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Some methodological options for modern language learning and teaching (How…
Some methodological options for modern language learning and teaching
How are learners expected to learn a second or foreign language (L2)?
by direct exposure to authentic use of language in L2
by direct exposure to specially selected (e.g. graded) spoken utterances and written texts in L2
by direct participation in authentic communicative interaction in L2
by direct participation in specially devised and constructed tasks in L2 (‘comprehensible output’)
autodidactically, by (guided) self-study, pursuing negotiated self-directed objectives
and using available instructional media
by a combination of presentations, explanations, (drill) exercises and exploitation
activities, but with L1 as the language of classroom management, explanation, etc
by a combination of activities as in f), but using L2 only for all classroom purposes;
by starting with L1 as the vehicular language but changing it progrssively to L2
by combining the above with group and individual planning, implementation and evaluation of classroom activity with teacher support, negotiating interaction to satisfy different learner needs, etc.
What different proportions of class time may be (expected to be) spent:
by the teacher expounding, explaining, etc. to the whole class?
in whole-class question/answer sessions (distinguishing between referential, display
and test questions)?
in group or pair working?
in individual working?
What importance is attached to their:
teaching skills?
classroom management skills?
ability to engage in action research and to reflect on experience?
teaching styles?
understanding of and ability to handle testing, assessment and evaluation?
knowledge of and ability to teach sociocultural background information?
inter-cultural attitudes and skills?
knowledge of and ability to develop students’ aesthetic appreciation of literature?
ability to deal with individualisation within classes containing diverse learner types
and abilities?
During individual, pair or group working, should the teacher:
simply supervise and maintain order?
circulate to monitor work?
be available for individual counselling?
adopt the role of supervisor and facilitator, accepting and reacting to students’
remarks on their learning and co-ordinating student activities, in addition to monitoring and counselling?
How far should learners be expected or required to:
follow all and only the teacher’s instructions in a disciplined, orderly way, speaking
only when called upon to do so?
participate actively in the learning process in co-operation with the teacher and other students to reach agreement on objectives and methods, accepting compromise, and engaging in peer teaching and peer assessment so as to progress steadily
towards autonomy?
work independently with self-study materials including self-assessment?
compete with each other?
What use can and should be made of instructional media (audio and video cassettes, computers, etc.)?
none
for whole-class demonstrations, repetitions, etc.
in a language/video/computer laboratory mode
in an individual self-instructional mode
as a basis for group work (discussion, negotiation, co-operative and competitive
games, etc.)
in international computer networking of schools, classes and individual students.
How may learners be expected or required to learn from spoken and written
texts?
by simple exposure
by simple exposure, but ensuring that new material is intelligible by inferencing
from verbal context, visual support, etc.
by exposure, with comprehension monitored and ensured by L2 question and
answer, multiple choice, picture matching, etc.
How far should the written or spoken texts presented to learners be
‘authentic’, i.e. produced for communicative purposes with no language teaching
intent
pecially composed for use in language teaching
How far should learners have not only to process, but also to produce texts? These
may be
spoken
written
how far may learners be
expected and helped to differentiate text types and to develop different styles of listening, reading, speaking and writing as appropriate, acting both as individuals and as
members of groups (e.g. by sharing ideas and interpretations in the processes of comprehension and formulation)?
How far should learners be expected or required to learn from tasks and activities
by simple participation in spontaneous activities?
by simple participation in tasks and activities planned as to type, goals, input, outcomes, participant roles and activities, etc.?
by participation not only in the task but in pre-planning as well as post-mortem analysis and evaluation?
as c) but also with explicit awareness-raising as to goals, the nature and structure of
tasks, requirements of participant roles, etc.?
Should the development of the learner’s ability to use communicative strategies be:
assumed to be transferable from the learner’s L1 usage or facilitated
by creating situation and setting tasks (e.g. role play and simulations) which require
the operation of planning, execution, evaluation and repair strategies
as b), but using awareness-raising techniques (e.g. recording and analysis of roleplays
and simulations)
as b), but encouraging or requiring learners to focus on and follow explicit strategic
procedures as the need arises.
How then should the general, non-language-specific competences be treated in
language courses?
assumed to exist already, or be developed elsewhere (e.g. in other curricular subjects
conducted in L1) sufficiently to be taken for granted in L2 teaching
treated ad hoc as and when problems arise
by selecting or constructing texts that illustrate new areas and items of knowledge
by special courses or textbooks dealing with area studies (Landeskunde, civilisation,
etc.) i) in L1, ii) in L2
through an intercultural component designed to raise awareness of the relevant
experiential, cognitive and sociocultural backgrounds of learners and native speakers respectively
through role-play and simulations
through subject teaching using L2 as the medium of instruction
through direct contact with native speakers and authentic texts.
