METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH IN JUNIOR / SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

IEDE MODULE FOR METHODS

Section One: WHY LEARN TO TEACH ENGLISH
Introduction
Dear learner, you are to the first section of this unit. In this section, you will look at why it is
relevant for the English language to be taught in Ghana, especially in our schools. After going
through this section, you will understand why there is so much concerns about the fallen standard
of the English Language. The discussion in this section will motivate you to go through this
course successfully. It is hoped that the briefing will go a long way to enlighten you on the
principles and practices of teaching English in Ghanaian schools.
Objectives
By the end of the discussion, you will be able to:
 State the role of English Language in Ghana.
 Appreciate the language policy in Ghana.
 Appreciate strategies and approaches adopted in teaching English in Ghanaian schools.
The Role of English in Ghana
English plays an important role in our country, Ghana. It is the second language as well as the
official language in Ghana after our various Ghanaian languages. As the official language of the
country, it is used for all official transactions in the country. It is the language of government as it
is used to perform all official functions of government. It is the language used for official
documentation of information in our various offices in the country. It is the language of parliament,
judiciary, ministries and the offices of government.

Also, at independence, Ghana as a former colony chose English as its lingua franca. Hence, English
became a colonial legacy, and a preferred language for all formal functions, including education.
Since then English has served both as a subject studied at all levels of pre-tertiary and tertiary
education, and a medium of instruction at all levels of education. Therefore any citizen who wants
to go through formal education, cannot dodge the English language as it is a core subject in our
schools and it is the language use across the curriculum.

Beside the historical antecedents of English in Ghana, English has served as a unifying force in
Ghana. For a country most linguistically diverse as Ghana, with over 40 languages spoken
throughout the country, conversants may be faced with the peculiar problem of choosing a language
for interaction. Kuupole (2000) contends that, “choosing the right language to use in a particular
occasion can be quite a delicate matter”. Based on this, the choice of English as a lingua franca

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was certainly a useful move to unify the country and to ensure that no ethnic group is seen to be
dominant over others.

Again, with the spread of English worldwide and its position as the language of scholarship, intra
and international trade, global politics and communication, science and technology, and so on,
many countries like Ghana have no choice but to be strongly tied to the language so as to be counted
and also to become a significant stakeholder in the global village as the language has come to stay
and has become a modern Ghanaian artefact; as Quarcoo (1994) points out. From this, it is clear
that the English language has become an indispensable asset to all who want to survive in this
present ever- growing world economy. Literacy in English is indeed a prerequisite to both personal
and national development, and it is the recognition of this fact that drives many non-native users of
English to place a premium on its study and use in all domains of national and international life.

Again, the attraction the English language draws is tremendous. It is not just a prestigious language,
it is as a matter of fact a medium of communication. It is a medium through which one can
participate in many life’s activities like buying and selling, finding your way, finding a job, and
transacting many businesses both locally and internationally.

Advantages of Using English Language

1. It promotes fluency when an individual continuously uses the English language.
2. It enables Ghanaian students to pursue further studies in other countries outside Ghana
without any difficulty in relation to language since the English language is a global
language.
3. It lays a firm foundation for students in their studies as most textbooks that these students
use for their studies are written in the English language.
4. It bridges the communication gap for students/people from different ethnic groups.
5. It creates employment opportunities for students/people who could speak and use the
English language as they can assess information from the social media on employment
opportunities.

Summary
We have come to the end of our discussion for the section. We hope you have enjoyed the
section and you are now prepared to move to the next section which is also interesting.
Self-assessment Question
1. Why is it important that the English language is studied in our Ghanaian schools?
2. What is the difference between the English language as an official language and the
English language as a second language?

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Section Two: WHO IS A GOOD TEACHER?
Introduction
You are welcome to section 2 of Unit 1. This section will take you through what makes one to be
called good a teacher. I know that since you are a teacher, you will find this section very interesting
and easy to understand. But of course, we cannot discuss who a good teacher is without discussing
who a teacher is, so we will first look at that in our discussion. Let’s move on.

Objectives
By the end of the section you will be able to:
 Explain who a teacher is.
 Identify some of the characteristics of a teacher.
 Explain some characteristics of a teacher.

THE TEACHER
The question ‘who is a teacher?’ may be looked at from two angles but which ever angel it is
looked at from, there are certain characteristics that are common to both. From a general
perspective, a teacher is seen as someone who helps others to acquire knowledge, competences or
values. Informally, anyone may take up the role of a teacher. For example, a mother may teach her
daughter how to keep her home clean, how to prepare food and also, how to look after her younger
siblings. In some countries, rather than teaching young people of school age in a formal setting
such as a school, the teaching is done in an informal setting, such as within the family, a practice
known as ‘homeschooling’. This shows that we are all teachers in one way or the other. As parents,
we teach our children the right values so that they will not be misfit in our society. Some other
professions such as pastors may engage some significant amount of teaching.

Another explanation of who a teacher is, will be looked at from a professional point of view and
that is where our focus is as far as this course of study is concerned. A professional teacher should
acquire more than just practical tools for managing classroom situations and that, it is the job of
the teacher to present students with a broader view on education. A teacher must be enthusiastic
about his work, his students and his subject matter. The teacher enjoys teaching and also enjoys
being around his students. We hope as a teacher, that is what you enjoy doing.
Formal teaching tasks that a teacher is supposed to take up includes the preparation of lessons
based on accepted curricular, practicalizing theories through teaching, and assessing of
pupils/students. Now let us look at some of the explanations that some scholars have given to
describe a teacher.
Nyerere (1996) describes a teacher based on the teacher’s role to the society as “a teacher is the
only person who is capable of imparting knowledge and shaping the youths to the wider scope of

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knowledge. Teachers are capable of living and moulding the youths such that their power is
paramount as they determine the fate of the society. Both teachers and parents live with the
children for a long time and hence they are capable of imparting knowledge, skills, and values that
cannot be easily challenged by the society.”
Mbise (2008) looks at the teacher as a person who has knowledge, skills and special trainings in
teaching, explaining and educating. The teacher is the person who is capable of creating
behavioural change in terms of cognitive, psychomotor as well as affective domain.
Senge (2000) also sees a teacher as “… an expert who is capable of imparting knowledge that will
help learners to build, identify and to acquire skills that will be used to face the challenges in life.
The teacher also provides to the learners knowledge, skills and values that enhance development.
An educated person is capable of utilizing the available opportunities in both private and public
sectors. The educated person can easily secure employment as well as having life skills that will
enable him/her to interact well in the society.
With a critical look at all the descriptions given by these authors, certain elements are common
when it comes to who a teacher is. The most common is that a teacher is someone who has
knowledge and imparts knowledge. He is responsible for the provision of knowledge and skills in
the society. The teacher uses his knowledge of the curriculum in providing appropriate knowledge
to the target learners.
The teacher is also responsible for nurturing human beings with different manners and attitudes so
that they can live well in the society by using educational psychology in creating behavioural
change to the learners. The teacher is a special person who is capable of interpreting education
philosophy and policy into real life. If a teacher is not able to do this, the expected output will not
be realized.
The teacher is capable of identifying learners’ potentials and nurtures those potentials for the
benefit of the learners and the society at large. A teacher has the ability to justify why she/he has
taught this and not that. She/he is the person who can tell why children should be at a particular
place and not the other, and why a certain child has understood and the other child has not. The
teacher is the one who is in charge of the total development of a child being it psychological,
emotional, e.t.c.
Based on what the teacher is made of, she/he is seen as a facilitator, an information provider, a
learning resource developer, a planner, an assessor, and a role model. Now let us briefly discuss
these attributes given to a teacher.
As a facilitator, a good teacher initiates the learning process. She/he leads the learners to achieve
their goals. She/he counsels them on what to do, how to do it and to achieve their set goals. As a
facilitator, the teacher leads the process of learning by the learners.
As an information provider, the teacher does a lot of research and reading to look for the right
information to her/his learners. The teacher instructs his/her learners on what to do to get to the
right information for their learning goals. He/she practicalises his/her teaching so that his/her
learners will be informed in the right direction.

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As a learning resource developer, the teacher develops teaching learning materials appropriate
for the teaching/learning process. These materials are also prepared based on what is to be taught,
the level of the learners and the resources available to be used to prepare them. So the word
appropriate is considered when these materials are to be prepared by the teacher. The teacher also
creates learning guides materials such as textbooks, manuals, modules etc which will help in the
teaching and learning process.
The teacher as a planner, sees to the designing of the curriculum by helping to develop the
curriculum. He/ she also sees to the implementation of whatever is put in the curriculum through
teaching. She/he also gives feedback on what is put in the curriculum for the necessary
modifications or otherwise to be done. The teacher organizes the learning process for the learners
by creating a conducive learning atmosphere that will promote effective learning environment for
the learners to achieve their learning goals.
The teacher is also seen as an assessor who assesses learners’ progress through class exercises,
quizzes, examinations, group work, project work and any form of assessment appropriate she/he
deems appropriate.
The teacher is also seen as a role model and as such his/her behavior and attitudes should be
good since most of the learners look up to the teacher to copy what they see them do. The teacher
should be seen mirroring what the society see as accepted behaviours in line with the society’s
culture. His/her attitude towards his/her work must be positive. Punctuality should be the teacher’s
hallmark. He/she must prepare adequately to teach, must be fair and firm in class and must not be
seen to be bias towards his/her learners.

