Summary of Introduction to English Language Teaching PDF

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SUMMARY to Introduction to English Language Teaching 1st Lecture – Introduction: On becoming an English language teacher Some abbreviations and acronyms … -

TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages ELT = English Language Teaching ESL = English as a Second Language EFL = English as a Foreign Language

Beliefs and metaphors in language teaching: -

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Europe (Alger, 2008): Teachers are Tool Provider, Guides, Nurturer (=Erzieher), Molder (=Former), Transmitter and Engager America (De Guerro and Villamil, 2000): Cooperative Leader, knowledge provider, challenger, nurturer, innovator, tool provider, artist, repairer, gym instructor Asia (Lin, Shein & Yang, 2012): nurturer, cooperative leader, knowledge provider, artist, innovator, tool provider and repaierer

What makes a good language teacher?  Good teaching is based n own identity as a language teacher  Interaction between environment and behavior  Also important: mission, beliefs, competencies Important disciplines in ELT are you and your studies which are surrounded by Literature, linguistics, ELT, pedagogy, … Stages of development by the British council 1.) Awareness: You have heard of this professional practice 2.) Understanding: You know what the professional practice means and why it is important 3.) Engagement: You demonstrate competency in this professional practice at work 4.) Integration: You demonstrate a high level of competency in this professional practice and this consistently informs what you do at work The quality in the classroom is based on planning lessons and courses, understanding learners, managing this lesson, knowing the subject, managing resources, assessing learning, interacting ICT, taking responsibility for professional development, using inclusive practices, promoting 21st century skills and understanding educational policies and practice  Also based on language proficiency, educational qualifications and ELT qualifications

Reflective thinking by John Dewey (1933): involves a state of doubt, hesitation, perplexity, mental difficulty, in which thinking originates, and an act of searching, hunting, inquiring, to find material that will resolve the doubt, settle and dispose of the perplexity. Reflection by Donald Schön: before Reflection during action. after Reflection by the ALACT model: Action leads to looking back on the action leads to awareness of essential aspects leads to creating alternative methods of action leads to trial leads to step one.

Teacher knowledge refers to technological knowledge (TK), content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical knowledge (PK)  All of them create Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)  Just makes sense in the content 2nd Lecture – Standards, curricular and the Common European Framework (CEF) The three perspectives of standards and curricular: Historical perspective, European perspective e and the national perspective

Historical perspective -

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Roman Empire: Latin as lingua franca which was a common language used among speakers not sharing a native language Middle ages: Latin: political and legal documents, formal education and a central medium of religious services (e.g. Bible) Renaissance (15th & 16th century): renaissance humanists favored Greek over Latin which was then a fundamental literary, political and philosophical texts to provide a rounds education for a rather small elite Early modern period (15th – 17th centuries):  Two models of foreign language teaching and learning: FL as a system and FL for communicative purposes  Early methods: Grammar-Translation methods, Holistic style of learning (by Comenius) and extensive monolingual input and practice in the FL (by Locke) Spread of English:  English as a world language: British Empire (18th and 19th centuries) and global dominance of the dominance of the USA (20th century)  A blessing and cure: key to empowerment, killer language and linguistic and cultural imperialism

The national perspective -

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18th century:  English gained some ground in German schools: education of urban middle classes, reading literature and works of philosophy or practicing oral communication th 19 century:  Three-tiered and class-based system: “Volksschule” for common people, Realschule, Gymansium for middle and upper classes but the majority of population was not taught any foreign languages  Gradually, English became second modern foreign language next to French in Realschule and third or fourth option next to Latin and Greek in Gymnasium  Grammar-Translation Method: explicitly teaches vocabulary and grammar, enable students to read literary and philosophical “classics” and support their general education Reform movement of the late 19th century:  Vietor: “Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren!“ – not just grammar and vocabulary Volks – und Rassenkunde (1920s/1930s)  Target culture taught in comparison to one’s own culture (enhancing awareness of national culture and construction of stereotypes)

