Teaching Reading (1).doc

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Methodology of English language

teaching



Teaching readingHow do we read?

Reading has been described as:

- A psycholinguistic guessing game;

- Active interrogation of a text;

- Communication;

- A mental process;

- The reader’s active participation in the creation of meaning;

- A manipulation of strategies;

- A receptive rather than a passive skill

!or the purpose of this module" reading means #reading andunderstanding’

A foreign language learner $ho says" ‘I can read the words but I don’tknow what they mean’, is not reading in this sense" but merely decoding %translating $ritten symbols into corresponding sounds

Some assumptions about the nature of reading

& 'e need to perceive and decode letters in order to read $ords

( 'e need to understand all the $ords in order to understand the meaning of atext

) The more symbols there are in a text" the longer it $ill take to read it

* 'e gather meaning from $hat $e read

+ ,ur understanding of a text comes from understanding the $ords of $hich it iscomposed

'hen beginning to read a text" or $here there is a little or no helpfulcontext" $e depend on decoding letters to understand $ords; but as soonas there is a meaningful context $e tend to bring our o$n interpretation tothe $ord according to its general #shape’ and the sense of the text ratherthan according to its exact component letters



Thus" reading activities should probably stress reading for understandingrather than exact decoding of letters

'e need to understand some $ords in order to understand the meaning of a text" but by no means all: $e often #skip’ or misread $ords in order to

make sense of the $hole more uickly or conveniently

The implication of this for teaching is that $e should not insist too stronglyon our learners understanding every $ord" but rather encourage them togo for the overall meaning of a text

The more sense units there are in a text" the longer it $ill take to read it .f smaller sense units /$ords" sentences0 are combined into bigger ones/sentences" paragraphs0" the $hole is much faster to read than if they areseparate or incoherent

1earners $ill read more successfully if given $hole meaningful units oftext to read rather than disconnected #bits’

,ur understanding of a text is based on far more than simple reception of$ords themselves" and the process of reading $ould be better de2ned as#constructing’ meaning from a $ritten text

The #construction’ of meaning is a combination of #bottom-up’ processes/decoding and understanding $ords" phrases and sentences0 and #top-do$n’ processes /out expectations" previous kno$ledge constructs/schemata0 of the text content and genre0

Thus" learners should be encouraged to combine top-do$n and bottom-upstrategies in reading" $hich means in practice doing such things asdiscussing the topic of a text before reading it" arousing expectations"eliciting connections bet$een references in the text and situations kno$nto the learner

Beginning reading

!or many learners" beginning to read the foreign language involveslearning an entire ne$ set of $ritten symbols

And for the teacher" some preliminary decisions need to be made aboutho$ to teach them

Types of reading activities

A conventional type of reading activity consists of a text follo$ed bycomprehension uestions

3o$ever" ho$ the learners $ill read the text and ho$ much they $ill getfrom it depends on the type of uestions

Improving reading skills



4etting our learners to understand a simple text is only the beginning

Reading skills need to be fostered so that learners can cope $ith more andmore sophisticated texts and tasks" and deal $ith them e5ciently: uickly"appropriately and skillfully

dvanced reading

Activities for more advanced students are more sophisticated in various$ays: the texts and tasks probably approximate more closely to the kindof texts and tasks that people tackle in their mother-tongue reading; thetasks tend to involve more complex thinking than mere comprehension of

information; and the activities more often involve extended speaking"listening and $riting as $ell as reading

Teaching writing

!ritten versus spoken te"t

,ne of the reasons that teaching $riting is so di6erent from teachingspeaking is that the t$o types of discourse di6er in some basiccharacteristics

This unit studies their di6erences" and their implications for teaching

#i$erences between written and spoken discourse%

&' (ermanence

!ritten discourse is 2xed and stable so the reading can be done at$hatever time" speed and level of thoroughness the individual reader $ishes

Spoken te"t in contrast is 7eeting" and moves on in real time The listener %thought he or she may occasionally interrupt to reuest clari2cation % must in

general follo$ $hat is said at the speed set by the speaker

)' E"plicitness

The written te"t is explicit; it has to make clear the context and allreferences

.n speech" ho$ever" the real-time situation and kno$ledge shared bet$eenspeaker and listener means that some information can be assumed and need notbe made explicit

*' #ensity

The content is presented much more densely in writing'



.n speech" the information is #diluted’ and conveyed through many more$ords: there are a lot of repetitions" glosses" #2llers’" producing a text that isnoticeably longer and $ith more redundant passages

+' #etachment

The writing of a text is detached in time and space from its reading; the $riternormally $orks alone" and may not be acuainted $ith his or her readers

Speaking usually takes place in immediate interaction $ith kno$n listeners"$ith the availability of immediate feedback

,' -rgani.ation

A written te"t is usually organi8ed and carefully formulated" since itscomposer has time and opportunity to edit it before making it available forreading Thus a $ritten text conforms more to conventional rules of grammar"and its vocabulary is more precise and formal

A speaker is improvising as he is she speaks: ongoing alterations" in the shapeof glosses" self-corrections etc produce an apparently disorgani8ed #stream-of-consciousness’ kind of discourse

/' Slowness of production0 speed of reception

!riting is much slo$er than speaking ,n the other hand" $e can usuallyread a piece of text and understand it much faster than $e can take in the sametext if $e listen $hile someone reads it aloud to us

1' Standard language

!riting normally uses a generally acceptable standard variety of thelanguage" $hereas speech may sometimes be in a regional or other limited-context dialect .n some languages" the various spoken dialects may even bemutually incomprehensible" $hile the $ritten language is universally learned

2' learnt skill

9ost people acuire the spoken language /at least of their o$n mother tongue0

intuitively" $hereas the $ritten form is in most cases deliberately taught andlearned

3' Sheer amount and importance

poken texts are far longer" normally /in the sense that they contain more$ords0" than a representation of the same information in $riting

