Task 1 Terminology of language teaching

Manuel Fernando Tenorio Asprilla Cód. 518022 Grupo 6

Popayán, febrero 2020

Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

Escuela de Ciencias de la Educación

Didactics of English
1.Pre-task: definition of Didactics of English

Step 1: Go to the forum Task 1 in the Collaborative Learning Environment and make your
contributions about the concept of the term Didactics of English. For that, post what you think
this field makes reference to, what it studies, and so on. You can read about this term and
share the information in the forum.

It is responsible for finding methods and techniques to improve English language teaching,
defining guidelines to ensure that knowledge reaches students more effectively. This discipline
that sets the principles of education and serves teachers when selecting and developing content
has the purpose of ordering and supporting both the teaching models and the learning plan

2.Cycle-task: Acronyms of ELT

Step 1: Check out in the Knowledge Environment the introduction of the book “The Cambridge
Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages” (pp. 1-6), the reference “EFL ESL
Teaching Terminology”and the Glossary for the course and explain what the following
acronyms stand for. To illustrate their meanings, you are asked to give examples of each one
of them.

List of acronyms:

.L1 y L2

L1: is a speaker's first language. is a language that a person has been exposed to from birth or
within the critical period. In some countries, the term native language or mother tongue refers
to the language of one's ethnic group rather than one's first language

Example: A learner whose L1 is Spanish may find Portuguese and Italian easy languages to
learn because of a fairly close connection between the languages.

L2: A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first
language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later (usually as a foreign language, but it can be
another language used in the speaker's home country).

Example: It is indeed perfectly true to say that for most French Canadians French is the 'first
language,' 'L1,' or 'mother tongue.' For them, English is a 'second language' or 'L2.' But for
English native speakers in Canada French is a 'second language' or 'L2.'

. EFL and ESL.

EFL is an abbreviation for "English as a Foreign Language". This is mainly used to talk about
students (whose first language is not English) learning English while living in their own country.
(For example, a Chinese person learning English in China.)

ESL is an abbreviation for "English as a Second Language". This is mainly used to talk about
foreign students learning English while living in an English-speaking country. (For example, a
Chinese person learning English in Canada.)

. ESP, EST and EAP.

ESP: English for Specific Purposesor ESP is an approach to the education of English orientated
for specific purposes (scientific, technological, economic and academic areas). The ESP is based
on the design of specific courses to give response to the needs of students who, beyond the
learning of the common language, require a practice regarding certain professional areas.
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is also found asEnglish for Science & Technology (EST)

EST: English for Science and Technology (EST) generally refers to English used in scientific
publications, papers, textbooks, technical reports and academic lectures, etc. It is used to
describe the physical and natural phenomena, their processes, properties, characteristics, laws
and application in productive activities. As an outcome of the rapid development of science and
technology after World War Two, EST initially emerged in the 1950s. Since the 1970s, together
with the shift development of science and technology as well as the popularity of the English
language, “EST has developed into an important variety of modern English in many countries” ,
as pointed out by Qian Sanqing [1]. Due to its main functions of statement, description,
exposition, definition, classification, instruction, comparison, exemplification, inference and
reasoning, EST has achieved its own language characteristics that contribute to the formal,
concise, precise, impersonal and economical style of scientific documents. The paper explores
the characteristics of EST through various examples at such language levels as the lexical,
syntactic and rhetoric levels, aiming to arouse the awareness of such characteristics among ST
workers so as to improve their use of EST for communication.

EAP: English for Academic Purposes - refers to the language and associated practices that people
need in order to undertake study or work in English medium higher education. The objective of
an EAP course, then, is to help these people learn some of the linguistic and cultural – mainly
institutional and disciplinary - practices involved in studying or working through the medium of
English.

EAP is often considered to be a branch of English Language Teaching (ELT), although not all EAP
teachers have come though the ELT route. It is a type of ESP (English for Specific Purposes) -
along with English for Professional Purposes (EPP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP)
- in that the teaching content is explicitly matched to the language, practices and study needs
of the learners. It is also considered to be ESP if we take Robinson's features which are usually
thought of as being typical defining characteristics of ESP courses

. CBI and CLIL.

CBI: Content-Based Instruction is an approach to language teaching that focuses not on the
language itself, but rather on what is being taught through the language; that is, the language
becomes the medium through which something new is learned. IN the CBI approach the student
learns the TL by using it to learn sme other new content. For example by studying the French
Revolution while using the French langauge. The language being learned and used is taught
within the context of the content. The theory behind CBI is that when students are engaged with
more content, it will promote intrinsic motivation. Students will be able to use more advanced
thinking skills when learning new information and will focus less on the structure of the
language. This approach is very student-centered as it depends entirely on the students’ ability
to use the language.