With regard to existential competence, the learner’s personality features, motivations, attitudes, beliefs, etc. (see section 5.1.3) may be:
ignored as the learner’s personal concern
taken into account in planning and monitoring the learning process
included as an objective of the learning programme
With regard to ability to learn, learners may (be expected/required to) develop
their study skills and heuristic skills and their acceptance of responsibility for their own learning:
simply as ‘spin-off’ from language learning and teaching, without any special planning or provision
by progressively transferring responsibility for learning from the teacher to the pupils/students and encouraging them to reflect on their learning and to share this experience with other learners
by systematically raising the learners’ awareness of the learning/teaching processes
in which they are participating
by engaging learners as participants in experimentation with different methodological options
by getting learners to recognise their own cognitive style and to develop their own
learning strategies accordingly.
The development of the learner’s linguistic competences is a central, indispensable
aspect of language learning. How may it best be facilitated in relation to vocabulary,
grammar, pronunciation and orthography?
How should learners be expected/required to develop their ability to pronounce a
language?
simply by exposure to authentic spoken utterances
by chorused imitation of
i) the teacher;
ii) audio-recorded native speakers;
iii) video-recorded native speakers;
by individualised language laboratory work
by reading aloud phonetically weighted textual material
by ear-training and phonetic drilling
as d) and e) but with the use of phonetically transcribed texts
by explicit phonetic training
by learning orthoepic conventions
by some combination of the above
How should learners be expected/required to develop their ability to handle the writing
system of a language?
by simple transfer from L1
by exposure to authentic written texts:
by memorisation of the alphabet concerned with associated phonetic values together with diacritics and punctuation marks
by practising cursive writing (including Cyrillic or ‘Gothic’ scripts, etc.) and noting
the characteristic national handwriting conventions
by memorising word-forms (individually or by applying spelling conventions) and
punctuation conventions
by the practice of dictation.
Should the development of the learner’s sociolinguistic competence be assumed to be transferable from the learner’s experience of social life or facilitated
by exposure to authentic language used appropriately in its social setting?
by selecting or constructing texts that exemplify sociolinguistic contrasts between
the society of origin and the target society?
by drawing attention to sociolinguistic contrasts as they are encountered, explaining and discussing them?
by waiting for errors to be made, then marking, analysing and explaining them and
giving the correct usage?
as part of the explicit teaching of a sociocultural component in the study of a
modern language?
In which of the following ways should learners be expected or required to
develop their vocabulary?
by simple exposure to words and fixed expressions used in authentic spoken and
written texts?
by learner elicitation or dictionary, etc. look-up as needed for specific tasks and activities?
through inclusion in context, e.g. in course-book texts and subsequent recycling in
exercises, exploitation activities, etc.?
by presenting words accompanied by visuals (pictures, gestures and miming, demonstrative actions, realia, etc.)?
by the memorisation of word-lists, etc. with translation equivalents?
by exploring semantic fields and constructing ‘mind-maps’, etc.?
by training in the use of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, thesauruses and
other works of reference?
by explanation and training in the application of lexical structure (e.g. word formation, compounding, collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms, etc.)?
by a more or less systematic study of the different distribution of semantic features
in L1 and L2 (contrastive semantics)?
Should the development of the learner’s sociolinguistic competence be assumed to be transferable from the learner’s experience of social life or facilitated:
by exposure to authentic language used appropriately in its social setting?
by selecting or constructing texts that exemplify sociolinguistic contrasts between
the society of origin and the target society?
by drawing attention to sociolinguistic contrasts as they are encountered, explaining and discussing them?
by waiting for errors to be made, then marking, analysing and explaining them and
giving the correct usage?
as part of the explicit teaching of a sociocultural component in the study of a
modern language?
Should the development of the learner’s pragmatic competences (see section 5.2.3)
be
assumed to be transferable from education and general experience in the mother
tongue (L1)?
or facilitated:
by progressively increasing the complexity of discourse structure and the functional
range of the texts presented to the learner?
by requiring the learner to produce texts of increasing complexity by translating
texts of increasing complexity from L1 to L2?
by setting tasks that require a wider functional range and adherence to verbal
exchange patterns?
by awareness-raising (analysis, explanation, terminology, etc.) in addition to practical activities?
by explicit teaching and exercising of functions, verbal exchange patterns and discourse structure?