.t is also true to say that most people speak far more than they $rite

Associated $ith this point is a third: that speech is more important for survival

and e6ective functioning in society than $riting isTeaching procedures



The obective of the teaching of $riting in a foreign language is to getlearners to acuire the abilities and skills they need to produce a range ofdi6erent kinds of $ritten texts similar to those an educated person $ouldbe expected to be able to produce in their o$n language

!riting as a means or as an end

&' s a means

'riting is $idely used as a convenient means for engaging $ith aspects oflanguage other than the $riting itself !or example" learners note do$n ne$vocabulary; copy out grammar rules" $rite out ans$ers to reading or listeningcomprehension uestions" do $ritten tests

)' s an end

,ther activities take as their main obective the $riting itself At the #micro’level they practice speci2c $ritten forms at the level of $ord or sentence/hand$riting or typing" spelling" pronunciation0; at the #macro’ level theemphasis is on content and organi8ation: tasks invite learners to expressthemselves using their o$n $ords" state a purpose for $riting" and often specifyan audience /narrating a story" $riting a letter0

*' s both means and end

A third kind of activity combines purposeful and original $riting $ith thelearning or practice of some other skills or content !or example" a $ritten

response to the reading of a controversial ne$spaper article /combines $riting$ith reading0; the $riting of anecdotes to illustrate the meaning of idioms/combines $riting $ith vocabulary practice0

!riting for content and4or form

The purpose of $riting" in principle" is the expression of ideas" theconveying of a message to the reader" so the ideas themselves shouldarguably be seen as the most important aspect of the $riting

,n the other hand" the $riter needs also to pay some attention to formal

aspects: neat hand$riting" correct spelling and punctuation" as $ell asacceptable grammar and careful selection of vocabulary

The process of composition

'hen $e are teaching advanced composition" it is sometimes di5cult todecide $hat kind of teacher intervention can be most productive

,ne thing that can help us is to study ho$ people $rite: ho$ a $riterthinks" feels and acts at the various stages of composing a text

Teaching speaking



Successful oral 5uency practice

,f all the four skills" speaking seems intuitively the most important:people $ho kno$ a language are referred to as #speakers’ of thatlanguage" as if speaking included all other kinds of kno$ing; and most

foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak

6haracteristics of a successful speaking activity

&' 7earners talk a lot' As much as possible of the period of time allotted to theactivity is in fact occupied by learner talk This may seem obvious" but oftenmost time is taken up $ith teacher talk or pauses

)' (articipation is even' Classroom discussion is not dominated by a minorityof talkative students: all get a chance to speak" and contributions are fairlyevenly distributed

*' Motivation is high' 1earners are eager to speak because they are interestedin the topic and have something ne$ to say about it" or because they $ant tocontribute to achieving a task obective

+' 7anguage is of an acceptable level' 1earners express themselves inutterances that are relevant" easily comprehensible to each other" and of anacceptable level of accuracy

(roblems with speaking activities

&' Inhibition' <nlike reading" $riting and listening" speaking reuires somedegree of real-time exposure to an audience 1earners are often inhibited abouttrying to say things in a foreign language in the classroom: $orried about makingmistakes" fearful of criticism or losing face" or simply shy of the attention thattheir speech attracts

*' 7ow or uneven participation' ,nly one participant can talk at a time ifhe=she is to heard; and in a large group this means that each one $ill have onlyvery little talking time This problem is compounded by the tendency of somelearners to dominate" $hile others speak very little or not at all

+' Mother8tongue use' .n classes $here all of the learners share the samemother tongue" they may tend to use it because it is easier" because it feelunnatural to speak to one another in a foreign language" and because they feelless #exposed’ if they are speaking their mother tongue .f they are talking insmall groups it can be uite di5cult to get some classes % particularly the lessdisciplined or motivated ones % to keep to the target language

!hat the teacher can do to help solve some of the problems

&' 9se group work' This increases the amount of learner talk and also lo$ersthe inhibition of learners $ho are un$illing to speak in front of the $hole class



)' Base the activity on easy language' The language needed for a discussionshould be lo$er than that used in intensive language-learning activities in thesame class .t is a good idea to teach or revie$ essential vocabulary before theactivity starts

*' Make a careful choice of topic and task' The clearer the purpose of thediscussion the more motivated the participants $ill be

+' :ive some instruction in discussion skills' .f the task is based on groupdiscussion then include instructions about participation $hen introducing it

,' ;eep students speaking the target language' >ou might appoint one ofthe groups as a monitor" $hose ob is to remind participants to use the targetlanguage

The functions of topic and task

Topic' A good topic is one to $hich learners can relate using ideas from theiro$n experience and kno$ledge

.t should also represent a genuine controversy" in $hich participants are likelyto be fairly evenly divided

ome uestions or suggested lines of thought can help to stimulate discussion"but not too many arguments should be #fed’ to the class in advance

Task' A task is essentially goal oriented: it reuires the group" or pair" to achieveand obective that is usually expressed by an observable result" such as briefnotes or lists" a rearrangement of umbled items" a dra$ing" a spoken summary

This result should be attainable only by interaction bet$een participants: so$ithin the de2nition of the task you often 2nd instructions such as #reach aconsensus’ or #2nd out everyone’s opinion’

#iscussion activities

?escribing pictures

@icture di6erences

Things in common

hopping list

olving a problem

6omments on the activities

& #escribing pictures'

This is a simple but productive activity for beginner classes 9ake sureparticipants understand that it is only necessary for the secretary to put a tick for



each contribution; some tend to assume that every sentence has to be $rittendo$n

)' (icture di$erences

A $ell-kno$n activity that produces plenty of uestion-and-ans$er exchanges The vocabulary needed is speci2c and fairly predictable; make sure it is kno$n inadvance The problem here is the temptation to #peep’ at a partner’s picture

*' Things in common

An ice-breaking activity" $hich fosters a feeling of solidarity by stressing"shared characteristics of participants

