1 Language learning and language teaching 4.1 Learning theories and approaches 4.1.# $el%-directed learning 4.

2 &oreign language learning 4.3 'nput and output 4.4 A alanced activities approach 4.! Conclusions (iscussion)*+ercises),e%erences

4.1 1 Behaviourism 4.1.2 Cognitivism 4.1 3 Acquisition and learning 4.1 4 Task- ased learning 4.1 ! "umanistic approaches 'n this chapter1 -e -ill look at some o% the main theories and trends that have in%ormed the practice o% *nglish language teaching over the last decades. &rom this overvie- -e -ill dra- up a language learning and teaching methodolog. -hich -ill e e+empli%ied in /art B o% this ook. 4.1 Learning theories and approaches 4.1.1 Behaviourism2 0o one kno-s e+actl. ho- people learn languages although a great deal o% research has een done into the su 1ect. Certain theories have2 ho-ever2 had a pro%ound e%%ect upon the practice o% language teaching 3and continue to do so4 despite the %act that the. have o%ten originated in studies o% hopeople learn their %irst language. 't is onl. comparativel. recentl. that the stud. o% second language acquisition has achieved the importance that it no- has. 'n an article pu lished in 152623 t-o ps.chologists2 7atson and ,a.nor2 reported the results o% e+periments the. had carried out -ith a .oung a . called Al ert. 7hen Al ert -as nine months old the. discovered that the easiest -a. to %righten him -as to make a loud noise 3 . striking a steel ar -ith a hammer4. At various intervals over the ne+t three months the. %rightened Al ert in this -a. -hile he -as in the presence o% various animals 3a rat2 a ra it2 and a dog4. The result o% these e+periments -as that a%ter three months Al ert sho-ed %ear -hen con%ronted -ith these animals even -hen the noise -as not made2 and even sho-ed unease -hen a %ur coat -as put in %ront o% him. The ps.chologists suggested that the. -ould e a le to cure Al ert8s %ear ut -ere una le to do so ecause he -as no longer availa le 3his parents had -ithdra-n him %rom the e+periment4. 7atson and ,a.nor even discussed the possi ilit. o% Al ert8s %ear o% %ur coats -hen he reached the age o% t-ent.9 The ethics o% this e+periment are2 o% course2 highl. questiona le2 ut Al ert8s e+periences are an earl. e+ample o% the idea o% conditioning. 7atson and ,a.nor had managed to condition Al ert to e a%raid o% the rat2 ra it2 dog 3and %ur coat4 -here e%ore he had a neutral emotional reaction to them. The idea o% conditioning is ased on the theor. that .ou can train an animal to do an.thing 3-ithin reason4: to do this .ou need to %ollo- a three-stage procedure -here the stages are stimulus, response and reinforcement. 4.1.2 Cognitivism &or e+ample2 a signal light is operated {the stimulus), the rat goes up to a ar and presses it {the response) and a tast. %ood pellet drops at its %eet {the reinforcement). '% the rat8s ehaviour is rein%orced a su%%icient num er o% times it -ill al-a.s press the ar -hen the light comes on. ,ein%orcement in this e+ample took the %orm o% a re-ard and -as there%ore positive. But .ou could also train the rat not to do something . giving him negative rein%orcement2 ma. e in the %orm o% a small electric shock. 'n a ook called Verbal Behaviour,4 the ps.chologist $kinner applied this theor. o% conditioning to the -a. humans acquire their %irst language. Language2 he suggested2 is a %orm o% ehaviour in much the same -a. as the rat pressing the ar e+hi its a %orm o% ehaviour. 3't is ecause -e are concerned -ith a %orm o% ehaviour that this theor. is called behaviourism.) The same model o% stimulus-response rein%orcement2 he argued2 accounts %or ho- a human a . learns a language. An internal stimulus such as hunger prompts cr.ing as a response2 and this cr.ing is rein%orced . the milk that is su sequentl. made availa le to the a .. ;ur per%ormance as language learners is largel. the result o% such positive 3or negative4 rein%orcement.

