What is Second Language Acquisition?

In second language learning, language plays an institutional and social role in the community. It functions as a
recognized means of communication among members who speak some other language as their native tongue.
In foreign language learning, language plays no major role in the community and is primarily learned in the
classroom.
The distinction between second and foreign language learning is what is learned and how it is learned.

What is the Study of Second Language Acquisition?

It is the study of:
how second languages are learned;
how learners create a new language system with limited exposure to a second language;
why most second language learners do not achieve the same degree of proficiency in a second language as they
do in their native language; and
why some learners appear to achieve native-like proficiency in more than one language.

How Do Learners Acquire a Second Language?

Learners acquire a second language by making use of existing knowledge of the native language, general learning
strategies, or universal properties of language to internalize knowledge of the second language.
These processes serve as a means by which the learner constructs an interlanguage (a transitional system
reflecting the learner’s current L2 knowledge).
Communication strategies are employed by the learner to make use of existing knowledge to cope with
communication difficulties.

The Language Learner

Individual differences affect L2 acquisition. These may include: (1) the rate of development and (2) their ultimate
level of achievement.
Learners differ with regard to variables relating to cognitive, affective and social aspects of a human being.
Fixed factors such as age and language learning aptitude are beyond external control. Variable factors such as
motivation are influenced by external factors such as social setting and by the actual course of L2 development.
Cognitive style refers to the way people perceive, conceptualize, organize and recall information.
Field dependent learners operate holistically. They like to work with others. Field independent learners are
analytic and prefer to work alone.

Learner Strategies
Learner strategies are defined as deliberate behaviors or actions that learners use to make language learning more
successful, self-directed and enjoyable.
Cognitive strategies relate new concepts to prior knowledge.
Metacognitive strategies are those which help with organizing a personal timetable to facilitate an effective study
of the L2.
Social strategies include looking for opportunities to converse with native speakers.

Natural Order of Strategies of Second Language Development

Chesterfield & Chesterfield (1985) identified a natural order of strategies in the development of a second language.

1) repetition (imitating a word or structure);

2) memorization (recalling songs, rhymes or sequences by rote);
3) formulaic expressions (words or phrases that function as units i.e. greetings);
4) verbal attention getters (language that initiates interaction);
5) answering in unison (responding with others);
6) talking to self (engaging in internal monologue);
7) elaboration (information beyond what is necessary);
 8) anticipatory answers (completing another’s phrase or statement);
9) monitoring (self-correcting errors);
10) appeal for assistance (asking someone for help);
11) request for clarification (asking the speaker to explain or repeat); and
12) role-playing (interacting with another by taking on roles).

Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Universalist Theory defines linguistic universals from two perspectives:
The data-driven perspective which looks at surface features of a wide-range of languages to find out how
languages vary and what principles underlie this variation. The data-driven approach considers system external
factors or input as the basis.
The theory-driven perspective which looks at in-depth analysis of the properties of language to determine highly
abstract principles of grammar. System internal factors are those found in cognitive and linguistic processes.
Universalist Theory (Continued)
Several Characteristics of the data-driven approach include the following:
It has language typology which delves into patterns which exist among languages and how they vary in
human languages.
Language universals focus on what is common. For example, subject/verb/object.
Implicational universals which refer to the properties of language such as “all languages have vowels”
without looking at any other properties.
Several Characteristics of the theory-driven approach include the following:
Language is acquired through innateness. Certain principles of the human mind are biologically
determined.
There are sets of principles and conditions where knowledge of language develops.
Universal grammar is seen as part of the brain.

Behaviorist Theory dominated both psychology and linguistics in the 1950’s. This theory suggests that external stimuli
(extrinsic) can elicit an internal response which in turn can elicit an internal stimuli (intrinsic) that lead to external
responses.
The learning process has been described by S-R-R theorists as a process forming stimulus-response-reward chains.
These chains come about because of the nature of the environment and the nature of the learner.
The environment provides the stimuli and the learner provides the responses. Comprehension or production of
certain aspects of language and the environment provide the reward.
The environment plays a major role in the exercise of the learners’ abilities since it provides the stimuli that can
shape responses selectively rewarding some responses and not others.
When the learner learns a language, this learning includes a set of stimulus-response-reward (S-R-R) chains.
Imitation provides the learner with a repertoire of appropriate, productive responses. The learner learns to imitate
or approximate the productive responses provided by the environment.

