بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم

Transcription

1 بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم Principles and Practice in English language Teaching Prepared by Dr. Alfadil Altahir 2013

2 Key terms and basic Issues Introduction A variety of methods have been used in the world of teaching foreign languages. Nevertheless, there has been no agreement among teachers, in general, as to the best method.

3 Extensive investigations into foreign language teaching methodology and other related disciplines, such as linguistics and psychology, have not settled the matter. The difference in methods originated mainly from claims of two major schools in psycholinguistics: the behaviorist and the mentalist.

4 Methodology The word methodology is itself often misinterpreted or ill-understood. It is usually given lip-service as an explanation for the way a given teacher goes about his/her teaching, a sort of umbrella term to describe the job of teaching another language. An expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction

5 Most often methodology is understood to mean methods in a general sense, and in some cases it even equated to specific teaching techniques. It does (or should), in fact, mean and involve much more than that.

6 Methodology can refer to the study of pedagogical practices in general (including theoretical underpinnings and related research). In this sense whatever considerations are involved in how to teach are methodological. Back up with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm

7 Approach An approach can be defined as theoretical positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of language learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.

8 According to Anthony (1972) an approach is: a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning. It describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. It states a point of view, a philosophy, an article of faith- something which one believes but cannot necessarily prove.

9 Method A method can lexically be defined as a way of doing something according to a particular plan or procedure for attaining an objective. In language terms, a method can be described as a way of presenting language to the learner. It evolves from the approach adopted for the explanation of language acquisition.

10 A method can also be defined as a generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Method tend to be primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject matter objectives, sequencing, and materials.

11 They are almost always thought of as being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of contexts. Anthony defines a method as: An overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon selected approaches.

12 For Mackey (1965) it is the method which largely decides what is to be taught and the order in which it is to be taught. It also decides how the meaning and form are presented to the learners.

13 Curriculum/ Syllabus A curriculum or a syllabus is a design for carrying out a particular language program. Features of curricular and syllabi include a primary concern with the specification of linguistic and subject matter objectives, sequencing, and materials to meet the needs of a designated group of learners in a defined context.

14 Technique A technique is any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives. Anthony defines technique as a particular trick, stratagem used to accomplish an immediate objective. A tactic or maneuver intended to gain an advantage

15 The Behaviorist and the Mentalist Approaches Most of the methods used in language acquisition literature related to these two approaches.

16 A technique is, therefore, practice which actually takes place in the classroom and must be in harmony with the method and approach adopted.

17 The Behaviorist theories of Language Learning The behaviorists have based their doctrine on experiments carried out on animals in laboratories. By presenting animals with a series of stimuli and by reinforcing the desired behavior, the experiments have managed to condition the animals responses.

18 In principle, any operant behavior can be made more frequent by being reinforced soon after occurrence. In human being, according to the behaviorist, the same model applies. Having influence or producing an effect

19 They claim that all variety of human behavior including language (verbal behavior)- can be made more or less frequent or probable by the occurrence or non-occurrence of reinforcement, contingent on some response. Determined by conditions or circumstances that follow

20 The behaviorist, therefore, have equated language learning in human being with animals conditioned responses triggered off by stimuli. They regard language as a set of habits which can be taught. Put in motion or move to act

21 Rivers claims were that it is common to find that the methods and techniques based on this approach provide plenty of opportunities for the students to acquire foreign language habits by pattern drills, mimicry, memorization and dialogues, which involve a lot of imitation and repetition. imitative behavior

22 Concerning the teaching of grammar, the behaviorists hold the task to be a set of habits rather than a set of rules (Twaddle, 1987). He explained: we know that a rule of language is the analytical statement of one of the habitual aspects of that language.

23 We know that the habit is the reality and the rule is mere summary of the habit.

24 Finally, the methods derived from this orientation are, for example, the aural-oral, the audio-lingual and audio-visual methods. This approach dominated the scene during the 1940s and 50s. Of or pertaining to hearing or the ear

25 In the 1960s it was subjected to a wide range of criticism. There was a growing concern about the ethics of teaching by such processing as conditioning.

26 The charge was that these techniques were extremely manipulating and controlling. It was seen as a dehumanizing approach which reduced man to the animal level. Influence or control shrewdly or deviously

27 The Influence of Behaviourism on Language Teaching Methodology The behaviorism movement in psychology became extremely influential in the 1950s, and consequently the behaviorist language theory was one of its most convincing development which is still associated with the theories of B.F. Skinner.

28 Thus the behaviorism has led to many methodological doctrines such as: a. Language learning require habit formation b. Only correct responses should be made. c. Speaking is the most important skill.

29 As the bases these principles were laid down as the bases for language learning according to a method known as the audio lingual method, which became very fashionable in the 1950s.

30 The main feature of this method is giving chances for repetition and drilling to maintain the behaviorists learning pattern. Behaviorism has been criticized; particularly by the American linguist Noam Chomsky (1966:33).

31 He claims that behaviorism is unsatisfactory as an explanation for how language is learned for several reasons: 1. Children do not learn a language as a result of hearing only perfect examples of grammatically correct speech. Spoken language contains partial utterance, hesitation features, from this imperfect material; the child manages to learn the rules of the language.

32 2. Children do not necessarily have their correct utterances reinforced or their incorrect utterances punished. Parents generally respond to the meaning of the child s utterance, not its grammar.

33 3. The language of all children develops in the same way, from one-word utterance to two- word utterance, and so on. This suggests that the development of the child s brain is the most important factor in language learning, not the stimuli he receives.

34 Though this approach dominated the field of language learning during the 1950s, it was seen as a dehumanizing approach which ignores certain capacities particular to human beings.

35 Consequently, this school became less popular and the mentalist theory emerged as a new revival which attracted more attention of the scholars.

36 The Mentalists Approach The mentalists are sometimes referred to as the cognitivists. Their approach is based on psychological assumption contrary to the behaviorists, and supported by such nonbehavioral learning theories as, for example, the Gestalt psychology which rejects the stimulusresponse relationship of behavior.

37 According to this theory, each behavior constitutes a whole, a unite, which gives meaning to its components and, therefore, studying each component of behavior separately, as stimulusresponse unit, and without reference to the whole form is useless.

38 With respect to language learning the mentalists regard the behavioristic view of language acquisition as naïve and unconvincing.

39 Chomsky (1966), one of the most outstanding mentalists, argues that it is possible to accept the view that: linguistic behavior is a matter of habit that is slowly acquired by reinforcement, association and generalization

40 Chomsky maintains that each human comes into the world equipped with innate language learning abilities which enable the child to understand and generate utterances that it has never heard before.

41 Such in- born ability is commonly known as Language Acquisition Device (LAD), and it proceeds by hypothesis testing.

42 The mentalist approach to foreign language teaching is manifested by creating a learning situation in which students are taught an explicit grammatical rule and asked to apply this rule in an appropriate situation.