Didctica Especfica I

WHY DO PEOPLE LEARN LANGUAGES? Success in language

learning (Harmer)
Motivation: students who want to learn will succeed whatever the
circumstances. Motivation is a kind of internal drive that encourages
somebody to pursue an action. If we perceive an ambitious goal, we will
be motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach it.
There are goals of different types: short-term goals (ex: to pass a test)
and long-term goals (ex: to get a better job, or to be able to
communicate with members of a target language). Students with longterm goals are easier to teach than the others.
Motivation is divided into: extrinsic motivation, which is focus on factors
outside the classroom, and intrinsic motivation, which is focus on what
takes place inside the classroom.
Extrinsic motivation: two types: integrative and instrumental. Integrative
motivation: students need to be attracted by the culture of the
community, and their wish is to integrate. Instrumental motivation:
students believe that mastery of the target language will be
instrumental in getting a better job, position or status. Factors have a
positive or negative impact on student's level, for example: if parents
are in favour or against the culture of the language.
Intrinsic motivation: many students have negative feelings about
language learning. For them what happens in the classroom will be
important. Factors affecting intrinsic motivation:
(a) Physical conditions: have a great effect and they can be positive or
negative. Classrooms that are badly lit and overcrowded can be demotivating. The visibility of the board is important. Teachers can improve
the atmosphere with posters, students' works.
(b) Method: has effect on their motivation. If they find it boring they will
become de-motivated, whereas if they have confidence they will find it
motivating. A motivated student will succeed whatever the method is

used. The student's confidence in the method is in the hands of the

teacher.
(c) The teacher: two teachers using the same method can have different
results. Teacher's personality matters a lot. Teachers need to do
everything to create a good relationship with their students.
d) Success: or lack of it plays a necessary part. Both failure and success
may be de-motivating. The teacher's job is to set goals and tasks at
which most of their students can be successful. To give students high
challenge activities or low challenge activities can be de-motivated. Both
extremes are negatives.
Motivational differences: not everyone in the class will have the same
motivation. It is a mixture of different factors. It is possible to make
statements for age and levels.
Children: are curious, which is motivating. Their concentration is less
than an adult. Children seek teacher approval. They need exciting
activities which stimulate their curiosity. Need to be involved in
something active and to be appreciated by the teacher.
Adolescents: are the most interesting students to teach. Teacher cant
expect any extrinsic motivation from the majority of them. Students'
attitude is influenced by others around them. Adolescents are brittle.
They wont be inspired by curiosity. Teacher approval is not important
but peer approval is.
Adult beginners: are the easiest people to teach. They have a high
degree of extrinsic motivation. They will often succeed quickly. Goals
within the class are easy to perceive and to achieve.
Adult intermediate students: may be motivated extrinsically. They may
have positive feelings about the way they are treated in the classrooms.
Success may be motivating. One problem is that beginners perceive
success; since everything is new, but intermediate students already
know a lot and may not perceive any progress.

Adult advanced students: are highly motivated. They will find progress
more difficult to perceive. Much of the time they may not be learning
anything 'new' but learning better how to use what they already know.
Teachers must realise the important that success has on motivation.
Success should not be too easy or too difficult.
Intrinsic motivation in the classroom (Brown)
Motivation is the extent to which you make choices about goals to
pursue and the effort you will put in to that pursuit.
A behavioristic definition: Skinner or Watson stresses the role of rewards
in motivation. In Skinners operant conditional model, human beings will
pursue a goal because they perceive reward for doing it. This reward
serves to reinforce behavior. A behaviorist defines motivation as the
anticipation of reinforcement. Learners pursue goals in order to receive
rewards (gold stars, certificate, and financial independence).
Cognitive definitions: three different theories:
a) Drive theory: motivation stems from basic innate drives. There are six:
exploration (fulfill students needs to probe the unknown), manipulation
(to control our environment), activity (physical, mental, and emotional),
and stimulation (incentive them all the time), knowledge (is necessary
for the students, if it is easy, they get bored, to desire for answers and
questions) and ego enhancement (opinion of ourselves, to build our own
self-esteem).
b) Hierarchy of needs theory: Maslow describes a system of needs. It
goes from the satisfaction of physical needs up through safety and
communal needs, to needs of esteem, and finally to self-actualization.
c) Self-control theory: Hunt focus on the importance of people deciding
for themselves what to think, feel or do. We define ourselves by making
our own decisions. Motivation is highest when one can make ones own
choices. When learners have opportunities to make their own choices
about what to pursue or not, they are fulfilling this need for autonomy
(classroom).
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

There is a distinction between integrative and instrumental orientations.

The first one is a desire to learn a language from a positive affect toward
a community of its speakers. It was linked to success in learning a
second language. The latter is the desire to learn a language in order to
attain certain career, educational, or financial goals. Gardner focused on
orientation not motivation. Orientation means a purpose for learning:
motivation refers to the intensity of one's impetus to learn. An
integrative orientation means the learner is pursuing a second language
for social or cultural purposes. In an instrumental orientation, leaners are
studying a language in order to further a career or academic goal.
Integrative and instrumental orientations are not to be confused with
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Integrative/Instrumental orientation
refers to the context of learning, Intrinsic/ extrinsic motivation has to do
with the intensity of feeling or drive.
Edward Deci says that intrinsically motivated activities are ones for
which there is no reward except the activity itself. People seem to
engage in the activities for their own. Extrinsically motivated behaviors
are carried out in anticipation of a reward from outside, (money, prizes,
and grades). Maslow claimed that intrinsic motivation is superior to
extrinsic
Intrinsic motivation in education
Tests and exams are imposed on students with no discussion. The praise
of content, product, correctness, and competiveness has failed to bring
the learner into a process of competencebuilding. A curriculum can be
modified to include student -centered learning and teaching, to allow
students to set some of their own learning goals, and to individualize
lessons and activities. The result: higher student self-esteem, greater
chances for self-actualization. Class discussions can focus on a critical
evaluation of society so that students arent forced to accept some way
of thinking or acting. The result is a sense of belonging. Tests and exams
can incorporate some student consultation and peer evaluation.
Teachers can help students to view tests as feedback instruments.
Students become motivated by the experience and by achieving selfknowledge.

