demonstrations followed by lots of practice produce better results. Lessons need to fit our students’ level of understanding.  Include communicative practice whenever possible. Students need to work toward using their new pronunciation in real speech. During class, we can 86

help them practice in activities that are similar to real communication.  Train

students

to

become

independent

and

autonomous learners. Our students won’t be with us forever. Someday they’ll be facing pronunciation puzzles on their own. If we can help them build up their own skills in listening, imitating, and monitoring their own pronunciation, it will be a big help to them in their future learning.

Chapter Eleven: Teaching Reading

Reading is one of the most important skills, if not the most, among language skills. Reading affects all aspects of learner's lives: academically, socially, economically, and

psychologically.

For

example,

academically,

“nothing is more important to academic achievement than being a good reader” (Gisler and Eberts 2009:1- 2). 87

This is because reading is very big part of every activity in the classroom. Language skills (Listening, speaking, reading and writing) to some extent are interweave. When a lesson or an activity is not a reading one, learners still need to read certain things, with full comprehension, such as rubrics, answers to certain questions, instructions to be performed or choices given. For new language learners, reading is so beneficial and important. Mikulecky (1986:1) lists some of the benefits of a new language can achieve: 1. Reading helps you learn to think in the new language. 2. Reading helps you build a better vocabulary. 3. Reading makes you more comfortable with written English. 4. Reading may be the only way to use English if you live in a non- English speaking country. 5. Reading can help if you plan to study in an Englishspeaking country.

88

Learning to read as simply a transfer of linguistic knowledge from the aural medium in which it is acquired to the written medium and the good readers are good thinkers because reading is a thinking act. So that the product of reading includes both word organization and comprehension of the passage, and these will require the processes

of

sensory

impression,

perception,

conceptualization and interpretation. In the same token Goodman (1988:88) describes reading as "psychological guessing game" in which the reader reconstructs a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display. Reading skills can be described roughly as "a cognitive ability which a person is able to use when interacting with a written text ".It enable readers to turn writing into meaning and achieve the goals of independence, comprehension, and fluency. They are "specific abilities, which enable a reader to: read the written form as meaningful language; read anything written with independence, comprehension and fluency; and mentally interact with the message" (Lingua Links Library, 1999: Internet). Accordingly, a hierarchical set of reading skills is the following: 89

1. Awareness of print, which is the lowest level. 2. Recognizing letter shapes and names. 3. Knowing that sounds are represented by letters. 4. Knowing that words come apart into small sounds or syllables. 5. Blending sounds together to form words. 6. Processing larger groups of letters and words. 7. Developing fluency and automaticity, which helps the reader, see larger segments phrases and groups of words as wholes. 8. Developing RC skills, the highest level, to help the reader predict the next word, phrase, or sentence quickly enough to speed recognition. 9. Critical reading skills that help the reader see the relationship between ideas and use these in reading with meaning and fluency. Reading is a very important skill for the learners. It is widely believed that the reading skill once developed is easily maintained. Maintaining reading, therefore, is very necessary not only for learners but, also for all other learner who work in different fields and specializations. Being defined as the most important academic language 91

skill, the reading skill is crucial to successful learners at different academic levels since it develops their ability to: 1. communicate skillfully, 2. enhance other FL skills, 3. have good and consistent habit in reading other materials and expand the learners’ background knowledge, 4. increase the amount of exposure to the FL through reading a wide range of texts in English, 5. take a critical stance to the content of the

text

Enjoy reading English texts whether from the print or via something electronic, as in the case of surfing the internet. Lenz (2005: 5)

Importance of Teaching Reading Hedge (2003:76) states that any reading component of an English language course may include a set of learning goals 1.

The ability to read a wide range of texts in English. This is the long-range goal most teachers seek to

91

develop through independent readers outside EFL/ESL classroom. 2.

Building knowledge of language which will facilitate reading ability.

3.

Building schematic knowledge.

4.

Developing an awareness of the structure of written texts in English.

Models of Reading In accordance with the literature available it has been seen that there is no clear classification of the models of reading.

Some

authors

and

researchers

consider

Skimming and scanning, for example, as types of reading while others think that they are skills of reading or reading

comprehension

and

some

methodologists

consider them as reading strategies. Regardless of this difference, reading should be preceded by the purpose of reading. It is worthy to say that, since there are different purposes for reading, it is logical that there are different models of reading skills. These different models of reading skills are used quite naturally when reading in a mother tongue. Unfortunately, when learning a second 92

language, learner tend to employ only one or two of these models. The most commonly models used by learners are the intensive reading and the reading aloud. Either what is used from model of reading, the reader cannot achieve his goal without being aware and interact with a reading text through a variety of skills which belong to a variety of reading comprehension skills 1 - Extensive Reading 

Teaching through reading,

 Rapidly reading book after book.  The development to the point of enjoyment of the ability to read in the foreign language, and  The one which focuses on choices and pleasure in reading. The main purpose of the extensive reading is creating enjoyment and reinforcement of previously learned vocabulary and grammatical structure. The reading material is usually a group of short stories or a novel. A successful extensive reading program is that learners should read material, which they can understand. If they are struggling to understand every word, they can hardly read for pleasure. This model of reading is sometimes 93

called supplementary reading because it is supposed to supplement

intensive

reading.

The

supplementary

material is usually "read at home and covered at a speed higher than intensive material. Ferris & Hedgcock (2009: 211) list some of the benefits of the extensive reading: i.e. it :  Improves comprehension skills,  develops automaticity,  enhances background knowledge,(schemata, both content and formal),  builds vocabulary and grammar knowledge (i.e., linguistic schemata ).  improves production skills (speaking and especially writing), and  promotes confidence and motivation.

2- Intensive Reading Nation (2008:25) declares that intensive reading is a means of increasing learners’ knowledge of language features and their control of reading strategies. It can also improve their comprehensions’ skills. Moreover, it fits into the language focused learning strand of a course. 94

Ferris & Hedgcock (2009:191) add that:" intensive reading is the careful, intentional examination of a text for comprehension. Intensive reading involves learners in detail with specific learning aims and tasks". It can be compared with extensive reading, which involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and developing general reading skills. The aim of intensive reading is concerned; learners typically work with short text with close guidance from the teacher in order to obtain detailed meaning from the text

and

to

enhance

vocabulary

and

grammar

knowledge". He also adds that the intensive reading requires the purpose of extensive reading is reading: pleasure, information, and general understanding. It is appears that both types have merits and demerits. In this case, sound and reasonable combination of both models is recommended to be implemented in ‘English for Iraq’ textbooks which include one type of reading, intensive. Because extensive reading tends to be at length, slow and written at learners’ level, it will be of great benefits as it improves their linguistic competences and grants them confidence. 95

3. Silent Reading Silent reading is described as silent because it is supposed to be performed silently without labial movements or vibration of vocal cords. This implies that graphic

forms

are

visually

perceived

and

then

transformed into meanings and ideas without passing through the vocal stage. Most of our reading, in fact, is done silently. Silent reading is an important skill that has to be developed properly through guidance and practice. In addition, teachers are expected to help learners develop their speed in silent reading. Such development involves increasing the learner's eye span, which is the quantity of words a reader's eye can catch from a written line at one glance. The larger the span is, the faster the reading can go. One way to attain such increase in eye span is to make learners read a certain passage under some pressure of time. This pressure forces the student to widen his eye span, decrease the number of eye regressive movements, and shorten the time between each span and another . 4. Reading Aloud

96

Reading aloud is another model of reading that is used at class on the condition that it is employed purposefully. Reading aloud is a planned oral reading of a book or print excerpt, usually related to a theme or topic of study. Reading aloud can be used to engage the student

listener

knowledge,

while

increasing

developing

comprehension

background skills,

and

fostering critical thinking. Reading aloud can be used to model the use of reading strategies that aid in comprehension. Learners may read aloud to give the teacher a chance for checking their pronunciation, word stress, pauses and intonation .

5. Speed-Reading Speed-reading is a collection of reading models, which attempts to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing comprehension or retention. Methods include chunking and eliminating sub vocalization. It is important to understand that no absolute distinct "normal" and "speed-reading" types of reading exist in practice. This is because all readers use some of the techniques used in speed reading such as (identifying 97

words without focusing on each letter, not sounding out all words, not sub-vocalizing some phrases, or spending less time on some phrases than others, and skimming small sections). Speed reading is characterized by an analysis of trade-offs between measures of speed and comprehension, recognizing that different types of reading call for different speed and comprehension rates, and that those rates may be improved with practice .

6. Word by word Reading This model of reading is time consuming and demands a high level of concentration. Some material is not readily understood and so requires a slow and careful analytical reading. Learner use this model of reading for unfamiliar words and concepts and scientific formulae. It can take up to an hour just to read a few lines of text. Learners read word-by-word when they have been trained to rely on an external monitor (the teacher, aid, or other learners) rather than to self-regulate when reading aloud.

7. Critical Reading 98

Critical reading is defined as the "ability to obtain a level of interpretation higher than that needed for literal interpretation."

Reading

critically

means

actively

working out the meaning of the text as it should be intended by the author or as what seems to be true to him. The reader not only engages actively as a responder to the text but also reflects on and contributes his or her own past experiences and pre-existing world knowledge in the process. This type of reading is reported by (McKown, &Barnett, 2007:58) as an evaluation process for the written text and understanding the included meaning in the text. The reader interacts with the text using his/her experience and knowledge. Then, s/he understands the meaning of the text and analyses the included concepts. Critical reading then can be seen as a process of communicating with the author and the texts before any judgment on the validity or the veracity of the text is arrived at. Hence, the ability to read critically entails the ability to recognize, comprehend, apply, analyze, synthesize and

99

evaluate written texts in an open-minded, logical and rational manner.

