DELTA - Assumptions

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Assumption: accuracy in
pronunciation is prioritised
over intelligibility

R1 - authors believe that

achieving nativespeaker standards is a
valid goal
R2 - accurate
pronunciation/speaking
is fundamental to
language learning

Assumption: inauthentic texts

are useful for presenting
language/ it is important for
target language to be
contextualised / listening texts
are a good way of introducing
language items

R1 - because the
language can be
controlled
R2 - there is no defective
language
R3 - the examples of the
target language will be
clear
R4 - because context
provides meaning
R5 - because it is similar
to learning L1

Assumption - it is helpful to
allow learners to listen and read
at the same time

R1 - some students can

find listening a difficult
skill and need
additional support to
develop the skill
R2 - scaffolding in a
classroom context can
help support learners in
real life

Assumption: it is important that

learners leave a lesson with their
own written record of target
language

R1 - because writing a
record will aid memory
R2 - because teacher
can check correctness of
form student has
recorded

Assumption: It is important to
focus on discourse/adjacency
pairs/responses

R1 - Because requests on
their own are not so
useful
R2 - Learners can both
use them and respond to
them
R3 - responses are part
of the use

Assumption: It is important to
focus on style

R1 - because learners
need to be aware that
language is appropriate
to different situations
R2 - it's part of knowing
the meaning/use of
language
R3 - particularly
relevant to this target
language

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Assumption: it is useful at
times to focus solely on form
and not deal with meaning

R1 - It is easier for
learners to focus on one
area at a time
R2 - a step by step
approach builds
learners' confidence and
avoids overloading them

Assumption: it is useful for

learners to do cognitively
challenging tasks when
focusing on the target
language/to work out language
patterns

R1 - because engaging
with the language aids
retention
R2 - allows the teacher
to check how much
learners know
R3 - it is motivating for
the learners to check
what they know and
discover what they don't
know

Assumption: it is useful for

learners to use
dictionaries/important to
encourage learner autonomy

R1 - because learners
will not always have a
teacher on hand to help
them
R2 - because it forces
them to take
responsibility for their
own learning
R3 - helps their learning
outside the classroom

Assumption: it is useful to
expose the learners to the
language receptively before they
produce it

R1 - Because learners
may notice the language
R2 - It replicates what
happens in real life

Assumption: It is useful to
focus on form/highlight
problems of form through
focused exercises/focus on
accuracy

R1 - because students
will learn better if there
is an explicit focus on
points of difficulty/form
they need to consider
R2 - makes students
aware of what they are
learning
R3 - many students
expect an explicit
language focus

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Assumption: it is useful to
have a task which doesn't
focus on target language even
if the prime reasons for the
text is linguistic / learners
need to understand meaning
of a text before focusing on
target language

Assumption: It is useful to
organise material around a
theme (the future and genetic
engineering) and the skills
and language areas are built
into this theme

R1 - It's important for

learners to have
opportunities to listen as
this is often something
which they need practice
in
R2 - It encourages
learners away from
focusing too soon on
language items
R3 - it might help activate
their existing knowledge
of the language
R4 - an initial focus on
meaning provides a
context for the language
R5 - ensures the learners
process the text for
meaning before they
attend to the language
and will encourage good
reading habits outside the
classroom
R6 - otherwise they won't
know which part of the
text to focus on
R1 - learners will be
motivated by the theme
because it is interesting
and allows for
personalisation
R2 - it is quite an "adult"
theme, presumably
because the authors
believe that students want
to be intellectually
engaged. This
involvement should aid
memorisation and recall
of the language

Assumption: It is valuable to
categorise language according
to meaning/function

R1 - because categorising
language in this way
makes it easier to focus on
its use and appropriacy
R2 - helps learners store
the language efficiently

Assumption: It's useful to

teach language functions

R1 Because functional
language has high
surrender value for
learners

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Assumption - learners
should be given a task when
listening/reading

R1 - so they know which part

of the text to focus on
R2 - this gives them a
communicative purpose and
reflects how we listen in real
life
R3 - encourages students to
read for meaning instead of
language

Assumption: need to
activate interest/schemata

R1 - will help with top-down

processing (and make text
easier)
R2 - engages learners
R3 - it is motivating

Assumption: pictures and

visual stimuli are
important

R1 - they appeal to visual

learners
R2 - they are engaging
R3 - they help learners
understand and remember
better
R4 - are a useful way of
conveying meaning
R5 - recognisable
R6 - contains a lot of info