Qualities of a Good Teacher

Every teacher is expected to have certain qualities that will make him/her to be described as a good
teacher. These qualities are universally accepted and are used to measure what a teacher is made
of and to be seen as a true teacher. The following are the qualities:
1. Should Know the Teaching Methodologies as well as Education Psychology: a good
teacher is expected to have an indepth knowledge about the methodologies of teaching.
He/she is also expected to know and understand educational psychology as these will help
the teacher be effective in his/her teaching. The teacher is supposed to promote and nurture
different potentials among learners and these can be done through this quality. The teaching
theories help the teacher to open learning opportunities to learners. Through the psychology
of education, a teacher is able to facilitate the teaching and learning process. A teacher may
have the knowledge of education matters, but how he/she can transmit that knowledge can
be a problem unless he/she has this quality. Therefore it is not every knowledgeable person
that can teach.
2. Should have Knowledge about What He/She Teaches: a good teacher is the one who
knows exactly what he teaches and therefore is confident about what he/she teaches. He/she
knows his/her subject matter and therefore does well during the teaching and learning

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 process. His/her learners see this confidence in this teacher and therefore the learners build
their trust in him/her as he/she delivers his/her lesson. Such a teacher makes sure that he/she
prepares well before each lesson by researching into the area she is supposed to teach.

3. Should have Positive Attitude: for one to have a prosperous profession and a fruitful life
in general, then the one must have a positive attitude. A positive attitude towards work is
an important thing in the teaching profession. Every profession comes with its challenges
with the teaching profession no exception. Teachers are faced with some challenges as they
go about their work but with a positive attitude, a good teacher can overcome all the
problems that occur in the course of teaching. As a teacher, you should know that no
problem is beyond solution, therefore with such a quality, a good teacher is not afraid to
be faced with the challenges that come with the teaching profession.

4. Should have a Good Sense of Humour: this is one of the qualities of a good teacher as
this quality will ensure a peaceful atmosphere for both the teacher and the learners. If a
teacher has a good sense of humour, it creates an environment condusive for effective
teaching and learning since the learners will feel free, and not intimidated to participate in
the teaching and learning process. This will make learners love the subject as well as the
teacher. Every child will want to be found around a person who has a good sense of
humour, so a teacher with such a quality, will always be attracted to his/her learners.
Learners will feel comfortable with such a teacher which will in effect bring about effective
teaching and learning as the teacher will also feel comfortable handling such learners. This
will do away with unnecessary conflicts.

5. Should Love His/Her Learners: for a good teacher to be able to have this quality, then
he/she must see his/her learners as his/her on children in who the teacher must show love
towards them. Also, it is important that the teacher loves his/her job despite the fact that
sometimes the teaching job comes with stress. If the teacher loves the job, it will make
him/her love the learners. The teacher’s love for the learners will help facilitate a kind of
teaching and learning process that is democratic in nature. This will create a more
interactive and natural learning atmosphere. This will also make the teacher to be fair and
firm in his/her judgement towards each learner as he/she will treat them equally. There will
be no any humiliation or victimization in the class. Love will rather promote effective
teaching/learning process.

6. Should have High Expectations: a good teacher expects much from his/her learners as
he/she prepares them towards high expectations in relation to their academic achievements
and goals. There is a popular saying that ‘whoever expects less receives less’, therefore a
good teacher ensures that his/her learners perform well by taking them through all the
necessary activities that will equip them the necessary skills that they can use to excel.
Learners must have confidence in the teacher by the teacher helping to build that
confidence in the learners so that their expectations will be met by the teacher. This will
promote effective learning.

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 7. Should Love Justice and Democracy: a teacher who is just treats all his/her learners
fairly. He/she does not discriminate among the learners. He/she is not partial. A teacher
who favours some learners when they go wrong but choose to punish some of learners who
commit the same crime, is seen as a bad teacher by his/her learners. The teacher is required
to involve all the learners in the teaching/learning process but not to involve some of the
learners because they are his/her favorites. He/she should not monopolize the discussions
during teaching/learning but try to make his/her class as interactive as possible. To achieve
this, the teacher must apply all the teaching strategies so as to promote creativity and an
inquiry minds in the learners.

8. Should be Flexible and Likes to Learn More: a teacher is supposed to inculcate in

himself/herself a good reading culture that will help him/her cope with the changing trends
in education and its challenges. A good teacher should always be anxious to learn more so
that he/she can improve his teaching methodologies. A teacher must understand that
knowledge is not static and that everything is in the state of change, and therefore as a
teacher you must cope with the changes. This can only be achieved through constant
reading so as to be informed. If a teacher is always prepared to accept changes in the
teaching job, he/she will have his/her peace of mind and the expectations of his/her learners
will be met, especially when it comes to new concepts and ideas.

9. Should be a Role Model: a good teacher is the one any serious learner will take up to,
therefore one of the qualities of a good teacher is to be a role model. For the teacher to be
seen as, he/she should have a hard working spirit, should be diligent with his/her work as
well as he/she to be honest and should have good manners that the learners can emulate. A
teacher who does not exhibit these things will end up producing half-baked learners while
a teacher who exhibit these things will be able to produce learners with true vision about
life. For example, no parent will like his/her ward to be close to a teacher who is seen as
lazy, an alcoholic, a thief, harsh and a dictator. The teacher who demonstrate the above
named manners does not qualify to be called a teacher because she/he will end up
producing miscreants in the society. Always learners tend to emulate what the teacher does
rather than what is said in class as said by (Tungaraza 2004).

Summary
Congratulations, dear student. You have come to the end of this section of Unit 1 of the course. In
this section you have learnt who a teacher is, what makes a teacher to be seen as good and the
qualities that a teacher must exhibit to prove to others that the teacher is good. We hope as a teacher
you have always exhibited these qualities to your learners.
Self-assessment Questions
1. Explain who a teacher is.
2. State four qualities of a teacher.

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3. Explain the qualities that you have stated in Q2

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Section Three: TEACHER’S ROLE IN CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Introduction
Welcome, dear student to the third section of unit 1 which will take you through the discussion on
the roles that the teacher plays in the classroom during the teaching/learning process. For effective
teaching and learning to go on the classroom, the teacher is expected to perform certain roles and
these roles are based on the kind of activities that take place in the classroom. All these will help
you as a teacher to improve upon your teaching in order to be seen as a good teacher. We hope as
teachers you perform so many roles in the classroom to ensure effective teaching and learning.
Can you remember some of them? Enjoy the discussions.

Objectives
By the end of the section you will be able to:
 Identify specific roles of a teacher in the classroom.
 Explain specific roles that a teacher plays in the classroom.
 Explain how these roles contribute to effective teaching and learning.
 Select roles based on the activities being performed in the classroom.

Teacher’s Role in Classroom Activities

The teacher performs different roles both outside and inside the classroom to ensure that his/her
students become useful citizens to themselves and the society at large. In the classroom, the teacher
is supposed to ensure that effective teaching and learning takes place in the classroom so that both
the teacher and the student can benefit. This can be achieved through the various roles the teacher
performs during the teaching and learning process. The teacher sets the tone of his/her classroom,
builds a warm environment, and teaches knowledge to the students. Now let us take a look at the
various roles one after the other.

To Give Knowledge and Utilize Potentials

The teacher has the responsibility to offer knowledge according to the level of the learners. In this
vain, the presentation of materials and identification of the learners’ potentials are the vital roles
of the teaching process. He/she is supposed to be able to provide new information which may not
available in the books. This brings in the situation that as a teacher you need to research to get
informed so that you always be prepared to give your learners what they need in the classroom for
them to achieve their learning goals. In this vain, the teacher is seen as the repository of knowledge.
The teacher is expected to teach things that are relevant to his/her learners and the society as a
whole. Although the teacher is seen as the repository of knowledge, he/she should not see his/her
learners as not knowing anything but that the learners also know something, therefore he/she

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should motivate them to contribute what they know during teaching/learning process as the teacher
is supposed to train learners to be independent thinkers and problem solvers at the highest level.
To Facilitate the Teaching and Learning Process
The teacher is expected to prepare, plan and facilitate the teaching and learning process. A teacher
who prepares well before going to teach, teaches effectively and efficiently. As a teacher, you need
to prepare your lessons well, select appropriate techniques/styles that will help you deliver your
lesson well to the understanding of the learners and select appropriate teaching/learning materials
that will help the learners visualize concepts introduce to them. As a teacher, you must update your
lesson notes every now and then by always reading to update your knowledge. The teacher initiates
the teaching and learning process through the use of questions and answers.
A Facilitator
The teacher is a facilitator in the teaching and learning process. The teacher used to be seen as the
only source of knowledge, but now the orientation is different. The teacher is now seen as a
facilitator in the learning process. He/she just initiates the learning process and encourages the
learners to actively take part in the learning process by engaging them in series of activities that
will promote effective learning. The teacher can direct the learners as to how to perform a certain
task and allows the learners to do it by themselves. The participative teaching approach has
changed the role of a teacher by making the teacher to be a facilitator who helps learners to be
problem solvers which makes the learners active participants in the learning process and not
passive participants, where they are there to be spoon-fed by the teacher. This makes the teacher
to be seen as a facilitator of knowledge and not the source of knowledge.
An Evaluator/Assessor
The teacher is expected to evaluate or assess his/her learners’ progress in the teaching and learning
process. To assess or evaluate learners’ academic progress is one of the most important
responsibilities of the teacher. Through this role, the teacher gets informed about the progress of
his/her work. It helps the teacher to know whether a particular technique is working or not. It helps
the teacher to assess his/her progress of work and to inform the teacher to make the necessary
remediation if the need be. All the tasks assigned to the learners should be evaluated/assessed by
the teacher to know which of his/her strategies do work effectively for the learners. When making
lesson preparations, the teacher should also determine how the lesson will be assessed to check
whether or not the learners have been able to follow what has been taught. It is therefore important
that as a teacher you should set time for course evaluation or assessment. This is seen as one of the
qualities of a good teacher. Evaluation helps the teacher to determine learners’ progress from one
level to another or from one grade to another. This role also helps the teacher to determine the
readiness of learners in grasping the material in the class as well as helping to determine learners’
potentials. It is important that as a teacher, you should know how to evaluate/assess your work to
help you achieve your set goals.
The teacher’s responsibility is not only confined to the preparation and execution of educational
plans and evaluation of the plans of education. He/she is also responsible for the