Teaching Literature: Main Purposes In recent times a renewed interest has emerged in the teaching of literature in the language class, and quite a lot much was actually said about literature in foreign language classes. At one time it was included in courses without there ever having been much discussion about why it was a part of the course, perhaps become its place was taken for granted, its use obvious and therefore there was no need to say much about it. Later, though with a greater emphasis put on the spoken language in a foreign language classes, the tendency was on drawing a way from literature and, in fact, it ceased to be a component of many courses of English as a second or foreign language, its prominence in the course giving way In the 1980's, however, things started to be changed in language teaching. There was a continued debate on the place of literature in the EFL/ESL classroom and the interface of literature and language, so that the teaching of literature is

111

new often seen within the frame work of three main models. 1. The cultural model 2. The language model 3. The personal growth model As to Brumfit(1993:58) says that teaching literature in the intermediate

and secondary schools aim at

familiarizing the students with texts and teaching them to enjoy reading. Therefore; he mentions that there are three objectives of teaching literature in the secondary schools. 1. Linguistic objective which creates language input in the form of reading materials and creative related to them. 2. Cognitive objectives that make learners aware of the world which is fully to which they had to adjust themselves. 3. Humanistic or effective objectives that sensitize students to the liberal humanistic tradition which is the essence of English. Simensen(1998:223), suggests the following points about how to teach literature. 111

1. It is a good idea to vary the mode of presentations silent reading, for example, can be following by listening to the passage on a cassette, so that this 'revisiting' of the text feels like a different experience and challenge other areas of the learners' abilities; 2. Help students to explore their own responses to the literary texts. This means, that through this process we received opinions and therefore more able to assess other perspectives; 3. Choose literary texts that you know and which are likely to appeal to the students you teach; 4. It is preferable to give learners the maximum changes of entering the universe of any selected literary text. This can be facilitated if instead of trying to transpose it into their own language and cultural experiences they try to put themselves imaginatively into the target situation; 5. Integrating language and literature let the students derive the benefit of communication and other activities for language improvement within the context of suitable works of literature; 112

6. A good teacher of literature should put into his/her consideration making a meaningful impact upon his/her students. The teacher should have a meaning which the students should be able to understand and explains; 7. When teaching literature or books which present foreign countries or their people, the teacher must know how to help his/her understand the wide cultural differences which such literary texts often represent; 8. Encourage students to record significant impressions by introducing aids which enable students to record the

significant

details

suggesting

themes

in

characterization, plot development, or situation; 9. Encourage your student to write their impressions immediately after reading any literary text; 10. Provide opportunities for the students to listen, read and record literature. 8 Principles of Teaching Literature Barry (1995:18) mentions the following principles of teaching literature: 113

1. Interest of Teacher in Teaching Language and Literature: this principle of interest in teaching is very significant. The teachers involvement in reading English literature and teaching literature depend on his interest. The involvement in teaching encourages

students

for

the

participation

in

classroom teaching and also develops the interest. 2. Availability of Higher and good Literature in the Library: The library of an educational institute should have the higher and rich literature, so that teachers and students can go through it and enjoy the higher literature. This may raise level of thinking and standard of teachers. 3. Various Types of Literature should be Included in the Books: At school level, it is essential that all forms of literature should be included in the text books. But at higher level there should be separate books on each form of the literature. This type of provision may provide the awareness about the various forms of the literature. A teacher should know the objectives and methods of teaching of

114

these forms of the emphasis the sensitive spots to involve the emotions of the students. 4. Literary and Cultural programmes of Literature should be organized in Schools and Colleges: on the various occasions literary and cultural programmes should be organized and experts and eminent scholars should be invited for guest lectures, so that the students should also be given opportunities in debates, group discussion and seminars, etc. there should be a competition on essay writing, or any other form of language to encourage students for developing language competency. 5. A teacher should encourage his/her students write any form of Literature: the teacher should have the two main focuses of teaching literature 1- to enable students for teaching literary realization 2- to enable students for writing these on the various forms of the literature.

Theories of Literature Teaching

115

Showalter (2003:50) distinguishes among four main theories of literature teaching: subject-centered, teachercentered and student-centered, each of them emphasizing different aspects of the teaching process. 1- Subject-Centered Theories Subject-centered theories emphasize content and information, often are presented as the correct” answer. This theory is also called “the banking model” of education , the “transmission” theory of teaching, because the main concern of this model is to transfer knowledge of the material from the teacher to the students. The main focus is on what is taught. Moreover, notes, all subjects and courses are subject and contentcentered to some degree, as teachers are supposed to know everything about their fields. 2- Teacher-Centered Theories This kind of theories focuses on what the teacher must

do or

be

in

order

to

facilitate education.

Teaching here can be seen as the process of performance or as a spiritual journey (Showalter ibid.). As the teacher is

the center of this model, his / her intellectual 116

speaking and acting abilities are very important. But the weakness of this theory lies in a potential monopolization of classroom activities by the teacher. Though the performance is very important, it must be carefully thought out and planned in order not to overshadow the students` activities, which are, after all, the most important aspect of teaching. 3- Student-Centered Theories These theories focus on the way students learn and the organization of the classroom process to maximize active learning. It emphasizes the student rather than the teacher. The students are not exposed to great canonical works; the teacher does not present the background information and models of the literary analysis which students have to learn; instead, the students confront

the

text

directly,

working

actively

and

collaboratively. In order to make the process of learning more effective or productive, the teacher has to think about how students learn and how to help them learn better, i.e. the teacher has to facilitate this process. 4- Eclectic Theories 117

Showalter

(2003:55) writes: “probably

the

most

widespread theory of teaching literature is having no theory at all, and trying to make use of whatever will do the job”. In fact, what happens in classrooms cannot be explained by a finite number of methods, because there are many variables which can affect the process, and some of them can actually go beyond literary theory. In short, Some theories suggest how the content can be organized; others give the teachers an idea of how to conduct a lesson. These two aspects of literature teaching are closely connected, as the success of the students depends on both the

syllabus and

the

teacher's methods.

Chapter Twelve : Teaching Writing 12.1. Reasons for teaching writing There are many reasons for getting students to write, both in and outside class. Firstly, writing gives them more 'thinking time' than they get when they attempt spontaneous conversation. This allows them more opportunity for language processing – that is thinking

118

about the language – where they are involved in study or activation . When thinking about writing , it is helpful to make a distinction between writing –for-learning and writingfor-writing. In the case of the former, writing is used as a tool to help students practice and work with language they have been studying. We might , for example , ask a class to write five sentences using a given structure , or using five of the new words or phrases they have been learning. Writing activities like this are designed to give reinforcement to students. This is particularly useful for those who need visual activity. Another kind of writingfor-learning occurs when we have students write sentences in preparation for some other activity. Here, writing is an enabling activity. Writing- for- writing ,on the other hand , is directed at developing the students' skills as writers. In other words , the main purpose for activities of this type is that students should become better at writing ,whatever kind of writing that might be. There are good ' real-life' reasons for getting students to write such things as emails, letters and reports. And whereas in writing-for-learning activities it is 119

usually the language itself that is the main focus of attention , in writing-for-writing we look at the whole text. This will include not just appropriate language use , but also text construction , layout , style and effectiveness. It is clear that the way we organize our students' writing – and the way we offer advice and correction – will be different , depending on what kind of writing they are involved in .

12.2. Formal and informal writing Most writing is formal. Stories, reports, newspaper articles, fiction, the book you are reading at this moment …all these are formal texts. Informal writing was in the past only used for quick notes or reminders; but these days it is used much more ; in online 'chat' and texting (SMS), for example. Here is an example of informal writing : in the case of "chat" between friends about an upcoming wedding (between Jane and Joe ): Emma says: taxi ? to register office ? yes ? no ? Jane says : if raining , then yeah , a taxi 111

Emma : Excellent Emma says : anything you need for the day that we could bring ? Joe says : me Jane says : noooooo One of the main characteristics of formal writing is that the text follows standard grammatical rules while an informal text may not use full sentences or formally ' correct' grammar and spelling.

12.3. Tasks that promote fluent writing Most of students' writing in an English course is not done primarily in order to develop writing skill, but because writing is a convenient means of engaging with aspects of language .For example , students write down new vocabulary ; copy out grammar rules ; write out answers to reading or listening comprehension questions ; do written tests. In these examples , writing is used as a means of getting the students to attend to and / or practice 111

a particular language point , to make a note of new language for later reference , or as a convenient method of testing it. Fluent writing tasks , in contrast, aim to improve students'

ability

to

compose

written

text

for

communicative purposes. Aspects of accuracy ( grammar, vocabulary, spelling ) are, of course , important in formal writing ,but the main focus is on meaningful writing following the conventions of a particular genre. Some criteria for the planning or selection of writing tasks are : 1. Interest. The task should be motivating and stimulating. 2. Level. The language required should be appropriate to the level of the class. 3. Relevance. At least some of the tasks should be similar to the kinds of things students may need to write themselves , now or in the future. 4. Simplicity. The task should be easy to explain . Often the provision of a model text can help to clarify. 112

5. Personal appropriateness. The task should be one that you , the teacher, feel comfortable with and that fits your own teaching style, goals and preferences.

