Module 4 : Using Course Books page 1

Teacher Induction Training: Synthesis Article

Module 4: Using Course Books





Introduction

In this article, we provide a synthesis of the issues covered in Module 4: Using Course Books, and
review the following areas:

Principles of instruction
Aims and objectives
Course materials
Traditional & Electronic courseware




1 Principles of Instruction

What methods and approaches do we base our teaching on? How do we think a lesson shoul d
be conducted? Which activities do we think help students learn? What resources work best?
Helping students learn is a c o mp l e x process with many variables, and these are some of the
areas we will review in this article.

One of the rst things to consider is the dierent methods (the teachers role, students roles
and type of activity favored) and approaches (a set of theoretical beliefs about the nature of
language and language learning) we use in the classroom. Then, well take a trip down memory
lane and see where our beliefs about teaching and learning have come from. Finally, well briey
evaluate a number of approaches.

1.1 Methods and Approaches

Why do we teach the way we teach? This is perhaps one of the most frequent questions
posed by practising teachers. We tend to reect on what we do in the classroom and
why we do it that way. These beliefs may come from our own experience as learners, or
the methodology we were taught on our training courses. Later, they may be
inuenced by the way our students react to the dierent techniques and approaches we
develop. It is perhaps this need for continual development that drives the profession


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forward. We tend to reect critically on what we do and this is part of the cycle of
professional growth and development. Lets take a look at where our teaching beliefs
come from.

1.2 Brief History of Past Methods and Approaches

The teaching and learning of a foreign language has mainly developed over the past
century. When we look at how various approaches dier it is important to keep in mind
the following areas:

the nature of language
the nature of second language learning
goals and objectives in teaching
the type of syllabus to use
the role of teachers, learners, instructional materials
the activities, techniques and procedures to use

(Richards and Schmidt, 2002, Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics,
3
rd
ed. Longman)

Initially language teaching focused on accuracy and errors were not allowed. How you
said something was more important than what you said. Later, with the arrival of the
Communicative Approach, the pendulum swung to the other side and the focus was on
uency and communication. Students could say what they wanted with little or no error
correction. Now what you said was more important then how you said it. Today, we
have a more balanced approach to language teaching. We realise that there needs to be
a focus on meaning as well as on form. Over the past 100 years the dierent methods
and approaches have been:


Grammar Translation Method

Derived from the teaching of Greek and Latin
Main aim to read great literature
Little emphasis on spoken language
Sentences & texts translated between students and target language
Key activities: memorising vocabulary lists and conjugating verbs


The Direct Method

Derived as a reaction against Grammar Translation
Grammar rules not taught but learnt from use
Assumption that we learn a language like our rst language
Only the target language used


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Audiolingual Method

Based on behaviourist principles
Language taught as a xed structure of rules
Rules progress from simple to more complex forms
Language taught through drills and repetition
Limited vocabulary and greater emphasis on pronunciation



Humanistic approaches

Derived as a reaction against behaviourism
Anxiety should be reduced
Learner in control of own learning
Teacher is a facilitator
Key approaches: Silent Way, Suggestopedia, Natural Approach and Total
Physical Response




The Communicative Approach

Primary aim is learning to communicate in the target language
Authentic texts used to learn the language
Learners focus on the language they need
Key activities: role-plays, interviews, information gaps
Less emphasis on error correction and accuracy



Task Based Learning

Students are set specic tasks or problems to solve
Lesson starts with native speaker model of the same task: students
exposed to the target language
Students complete task in pairs or groups
Students report back to the class
Lesson concludes with accuracy focus



The Lexical Approach

Language is made up of units or chunks of words
Language is not simply isolated words
Learners become uent by acquiring chunks


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2 Aims and Objectives

What factors contributed to success in your own language learning experience? Douglas Brown
(2002) dened 12 principles of second language learning. He categorised them into three main
areas:

Cognitive: Relating mainly to mental and intellectual functions

Aective: Emotional involvement, ties between language and culture and feelings about
self and relationships in a community of learners

Linguistic: Centers on language itself and how learners deal with it


2.1 Principles of Language Learning

In reality, these areas may overlap, but the distinctions do help us to understand our
learners better. We learnt that a student who decides to spend time and eort learning
vocabulary, could be referred to as making a strategic investment. They know exactly
what they want to do and this is part of a cognitive principle.