+' Shopping list

An imaginative" fun activity % but rather sterile in the amount of talk it

produces ,ne thing that helps is to suggest to participants that they try topersuade each other to change their choices in order to agree on $hich to buy

,' Solving a problem

This is suitable for fairly advanced learners .t usually $orks $ell" producing ahigh level of participation and motivation

-ther kinds of spoken interaction

tructured task- or topic-based activities $ith clear goals are a good basis

for classroom talk in the foreign language" particularly at elementary andintermediate levels

3o$ever" the kind of talking they give practice in is in some respectslimited: more advanced learners may need a $ider range of activity types

Teaching these kinds of interaction in the

classroom

&' Interactional talk

The $ay interactional talk is carried out in di6erent languages is very culture-linked" and it is di5cult to explain the conventions that govern it in a foreignlanguage

9ost learners $ill be able to cope adeuately $ith interactional speech on thebasis of their o$n cultural kno$ledge and common sense

ome kinds of role play can give opportunities for practicing it

)' 7ong turns

- telling stories



- telling okes

- describing a person or place in detail

- recounting the plot of a 2lm" play or book

- giving a short lecture or talk

- arguing a case for or against a proposal

*' <aried situations0 feelings0 relationships

The obvious classroom activities to use here are those based on role play

=ole play and related techni>ues

The term role play@ can be used to refer to all sorts of activities $here

learners imagine themselves in a situation outside the classroom"sometimes playing the role of someone other than themselves" and usinglanguage appropriate to this ne$ context

.t can also be used in a narro$er sense" to denote only those activities$here each learner is allotted a speci2c character role

#ialogues

This is a traditional language-learning techniue that has gone some$hatout of fashion in recent years The learners are taught a brief dialogue

$hich they learn by heart

eg A: Look, it’s stopped raining!

: So it has! Do you want to go out?

A: Yes, I’ve got a ot o shopping to do"

: #ight, et’s go" $here do you want to go %rst?

1earners can be asked to perform the dialogue in di6erent $ays:

- in di6erent moods /sad" happy" irritated0;

- in di6erent role-relationships /a parent and child" $ife and husband0;

- the $ords of the text can be varied;

- the dialogue can be continued $ith t$o or more additional utterances

@articularly for beginners or the less con2dent" the dialogue is a good $ayto get learners to practice saying target-language utterances $ithouthesitation and $ithout a $ide variety of contexts



1earning by heart increases the learner’s vocabulary of ready-madecombinations of $ords

(lays

These are an expansion of the dialogue techniue" $here a class learnsand performs a play This can be based on something they have read; orcomposed by them or the teacher; or an actual play from the literature ofthe target language

Rehearsals and other preparations are rather time-consuming" but theresults can contribute a great deal both to learning and to learnercon2dence and morale

Simulations

.n simulations the individual participants speak and react as themselves"but the group role" situation and task are given as imaginary one

eg You are the managing committee o a specia

schoo or bind chidren" You want to organi&e a

summer camp or the chidren, but your schoo

budget is insu'cient" Decide how you might

raise the money"

!or children $ho feel self-conscious about acting someone else" this typeof activity is less demanding ut most such discussions do not usuallyallo$ much latitude to express di6erent emotions or relationships bet$eenspeakers" or to use #interactive’ speech

=ole play

@articipants are given a situation plus problem or task" as in simulations;but they are also allotted individual roles" $hich may be $ritten out oncards

eg A: You are a customer in a cake shop" You want

a birthday cake or a riend" (e)she is very ond

o chocoate"

: You are a shop assistant in a cake shop" You

have many kinds o cake, but no chocoate cake"

!actors that can contribute to a role play’s success are:



- making sure that the language demanded is $ell $ithin the learners’capacity;

- Teacher’s enthusiasm;

- Careful and clear presentation and instructions; - A demonstration by the teacher $ith a student volunteer

-ral testing

'hen testing the oral pro2ciency of learners $e may simply intervie$them and assess their responses; or use other techniues like role play"group discussion bet$een learners" monologue" picture description and soon

ut there are so many di5culties associated $ith design" administrationand assessment that most language exams either do not include oraltesting or give them very lo$ $eighting in the 2nal grade

Aor and against testing oral 5uency

Aor

& .n principle" a language test should include all aspects of language skill %including speaking

( peaking is not ust #any skill’ % it is arguably the most important" andtherefore should take priority in any language test

) .f you have an oral pro2ciency test at the end of a course" then this $ill have a#back$ash’ e6ect: teachers and students $ill spend more time on developingspeaking skills during the course itself Conversely" if you do not have such a testthey $ill tend to neglect them

* tudents $ho speak $ell but $rite badly $ill be discriminated against if all" ormost" of the test is based on $riting

gainst

& .t is very di5cult to design tests that get learners to improvise speech in theforeign language

( 'hen ans$ers to a test are $ritten" assessors can check them carefully attheir leisure; but speech 7its past" and is very di5cult to udge uickly"obectively and reliably Recordings can be made" but it can be expensive andtime-consuming

) There are no obvious criteria for assessment Are you going to udge students

only on 7uencyB ,r is accuracy going to play a partB And $hat about listeningcomprehensionB



* ven if you agree on criteria" some testers $ill be stricter in applying them"other more lenient .t $ill be di5cult to get reliable" consistent assessment

+ .n oral testing each candidate has to be tested separately and individually" inreal time; fe$ institutions can a6ord the necessary investment of time and

money

Teaching listening

!hat does real8life listening involve?