Chapter Thirteen:

Lesson Planning

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher's guide for running a particular lesson, and it includes the goal (what the students are 113

supposed to learn), how the goal will be reached (the method, procedure) and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached (test, worksheet, homework etc.). There are many formats for a lesson plan, most lesson plans contain some or all of these elements, typically in this order: 

Title of the lesson



Time required to complete the lesson



List of required materials



List of objectives, which may be behavioral objectives (what the student can do at lesson completion) or knowledge objectives (what the student knows at lesson completion)



The set (or lead-in, or bridge-in) that focuses students on the lesson's skills or concepts—these include showing pictures or models, asking leading questions, or reviewing previous lessons



An instructional component that describes the sequence of events that make up the lesson, including the teacher's instructional input and, 114

where appropriate, guided practice by students to consolidate new skills and ideas 

Independent practice that allows students to extend skills or knowledge on their own



A summary, where the teacher wraps up the discussion and answers questions



An evaluation component, a test for mastery of the instructed skills or concepts—such as a set of questions to answer or a set of instructions to follow



A risk assessment where the lesson's risks and the steps taken to minimize them are documented



An analysis component the teacher uses to reflect on the lesson itself—such as what worked and what needs improving



A continuity component reviews and reflects on content from the previous lesson

Unit Planning is the proper selection of learning activities which presents a complete picture. Unit planning is a systematic arrangement of subject matter. 115

Samford "A unit plan is one which involves a series of learning experiences that are linked to achieve the aims composed by methodology and contents". Dictionary of Education:" A unit is an organization of various activities, experiences and types of learning around a central problem or purpose developed cooperatively by a group of pupils under a teacher leadership involving planning, execution of plans and evaluation of results".

Criteria of a good Unit Plan 1. Needs, capabilities, interest of the learner should be considered. 2. Prepared on the sound psychological knowledge of the learner. 3. Provide a new learning experience; systematic but flexible. 4. Sustain the attention of the learner till the end.

116

5. Related to social and Physical environment of the learner. 6. Development of learner's personality. It is important to note that lesson planning is a thinking process, not the filling in of a lesson plan template. Lesson plan envisaged s a blue print, guide map for action, a comprehensive chart of classroom teachinglearning activities, an elastic but systematic approach for the teaching of concepts, skills and attitudes.

Setting objectives The first thing a teacher does is to create an objective, a statement of purpose for the whole lesson. An objective statement itself should answer what students will be able to do by the end of the lesson. Harry Wong states that, "Each [objective] must begin with a verb that states the action to be taken to show accomplishment. The most important word to use in an assignment is a verb, because verbs state how to 117

demonstrate if accomplishment has taken place or not." The objective drives the whole lesson, it is the reason the lesson exists. Care is taken when creating the objective for each day's lesson, as it will determine the activities the students engage in. The teacher also ensures that lesson plan goals are compatible with the developmental level of the students. The teacher ensures as well that their student achievement expectations are reasonable.

Set Lesson Goals Lesson goals are most usefully stated in terms of what students will have done or accomplished at the end of the lesson. Stating goals in this way allows both teacher and learners to know when the goals have been reached. To set lesson goals: 1. Identify a topic for the lesson. The topic is not a goal, but it will help you develop your goals. The topic may be determined largely by your curriculum and textbook, and may be part of a larger thematic unit such as Travel or Leisure Activities. If you have some flexibility in choice of topic, consider your students’ interests and the 118

availability of authentic materials at the appropriate level. 2. Identify specific linguistic content, such as vocabulary and points of grammar or language use, to be introduced or reviewed. These are usually prescribed by the course textbook or course curriculum. If they are not, select points that are connected in some significant way with the topic of the lesson. 3. Identify specific communication tasks to be completed by students. To be authentic, the tasks should allow, but not require, students to use the vocabulary, grammar, and strategies presented in the lesson. The focus of the tasks should be topical, not grammatical. This means that it may be possible for some students to complete the task without using either the grammar point or the strategy presented in the first part of the lesson. 4. Identify specific learning strategies to be introduced or reviewed in connection with the lesson. See Motivating Learners for more on learning strategies. 5. Create goal statements for the linguistic content, communication tasks, and learning strategies that state 119

what you will do and what students will do during the lesson.

Structure the Lesson A language lesson should include a variety of activities that combine different types of language input and output. An effective lesson has five parts: - Preparation - Presentation/Modeling - Practice - Evaluation - Expansion The five parts of a lesson may all take place in one class session or may extend over multiple sessions, depending on the nature of the topic and the activities. The lesson plan should outline who will do what in each part of the lesson. The time allotted for preparation, presentation, and evaluation activities should be no more than 8-10 minutes each. Communication practice activities may run a little longer.

121

1. Preparation As the class begins, give students a broad outline of the day’s goals and activities so they know what to expect. Help them focus by eliciting their existing knowledge of the day’s topics. • Use discussion or homework review to elicit knowledge related to the grammar and language use points to be covered • Use comparison with the native language to elicit strategies that students may already be using • Use discussion of what students do and/or like to do to elicit their knowledge of the topic they will address in communication activities 2. Presentation/Modeling Move from preparation into presentation of the linguistic and topical content of the lesson and relevant learning strategies. Present the strategy first if it will help students absorb the lesson content. Presentation provides the language input that gives students the foundation for their knowledge of the language. Input comes from the 121

instructor and from course textbooks. To increase the amount of input that students receive in the target language, instructors should use it as much as possible for all classroom communication purposes. An important part of the presentation is practice output, in which students practice the form that the instructor has presented. In practice output, accuracy of performance is important. Practice output is designed to make learners comfortable producing specific language items recently introduced. Practice output is a type of communication that is found only in language classrooms. Because production is limited to preselected items, practice output is not truly communicative. 3. Practice In this part of the lesson, the focus shifts from the instructor as presenter to the students as completers of a designated task. Students work in pairs or small groups on a topic based task with a specific outcome. Completion of the task may require the bridging of an information gap. The instructor observes the groups an act as a resource when students have questions that they cannot resolve themselves. In their work together, 122

students move from practice output to communicative output, in which the main purpose is to complete the communication task. Language becomes a tool, rather than an end in itself. Learners have to use any or all of the language that they know along with varied communication strategies. The criterion of success is whether the learner gets the message across. Accuracy is not a consideration unless the lack of it interferes with the message.

4. Evaluation When all students have completed the communication practice task, reconvene the class as a group to recap the lesson. Ask students to give examples of how they used the linguistic content and learning or communication strategies to carry out the communication task. Evaluation is useful for four reasons: • It reinforces the material that was presented earlier in the lesson, • It provides an opportunity for students to raise questions of usage and style, 123

• It enables the instructor to monitor individual student comprehension and learning, • It provides closure to the lesson. 5. Expansion Expansion activities allow students to apply the knowledge they have gained in the classroom to situations outside it. Expansion activities include out-ofclass observation assignments, in which the instructor asks students to find examples of something or to use a strategy and then report back. Identify Materials and Activities The materials for a specific lesson will fall into two categories: those that are required, such as course textbooks and lab materials, and authentic materials that the teacher incorporates into classroom activities. For required materials, determine what information must be presented in class and decide which exercise(s) to use in class and which for out-ofclass work. For teacher-provided materials, use materials that are genuinely related to realistic communication activities. Don’t be tempted to try to create a

124

communication situation around something just because it’s a really cool video or beautiful brochure. Truly authentic communication tasks have several features: • They involve solving a true problem or discussing a topic of interest, • They require using language to accomplish a goal, not using language merely to use language, • They allow students to use all of the language skills they have, rather than specific forms or vocabulary, and to self-correct when they realize they need to, • The criterion of success is clear: completion of a defined task.

125

Chapter Fourteen : The Learner

Individual Differences and Second Language Acquisition Age: Are children more successful second language learners than adults? Many would say yes, if we commonly observe the ease with which children, especially young children slip into the role of second language speakers. But Saville-Troike (2006) warns us against such easy assumptions and argues that that one must define the term success" . According to her, “Some define “success” as initial rate of learning while other 126

studies define it as ultimate achievement. Also, some studies define “success” in terms of how close the learner's pronunciation is to a native speaker , others in terms of how closely a learner approximates native grammaticality judgments and still others in terms of fluency or functional competence ”. She further warns that the evaluative criteria clearly must be kept clearly in mind while judging conflicting claims about success. A more sophisticated version of the critical period hypothesis is the concept of „sensitive‟ period for language learning by Slobin (1982). The sensitive period implies that there is a period in one's life (during childhood)

when

second

language

acquisition

is

optimized. Slobin (1982) argues that of the sensitive period of language learning is proven by the fact that the universal age of onset of production, rate of acquisition and age of completion of language learning is the same and it is relatively unaffected by the environmental variations and individual cognitive ability. It is hypnotized that once this critical/ sensitive period is over, a child deprived of input and chances to communicate is never able to regain his/her ability to 127

acquire language as happened in the case of „Genie‟ who after her release from solitary captivation since early childhood was not able to learn even the basic language skills after she was rescued at the age of thirteen. So how much difference does age make? Long (1990) argues that for language learners of more than 15 years of age, it is difficult to acquire native like fluency and an absence of an „accent‟. Saville-Troike (2006) agrees with Long (1990) that, “some older learners can achieve native-like

proficiency,

although

they

definitely

constitute a minority of second language learners (89).” The critical/ sensitive period hypothesis is yet to be tested at the scientific level and SLA theorists have a long way to before the find a clear and final answer to the fascinating question of why and how children seem to be better (second) language learners.