The characteristics of human and non-human learners include the ability to:
 respond to stimuli in a certain way;
 intuitively evaluate the reward potential of responses;
 extract the important parameters that made up the stimulus response (positive reward chains);
 and generalize these parameters to similar situations to form classes of S-R-R chains.

Nativist Theory views language acquisition as innately determined. Theorists believe that human beings are born with a
built-in device of some kind that predisposes them to acquire language.
This predisposition is a systematic perception of language around us, resulting in the construction of an
internalized system of language.
Nativists are on the opposite end of the theoretical continuum and use more of a rationalist approach in explaining
the mystery of language acquisition.
 Chomsky (1965) claimed the existence of innate properties of language that explain a child’s mastery of his/her
native language in a short time despite the highly abstract nature of the rules of language.
This innate knowledge, according to Chomsky, is embodied in a “little black box” of sorts called a Language
Acquisition Device (LAD).

McNeill (1966) described the LAD as consisting of four innate linguistic properties:
1. the ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds in the environment;
2. the ability to organize linguistic events into various classes that can be refined later;
3. knowledge that only a certain kind of linguistic system is possible and that other kinds are not; and
4. the ability to engage in constant evaluation of the developing linguistic system in order to construct the
simplest possible system out of the linguistic data that are encountered.
Nativists have contributed to the discoveries of how the system of child language works. Theorists such as
Chomsky, McNeill, and others helped us understand that a child’s language, at any given point, is a legitimate
system in its own right.

Cognitivist Theory views human beings as having the innate capacity to develop logical thinking. This school of thought
was influenced by Jean Piaget’s work where he suggests that logical thinking is the underlying factor for both linguistic
and non-linguistic development.
The process of association has been used to describe the means by which the child learns to relate what is said to
particular objects or events in the environment. The bridge by which certain associations are made is meaning.
The extent and accuracy of the associations made are said to change in time as the child matures.
Cognitivists say that the conditions for learning language are the same conditions that are necessary for any kind
of learning. The environment provides the material that the child can work on.
Cognitivists view the role of feedback in the learning process as important for affective reasons, but non-influential
in terms of modifying or altering the sequence of development.

Language Learning as a Cognitive Process

1. Learning a language involves internal representations that regulate and guide performance.
2. Automatic processing activates certain nodes in memory when appropriate input is present. Activation is a learned
response.
3. Memory is a large collection of nodes.
4. Controlled processing is not a learned response. It is a temporary activation of nodes in a sequence.
5. Skills are learned and routinized only after the earlier use of controlled processes have been used.
6. Learner strategies contain both declarative knowledge i.e. knowing the ‘what’ of the language-internalized rules
and memorized chunks of language, and procedural knowledge i.e. know the ‘how’ of the language system to
employ strategies.

Social Interactionist Theory supports the view that the development of language comes from the early interactions
between infants and caregivers.

Social interactionists stress:

 the importance of a child’s interactions with parents and other caregivers;
 the importance of “motherese”;
 contributions of context and world knowledge; and
 the importance of goals
Glew (1998) claims that learners have to be pushed in their negotiation of meaning to produce comprehensible output.
The classroom context needs to provide adequate opportunities for target language use to allow learners to develop
competence in the target language.

Comprehensible output provides opportunities for contextualized, meaningful use of language.

Social interactionists believe that:
Human language emerged from the social role that language plays in human interaction;
The environment plays a key role in language development;
 Adults in the child’s linguistic environment are viewed as instrumental in language acquisition.
Social interactions are the key element in language processing and input from social interactions provides
a model for negotiation opportunities.

Krashen’s Five Hypotheses for Second Language Acquisition

The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis claims that we have two independent ways of developing language
ability:
 Language Acquisition is a subconscious process. It occurs very naturally in a non-threatening
environment. The research strongly supports the view that both children and adults can subconsciously
acquire languages.
 Language Learning is what occurs at school in an academic setting. It is a conscious process. When we
talk about rules and grammar of language, we are usually talking about learning.