Intrinsic motivation in the second language classroom

A teacher mustnt deliver information to their students but be a
facilitator of learning whose job it is to set the stage for learning, to turn
them on to their own abilities. For example, teacher has to set a
personal example, create a pleasant atmosphere, present the tasks
properly, promote learner autonomy, and personalize learning process.
The role of the teacher (Richards and Lockhart)
The contexts in which teachers work have an important influence on
teaching. Different teaching settings involve teachers in different roles.
Teachers have the responsibility for how they teach. Some teachers see
their role in organizational terms. They spend a lot of time planning their
lessons, monitoring their teaching, and managing student learning.
Others see their role as a facilitator.
The nature of roles
A role is the part taken by a member in any act of communication. In
some interactions, roles are fixed whereas in others, roles are temporary
and open to negotiation. Roles characteristics: They involve different:
kinds of work and levels of responsibility.
kinds of relationships, interaction and communication.
power relationships.
Wright says that roles are defined by what people do, while others are
defined by the kind of interpersonal relationships. Teachers interpret
their roles in different ways depending on schools, teaching methods,
their personalities and cultural backgrounds
Roles reflecting institutional factors
Different teaching settings: create particular roles for teachers based on
the institutions, its culture and its teaching philosophy. In a "traditional"
school, the senior teachers make most of the key decisions. The
teachers do what they are asked to do. The students have a little choice.
Other schools function differently, a private language institute. There is
no a fixed hierarchy. Teachers have to serve as coordinators, but these

roles rotate. There is no fixed curriculum. The content of the course is

negotiated between teacher and students.
The roles of the teacher include:
Needs analyst: determines students' individual needs following
institutional procedures.
Curriculum developer: develops their own course plans and syllabuses
based on student needs.
Materials developer: develops their own classroom materials.
Counselor: identifies students who are having problems and offers them
assistance.
Mentor: assists less experienced teachers with their professional
development.
Team member: works together as a team and take part in cooperative
activities.
Researcher: conducts a research related to language learning and
teaching.
Professional: continues with professional development.
When teachers assume these roles, new skills are required and
institutional support may be needed. Teacher assistance is required in
the following areas:
Needs assessment skills: requires instruments and procedures for
conducting needs analysis.
Course guidelines: request a framework to use in developing the
curriculum.
Bilingual assistance is requested to enable teachers to negotiate the
curriculum with their learners.
Continuity in the Programme: prevents the needs-based model from
leading to a fragmented program.

Educational counseling: teachers request the support of educational

counselors because of the student needs.
Conflict resolution: the negotiated curriculum led conflicts which
teachers have to solve.
Teacher role specifications: in their roles.
Roles reflecting a teaching approach or method
The role of a teacher may be influenced by the approach. Teaching
methods define specific roles and suggest the behaviors:
Direct Method is the first oral-based methods to be used in foreign
language. Teacher's roles: Never translate: demonstrate, never explain:
act, never imitate mistakes: correct, never speak too much: make
students speak much, speak normally.
Active Teaching focuses on the teacher's ability to engage students on
learning tasks during lessons. Teachers must: communicate clearly by:
giving directions, obtain and manage engagement by promoting
involvement, monitor progress by reviewing work and provide feedback.
Cooperative Learning: the methodology relies less on cooperative
group work and pair work activities. The teacher's role is share the
responsibility, stimulate interactive language use, coordinate group
activities and provide feedback.
Audiolingualism: The role of the teacher is central and active. The
teacher models the target language, controls the direction, pace of
learning, and monitors and corrects the learners' performance.
Communicative Language Teaching, the teacher roles are facilitate the
communication process and act as an independent participant within the
learning-teaching group and to be a researcher and learner.
Total Physical Response method: the teacher is the director of all
student behavior. The students are imitators.
Roles reflecting a personal view of teaching

The way the teachers teach is a personal interpretation of what they

think works best. A teaching approach is something personal which they
develop through experience and apply in different ways. Teachers create
their own roles based on their theories of teaching and learning.
Teachers may select such roles for themselves as:
Planner: sees planning and structuring of activities as fundamental to
success in teaching and learning.
Manager: organizes and manages the classroom environment and
student behavior.
Quality controller: maintains the quality of language use in the
classroom.
Group organizer: develops an environment in which students work
cooperatively on group tasks.
Facilitator: helps students discover their own ways of learning and to
work independently.
Motivator: improves students confidence and interest in learning and
builds a climate classroom
Empowerer: takes little control over the lesson and lets the students
make their own decisions.
Team member: a team, teacher and students and they interact.
Teachers cant be all things to all people, and the teachers role may
change during the lesson. Teachers' personal view influences how they
respond to the dimensions of teaching:
Classroom management and organization: establish classroom
routines, procedures, and rules
Teacher control: maintain a performance in the classroom
Curriculum, content, and planning: approach lesson planning, lesson
organization, and structure.

 Instructional strategies: teaching approach and classroom activities

teachers prefer.
Motivational techniques: strategies to use to create classroom climate
and motivation.
Assessment philosophy: assessment procedures teachers use.
Cultural dimensions of roles
In some cultures, teaching is viewed as a teacher-controlled and directed
process. In Western education, teachers focus on individual learner
creativity, encourages to facilitate independent learning.
Describing teachers (Harmer)
What is 'teaching'?
Dornyei and Murphey see teaching as the exercise of group leadership.
One main responsibility is foster good relationships with the group that
they work together. They suggest that a conscious teaching style
involves an increasing encouragement and the facilitation of
autonomous learning. When teachers and groups first meet, students
expect leadership and direction. This makes them feel secure. Teachers
have to be democratic and let students participate in decisions.
In the classroom
The way we dress and our attitude make an impression on students. We
need to make a distinction between who we are, and who we are as
teachers. We should be able to adopt a variety of roles to facilitate
learning.
The roles of a teacher
As a facilitator who is democratic, fosters learner autonomy through
pairwork activities and acts as a resource.
Controller: they are in control of the class and the activity and are
leading it. They see themselves as a transmitter of knowledge. It denies
students access to their own experiential learning and cuts down on
opportunities to speak. There are times when acting as a controller