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assessment/evaluation of the existing curriculum. Planning and making evaluation on the best
teaching is an important process in education. Evaluation is useful in the teaching profession
because it guides the teacher in executing his/her responsibility efficiently.
The Solicitor of Knowledge
The teacher plays the role of a solicitor of knowledge by helping his/her learners to assess
information from sources such as textbooks, internet, and journals. Finding information has now
been easy due to the development of information technology. This has made students to be able to
search for information they need through the internet with either their mobile phones or their
computers but they need to be assisted by the teachers to get to the right sources or sites for the
right information that will help them to achieve their set goals in learning. This will make the
students not to completely rely on the teacher for all the information they need to help them in
their learning process. Therefore as a teacher, you should also search for sources that your students
can go for the appropriate information to make learning effective.

Creative and Researcher

One of the responsibilities of the teacher is his/her ability to create and research. As a teacher, you
should always conduct research on your students to be able to be able to understand their learning
abilities. Through research, the teacher is able to identify the students’ potentials and their
relevance to the students’ lives and the society at large. A teacher who always researches, becomes
knowledgeable in his/her subject area which builds confidence in his/her students. A teacher
should also be creative in his/her teaching by creating new teaching approaches. Creativity brings
about innovations and as a teacher researches, he/she is able to update his/her knowledge and skills
that enable the teacher to give relevant material to the students. The teacher is supposed to create
a learning situation that benefits all categories of students in his/her class and this can be if the
teacher is able to identify the learning abilities of the students in his/her class. It is expected of the
teacher to be creative enough to make his lesson natural and interesting to the students. This in
turn, encourage the students to participate effectively in the lesson thereby, resulting in effective
learning situation. All these can be achieved if the teacher has researched and known his/her
students’ potential. The teacher should, in addition, create room for the students to practice in order
to reinforce the lesson.

To Build and Maintain Discipline/Values

One of the responsibilities of the teacher is for the teacher to build and maintain discipline/values
in the students, which is not an easy task for the teacher. But a determined teacher, who uses
different approaches will be able to achieve such a difficult task. In fact, in the teaching profession,
no single task is easy. One of the principles the teacher may use to maintain discipline/values in
the students in class is to have class regulations decided by both the teacher and the students, so
that the students will see themselves as part of the class regulations and therefore they will not
want to go contrary to something that are have put in place. These regulations should be known to

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all the students and they should be displayed on the notice board together with their possible
penalties. The teacher should be fair in ensuring that the regulations bind all the students. The
teacher is also supposed to build an attitude of patriotism in the students in class. The students
should be trained by the teacher to develop a sense of solidarity, honest and love through the
teachings and activities that the teacher undertakes in the class.
Keeping Class Records
As part of the teacher’s work, he/she is supposed to use his/her time at school to check the
attendance of the students in his/her class. He/she is also to keep students’ progress report on their
academic achievements and to make any relevant follow-ups regarding the students. The way the
teacher handles these matters affecting the lives of the students shows the teacher’s preparedness
to work in general. If a teacher makes preparation prior to teaching, the teacher finds the teaching
process easy and has enough time attending to the students. The teacher is also responsible for
keeping records concerning the students’ conduct, their history as well as academic progress. All
these information will help the teacher to know his/her students well by knowing their needs and
the teacher using the appropriate strategies and means to help the students’ achieve their academic
and social goals.
Role Model
The teacher should be a good example in his/her work so that the students can emulate such good
examples. A good teacher is the one who involves the students during the teaching and learning
process. He/she is not self-centered towards the students. He/she makes sure that his/her lesson is
interesting to the students through class interactions and exchange of views with the students. A
teacher who is able to do all these is worth of emulating. The teacher should instill students with a
sense of trust for what he/she is teaching. He/she should be a good example for the students to
emulate. For example, a teacher who dresses shabbily to class, and comes to school late, will not
be able to convince the students to dress decently and also not to come to school late as that is not
proper. Also, a teacher who preaches cleanliness cannot be trusted by the students if he/she is not
clean. The teacher’s personality plays a key role in the teaching and learning process as the way
the teacher behaves will be a motivating factor to his/her students to love what he/she does in class.
The teacher’s good exemplary life through his/her attitude will make the students emulate from
him/her in the course of teaching and learning process, towards different aspects of life.
Participant
The teacher performs the role of a participant during teaching and learning process. He/she
assumes this role when he/she has to demonstrate to the students how to perform a particular task
so that the students can see and practice. When he/she assigns roles to students he/she can decide
to be a participant

Summary

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Well done, dear learner. In this section we have discussed the various roles that the teacher can
perform to help achieve effective teaching and learning in the classroom. We trust you have really
enjoyed the discussions so far as they are in line with the duties you perform as a teacher. Great!
Now try these few questions.

Self-assessment Questions
1. Identify five roles that a teacher can perform to help in ensuring effective teaching and
learning.
2. Explain three roles that a teacher can perform to help the teacher to be effective in class.
3. Through what role can the teacher help the student to be an independent thinker and a
problem solver?
4. Explain how any three of the roles the teacher plays can help the student in life and the
society at large.
5. How does the teacher evaluate the curriculum during teaching and learning process?
6. What role does the teacher play to help his/her students access information.

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Section Four: CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TEACHER
Introduction
Dear student, congratulations on successfully finishing Unit 1 section three and moving on to
section four. In unit 1 section 3, we discussed the roles or responsibilities of the teacher in the
classroom. That is, what the teacher must do to help him/her achieve a success in the teaching and
learning process. In this section, we are going to discuss the characteristics of a good teacher. That
is the things the teacher must do or must not do so that he/she will be seen as a good teacher. These
characteristics will enhance your teaching and help your students in their learning so that both
teaching and learning will be effective. In all the discussions you focus should be on the teaching
of the English Language, although the discussion is general for all teachers.
Objectives
By the end of the section, you should be able to:
 Identify the characteristics of a good teacher.
 Explain some of the characteristics of a good teacher.
 Explain how those characteristics could ensure effective teaching and learning.
 Apply those characteristics in teaching and learning process.

Characteristics of a Good Teacher

A teacher is seen as good if he/she does things in conformity to the teaching profession. A good
teacher is the one who is admired by the students, other teachers, the head of the school, and the
society at large. He/she is the one whose absence creates a vacuum in the school and the society
at large. He/she is the person whose attitude influences the students and anybody who comes into
contact with him/her positively. He/she is emulated by most students. A good teacher always put
him/herself in the position of the learners so that his/her students will be at an advantage in the
teaching and learning process. For a teacher to be seen as a good teacher, there are certain
characteristics that are used to measure the teacher and these are what we are looking at.
A Good Teacher has to be Creative
Teaching goes beyond just opening a book, doing exercises, and following an outline written by
someone else. The student can go through the motions of doing the exercises without his/her mind
being engaged in the tedium of repetition. So the question is, what can the teacher do to engage
the students’ mind? There are several techniques/strategies that the creative teacher can employ in
his/her teaching task. Techniques such as games, songs, information-gap exercises, jazz chants,
problem solving, brainstorming and other techniques/strategies that allow the student to utilize the
skills he/she has already developed. It takes a teacher who is creative to be able to do this to help
the student learn effectively. The teacher should think beyond the syllabus and the textbooks
available to him/her and read wide to be able to be creative. This is where the teacher becomes a
researcher so that he/she can always update him/herself.

14
A Good Teacher is Warm, Accessible, Enthusiastic and Caring
This person is approachable, not only to students, but to everyone on campus. This is the teacher
to whom students know they can go to with any problems or concerns or even to share a funny
story. A good teacher should possess good listening skills and take time out of his/her way, busy
schedules for anyone who needs him/her. If this teacher is having a bad day, no one ever knows—
the teacher leaves personal baggage outside the school doors. As a teacher you must enjoy what
you teach and have passion for it. A teacher’s passion for teaching will instill a passion for learning
in all the students he/she handles. A teacher who show love towards his/her students will end up
having his/her students loving him/her which will result in effective teaching and learning.
Because as a teacher you are enthused about your work and your students, you will always do
everything possible to ensure that your students have achieved their learning goals. Such a teacher
is never afraid to face the challenges that come with the teaching profession as those challenges
make him/her to be more knowledgeable. The most crucial factors in effective teaching are who
the teacher is and how he/she acts in the classroom as this influences the way the students react
toward the learning and, therefore, their success in learning it.