The obective of listening comprehension practice in the classroom is thatstudents should learn to function successfully in real-life listening

situations6haracteristics of real8life listening situations

&' Informal spoken discourse%

Brevity of chunks' .t is usually broken into short chunks .n conversation"people take turns to speak" usually in short turns of a fe$ seconds each

(ronunciation' The pronunciation of $ords is often slurred" and noticeablydi6erent from the phonological representations given in a dictionary

<ocabulary' The vocabulary is often collouial /guy=man" kid=child0

:rammar' .nformal speech tends to be some$hat ungrammatical: utterancesdo not usually divide neatly into sentences

oise@' There $ill be a certain amount of #noise’: bits of the discourse thatare unintelligible to the hearer

=edundancy' The speaker normally says a good deal more than is strictlynecessary for the conveying of the message /repetition" paraphrase" self-correction" use of 2llers0

on8repetition' The discourse $ill not be repeated verbatim; normally it isheard only once" though this may be compensated for by the redundancy of thediscourse" and by the possibility of reuesting repetition or explanation

)' 7istener e"pectation and purpose'

The listener almost al$ays kno$s in advance something about $hat is goingto be said: $ho is speaking" for example" or the basic topic



1inked to this is his or her purpose: $e normally have some obective inlistening % to 2nd out something" for example And $e expect to hear somethingrelevant to our purpose

*' 7ooking as well as listening

,nly a very small proportion of listening is done #blind’ % to the radio ortelephone" for example Dormally" $e have something to look at that is linked to$hat is being said: usually the speaker him=herself" but often other visual stimulias $ell % for example a map" scene or obect" or the environment in general

+' -ngoing0 purposeful listener response

The listener is usually responding at intervals as the discourse is going on .t isrelatively rare for us to listen to extended speech and respond only at the end

The responses" moreover" are normally directly related to the listening purpose"

and are only occasionally a simple demonstration of comprehension

,' Speaker attention

The speaker usually directs his or her speech at the listener" takes thelistener’s character" intentions" etc into account $hen speaking" and oftenresponds directly to his or her reactions" $hether verbal or non-verbal" bychanging or adapting the discourse

=eal8life listening in the classroom

.n order to provide students $ith training in listening comprehension that$ill prepare them for e6ective functioning outside the classroom" activitiesshould give learners practice in coping $ith at least some of the featuresof real-life situations

:uidelines

&' 7istening te"ts

Informal talk' 9ost listening texts should be based on discourse that iseither genuine improvised" spontaneous speech" or at least a fair imitation of itA typical $ritten text that is read aloud as a basis for classroom listening activityis unlikely to incorporate the characteristics of real informal speech

Speaker visibility' The fact that in most listening situations the speaker isvisible and directly interacting $ith the listener should make us think t$ice aboutthe conventional use of audio recordings for listening comprehension exercises



Eideo also makes a positive contribution to the e6ectiveness of listeningpractice" in that it supplies the aspect of speaker visibility and the general visualenvironment of the text

Single e"posure' .n real-life discourse is rarely #replayed’ 1earners should

be encouraged to develop the ability to extract the information they need from asingle hearing The discourse" therefore" must be redundant enough to providethis information more than once $ithin the original text; and $here possiblehearers should be able to stop the speaker to reuest a repeat or explanation

)' 7istening tasks

E"pectations' 1earners should have in advance some idea about the kind oftext they are going to hear Thus the instruction #1isten to the passageF’ is lessuseful than something like #>ou are going to hear a husband and $ife discussingtheir plans for the summerF’

(urpose' A listening purpose should be provided by the de2nition of a pre-settask" $hich should involve some kind of clear visible or audible response Thus"rather than say simply #1isten and understandF’" $e should give a speci2cinstruction such as #1isten and 2nd out $here the family are going for theirsummer holidays 9ark the places on the map’

-ngoing listener response' The task should usually involve intermittentresponses during the listening; learners should be encouraged to respond to theinformation they are looking for as they hear it" not to $ait to the end

7earner problems

'hat aspects of listening to a foreign language are particularly di5cult forlearners to cope $ithB

'hat can $e as teachers do about themB

Stage &' #eCning some problems

Read through the list of some di5culties that learners have $ithlistening to a foreign language Add more if you $ish

Stage )' Interview

.ntervie$ some learners /your colleagues0 to 2nd out $hich of thesethey consider particularly problematic" $hether there are any others theycan suggest" and sort of practice they 2nd helpful

Stage *' Summary

Try to summari8e the main problems and make some suggestions as to$hat the teacher can do to help solve them

7earners problems



& . have trouble catching the actual sounds of the foreign language

( . have to understand every $ord; .f . miss something" . feel . am failingand get $orried and stressed

) . can understand people if they talk slo$ly and clearly; . can’tunderstand fast" natural native-sounding speech

Types of activities

&' o overt responses

Stories Tell a oke or real-life anecdote" retell a $ell-kno$n story" read a storyfrom a book; or play a recording of a story .f the story is $ell-chosen" learnersare likely to be motivated to attend and understand in order to enoy it

True4Aalse' The listening passage consists of a number of statements" some of$hich are true and some false

#etecting mistakes' The teacher tells a story or describes something theclass kno$s" but $ith a number of deliberate mistakes or inconsistencies1isteners raise their hands or call out $hen they hear something $rong

6lo.e' The listening text has occasional brief gaps" represented by silence orsome kind of bu88 1earners $rite do$n $hat they think might be the missing$ord

:uessing deCnitions' The teacher provides brief oral de2nitions of a person"place" thing" action or $hatever; learners $rite do$n $hat they think it is

Skimming and scanning' A not-too-long listening text is given" improvised orrecorded; learners are asked to identify some general topic or information/skimming0" or certain limited information /scanning0 and note do$n theans$er/s0 'ritten uestions may be provided in advance; or a grid" $ith certainentries missing; or a picture or diagram to be altered or completed

*' 7onger responses

nswering >uestions' ,ne or more uestions demanding fairly fullresponses are given in advance" to $hich the listening text provides theans$er/s0

ote8taking' 1earners take brief notes from a short lecture or talk

Summari.ing' 1earners $rite a brief summary of the content of the listeningpassage

7ong gap8Clling' A long gap is left" at the beginning" middle or end of a text;learners guess and $rite do$n" or say" $hat they think might be missing

+' E"tended responses



(roblem8solving' A problem is described orally; learners discuss ho$ to deal$ith it" and $rite do$n a suggested solution

Interpretation' An extract from a piece or dialogue or monologue isprovided" $ith no previous information; listeners try to guess from the $ords"

kinds of voices" tone and any other evidence $hat is going on

dapting activities

9ost modern course materials include cassettes of listening texts" $ithcorresponding listening tasks in the student’s book

The tasks may be too easy or di5cult; they may give no useful preparationfor real-life listening" they may not seem to come to grip $ith somespeci2c learner problems or some types of activity that you considerimportant may be missing

Teaching grammar

9nit &' !hat is grammar?