 Fascists elected English as first FL (learning about culture in order to prove superiority of German national culture & traditional class discrimination in education) - After WW 2: English as first FL in all secondary schools (west) and Russian as first FL (east) - Late 20th century: Communicative Language Teaching(CLT) – Piepho: Kommunikative Kompetenz als übergeordnetes Lernziel im Englischunterricht  Current language education: „PISA-shock“ + CEFR = Revision of language teaching and learning for the 21st century

The common European Framework of Reference for languages General competences: -

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Declaring knowledge (savoir): knowing what, including socio and intercultural knowledge Know-how and skills (savoir-faire): including socio – and intercultural know-how Existential competences (savoirêtre): personality traits,

points of view, attidudes The ability to lern (savoir-apprendre9: learner strategies, metacognitive awareness, media literacy

Communicative language competences: -

Linguistics competence about language structures and how to use these: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and intonation, spelling Reception: listening and reading Production: speaking and writing Interaction Mediation

The effects of the CEFR -

Shifted attention from input of English teaching to output of learning and testing of functional competences

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Enormous impact on: educational policy making (curricular), test design (DESI, VERA), teaching itself (educational objectives), on academic debates (teacher education) Kultusministerkonferenz (KMK) used CEF as framework of national educational standards

National curricular Criticism: ignore “Bildung” in the sense of personal growth/orientation and reflection, narrow focus on communicative competences, little focus on content, the descriptors and scales of language proficiency are not always clear and distinct, standardization and output orientation (teaching to the test) LehrplanPLUS in Bavaria „Es können sich aber auch Unterrichtssituationen ergeben, in denen es sinnvoll ist, die Schülerinnen und Schüler systematischer mit sprachlichen Strukturen arbeiten zu lassen, um deren Bewusstsein dafür zu erhöhen.“  Grammar is not that important

3rd Lecture – Learner differences Language learning in heterogeneous groups of learners: learning strategies, individual differences, heterogeneous groups and inclusion Neuromyths Learning strategies: - Different learning styles: auditive, visual or kinaesthetic Learning styles and learner types: - There is not such a thing as an “average learner” - There is no one-size-fits all approach for all teaching or learning problems - The “cone of experience” is a pure invention - Co-ordination exercise improves learning and concentration - We only use 10% of our brain - Children can concentrate less after having sugary drinks - Learning problems associated with developmental differences in brain function cannot be improved by education - It is better to learn one’s native language before a foreign language Learning strategies = Learning how to learn – learning strategies: “specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques that students (often intentionally) use to improve their progress in developing L2 skills” Aware – active – train – improve – explain – useful – transfer/apply

Three different kinds of learning strategies:

Individual differences in language learning Individual differences refer to heterogeneity, feedback, assessment and individualization Learner differences in general are based on experience & knowledge, motivation, skills, personal traits, attitudes & beliefs, performance BUT the big two are motivation (60%) and language aptitude (30%) Language aptitude (cognitive) : - characterized by the strength individual learners have in the cognitive abilities information processing draws on during L2 learning in different stages - Phonemic coding ability: ability to identify sounds and to form associations between sounds and symbols - Grammatical sensitivity: ability to recognize grammatical categories/functions in a sentence - Inductive language learning ability: ability to notice a form without anybody teaching it before - Rote learning ability: ability to learn something of by heart Motivation: - Intrinsic: pleasure and pride in being able to communicate - Extrinsic: interest in rewards and grades - Integrative: displaying an interest in the other social culture

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Instrumental: focusing on the use of skills for particular purposes (e.g. jobs, travel, etc.)