The Natural Order Hypothesis claims that we acquire parts of a language in a predictable order. Some grammatical items
tend to come earlier in the acquisition than others. For example, the –ing progressive is acquired fairly early in first
language acquisition, while third person singular –s is acquired later.
The Monitor Hypothesis attempts to explain how acquisition and learning are used. Language is normally produced
using our acquired linguistic competence. Conscious learning has only one function…as the “Monitor” or “Editor.” After
we produce some language using the acquired system, we sometimes inspect it and use our learned system to correct
errors. This can happen internally before we actually speak or write, or as a self-correction after we produce the utterance
or written text.
Comprehensible Input Hypothesis contends that more comprehensible input results in more acquisition.
The Affective Filter Hypothesis claims that affective variables do not impact language acquisition directly, but can
prevent input from reaching what Chomsky called the Language Acquisition Device. The LAD is the part of the brain that
is responsible for language acquisition.

Cummin’s Second Language Framework

Cummins makes a distinction between social language and academic language.
1. Social language refers to the everyday conversational language which is supported by the use of illustrations,
realia, demonstrations, etc. (Context Embedded). Studies show that language learners acquire social language in
approximately two years. Social language deals with the here-and-now language, therefore second language learners tend
to acquire it faster.
2. Academic language is the language of school tasks which is more abstract and decontextualized (Context
Reduced).

Some second language learners who develop fluent spoken English have difficulties in reading and writing because they
may be at different levels of proficiency while they are moving from social language (BICS) to academic language (CALP).
It takes between five to seven years for second language learners to acquire academic language.

Teaching Approach: an approach is a “particular way of thinking”. A teaching approach is a set of beliefs and assumptions
about language teaching and language learning.

Teaching method: a teaching method is a systematic plan for the presentation of language, which is based in the approach
that we have chosen.
A teaching method´s design includes objectives, syllabus, activities, teachers´ roles, students´ roles, and materials.

Teaching technique: teaching techniques refer to any strategy or trick that teachers use in order to accomplish an
immediate objective. Teaching techniques are the different teaching practices that we observe in the classroom.

Teaching strategy: a strategy is a plan intended to achieve a purpose; it is more general than a technique.
A teaching strategy is aimed to help learning take place.
It can involve the different ways of organizing the classroom and planning a lesson.
Communicative Language Teaching Introduction
You may have noticed that the goal of most of the methods we have looked at so far is for students to learn to
communicate in the target language. In the 1970s, though, educators began to question if they were going about meeting
the goal in the right way. Some observed that students could produce sentences accurately in a lesson, but could not use
them appropriately when genuinely communicating outside of the classroom. Others noted that being able to
communicate required more than mastering linguistic structure, due to the fact that language was fundamentally social
(Halliday 1973). Within a social context, language users needed to perform certain functions, such as promising, inviting,
and declining invitations (Wilkins 1976). Students may know the rules of linguistic usage, but be unable to use the language
(Widdowson 1978). In short, being able to communicate required more than linguistic competence; it required
communicative competence (Hymes 1971)—knowing when and how to say what to whom. Such observations
contributed to a shift in the field in the late 1970s and early 1980s from a linguistic structure-centered approach to a
Communicative Approach (Widdowson 1990; Savignon 1997). Applying the theoretical perspective of the Communicative
Approach,
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) aims broadly to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching.
What this looks like in the classroom may depend on how the principles are interpreted and applied. Indeed, Klapper
(2003) makes the point that because CLT lacks closely prescribed classroom techniques, as compared with some of the
other methods we have just looked at, CLT is ‘fuzzy’ in teachers’ understanding. This fuzziness has given CLT a flexibility
which has allowed it to endure for thirty years. However, its flexibility also means that classroom practices differ widely
even when teachers report that they are practicing CLT. It is probably fair to say that there is no one single agreed upon
version of CLT. Nevertheless, we will follow our usual way of understanding the theory and associated practices by visiting
a class in which a form of Communicative Language Teaching is being practiced.

Reviewing the Principles

The answers to our 10 questions will help us come to a better understanding of Communicative Language Teaching. In
some answers new information has been provided to clarify certain concepts.