makes sense, ex: giving explanations, lecturing, making announcements

or bringing a class to order.
Prompter: make somebody do something. We are keen to encourage
the students to think creatively. This may not make the students feel
sure. When we prompt, we need to do it sensitively and encouragingly.
Participant: let the learners get on with the activity and intervene to
offer feedback and correct mistakes. The danger is that they can easily
dominate the proceedings.
Resource: teachers dont know everything about the language. What
they should be able to offer is guidance. The important job is to
encourage students to use resource material for themselves. Teaches
have to say they dont know an answer and gives them the information
the next day.
Tutor: combination of prompter and resource. It implies an intimate
relationship. The learners have a real chance to feel supported and
helped, the atmosphere is enhanced.
Organizing students and activities
Teachers have to organize students to do activities, to get students
involved, engaged and ready. Once the students are ready, teachers will
give instructions. They have to use the right level of the language and to
demonstrate what is to happen. Then they initiate the activity. Students
need to know the time they have and to stop the activity when the
students have finished or for other factors. It is important to organize
content feedback.
Engage instruct (demonstrate) initiate organize feedback.
The teacher as performer
Teachers are performers. Their performance would describe one kind of
teacher role. Teachers perform differently.
Activity

How the teacher should perform

1- Team game: Energetically, encouragingly, clearly, fairly

2- Role play: Clearly, encouragingly, retiringly, and supportively

3- Teacher reading aloud: Commandingly, dramatically, and
interestingly.
4- Whole-class listening: Efficiently, clearly, supportively
Rapport: relationship between the students and the teacher. Successful
rapport derives from the students' perception of the teacher as a good
leader and a successful professional (confidence in the teacher) It also
depends on the way that we interact with students. Successful
interaction:
Students want their teachers to know who they are.
Students respond well to teachers who listen to them.
Correcting students is a delicate event. If we are too critical, we risk
demotivation, if we praise them, they may need approval all the time.
Respect is important.
Being even-handed: a good teacher is who asks the people who don't
always put their hands up. Treating all students equally.
Scrivener suggests that teachers can create a positive learning
atmosphere to establish rapport, for ex: showing respect, being fair,
listening to the students, giving clear feedback and being oneself.
Harmer lists four capacities that make it up: recognizing, respecting and
listening to students, being even-handed.
The teacher as teaching aid
Specific ways to help students both hear and understand language:
Mime and gesture and expression: to convey meaning and
atmosphere. Mime and expression work best when they are
exaggerated. Gestures do not have universal meanings.
The teacher as language model: Students get models of language from
textbooks, reading materials and from audios, but they can also model
language themselves.

The teacher as provider of comprehensible input: how much teachers

should talk and what kind. The ways in which teachers use their voice,
model language and employ gesture and expression are all important
teaching skills.
Native speaker teachers and non-native-speaker teachers
Non-native-speaker teachers have more advantages than 'native'
colleagues. They had the same experience of learning English as their
students are now having, and this gives them understanding of what
their students are going through. Non-native-speaker teachers are more
familiar with learning styles than visiting native speakers are. Native
speakers have the advantage of a linguistic confidence about their
language in the classroom which non-native-speaker teachers lack.
Teacher roles (Nunan)
Richards and Rodgers suggest that learner roles are related to the
teachers functions. Teacher roles are related to: The types of functions
teachers are expected to fulfil. The degree of control the teacher has
over how learning takes place The degree to which the teacher is
responsible for content. The interactional patterns between teachers
and learners. In some situations, it is necessary a consultation and
negotiation between teachers and learners.
As an actor - as a controller - as a facilitator - as a participant (not
all the time) - as an observer and learner: learning how to teach.
The roles of teachers and learners are complementary. The teacher has
three main roles in the communicative classroom. The first is to act as a
facilitator of the communicative process, the second is to act as a
participant and the third is to act as an observer and learner.
Roles and teaching materials
1- Teachers act as a resource when they are needed. The students can
proceed at their own speed, benefiting from the chance to work alone
and consults the tutor. Students learn by working in groups to solve a
problem or make a decision.

2- Teachers act as a controller: the student must be trained in the four

basic language skills: understanding, speaking, reading and writing.
3- Teachers act as a tutor: they arent needed.
Settings: classroom arrangements specified or implied in the task.
Nunan distinguishes between two different aspects of the learning
situation, 'mode' refers to whether the learner is operating on an
individual or group basis and 'environment' refers to where the learning
takes place.
Educational technology and other
learning resources (Harmer)
The technology pyramid
Classroom situations where teacher and
students have anything at all in terms of
educational technology or other learning aids.
and Charles Hadfield represent these differing
realities in a 'reversed pyramid' of resources.

Jill

The students were used as source material,

whether as participants in quizzes about the real
world, as informants in discussions about families
or as imaginers of river scenes based on teacher
description. They propose turning the pyramid
the other way up.

The students themselves: The most useful resources are the students.
Through their thoughts and experiences they bring the outside world
into the room. In multilingual classes, we can get them to share
information about their countries.
Objects, pictures and things: A range of objects, pictures and cards can
be used for presenting and manipulating language.
Realia: the use of real objects.