Dörnyei’s Ten Commandments for motivating language learners (1998) 1. Set a personal example with your own behavior. 2. Develop a good relationship with the learners. 3. Increase the learners’ linguistic self‐confidence. 4. Make the language classes interesting. 5. Promote learner autonomy. 6. Personalize the learning process. 7. Increase the learners’ goal‐orientedness. 8. Familiarize learners with the target culture. 9. Create a pleasant relaxed atmosphere in the classroom. 10. Present the tasks properly. Gender/sex in language learning  No researches whether or not girls or boys are better at languages!  No biological reasons  Attributions very strong  Self-fulfilling prophecy  Majority of women in education Female attributions: overall positive attitude, interest in target culture(s), integrative motivation, interested in cooperation with peers, rather responsible in group-work, good at listening comprehension, afraid of making mistakes, better in free responses in tests, successful in language classes Male attributions: need-to-know principle, instrumental motivation, competitive, rather response-restricting, self-confident, good at taking risks, better at multiple choice tests and successful in competitions Age: - Critical Age Hypothesis: optimal period for language acquisition is the ending of puberty but there is no empirical evidence to support this view - Sensitive period: foreign language learning easier until a certain age but the learning environment and other individual differences are also important  The earlier, the better? Immersion teaching with young children shows positive results! BUT older learners can use learning strategies to make up for “lost time” Heterogeneous groups Motivation classroom atmosphere leads to balancing concrete information leads to balancing structured teaching approaches leads to frequent use of

visuals leads to avoiding too much lecturing leads to providing options of cooperating leads to balancing inductive and deductive presentation Inclusion “Ironically, the promotion of the delusion that being present in a school equates with being socially and educationally included, is one of the most dishonest and insidious forms of exclusion.” (Cooper & Jacobs, 2011, p. 6)

Inclusion comes in three different stages: -

Separate but equal: high level of categorization and labeling Inclusive special education: 22% of children in part-time special education Full inclusion: the celebration and valuing of difference and diversity

Inclusive and special education: -

Special education:  individual assessment and planning;  specialised instruction;  intensive instruction;  goal‐directed instruction;  research‐based instructional practices;  collaborative partnerships;  student performance evaluation

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Inclusive education:  A philosophy of acceptance and belonging within a community;  a philosophy of student, family, educator and community collaboration;  celebration of the diversity and value of all learners;  valuing educating learners in high‐quality schools;  valuing educating learners alongside their age peers;  valuing educating learners in mainstream classrooms;  valuing educating learners in schools in their local community

4th Lecture – Language Acquisition: Hypotheses, principles and factors Bilingualism and Multilingualism L1 = mother tongue/native language and L2 = second/foreign language Three branches of language acquisition: Spracherwerb, developing implicit knowledge and natural setting Three branches of language learning: Sprachlernen, developing explicit knowledge and instructional setting Natural setting: socio-cultural context, contact with native speakers, exposure to varied, authentic, much input, meaning before accuracy, errors usually go uncorrected and time pressure on production Instructional setting: educational institutions/classrooms, often non-native teachers as model, usually modified/simplified/limited input, meaning and/or accuracy, feedback and correction, time to learn and produce Learning theories Behavoirist approach, nativist approach, cognitive approach and constructivist approach -

Behaviorism by e.g. B.F. Skinner

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pattern drills effective for acquiring fluency, accuracy no explicit grammar teaching (detrimental to fluency) Contrastive Hypothesis  some errors caused by interference from L1 (false friends, different adverb positions in German and English)

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 however, imitation or interference cannot fully explain that learners with different native languages display similar errors in the beginning of SLA Behaviorism over‐estimates imitation  disregards other factors: aptitude, insight, motivation, comprehensive educational goals Nativism by Noam Chomsky and Stephen Krashen

Krashen‘s hypotheses on language learning 1) Acquisition‐Learning Hypothesis  students unconsciously acquire a FL rather than consciously learn it 2) Natural Order Hypothesis  students learn features of L2 in the same order as in L1  plural ‐s before third person ‐s  ‘no+verb’ (*‘I no like.’) in negation before ‘auxiliary+negation+verb’ (‘I don’t like.’) 3) Monitor Hypothesis  explicit learning of rules does not contribute to acquisition 4) Comprehensible Input Hypothesis  input needs to be comprehensible if somewhat challenging = a little above the level of the learners  learners need a silent period in order to process input 5) Affective Filter Hypothesis  supportive, anxiety‐free learning atmosphere and learner motivation relevant for input to get through to the student  negative affect clogs the filter of language input The effects of Nativism: teacher-centered methods leading to learner-oriented methods 3. Cognitivism - By Manfred Pienemann