A Good Teacher Creates Humour and Respects Students

In a good teacher’s classroom, each person’s ideas and opinions are valued. Students feel safe to
express their feelings and learn to respect and listen to others. This teacher creates a welcoming
learning environment for all students. A teacher who adds humour to his/her class creates a good
teaching and learning environment which in effect results in effective teaching and learning.
Students are not afraid to make mistakes and therefore students could take chances in such a
learning environment. The students are able to express themselves freely in such an environment
as they are not afraid of victimization. Humour breaks the stress that comes with teaching and
learning. It kills boredom in the class and makes students to be active in the teaching and learning
process. Through humour, the teacher gets pace to consult and think about what to do next which
puts him/her in a comfortable position during teaching. It is a smart way for the teacher to use
when he/she gets stuck when making a relevant point. By the time the students are through with
laughter, the teacher would be on track again. Although humour helps in creating effective teaching
and learning, it can at times backfire, for what is funny to one person may not be funny to another
so as a teacher, you should note that.

A Good Teacher Creates a Sense of Community and Belonging in the Classroom

The mutual respect in this teacher’s classroom provides a supportive, collaborative environment.
In this small community, there are rules to follow and jobs to be done and each student is aware
that he or she is an important, integral part of the group. A good teacher lets students know that
they can depend not only on her, but also on the entire class. He/she makes the students know that
he/she is just a facilitator in the teaching and learning process and therefore he/she is not there to
impose knowledge on them but to help them acquire knowledge through active participation of the
learners in the lesson. The teacher therefore assigns roles to the students to perform during teaching

15
and learning process. The spirit of belongingness is instill in the students so that if any student is
in need, that student can approach a fellow student to help him/her solve the problem. Such a class
that is seen as a community is devoid of intimidation, mockery, and self-imposition by any member
of the class. Students in the class are ready to help each other achieve a goal since all the students
have a common goal to achieve, to be useful citizens and useful to the society at large through
their academic achievements.

A Good Teacher Sets High Expectations for all Students

This teacher realizes that the expectations she has for her students greatly affect their achievement;
she knows that students generally give to teachers as much or as little as is expected of them. It is
the duty of every teacher his/her students achieve their academic goals. This a teacher can achieve
if he/she challenges the students enough to encourage them to learn effectively. For example, a
teacher who wants his/her students to learn the target language, must be seen using the target
language in the class so that the students will have confidence in the teacher and be challenged to
speak the target language. A teacher who can maintain a level of difficulty high enough to
challenge his/her students but not so high as to discourage the students. When students are given
tasks below their level, in terms of their age and knowledge, they are discouraged and not
challenged enough to learn, the reverse is seen if the students are given tasks a little bit above them
so that they can be challenged. Students want to be undertake tasks that challenge them.

A Good Teacher has His Own Love of Learning

A good teacher inspires students with his passion for education and for the course material. He
constantly renews himself as a professional on his quest to provide students with the highest quality
of education possible. This teacher has no fear of learning new teaching strategies or incorporating
new technologies into lessons, and always seems to be the one who is willing to share what he’s
learned with colleagues. A good teacher always upgrade his/her knowledge by doing a lot of
research to so that he/she keeps him/herself abreast with the changing trends of education. Such a
teacher builds confidence and trust in the students as they know what the teacher is worth. Such a
teacher try to discover learning strategies that work effectively for the learners to ensure that
effective learning takes place. A teacher who always upgrade his/her knowledge and skills is not
afraid of any challenge that comes with any lesson he/she handles.

A Good Teacher is a Skilled Leader

Different from administrative leaders, an effective teacher focuses on shared decision-making and
teamwork, as well as on community building. This great teacher conveys this sense of leadership
to students by providing opportunities for each of them to assume leadership roles. This is done
by the teacher assigning leadership roles to the students to perform. As a skilled leader, the teacher
is able to lead class discussions effectively as well as facilitate the teaching and learning process
effectively. A skilled leader never gives up on his/her people no matter the challenges he/she is
faced with, so it is with a good teacher. A good teacher never gives up on any of his/her students
until he/she sees them succeed. He/she is able to manage the students effectively.

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A Good Teacher can “Shift-Gears”

A good teacher is the one who is able to identify all the learning strategies appropriate for the
students and is flexible when a lesson isn’t working. This teacher assesses his teaching throughout
the lessons and finds new ways to present material to make sure that every student understands the
key concepts. No student is left out in his/her teaching. The teacher understands the concept of
individual differences and he/she therefore does not expect that a strategy will work for all the
students at the same time so he/she takes the time to learn and know the students so that he/she
can find new ways of presenting his lesson to benefit all of them. Such a teacher always improves
upon his/her teaching. He/she is ready for positive criticism that will ensure improvements in
his/her lesson delivery.

A Good Teacher Collaborates with Colleagues

Rather than thinking of herself as weak because she asks for suggestions or help from his/her
colleague teachers. This teacher views collaboration as a way to learn from a fellow professional.
A good teacher uses constructive criticism and advice as an opportunity to grow as an educator.
He/she knows that for one to be able to get informed on issues, one needs to consult other people
for their views on the issues. Such a teacher creates a cordial relationship with other colleagues in
the job so that anytime the need arises for collaboration, it is easy for the teacher to do so.

A Good Teacher Maintains Professionalism in all Areas

A good teacher shows and maintains professionalism from personal appearance to organizational
skills and preparedness for each day. Her communication skills are exemplary, whether she is
speaking with an administrator, one of her students or a colleague. The respect that the good
teacher receives because of her professional manner is obvious to those around her. He/she
demonstrates an incredible patience for all the students by not allowing even a shadow of
displeasure to cross his/her face when he/she is faced with challenges in his/her lesson delivery. A
good teacher is never discouraged. When the teacher is positive, it encourages the students to work
hard to achieve success. A good teacher always dresses decently and appears neat both at school
and outside the school environment. He/she sees him/herself as a role model to the students and
so his/her attitude can influence the students either positively or negatively which in effect can
affect their individual lives and the society as whole. No student will love and emulate a teacher
who is lazy toward work, who is disrespectful and who is a trouble-maker. A good teacher
maintains professionalism by not showing any of such negative attitudes in the performance of
his/her job. The teacher sees the students as his/her own by playing the role of a parent to them.
He/she counsels the students when the need be and shows passion toward them.

A Good Teacher does not discriminate

One thing that a good teacher should do is to love all the students equally without discrimation.
As a teacher, you must look carefully at your class to be certain that you are including everyone in
your lesson equally. A good teacher is not bias towards the brighter and more energetic students
in his/her class because the teacher sees them as more challenging for him/her and more interesting

17
for the class. So is it that he/she should not be bias towards the weak students because he/she feels
that they drag the class backwards.

While teaching is a gift that seems to come quite naturally for some, others have to work overtime
to achieve great teacher status. Yet the payoff is enormous — for both you and your students.
Imagine students thinking of you when they remember that great teacher they had in college!

Summary

All too soon, we have come to the end of our discussions. We have realized that teaching is hard
work and some teachers never grow to be anything better than mediocre. They do the bare
minimum required and very little more. The great teachers, however, work tirelessly to create a
challenging, nurturing environment for their students. Great teaching seems to have less to do with
our knowledge and skills than with our attitude toward our students, our subject, and our work.

Self-assessment Questions

 List three things that can be used to describe as teacher as a good teacher?
 Explain any three characteristics of a good teacher.
 One of the characteristics of a good teacher, is for the teacher to maintain professionalism
in all areas. Explain what this means.
 Why must a teacher respect his/her students?

18
SECTION FIVE: GOOD LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS

Introduction

Welcome to the fifth section of unit one of our discussion. In the previous section, we discussed
who a good teacher is and some of the things that would make a teacher be identified as being
good. In this section, we are going to continue with our discussions by looking at good learner
characteristics. That is, what makes a learner to be seen as good. You are a learner now and
therefore, this section will help you do things right to achieve your goal as a learner. As a teacher,
this section will also help you to know your learners so as to help them achieve their aim in the
classroom. We therefore encourage you to carefully read the information here. Don’t forget, also,
to do all the activities suggested. Remember, practice makes perfect.

Objectives

After going through this section, you should be able to:

 Identify a good learner.

 State at least four characteristics of a good learner.
 Explain the characteristics identified above.

The concept of learner characteristics is used in the sciences of learning and cognition to designate
a target group of learners and define those aspects of their personal, academic, social or cognitive
self that may influence how and what they learn. Learner characteristics are important for
instructional designers as they allow them to design and create tailored instructions for a target
group. It is the expected that by taking account of the characteristics of learners, more efficient,
effective and/or motivating instructional materials can be designed and developed. Learner
characteristics can be personal, academic, social/emotional and/or cognitive in nature. Personal
characteristics often relate to demographic information such as age, gender, maturation, language,
social economic status, cultural background, and specific needs of a learner group such as
particular skills and disabilities for and/or impairments to learning. Academic characteristics are
more education and/or learning related such as learning goals (of an individual or a group), prior
knowledge, educational type, and educational level. Social/emotional characteristics relate to the
group or to the individual with respect to the group. Examples of social/emotional characteristics
are group structure, place of the individual within a group, sociability, self-image (also feelings of
self-efficacy and agency), mood, et cetera. Finally, cognitive characteristics relate to such things
as attention span, memory, mental procedures, and intellectual skills which determine how the
learner perceives, remembers, thinks, solves problems, organizes and represents information in
her/his brain. With respect to learner characteristics, there are often large differences between the
characteristics of different learners and groups of learners such as children, students, professionals,
adults, older people and disabled persons.