 Pictures: facilitate learning (flashcards, large wall pictures, cue cards,

photographs or illustrations). They can be used for:
Drills: flashcards are useful for drilling grammar items, for practicing
vocabulary.
(Communication) games: pictures are useful for communicational
activities. Teachers sometimes use pictures for creative writing to invent
a story, for example.
Understanding: presenting and checking meaning.
Ornamentation: pictures are used to make work more attractive.
Prediction: pictures are useful for getting students to predict what is
coming next in a lesson.
Discussion: pictures can stimulate questions.
Cards: different uses:
Matching and ordering: matching questions and answers or two halves
of a sentence. They are good for kinaesthetic learners.
Selecting: cards work when teachers want students to speak or use
particular words or phrases.
Card games:
Cuisenaire rods: they are useful for word stress, prepositions, colours,
comparatives, superlatives, etc.
The coursebook
Benefits: good coursebooks are prepared to offer a coherent syllabus,
language control, motivating texts, audio CDs and video/DVD material,
and extra resource material. They are attractively presented. They
provide procedures for the lesson, offer suggestions, extra activities and
resources.
Restrictions: coursebooks, used inappropriately, impose learning styles
and content on classes. Many of them rely on Presentation, Practice and
Production as their main methodological procedure. Units and lessons

follow an unrelenting format so that students and teachers become

demotivated.
Using coursebooks: teachers to try to engage students with the
content they are going to be dealing with.
Omit and replace: we can omit or replace the coursebook material.
We can change or re-order some activities in the coursebook.
Ways of showing
The board
Note-pad: teachers write things up on the lesson.
Explanation aid: used for explanation.
Picture frame: used for drawing pictures.
Public workbook: teachers write mistakes they have observed on the
board.
Game board: games can be played using it.
Noticeboard: teachers and students can display things on boards.
The overhead projector (OHP): we can show whole texts or grammar
exercises, pictures, diagrams or students' writing.
The flip chart: are useful for making notes, recording the main points
in a group discussion, amending and changing points. They are portable,
cheap and demand no technical expertise.
Computer-based presentation technology: computer and a data
projector.
Ways of listening
Students get language input from listening to each other and from any
visiting teachers, lectures or classroom guests. Cds recorders are useful,
cheap and convenient.
Ways of finding out

 Dictionaries: (book form or CD-ROMS).

Paper dictionaries: an be either bilingual or monolingual.
CD-ROMs: you can type a word or phrase and it will appear with its
collocation, examples.
Electronic pocket dictionaries: small electronic dictionaries.
Online dictionaries: they are available online
Concordancer: they are useful sites for students and teachers who
want to do word research or to design material.
Searching the Internet: both teachers and
they want on the Internet.

students can find anything

Using encylopedias: there are a number of encyclopedia sites on the

Internet.
Webquests: a particular type of information is provided by a webquest.
Practicing language on the Internet and on CD-ROM
There are many websites on the Internet for students to practice
language. Some of them are based on a school or an organization.
Practice material is also available on CD-ROM.
Ways of composing
Word processing, word editing: microsoft Word is used for writing
letters, putting books together, composing reports, completing
homework assignments and making lists.
Mousepals, chat and blogging: students can be involved in chatting
online. They send e-mail instead of letters. A blog is a public diary which
anyone can read.
Authoring: allow teachers to key in or import their own text and, create
a variety of different exercises.
Designing websites: teachers design their own websites and get
students to make their own class websites.

Virtual learning: from emails to simulated environments

There is Internet-based software programs designed to offer teaching,
training environments online and online courses.
Using soundwaves: soundwave software is useful in helping students to
'better appreciate English stress timing.
Introducing new language structure (Harmer)
What do we introduce?: Our job is to present the students with clear
information about the language.
The presentation of meaning and use: teachers not only show students
what language means but also how it is used. Students need to get an
idea of how the new language is used by native speakers, present
language in context. A good context should be interesting and provide
the background for use.
Types of context
Context: the situation which causes language to be used. The students'
world can be a major source of contexts for language presentation. We
can use the physical surroundings (classroom, school or institution) and
the students' lives (families, friends and experiences). The outside world
provides us with rich contexts for presentation and teachers can create
situations and stories. Formulated information refers to all that
information which is presented in the form of timetables, notes, charts
etc. The context we choose will depend on the type of language being
introduced.
The presentation of structural form: One of the teacher's jobs is to show
how the new language is formed- how the grammar works and how it is
put together.
Forms and patterns: before to introduce any new language teachers
should analyze the form they are going to teach and the grammatical
pattern. The idea of changeable units is that they allow teacher to create
models for the students to work with. A model is an example of the
pattern. The teacher needs to be clear about how the language to be
presented is said and written.

A general model for introducing new language: the model has five
components: lead-in, elicitation, explanation, accurate reproduction, and
immediate creativity.
Lead-in: the context is introduced and the meaning or use of the new
language is demonstrated. Some students may become aware of certain
key concepts. In the case of formulated information, students have to
understand those concepts. The teacher can demonstrate the course of
an interaction showing the new language in use.
Elicitation: the teacher tries to see if the students can produce the new
language. If they can, they will move to the explanation stage.
Explanation: teacher shows how the new language is formed.
Accurate reproduction: students repeat and practice models. They focus
on accuracy. Drill is important but not all the time.
When the students are confident they can move to immediate creativity.
They try to use what they have learned to make new sentences. The
teacher can see if the students have understood meaning, use and form.
If the students perform well during elicitation the teacher can move to
immediate creativity.
Explanation techniques: there are two procedures for explaining the form
of the new language. The intention is to demonstrate to the student
what the construction grammar is. Explaining statements Explaining
question forms. Using hands and gestures: teachers use their hands to
make grammatical form clearer.
Accurate reproduction: give students controlled practice in the form of
the new language.
a) Choral repetition: repeat the model together. It gives the students a
chance to say the new language.
b) Individual repetition: three stages; teacher nominates a student, the
student responds, and the teacher gives feedback.
c) Cue-response drills: the students are working with more than one
model. When we have presented the first model and organized choral

and individual repetition we will elicit the second model. Three stages: 1.
Instruct: Tell the students what you want them to do. 2. Cue: Indicate
which model you wish the student to say. 3. Nominate: Select the
student you wish to give the response.
Correction: 2 stages
a) Showing incorrectness: we will indicate to the student that a mistake
has been made. Techniques:
1-Repeating: to ask the student to repeat.
2- Echoing: to echo the complete student response, stressing the part of
the utterance that was incorrect.
3-Denial: to tell the student that the response was unsatisfactory and
ask for it to be repeated. It may be discouraging.
4- Questioning: to ask any student in the class if what the student has
said is correct.
5- Expression: to indicate that a response was incorrect by their
expression or by gesture.
b) Using correction techniques: techniques:
1- Student corrects student: we can ask if anyone can 'help' the student
who has made the mistake.
2 -Teacher corrects student(s): we should take charge of correction
because the students are mixed-up about what the correct response
should be.
The importance of meaning: understand the meaning of the new
language the students are learning. Checking meaning can be done in
three ways
a) Information checking: the teacher will need to find out if students
have understood the information in the lead-in. (To say sentences which
are incorrect)
b) Immediate creativity and different settings: to ask students to
produce sentences of their own.