Assumption: Students
need different exponents
for the same function/
upper-intermediate
students already have
knowledge of basic
exponents

R1 - because students need

different/ more sophisticated
ways of expressing the same
function to deal with more
complex situations/make
them more native-like

Assumption - students
should understand the
meaning of the text before
they focus on language
items

R1 - it gives support and

builds confidence
R2 - meaning first provides
the context for language and
encourages an initially more
global way to listen
R3 - will encourage good
reading habits outside the
classroom

Assumption: Teaching
language through
integrated skills is effective
because

R1 - it mirrors the way we

encounter language in real
life
R2 - each skill reinforces the
other and the language
(functional exponents)

Assumption: the belief in

the value of repetition
(behaviourist)

R1 - because this builds

learners' confidence and
fluidity in producing the
language
R2 - because repetition aids
memorisation and production
R3 - students will learn better
if there is an explicit focus on
areas of difficulty

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Assumption: The belief is

that lexis should be taught
not only in individual words
but also in combinations, in
this case collocations
because

R1 - this is how we learn

and store lexis mentally
R2 - because learning lexis
in collocations/ prefabricated chunks aids
fluency in production
R3 - fluency reflects the
way native speakers use
lexis

Assumption: The belief that

de-contextualised/unnatural
sentences have a place in
language learning

R1 - these provide learners

with an intensive focus on
the target form without
distractions
R2 - This meets many
learners' expectations as it
reflects their previous
learning experience
R3 - because language can
be controlled

Assumption - the importance

of cognitively challenging
tasks checks the students'
understanding of the content
with an unusual task

R1 - cognitive effort helps

retention
R2 - it will engage and
motivate learners

Assumption: the importance

of learner autonomy/use of
dictionary as aid to learning

R1 - students need to be
able to operate without a
teacher/after the course
has finished
R2 - they may also
remember things better if
they have found them out
for themselves
R3 - because it forces them
to take responsibility for
their own learning
R4 - helps their learning
outside the classroom

Assumption: The
importance of learnertraining since

R1 - it helps learners to
become more aware of their
own strategies and find
ways to develop these so
they become better
language learners
R2 - this can also
encourage greater learner
autonomy so that learners
can continue their learning
after the end of their course

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Assumption: The
importance of
progressing from
known to unknown
and a progression of
challenge since

R1 - it helps learners' confidence as

they are not overloaded from the
beginning and they will have time
to absorb the easier target language
before moving onto new language
R2 - it can also be diagnostic,
allowing learners to see which
words they don't know and thus
helping them to focus their efforts

Assumption: The
value of collaborative
learning as

R1 - learners can benefit from each

others' knowledge
R2 - they can get more practice
than can be provided by one on one
interaction with the teacher
R3 - gives them confidence to speak
fluently/extensively

Assumption: the value

of guided
discovery/inductive
presentation

R1 - engaging students cognitively

may help retention of language as
well as being more motivating
R2 - it aids memorisation and
recall
R3 - it trains learners to become
more autonomous/ it provides
useful learner training so students
can continue learning outside the
classroom
R4 - if learners notice the language
for themselves and identify how it
works, they will remember it better/
makes the language more
memorable

Assumption: The
value of
personalisation as

R1 - the writers believe that

learners are more motivated by
talking about themselves as this
makes the activity more meaningful
R2 - language is more likely to be
retained
R3 - this is because they are adults
and will have opinions or be
interested in what others have to
say
R4 - This will make the response to
the listening more meaningful and
may motivate learners to push
themselves with language to
communicate their real opinion
R5 - reduces affective filter
R6 - engages learners
R7 - is easier to talk about concrete
than abstract

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Assumption: the value of recognition preceding production

R1 - because in order to be able to

produce a sound learners first have to be
able to hear it
R2 - it reflects how we learn L1
R3 - gives a gradual increase in
challenge

Assumption: the vocabulary and functional exponents are presented in a spoken

context suggesting a view that language is best understood and learned in its
context of use

R1 - as this is more realistic and so gives

a clearer indication of meaning and use
R2 - it is more likely to be retained and
used appropriately