Example: It is not enough to simply integrate content into the language classroom, it must be
done effectively. Stoller (2002) lists eight practices that allow for natural content integration:

. Extended input, meaningful output, and feedback on language and grasp of content

. Information gathering, processing, and reporting

. Integrated skills (using reading, writing, speaking and listening in natural classroom activities)
. Task-based activities and project work, enhanced by cooperative learning principles

. Strategy training (to produce more metacognitively aware strategic learners)

. Visual support (ie. Images, graphic organizers, language ladders etc.)

. Contextualized grammar instruction

. Culminating synthesis activities (knowledge is displayed in writing and orally)

CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is an approach where students learn a
subject and a second language at the same time. A science course, for example, can be taught
to students in English and they will not only learn about science, but they will also gain relevant
vocabulary and language skills.

It’s important to note that CLIL is not a means of simplifying content or reteaching something
students already know in a new language. CLIL courses should truly integrate the language and
content in order to be successful – and success is determined when both the subject matter and
language is learned.

Example:

CLIL can work for students of any age, all the way from primary level to university and beyond.
So long as the course content and language aims are designed with the students’ needs in mind,
there is no limit as to who can benefit from this teaching approach. However, it is most
commonly found in primary and secondary school contexts.

. STT and TTT.

STT: STT means Student Talking Time. It is the time learners spend talking rather than the
teacher. It can be compared with Teacher Talking Time (TTT). It can be a useful category for
observation of teaching, or for self-reflection about teaching.

Example:

Group work with the teacher monitoring, rather than an open class, is a way to increase the STT
in an activity.

In the classroom

Many teachers (and approaches) seek to maximise the amount of time learners spend using the
target language. One way to do this is to ensure that learners know the necessary classroom
language, e.g. to ask for clarification and express doubts.

TTT: Teacher talking time (TTT) is the time that teachers spend talking in class, rather than
learners. It can be compared with student-talking time. One key element of many modern
approaches is to reduce the amount of TTT as much as possible, to allow learners opportunities
to speak, and learn from speaking.

Example

A teacher monitoring students working in groups completing a discussion will probably do fairly
little talking, limiting themselves to clarification of the task and offering language when
requested. The same teacher leading an inductive grammar presentation will probably talk
more, as they explain, illustrate and check understanding.
In the classroom

The relative value of TTT and STT is a complex area. Learners need to produce language in real
time conversation; to give them a chance to notice their own mistakes, and for the class to be
student-centred. They also need input from an effective language user in order to form
hypotheses about language rules, and the teacher may be one of the main sources of this input.
A teacher can start exploring this area by taping themselves and finding out when, why and how
much they and their students talk.

. FES and LES.

FES: Fluent English Speaker who people who speak a language fluently

LES: Limited English Speaker is a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is
not fluent in the English language, often because it is not their native language

. CLL and CLT.

CLL: Community Language Learning (CLL)it is a method in which students work together to
develop what aspects of a language they would like to learn. The teacher acts as a counselor
(human computer) while the learners act as a collaborator (client). The Community Language
Learning (CLL) was developed by Charles A. Curran, a professor of psychology at Loyola
University in Chicago.

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching, CLT is a focus on language teaching in which maximum
importance is given to interaction as a means and as an ultimate goal in learning a language. It
is also known as a communicative approach (in English, Communicative Approach)

Step 2: Browse the net and look for around ten more acronyms related to English language
education. Provide their meaning and examples of application of the terms.

More acronyms:

CALL = Computer Assisted Language Learning

ELL = English Language Learner

FLT = Foreign Language Teaching

TOEFL = Test of English as a Foreign Language

TOEIC = Test of English for International Communication

NNS = Non-Native Speaker

BE = Bilingual Education

ELT = English Language Teaching

IEP = Intensive English program

IPA = International Phonetic Alphabet

Step 3: Individually, make an Electronic Database of the most useful acronyms for English
language teaching and include the list given in activity 2 and your own list.
Post-task: Format 1 for the observation stage

Step 1: As the initial stage of the practical work of this course, you are asked to fill out the
questionnaire “Formato 1: Cuestionario Pre-Práctica” that you find in the Practical
Environment if the course. In this format you are going to choose a school to start the
observation work. At the end, send the following evidence: screenshot of the questionnaire
answered, the name of the institution you chose, the name of the principal, the city or
municipality where it is located.