c) Translation: quick and efficient but it is not possible with groups of

different nationalities and is not always possible to translate exactly.
Discovery techniques: how students discover the meaning of the words.
The position of writing during presentation: used as a reinforcement. For
ex, the students might be shown model sentences and then be asked to
write similar sentences of their own.
Introducing new language: examples: language presentation
The students' world:
a) Physical surroundings: use thing of the class to present a new topic.
b) Likes and dislikes: involves students in talking about themselves.
c) Student lives: students can be used to help the presentation of new
language.
Stories: a story and some picture prompts provide the context for the
practice. Teachers can also construct stories which will provide the raw
material for language models.
Situations: language presented in situations.
Language examples: students are shown examples of sentences or
phrases and asked to identify grammatical and functional differences.
Formulated information: the information that is used for presentation
and practice is formulated as a chart, in a graph or tabular form.
Teaching Grammar: Scrivener
Approaches to grammar
In the first approach, we need a methodology that finds ways to present
or input small pieces of language that have been selected by the teacher
to exemplified structures. Each new item will be practice until the
students are familiar with it and incorporated into their language. This is
called PPP Presentation- Practice- Production.
In the second, we need a methodology that exposes the students to
authentic language and use their own intelligence.

False- beginners are those adult learners who had studied English at
school but have forgotten it. Many students bring some knowledge of
English into class. New grammar may not be completely new for them. It
is also useful for them giving the chances to be exposed or to use the
language.
Analyzing language: form: grammar is concerned with the form of the
language: the pattern, the regularities. Some common items have
names: reported speech and countable nouns, for ex.
Grammar: restricted use activities: are defined by their focus on limited
options for use of language, limited options for communication and
accuracy. Examples:
Drills: provide oral practice. They are based on the behaviorist believe
that through repetition students can be trained into automatic
responses. The aim is to improve accuracy.
Written exercises: give students concentrated practice of language
items.
Elicited dialogues: short dialogues with examples of specific items to be
practiced.
Grammar practiced activities and games: grammar activities; to focus
on the use or particular items of grammar. Games; to revise vocabulary
and grammar.
Analyzing language: meaning: if the teacher explains clearly, the
students understand the meaning.
Grammar: clarifying and focusing: different approaches
Presentation: we focus on the form and meaning by giving explanations
in different ways (using the board or coursebooks)
Self- directed discovery: the teacher needs to ensure that the learners
have sufficient information and experience to be able to work out their
own rules and explanations.
Guided discovery: teachers job; to create the condition in which the
information can be learned.

Grammar: planning effective lessons: there are 3 components:

Clarification and focus, restricted use activities and Authentic use
(opportunity to use the language to communicate).
Clarification and focus, restricted use, restricted use, authentic use
(CRRA) is the same as PPP.
Analyzing language: communicative function: we use language to
express meaning, and the language we use is different in different
situation and people.
Phonology: the sounds of English
Sounds: phonemes.
Word stress: is noticeable by being louder, longer and higher in pitch.
Sentence stress: stress marks out the content-carrying words in the
sentence in order to mark out a rhythm. Unstressed words tend to be
pronounced quite fast.
Intonation: its referred to as the music of the language.
Teaching vocabulary (Harmer)
Language structure and vocabulary
Teachers choose their words carefully in certain situations, but they are
less worried about choosing structures carefully - unless we are in a
language classroom. Then structural accuracy seems to be the dominant
focus. Grammatical knowledge allows us to generate sentences.
Methodologists and linguists have been paying their attention to
vocabulary, stressing its importance in language teaching and
reconsidering some of the ways in which it is taught and learnt. The
acquisition of vocabulary is just as important as the acquisition of
grammar.
Selecting vocabulary: One of the problems of it is how to select what
words to teach.
Frequency, coverage and choice: to decide which words should be teach
on the basis of how frequently they are used by speakers. The selection

of vocabulary is that of coverage. A word is more useful if it covers more

things than if it has one specific meaning. The decision about what
vocabulary to teach and learn will be influenced by information about
frequency and use.
What do students need to know?
Meaning: Vocabulary items have more than one meaning, so students
need to understand the importance of meaning in context and about
sense relations (words have meaning in relations to other words)
Word use: word meaning is stretched through the use of metaphor and
idiom. It is also governed by collocation - that is which words go with
each other. We often use words only in certain social and topical
contexts.
Word formation: words can change their shape and their grammatical
value. Students need to know how to twist words to fit different
grammatical contexts, how suffixes and prefixes work, how words are
spelt and how they sound.
Word grammar: nouns: countable and uncountable, etc. Verb
complementation, phrasal verbs, etc. Adjectives and adverbs: position,
etc.
Teaching vocabulary: is more than presenting new words.
Active and passive: active: refers to vocabulary that students have been
taught or learnt and which they are expected to be able to use. Passive:
refers to words which students will recognize when they meet them but
which they will not be able to produce.
Interaction with words: Experiments suggest that students remember
best when they have done something with the words they are learning.
Teachers should get students to interact with words, to 'adopt' words and
to use.
Discovery techniques: students have to work out rules and meanings for
themselves. Discovery techniques used with vocabulary materials allow
students to activate their previous knowledge and to share what they
know.