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A Good Learner is Curious: A good learner always wants to find out more about things beyond
his/her area of expertise. This he/she does to make him/her knowledgeable. He/she loves the
discovery part of learning. He/she is never satisfied with whatever he/she finds out about
something he/she didn’t know but continues with his/her search for more knowledge. His/her
curiosity is addictive and that makes him/her knowledgeable.

A Good Learner Finds a Learning Style that Suits Him/Her: A good learner is self-aware i.e.
he/she knows him/herself. When he/she is in a learning situation which he/she does not like, he/she
is able to adapt it to his/her personal needs. He/she believes that he/she can always learn something,
whatever the situation is. He/she also knows how he/she prefers to learn and chooses learning
situations that are suitable to his/her ways of learning.
A Good Learner Pursue Understanding Diligently: A good learner puts in every effort to
acquire knowledge. He /she doesn’t accept anything in his/her quest for knowledge. He/she
therefore reads, analyses and evaluates every information that he/she finds. He/she talks with
others in order to compare and share whatever information he/she has. He/she reads more, studies
more, and carries around what he/she does not understand; thinking about it. He/she never gives
up on learning and understanding issues easily. He/she is persistent in his/her quest for knowledge.

A Good learner is Actively Involved in the Learning

Process: A good learner takes responsibility for his/her own learning. Besides regular classes,
he/she creates opportunities to help him/her understand the learning process and also, for him/her
to acquire knowledge. He/she knows that practice is very important, as such he/she practices
whatever he/she is taught all the time. He/she is willing to take risks, and to appear foolish if
necessary.
A Good Learner Recognizes that a Lot of Learning Is not Fun: A good learner doesn’t change
how much he/she loves learning when understanding of a concept finally comes. He/she simply
loves learning and he/she knows that the journey to understanding generally isn’t all that exciting.
He/she knows that some learning tasks requires boring repetition, while others require attention to
details, with others requiring periods of intense mental focus.
A Good Learner is Frightened by Failure: A good learner gets frightened whenever he/she hears
the word failure but he/she knows failure is beneficial. In the presence of repeated failure and
seeming futility, he/she carries on with the confidence that he/she will figure it out what caused
the failure. He/she is never disturbed when he/she fails since he/she knows that failure forms part
of the learning process, instead he/she works out on how he/she can overcome the failure and
achieve success.

A Good Learner is Never Afraid of Mistakes: A good learner knows that mistakes are part of
every learning process and therefore he/she is not afraid of making mistakes in his/her desire to
acquire knowledge. He/she rather uses his/her mistakes to improve upon his/her learning. He/she
doesn’t care if even his/her mates make fun of his/her mistakes but rather takes advantage of the

20
situation to work harder to prove to his/her mates that mistakes are one is bound to make mistakes
if one embarks on a learning journey.
A Good Learner is Like a Good Detective: A good learner is always looking for clues that will
help him/her understand what he/she learns and how learning takes place. He/she makes guesses
and asks people to correct them if they are wrong. He/she
compares what he/she says with what others say. He/she keeps a record of what he/she has
learned and thinks about it all day. He/she monitors him/herself to make sure that he/she is on
track.

A Good Learner Makes Knowledge on His/Her Own: A good learner changes knowledge
structures in order to accommodate what he/she is learning. He/she uses the new knowledge he/she
has acquired to tear down what is poorly constructed, to finish what is partially built and to also,
create new additions. In order for him/her to achieve this,
he/she tries to overcome his/her feelings of frustration and his/her lack of confidence. He/she is
able to come to terms with the affective demands of learning, i.e. he/she can
manage their emotions. He/she is realistic in his/her setting of study goals. In all he/she builds a
bigger and a better knowledge structure. He/she thinks that it is not enough to just take in new
knowledge but the new knowledge has to make sense, to connect in meaningful ways with what
the learner already knows.
A Good Learner Never Run Out of Questions: A good learner always wants to know more and
he/she achieves this through questions. He/she is never satisfied with how much he/she knows
about anything. He/she is pulled around by questions. The more questions he/she has, the more
knowledge he/she acquires to help him/her achieve his/her set goals.
A Good Learner is Never Selfish: A good learner shares what he/she has learned. He/she knows
that knowledge is hidden, unless it’s passed on, it is lost. He/she behaves as a teacher and therefore
as a teacher, he/she is committed to sharing with others what he/she has learned. He/she can explain
what he/she knows in ways that make sense to others. He/she is not selfish.
A Good Learner Sets Goals and Achieves Them: A good learner sets for him/herself learning
goals and makes sure that he/she achieves the goals. He/she makes sure that nothing sways him/her
from achieving his learning goals. He/she always revisits the goals to make sure that he/she is on
track. The set goals are not only for academic achievements but also, for society in which he/she
lives as well as the world at large.

Summary
All too soon, we have come to end of our discussions. I hope you know what to do as a learner to
help you go through this course successfully.

Self-assessment Questions

21
 1. List three characteristics of a good learner.
2. In a sentence, identify one importance of learner characteristics.
3. Explain four characteristics of a good learner.

Unit Summary

This unit has taken you through the things that a teacher is supposed to do both inside and outside
the classroom for him/her to be recognized as a good teacher. The unit took you through why it is
important to teach English. It also helped you to understand who you are as a teacher and what is
expected of you as a teacher. It helped you to understand your role as a teacher in the classroom.
That is what you need to do in the classroom for effective teaching and learning process. The unit
again took you through good learner characteristics that would help you to guide your learners to
be good learners in order for them to achieve their goals as well as to help ensure effective teaching
learning process. We hope you have benefited a lot going through this unit.

22
THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
UNIT TWO: THEORIES OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Introduction
Congratulations on your successful completion of Unit 1. We hope you really enjoyed the unit.
You are warmly welcome to Unit 2 and we hope you will enjoy this unit as you did with unit 1. In
this unit, you will be taken through some theories of language acquisition. This unit will help you
examine how the knowledge of these theories impacts on our teaching of the English Language.
Language Acquisition is the process through which humans acquire the ability to perceive and
understand language and to also use the language to communicate effectively. Everybody has seen
the remarkable ability of a child to use language. As a baby, the child babbles, coos cries and sends
messages through both vocal and non-vocal means. The child makes specific attempts to imitate
words and speech sounds that the child hears around him/her as he/she reaches his/her first year.
This process continues till the child reaches a stage where he/she could utter his/her first words.
He/she continues to multiply the number of words till he/she gets to the age where the child begins
to combine the words form two-word and three-word sentences. The process of combining words
into sentences continues everyday till the child gets to ages 3 and 4 where he/she can understand
a great amount of linguistics. At school, the child builds up on his/her fluency in the language by
expanding his/her vocabulary and sharpening his/her communication skills.
The ability of a child to be able to be competent in speaking a language has been a subject for
discussion for many years and this has resulted in numerous approaches and theories which have
a huge impact on learning a language. Generally, approaches provide information about how
people acquire their knowledge of the language and about the conditions that will promote
successful language learning. Let’s now take a critical at what each of the language theories entails
through the various sections that form the unit.

Objectives
By the end of the unit, you will be able to:
 Identify the major language theories.
 Discuss the major language theories and how they inform our teaching methodologies.
 Identify the implications of these theories to teachers of English as a second language in
Ghana.

23
Section One: The Behaviourists’ Theory
Introduction
One of the major tasks of a language teacher is to help his/her learners to be able to use the language
(both English and the mother tongue), to communicate. This the teacher does by using different
techniques/strategies derived from different theories to language teaching. One of such theory
which guides the teacher as to how children learn language is the Behaviourists’ Theory. It is a
theory that holds the view that children learn language through habit formation. As a language
teacher, this theory will give a great insight into what to do to help your learners acquire the
language, in your case, the English language. We hope you will find this section interesting to
read.
Objectives
By the end of the section, you should be able to:
 Describe the Behaviourist theory.
 Analyse the instructional outcomes based on this theory of language learning.
 Identify the implications of this theory to you as a language teacher.
BEHAVIOURISTS’ THEORY
The behaviourist theory believes that language is acquired through a process of imitation and
reinforcement. It holds the view that learning is the outcome of connection between a stimulus
(anything that arouses someone to act) and a response (reaction); that is, behaviour. According to
the theory, behaviour is learned. The proponents of this theory believes that the child learns to
speak a language by copying utterances that s/he hears around him/her from his/her environment.
As s/he imitates these utterances, s/he reinforces them through repetitions, corrections, and other
reactions provided by the parents or any adults around him/her. The behaviourists are of the view
that the individual is not active and does not use the brain in the learning process as everything
seems to be mechanical.
As far as language development is concerned, the behaviourists, with the leading adherent believed
to be B.F. Skinner, believe that the child acquires language through imitation, practice, feedback
on success and habit formation. They posit that children imitate the sounds and patterns which
they hear around them and receive positive feedback which could be in the form of praise or just
successful communication. To them, because the child is praised for successfully imitating a
sound, that child is encouraged to repeat the sounds for more praise. As the child continue with
the process of repeating the sounds for more praise, he/she forms habits of correct language use.
Adherents of this theory take a stance that innate contributions do not play any role in the child’s
language acquisition. They are of the view that an organism’s nurture is of more relevance to the
development of the child’s language than nature. It therefore came as little surprise when the
classical stimulus response reinforcement philosophy became the driving force behind second
language acquisition since the 1920s. There was a research that proved that if a child is rewarded

24
for making a response to a stimulus, the child is likely to make that response again and again in
the presence of the stimulus.
To the behaviourists, language learning and its development, is a matter of conditioning by means
of imitation, practice, reinforcement and habituation.
From the 1960s onwards, the innatists led by Noam Chomsky, attacked this theory because it failed
to acknowledge the fact that language acquisition is naturally endowed to the child.
As a language teacher, list two implications of this theory to your work.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………...
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Hope your answers include any of these?
Implications of the Behaviourists’ Theory for Language Teaching
As a language teacher, your knowledge in behaviourists’ theory will help you to:
1. Make use of practice for every learning activity as practice helps retention.
2. Make use of motivation as reinforcement in your teaching, because that will ensure that
the child puts in more efforts to learn in learning the language. If the child’s efforts at doing
something are recognized, he/she does more.
3. Organize learning experiences in graded difficulty for your children to progress without
failure.
4. Provide formative evaluation and give quick feedback to enable learners correct their
wrongs.
5. State your lesson objectives in behavioural and observable terms.
6. Place emphasizes on repetition, and also use learner-centered methods in your teaching.