Behaviourism, -hich -as a%ter all a ps.chological theor.2 -as adopted %or some time . language teaching methodologists2 particularl. in America2 and the result -as the audio-lingual method still used in man. parts o% the -orld.! This method made constant drilling o% the students %ollo-ed . positive or negative rein%orcement a ma1or %ocus o% classroom activit.. ;% course the approach -asn8t e+clusivel. devoted to repetition2 ut the stimulus-response-rein%orcement model %ormed the asis o% the methodolog.. The language 8ha it8 -as %ormed . constant repetition and the rein%orcement o% the teacher. <istakes -ere immediatel. criticised2 and correct utterances -ere immediatel. praised. 't should e said that audio-lingualism -as thought to e highl. success%ul in some conte+ts - particularl. the %oreign-language training o% militar. personnel. The term cognitivism 3sometimes re%erred to as mentalism) re%ers to a group o% ps.chological theories -hich dra- heavil. on the -ork in linguistics o% 0oam Chomsk. 3see 2.24. 'n 15!5 Chomsk. pu lished a strong attack on $kinner8s Verbal Behaviour -hich ecame 1usti%ia l. %amous.# 'n his revie- o% $kinner8s ook he e+plained his re1ection o% the ehaviourist vie- o% language acquisition 3ho- a a . learns a language4 on the asis o% his model o% competence and per%ormance. 7e can appreciate the re1ection o% the ehaviourist vie- . the asking o% questions= i% all language is learnt ehaviour2 ho- is it that .oung children can sa. things that the. have never said e%ore> "o- is it possi le that adults all through their lives sa. things the. have never said e%ore> "o- is it possi le that a ne- sentence in the mouth o% a %our-.ear-old is the result o% conditioning> 4.1.3 Acquisition and learning7 Language is not a %orm o% ehaviour2 Chomsk. maintained. ;n the contrar.2 it is an intricate rule- ased s.stem and a large part o% language acquisition is the learning o% the s.stem. There are a %inite num er o% grammatical rules in the s.stem and -ith a kno-ledge o% these an in%initenum er o% sentences can e per%ormed in the language 3see 2.24. 't is competence that a child graduall. acquires2 and it is this language competence 3or kno-ledge o% the grammar rules4 that allo-s children to e creative as language users 3e.g. e+perimenting and sa.ing things the. have not said e%ore4. 7e looked at a simple e+ample o% -hat the concept o% competence and per%ormance involved in 2.2. Language teaching has never adopted a methodolog. ased on Chomsk.8s -ork or strictl. upon cognitivist theories in general. Chomsk.8s theorising -as never directed at adult language learning and he has repeatedl. made this clear. But the idea that language is not a set o% ha its - that -hat matters is %or learners to internalise a rule and that this -ill allo- %or creative per%ormance - has in%ormed man. teaching techniques and methodologies. Thus students are o%ten encouraged to use rules to create sentences o% their o-n. 7e could summarise this as= sho- them the underl.ing structure and then let them have a go on their o-n. Creating ne- sentences is the o 1ective. <ore recent investigations o% ho- people ecome language users have centred on the distinction et-een acquisition and learning. 'n particular $tephen ?rashen@ characterised the %ormer as a su conscious process -hich results in the kno-ledge o% a language -hereas the latter results onl. in 8kno-ing a out8 the language. Acquiring a language is more success%ul and longer lasting than learning. The suggestion ?rashen made is that second 3or %oreign4 language learning needs to e more like the child8s acquisition o% its native language. But ho- do children ecome competent users o% their language> Although there ma. e some limits on the language that the. hear 3see elo-42 the. are never consciousl. 8taught it82 nor do the. consciousl. set out to learn it. 'nstead the. hear and e+perience a considera le amount o% the language in situations -here the. are involved in communicating -ith an adult A usuall. a parent. Their gradual a ilit. to use language is the result o% man. su conscious processes. The. have not consciousl. set out to learn a language: it happens as a result o% the input the. receive and the e+periences -hich accompan. this input. <uch %oreign language teaching2 on the other hand2 seems to concentrate on getting the adult student to consciousl. learn items o% language in isolation - the e+act opposite o% this process. ?rashen sa- success%ul acquisition as eing ver. ound up -ith the nature o% the language input -hich the students receive.5 'nput is a term used to mean the language that the students hear or read. This input should contain language that the students alread. 8kno-8 as -ell as language that the. have not previousl. seen= i.e. the input should e at a slightl. higher level than the students are capa le o% using2 ut at a level that the. are capa le o% understanding. ?rashen called the use o% such language to students trough tuning4 and compared it to the -a. adults talk to children.

4.1.4 Task !ased learning <others and %athers tend to simpli%. the language the. use so that the children can more or less understand it. The. do not simpli%. their language in an. precise -a.2 ho-ever2 using onl. certain structures: rather the. get the level o% their language more or less right %or the child8s level o% understanding= there are similarities in the -a. people talk to 8%oreigners8. /erhaps i% language students constantl. receive input that is roughly-tuned - that is2 slightl. a ove their level - the. -ill acquire those items o% language that the. did not previousl. kno- -ithout making a conscious e%%ort to do so. The suggestion made . ?rashen2 then2 is that students can acquire language on their o-n provided that the. get a great deal o% comprehensible input 3that is roughl.-tuned in the -a. -e have descri ed4. This is in marked contrast to conscious learning -here students receive finely-tuned input - that is language chosen to e precisel. at their level. This %inel.-tuned input is then made the o 1ect o% conscious learning. According to ?rashen2 such language is not acquired and can onl. e used to monitor -hat someone is going to sa.. 'n other -ords2 -hereas language -hich is acquired is part o% the language store -e use -hen -e -ant to communicate2 the onl. use %or consciousl. learned language is to check that acquired language 1ust as -e are a out to use it. Consciousl. learned language2 in other -ords2 is onl. availa le in highl. restricted circumstances2 as a monitor. Learning does not directl. help acquisition.16 <an. methodologists have concentrated not so much on the nature o% language input2 ut on the learning tasks that students are involved in. There has een an agreement that rather than pure rote learning or deconte+tualised practice2 language has to e acquired as a result o% some deeper e+perience11 than the concentration on a grammar point. 'n the 15B6s the British applied linguist All-right12 conducted an e+periment -hich challenged traditional notions o% language teaching. "e theorised that= ... i% the 8language teacher8s8 management activities are directed e+clusivel. at involving the learners in solving communication pro lems in the target language2 then language learning -ill take care o% itsel% ... 315BB = !4 'n other -ords there is no need %or %ormal instruction 3e.g. the teaching o% a grammatical point4. 'nstead students are simpl. asked to per%orm communicative activities in -hich the. have to use the %oreign language. The more the. do this the etter the. ecome at using the language. All-right8s e+periment took place at the Cniversit. o% *sse+ -here a num er o% %oreign students -ere a out to take postgraduate courses 3-here the language used -ould2 o% course2 e *nglish4. The. -ere given activities -hich %orced them to use *nglish2 ut at no time did their teachers help them -ith the language or tell them an.thing a out *nglish grammar2 etc. The. re%used to correct errors2 too. Thus the students pla.ed communication games 3see @.1.44 or -ere sent to the li rar. to %ind out ho- to use the card inde+ s.stem: in another e+ample the. had to intervie- one o% the pro%essors 3-ho -as unconnected -ith language teaching in an. -a.4 to %ind out certain in%ormation. The students -ere all at roughl. intermediate level e%ore the. arrived at the Cniversit. o% *sse+2 and the results -ere2 apparentl.2 e+tremel. satis%actor.. 4.1." #umanistic approaches 'n 15B5 in Bangalore2 $outhern 'ndia2 0 $ /ra hu originated a long-running pro1ect -hich used task- ased learning in a ver. di%%erent conte+t.13 "e and his colleagues -orking in secondar. schools -ere dissatis%ied -ith traditional methodolog. and -ith s.lla uses -hich consisted o% grammatical items 3see 3.#4. Like All-right he theorised that students -ere 1ust as likel. to learn structures i% the. -ere thinking o% something else as the. -ere i% the. -ere onl. concentrating on the structures themselves. 'n other -ords /ra hu suggested that i% the emphasis in class -as on meaning2 the language -ould e learnt incidentall.. The -a. this -as to come a out -as through a series o% tasks -hich had a pro lem-solving element= in solving the pro lems the students naturall. came into contact -ith language2 ut this contact happened ecause the students -ere activel. involved in reaching solutions to tasks. /ra hu called the tasks -hich he and his colleagues prepared a procedural syllabus. Cnlike other s.lla uses2 %or e+ample those ased on lists o% structures or %unctions2 the Bangalore /ro1ect8s s.lla uses comprised a list o% tasks -hich consisted o% things like %inding .our -a. on maps2 interpreting timeta les or ans-ering questions a out dialogues in -hich the students have to solve pro lems.