Examples of vocabulary teaching- Presentation

a) Realia: presenting words using real objects.
b) Pictures: using charts, flashcards, magazine pictures.
c) Mime, action and gesture
d) Contrast 'empty' contrasting with 'full'.
e) Enumeration: listing
f) Explanation: explaining the meaning of a word.
g) Translation:
The importance of dictionaries: The dictionary provides one of the best
resources for students who wish to increase the number of words they
understand. Bilingual dictionaries do not provide sufficient information
for the students. Monolingual dictionaries give information about
pronunciation, spelling, word formation, metaphorical and idiomatic use.
Teaching the productive skills
The nature of communication
When two people are engaged in talking to each other, they have some
reasons: They want to say something. They have some communicative
purpose. They select from their language store. These generalizations
apply to the spoken and written communication.
There is a desire for the communication to be effective both from the
point of view of the speaker and the listener. There are reasons for
breakdown in communication: -They want to listen to 'something'. -They
are interested in the communicative purpose of what is being said. They process a variety of language.
The information gap: Speakers have a communicative purpose and that
listeners are interested in discovering what that purpose is. There is a
gap between the two participants in the information they possess, and
the conversation helps to close that gap.

The communication continuum: If students do not want to be involved in

communication, it wont be effective. There are:
Non-communicative activities: no communicative desire, no
communicative purpose, form not content, one language item, teacher
intervention, materials control.
Communicative activities: a desire to communicate, a communicative
purpose, content not form, variety of language, no teacher intervention.
No materials control.
Stages in language learning/teaching: three stages
Introducing new language: the teacher works with controlled techniques,
asking students to repeat, performs in drills, insists on accuracy,
correcting mistakes.
Practice: the teacher may intervene to guide and to point out inaccuracy.
Practice activities can be non-communicative or communicative
activities.
Communicative activities: Students are involved in activities that give
them the desire 'to communicate and a purpose.
The relationship between the different stages
If teachers introduce new language they will want to practice it in a
controlled way. After an introduction stage, they use a practice technique
to give the students a chance to use the new language in a controlled
environment.
Integrating skills: one skill cannot be performed without another.
Writing (Hammer)
Literacy: Literate people are those who can read and write in certain
situations and for certain purposes. There are different literacies and
teachers need to decide what kind of writing they expect from students.
Handwriting: communication takes place electronically. Handwriting is a
personal issue. Students dont use the same style. Teachers should
encourage students with problematic handwriting to improve.

Spelling: bad spelling is perceived as a lack of education or care.

Spelling is difficult for Englishs students because of the difference
between the sound and the way the word is spelt. Teachers should get
their students to focus on a particular variety of English (British or
American). Help students to improve through reading.
Layout and punctuation: Different writing communities obey different
punctuation and layout conventions in communications such as letters,
reports and publicity materials.
Approaches to student writing: Teachers will want to build the 'writing
habit'.
Process and product: teachers can focus on the product or on the
process itself. When concentrating on the product, we are interested in
the aim of a task and in the end product. Many educators are promoter
to the process to write. Pay attention to the stages of writing (pre-writing
phases, editing, re-drafting and producing a finished version). One of
the disadvantages of the process is that it takes time. The writing
process is as important as the product.
Genre: it represents the norms of different kinds of writing. A genre
approach is appropriate for students of English for specific Purposes.
Students who are writing within a certain genre need to consider a
number of different factors. They need to have knowledge of the topic,
the conventions and style of the genre, and the context in which their
writing will be read. Asking students to imitate a given style could be
seen as a form reproduction rather than as a creative act.
Creative writing: suggests imaginative tasks (poetry, stories and plays).
Students find writing imaginatively difficult because when they have
nothing to say, they feel demotivated and frustrated.
Writing as a cooperative activity: students can take advantages of
writing with others. Cooperative writing works well whether the focus is
on the writing process or on genre study. Writing in groups can be
motivated for students, not only writing, but also research, discussion,
peer evaluation and group pride.

Building the writing habit: some students are unconfident and

unenthusiastic writers. Teachers need to help such students to build the
writing habit. One way is to give them interesting tasks. Building the
writing habit can be done with a range of activities, for ex: ask them to
write three Don't sentences, pieces of music or describe a part of a film
scene. Pictures can also provide stimulation, for ex; creating a story.
Writing-for-learning and writing-for-writing: Writing-for-learning is the
writing teachers do to help students learn language or to test them.
When teachers get them to write a narrative, it is their ability to write a
story that counts, not just their use of the past tense, that is writing-forwriting.
The roles of the teacher
Motivator: motivate the students, creating the right conditions for the
creation of ideas.
Resource: teachers need to tell students that we are available and
prepared to look at their work as it progresses, offering advice and
suggestions in a constructive way.
Feedback provider: giving feedback on writing tasks demands special
care.
Writing lesson sequences (examples)
Portfolios, journals, letters: teachers get students to keep portfolios of
examples of their written work over a time. These can be used as a way
of encouraging students to take pride in their work. The European
Language Portfolio has three parts:
Language biography: reflect what students can do and language.
Language passport: 'public' version of the biography. It benefits those
who speak more than one language, and it reinforces students' pride in
their language(s) profile.
Dossier: students keep examples of their work - projects, reports,
diplomas, PowerPoint presentations.
Speaking (Harmer)

Elements of speaking: If students want to be able to speak fluently in

English, they need to be able to pronounce correctly, use appropriate
stress and intonation patterns. They will have to be able to speak in
different genres and situations.
Different speaking events: distinction between transactional and
interpersonal functions. Transactional function its purpose is conveying
information and facilitating the exchange of goods and services.
Interpersonal function is all about maintaining and sustaining good
relations between people. Purpose of the speaking event: interactive
(conversation that takes place when we buy a newspaper) or noninteractive (Ieaving a message on an answer phone). Difference between
speaking that is planned (a lecture) and unplanned (spontaneous
conversation)
Conversational strategies
Conversational rules and structure: conversational openings (How are
you?), interrupting (sorry), topic shift (by the way) and closings (bye).
Survival and repair strategies: if face-to-face conversation is to be
successful, students need to be able to ask for repetition, paraphrase
and appeal for help.
Real talk: if students are to be involved in spontaneous conversation
with native speakers, they need to be exposed to more than questions
that are found in coursebooks.
To raise their awareness, teachers can get students to analyze
transcripts of real speech, how to respond to the questions of others,
etc.
Functional language, adjacency pairs and fixed phrases: Fixed and
semi-fixed phrases crop up functional exchanges. Functional exchanges
work well because they follow a set pattern. One pattern is the
adjacency pair. When teaching speaking, teachers need to make
students aware of these. We can do this by teaching functional
exchanges.
Students and speaking