4rammar is sometimes de2ned as #the $ay $ords are put together tomake correct sentences’

egI am a teacher"

but not

G I a teacher"

* I are a teacher"

'e can apply the term #grammatical’ to units smaller than sentences

eg a ta woman but not G a woman ta

went but not G goed

:rammatical structures

A speci2c instant of grammar is usually called a structure

xamples of structures $ould be the past tense" noun plurals" thecomparison of adectives" and so on

Dot all languages have the same structures

:rammatical meaning



4rammar does not only a6ect ho$ units of language are combined inorder to #look right’; it also a6ects their meaning

The meaning of a grammatical structure may be uite di5cult to teach

9nit )' The place of grammar teaching

The place of grammar in the teaching of foreign languages iscontroversial

9ost people agree that kno$ledge of a language means" among otherthings" kno$ing its grammar

9nit *' :rammatical terms

.f you decide to do any formal" conscious teaching of grammar" it is usefulto kno$ the various common terms that are used in explanations ofgrammatical structures

9nits of language

?iscourse=text

entence

@hrase

'ord

9orpheme

(arts of the sentence

'e may also analyse the sentence according to the relationships bet$eenits component phrases: these are called parts of the sentence

The most common parts of the sentence are subDect0 verb and obDect /Isaw the man0" complement /after verbs like be, become, seem0 andadverbial / yesterday, at home, on his own0

(arts of speech

Douns /horse, Syria0

Eerbs /swim, remain0

Adectives /back, serious0

Adverbs /+uicky, perhaps0

@ronouns /he, those0

Auxiliary verbs /is, do0



9odal verbs /can, must 0

?eterminers /the, some0

@repositions /in, beore0

(resenting and e"plaining grammar

.mportant aspects of presenting and explaining grammar:

- $hat is involved in kno$ing the structure;

- $hat is likely to cause di5culties to the learners;

- ho$ to present examples and formulate explanations that $ill clearly conveythe necessary information

:uidelines on presenting and e"plaining a new grammatical structure

& The structure itself .n general" a good presentation should include both oraland $ritten forms" and both form and meaning

( xamples .t is important for learners to have plenty of contextuali8edexamples of the structure and to understand them Eisual materials can alsocontribute to understanding

) Terminology The ans$er to this $ill depend on your situation and learners ,nthe $hole" older or more analytically-minded learners $ill bene2t more from the

use of terminology* 1anguage Again" this very much depends on your $on situation and

udgment

,' E"planation' This is the problem about striking the right balance bet$eenaccuracy and simplicity >our explanation should cover the great maority ofinstances learners are likely to encounter" but too much detail may only confuse

/' #elivery' These are basic and important points >ou should al$ays try tospeak clearly and at an appropriate speed" so that all the learners can

understand your explanation1' =ules' >ou have to decide $hether a rule $ould be helpful or not; then$hether to elicit it form the learners on the basis of examples /inductively0 orgive it yourself and invite them to produce examples /deductively0

9nit ,' :rammar practice activities

,ne of our obs as teachers is to help our students make the #leap’ fromform-focused accuracy $ork to 7uent production by providing a #bridge’: avariety of practice activities that familiari8e them $ith the structures in

context" giving practice both in form and communicative meaning



Type &% wareness

After the learners have been introduced to the structure" they are givenopportunities to encounter it $ithin some kind of discourse" and do a taskthat focuses their attention on its form and=or meaning

E"ample% 1earners are given extracts from ne$spaper articles andasked to underline all the examples of the past tense they can 2nd

Type )% 6ontrolled drills

1earners produce examples of the structure: these examples are"predetermined by the teacher or textbook" and have to conform to veryclear" close-ended cues

E"ample% 'rite or say statements about Hohn" modelled on the

follo$ing example:

ohn drinks tea but he doesn’t drink co-ee"

a. ike/ ice cream)cake b. speak/ 0ngish)Itaian

c. en1oy/ paying ootba)paying chess

Type *% Meaningful drills

Again the responses are very controlled" but learners can make limited choice

xample: Choose someone you kno$ very $ell" and $rite do$n their namesDo$ compose true statements about them according to the follo$ing model:

(e)she ikes)doesn’t ike ice cream"

a. en1oy/ paying tennis b. drink/ wine

c. speak/ 2oish

Type +% :uided0 meaningful practice

1earners form sentences of their $on according to a set pattern" but exactly$hat vocabulary they use is up to them

E"ample% @racticing conditional clauses" learners are given the cue I I had a

miion doars, and suggest" in speech or $riting" $hat they woud do"

Type ,% Structure8basedF free sentence composition

1earners are provided $ith a visual or situational clue" and invited to composetheir o$n responses; they are directed to use the structure



E"ample% A picture sho$ing a number of people doing di6erent things issho$n to the class; they describe it using the appropriate tense

Type /% Structure8basedF discourse composition

1earners hold a discussion or $rite a passage according to a given task; theyare directed to use at least some examples of the structure $ithin the discourse

E"ample% The class is given a situation 3‘You have seen a riend cheating in an

important test’. and asked to recommend a solution They are directed to includemodals in their speech=$riting

Type 1% Aree discourse

As in Type I" but the learners are given no speci2c direction t use the structure;ho$ever" the task situation is such that instances of it are likely to appear

E"ample% As in Type I" but $ithout the 2nal direction

9nit /' :rammatical mistakes

Errors % consistent and based on a mis-learned generali8ation

Mistakes % occasional" inconsistent slips

!hat is a mistake?

