Practical english language teaching

Exploring skills T his first section o f the b o o k introduces you to language teaching m ethodology from the perspective o f language skills, that is, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Before looking at the skills in detail, there is an initial chapter on language teaching m ethodology that provides a framework, not just for the four other chapters in this section, but for the b o o k as a whole. Each chapter follows a set format. Firstly, the skill dealt with in the chapter is defined. Next com es a section providing background infor­ mation on the skill. This section provides a brief history o f the teaching o f the skill, summarizes important research findings, and elaborates on key concepts. Section Three sets out key principles that should guide you when teaching the skill concerned. The next two sections provide exam ­ ples from published and unpublished materials as well as from direct classroom experience illustrating the principles in action. The chapters conclude with useful follow-up text and resources, including Web sites, to provide you with further information and ideas. 1 Chapter One Methodology David Nunan, University of Hong Kong (China) A t the end of this chapter, you should be able to: Goals define methodology. explain how m ethodology is related to curriculum development and syllabus design. I describe the “methods” debate. explain the basic principles of communicative language teaching, and describe its current importance in language teaching pedagogy. discuss some of the research findings that have influenced language teaching methodology. c re a te instructional sequences that incorporate the pretask, task, and follow-up cycle. 3 1. What is methodology? The field o f curriculum developm ent is large and com plex. It includes all o f the planned learning experiences in an educational setting. Curriculum has three main subcomponents: syllabus design, m ethodolo­ gy, and evaluation. Syllabus design has to do with selecting, sequencing, and justifying content. M ethodology has to do with selecting, sequencing, and justifying learning tasks and experiences. Evaluation has to do with how well students have mastered the objectives o f the course and how effectively the course has met their needs. The following diagram shows how these dif­ ferent elements fit together. Curriculum component Focus Defining questions Syllabus design Content What content should we teach? In what order should we teach this content? What is the justification for selecting this content? Methodology Classroom techniques and procedures What exercises, tasks, and activities should we use in the classroom? How should we sequence and integrate these? Evaluation Learning outcomes How well have our students done? How well has our program served our students’ needs? V Figure 1 Subcomponents of a curriculum This b o o k is basically about language teaching m ethodology. In other words, the focus o f the chapters is principally on techniques and procedures for use in the classroom, although most chapters also touch on aspects o f con­ tent selection and evaluation. The Longman Dictionary o f Applied Linguistics defines methodology" as ... 1. ... the study of the practices and procedures used in teaching, and the principles and beliefs that underlie them. Methodology includes a. study of the nature of language skills (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, listening, and procedures for teaching them) V_______________________________________ J 4 Chapter 1 b. study of the preparation of lesson plans, materials, and textbooks for teaching language skills c. the evaluation and comparison of language teaching methods (e.g., the audiolingual method) 2. such practices, procedures, principles, and beliefs themselves. (Richards, et al. 1985, p. 177) V ___________ ________________________________________^ From the table o f contents you will see that this b o o k addresses most o f these areas. Section 1 focuses on the language skills o f listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Section 2 looks at aspects o f language—discourse, gram­ mar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Section 3 explores elements that support the learning process, including learning styles and strategies, contentbased instruction, using textbooks, using computers, fostering autonom y and independence, and classroom-based assessment and evaluation. 2. Background to language teaching methodology The “methods” debate A language teaching m ethod is a single set o f procedures which teach­ ers are to follow in the classroom. Methods are also usually based on a set o f beliefs about the nature o f language and learning. For many years, the goal o f language pedagogy was to “find the right m ethod” - a m ethodological magic formula that w ould work for all learners at all times (Brown, 2002). M ethods contrast with approaches, which are m ore general, philosophical orientations such as communicative language teaching (see page 6) that can encompass a range o f different procedures. The dominant m ethod for much o f the last century was the grammartranslation method. This was challenged in the 1950s and 1960s by audiolingualism, a m ethod that is still very popular today, and whose influence can be seen in a variety o f drill-based techniques and exercises. Audiolingualism was the first m ethod to be based on a theory o f learning— behaviorism, which view ed all learning as a process o f forming habits, and on a theory o f language-structural linguistics. Behaviorism and structural linguistics provided the following key characteristics o f audiolingualism: • Priority is given to spoken rather than written language. • Language learning is basically a matter o f developing a set o f habits through drilling. Methodology 5 • Teach the language, not about the language. (Avoid teaching grammar rules. Get learners to develop their skills through drill and practice— teach through “ analogy” not “ analysis.”) (Moulton, 1963) In the 1960s, behaviorism and structural linguistics were severely criti­ cized as being inadequate representations o f both the learning process and the nature o f language. In place o f behaviorism, psychologists proposed cognitive psychology while the linguist Chomsky developed a new theory called transformational-generative grammar. Both approaches emphasized think­ ing, comprehension, m em ory, and the uniqueness o f language learning to the human species. Methodologists seized on the theories and developed a method known as cognitive code learning. This approach prom oted lan­ guage learning as an active mental process rather than a process o f habit for­ mation. Grammar was back in fashion, and classroom activities were designed that encouraged learners to work out grammar rules for themselves through inductive reasoning. (For examples, see Nunan, Chapter 8, this volume.) In addition to methods based on theories o f learning and language, there emerged a number o f methods that were based on a humanistic approach to education. These methods emphasized the importance o f emotional factors in learning, and proponents o f these methods believed that linguistic m odels and psychological theories were less important to successful language acqui­ sition than emotional or affective factors. They believed that successful learn­ ing would take place if learners could be encouraged to adopt the right atti­ tudes and interests in relation to the target language and target culture. The best known o f these methods were the silent way, suggestopedia and com m unity language learning. The best introduction to humanistic learning within language education is Stevick (1997). Stevick becam e interested in humanism after he observed both audiolingual and cognitive code learning in action. He found that both methods could either be quite successful or extremely unsuccessful. “H ow is it,” he asked, “ that two methods based on radically different assumptions about the nature o f language and learning could be successful or unsuccessful, as the case may b e ?” He concluded that particular classroom techniques mattered less than establishing the right em o­ tional climate for the learners. Communicative language teaching (CLT) During the 1970s, a major reappraisal o f language occurred. Linguists began to look at language, not as interlocking sets o f grammatical, lexical, and phonological rules, but as a tool for expressing meaning. This reconcep­ tualization had a profound effect on language teaching m ethodology. In the earliest versions o f CLT, meaning was emphasized over form, fluency over accuracy. It also led to the developm ent o f differentiated courses that reflect­ 6 Chapter 1