Reluctant students: they are reluctant to speak because they are shy
and are not predisposed to expressing in front of others. Things to help
them:
Preparation: students record presentations of what they are going to
make, transcribe, correct it and hand it over to the teacher. There will be
times when teachers want and expect spontaneous production from
students, but at others teachers will allow them to prepare for the
speaking.
The value of repetition: it allows students to improve on what they have
said before, think about how to re-word things. Repetition works even
better if students get a chance to analyze what they have already done.
Big groups, small groups: they find themselves having to talk in front
of a big group, making sure that they get chances to speak and interact
in smaller groups.
Mandatory participation: examples jigsaw reading activities and storycircle writing, when all the students take part.
The roles of the teacher
Prompter: teachers help the students when they get lost by offering
suggestions without forcing students out of role.
Participant: act as participants when they are in a dialogue with the
class, the teacher and students may talk together as near-equal
participants.
Feedback provider: when students are in the middle of a speaking task,
over-correction may inhibit them. Helpful and gentle correction may get
students out of difficult misunderstandings and hesitations.
Classroom speaking activities
Acting from a script: ask the students to act out scenes from plays,
their coursebooks, and dialogues written by themselves.
Playscripts: drama helps to build student confidence, contextualize
language, develop students' empathy, and involve students in problem-

solving. It also practices gesture, facial expression, eye contact and

movement.
Acting out dialogues: If students work on their dialogues, they will gain
much from the experience.
Communication games: Information-gap games: depend on an
information gap. Television and radio games:
Discussion: Buzz groups Instant comment. Formal debates.
Unplanned discussion. Reaching a consensus.
Prepared talks: student makes a presentation on a topic of their own
choice. We need to give them time to prepare their talks. The teacher
and the class can give them feedback. The point is have to involve
active listening as well as active speaking.
Questionnaires: are useful because, the questioner and respondent
have something to say to each other. Students can design
questionnaires on any topic that is appropriate.
Simulation and role-play: they can be used to encourage general oral
fluency or to train students for specific situations. When students are
doing them, they need to know about the background and what the
situation is.
Speaking lesson sequences: examples
Making recordings: examples. The most important is getting everyone
involved in the activity.
Receptive Skills:
Although reading and listening are performed with different media, they
have similar characteristics in practicing the language.
Content: interest (enjoyment, pleasure and intellectual stimulation) and
usefulness (to want or need to know something). We may well read sth
that is useful and find that it is interesting.
Purpose and expectations: people read or listen because they have a
purpose in doing it and/or they have expectations.

Receptive skills:
a) Predictive skills: people predict what they are going to hear and read.
The process of understanding is achieved when the predictions match
with the content of the text.
b) Extracting specific information: we read or listen to sth because we
want to extract specific information: scanning.
c) Getting the general picture: we want to have an idea of the main
points: skimming.
d) Extracting detailed information: a reader or listener has to be able to
access texts for detailed information.
e) Recognising functions and discourse patters: understanding how a
text is constructed.
f) Deducting meaning from context: deduce the meaning of unfamiliar
words from the context.
Reading or listening in a foreign language creates barriers for the learner
which may make these more difficult to use. Teachers have to reactivate
them.
Methodological principles for teaching receptive skills:
Receptive and productive skills: receptive skill: students receive and
process the language to extract meaning. Productive: students produce
the language.
Authentic and non- authentic text: authentic texts: designed for native
speakers; they are real texts. A non-authentic text is written for
language students. Reasons for giving students reading and listening
material:
a) The more listening and reading teachers give them, the better they
will become at reading and listening.
b) Acquiring language: improves their general English level.
c) Success: when teachers choose the right kind of material, the
students are successful.

What we need are texts which students can understand the general
meaning of, whether they are authentic or not.
Purpose, desire and expectations: we read or listen because they have
the desire to do it, some purpose to achieve and have some
expectations.
Receiving and doing: expect students to use what they have heard or
read in order to perform a task, to do sth with the text; giving opinions,
following instructions or summarizing.
Teaching receptive skills: teacher has to train students in a number of
skills. We can divide these skills into type 1: the students have to get the
general picture, to perform a task or to confirm expectations and type 2:
the students have to look at the details in a text.
A basic methodological model for the teaching of receptive skills: five
stages:
Lead-in: the students and the teacher prepare for the task and
familiarize with the topic.
T directs comprehension task: the teacher explains and directs the
students purpose.
Ss listen/ read for the task: the students read or listen to a text to
perform the task the teacher has set.
T directs feedback: teacher gives a response.
T directs text-related task: organize some kind of follow-up task related
to the text.
Reading material: the brain has to work out the significance of the
messages. A reading text moves at the speed of the reader. Extracting
information can be performed even though students do not understand
the whole text. Reading is static. Students can read in order to confirm
their expectations, to extract specific information, foster a
communicative interaction of some kind, to skim to get the general
picture, to find detailed information or understand the way in which texts
are structured and to recognize the functions.

Listening material
An audio or video tape happens as its speed, not at listeners. In a
speech, we can find some phenomena, for ex; hesitation, reformulation,
redundancy and topic change. Most of this shows the speaker re-drafting
what they are going to say. Teachers have to train students to ignore
these phenomena and focus on the message. Listening material is
presented through cd or mp3 recorders, they are small and portable.
Difficulties:
a) Lead-in: give a clear explanation.
b) The use of visual material: give students a visual setting for the audio.
c) Listening tasks: designed to help students to listen effectively.
d) The equipment: make sure that the device and cd/mp3 are in good
condition.
There are a number of different types of listening material:
Listening with video: students can see people speaking. Exs:
Silent viewing: predictive exercise. Freeze frame. Sound only Jigsaw
viewing.
Listening to confirm expectations: teacher elicits information from the
students about what they know/dont know about sth. Then, the teacher
asks the students to listen to confirm expectations.
Listening to extract specific information: students listen to find particular
information.
Listening for communicative tasks: to listen in order to perform a real
communicative task.
Listening for general understanding: to listen to a conversation in order
to get a general idea.
Listening for details: information and discourse structure: to listen in
order to get specific information and a greater understanding of the
language used.