Sex Many studies (e.g., Oxford, 1993; Young & Oxford 1997) have found that gender can have a significant impact on how students learn a language. Although the study of gender as a variable in language 128

learning is still at an early stage (Bacon & Finneman, 1992; Oxford, 1993; Ehrman & Oxford, 1995), studies of individual language learner differences related to sex (biological) or gender (socially constructed) have shown that females tend to show greater integrative motivation and more positive attitudes to L2, and use a wider range of learning strategies, particularly social strategies (Oxford, Nyikos & Ehrman, 1988). As a matter of fact, as for the problem whether difference exists between male and female in terms of learning a language, LarsenFreeman & Long (2000) believed that in the process of first language acquisition female excel male, at least at the early stage. Zhuanglin (1989) highlighted that, it was generally believed that male and female are born with different linguistic advantages, such as, female learn to speak earlier than male, and female learn a foreign language faster and better than male, etc.

Studies of

actual results suggest females are typically superior to males in nearly all aspects of language learning, except listening vocabulary (Boyle, 1987). Kimura (1992, as cited in Saville-Troike, 2006)), reports that higher levels of articulatory and motor ability have been associated in 129

women with higher levels of estrogen level during the menstrual cycle.

Aptitude Skehan, (1989) believes that aptitude has consistently been linked with L2 success, but remains one of the under investigated areas of SLA. Saville-Troike (2006) suggests that assumption that there is a talent which is specific to language learning has been widely held for many years. Many language aptitude tests like TOEFL, IELTS have been used for a long period to test the aptitude of a second language learner of English. Carroll (1963), who along with Sapon created the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) which was designed to predict success foreign language learning, provides us with the following four types of abilities that constitute aptitude: - Phonemic

coding

ability

(discriminates

and

encodes foreign sounds) - Grammatical sensitivity (recognizes functions of words in sentences)

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- Inductive language learning ability (infers or induces rules from samples) - Memory

and

learning

(makes

and

recalls

associations between words and phrases in L1 and L2) . Many scholars believe that aptitude alone does not determine the language learning ability of an individual. Skehan (1989) suggests that individual ability may vary by other factors. Other factors like personality, language learning style and motivation must be considered before taking into account. Skehan (1989) further concludes that language-learning aptitude “is not completely distinct from general cognitive abilities, as represented by intelligence tests, but it is far from the same thing”. Moreover, aptitude can only predict success in second language acquisition; it cannot explain the reasons behind it.

Motivation Motivation to learn a language is considered one of the most plausible reasons of success at second language acquisition. According to Gardner (1985) Motivation = 131

effort + desire to achieve goal + attitudes. Saville-Troike (2006) claims that motivation is the second strongest predictor (after aptitude) of second language success. She further argues that motivation largely determines the level of effort that learners expend at various stages in their L2 development, often a key to ultimate level of proficiency. According to Gardner and Lambert (1972) the following two types of motivation exist: i. Integrative: found in individuals who want are interested in the second language in order to integrate with and become a part of a target community/ culture; here the learner wants to resemble and behave like the target community. ii. Instrumental: found in individuals who want to get learn a second language with the objective of getting benefits from the second language skill. Objectives, such as business advancement, increase in professional status, educational goals etc. motivate an individual to learn a second language in this case.

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Both the types of motivations have different roles to play. Both can lead to success. According to SavilleTroike (2006) the relative effect of one or the other is dependent on complex personal and social factors. L2 learning by a member of the dominant group in a society may benefit more from integrative motivation, and L2 learning by a subordinate group member may be more influenced by instrumental motivation. In most of the motivation research, the relationship between motivation and second language achievement has been shown as a strong one. But whether the achievement drives motivation or motivation drives achievement is yet to be tested.

Learning Styles Language learning styles refer to cognitive variations in learning a second language. It is about an individuals‟ preferred way of processing, that is, of perceiving, conceptualizing, organizing, and recalling information related to language learning. According to Cornett (1983) the language learning styles are the overall patterns that give general direction to learning behavior. Brown 133

(2000) states that unlike factors of age, aptitude, and motivation, its role in explaining why some L2 learners are more successful than others has not been well established, it involves a complex (and as yet poorly understood) interaction with specific L2 social and learning contexts. The following cognitive styles have been identified by Knowles (1972 as cited in Lochart & Richards, 1994): 1. Concrete learning style Learners with a concrete learning style use active and direct means of taking in and processing information. They are interested in information that has immediate value. They are curious, spontaneous, and willing to take risks. They like variety and a constant change of pace. They dislike routine learning and written work, and prefer verbal or visual experiences. They like to be entertained, and like to be physically involved in learning. 2. Analytical learning style Learners with an analytical style are independent, like to solve problems, and enjoy tracking down ideas and 134

developing principles on their own. Such learners prefer a logical, systematic presentation of new learning material with opportunities for learners to follow up on their own. Analytical learners are serious, push themselves hard, and are vulnerable to failure. 3. Communicative learning style Learners with a communicative learning style prefer a social approach to learning. They need personal feedback and interaction, and learn well from discussion and group activities. They thrive in a democratically run class. 4. Authority-oriented learning style Learners with an authority-oriented style are said to be responsible and dependable. They like and need structure and sequential progression. They relate well to a traditional classroom. They prefer the teacher as an authority figure. They like to have clear instructions and to know exactly what they are doing; they are not comfortable with consensus-building discussion.

Learning Strategies

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The learning strategies are the strategies a learner selects for language acquisition. Brown (2000) argues that the choice of learning strategies is strongly influenced by the nature

of

their

motivation,

cognitive

style,

and

personality, as well as by specific contexts of use and opportunities for learning. Many studies in SLA have ventured out to identify which strategies are used by relatively good language learners, with the expectation that such strategies can be taught or otherwise applied to enhance learning. According to O‟Malley and Chamot (1990) strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement needed for developing L2 communicative ability. O‟Malley and Chamot, (1990) have identified the following strategies: 1. Cognitive strategies Cognitive strategies “operate directly on incoming information, manipulating it in ways that enhance learning”. Some of these strategies are- Repetition: imitating other people's speech overtly or silently; - Resourcing: making use of language materials such as dictionaries; 136

- Directed Physical Response: responding physically “as with directives”; - Translation: using the first language as a basis for understanding and/or producing the L2; - Grouping: organizing learning on the basis of “common attributes”; - Note-taking: writing down the gist etc of texts; - Deduction: conscious application of rules to processing the L2; - Recombination: putting together smaller meaningful elements into new wholes; - Imagery: visualizing information for memory storage; - Auditory Representation: keeping a sound or sound sequence in the mind; - Key Word: using key word memory techniques, such as identifying an L2 word with an L1 word that it sounds like; - Contextualization: placing a word or phrase in a meaningful language sequence; 137

- Elaboration: relating new information to other concepts in memory; - Transfer: using previous knowledge to help language learning; - Inferencing: guessing meanings by using available information; - Question for Clarification: asking a teacher or native speaker for explanation, help, etc.. 2. Metacognitive strategies Metacognitive strategies are skills used for planning, monitoring, and evaluating the learning activity; “they are strategies about learning rather than learning strategies themselves”. The following are some of the metacognitive strategies - Advance Organizersplanning the learning activity in advance; - Directed Attention: deciding to concentrate on general aspects of a learning task;

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- Selective Attention: deciding to pay attention to specific parts of the language input or the situation that will help learning; - Self-management: trying to arrange the appropriate conditions for learning; -

Advance

Preparation:

planning

the

linguistic

components for a forthcoming language task; - Self-monitoring: checking one's performance as one speaks; - Delayed Production: deliberately postponing speaking so that one may learn by listening; - Self-evaluation: checking how well one is doing against one‟s own standards; - Self- reinforcement: giving oneself rewards for success. 3. Social and affective strategies Social and affective strategies involve interacting with another person to assist learning or using control to assist a learning task. These strategies are:

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- Questioning for Clarification: Asking for explanation, verification, rephrasing, or examples about the material; asking for clarification or verification about the task; posing questions to the self. - Cooperation: Working together with peers to solve a problem, pool information, check a learning task, model a language activity, or get feedback on oral or written performance. - Self-talk: Reducing anxiety by using mental techniques that make one feel competent to do the learning task. There are a number of personality characteristics that may affect L2 learning, such as: 1. Extroversion vs. introversion 2. Self esteem 3. Inhibition 4. Risk-taking 5. Anxiety

Responsibility for Learning 141

Taking responsibility is doing away with excuses for not performing. It is accepting that you must take action or make a change. In order to take responsibility for learning, adults need to be able to understand their learning style and the styles of others, value differences between individual styles, and learn from these differences. You need to be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses, identify strategies for learning, and know when existing strategies are not working or when

they

are

challenged.

When

learners

take

responsibility for their learning they are using all of the components listed below.

The Five Components of the Take Responsibility for Learning Standard: • Establish learning goals that are based on an understanding of one’s own current and future learning needs. • Identify your own strengths and weaknesses as a learner and seek out opportunities for learning that help build self-concept as a learner. 141

• Become familiar with a range of learning strategies to acquire or retain knowledge. There are several different ways to learn something, not just one. Example: If I asked someone how to get to Chicago, she could give me one way or several depending on where I am coming from. There are several routes to any destination. Just like traveling, learning something can be taught and received in different ways. There are options to how you learn something. Everyone learns in a different way. Just like no two snowflakes are alike, neither are people and their learning styles. We all require special and unique strategies. One person may learn best by looking at pictures, while another may need to simply listen to directions. • Identify and use strategies appropriate to goals, task, context, and the resources available for learning. Once you are aware of the different learning styles and strategies, choose one that is best for the learning situation that you are in. No one is better than another, but having several different learning strategies will ensure your growth and learning.