Summary
All too soon, we have come to the end of this section. We hope this section has broaden your
horizon as a language teacher.

Self-assessment Questions
1. What is the importance of the knowledge of the Behavioural theory of language acquisition
to your work as a teacher of English as a second language?
2. Discuss the procedure you can use to help your learners acquire the English Language as a
second language based the Behavioural theory.

25
Section Two: Cognitivists’ Theory
Introduction
Welcome to section two of this unit. In this section, you are going to look at another theory known
as the cognitivist theory. This theory belongs to a group of psychologists called the Rationalists.
These people studied the mind and posited that the mind has a role to play in the learning of a
language. Jean Piaget is the father of this theory and he claims that human beings have an innate
endowment to acquire and learn a language. It is our hope that you will enjoy this section as you
did with the previous section.
Objectives
By the end of the section, you will be able to:
 Explain the cognitivist theory.
 Identify the benefits of the theory to the language teacher.
 Use the theory as a guide to the teaching of the English language as a second language.

COGNITIVISTS’ THEORY
The cognitivists’ theory, which is in direct contrast to the behaviourists’ theory, operates on the
belief that language is not a form of behaviour but it is rather based on a system that has a number
of grammar rules that must be learnt. To the cognitivists, if all language is learnt behaviour, then
why is it that a young child can say things s/he has never heard or said before? They emphasise
that the covert aspect (aspect that is unobservable) of learning. They claim that the individual is
active and plays a part in the learning process by organizing what he/she experiences in the mind.
To them, an understanding is developed which makes it easy to substitute, if a commonly used
learned response is stopped. They maintain that the brain is mainly used in the learning process.
The Cognitivists’ Theory of language acquisition posits that children are biologically programmed
for language and so as other biological functions develop, so does language develop in the child.
The theory is built on the tenet that the child does not need to be taught language because he/she
is born with a mechanism known as Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which predisposes the
child to language, therefore making the child picks up the language intuitively. This belief makes
solid the fact that children’s minds are not empty for their minds to be filled merely through
imitating language the children hear around them.
The theory is governed by the concepts of competence and performance. Competence deals with
mastery while performance deals with production. The child becomes competent in the language
when he/she is able to master the target language’s whole system in relation to the grammar, the
vocabulary, and all the pieces of the language and how these pieces fit together. On the other hand,
the child’s performance criteria are based on how well the child produces the language especially
in speech, reading, and writing. The cognitivists think that language competence is modular, with
different aspects of language knowledge being stored and accessed in distinctive ways. Though

26
the exact number is not known, there are four logical possibilities that have been suggested and
these are:
i. The mechanisms continue to operate during second language (L2) learning and make
key aspects of L2 learning possible, in the same manner that they make first language
(L1) learning possible.
ii. After the acquisition of the first language in the early stage of the child’s development,
these mechanisms cease to be operational, therefore the L2 must be learned by other
means.
iii. The mechanisms themselves are no longer operational, but that the L1 provides a model
of a natural language and how it works, which can be ‘copied’ in some way when
learning L2.
iv. That distinctive learning mechanisms for language remain available, but only in part,
and must be supplemented by other means.

Finally, the theory is grounded in the ideas of the biologists Eric Lenneberg who claims that the
LAD, operates successfully only when it is stimulated at the appropriate time which he calls the
‘critical period’. To him, the critical period is the best period for language acquisition.
We hope you have enjoyed the discussion so far. Great! Now do this exercise.

Write down how your knowledge in this theory will help you in your teaching of the English
Language?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
Compare your answers to what we have here.
Implications for English Language teaching
Knowledge of the Cognitivists’s theory will help you as a language teacher to:
1. Know that the child’s mind is not a blank slate. The child has a fair knowledge of whatever
concepts he/she is first introduced to and so the teacher should not assume that the child
has no idea about a given concept.
2. Know that we learn from the known to unknown. The teacher should therefore see the
teaching of L2 as an extension of L1. This will enable the teacher to apply the same
principles the child relied on in acquiring the L1 in the school situation. This is where the
child’s previous knowledge comes into play.
3. Be better informed on your teaching, bearing in mind the Critical Period of Language
Acquisition.

27
 4. Know that the child is endowed with LAD which develops with time, therefore as a
language teacher, you are entreated to present language items to the according to his/her
age or level of development. Materials selected too should be suitable and of interest to the
child’s age and experience.
5. Be informed that not all concepts can be grasped by the child within a certain period of
his/her age. Whatever concept the child is introduced to must match his/her cognitive
capabilities. This helps the teacher to know when to teach what.
6. Accept the fact that certain aspects of language are so complex and sophisticated that in
trying to help the child acquire such complexities, the teacher may end up confusing the
child. The child is therefore assigned to task that matches his/her capabilities at any
particular point in his/her development.
7. Be mindful that every child is capable of learning a language because of the presence of
the Language Acquisition Device. As a teacher, you should, therefore, not condemn any
child as incapable of learning a language. It is the teacher’s duty to help the child to learn
the second language at his/her own pace.

Summary
We have come to the successful end of this section. We trust that you have really gained a lot as a
language teacher from the discussion in this section and that you are going to apply the knowledge
gained in your teaching of the English language.

Self-Assessment Questions
1. As a teacher of English as a second language, how does your knowledge of the
Cognitivists’ theory guide you to help your learners acquire the English language?
2. What is the Critical Period of Language Acquisition and how does this period help you as
a language teacher?

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Section Three: The Environmentalists’ View
The environmentalists’ view also known as the interactionists’ view/sociocultural view was
propounded by a psychologist called Lev Vygotsky. He worked in the Soviet Union in the 1920s
and 30s. He believed that it is through social interaction that language develops. To him, the child
is able to advance to a higher level of knowledge or performance in a supportive and an interactive
environment than if the child is made to work independently.
The environmentalists’ emphasize on the dynamic interplay between the child and his peers, and
others with whom the child interacts. To them, the development of language is due to the complex
interplay between the uniquely human characteristics of the child and the environment in which
the child finds himself/herself. According to them, to help the child in his language acquisition
process, language must be modified to suit the capabilities of the child. This modified speech is
called “motherese” or “care-taker talk”. Care-taker talk comprises slower rate of speech, higher
pitch, shorter and simple sentence patterns, frequent repetition and paraphrase as seen in the
English Language for example. Mostly, topics chosen for conversation are limited to the child’s
immediate environment since that creates familiarity to the child. Adults play the role of repeating
the child’s utterances by making sure that they correct such utterances if there are mistakes.
Talking plays an important role in the language learning process and therefore the child given the
chance to talk with the teacher and his peers create a great opportunity for the child to learn the
language. A child who does not get such an opportunity to interact with people close to him may
be able to learn a language but at a slower pace.
Let’s do a little exercise before we go on.
How do the environmentalists’ view to language learning help the language teacher in his teaching
of the language? Write your answers here.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Implications of the environmentalists to you as a language teacher:
1. Makes the language teacher aware that the language classroom should be carefully
designed to help the child acquire the language. That is, the language teacher is supposed
to make the classroom interactive enough to promote the child’s ability to learn the second
language.
2. It guides the teacher to modify his/her language to suit the level the learners and also the
teacher giving appropriate model and examples in correct speech.
3. It helps the teacher to plan his/her lessons well in order to engage the learners in activities
that involve much interaction between the learners and their mates, as well as the teacher
and the learners.
4. It stresses that the teacher gives correct input to the learners so that they will pick correct
language structures.

29
 5. It encourages teachers to use to make use of language that reflects the knowledge that the
children acquire through their physical interaction with the environment.
6. It makes the teacher to make use of language which is easier and appropriate for the learners
to understand.
7. It encourages the teacher to create a conducive atmosphere in the classroom for learning
the language. The teacher can do this by showing love and care towards the learners so that
the learners will be motivated and encouraged to learn the language.
8. It stresses on the teacher using individualized method of teaching since learners acquire
language at different rate.