Making your own tapes: Some teachers find difficult that listening suits
the level or interests, so that they can produce their own tapes.
Dealing with listening problems: panic and difficulty because they are
faced with a challenging task. The individuals lack of success can be
demotivating. Some things to make tapes adaptable: Dont play all the
tape straight away. Give students the first third of the tapescript, they
can read it and then discuss how it is going to end. Give one group a
tape recorder and give other groups different sections of the tapescript.
Preview vocabulary: teach some key words. Cut the tapescript into
paragraphs and the students have to put in the right order. Give
students the interviewers questions.
Reading (Harmer)
Extensive and intensive reading: Students need to be involved in both,
extensive (to encourage students to choose what to read and to do it for
pleasure and language improvement) and intensive reading (teacher
chooses and directs the material). It is designed to enable students to
skim and scan.
Extensive reading
Extensive reading materials: students should read material which they
can understand. Teachers need to provide books specially written for the
students. To encourage students to read literature we need to act:
Setting up a library: build a library of suitable books.
The role of the teacher in extensive reading programmes: teachers
need to promote reading and persuade students of its benefits. Teacher
will act as an organizer and tutor.
Extensive reading tasks: students will choose their own reading texts.
Students can ask questions, tell their classmates about books, write
short book reviews, oral interviews.
Intensive reading: the roles of the teacher
Organiser: tell students what their reading purpose is and give them
clear instructions.

Observer: give students space to read without interrupting.

Feedback organiser: when students have completed the task, teachers
give them feedback to check the task. It is important to be supportive.
Prompter: encourage them to notice language features within the text.
Teachers may also act as controllers, directing, clarifying and making
them aware of issues.
Intensive reading: the vocabulary question
Teachers have to encourage students to read for general
understanding, without worrying about the meaning of every single
word. They need to limit the amount of time spent on vocabulary
checking in the following ways:
Time limit: give a time limit, for searching vocabulary.
Word/phrase limit: answer questions about five or eight words or
phrases.
Meaning consensus: get students to work together to search for and
find word meanings.
Intensive reading: letting the students in
The comprehension tasks teachers ask students to do are based on task
in a coursebook. Students will be more engaged in a text if they bring
their own feeling and knowledge to the task. Another way of letting the
students in is to allow them to create their own comprehension task.
Reading lesson sequences: reasons: skimming: reading for general
understanding or scanning: reading to extract specific information.
Teacher may get students to read texts for communicative purposes.
They may start by having students read for gist and then get them to
read the text again for detailed comprehension.
Examples of reading sequences
Listening (Harmer)

Extensive and intensive listening: Students can improve their listening

skills through extensive and intensive listening material and procedures.
Listening improves students pronunciation.
Extensive listening: helps students to acquire vocabulary and grammar
and it make them better readers. Extensive listening will usually take
place outside the classroom: in the students' home, car or on MP3
players. Sources: cd, mp3, radio. In order to work effectively with a
group we will need to select appropriate audios. To encourage students
to perform well they can record their responses, fill in report forms,
assess the level of difficulty and summarise the contents of a recording.
Intensive listening: using audio material
Advantages: allows students to hear a variety of different voices. Audio
material is portable, available and cheap. Most coursebooks include
CDs.
Disadvantages: in big classrooms with poor acoustics, it is difficult that
all the students can hear equally well. Everyone has to listen at the
same speed.
It is certainly true when listening for the first time, students have to
extract the general idea and then, they listen again for specific
information. Listening practice is not the same as testing listening. The
teachers job is to help students become better listener and more
confident.
Who controls the recorded material?
Students control stop and start: some teachers get students to control
the speed of recorded listening.
Students have access to different machines: listen to different
machines in small groups; they can listen at the speed of a small group.
Students work in a language laboratory or listening centre: all students
can work with the same recorded material, but they have control of their
own individual machines.

Intensive listening: 'live' listening: is when the visitors come to the class
and talk to the students. It allows students to practise listening in faceto-face interactions. Students can indicate if the speaker is going too
slowly or too fast. Live listening can take the following forms:
Reading aloud: allow the students to hear a clear spoken version of a
written text and it can be enjoyable.
Story-telling: teachers tell stories providing listening material.
Interviews: live interview, where students think up the questions.
Conversations: invite a colleague to hold conversations in English.
Students can watch the interaction.
Intensive listening: the roles of the teacher
Organiser: we need to tell students what their listening purpose is and
give them clear instructions.
Machine operator: teachers need to be efficient when they use the
audio player, for example: finding the segment they want to use.
Feedback organiser: when the students have completed the task, the
teacher should lead a feedback.
Prompter: when students have listened to a recording for
comprehension purposes, we can prompt them listen to it again in order
to notice a variety of language and spoken features
Film and video: there are many reasons for encouraging students to
watch while they listen. For example, how intonation matches facial
expression and what gestures accompany phrases.
Viewing techniques:
Fast forward: the teacher fast forwards the sequence silently so the
students have to guess what they were saying.
Silent viewing (for language): the teacher plays the film without the
sound.

Silent viewing (for music): teachers show a sequence without sound

and ask students to say what kind of music they would put behind it and
why.
Freeze frame: freeze the picture and ask students what will happen.
Partial viewing: only a partial view of the pictures on the screen is seen.
Listening (and mixed) techniques
Pictureless listening (language): the students listen to a dialogue and
have to guess where it is taking place and who the speakers are.
Pictureless listening (music): students can listen to it and then say
what kind of scene they think it accompanies and where it is taking
place.
Pictureless listening (sound effects): in a scene without dialogue
students can listen to the sound effects to guess what is happening.
Picture or speech: divide the class into two so that half of the class
faces the screen and half faces away. Students who can see the screen
have to describe what is happening to the students who cannot.
Subtitles: one way to enable students to listen to authentic material is
to allow them to have subtitles to help them. Alternatively, students can
watch a film extract with subtitles.
Listening (and film) lesson sequences: examples