<sually" language teachers perceive a mistake intuitively: something

sounds or looks $rong 'e have to be careful" ho$ever" not to de2ne as mistakes slightly deviant

forms $hich may not accord $ith some grammar-book prescriptions" butare uite acceptable to competent or native speakers of the language

9istakes $ithin the learning process

9istakes may be seen as an integral and natural part of learning: asymptom of the learner’s progress through an #inter language’ to$ards acloser and closer approximation to the target language

ven if you think that grammar mistakes need to be corrected" it isimportant to relate to them not as a sign of inadeuacy" but rather as ameans to advance learning

Teaching vocabulary

9nit &' !hat is vocabulary?

Eocabulary can be de2ned as the $ords $e teach in the foreign language



3o$ever" a ne$ item of vocabulary may be more than a single $ord" forexample" post o'ce and mother4in4aw"

There are also multi-$ord idioms such as ca it a day"

!hat needs to be taught?

&' Aorm

- $hat a $ord sounds like /pronunciation0

- $hat it looks like /spelling0

)' :rammar

- verbs: the past form of irregular verbs /think)thought 0" the form of the verbsthat follo$ them /want to, en1oy 4ing0" the prepositions used $ith them /remind

sb o 0;

- nouns: irregular plurals /mouse)mice0" no plural form /advice0" prepositionsused $ith them /responsibe or 0

*' 6ollocation

8 combinations of $ords%

eg take)make a decision but

come to a concusion

throw a ba but toss a coin

dead tired but not dead atigued

+' spects of meaning &F

- denotation

eg dog denotes a kind of animal

- connotation

eg dog % friendship and loyalty

- appropriateness

eg thanks)thank you, weep)cry

,' spects of meaning )F

- synonyms /inteigent, bright, cever, smart 0

- antonyms /rich 5 poor 0

- hyponyms /dog, ion, mouse 4 anima0



- co-hyponyms=co-ordinates /red, bue0

- superordinates /anima 5 dog, ion, mouse0

- translation

/' !ord formation

- common pre2xes and su5xes /+uicky, unbeievabe, homeess, retrain0;

- compound $ords /bookcase, swimming poo, oow4up0

9nit )' (resenting new vocabulary

elect a vocabulary item and think ho$ the meaning of this item $ouldbest be presented to learners $ho are encountering it for the 2rst time"and note do$n some ideas

Then three or four participants get together" share ideas and contributene$ ones to each other

!ays of presenting the meaning of new items

Concise de2nition /as in a dictionary0

?etailed description /of appearance" ualities0

xamples /hyponyms0

.llustration /picture" obect0

?emonstration /acting" mime0

Context /sentence" story0

ynonyms and antonyms

Translation

Associated ideas" collocation

9nit *' =emembering vocabulary

There are various reasons $hy $e remember some $ords better thanothers: the nature of the $ords themselves" under $hat circumstancesthey are learnt" the method of teaching and so on

9nit +' Ideas for vocabulary work

&' Brainstorming round an idea

'rite a single $ord in the centre of the board" and ask students to brainstorm

all the $ords they can think of that are connected $ith it very item that is



suggested is $ritten up on the board $ith a line connecting it to the original$ord

Suggestions%

>ou may use other sorts of stimulus $ords or connections: - a pre2x /sub40in the centre and ask the class to think of $ords that begin $ithit;

- a transitive verb / push0 and think of obects to go $ith it;

- a verb and think of possible adverbs;

- a noun and think of adectives

9nit +' Ideas for vocabulary work

&' Identifying words we know

- As an introduction to the vocabulary of a ne$ reading passage: the studentsare given the ne$ text and asked to underline all the $ords they kno$

- Then they get together in pairs or threes to compare: a student $ho kno$ssomething not kno$n to their friends teaches it to them

&' Identifying words we know

- Then they try to guess the meaning of the remaining items

- !inally" the teacher the class together to hear results" checking guesses andteaching ne$ items $here necessary

dvantages of the activity%

.t tends to be morale-boosting;

.t encourages student cooperation and peer-teaching;

.t entails repeated exposure to the text and vocabulary items through

individual" group and teacher-led stages9nit ,' Testing vocabulary

E"ample &

Choose the letter of the item $hich is the nearest in meaning to the $ord initalics:

3e $as reuctant to ans$er

a0 unprepared

b0 un$illing



c0 refusing

d0 slo$

E"ample )

Choose the letter of the de2nition that comes closest in meaning to the $ordeated:

a0 ready and $illing

b0 tense and excited

c0 tending to talk a lot

d0 in high spirits

E"ample *

?ra$ lines connecting the pairs of opposites:

A

brave a$ake

female expensive

cheap succeed

asleep co$ardly fail male

E"ample +

'hich of the pre2xes in Column A can combine $ith $hich of the $ords inColumn B

A

over human

trans national

super 7o$

dis form

inter infect

E"ample ,

<nderline the odd one out:

goat" horse" spider" sheep" dog" cat



E"ample /

!or each of the follo$ing $ords $rite a sentence that makes its meaning clear:

& $ealth ( laughter

) decision * brilliant

E"ample 1

The teacher dictates $ords" the students $rite them do$n

E"ample 2

The teacher dictates the mother-tongue of the $ords" the students $rite do$nthe target-language version

E"ample 3

!ill in the gaps:

.n the seventeenth JJJJJJ panish ships sailed JJJJJJJJ to Central and JJJJJJJAmerica to fetch gold for the panish JJJJJJJ The ships $ere often attacked by

JJJJJJJ $ho infested the panish 9ain /the sea JJJJJJJJ north-east of Central andouth America0

E"ample &G

Complete the passage using the $ords from the list:

area" century" pirates" government" regularly" outh

.n the seventeenth JJJJJJ panish ships sailed JJJJJJJJ to Central and JJJJJJJAmerica to fetch gold for the panish JJJJJJJ The ships $ere often attacked by

JJJJJJJ $ho infested the panish 9ain /the sea JJJJJJJJ north-east of Central andouth America0

E"ample &&

tudents are given sentences in the mother-tongue to translate into the target

language or vice versa

E"ample &)

!inish the follo$ing sentences:

& . feel depressed $hen F

( . never have an appetite $hen F

) .t $as a great relief $hen F

Teaching pronunciation



9nit &' !hat does teaching pronunciation involve?