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• Monitor progress toward goals and modify strategies or other features of the learning situation as necessary to achieve goals. If we are not making progress, then we must ask the question, “Why not?” To achieve our goals we must control the things that might get in the way of our learning. Several things can get in the way of learning. Sometimes other people in our lives can become barriers. Sometimes we can be barriers to ourselves. Barriers might include negativity from others, low self-esteem, a teacher that doesn’t teach to different learning styles or even something as simple as hunger or time barriers. Once we identify what is wrong, we can make corrections in our strategies and get back on course. This requires that we focus on our goals and constantly check to see whether our strategies are working. In order for anyone to learn the best that they can, a person must monitor her progress and make adjustments when necessary. • Test out new learning in real-life applications. Take what you learn in class and apply it in your family life, social life and community. You will want to be able to access your new learning and knowledge readily in a 143

variety of settings and situations. Always try to connect your new learning to something that is significant and realistic to your life and goals. Reviewing what you have learned will help you to increase your ability to use what you have learned in other parts of your life. It is important that you not only understand what you learn, but also see how you can apply it to other parts of your life.

Purpose of Taking Responsibility Taking responsibility for learning (TRL) prepares us for the unexpected and for the future. The following are reasons for taking responsibility for learning. A. Adapt to or prepare for change—Change is bound to happen throughout your educational experience and life. TRL can help you be proactive instead of reactive.

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B. Respond to new challenges—Be motivated and up to the unknown. Resistance to change is almost always a dead-end street. Take personal responsibility for adapting to change. C. Gain information—Try to get all the information that you can about the subject. Learn how and where to access it. D. Help make decisions and take action—TRL will help you to make better decisions when solving problems or planning. TRL can help you to be in control of the situation. E. Achieve goals—TRL can empower you to get where you want to be by helping you to realize where you are and what it will take to succeed. F. Perform one’s responsibilities—You are the owner of your learning. What you will learn and be able to do is mainly up to you. The importance of student’s motivation Motivation it is the inner striving conditions which are described as wishes, desires, and urges to stimulate the 145

interest of a person in an activity. It is also an inner state that stimulates and triggers behavior. According to Cole (2000) motivation is a term used to describe those processes, both initiative and rational by which people seek to satisfy the basic drives, perceived needs and personal goals, which trigger off human behavior.

Two Types of Motivation Two distinctions are made in the discussion of motivation. Deci and Ryan (1985:407) and Harmer (2007: 98) classify motivation into two different categories: 1- External Motivation ‘External’ means something coming from outside. External motivation refers to the external learning incentives that reside outside of the learner, based on the behaviourist notion of reinforcement. If students are extrinsically motivated, they engage in a certain behaviour because the anticipated responses satisfy their needs. For example, there are many external reasons why students want to study such as to pass an exam, to

146

enter university, to win teacher approval, to please their parents, etc. 2- Intrinsic Motivation The work or the activity in itself can be a source of reward for the student, for example, the enjoyment of learning, setting oneself a personal challenge, etc. Intrinsic motivation is concerned with the internal incentive

to

do

things

for

one’s

satisfaction.

Furthermore, when intrinsic motivation drives the learner, the brain can and does create its own rewards, however, though extrinsic motivation tends to promote skills development, it can lessen creativity if the brain is not allowed also to be in charge of its own learning. Chastain (1988: 173) mentions three types of motivation. The first is cognitive drive where some students seek to understand and to acquire new information. The second is ego enhancement when students seek to enhance their self-concepts. They strive to succeed and failure is extremely avoided. The third is social affiliation and the students here are trying to please their parents, the class group, and the society. 147

Students with a desire to know are motivated most by a rigorous course in which they feel they are learning much new information. They want rich course and they react negatively to unchallenging courses. Students seeking to enhance their self-concepts are motivated most by positive reinforcement from the teacher, their classmates, and their families. Students whose primary concern is social are motivated by their desire to belong to the class social group or to some other identified group.

Relationship between Motivation and Success Success is the powerful agent for the sustaining of students’ motivation. If they achieve identifiable goals, the students are likely to remain engaged with what is going on. Part of a teacher’s job is to make sure that the students recognize their achievement, even if these achievements are small. If the students do not see any evidence of their own success and only see failure constantly (in tests, in classroom language use or in the teacher’s attitudes to their classroom behaviour), then 148

their motive will be reduced. On the other hand, failure is a powerful engine for problem behaviour. Teachers need, therefore, to manage for students success. Motivation is influenced by success or failure in past classroom activities. It is well known that students’ motivation to learn is influenced by their daily experiences in the classroom. On the basis of classroom experience, students set their expectation for future learning. Students who have a positive expectation will show greater persistence at difficult task and, if given a choice, will look for more challenging tasks than students with low expectation. “Nothing motivate like success. Nothing demotivate like continual failure”; the longer their success continues, the more likely they are to stay motivated to learn. Motivation is essential to success in all fields of learning. Chastain (1988:172) says that the positively motivated are more likely to learn and then successes than the less negatively motivated students. In brief success and motivation can influence each other.

149

Motivation Learners in any subject area tend to make more progress if they want to learn. No teacher can force students to learn if they’re not motivated. A proverb says, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” This also applies to teaching pronunciation. We can provide information and many chances to practice, but we don’t have the power to change our students’ pronunciation for them. They have to want to do it and be willing to do the work themselves. Three general sets of goals or desires have been suggested that can motivate students in language learning (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010, p. 21): • Learners want to be accepted into a group that uses the language. The group might still recognize the learners as “outsiders,” but they can function well in the group. This is sometimes called integrative motivation. • They want to be accepted as real members of the group. They don’t want to be thought of as “outsiders.” This is called assimilative motivation.

151

• They want to be able to use the language to reach a goal: To get a job, to to conduct business, to pass a test, or to travel easily in a foreign country. This is called instrumental motivation.

Chapter Thirteen : General Review

Q.1. What does the term " Approach " mean ? - People use the term approach to refer to theories about the nature of language and language learning which are the source of the way things are done in the classroom and which provide the reasons for doing them . An approach describes how language is used and how 151

its constituent parts interlock – it offers a model of a language competence .An approach describes how people acquire their knowledge of the language and makes statements about the conditions which will promote successful language learning.

Q.2. What does the term " Method " mean ? - It means the practical realization of an approach . Methods include various procedures and techniques as part of their standard fare .

Q.3. What does the term " Procedure " mean ? - A procedure is an ordered sequence of techniques . A procedure is a sequence which can be described in terms as First you do this , then you do that …. . Smaller than a method , it is bigger than a technique . For example , a popular dictation procedure starts when students are put in small groups .Each group then sends one representative to the front of the class to read(and remember ) the first line of a poem which has been 152

placed on a desk there. Each group then sends a second student up to read the second line . The procedure continues until one group has written the whole poem .

Q.4. What does the term " Technique " mean ? - Good ( 1974 : 591 ) defines technique as : an instructional procedure designed to relate to the student the material being presented to facilitate learning ", Freeman ( 1986:1) defines technique as " the classroom activities and procedures derived from an application of the principles ". Richards and Rogers (1986:15) say that " a technique is that what actually takes place in a classroom .It is a particular trick, starting , or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective .Technique must be consistent with a method , and therefore in harmony with an approach as well ".

Q.5. What does the term " Teaching " mean ? - Brown (2000: 8 ) states that teaching guides and facilitates learning; it enables learners to learn and set the 153

conditions for learning . He adds that teaching is " showing or helping someone to learn ".

Q.6. What does the term " Achievement " mean ? - Webster's dictionary (1971 :16) defines it as " the performance of students in a certain academic course ". Good (1974:7) defines achievement as " knowledge attained or skills developed in the school subject , usually designated by test scorers or by marks assigned by teacher or by both ". Al-Ubeidy (2003:9) sees achievement as the students' performance on a test given at the end of a study to find out if students have learned and acquired the language activities they are studying or are expected to .

Q.7. What is meant by teaching method ? - It is a way of teaching a language which is based on systematic principles and procedures ,i.e., which is an application of views on how a language is best taught and learned.

154

Q.8. What are the basic teaching methods used for teaching English ? - they are : 1.The Grammar –Translation Method 2. The Direct Methods 3. The Audio-Lingual Method 4. The Situational Language Teaching 5. The Communicative Language Teaching 6. The Humanistic Approaches 7. The Task-Based Teaching Method

Q.9. What is meant by " The Grammar-Translation Method "? - It is one of the most traditional methods , dating back to the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries . It was originally used to teach " dead " languages (and literatures ) such as Latin and Greek ,and this may account for its heavy bias towards written work to the virtual exclusion of oral production . 155

Q.10. What are main characteristics of the GTM ? 1.Reading and writing are the main focus , little or no attention is paid to speaking and listening . 2. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice . Much of the lesson is devoted to translating sentences into and out of the target language . 3. Accuracy is emphasized . 4. Grammar is taught deductively by presentation and study of grammar which are then practiced through translation exercises. This is called explicit teaching of grammar. 5. Comparisons are made between the foreign language and the students' native language .