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Based on interlanguage Processability Theory Frequent repetitions of perceived patterns  strengthen neuronal associations  lead to cumulative learning and appropriate usage L2 moves from simple to complex forms  A simple ‘no’ is placed before the verb (*‘I no like rice.’)  ‘No’ may alternate with ‘don’t’ (*‘He no/don’t like rice.’)  The negation follows the auxiliary verb (*‘He don’t like rice.’)  ‘Do’ is marked for tense, person, and number (‘He doesn’t like rice.’)

4. Constructivism

Step one: Constructing individual models of reality based on experience Step two: Reconstructing social models of reality in interaction with others and in relation to the learner’s own models Step three: Critically deconstructing social models of reality in order to reconstruct more comprehensive and complex concepts Vygotsky’s Social Theory: Zone of Proximal Development Three Zones: centered – Lerner can do (without help), Zone of Proximal development – Learner can do (with help), outside – Learner cannot do Implications for classroom practice -

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Instructivism: Teachers control input and practice, model speaker/sage on the stage, Role of authority (passing on knowledge & explicit explanations), IRE: initiation – response – evaluation Constructivism: Teachers address learner’s needs & differences, rich/varied/challenging input, facilitator/guide by the side (individual learning processes and interaction), negotiation of meaning and focus on form when needed

Individual factors: experience, attitude, language aptitude, motivation and socio-cultural background

5th Lecture – Form methods to approach to principles Approach: theory about principles and functions of language, learning, education Methods: roles of teachers and learners, content, material, activities Principles: smallest basic element in the ordered sequence of procedure Methods and Approaches -

Grammar Translation Direct method Audiolingual method Communicative approach Task-based language teaching (TBLT)

The Grammar Translation Method (1700s – 1900s) -

Mother tongue Language decoding  Goal: reading foreign literature/texts

Direct Method (late 19th century until today) -

Berlitz method Principles: target language only, grammar taught inductively, focus on speaking and listening, vocabulary presented through visualization and students’ speaking time per lesson: approximately 80%

Direct Method: example Teacher (T) to students (S): ‘Let’s suppose we are in New York City and have heard about delicious Southern food at Sylvia’s Soul Food in Harlem. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu and make a reservation for the weekend.’ -

S google the restaurant, read the online menu; S ask T to help them out with the kind of food on offer S talk about which dishes they might like or dislike S simulate a phone call place a reservation get online directions about the location discuss the best way of getting there

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role play ordering meals practicing conventional expressions: ‘I will have …,’ ‘I think I will go for …,’ ‘I would like to order …’

Audiolingual Method 1950s – 1960s Principles: focus on dialogues, skills are trained separately, focus on speaking and listening and pattern drills General Principle: structure of language and language correctness LEADS TO Countermovement: function of language is the most important base for communication Communicative Language Teaching/ Communicative Approach – 1970s until today Strong CLT: -

Uses communication as the means of learning how to communicate: covering shopping as a topic and then performing a role play

Weak CLT: -

Teaches the linguistic means of communication in order to facilitate communication: offering learners notions and functions to express intentions (“May I borrow your pen?”)  Main Goal of these communicative competences (Linguistic competences, discourse competences, sociolinguistic competences and strategic competences) is to create authentic communication

Principles and approaches  Focus on form vs. focus on forms Focus on form -

“… students’ attention to linguistic elements as they arise incidentally in lessons whose overriding focus is on meaning or communication” (Long 1991: 45‐46)

Focus on forms -

teaching certain aspects o...