1 What are the goals of teachers who use Communicative Language

Teaching (CLT)?
The goal is to enable students to communicate in the target language. To do this, students need knowledge of the linguistic
forms, meanings, and functions. They need to know that many different forms can be used to perform a function and also
that a single form can often serve a variety of functions. They must be able to choose from among these the most
appropriate form, given the social context and the roles of the interlocutors. They must also be able to manage the process
of negotiating meaning with their interlocutors. Communication is a process; knowledge of the forms of language is
insufficient.
2 What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The teacher facilitates communication in the classroom. In this role, one of his major responsibilities is to establish
situations likely to promote communication. During the activities he acts as an advisor, answering students’ questions and
monitoring their performance. He might make a note of their errors to be worked on at a later time during more accuracy-
based activities. At other times he might be a ‘co-communicator’ engaging in the communicative activity along with
students (Littlewood 1981). Students are, above all, communicators. They are actively engaged in negotiating
meaning—in trying to make themselves understood—even when their knowledge of the target language is incomplete.
Also, since the teacher’s role is less dominant than in a teacher-centered method, students are seen as more responsible
for their own learning.
3 What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?
The most obvious characteristic of CLT is that almost everything that is done is done with a communicative intent. Students
use the language a great deal through communicative activities such as games, role-plays, and problem-solving tasks (see
discussion of these in the review of the techniques). Activities that are truly communicative, according to Morrow (Johnson
and Morrow 1981), have three features in common: information gap, choice, and feedback. An information gap exists
when one person in an exchange knows something the other person does not. If we both know today is Tuesday, and I
ask you, ‘What is today?’ and you answer, ‘Tuesday,’ our exchange is not really communicative. My question is called a
display question, a question teachers use to ask students to display what they know, but it is not a question that asks you
to give me information that I do not know. In communication, the speaker has a choice of what she will say and how she
will say it. If the exercise is tightly controlled, so that students can only say something in one way, the speaker has no
choice and the exchange, therefore, is not communicative. In a chain drill, for example, if a student must reply to her
neighbor’s question in the same way as her neighbor replied to someone else’s question, then she has no choice of form
and content, and real communication does not occur. True communication is purposeful. A speaker can thus evaluate
whether or not her purpose has been achieved based upon the information she receives from her listener. If the listener
does not have an opportunity to provide the speaker with such feedback, then the exchange is not really communicative.
Forming questions through a transformation drill may be a worthwhile activity, but it is not in keeping with CLT since a
speaker will receive no response from a listener. She is thus unable to assess whether her question has been understood
or not. Another characteristic of CLT is the use of authentic materials. It is considered desirable to give students an
opportunity to develop strategies for understanding language as it is actually used. Finally, we noted that activities in CLT
are often carried out by students in small groups. Small numbers of students interacting are favored in order to maximize
the time allotted to each student for communicating. While there is no explicit theory of learning connected with CLT, the
implicit assumption seems to be that students will learn to communicate by practicing functional and socially appropriate
language.

4 What is the nature of student–teacher interaction? What is the nature of student–student interaction?
The teacher may present some part of the lesson. At other times, he is the facilitator of the activities, but he does not
always himself interact with the students. Sometimes he is a co-communicator, but more often he establishes situations
that prompt communication between and among the students. Students interact a great deal with one another. They do
this in various configurations: pairs, triads, small groups, and whole group.
5 How are the feelings of the students dealt with?
One of the basic assumptions of CLT is that by learning to communicate students will be more motivated to study another
language since they will feel they are learning to do something useful. Also, teachers give students an opportunity to
express their individuality by having them share their ideas and opinions on a regular basis. Finally, student security is
enhanced by the many opportunities for cooperative interactions with their fellow students and the teacher.

6 How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is for communication. Linguistic competence, the knowledge of forms and their meanings, is only one part of
communicative competence. Another aspect of communicative competence is knowledge of the functions that language
is used for. As we have seen in this lesson, a variety of forms can be used to accomplish a single function. A speaker can
make a prediction by saying, for example, ‘It may rain,’ or ‘Perhaps it will rain.’ Conversely, the same form of the language
can be used for a variety of functions. ‘May,’ for instance, can be used to make a prediction or to give permission (‘You
may leave now.’). Thus, the learner needs knowledge of forms and meanings and functions. However,
to be communicatively competent, she must also use this knowledge and take into consideration the social situation in
order to convey her intended meaning appropriately (Canale and Swain 1980). A speaker can seek permission using ‘may
’(‘May I have a piece of fruit?’); however, if the speaker perceives his listener as being more of a social equal or the situation
as being informal, he would more likely use ‘can’ to seek permission (‘Can I have a piece of fruit?’).
Culture is the everyday lifestyle of people who use the language. There are certain aspects of it that are especially
important to communication—the use of nonverbal behavior, for example, which might receive greater attention in CLT.