The concept of #pronunciation’ may be said to include:

- the sounds of the language

- stress and rhythm

- intonation

Sounds

.t is useful to be able to list and de2ne the sounds" or phonemes" of thelanguage by $riting them do$n using phonetic representations /ox *&:

The phonemic alphabet0

<sing the phonemic alphabet" the sentence #2eter, come here!’ $ould be

represented by =pi:tK kEm hiK=

=hythm and stress

nglish speech rhythm is characteri8ed by tone8units% a $ord or group of$ords $hich carries one central stressed syllable /other syllables" if thereare any" are lightened0

The sentence #Peter , come here, pease!’ $ould divide into t$o toneunits: #2eter ’ and #come here, pease’" $ith the t$o main stresses on the2rst syllable of #2eter ’ and the $ord #here’

tress can be indicated in $riting The simplest $ay to do this is to $ritethe stressed syllable in capital letters" for example" ‘20ter, come (0#0,

pease!’

.n phonetic transcriptions it is normal to put a short vertical line above andbefore the stressed syllable: =Lpi:tK kEm LhiK=

nglish is a stress-timed language /as opposed to syllable-timed0

eg I 1ust caed to say I ove you,

6nd I mean it rom the bottom o my heart"

■ .n order to sho$ the importance of stress in phrases or sentences" the teachercan sho$ a set of sentences $hich di6er only in the position of the stress:

Sentence with stress

& . $ant t$o return tickets to 1iverpool

( . $ant t$o return tickets to 1iverpool

) . $ant t$o return tickets to 1iverpool



Meaning

& Dot one ticket

( Dot single ticket

) Dot 9anchester

Intonation

Apart from stress and rhythm" intonation is also an important aspect ofspeaking

The di6erent kinds of intonation are usually marked by an arro$: M forrising intonation and N for falling intonation

y saying a simple $ord $ith di6erent intonation $e can convey di6erent

meaning and mood

3armer /(OO&: &P*0 gives an example $ith the uestion 6re you happy?

and the $ord yes, $hich can be pronounced $ith di6erent intonationconveying di6erent meanings:

4 I’m not interested in your +uestion7

4 I’m not sure7

4 (ow wonderu o you to ask that +uestion7

- (ow dare you ask that +uestion"

9nit )' Improving learners@ pronunciation

The aim of pronunciation improvement is not to achieve a perfectimitation of a native accent" but simply to get the learner to pronounceaccurately enough to be easily comprehensible to other speakers

@erfect accents are di5cult if not impossible for most of us to achieve in aforeign language" and may not even be desirable

!hy do learners make pronunciation errors?

A particular sound does not exist in the mother tongue" so that the learneris not used to forming it /the substitution of =d= and =8= for the nglishth =?= as in that is a typical example0

A sound does exist in the mother tongue" but not as a separate phoneme/=i= and =i:= in ship=sheep0

The learners have the actual sounds right" but have not learned the stresspatterns of the $ord or group of $ords" or they are using an intonation

from their mother tongue $hich is inappropriate to the target language



:etting learners to perceive

The 2rst thing that needs to be done is to check that the learner can hearand identify the sounds" stress" rhythm and intonation you $ant to teach

This can be done by reuesting imitation" or seeing if learners candistinguish bet$een minimal pairs /ship=sheep" man=men" thick=tick0" orby contrasting acceptable and unacceptable pronunciation throughrecordings or live demonstrations

Telling learners what to do

The next stage is describing the pronunciation of a sound in terms of lips"tongue" teeth for sound formation" as $ell as simple explanation follo$edby demonstration and an invitation to imitate and practice for the otheraspects of pronunciation

Ideas for improving learners@ pronunciation

.mitation of teacher or recorded model of sounds" $ords and sentences;

Recording of learner speech" contrasted $ith native model;

ystematic explanation and instruction;

.mitation drills: repetition of sounds" $ords and sentences;

Choral repetition drills;

Earied repetition of drills /varied speed" volume" mood0;

1earning and performing dialogues;

1earning by heart of sentences" rhymes" ingles;

Ha88 chants;

Tongue t$isters;

elf-correction through listening to recordings of o$n speech(racticing correct pronunciation

!inally" $hen $e are satis2ed that the pronunciation point has beenperceived and learners can produce an acceptable version" $e come on tothe stage of practice: consolidating and establishing the habits ofacceptable pronunciation through exercises that provide repetition andreinforcement

9nit *' (ronunciation and spelling

.n most languages there is a fairly clear correspondence bet$een soundsand symbols: certain letters or combinations of letters are pronounced in



certain $ays" and if there are variations" these are governed by consistentrules

.n many languages" ho$ever" there are many exceptions to such rules"many $ords $hose pronunciation could not be logically predicted from

their spelling" and vice versa % nglish being an example

The alphabet

The basic sound-symbol correspondence is learned at the stage of learningthe alphabet

.f the alphabet is a totally ne$ one" there is a lot to learn" but it is clearthat every ne$ symbol need to be taught $ith its pronunciation

=ules of pronunciation8spelling correspondence

,nce learners have mastered the basic sound-symbol correspondence"they may need a $hole set of extra sound-symbol rules: for example" that4tion at the end of the $ord is usually pronounced =Kn=

ome of these % the more common and urgent for successful reading and$riting % you $ill need to teach consciously and early; others the learnersmay pick up #by the $ay’ later on

(ronunciation and spelling activities

#ictation% of $ords" half-sentences" sentences;

=eading aloud% of syllables" $ords" phrases" sentences;

#iscrimination% of minimal pairs" cognates;

(rediction% of pronunciation" spelling

T e s t s

9nit &' !hat are tests for?