The main interaction in the clasroom took place et-een the teacher and the students 3generall. et-een %ort.-%ive and si+t. in num er4. The class per%ormed pre-tasks -hich involved questions and voca ular. checking and then the. ans-ered the questions -ith -hich the. solved the pro lems that -ere set2 %or e+ample14 students looked at a train timeta le and discussed questions such as 87hen does the Brindavan *+press leave <adras)arrive in Bangalore>8 and the teacher helped them through their di%%iculties. 0e+t the teacher handed out another timeta le and a%ter asking a %e- more questions le%t the students to do the task individuall.. The Bangalore /ro1ect is important not 1ust ecause its originator had the courage to put his theories into 3large-scale4 practice2 ut also ecause it is ased on quite radical theories o% language learning. Like ?rashen2 /ra hu elieves in the importance o% the development o% comprehension e%ore production 3/ra hu 15@B= B@-@14 and like All-right he sees meaning 3and tasks4 as the %ocus -here language learning can take care o% itsel%. Another perspective -hich has gained increasing prominence in language teaching is that o% the student as a 8-hole person8. 'n other -ords2 language teaching is not 1ust a out teaching language2 it is also a out helping students to develop themselves as people. These elie%s have led to a num er o% teaching methodologies and techniques -hich have stressed the humanistic aspects o% learning. 'n such methodologies the e+perience o% the student is -hat counts and the development o% their personalit. and the encouragement o% posit1ve %eelings are seen to e as important as their learning o% a language.1! 'n a ook aptl. titled Caring and haring in the !oreign "anguage Classroom#$$ Detrude <osco-itE provides a num er o% interactive activities designed to make students %eel good and 3o%ten4 remem er happ. times and events -hilst at the same time practising language. ;ther -riters have used similar student- centred activities 3-here the topic is %requentl. the students themselves2 their lives and their relationships4 to practise grammar or voca ular..1B
4.1.$ %el& directed learning ;thers go %urther21@ providing -hole methodologies. Community "anguage "earning, ased on the educational movement o% counseling learning215 attempts to give students onl. the language the. need. 'deall. students sit in a circle outside o% -hich is a 8kno-er8 -ho -ill help them -ith the language the. -ant to use. 7hen the. have decided -hat the. -ant to sa. the. do it in their language and the kno-er translates it %or them so that the. can then use the target language instead. 'n this -a. students acquire the language the. -ant to acquire. 'n a variation o% the procedure students sa. -hat the. -ant to into a tape-recorder2 onl. speaking -hen the. %eel the urge. The tape is transcri ed . the teacher -ho can then o%%er personal %eed ack.26 Suggestopaedia is a methodolog. developed . LoEanov in -hich students must e com%orta l. rela+ed. This %requentl. means com%orta le %urniture and 3 aroque4 music. 'n this setting students are given ne- names and listen to e+tended dialogues. The contention is that the general ease2 o% the situation2 the adoption o% a ne- identit. and the dependence on listening to the dialogues -ill help the students to acquire the language. 21 The Silent Way22 developed . Cale Dattegno is marked . the %act that the teacher gives a ver. limited amount o% input2 modelling the language to e learnt once onl. and then indicating -hat the students should do through pointing and other silent means. The teacher -ill not criticise or praise ut simpl. keeps indicating that the student should tr. again until success is achieved. Teachers can deplo. Cuisenaire rods 3little rods o% di%%erent lengths and colours4 -hich can e used to signi%. grammatical units2 stressed and non-stressed parts o% -ords2 and even -hole stories. 23 Total Physical Response24 developed . Fames Asher2 is a method -hich %inds %avour -ith ?rashen8s vie- o% roughl.-tuned or comprehensi le2 input. 'n T/, 3as it is kno-n4 the teacher gives students instructions. The students don8t have to speak2 the. simpl. have to carr. out the teacher8s commands. 7hen the. are read. %or it the. can give commands to other students. The students thus learn language through actions2 through a ph.sical response rather than through drills. (espite the controlling role o% the teacher in man. o% these methodologies 3see 11.142 the. have all een called humanistic in some circles. Certainl. Communit. Language Learning and $uggestopaedia concentrate heavil. on the students and their state o% mind2 seeing in their -ants and their rela+ation the ke. to success%ul learning. T/, allo-s a prespeaking phase -here students are not %orced to speak until the. %eel con%ident to do so. The $ilent 7a. %orces students to rel. heavil. on their o-n resources even -hen under the teacher8s direction. &ocus on the student has also led to the development o% learner training and sel%-directed learning programmes. <ethodologists have turned their attention not 1ust to the teaching o% the language ut also to training students ho- to e good learners.2! '% students make the most o% their o-n resources and i% the. can take their o-n decisions a out -hat to do ne+t and ho- est to stud.2 so the argument goes2 their learning is etter and the. achieve more. 4.2 'oreign language learning