7 What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Language functions might be emphasized over forms. Typically, although not always, a functional syllabus is used. A variety
of forms are introduced for each function. Only the simpler forms would be presented at first, but as students get more
proficient in the target language, the functions are reintroduced and more complex forms are learned. Thus, for example,
in learning to make requests, beginning students might practice ‘Would you …?’ and ‘Could you …?’ Highly proficient
students might learn ‘I wonder if you would mind …Students work with language at the discourse or suprasentential level.
They learn about cohesion and coherence. For example, in our lesson the students recognized that the second sentence
of the scrambled order was the last sentence of the original sports column because of its introductory adverbial phrase, ‘
In the final analysis….’ This adverbial phrase is a cohesive device that binds and orders this sentence to the other
sentences. The students also recognized the lack of coherence between the first two sentences of the scrambled order,
which did not appear connected in any meaningful way. Students work on all four skills from the beginning. Just as oral
communication is seen to take place through negotiation between speaker and listener, so too is meaning thought to be
derived from the written word through an interaction between the reader and the writer. The writer is not present to
receive immediate feedback from the reader, of course, but the reader tries to understand the writer’s intentions and the
writer writes with the reader’s perspective in mind. Meaning does not, therefore, reside exclusively in the text, but rather
arises through negotiation between the reader and writer.

8 What is the role of the students’ native language?

Judicious use of the students’ native language is permitted in CLT. However, whenever possible, the target language should
be used not only during communicative activities, but also for explaining the activities to the students or in assigning
homework. The students learn from these classroom management exchanges, too, and realize that the target language is
a vehicle for communication, not just an object to be studied.

9 How is evaluation accomplished?

A teacher evaluates not only his students’ accuracy, but also their fluency. The student who has the most control of the
structures and vocabulary is not always the best communicator. A teacher can evaluate his students’ performance
informally in his role as advisor or co-communicator. For more formal evaluation, a teacher is likely to use an integrative
test which has a real communicative function. In order to assess students’ writing skill, for instance, a teacher might ask
them to write a letter to a friend.

10 How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Errors of form are tolerated during fluency-based activities and are seen as a natural outcome of the development of
communication skills. Students can have limited linguistic knowledge and still be successful communicators. The teacher
may note the errors during fluency activities and return to them later with an accuracy-based activity.

Reviewing the Techniques

There may be aspects of CLT that you find appealing. This review has been provided in the event you wish to try to use
any of the techniques or materials associated with CLT.
• Authentic Materials
To overcome the typical problem that students cannot transfer what they learn in the classroom to the outside world, and
to expose students to natural language in a variety of situations, adherents of CLT advocate the use of authentic language
materials.1 In this lesson we see that the teacher uses a newspaper article. He also assigns the students homework,
requiring that they learn about two political candidates who are running for election. Of course, the class that we observed
was at the high-intermediate level of proficiency. For students with lower proficiency in the target language, it may not
be possible to use authentic language materials such as these. Simpler authentic materials (for example, the use of a
weather forecast when working on predictions), or at least ones that are realistic, are most desirable. It is not so important
that the materials be genuine as it is that they be used authentically, with a communicative intent. Another possibility for
the use of authentic materials with a lower-level class is to use items of realia that do not contain a lot of language, but
about which a lot of discussion could be generated. Menus in the target language are an example; timetables are another.
• Scrambled Sentences
The students are given a passage (a text) in which the sentences are in a scrambled order. This may be a passage they
have worked with or one they have not seen before. They are told to unscramble the sentences so that the sentences are
restored to their original order. This type of exercise teaches students about the cohesion and coherence properties of
language. They learn how sentences are bound together at the suprasentential level through formal linguistic devices such
as pronouns, which make a text cohesive, and semantic propositions, which unify a text and make it coherent. In addition
to written passages, students might also be asked to unscramble the lines of a mixed-up dialogue. Or they might be asked
to put the pictures of a picture strip story in order and write lines to accompany the pictures.
• Language Games
Games are used frequently in CLT. The students find them enjoyable, and if they are properly designed, they give students
valuable communicative practice. Games that are truly communicative, according to Morrow (ibid. 1981), have the three
features of communication: information gap, choice, and feedback. These three features were manifest in the card game
we observed in the following way: An information gap existed because the speaker did not know what her classmate was
going to do the following weekend. The speaker had a choice as to what she would predict (which sport) and how she
would predict it (which form her prediction would take). The speaker received feedback from the members of her group.
If her prediction was incomprehensible, then none of the members of her group would respond. If she got a meaningful
response, she could presume her prediction was understood.