156

Q.11. What are the goals of teachers who use the Grammar-Translation Method ? - According to the teachers who use the GrammarTranslation Method , a fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read literature written in the target language. To do this , students need to learn about the grammar rules and vocabulary of the target language . In addition , it is believed that studying a foreign language provides students with a good mental exercise which helps develop their minds.

Q.12. Explain the role of the teacher in the GTM ? - The teacher is the authority in the classroom . When teachers act as controller they are in charge of the class and of the activity taking place in a way that is substantially different from a situation where students are working on their own in groups . Teachers apply the following : 157

Tell students things , organize drills , read aloud , and in various other ways exemplify the qualities of a teacher – fronted classroom ( i.e. teacher – centered ).

Q.13. Explain the roles of students in the GTM ? - Students are passive . They do as the teacher says , so they can learn what the teacher knows . Students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies , translations and rote exercises .Most of the interaction in the classroom is from teacher to the students . There is little student – student interaction. 13. What are some characteristics of the teaching / learning process ? - Students are taught to translate from one language to another .Often what they translate are readings in the target language about some aspect of the culture of the target language community . Students study grammar deductively ; that is , they are given the grammar rules and examples , are told to memorize them , and then are asked to apply the rules to other examples . They memorize native- language equivalents for targetlanguage vocabulary words. 158

Q.14. How are the feelings of the students dealt with ? - There are no principles of the method which relate to this area .

Q.15. How are the language and culture viewed in the GTM ? - Literary language is considered superior to spoken language and is therefore the language that students study . Culture is viewed as consisting of literature and the fine arts .

Q.16. What areas of language are emphasized ? What language skills are emphasized ? - Vocabulary and grammar are emphasized . Reading and writing are the primary skills that the students work on . There is much less attention given to speaking and listening . Pronunciation receives little , if any , attention.

Q.17. How is evaluation accomplished ? - Written tests in which students are asked to translate from their native language to the target language or vice 159

versa are often used . Questions about the target culture or questions that ask students to apply grammar rules are also common .

Q.18. How does the teacher respond to students' errors ? - Having the students get the correct answer is considered very important . If students make errors or do not know an answer , the teacher supplies them with the correct answer .

Q.19. What are the main weak points of the Grammar – Translation Method? 1. Classes are taught in the students' mother tongue. 2. Vocabulary is taught in the form of isolated word lists. 3. Elaborate explanations of grammar are always provided . 161

4. Reading of difficult texts is begun early in the course of study. 5. Little attention is paid to the content of the texts. 6. Little or no attention is paid given to pronunciation. 7. Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences. 8. No class time is allocated to allow students to produce their own sentences . 9. The type of error correction can be harmful to the students' learning process.

Q.20. Mention some of the techniques associated with the GTM ? 1. Translation of a literary passage : students translate a reading passage

161

from the target language into their native language. The reading passage then provides the focus for several classes: vocabulary and grammatical structures in the passage are studied in subsequent lessons . 2. Reading comprehension questions : Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the reading passage. 3. Antonyms / Synonyms : Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the reading passage. A similar exercise could be done by asking students to find synonyms for a particular set of words . 4. Deductive application of rule : Grammar rules are presented with 162

Examples. Once students understand a rule , they are asked to apply it to some different examples. 5. Fill-in-the-blanks : Students are given a series of sentences with words missing. They fill in the blanks with new vocabulary items or with items of a particular grammar type , such as prepositions or verbs with different tenses. 6. Memorization : Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native language equivalents and are asked to memorize them. 7. Use words in sentences : In order to show that students understand the meaning and use of a new vocabulary item, they make up sentences in 163

which they use the new words . 8. Composition : The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language.

Q.21. What is meant by " The Direct Method " ? - It is a reaction to the grammar-translation approach in an attempt to integrate more use of the target language in instruction. It enjoyed considerable popularity at the beginning of the 20th century . It was most widely accepted in in private language schools where students were highly motivated and where native-speaking teachers could be employed.

The Direct Method

Q.22. Why did the Direct Method become popular ? - It became popular because the Grammar-Translation Method was not 164

Very effective in preparing students to use the target language communicatively.

Q.23. What is the basic rule of the Direct Method ? - It has one very basic rule : No translation is allowed. Meaning is conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstrations and visual aids, with no recourse to the students' native language .

Q.24. What are the goals of teachers who use the Direct Method ? - Teachers who use the Direct Method intend that students learn how to Communicate in the target language .In order to do this successfully ,

165

Students should learn to think in the target language.

Q.25. Explain the roles of the students and their teacher in the DM? - The teacher directs the class activities , whereas the students' role is less passive than in the GTM . The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching / learning process .

Q.26. What are some characteristics of the teaching / learning process ? - Teachers who use the Direct Method believe that 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 translate it into the students' native language . Students speak in the target

166

language a great deal and communicate as if they were in real situations .

Q.27. What is the nature of the student-teacher interaction ? What is the nature of studentstudent interaction ? - The initiation of the interaction goes both ways , from teacher to students and from students to teacher , although the latter is often teacher –directed. Students converse with one another as well.

Q.28. How are the feelings of the students dealt with ? - There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.

Q.29. How is language viewed ? How is culture viewed ? - Language is primarily spoken , not written . Therefore , students study common , everyday speech in the target language . They also study culture consisting of the 167

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 .

Q.30. What areas of language are emphasized ? What language skills are emphasized ? - Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar . Although work on all four skills ( reading , writing , speaking ,and listening ) occurs from the start ,oral communication is seen as basic . Thus reading and writing exercises are based upon what the students practice orally first . Pronunciation also receives attention right from the beginning of a course .

Q.31. What is the role of the students' native language ? - The students' native language should not be used in the classroom .

Q.32. How is evaluation accomplished ? - No formal evaluation in the classroom is used. Students are asked to use the language , not to demonstrate their 168

knowledge about the language . They are asked to do so using both oral and written skills .For example , the students might be interviewed orally by the teacher or might be asked to write a paragraph about something they have studied .

Q.33. How does the teacher responds to students' errors in the DM ? - The teacher , employing various techniques , tries to get students to self-correct whenever possible .

Q.34. What are the main teaching techniques used in the DM ? 1. Reading aloud 2. Question & answer exercise 3. Self-correct by students 4. Conversation practice 5. Fill-in-the-blank exercise 6. Dictation 7. Map drawing : The students are given a map with the geographical 169

features unnamed , and then the teacher gives the students directions . 8. Paragraph writing

Q.35. What are main merits of the Direct Method ? 1. The focus is on oral skills. 2. The use of target language is wide. 3. Teacher-student and student- student interaction is accomplished .

Q.36. What are the main weak points of the Direct Method ? 1. It did not take well in public education because it was difficult to use where the constraints of budget , classroom size , time , and teacher background are found . 171

2. It has weak theoretical foundations.

3. Its success depends mainly on the skill ,proficiency , and personality Of the teacher rather than the methodology itself. The Audio-lingual Method ( ALM )

Q.37. What is the similarity between the AudioLingual Method and the Direct Method ? - Both of them are oral-based approaches .

Q.38. What the main differences between the ALM & the DM ? 1. The DM emphasizes vocabulary acquisition in situations, while through exposure to its use in the ALM drills students in the use of grammatical s sentence patterns . 2. The DM has a weak theoretical foundations while the ALM has a strong theoretical base in linguistics and psychology.

171

Q.39. What are the goals of teachers who use the Audio-Lingual Method ? - Teachers want their students to be able to use the target language communicatively . In order to do this , they believe students need to overlearn the target language , to learn to use it automatically without stopping to think . Their students achieve this by forming new habits in the target language and overcoming the old habits of their native language .

Q.40. What is the role of the teacher ? What is the role of the students ? - The teacher is like an orchestra leader , directing and controlling the language behavior of his students . He is also responsible for providing his students with a good model for imitation . Students are imitators of the teacher's model or the tapes he supplies of model speakers .They follow the teacher's directions and respond as accurately as rapidly as possible .

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Q.41. What are some characteristics of the teaching / learning process ? - New vocabulary and structural patterns are presented through dialogues. The dialogues are learned through imitation and repetition .( Drills such as repetition , backward build-up ,chain , substitution , transformation , and question-and-answer ) are conducted based upon the patterns present in the dialogue .Students' successful responses are positively reinforced . Grammar is induced from the examples given ; explicit grammar rules are not provided .Cultural information is contextualized in the dialogues or presented by the teacher .Students' reading and written work is based upon the oral work they did earlier .

Q.42. What is the nature of the student-teacher interaction ? What is the nature of studentstudent interaction ? - There is a student-to-student interaction in chain drills or when students take different roles in dialogues ,but this interaction is teacher-directed . Most of the 173

interaction is between teacher and students and is initiated by the teacher.

Q.43. How are the feelings of the students dealt with ? - There are no principles of the method that relate to this area .

Q.44. How is the language viewed ? How is the culture viewed ? - The view of language in the Audio-Lingual Method has been influenced by descriptive linguistics . Every language is seen as having its own unique system . The system is comprised of several different levels : phonological , morphological , and syntactic .Each level has its own distinctive patterns . Everyday speech is emphasized in the Audio-Lingual Method . The level of complexity of the speech is graded , however ,so that beginning students are presented with only simple patterns . Culture consists of the everyday behavior and lifestyle of the target language speakers. 174

Q.45. What areas of language are emphasized ? What language skills are emphasized ? - Vocabulary is kept to a minimum while the students are mastering the sound system and grammatical patterns. A grammatical pattern is not the same as a sentence . For instance , underlying the following three sentences is the same grammatical pattern : Meh called , The Blue Jays won , The team practiced . The natural order of skills presentation is adhered to : listening , speaking , reading , and writing .The oral/aural skills receive most of the attention .What students write they have first been introduced to orally .Pronunciation is taught from the beginning ,often by students working in language laboratories on discriminating between members of minimal pairs .