'deall.2 there%ore2 a language programme -ould e a mi+ture o% class-ork and sel%-stud. 3or sel%-directed learning4. Di lin and $palding2# descri e a course -here their aim -as to encourage sel%-directed learning. As the -eeks -ent . the. graduall. decreased the num er o% 8input8 classes -here the. taught in the conventional -a. and the. increased sessions -here students could 8opt out8 o% the regular class and -ork on their o-n 3under teacher supervision4. Coupled -ith this -ere e+ercises and advice on ho- to approach learning tasks such as reading2 -riting reports2 etc. Lastl. the students -ere encouraged to keep a diar. o% their e+periences 3see @.2.!4. The main thrust o% such -ork is to encourage students to take charge o% their o-n learning= 2B -e cannot teach students ever.thing so -e have to train them to teach themselves. 3$ee @.! %or e+amples o% learner training materials.4 7hat conclusions can -e dra- %rom this discussion o% various theories and techniques %or %oreign language learning> 's the idea o% conscious learning a surd or2 i% there is some merit in it2 should it e ased solel. on the students8 cognitive a ilities and e+clude all conditioning> 's a programme ased e+clusivel. on acquisition theor. necessaril. the most e%%ective -a. o% teaching> "o- much2 in %act2 does teaching get in the -a. o% learning> There can e no dou t o% the value o% comprehensi le input= the %act that students are hearing or reading language that the. more or less understand must help them to acquire that language. '% the. are e+posed to language enough the. -ill almost certainl. e a le to use some 3or all4 o% it themselves. 't ma. e that one o% the teacher8s main %unctions -hen talking in%ormall. to the class is to provide 1ust that kind o% comprehensi le input. 2@ 't also seems to make sense that people can acquire languages -hile the. are doing something else 3the asic philosoph. %ollo-ed . All-right2 /ra hu and methodologies such as T/,4. 't also seems une+ceptional to suggest that -e should tr. to involve students8 personalities through the use o% humanistic e+ercises and a genuine e+change o% ideas 3although it is -orth pointing out that all teachers are in a sense 8humanistic8 and there ma. e dangers in taking quasips.choanal.tic techniques too %ar4. &inall.2 i% -e can get students to reall. concentrate on their o-n learning strategies and i% -e can persuade them to take charge o% their o-n learning as %ar as possi le2 so much the etter. '% -e look more closel. at some o% the theories and solutions proposed2 ho-ever2 the situation ecomes less clear. ?rashen2 %or e+ample2 suggests that comprehensi le input means that language is acquired and is there%ore availa le %or use 3in other -ords the student can produce the language spontaneousl.4 -hereas consciousl. studied language is onl. learnt 3and is there%ore much more di%%icult to produce spontaneousl.4. Acquired language is someho- 8 etter8 than learnt language ecause .ou -ould have to concentrate to produce the latter2 thus interrupting the %lo- o% language production. This kind o% division2 ho-ever2 1ust doesn8t make sense= 25 in the %irst place it -ill e almost impossi le to sa. -hether someone has learnt or acquired a certain piece o% language. '% t-o people are e+posed to the same roughl.-tuned input ho- -ill -e kno- -hether one makes conscious attempts to learn it or not> 't is almost impossi le2 in other -ords2 to test this h.pothesis since to do so -e -ould have to e a le to see into the minds o% all the people -ho had een e+posed to the same input and recorc their thought processes9 0either does it make sense that learnt language cannot ecome part o% the acquired language store2 as ?rashen seems to suggest. 't is clear that language that has een learnt does 8sink in8 at some stage= ma. e students -ill not e a le to produce it immediatel. in spontaneous conversation2 ut it -ill eventuall. come out2 given time. Learnt language -hich is practised does seem to ecome part o% the acquired store36 even though it ma. e the case that onl. certain grammatical %eatures are suscepti le to such treatment. 31 't has een suggested32 that %reer practice activities 3Communicative activities2 especiall: - see Chapter @4 ma. act as a s%itch -hich allo-s consciousl. learnt language to trans%er to the acquired store. Another pro lem a out acquisition is that it takes a long time. 'n %act2 time is a crucial issue. The vast ma1orit. o% students in the -orld stud. languages %or a out t-o and a hal% hours a -eek2 %or a out thirt. -eeks a .ear2 -hich is not much time -hen compared to the time taken . children to acquire their %irst languages. A ke. question %or us must e -hether -e use our time -ell. 's our teaching 8cost-e%%ective8> 't is almost certainl. the case that the conscious learning o% certain items does speed the process up2 even i% its main %unction is to raise the student8s grammatical a-areness. 0ot onl. that ut man. o% our students -ant and e+pect this t.pe o% learning= -e -ould need to e ver. sure -e -ere right e%ore -e told them that it -as in some -a. ad %or them. Time is not the onl. crucial issue here. 7e must also look at the conditions under -hich language learning takes place and -ho the students are. All-right8s students at *sse+2 %or e+ample2 -ere all intermediate e%ore the. started his course. $ince the. -ere all going on to stud. at postgraduate level in the C? -e can sa%el. assume that the. -ere %airl. intelligent and also highl. motivated. And on top o% these %acts -e must remem er that the. -ere stud.ing in Dreat Britain -here the. had regular access to *nglish-speaking people and other resources. ;ther methodologies make considera le demands2 too2 on time2 conditions and resources. &or e+ample2 $uggestopaedia needs small groups and com%orta le rooms2 ut most teachers handle large classes in uncom%orta le surroundings. Transcri ing the students8 tape-recorded *nglish a%ter a Communit. Language Learning class is not such a good idea -ith a class o% thirt. students. And -hile it ma. e possi le to train students to take charge o% their o-n learning over a period o% -eeks in a -ell-equipped school in the C?2 -ith small classes 3%i%teen students4 and -ith the students attending classes %or a minimum o% si+ hours a da.2 it -ill e more di%%icult