• Picture Strip Story

Many activities can be done with picture strip stories. We suggested one in our discussion of scrambled sentences.
In the activity we observed, one student in a small group was given a strip story. She showed the first picture of the story
to the other members of her group and asked them to predict what the second picture would look like. An information
gap existed—the students in the groups did not know what the picture contained. They had a choice as to what their
prediction would be and how they would word it. They received feedback, not on the form but on the content of the
prediction, by being able to view the picture and compare it with their prediction. The activity just described is an example
of using a problem-solving task as a communicative technique. Problem-solving tasks work well in CLT because they
usually include the three features of communication. What is more, they can be structured so that students share
information or work together to arrive at a solution. This gives students practice in negotiating meaning.

• Role-play
We already encountered the use of role-plays as a technique when we looked at Desuggestopedia. Role-plays are very
important in CLT because they give students an opportunity to practice communicating in different social contexts and in
different social roles. Role-plays can be set up so that they are very structured (for example, the teacher tells the students
who they are and what they should say) or in a less structured way (for example, the teacher tells the students who they
are, what the situation is, and what they are talking about, but the students determine what they will say). The latter is
more in keeping with CLT, of course, because it gives the students more of a choice. Notice that role-plays structured like
this also provide information gaps since students cannot be sure (as with most forms of communication) what the other
person or people will say (there is a natural unpredictability). Students also receive feedback on whether or not they have
communicated effectively.

Conclusion
Perhaps the greatest contribution of CLT is asking teachers to look closely at what is involved in communication. If teachers
intend students to use the target language, then they must truly understand more than grammar rules and target language
vocabulary. Is achieving communicative competence a goal for which you should prepare your students? Would you adopt
a functional syllabus? Should a variety of language forms be presented at one time? Are there times when you would
emphasize fluency over accuracy? Do these or any other principles of CLT make sense to you? Would you ever use
language games, problem-solving tasks, or role-plays? Should all your activities include the three features of
communication? Should authentic language be used? Are there any other techniques or materials of CLT that you would
find useful?

Activities
A Check your understanding of Communicative Language Teaching.
1 Explain in your own words Morrow’s three features of communication: information gap, choice, and feedback. Choose
one of the activities in the lesson we observed and say whether or not these three features are present.
2 Why do we say that communication is a process?
3 What does it mean to say that the linguistic forms a speaker uses should be appropriate to the social context?

B Apply what you have understood about Communicative Language Teaching.

1 If you wanted to introduce your friend Paula to Roger, you might say:
Roger, this is (my friend) Paula.
I would like you to meet Paula.
Let me present Paula to you.
Roger, meet Paula.
Allow me to introduce Paula.
In other words, there are a variety of forms for this one function. Which would you teach to a beginning class, an
intermediate class, an advanced class? Why? List linguistic forms you can use for the function of inviting. Which would
you teach to beginners? To intermediates? To an advanced class?
2 Imagine that you are working with your students on the function of requesting information. The authentic
material you have selected is a railroad timetable. Design a communicative game or problem-solving task in which the
timetable is used to give your students practice in requesting information.
3 Plan a role-play to work on the same function as in 2 above.
TEFL APPROACH, METHOD AND TECHNIQUE IN LANGUAGE TEACHING Elih Sutisna Yanto- ENGLISH EDUCATION
PROGRAMME Unsika, West-Java, Indonesia elihsutisnayanto@gmail.com APPROACH, METHOD AND TECHNIQUE IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING Elih Sutisna Yanto- ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAMME Unsika, West-Java, Indonesia
elihsutisnayanto@gmail.com

Purpose of this Powerpoint

• to become more aware of the terms of approach, method, and technique relating to English learning and teaching;
• to think about the nature of language and the nature of language learning.
• To think about how language are learned ( a first language) according to behaviorists, innatists and interactionists
• to become more aware of the terms of approach, method, and technique relating to English learning and teaching;

Edward Anthony (1965) An approach is a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language and
the nature of language learning and teaching.
According to Edward Anthony’s model (1965) approach is the level at which assumptions and beliefs about
language and language learning are specified; method is the level at which theory is put into practice and at which choices
are made about the particular skills to be taught, the content to be taught, and the order in which the content will be
presented; technique is the level at which classroom procedures are described.