Q.46. What is the role of the students' native language ? -The habits of the students' native language are thought to interfere with the students' attempts to master the 175

target language . Therefore , the target language is used in the classroom , not the students' native language . A contrastive analysis between the students' native language and the target language will reveal where a teacher should expect the most interference .

Q.47. How does the teacher respond to student errors ? - Student errors are to be avoided if at all possible through the teacher's awareness of where the students will have difficulty and restriction of what they are taught to say .

Q.48. What are the main teaching techniques used in the ALM ? - They are : 1. Dialogue memorization 2. Backward build –up ( expansion ) drill. 176

3. Repetition drill 4. Chain drill 5. Single-slot substitution drill 6. Multiple-slot substitution drill 7. Transformation drill 8. Question and answer drill 9. Use of minimal pairs 10. Complete the dialogue 11. Grammar game 12. Reading comprehension questions 13. Composition writing questions

Q.49. What are the merits of the ALM ? 1. It is rooted in a well-established theoretical perspective either with respect to the language theory or learning theory .

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2. It is suitable and practical to be used in large classes where large numbers of students are there . 3. Students' successful responses are positively reinforced . 4. Grammar is induced from examples given . Explicit grammar rules are not provided . 5. Cultural information is contextualized in the dialogues or presented by the teacher .

Q.50. What are the main demerits of the ALM ? 1. Language is not really acquired through a process of habit formation and over learning . 2. Errors were not necessarily to be avoided at all costs . 3. Structural linguistics did not tell us everything about language that we need to know . 4. Learning is mechanical. No attention is focused on learner cognition , feelings , needs , or interests. 178

5. It is more teacher-centered approach than learnercentered approach.

The Silent Way ( Caleb Gattegno ) Although the Silent Way did not stem directly from the cognitive approach , it shares certain principles with it. For example , one of the basic principles of the Silent Way is that " Teaching should be subordinated to learning ." In other words, Gattengo believed that to teach means to serve the learning process rather than to dominate it. This principle is in keeping with the active search for rules ascribed to learner in the Cognitive Approach .

Q.51. What are the goals of teachers who use the Silent Way ? - Students should be able to use the language for selfexpression to express their thought , perceptions , and feelings .In order to do this ,they need to develop

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independence from the teacher , to develop their own inner criteria for correctness . Students become independent by relying on themselves .The teacher ,therefore, should give them only what they absolutely need to promote their learning .

Q.52. What is the role of the teacher ? What is the role of the students ? - The teacher is a technician or engineer ."Only the learner can do the

learning ", but the teacher ,relying on

what his students already know , can give what help is necessary , focus the students' perceptions ,force their awareness , and " provide exercises to insure their facility " with the language . The teacher should respect the autonomy of the learners in their attempts at relating and interacting with the new challenges . The role of the students is to make use of what they know , to free themselves of any obstacles that would 181

interfere with giving their utmost attention to the learning task , and to actively engage in exploring the language .No one can learn for us , Gattengo would say ; to learn is our personal responsibility . As Gattengo says , " The teacher works with the student ; the student works on the language " .

Q.53. What are some characteristics of the teaching / learning process ? -Students begin their study of the language through its basic building,blocks,its sounds . These are introduced through a language-specific-sound –color chart. Relying on what sounds students already know from their knowledge of their native language ,teachers lead their students to associate the sounds of the target language with particular colors. Later ,these same colors are used to help students learn the spellings that correspond to the sounds and how to read and pronounce words properly through the color-coded-word charts.

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The teacher sets up situations that focus student attention on the structures of the language .The situations provide a vehicle for students to perceive meaning . The students receive a great deal of practice with a given target language structure without repetition for its own sake. They get autonomy in the language by exploring it and making choices .The teacher asks the students to describe their reactions to the lesson or what they have learned. This provides valuable information for the teacher and encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning . Some further learning takes place while they sleep .

Q.54. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction ? What is the nature of studentstudent interaction ? - For much of the student-teacher interaction , the teacher is silent. He is still very active , however –setting up situations to "force awareness " listening attentively to students' speech , and silently working with them on their production through the use of nonverbal gestures and the 182

tools he has available. When the teacher does speak , it is to give clues , not to model the language. Student – student verbal interaction is desirable ( students can learn from one another ) and is therefore encouraged .The teacher's silence is one way to do this.

Q.55. How are the feelings of the students dealt with ? - The teacher constantly observes the students . When their feelings interfere , the teacher tries to find ways for the students to overcome them. Also, through feedback sessions at the end of lessons ,students have an opportunity to express how they feel. The teacher takes what they say into consideration and work with the students to help them overcome negative feelings which might otherwise interfere with their learning .Finally , because students are encouraged throughout each lesson to cooperate with one another ,it is hoped that a relaxed , enjoyable learning environment will be created .

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Q.56. How is language viewed ? How is culture viewed ? - Languages of the world share a number of features .However ,each language also has its own unique reality ,or spirit since it is the expression of a particular group of people .Their culture , as reflected in their own unique world view , is inseparable from their language .

Q.57. What areas of language are emphasized ? What language skills are emphasized ? - Since the sounds are basic to any language ,pronunciation is worked on from the beginning .It is important that students acquire the melody of the language .There is also a focus on the structure of the language ,although explicit grammar rules may never be supplied .Vocabulary is somewhat restricted at first . There is no fixed ,linear ,structural syllabus .Instead ,the teacher starts with what the students know and builds from one structure to the next. The syllabus develops according to learning needs.

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All four skills are are worked on from the beginning of the course , although there is a sequence in that students learn to read and write what they have already produced orally. The skills reinforce what students are learning .

Q.58. What is the role of the student's native language ? - Meaning is made by focusing the students' perceptions ,not by translation .The students' native language can , however , be used to give instructions where necessary , to help a student improve his or her pronunciation , for instance .The native language is also used ( at least at beginning levels of proficiency ) during the feedback sessions. More important , knowledge students already possess of their native language can be exploited by the teacher of the target language .For example , the teacher 185

knows that many of the sounds in the students' native language will be similar ,if not identical ,to sounds in the target language ; he assumes , then , that he can build upon this existing knowledge to introduce the new sounds in the target language .

Q.59. How is evaluation accomplished ? - Although the teacher may never give a formal test , he assesses student learning all the time. Since "teaching " is subordinated to learning ,the teacher should be responsive to immediate learning needs .The teacher's silence frees him to attend to his students and to be aware of these needs .The needs will be apparent to a teacher who is observant of his students' behavior .One criterion of whether or not students have learned is their ability to transfer what they have been studying to new contexts. The teacher does not praise or criticize students behavior since this would interfere with students' 186

developing their own inner criteria. He expects students to learn at different rates .The teacher looks for steady progress , not perfection .

Q.60. How does the teacher respond to student errors ? - Student errors are seen as a natural ,indispensable part of the learning process. Errors are inevitable since the students are encouraged to explore the language .The teacher uses student errors as a basis for deciding where further work is necessary . The teacher works with the students in getting them to self-correct. Students are not thought to learn much if the teacher merely supplies the correct language .Students need to learn to listen to themselves and compare their own production with their developing inner criteria .If the students are unable to self-correct and peers cannot help , then the teacher would supply the correct language , but only as a last resort .

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Total Physical Response Approach ( TPR)

Q.61. What are the main principles of the TPR ? 1. Learning is facilitated in a cheerful environment. 2. Students can learn from what is present in the environment, even if their attention is not directed to it. 3. If students trust and respect the teacher's authority ,they will accept and retain information better. 4. The dialogue that the students learn contains language they can use immediately. 5. The teacher should present and explain the grammar and vocabulary, but not dwell on them. 6. One way that meaning is made clear is through native language translation. 188

7. Music and movement reinforce the linguistic material.

Q.62. Mention the basic demerits of the TPR ? 1. It seemed to be especially effective in the beginning levels of language proficiency , but as learners advance in their competence ,it loses its distinctiveness. 2. In reading and writing activities ,students are limited to spinning off from the oral work in the classroom . 3. Learners' needs for spontaneous and unrehearsed language is not met.

Q.63. What are the basic teaching techniques that are used in TPR ? 1. Using commands 189

2. Role reversal 3.Action sequence (i.e. Concerned commands ).

Q.64. What is the role of the teacher ? What is the role of the

student ?

- The teacher is the authority in the classroom. In order for the method to be successful ,the students must trust and respect their teacher. The students will retain information better from someone in whom they have confidence since they will be more responsive to him. Once the students trust the teacher ,they can feel more secure . If they feel secure , they can be more spontaneous and less inhibited.

Q.65. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction ? What is the nature of studentstudent interaction ? - The teacher initiates interactions with the whole group of students and with individuals right from the beginning of a language course. Initially , the students can only respond nonverbally or with a few target language words 191

they have practiced. Later the students have more control of the target language and can respond more appropriately and even initiate interaction themselves.

Q.66. How are the feelings of the students dealt with ? - A great deal of attention is given to students' feelings in this method. One of the fundamental principles of the method is that if students are relaxed and confident , they will not need to try hard to learn the language .It will just come naturally and easily . It is considered important in this method that the psychological barriers that students bring with them be desuggested . Indirect positive suggestions are made to enhance students' self-confidence and to convince them that success is obtainable. Students also choose target language names on the assumption that a new identity makes students feel more secure and thus more open to learning.