in other less convenient locations and conditions. 't is precisel. ecause o% the limitations that man. teachers have to %act that the Bangalore /ro1ect 3-hich -e mentioned in 4.1.44 is so impressive. The classes -ere large and the conditions less than ideal2 ut despite this the results -hich have so %ar een pu lished have een encouraging.33 <a. e here is proo% that conscious learning does not reall. have a place in the classroom a%ter all. And .et three -orries a out this position emerge= in the %irst place man. o% /ra hu8s tasks give rise to ver. concentrated e+amples o% particular grammar patterns and structures 3as our e+ample in 4.1.4 sho-s4 even i% the students do not have to take part in actual production drills. This o%ten looks ver. much like the conscious learning the pro1ect aims to replace. $econdl.2 /ra hu does not encourage group-ork2 citing the conditions -hich his teachers -ork in and the siEe o% classes etc.2 and .et this makes the use o% humanistic and cooperative techniques ver. di%%icult2 and thirdl. it is . no means certain that the approach adopted in the Bangalore pro1ect is the est and onl. -a. o% teaching *nglish 3as opposed to a good -a. - one o% man.4. As Fohnson -rites in his article on the stud.= 't is.....important that ultimate evaluation o% the pro1ect should mconsider not onl. -hether it -orks2 ut also -hether it is the most cost-e%%ective solution availa le. 315@2=1434 7here does this leave us and our attitude to conscious learning> 't certainl. seems that the use o% tasks and the provision o% a lot o% comprehensi le input -ill help our students in a lot o% -a.s. The %ormer -ill allo- students to activate their kno-ledge and the latter -ill help to provide them -ith a rich language store. But it is also true that 3especiall.4 adults -ill gain great ene%it %rom clearl. e+plained language -ork -hich the. can then use to 8create8 ne- sentences= as the. %ind that the. are getting the language right the. can internalise it correctl. so that it graduall. ecomes part o% their acquired store. And the concentration on particular items o% language in various practice conte+ts can help that internalisation process -hilst at the same time giving man. students a strong %eeling o% securit.2 especiall. at eginner and elementar. levels. 7hat is eing suggested2 then2 is that roughl.-tuned input and the use o% the %oreign language in communicative tasks and situations can satis%actoril. e+ist side . side -ith -ork -hich concentrates on conscious learning -here nelanguage is eing introduced and practised. At the same time -e -ill e looking to see ho- -e can incorporate the language learning into the per%ormance o% motivating tasks and ho- -e can egin to train students to ecome good learners. And the content o% our language classes can e designed in a -a. that does not e+clude the kind o% humanistic approach and techniques that -e talked a out in 4.1.!. The ma1or di%%erence et-een -hat -e are suggesting here and less recent approaches to language teaching is that -e -ill place much more importance on roughl.-tuned input and communicative tasks and activities than some other methodologies have tended to do. Conscious learning is thus seen as onl. one part o% the methodological approach -hich also encourages language acquisition through a large amount o% input and a signi%icant emphasis on the use o% language in communicative tasks and activities. 4.3 (nput and output 'n deciding ho- to approach the teaching and learning o% *nglish -e can divide classroom activities into t-o road categories= those that give students language input, and those -hich encourage them to produce language output. 7hether acquisition or conscious learning is taking place there -ill e stages at -hich the student is receiving language A language is in some -a. eing 8put into8 the students 3though the. -ill decide -hether or not the. -ant to receive it4. But e+posing students to language input is not enough= -e also need to provide opportunities %or them to activate this kno-ledge2 %or it is onl. -hen students are producing language that the. can select %rom the input the. have received. Language production mallo-s students to rehearse language use in classroom conditions -hilst receiving %eed ack 3%rom the teachers2 %rom other students and %rom themselves4 -hich allo-s them to ad1ust their perceptions o% the language input the. have received. This production o% language2 or language output2 can e divided into t-o distinct su -categories. 'n the %irst2 practice, students are asked to use ne- items o% language in di%%erent conte+ts. Activities are designed -hich promote the use o% speci%ic language or tasks. The aim is to give students a chance to rehearse language structures and %unctions so that the. ma. %ocus on items that the. -ish to internalise more completel. than e%ore2 -hilst at the same time eing engaged in meaning%ul and motivating activities. /ractice output marks some kind o% a hal%--a. stage et-een input and communicative output. 7e -ill look at practice in Chapter B. Communicative output, on the other hand2 re%ers to activities in -hich students use language as a vehicle %or communication ecause their main purpose is to complete some kind o% communicative task. Because the task in a communicative activit. is o% paramount importance the language used to per%orm it takes2 as it -ere2 second place. 't ecomes an instrument o% communication rather than eing an end in itsel%. 'n most communicative activities 3-hich -e -ill e+amine in detail in Chapter @4 the students -ill e using an. and)or all the language that the. kno-= the. -ill e %orced to access the language the. have in their language store2 and the. -ill graduall. develop strategies %or communication 3see 2.44 that overconcentration on presentation and practice -ould almost certainl. inhi it.