In other words, According to Edward Anthony’s model (1965) an approach embodies the theoretical principles
governing language learning and language teaching. A method, however, is “an overall plan for the orderly presentation
of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach. An approach is
axiomatic, true in such an obvious way that you do not to prove it, a method is procedural” (p.65)

The Antony framework attempted to portray the entire language teaching operations as simple, hierarchical
relationship between approach, method, and technique, without in any way considering the complex connections
between intervening factors such as societal demands, institutional resources and constraints or restrictions , instructional
effectiveness, and learners needs.

Clarke (1983) summarized the inadequacy of the Antony framework as follows: Approach, by limiting our
perspective of language learning and teaching, serves as a blinder which hampers rather than encourages, professional
growth. Method is so vague that it means just about anything that anyone wants it to mean, with the result that, in fact,
it means nothing. And technique, by giving the impression that teaching activities can be understood as abstractions
separate from the context in which they occur, obscures the fact that classroom practice is a dynamic interaction of diverse
system. (p.111) In short, the Antony framework did not effectively serve the purpose for which it was designed. 
In short, the Antony framework did not effectively serve the purpose for which it was designed.

Summary and elements and sub elements that constitute method (Richards & Rodgers:33) The first level,
approach defines those assumptions, beliefs, and theories about the nature of language and the nature of language
learning which operates as axiomatic constructs or reference points and provide a theoretical foundation for what
language teachers ultimately do with learners in classrooms. The Second level in the system, design, species the
relationship of theories of language and learning to both the form and function of instructional materials and activities in
instructional settings. The third level, procedure, comprises the classroom techniques and practices which are
consequences of particular approaches and design.

Notice that the term, method, does not figure in this hierarchy. That is because Richards and Rodgers preferred
to use it as an umbrella term to refer to the broader relationship between theory and practice in language teaching.

Richards and Rodgers retained the term, approach, to mean what it means in the Antony framework, that is, to
refer primarily to the theoretical axioms governing language, language learning, and language teaching.
Richards and Rodgers introduced a new term, design, to denote what Antony denoted by the term, method.
Design, however, is broader than Antony’s method as it includes specifications of (a) the content of instruction, that is,
the syllabus, (b) learner roles, (c) teacher roles, and (d) instructional materials and their types and functions.
Procedure, like technique in the Antony framework, refers to the actual moment-to moment classroom activity.
It includes as specification of context of use and a description of precisely what is expected in term of execution and
outcome for each exercise type. Procedure is concerned with: the types of teaching and learning techniques, the types of
exercises and practice activities, and the resources – time, space, equipment – required to implement recommended
activities.
The three-tier system proposed by Richards and Rodgers (2001) is surely broader and more detailed than the
Antony framework. However, a careful analysis indicates that their system is equally redundant and overlapping.
(Kumaravadivelu 2006:86)
For instance, while defining approach, the authors state that “theories at the level of approach relate directly to
the level of design since they provide the basis for determining the goals and content of language syllabus.”
(Kumaravadivelu 2006:86-87)
While defining design, they state that design considerations “ deal with assumptions about the content and the
context for teaching and learning.... The boundary between approach and design is blurred (not clear) here because the
operational definition of both relate to theoretical assumptions that actually belong to the realm of approach.
(Kumaravadivelu 2006:86-87)

Three different views of The nature of language

1. Structural view: It views language as a system of structurally related element. The target of language learning
is seen to be the mastery of elements of this system, which are generally defined in terms of phonological units (e.g.,
phonemes), grammatical units (e.g., clauses, phrases, sentences), grammatical operations (e.g., adding, shifting, joining,
or transforming elements), and lexical items (e.g., function words and structure words) For examples: the Audiolingual
method, the Total Physical Response, and the Silent Way embody this particular view of language.
2. Functional view: It regards language as a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning. The communicative
movement in language teaching subscribes to this view of language. This theory emphasizes the semantic and
communicative dimension rather than merely the grammatical characteristics of language, and Leads to a specification
and organization of language teaching content by categories of meaning and function rather than by elements of structure
and grammar
3. Interactional view: It sees language as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal relations and for the
performance of social transactions between individuals. Language is seen as a tool for the creation and maintenance of
social relations. The development of interactional approach to language teaching include interactional analysis,
conversational analysis, and ethnomethodology.