Summary
In this section, we have examined how the environmentalists view the process of children’s
acquisition of language and how the knowledge helps in the classroom teaching and learning
process. We are sure that as a language teacher, this section has given you an insight into how to
help your learners to learn the English language, which is the second language in Ghana.
Self-Assessment Questions
1. Discuss how you can apply the Environmentalist’s view to language learning in your
classroom as a language teacher.
2. Discuss four implications of the Environmentalist’s view to language learning to you as a
language teacher.

30
Section Four: The Innatist Theory
Introduction
Welcome to another theory which belongs to the group of psychologist known as the Rationalists.
The Rationalists are a group of people who studied the mind and therefore believed that the mind
has a role to play in learning language. We hope you remember another theory which this group
propounded? That theory has already been discussed in one of the sections. We hope you will not
find this section interesting and easy as it is almost the same as that of the cognitivists’ theory.
Enjoy!

Objectives
After you have gone through this section, you should be able to:
 Describe the Innatists’ theory.
 Analyse the instructional outcomes of the Innatists’ theory.
 Examine some implications of this theory in the language classroom.

INNATIST THEORY
According to Noam Chomsky, who is regarded as the chief proponent of the Innatist Theory is
known as the Nativists’Theory, every child is biologically (naturally) programmed for language.
To him, language develops in the child naturally as other biological functions like the child’s teeth
develop. The theory states that every child is born with an in-built device that allows any child to
acquire language naturally through a systematic perception of language. This means that child is
able to discover for themselves the underlying rules of a language system because of the in-built
device.
The proponents of this theory state that the innate/natural knowledge in the child is found in a
‘black box’ in the brain known as Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Chomsky is of the view
that the innate properties of language gives reason as to how the child acquires a language within
a very short period. According to the innatists, the human brain is ready for language acquisition
just after birth, so when the child is exposed to speech in the home and the environment, certain
general principles for language discovery and language structuring operate automatically.
McNeill(1966) stated the following as the properties of LAD:
1. The ability to distinguish speech sounds from other sounds in the environment.
2. The ability to organize linguistic data into various classes which are refined later.
3. The knowledge by the child that only a certain kind of linguistic system is possible but
other kinds cannot be possible.
4. The ability to engage in constant evaluation of the developing linguistic system so as to
construct the simplest possible system out of the linguistic data that are encountered in
everyday life.

31
 Try your hands on this exercise to refresh your mind before we move on.
As a language teacher, what are some of the benefits you get from this theory?
………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………….

Implications of the Innatists Theory to the language teacher:

1. Teachers should understand the fact that every child has the capability of learning a
language because of the presence of LAD, therefore, it is wrong for a teacher to look down
upon any child has incapable of learning a language. The teacher must do everything
possible to create a conducive environment to help the child learn a language.
2. It helps language teachers to be convinced that learning is from known to unknown,
therefore he/she should see the teaching of the English language, which is a second
language, as a continuation of the native language (L1). This will help the teacher to guide
the learners to learn the English language as they did with their first language by applying
the same principles the child used in acquiring L1 in the classroom.
3. The teacher should create a classroom learning environment that is natural like the home
where language is used freely without any intimidation. This will motivate the child to feel
free to interact in the L2 which will help build upon the child’s communicative competence.
4. The teacher should acknowledge the fact that every child is different, therefore children
differ in aptitude, age, intelligence, experience, how the grasp concepts and so on.
Language lessons must therefore be planned to cater for all the different categories of
learners in the classroom.
Summary
We hope you found this section easy because the innatists’ theory is almost the same as the
cognitivists’ theory. Both theories hold the belief that every child has an inborn capacity to learn
a language. Both theories belong to a group of psychologists known as the Rationalists. A practical
contribution of the innatists’ theory is showing how the child language is systematic; constantly
forming hypotheses and testing them. We are moving on to the next section.
Self-assessment Questions
1. Discuss the similarities between the Innatist’s theory and the cognitivists’ theory.
2. Of what benefits is the Innatist’s theory to you as a second language teacher?

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Section Five: The Discourse Theory
Introduction
Welcome to section five of this unit. In this section, you are going to look at another theory known
as the Discourse Theory. We hope just the name of the theory gives you a glue as to what theory
is about. We hope you will find the discussion in this section interesting.
Objectives
By the end of the section, you will be able to:
 Explain the Discourse Theory.
 Identify importance of the theory to language learning, especially L2.
 Analyse the relevance of this theory to language learning.
The Discourse Theory
The Discourse Theory is a theory that looks at how language is put into use. It looks at the
communicative aspect of language. It believes that the basis of linguistic competence is
communication. The theory states that language development should be based on how the learner
takes part in communication in order for the learner to discover the meaning of language. That is
the learner should be able to use the language to communicate with other learners, and other people
the learner comes into contact with so that the learner develops the rules of language structure and
use. Halliday(1975) did a study on his child by observing the child on how the child acquired and
used language. He concluded based on his study that the interpersonal uses of language form the
devices realizing the functions of basic language.
Implications of the Discourse Theory to the Language Teacher
1. The language teacher should make use of the conversational strategies to help about
meaning in order to influence the rate of acquisition of the second language.
2. In teaching a second language, the teacher should follow a natural route in syntactic
development as the natural route is the result of learning how to hold conversations.
3. The language teacher needs to encourage the learner through motivation, for the learner to
communicate in the second language in order to draw a parallel distinction between the
native/first language and the second/target language.
Summary
This section has given you an insight into another theory that is based on language use. As a
second language teacher, it is our hope that you fine this theory appropriate to apply in your
classroom to help your learners learn the English language. Through the use of different
conversational strategies, you would be able to equip your learners with the appropriate skills to
be able to use the target language (English Language).

33
Self-assessment Questions
1. How relevant is the Discourse Theory to you as a second language teacher?
2. How does the Discourse Theory help children in acquiring language?

34
Section Six: The Monitor-Model Hypotheses
Introduction
You are most welcome to section six which discusses another theory known as the Monitor-Model
Hypotheses. It is a group of explanations about how a target language is acquired. Stephen Krashen
popularized this theory through some of his writings (articles and books). The Monitor-Model
Hypotheses evolved in the late 1970s and it is considered as the most comprehensive of existing
theories. Based on this, it has gained prominence in second language acquisition research. It is
based on a number of five basic hypotheses which are: the Natural Order Hypothesis, the
Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis, the Input Hypothesis, and the
Affective Filter Hypothesis. We will look at what each hypothesis stands for in our discussion.
Enjoy!
Objectives
After going through this section, you should be able to:
 Describe the Monitor Level Hypothesis.
 Identify the components of the Monitor Level Hypothesis.
 Analyse the instructional outcomes of the Monitor Level Hypothesis.

The Monitor Level Hypotheses

As we said at the introduction, this model is made up of five components and we will look at them
one by one in this section. So let’s start by looking at the Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis.
The Natural Order Hypothesis
This hypothesis states that the rules of language is acquired in a predictable order with some rules
being acquired early and others late. The order is not determined solely by formal simplicity but
there is evidence that language is learnt from simple rules to complex rules. This order is dependent
of the learner’s age, background, and conditions of exposure. For example, nouns inflected to show
plurality are learned faster than inflectional form of verbs as in table+ s = tables, eat + s = eats.

The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis.

This hypothesis is based on the basic premise that language acquisition is different from language
learning. It indicates how ‘adults’ have two distinctive ways of developing competences in second
languages. Based on the hypothesis, ‘Acquisition’ refers to the results that is achieved through
natural interaction with the language through meaningful communication. Acquisition is by using
language for real communication. That is the acquisition aspect makes the learner ‘pick up’ the
target language sub-consciously and intuitively while learning is the result of classroom experience
which the learner is taken through to help him/her focus on form and for him/her to learn about
the linguistic rule of the target language. Learning is the product of formal instruction and it

35
comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge about the language. That is,
the learning aspect helps the learner to make an effort to figure out the rules of the target language.
The Monitor Hypothesis
This hypothesis believes that learning only functions as a monitor or editor and that learning results
in making changes in the form of our utterance, after it has been produced by the acquired system.
To this hypothesis, acquisition initiates the speaker’s utterances and it is responsible for fluency.
The duty of the monitor is to alter the output of the acquired system either before or after an
utterance is actually spoken or written, with the utterance being initiated entirely by the acquired
system. This means that, the monitor is not operational all the time but it depends on the situation
that presents itself. For instance, the demands and pressures of interacting in L2 in real life do not
often permit for a monitoring to take place. The monitor can only be put to use under the following
conditions: time learners need to consciously think about and use the rules available to them in
their learned system, focus on form, and know the rules (Gass & Selinker, 2001). The essence of
this hypothesis is to monitor the level of the learner as he/she progresses in his/her acquisition of
language. The proponent of this theory made use of the monitor to explain the concept of individual
differences in learners.
The Input Hypothesis
This hypothesis is linked to the Natural Order Hypothesis as it is believed that the learner learns a
language by moving along the developmental continuum through reception of a comprehensible
input. That is the learner improves and progresses along the natural order when the input given is
one step beyond the learner’s current level of linguistic competence in relation to its syntactic
complexity. To this theory, when the learner is exposed to comprehensible input, the learning is
able to learn the L2. The hypothesis is based on the fact that there is only one way that human
beings acquire language, which is by understanding messages or by receiving comprehensible
input. The input hypothesis is important to Krashen in relation to second language
learning/acquisition. He therefore suggests that the natural communicative input must be key to
designing a syllabus to ensure that each learner will receive some input which is appropriate to
their level since there are individual differences in the classroom.
The Affective Filter Hypothesis
This hypothesis sees beyond the Input Hypothesis to say that it is not adequate for a learner of a
target language to just receive comprehensive input but also, the learner of the target language
needs to make use of the input by “letting the input in”. Krashen thinks that comprehensible input
may not be utilized by a second language learners if there is a mental block that prevents them
from fully benefiting from it. The affective filter acts a barrier to acquisition. The filter controls
and restricts how much input is converted into intake. An input gets to the LAD when the affective
filter is low and prevented from getting to the LAD when the affective filter is high. The strengths
of this hypothesis is based on factors that affect the learner in his/her acquisition of the L2. These
factors include motivation, self-confidence and anxiety state of the learner. Learners who exhibit
high motivation and self-confidence but show low anxiety have low filters and the opposite goes
for learners with low motivation and lack self-confidence but have high anxiety, have high filters.