A %urther distinction has to e made2 ho-ever2 et-een t-o di%%erent kinds o% input= roughly-tuned input and finelytuned input.&4 The %ormer2 as -e have alread. said2 is language -hich the students can more or less understand even though it is a ove their o-n productive level. The teacher is a ma1or source o% roughl. tuned input2 and so are the reading and listening te+ts -hich -e provide %or our students. At lo-er levels such material is likel. to e roughl.-tuned in the -a. -e have suggested and so -hilst -e are training students in the skills necessar. %or reading and listening in *nglish 3see Chapter 164 -e are also e+posing them to language2 some o% -hich ma. %orm part o% their acquired language store. &inel.tuned input2 on the other hand2 is language -hich has een ver. precisel. selected to e at e+actl. the students8 level. &or our purposes %inel.-tuned input can e taken to mean that language -hich -e select %or conscious learning and teaching 3see Chapter #4. $uch language is o%ten the %ocus o% the presentation o% ne- language -here repetition2 teacher correction2 discussion and)or discover. techniques are %requentl. used to promote the cognitive strategies -e mentioned in 4.1.2. 7e -ill look at the introduction o% ne- language in Chapter #. 4.4 A !alanced activities approach (uring the presentation stage teachers tend to act as controllers2 oth selecting the language the students are to use and asking %or the accurate reproduction o% ne- language items. The. -ill -ant to correct the mistakes the. hear and see at this stage %airl. rigorousl. - in marked contrast to the kind o% correction that is generall. o%%ered in practice and communicative activities.3! 3$ee #.3.3 and !.3.4 The dotted lines sho- ho- output - and the learner8s 3and teacher8s4 reaction to it - ma. %eed ack into input. *ven during a communicative activit. a student8s output and the degree o% success that output achieves ma. provide valua le in%ormation a out that language -hich is then internalised. Teacher correction during a practice activit. ma. give the student more input in%ormation a out the language in question. ;ur methodological approach in 4.4 -ill use these input and output characteristics2 pa.ing special attention to the need %or roughl.-tuned input and communicative output -hilst not ignoring the need %or %inel.-tuned input and language practice. 7e can no- sum up a methodological approach to the learning o% languages -hich takes account o% categories o% input and output. Because o% the %ocus on communicative activities and the concentration on language as a means o% communication such an approach has een called the communicative approach.&' This is ecause its aims are overtl. communicative and great emphasis is placed on training students to use language %or communication. At various stages -riters have also included the teaching o% language %unctions 3see 3.4.142 task- ased learning and humanistic approaches under this um rella term2 making them - apparentl. - integral parts o% the approach. Certainl. the aim o% all our teaching is to train students %or communicative e%%icienc.2 ut -e have alread. seen components o% the approach -e are advocating here -hich are not in themselves communicative - %or e+ample %inel.-tuned input -hen presentation takes place2 and practice activities. 3B And -e have also suggested that concentration on communication onl. ma. not e in the est interests o% the students. The importance o% stages -here there is an emphasis on 3pro lem-solving4 tasks and the students8 o-n personalities and responsi ilit. %or their o-n learning has to go together -ith more %ormal language -ork-2 and that is -here the status o% a 8communicative8 approach is called into question. An approach that includes controlled language -ork 3-hich is not at all communicative 3see !.344 cannot reall. e given such a misleading name. And a%ter all2 most language teaching is designed to teach students to communicate2 ho-ever the learning is organised. ,ather than -orr. a out these apparent contradictions2 it is perhaps etter to see the methodolog. in terms o% the activities -hich -e involve students in and to assem le a alanced programme o% such activities. A balanced activities approach sees the 1o o% the teacher as that o% ensuring that students get a variet. o% activities -hich %oster acquisition and -hich %oster learning. The programme -ill e planned on the asis o% achieving a alance et-een the di%%erent categories o% input and output -here roughl.-tuned input and communicative activities -ill tend to predominate over 3 ut not . an. means e+clude4 controlled language presentation and practice output. 't is on this asis that -e -ill e%%ect part o% our alance. A alanced activities approach has a more human aspect2 ho-ever2 -hich is ound up -ith the concerns o% intrinsic motivation 3see 1.2.34. B. presenting students -ith a variet. o% activities -e can ensure their continuing interest and involvement in the language programme. Classes -hich continuall. have the same activities are not likel. to sustain interest2 particularl. -here the students have no e+trinsic motivation and do not perceive an. clear long-term goal. A programme that presents a variet. o% activities2 on the other hand2 is %ar more likel. to continuall. engage the students8 interest. The concern -ith a alanced activities approach -ill e re%lected -hen -e discuss planning in Chapter 12. A %inal2 ut important2 component o% the alanced activities approach is the teacher8s -illingness to e oth adaptable and fle(ible. Adapta ilit. re%ers to the teacher8s a ilit. to adapt the programme 3and the alance4 on the asis o% the di%%erent groups that are eing taught. 7e talked at length in 1.3 a out motivational di%%erences2 and these should have a po-er%ul in%luence on the teacher8s use and choice o% activities and materials. &le+i ilit.2 on the other hand2 re%ers to the ehaviour o% teachers in class and their a ilit. to e sensitive to the changing needs o% the group as the lesson progresses. 'n

simple terms it means that decisions taken e%ore the lesson a out -hat is going to happen are not in some -a. sacred. Dood teachers must e prepared to adapt and alter their plans i% this proves necessar.. The alanced activities approach2 then2 sees the methodolog. as eing a alance et-een the components -e -ish to include in that approach2 and it is an approach that sees the students8 continuing interest and involvement in the learning process as eing the necessar. dominant %actor in language teaching.

). *LA++(+,
12.1 12.2 12.3 12.3.1 12.3.2 /lanning2 te+t ooks and the s.lla us /lanning principles 7hat teachers should knoThe 1o o% teaching The institution 12.3.3 The students 12.4 The pre-plan 12.! The plan 12.!.1 A specimen lesson plan 12.# Conclusions (iscussion)*+ercises),e%erences