The result of this is that we need to focus on more than just accuracy and uency
activities. Our learners need to be able to handle a wide range of situations and be able
to use appropriate language. To do this we need to provide our students with a variety
of principles that satisfy their aective, cognitive or linguistic needs. Browns principles
are summarised as follows:

Principle Group
Language-Culture Connection

AFFECTIVE
Language Ego
Self-Condence
Risk-Taking
Anticipation of Rewards

COGNITIVE Meaningful Learning
Automaticity
Strategic Investment
Intrinsic Motivation
Native Language Eect
LINGUISTIC
Communicative Competence
Interlanguage

2.2 Applications of Language Learning

How do we apply all these principles within the same class? The old theory that we
dont throw the baby out with the bathwater holds true in language teaching too. While
we may have changed our methods and approaches, we have still kept some of the


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techniques. An example of this is using grammar translation when the language form is
similar but the concept or meaning is dierent i n the mother tongue. Another exampl e
is using drilling to help students with the pronunciation of dierent sounds and rhythms.
As Widdowson points out, the key is to be eclectic in our teaching but to know the
principles behind our eclecticism.




3 Aims and Activities

When we plan lessons we should have in our minds, or on paper, the learning objectives we
want our students to achieve. Well look at how to set these out and how they correlate with
the activities in the class.

3.1 Dening Specic Goals for Students in a Lesson

The rst thing we need to consider is what we want to achieve in that days lesson. This
may already be specied for us by the syllabus or the course book, but in any case we
should know what we expect our students to be able to do by the end of the lesson. We
also need to consider what the students needs are. It could be that the language point
in the course book is revision for them and the activities presented in the course book
need to be adapted or supplemented.

3.2 Distinguishing Between Aims (or Objectives) and Activities

Once we have done the above, we can identify the overall aim of the lesson. Then we
can begin to break it down into smaller step aims. When we have these, we can decide
what activities will help us achieve our aims. Imagine that the overall aim is where you
nally get to, and the smaller aims are how you are going to get there without any
hitches. The activities are the things that will help you get there, in the quickest and
most productive way.

Many experienced teachers like to plan backwards. For example, they know what the
nal activity will be and they then slot in the tasks students will need to get there. In fact
this is a useful strategy to try yourself.

3.3 Identifying Why we Use Certain Activities to Attain Specic Goals

How do we tell the dierence between an aim and an activity? The simplest way to
distinguish is to think about what are the students doing (the activity) and why are they
doing it (the aim). An example of this: students do a gap-ll exercise of a language point
(an activity) and focus on the form and accuracy of the target language (the aim). Once
we have decided on our activities we need to put them into a logical order. As
mentioned previously, starting from the end is a good technique. Each time you check
back you can see if the language or skills input in the previous stage(s) is sucient for
them to get to that stage.


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4 Course Materials

How are course books structured and organized to help stage a lesson? If we want to exploit
them more to develop language learning, we need to have an understanding of how they are
put together.

4.1 Stages of a Lesson in a Course Book

We use course books in our class rooms nearly everyday. Have you ever stopped to look
at the way the activities are organized? Typically they begin with some kind of
brainstorm activity that activates the students knowledge of the topic. This is usually
followed by an input text (either reading or listening). This is used to focus on their
understanding of information. The text is then further exploited to focus on language
features found in the text. This can be done in two ways:

inductively, where the students work out the rules for themselves from the
context, or
deductively, where the students are taught the grammar rules explicitly by the
teacher

The students then do some controlled practice of the language. Finally, they get some
freer practice of the language (which well look at in more detail in the next section).

Course books dier in the way they organize material, but generally the lessons are
structured around the following terminology:



inductive approach freer practice activate schemata


lesson objectives while listening form-focused


transformation controlled practice



4.2 Promoting Productive Skills when Using Course Books

So far weve looked at how we get the students thinking, give them some input, and
then focus on useful language. They have a model text, they have the language and now
we give them an opportunity to show what they can produce. This may take the form of
writing or speaking. This will obviously depend on the type of input text and the most
appropriate format that we would use to exploit that.


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Its a good idea to use the start of the lesson as a model for the nal task. It gets the
students thinking about the topic and tells you how much language work they need. In
the nal freer stage of the lesson, give students an opportunity to think about what they
want to say or write. Then they can compare and help each other in pairs. This builds
their condence before going public. In these nal stages, its important for the teacher
to monitor and help out with any problems with language or ideas.




5 Traditional Courseware

As teachers we have a wealth of resources available to us to use in preparation for our classes
and once we are in the classroom. These may vary depending on where we teach. Some classes
may have up-to-date modern technology and others may be lucky to have a board.

Lets take a look at some of the more basic resources we have in the classroom and how we
might exploit them more.

5.1 The Main Types of Traditional Classroom Materials and Resources

Before you go into the classroom, the major resource you use is the course book. This
now comes with a variety of add-ons that you may decide to use or not: Students book,
Teachers book, Workbook, Audio CD and CD-Rom.