Rivers (1987) defined the interactive perspective in language education: “Students achieve facility in using a
language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain
information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both.) This is interaction (Rivers 1987:4)

The common assumptions about the nature of the language

1. Language is a group of sounds with specific meaning and organized by grammatical rules (The Silent Way).
2. Language is the everyday spoken utterance of the average person at normal speed (Audio Lingual Method).
3. Language is a system for the expression of meaning (Communicative Language Teaching).
4. Language is a set of grammatical rules and language consists of language chunks (Total Physical Responses)
Definitions of learning
 1. A change in behavior as a result of experience or practice.
2. The acquisition of knowledge.
3. Knowledge gained through study.
4. To gain knowledge of , or skill in, through study, teaching, instruction or experience.
5. The process of gaining knowledge.
6. A process by which behavior is changed, shaped, or controlled.
7. The individual process of constructing understanding based on experience from a wide range of sources. (Alan
Prichard 2009:2)

The nature of language learning:

1. Behaviorism: Stimulus- ResponseReinforcement.- Drilling, exercise, repetition.
2. Nativism: A child naturally has a language acquisition device. (Kodrati).
3. Constructivism: A child acquired a language through interaction between the child and environment. (Jean
Piaget).
The nature of learning: 1. Behaviorism is a theory of learning focusing on observable behavior and discounting any
mental activity. Learning is defined simply as the acquisition of new behavior. (Alan Prichard 2009:6)

Learning a first language Say what I say: the behaviorist position

Traditional behaviorists believed that language learning is simply a matter of imitation and habit formation.
Children imitate the sounds and patterns which they hear around them and receive positive reinforcement ( the form of
praise or just successful communication) for doing so.
The quality and quantity of the language which the child hears, as well as the consistency of the reinforcement offered
by others in the environment, should have an effect on the child’s success in language learning

Learning a first language It’s all in your mind: the innatists position
The linguist Noam Chomsky claims that children are biologically programmed for language and that language
develops in the child in just the same way that other biological functions develop.  For example, every child will learn to
walk as long as adequate nourishment and reasonable freedom of movement are provided.  The child does not have to
be taught, most children learn to walk at about the same time, and walking is essentially the same in all normal human
beings.

Chomsky (1959) argues that behaviorism cannot provide sufficient explanations for children’s language
acquisition for the following reasons: Chomsky (1959) argues that behaviorism cannot provide sufficient explanations for
children’s language acquisition for the following reasons:
–Children come to know more about the structure of their language than they could be expected to learn on the
basis of the samples of language they hear.
–The language children are exposed to includes false starts, incomplete sentences and slips of the tongue, and yet
they learn to distinguish between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. –Children are by no means systematically
corrected or instructed on language by parents.

Cont... For Chomsky, language acquisition is very similar to the development of walking. The environment
makes a basic contribution – in this case, the availability of people who speak to the child. The child, or rather, the child’s
biological endowment, will do the rest. Chomsky developed his theory in reaction to the behaviorist theory of learning
based on imitation and habit formation.

LAD: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE ( or BLACK BOX) LAD: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE ( or BLACK BOX) –
It contains all and only the principles which are universal to all human languages (i.e.. Universal Grammar – UG

CONCLUSION
 • Children’s acquisition of grammatical rules is guided by principles of an innate UG which could apply to all
languages.
• Children “know” certain things of the language just by being exposed to a limited number of samples.
• Evidence used to support Chomsky’s innatist position: Virtually all children successfully learn their native
language at a time in life when they would not be expected to learn anything else so complicated (i.e. biologically
programmed).
–Language is separate from other aspects of cognitive developments (e.g., creativity and social grace) and may be
located in a different “module" of the brain. The language children are exposed to does not contain examples of all the
linguistic rules and patterns.