'n previous chapters -e have come to conclusions a out a general methodological approach 3see Chapter 44 and -e have looked at a num er o% ideas %or various learning and teaching stages 3see Chapters ! to 164. 7e have discussed the need %or the teacher to adopt di%%erent roles and %or di%%erent student groupings 3see Chapter 114. 7e are no- in a position to consider ho- -e can include such ideas in our o-n classes in less than a purel. random -a.. The est techniques and activities -ill not have much point i% the. are not2 in some -a.2 integrated into a programme o% studies and %e- teachers -ould take an activit. or piece o% material into class -ithout %irst having a reason %or doing so. The est teachers are those -ho think care%ull. a out -hat the. are going to do in their classes and -ho plan ho- the. are going to organise the teaching and learning. 'n this chapter -e -ill consider such issues and come to some conclusions a out the guiding principles ehind lesson planning. 7e are concerned a out ho- to plan a class 3-hether it is o% %ort.-%ive2 %i%t.2 si+t. or sevent.-%ive minutes8 duration4 taking into consideration -hat the students have recentl. een doing and -hat -e hope the. -ill do in the %uture. 7e -ill not consider an overall plan o% stud. 3%or a term or a .ear42 since decisions a out the s.lla us and general course content are o%ten taken not . the individual teacher ut . a school authorit.= -e -ill con%ine ourselves to the teacher8s role in planning 3although in 12.1 -e -ill make some comments a out ho- such courses are generall. descri ed4. 7e -ill look at planning, te(tboo)s and the syllabus, planning principles, %hat teachers should )no%, the pre-plan and the plan. 12.1 *lanning- te.t!ooks and the s/lla!us All too o%ten overall decisions a out course content are not taken . teachers2 ut . some higher authorit.. ;% course it -ill e necessar. %or a large institution to kno- that the same kind o% teaching is taking place in all o% its classes at the same level2 ut previous decisions a out the e+act s.lla us and the te+t ook to e used can o%ten tie teachers to a st.le o% teaching and to the content o% the classes i% the. are not care%ul. <an. institutions present the s.lla us in terms o% the main te+t ook to e used= . a certain date teachers are e+pected to have covered a certain num er o% units in the ook. At the same time teachers are o%ten provided -ith a list o% supplementar. material and activities that are availa le. 7hether or not the course is tied to a particular te+t ook2 its s.lla us -ill generall. have a list o% language items at its core 3see 3.#4= the assumption eing made is that these language items -ill e ne- %or the students and should there%ore e introduced to them in the order o% the s.lla us. 7here a te+t ook is involved there are o vious advantages %or oth teacher and students. Dood te+t ooks o%ten contain livel. and interesting material: the. provide a sensi le progression o% language items2 clearl. sho-ing -hat has to e learnt and in some cases summarising -hat has een studied so that students can revise grammatical and %unctional points that the. have een concentrating on. Te+t ooks can e s.stematic a out the amount o% voca ular. presented to the student and allo- students to stud. on their o-n outside the class. Dood te+t ooks also relieve the teacher %rom the pressure o% having to think o% original material %or ever. class. 'ndeed there is a greater variet. o% pu lished material %or teaching and learning *nglish than ever e%ore. But te+t ooks can also have an adverse e%%ect on teaching %or a num er o% reasons. 1 As -e have alread. said the. tend to concentrate on the introduction o% ne- language and controlled -ork= a teacher rel.ing too heavil. on the te+t ook -ill o%ten not e encouraged to provide enough roughl.-tuned input or output practice 3see Chapter 44. Te+t ooks also tend to %ollo- the same %ormat %rom one unit to the ne+t. There are good reasons -h. this should e the case= the. are thus easier to 8get to kno-8 and to handle2 oth %or teacher and student2 and the. are also easier to design and -rite. But this similarit. o% %ormat generall. involves a rigid sequence. Almost all te+t ooks at the elementar. level start . introducing ne- language2 %or e+ample2 and the. then %ollo- a sequence o% practice com ining the ne- language -ith language the students alread. kno-. ,eading and listening generall. have a set place in the sequence and each unit looks more or less like those that come e%ore and a%ter it. (iscerning teachers -ith time to spare can move around the material selecting -hat the. -ant to use and discarding parts o% the units that seem to them to e inappropriate. <ost teachers2 though2 are under considera le pressure oth ecause the. are o liged to complete the s.lla us and ecause the. teach a num er o% classes. The. are also in%luenced . the attitude o% the institution2 their colleagues and the students -ho sometimes see the te+t ook not 1ust as the provider o% a s.lla us ut also as a programme o% stud. and activities that has to e closel. %ollo-ed.

There are t-o ma1or reasons -h. such an attitude ma. not e in the est interests o% either students or teachers. 'n the %irst place teachers -ho over-use a te+t ook and thus repeatedl. %ollo- the sequence in each unit ma. ecome oring over a period o% time %or the. -ill %ind themselves teaching the same t.pe o% activities in the same order again and again. 'n such a situation2 even -ith good te+t ooks2 students ma. %ind the stud. o% *nglish ecoming routine and thus less and less motivating. Classes -ill start appearing increasingl. similar and the routine -ill ecome increasingl. monotonous. ;ne o% the cornerstones o% good planning is the use o% variet. in teaching precisel. to o%%set this tendenc. 3see 12.24. The other main reason %or -orr.ing a out te+t ooks is that the. are not -ritten %or .our class. *ach group o% students is potentiall. di%%erent %rom an. other 3see 12.3.34 and -hile most pu lished ooks are -ritten -ith a 8general8 student audience in mind .our class is unique. 't ma. not con%orm to the general pattern2 and the students need to e treated individuall..

12.2 *lanning principles3 Another -orr. is -hether the te+t ook has a alance o% skills and activities that -e said -as desira le %or the alanced activities approach 3see 4.44. The need %or alance is also a motivational consideration since2 as -e have said2 a teacher -ho %ollo-s a programme o% similar activities da. a%ter da. -ill ore the students. 'n 12.2 -e -ill stud. the need %or variet. in lesson planning in some detail. The alanced activities approach realises the need %or alance2 in terms o% the di%%erent activities -ith -hich the students are %aced2 in order to provide them -ith an interesting and varied programme o% stud.. And the est person to achieve the correct alance is the teacher -ho kno-s the students and can gaugeGthe need %or variet. and -hat the alance should e. This is particularl. true in the planning o% activities during the pre-plan stage 3see 12.43a44. 't is not eing suggested that te+t ooks are someho- destructive= the etter ones are -ritten . teachers and -riters -ith considera le kno-ledge and skill and have much to recommend them: te+t ook -riters are increasingl. responding to the kind o% -orries e+pressed here2 attempting to uild %le+i ilit. and alance into their materials. But the te+t ook rarel. has the per%ect alance that the teacher is looking %or. The te+t ook2 in other -ords2 is an aid 3o%ten the most important one there is4 and not a sacred te+t. Teachers -ill have to -ork out the est -a.s to use their ooks: the. should never let the te+t ook use them2 or dictate the decisions the. take a out the activities in -hich the students are going to e involved. The contents o% the pre-plan 3see 12.44 -ill sho- ho- other considerations 3apart %rom 1ust te+t ook and s.lla us4 are incorporated into the planning process.2 The t-o overriding principles ehind good lesson planning are fle(ibility,variety.. 0ariet/ means involving students in a num er o% di%%erent t.pes o% activit. and -here possi le introducing them to a -ide selection o% materials: it means planning so that learning is interesting and never monotonous %or the students. &le+i ilit. comes into pla. -hen dealing -ith the plan in the classroom: %or an. num er o% reasons -hat the teacher has planned ma. not e appropriate %or that class on that particular da.. The %le+i le teacher -ill e a le to change the plan in such a situation. &le+i ilit. is the characteristic -e -ould e+pect %rom the genuinel. adapta le teacher. 7e have alread. commented on the danger o% routine and monoton. and ho- students ma. ecome demotivated i% the. are al-a.s %aced -ith the same t.pe o% class. This danger can onl. e avoided i% the teacher elieves that the learning e+perience should e permanentl. stimulating and interesting. This is di%%icult to achieve2 ut at least i% the activities the students are %aced -ith are varied there -ill e the interest o% doing di%%erent things. '% ne- language is al-a.s introduced in the same -a. 3e.g. i% it is al-a.s introduced in a dialogue4 then the introduction stages o% the class -ill ecome graduall. less and less challenging. '% all reading activities al-a.s concentrate on e+tracting speci%ic in%ormation and never ask the students to do an.thing else2 reading -ill ecome less interesting. The same is true o% an. activit. that is constantl. repeated. ;ur aim must e to provide a variet. o% di%%erent learning activities -hich -ill help individual students to get to grips -ith the language. And this means giving the students a purpose and telling them -hat the purpose is. $tudents need to kno- -h. the. are doing something and -hat it is supposed the. -ill achieve. 7e have stressed the need %or a purpose particularl. -ith communicative activities 3see !.34 and receptive skills 3see 16.1.24= ut teachers must have a purpose %or all the activities the. organise in a class and the. should communicate that purpose to their students. 'n an. one class there -ill e a num er o% di%%erent personalities -ith di%%erent -a.s o% looking at the -orld. The activit. that is particularl. appropriate %or one student ma. not e ideal %or another. But teachers -ho var. their teaching approach ma. e a le to satis%. most o% their students at di%%erent times.