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Q.67. What areas of language are emphasized ? What language skills are emphasized ? - Vocabulary is emphasized . Claims about the success of the method often focus on the large number of words that can be acquired. Grammar is dealt with explicitly but minimally .In fact , it is believed that students will learn best if their conscious attention is focused not on the language forms ,but on using the language .The " paraconscious "mind will then absorb the linguistic rules. Speaking communicatively is emphasized . Students also read in the target language ( for example ,dialogues )and write ( for example ,imaginative compositions ).

Q.68. What is the role of the students' native language ? - Native language translation is used to make the meaning of the dialogue clear. The teacher also uses the native language in class when necessary. As the course proceeds , the teacher uses the native language less and less. 192

Q.69. How is evaluation accomplished ? - Evaluation usually is accomplished on students' normal in-class performance and through formal tests ,which would threaten the relaxed atmosphere considered essential for accelerated learning .

Q.70 . How does the teacher respond to student errors ? Errors are corrected gently , with the teacher using a soft voice. Communicative Language Teaching ( CLT ) Towards the end of the 20th century , great attention was given to the communicative approach (CLT ). The most obvious characteristics of CLT are that almost everything that is done with a communicative intent. Students use the language a great deal through communicative activities such as games , role plays , and 193

problem-solving tasks .Activities that are truly communicative should be information gaps, choice , and feedback . An information gap exists when one person in an exchange knows something the other person does not know. The speaker has the choice to of what to say and how to say it . True communication is purposeful. A speaker can evaluate whether or not his purpose has been achieved based upon the information he receives from the listener .

Q.71. Mention the main principles of the Communicative Approach ? 1. The teacher greets the students , introduces himself , and has the students introduce themselves .Building a relationship with and among students is very important . 2. The teacher tells the students what they are going to do that

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evening . He explains the procedure of the first activity and sets a time limit. 3. Language is for communication. 4. The teacher should be sensitive to "students' level of confidence" and give them just what they need to be successful . 5. The teacher tells them that they have only a few minutes remaining for the conversation. Students feel more secure when they know the limits of an activity . 6. The teacher and his students are whole persons. Sharing about their Learning experience allows learners to get to know one another and To build community .

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7. The teacher accept what each student says so as to create an accepting atmosphere . Learners feel free to lower their defenses and the learning experience becomes less threatening . 8. The teacher understands what the students say. He "counsels" the students .He does not offer advice, but rather shows them that he is really listening to them and understands what they are saying .By understanding how students feel ,the teacher can help students gain insights into their own learning process as well as transform their negative feelings ,which might otherwise block their learning . 9. Students learn best when they have a choice in what they practice. 196

10. In groups , students can begin to feel a sense of community and can learn from each other as well as the teacher . Cooperation and not competition is encouraged. 11. Developing a community among the class members builds trust and Can help to reduce the threat of the new learning situation . 12. In the beginning stages , the "syllabus" is generated primarily by The students .Students are more willing to learn when they have created The material themselves.

Q.72. What are the goals of teachers who use the community language learning method ?

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- Teachers who use the community language learning method want their students to learn how to use the target language communicatively . In addition ,they want their students to learn about their own learning ,to take increasing responsibility for it , and to learn how to learn from one another.

Q.73.What is the role of the teacher ? What is the role of the students ? - The teacher's initial role is primarily that of a counselor .This does not mean that the teacher is a therapist , or the teacher does no teaching. Rather , it means that the teacher recognizes how threatening a new learning situation can be for adult learners ,so he skillfully understand and support his students in their struggle to master the target language .

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Initially , the learners are very dependent upon the teacher .It is recognized , however , that as the learners continue to study , they become Increasingly independent .

Q.74. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction ? What is the nature of studentstudent interaction ? - The nature of student –teacher interaction in the community language learning method changes within the lesson and over time .Sometimes the students are assertive ,as when they are having a conversation .At these times , the teacher facilitates their ability to express themselves in the target language .He physically removes himself from the circle , thereby encouraging students to interact with one another .At other times in the lesson ,the teacher is very obviously in charge and providing direction. At all times initially , the teacher structures the class ; at later stages , the students may assume more responsibility for this. The community language learning method is neither student-centered , 199

nor teacher- centered , but rather teacher-student – centered , with both being decision-makers in the class.

Q.75. How are the feelings of the students dealt with ? - Responding to the students' feelings is considered very important in Counseling-Learning .One regular activity is inviting students to comment on how they feel . The teacher listens and responds to each comment carefully . By showing students he understands how they feel , the teacher can help them overcome negative feelings that might otherwise block their learning . Student security in this lesson was provided for in a number of ways . Some of these were the teacher's use of the students' native language , telling students precisely what they would be doing during the lesson , respecting established time limits , giving students only as much language at a time as they could handle , and taking responsibility for clearly structuring activities in the most 211

appropriate way. While security is a basic element of the learning process , the way in which it is provided will change depending upon the stage of the learner .

Q.76. How is language viewed ? How is culture viewed ? - Language is for communication. Both teacher and students work at building trust in one another and the learning process . At the beginning of the process ,the focus is on " sharing and belonging between persons through the language tasks ." Then the focus shifts more to the target language which becomes the group's individual and shared identity . In this kind of supportive learning process , language becomes the means for developing creative and critical thinking .Culture is an integral part of language learning .

Q.77. What areas of language are emphasized ? What language skills are emphasized ?

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- In the early stages , typically the students generate the material since they decide what they want to be able to say in the target language . Later on , after students feel more secure , the teacher might prepare specific materials or work with published textbooks. Particular grammar points ,pronunciation patterns , and vocabulary are worked with , based on the language the students have generated . The most important skills are understanding and speaking the language at the beginning , with reinforcement through reading and writing .

Q.78 . What is the role of the students' native language ? - Students' security is initially enhanced by using their native language .The purpose of using the native language is to provide a bridge from the familiar to the unfamiliar . Where possible , literal native language 212

equivalents are given to the target language words that have been transcribed . This makes their meaning clear and allows students to combine the target language words in different ways to create new sentences . Directions in class and sessions during which students express their feelings and are understood are conducted in the native language . In later stages , of course , more and more of the target language can be used . By the time students are in stages (3) and (4) , their conversations have few native language words and phrases . In a class where the students speak a variety of native languages , conversations take place right from the start in the target language .Meaning is made clear in other ways , with pantomime , pictures and the use of target language synonyms , for example .

Q.79. How is evaluation accomplished ? - Although no particular mode of evaluation is prescribed in the community language learning method , whatever evaluation is conducted should be in keeping with the principles of the method . If , for example ,the school requires that the students take a test at the end of a course

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, then the teacher would see to it that the students are adequately prepared for taking it . Also , a teacher-made classroom test would likely be more of an integrative test than a discrete-point one . Students would be asked to write a paragraph or be given an oral interview , rather than being asked to answer a question which deals with only one point of language at a time . Finally , it is likely that teachers would encourage their students to self-evaluate –to look at their own learning and to become aware of their own progress.

Q.80. How does the teacher respond to student errors ? - Teachers should work with what the learner has produced in a nonthreatening way. One way of doing this is for the teacher to repeat correctly what the student has said incorrectly , without calling further attention to the error. Techniques depend on where the students are in 214

the five –stage learning process , but are consistent with sustaining a respectful , non-defensive relationship between teacher and students .

Communicative Language Teaching In the 1970s , some educators observed that students could produced sentences accurately in a lesson , but could not use them appropriately when genuinely communicating outside 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 . It became clear that communication required that students perform certain functions as well , such as promising , inviting, and declining invitations with a social context .In short ,it required communicative competence . 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 structurecentered approach to a Communicative Approach ( Widdowson 1990 ). 215

Q.81. What are the main principles of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) ? - Whenever possible , " authentic language "- language as it is used in a real context – should be introduced. - Being able to figure out the speaker's or writer's intentions is part of being communicatively competent. - The target language is a vehicle for classroom communication , not just the object of study . - The emphasis is on the process of communication rather than just mastery of language forms . - The speaker receives immediate feedback from the listener on whether or not he/she has successfully communicated .In this way they can negotiate meaning . - Having the students work in small groups maximizes the amount of communicative practice they receive . - Students should be given opportunities to express their ideas and opinions .

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- Errors are tolerated and seen as a natural outcome of the development of communication skills. Since this activity was working on fluency , the teacher did not correct the student , but simply noted the error , which he will return to at a large point . - One of the teacher's major responsibilities is to establish situations likely to promote communication . - Communicative interaction encourages cooperative relationships among students. It gives students an opportunity to work on negotiating meaning . - Learning to use language forms appropriately is an important part of communicative competence . - The teacher acts as a facilitator in setting up communicative activities and as an advisor during the activities. - In communicating , a speaker has a choice not only about what to say , but also how to say it . - Students should be given opportunities to listen to language as it is used in authentic communication.

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Dr. Sami Abdulazeez Mohammed Professor of ELT and applied linguistics ,University of Diyala , College of Basic Education, Department of English. A teacher of curriculum , methods of teaching English and testing English as a foreign language.

Samia Mohammed Erzooqi Instructor of ELT and applied linguistics , University of Diyala , College of Basic Education , Department of English . A teacher of methods of teaching English , and assessments.

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‫رقم اإليداع يف دار الكتب والوثائق الوطنية ببغداد (‪ )3133‬لسنة (‬

‫م)‬