Test% An activity $hose main purpose is to convey ho$ $ell the studentkno$s or can do something

9nit )' Basic concepts

<alid test: tests $hat it is designed or intended to

=eliable test: produces consistent results $hen administered on di6erentoccasions

Backwash: the e6ect" positive or negative" that a test has on the

teaching and learning that precede it



chievement test% measures ho$ much of the material taught in a givencourse" or part of one" has been learned

(roCciency test: measures the overall language pro2ciency of students"$ithout reference to a particular course

#iagnostic test% reveals the strong and $eak points of a learner’skno$ledge

(rognostic test: predicts ho$ $ell a learner is likely to do in a languagecourse

#iscrete8point test% consists of separate items /vocabulary" grammarstructures0

Integrative test: involves $hole pieces of discourse and tests a relatively

broad command of the language: $riting an essay" for example" or doing aclose test

9nit *' Types of test elicitation techni>ues

Aormal testing: the students are told in advance $hat they need tokno$" $hat the criteria are for success" etc

Informal testing: a home$ork assignment" uestions asked during theroutine classroom interaction" some textbook exercises

9nit +' #esigning a test

Stage &% (reparation

@repare your test .t s good idea to list in $riting all the material that you $antyour test to cover: you can refer back to the list during and after the test-$ritingto see if you have included all you intended >ou may 2nd it helpful to refer tothe guidelines listed in ox )*

Stage )% (erformance

Ask a colleague to do the test

Stage *% Aeedback

1ook at ho$ your test $as done and ask the student ho$ s=he felt about it >oumight 2nd it helpful to base your uestions on the criteria in the guidelines inox )*

9nit ,' Test administration

Before the test

& 3o$ far in advance do you announce the testB



( 3o$ much do you tell the class about $hat is going to be in it" and about thecriteria for markingB

) 3o$ much information do you need to give them about the time" place" anylimitations or rulesB

* ?o you give them any #tips’ about ho$ best to cope $ith the test formatB

+ ?o you expect them to prepare at home" or do you give them some class timefor preparationB

:iving the test

& 3o$ important is it for you yourself to administer the testB

( Assuming that you do" $hat do you say before giving out the test papersB

) ?o you add anything $hen the papers have been distributed but studentshave not yet started $orkB

* ?uring the test" are you absolutely passive or are you interacting $ith thestudents in any $ayB

fter the test

& 3o$ long does it take you to mark and return the papersB

( ?o you then go through them in classB

) ?o you demand any follo$-up $ork on the part of the studentsB

(ractice activities

9nit &' The function of practice

(ractice% the rehearsal of certain behaviours $ith the obective ofconsolidating learning and improving performance

7earning a skill

The process of learning a skill by means of a course of instruction has beende2ned as a three-stage process:

Eerbali8ation

Automati8ation

Autonomy

<erbali.ation



Teacher describes and demonstrates the skilled behaviour to be learned; learnersperceive and understand

G Eerbali8ation may be elicited from the learners

G .t may follo$ trial attempts at performance $hich serve to pinpoint aspects ofthe skill that need learning

G .t roughly corresponds to #presentation’

utomati.ation

Teacher suggests exercises; learners practice skill in order to acuire facility"automati8e; teacher monitors

G They may do things $rong and need correcting

G They do it right $hile thinking about it /practicing0

G They do it right $ithout thinking /automati8ation0

utonomy

1earners continue to use the skill on their o$n" becoming more pro2cient andcreative

G They start to speed up performance

G They start to perceive and create ne$ combinations

G They start to #do their o$n thing’

@ractice is the activity through $hich language skills and kno$ledge areconsolidated and thoroughly mastered As such" it is arguably the mostimportant of all stages of learning; hence the most important classroom activityof the teacher is to initiate and manage activities that provide students $ithopportunities for e6ective practice

9nit )' 6haracteristics of a good practice activity

@ractice is usually carried out through procedures called #exercises’ or#activities’

xercises and activities may relate to any aspect of language: their goalmay be the consolidation of the learning of a grammatical structure" or theimprovement of listening" speaking" reading or $riting 7uency" or thememori8ation of vocabulary

6haracteristics of e$ective language practice

Ealidity

@re-learning



Eolume

uccess-orientation

3eterogeneity

Teacher assistance

.nterest

9nit +' Se>uence and progression in practice

The individual practice procedure should ideally be integrated into a series ofactivities that help the learners progress from strongly teacher-supportedcontrolled practice at the beginning to later automatic and eventuallyautonomous reception and production of the language

(resentations and e"planations

9nit &' E$ective presentation

(resentation% the initial encounter $ith comprehensible input in the form ofspoken and $ritten texts" as $ell as various kinds of explanations" instructionsand discussions of ne$ language items or tasks

!hy are presentations necessary?

The limited time and resources of conventional foreign language courses They can help to activate and harness learners’ attention" e6ort"

intelligence and conscious learning strategies in order to enhancelearning" for example:

- linking a ne$ item to something they kno$"

- contrasting a ne$ grammar element $ith a

parallel structure in their o$n language

This does not mean that every single ne$ bit of a language needs to beconsciously introduced; or that every ne$ unit in the syllabus has to start$ith a clearly directed presentation

9oreover" presentations may often not occur at the 2rst stage of learning

!hat happens in an e$ective presentation?

Attention 3aert, ocused, aware.

@erception 3see, hear, repeat.

<nderstanding 3understand, connect, restate.



hort-term memory 3remember, consoidate.

9nit *' E"planations and instructions

E"planations: explicit descriptions or de2nitions of concepts or

processes Instructions: the directions that are given to introduce a learning task

$hich entails some measure of independent student activity

:uidelines on giving e$ective e"planations and instructions

@repare

9ake sure you have the class’s full attention

@resent the information more than once

e brief

.llustrate $ith examples

4et feedback

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Teaching Reading (1).doc