Hariet. is a principle that applies especiall. to a series o% classes. ;ver a t-o--eek period2 %or e+ample2 -e -ill tr. and do di%%erent things in the classes. Hariet. also applies to a lesser e+tent to a single class period. Although there are some activities that can last %or %i%t. minutes it seems generall. true that changes o% activit. during that time are advisa le. An introduction o% ne- language that lasted %or %i%t. minutes -ould pro a l. e counterproductive2 and it is noticea le ho- an over-long accurate reproduction stage tires students and %ails to e ver. e%%ective. 7e -ould not e+pect2 either2 to ask the students to engage in reading comprehension %or a -hole class. 7e might2 ho-ever2 e a le to ase a -hole class on one reading passage2 ut onl. i% -e varied the activities that -e could use -ith it. Thus -e might get students to read to e+tract speci%ic in%ormation: this could e %ollo-ed . some discussion2 some intensive -ork and some kind o% -ritten or oral %ollo--up. Children2 especiall.2 need to do di%%erent things in %airl. quick succession since the. -ill generall. not e a le to concentrate on one activit. %or a long stretch o% time. The teacher -ho elieves in variet. -ill have to e %le+i le since the onl. -a. to provide variet. is to use a num er o% di%%erent techniques= not all o% these -ill %it into one methodolog. 3teachers should e immediatel. suspicious o% an.one -ho sa.s the. have the ans-er to language teaching %or this -ill impl. a lack o% %le+i ilit.4. Dood lesson planning is the art o% mi+ing techniques2 activities and materials in such a -a. that an ideal alance is created %or the class. 'n a general language course there -ill e -ork on the %our skills 3although a teacher -ill pro a l. come to a decision a out the relative merits o% each skill4= there -ill e presentation and controlled practice2 roughl.-tuned input 3receptive skill -ork4 and communicative activities. (i%%erent student groupings -ill e used. '% teachers have a large variet. o% techniques and activities that the. can use -ith students the. can then appl. themselves to the central question o% lesson planning= 87hat is it that m. students -ill %eel2 kno- or e a le to do at the end o% the class 3or classes4 that the. did not %eel or kno- or -ere not a le to do at the eginning o% the class 3or classes4>8 7e can sa.2 %or e+ample2 that the. -ill %eel more positi-ve a out learning *nglish at the end o% the class than the. did at the eginning as a result o% activities that -ere en1o.a le: -e can sa. that the. -ill kno- some ne- language that the. did not kno- e%ore: -e can sa. that the. -ill e a le to -rite a t.pe o% letter that the. -ere not a le to -rite e%ore2 %or e+ample. 12.3 1hat teachers should kno2 12.3.1 The 3o! o& teaching 'n ans-ering the central question teachers -ill create the o 1ectives %or the class. $tudents ma. e involved in a game-like activit. ecause the teacher8s o 1ective is to have them rela+ and %eel more positive a out their *nglish classes. The students ma. e given a reading passage to -ork on ecause the teacher8s o 1ective is to improve their a ilit. to e+tract speci%ic in%ormation %rom -ritten te+ts. 0e- language ma. e introduced ecause the o 1ective is that students should kno- ho- to re%er to the past2 %or e+ample. 7e -ill return to these issues in 12.4 and 12.! ut %irst -e -ill look at -hat the teacher should knoe%ore starting to plan. Be%ore teachers can start to consider planning their classes the. need to kno- a considera le amount a out three main areas= the *ob of teaching, the institution and the students. Clearl. -ell-prepared teachers need to kno- a lot a out the 1o the. are to do e%ore the. can start to make success%ul plans. There are si+ ma1or areas o% necessar. kno-ledge. 3a4 The language %or the level Clearl. teachers must kno- the language that the. are to teach. B. 8kno-8 -e mean that teachers must e a le to use the language themselves and also have an insight into the rules that govern its %orm and the %actors -hich a%%ect its use. This is o viousl. the result not onl. o% the teacher8s o-n kno-ledge o% *nglish ut also o% preparation and stud. -here %acts a out language can e a sor ed.4 3 4 The skills %or the level Teachers need to 8kno-8 the skills the. are going to ask their students to per%orm. 't is no good asking students to do a report i% .ou cannot do it .oursel%9 3c4 The learning aids availa le %or the level

7e need to kno- -hat aids are availa le and appropriate %or the level -e are teaching. These ma. include -all pictures2 %lashcards2 %lir1eharts2 cards2 charts2 tapes2 tape recorders2 video pla. ack machines2 Iverhead pro1ectors2 computer hard-are and so%t-are2 sets o% ooks and materials and2 o% course2 the oard. 3d4 $tages and techniques in teaching 7e need to kno- and recognise di%%erent teaching techniques and stages. 7e need to kno- the di%%erence et-een accurate reproduction and communicative activities so that -e do not2 %or e+ample2 act as controller in oth cases. 7e also need to e a le to recognise stages in the te+t ook -e are using so that -e realise -hen an activit. is controlled rather than %ree and vice versa. 'n particular2 then2 -e must have a -orking kno-ledge o% the issues discussed in Chapter ! and the principles ehind the teaching o% receptive skills.