In the classroom we have a number of resources available to us depending on our
teaching circumstances.


white/black board pictures realia cuisenaire rods OHP

teacher students ash cards posters wall

We shouldnt forget the most common and dynamic resources in the classroom: the
students and yourself. We all have a lifetime experience that we bring to class every
day. Human interaction is based on sharing ideas and what better place to share them
than the classroom! The teachers role is to facilitate this and help the students with the
language they need to communicate their ideas.

5.2 Making the Most of the Basics

When do we use all these resources and why? We can use them at dierent stages of
the lesson to focus the students attention on dierent features of language or
information. For example, at the beginning of the class we might use a picture or some
realia (real life objects) to elicit what students know about a topic.

Other resources can provide visual or tactile support for the learners. Lets review just
some of these.


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Cuisenaire rods: eective for storytelling, pronunciation work, language work
Overhead projector: clear focus for the whole class, can reveal at our will,
powerful tool in predicting and guessing
Flash cards: provide prompts for drills, storytelling, mime etc
The wall: some institutions dont allow teachers to use it, but it can become the
class art gallery, showing examples of students work




6 Electronic Courseware

There are a number of electronic components that come with course books these days. DVD-
ROMs, CD-ROMs, Interactive White Board software and even websites! You may not have
experienced learning this way yourself so you may not be aware of how these elements can
complement a course book. Lets take a look at some of the newer electronic resources
available to us in the classroom.

6.1 The Most Common Technologies in the Classroom

In todays ever changing world our students are often more technologically advanced
than we are. However, it doesnt take long to master the new resources. Whats more,
some students will welcome the change if you use a variety of resources.

When using new technology in the classroom its a good idea to keep the following
principles in mind:

Master the technologydont let it master you. It is important to understand
that the use of technology is a means in the learning process and not an end in
itself.
Teach in a principled way. It is not the technology itself which improves the
learning experience, but how it is used. Always think rst about the pedagogical
reasons for using it.
Use the technology to complement and not detract from what you as a teacher
bring to the learning process.

(Barrett & Sharma, 2007)

One of the best technological resources is the computer with an Internet connection. Of
course you will need a data projector to show the image on the board or wall. This
resource can open up a whole new world of ideas, images, and animations that you can
download from the Internet. There are some safety issues such as overheating and not
looking directly at the beam of the projector. However, this resource certainly appeals
to a variety of learner styles, such as musical, linguistic, visual-spatial, etc.


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In the previous article about Module 3, we reviewed the use of Interactive White
Boards. The IWB also needs a data projector and computer. This is another useful and
practical resource that appeals to most learner types.

6.2 Integrating Technology into Day-to-day Teaching

Is technology for me? This is a question that teaches have asked themselves each time a
new resource becomes available. The key is to think about how and to what extent it
can enhance the classroom activities. Its also important not to over-embrace it and
make it become the only way you teach. Remember students and teachers like and
need a variety of resources, activities to enrich their learning experience.

Some teachers who used to use OHTs now prefer to use PowerPoint. They say it has
more exibility, as you can change the material quickly. If you do a gap-ll you can alter
the gaps according to the dierent groups or abilities in the classroom.

The IWB (Interactive White Board) can make the lesson more interactive by getting the
student to write on the board. This can them be saved electronically and reviewed in
future lessons.

Most teachers ban the use of mobile phones in class. However, if you negotiate with
your student when to use them, and why, they can be a very useful tool and record of
the lesson for students. They can record or video role-plays or dialogs, or use electronic
dictionaries. The list of possible uses is endless as mobile phones become more and
more advanced!




Summary

In this article we have explored a number of dierent methods and approaches and how these
have inuenced language teaching. We also looked at how course materials have in turn been
inuenced by these methods, and we reviewed how to distinguish between aims and activities.
Finally, we looked at both traditional and modern courseware available to us, and considered
how we can exploit these for our students benets.




Key Resources

Books


A useful book with a good account of how language methodology has changed over
the years:
Nunan, D. (1991) Language Teaching Methodology. A Textbook for Teachers.
Prentice Hall.


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0





An interesting book on language learning and psychology:
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Pedagogy. Longman.

A practical guide to using new technology in the classroom:
Dudeney, G & Hockly, N, (2007) How to Teach English with Technology, Pearson
Longman.

A practical book with useful ideas:
Barrett, B and Sharma, P (2007) Blended Learning using technology inside and
beyond the language classroom. Macmillan.



Websites

Watch videos of teachers using dierent methods in class:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AF053D7857ECAE55

Overview of methodologies:
http://www.englishraven.com/methodology.html