36
In addition to these hypotheses, Krashen also identifies five causative variables which feature in
L2 Acquisition research and these are: Aptitude, Role of the First Language, Routines and Patterns,
Individual Differences and Age. Now let’s briefly look at each of them.
Aptitude
Krashen says that the learner’s aptitude can influence his/her learning of the target language. To
him, it predicts how well the learner will perform on for example, a grammar-type test that gives
the appropriate conditions for the monitor to operate.
Role of the First Language
He thinks that the learner’s first language (L1) plays a role in the learner’s learning of the target
language because the learner always falls back on his/her L1 whenever he/she lacks the rule in the
target language. The first language (L1) of the learner is used as a performance strategy by the
learner.
Routines and Patterns
Krashen believes that formulas play a performance role only by helping the learner of the target
language to ‘outperform his competence’. He thinks that structural knowledge contained in the
formulas is developed independently.
Individual Differences
On this feature, Krashen thinks that acquisition of the L2 takes a natural route with no individual
variation in the acquisition process itself. But he thinks that there is variation in the rate and extent
of acquisition based on the quantity of comprehensible input received and the strength of the
Affective Filter.
Age
According to him, age plays an important role in Second Language Acquisition. Age does so in
many ways since age influences the affective condition of the learner because the affective filter
likely increases in strength after the puberty stage of the learner.
As a language teacher, can you jot down some of the benefits of these hypotheses to you?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Implications of these hypotheses to the teacher of language.

37
 1. Since the Natural Order Hypothesis agrees with the acquisition of language in a natural
order, the L2 teacher should therefore create a natural environment in the classroom so that
it will help learners of the target language to interact freely with the target language to
ensure smooth acquisition of it.
2. Teachers should make use of inductive technique to help their learners arrive at the rules
of the target language. Rules that are learnt subconsciously stays in the minds of the
learners faster and better than rules that are arrived at deductively.
3. It is believed that some aspects of the language are learnt earlier than others, so the teacher
should be able to grade his/her lesson by teaching from simple items to complex items in
the target language.
4. The teacher should encourage his/her learners to have self-motivation, and to develop self-
confidence as these will help make the affective filter low to turn input into intake. The
teacher should encourage the learners to have high self-esteem of themselves.
5. Language teachers are made aware of how to move the learner from one grammatical
structure to another to ensure mastery before moving on.

Summary
The combination of the five hypotheses provides the process involve in language learning from
acquisition to production. The process begins with comprehensible input to how the
comprehensible input gets to the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) depending on the
affective filter. The affective filter either facilitates or inhibits what gets to the LAD, with the
input to the LAD becoming the acquired knowledge. It is the learnt knowledge that monitors
the acquired knowledge for it to be ready for production.
Self-assessment Questions
1. Briefly explain two hypotheses propose by Krashen to second language learning.
2. What relevant information do you get from the hypotheses propose by Krashen to second
language learning as a language teacher?

Unit Summary
In this unit, we examined how some psychologists and linguistics view the process of children’s
acquisition of language, and how the knowledge helps language teachers in the classroom teaching
and learning process.
We trust that you realize in all the discussions in this unit that we help learners learn when we
expose them to more language by encourage them to use language as many times as possible. We
should praise when they make bold attempts. Also, as teachers of language, we should create a
natural environment in the classroom so that learners can acquire the target language. We hope
that you would implement the knowledge you have acquired through these theories in your
classroom for effective teaching and learning process. It is however important to note that it is

38
difficult and really impossible for one to select any of these theories as the best against others as
all of them play their part in the language acquisition process. Each of these theories has its strength
and weaknesses, therefore they complement each other.

39
UNIT THREE: METHODS/APPROACHES OF LANGUAGE TEACHING

INTRODUCTION

Welcome, dear students, to the third unit of the course. In this unit, we will consider the method
of language teaching. Language teaching is looked at under three main perspective which are:
Structural Methods (Grammar- Translation Method and Audiolingual Method), Functional
Methods and Interactive Methods. As a second language teacher, you need to know the various
methods of language teaching so that they will guide and inform you on what to do at any particular
point in time as you go about with your daily activities in the teaching of the English Language,
which is a second language to us as Ghanaians.

Language teaching methods that will be discussed in this unit include grammar-translation, audio-
lingual, direct method, situational method/approach and communicative approach. Language
teaching methodology has been characterized in a variety of ways. Methodology is that which
links theory (what is on paper) and practice (what is done in the classroom). Theory statements
include theories of what language is and how language is learned. These theories are connected to
various design features of language instruction. These design features might include stated
objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, roles of learners, materials
and others. All these are connected to actual teaching and learning practices as seen in the
environment where language teaching and learning take place.

To be able to follow and understand activities in this unit, you need to picture some of the activities
as they pertain in the classroom where both the learner and the teacher are involved. We are
confident that by the time you get to the end of this unit you will appreciate the usefulness of
knowing these methods as an English language teacher and how you could help ensure effective
teaching and learning process.

OBJECTIVES

By the time you finish going through these sections, you will be able to:

 Identify the various methods of language teaching.

 Identify the various methods of language teaching under three main perspectives.
 Explain each of the methods in the teaching of language.
 Practice these methods in the second language classroom.
 Explain how these language teaching methods help the teacher to prepare and teach
effectively.
 Explain how these methods can help both the teacher and the learner use the English
language effectively to communicate.

40
 Section One: LANGUAGE TEACHING: CONCEPTS DEFINITION

Introduction

You are welcome to section one of unit three. This section is going to discuss some concepts
that guide language teaching. These concepts will help you to understand our discussions on
language teaching methods/approaches. The concepts include method, approach, design,
procedure, and technique.

Objectives

By the end of the section you will be able to:

 Identify the language teaching concepts.

 Explain these concepts to language teaching.
 Explain the relevance of these concepts to the language teacher in the classroom.
 Identify the relationship between these concepts in language teaching.

Method

A method is a set of procedures. It is a system that directs precisely how to teach a language. It is
generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing a task in relation to teach a language.
It 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 (Richards, 1996). Methods tend to be
primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviours and secondarily, with such
features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials. In describing
methods, the difference between a philosophy of language teaching at the level of theory and
principles, and a set of derived procedures for teaching a language, is central. 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 (Anthony,
1963). According to Richards, method is made up of approach, design and procedure.

Approach

An approach is a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and
learning. An approach is axiomatic, and it describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught
(Richards, 1996). Approach is the level at which assumptions and beliefs about language and
language learning are specified (Anthony, 1963). In all, approach refers to theories about the
nature of language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in
language teaching. Approach has both linguistics and psycholinguistic aspects.

The linguistics aspect involves the theory of language which is looked at from three different
theoretical views of language and the nature of language proficiency, as well as the basic units of
language structure.

41
The first, and the most traditional of the three theoretical views, is the Structural View: The view
that language is a system of structurally related elements for the coding of meaning. Under this
view, the focus of language learning is based on the mastery of elements of a system defined in
terms of phonological units, grammatical units, grammatical operations (e.g., adding, shifting,
joining, or transforming elements), and lexical items (e.g., function and structure words). The
Audiolingual Method embodies this view of language.

The second view is the Functional View: the view that language is a vehicle to express or
accomplish certain function like making a request. This view emphasizes the semantic and
communicative dimension rather than merely the grammatical characteristics of language which
leads to a specification and organization of language teaching content by categories of meaning
function rather than by elements of structure and grammar. For example, based on this view, a
language syllabus will include not only elements of grammar and lexis but also, specify the topics,
notions, and concepts the learner needs to communicate about.

The third view of language is called the Interactional View which sees language as a vehicle for
the creation and maintenance of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social
transactions between individuals. Interactional theories focus on the patterns of moves, acts,
negotiation, and interaction found in conversational exchanges. According to this view, language
teaching content may be specified and organized by patterns of exchange and interaction or may
be left unspecified, to be shaped by the inclinations of learners as interactors.

These three theoretical views of language provide the axioms and theoretical framework that may
encourage a particular teaching method but in themselves they are incomplete and need to be
complemented by theories of language learning.

The theory of language learning deals with the psycholinguistic and cognitive process involved in
language learning. This aspect also deals with the conditions that allow for successful use of these
processes. Although specific theories of the nature of language may provide the basis for a
particular teaching method, other methods derive primarily from a theory of language learning. A
learning theory underlying an approach should respond to two questions and these are:

1. What are the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in language learning?
2. What are the conditions that need to be met in order for these learning processes to be
activated?

Design

An approach leads to a method and for this to happen, it is important for a design to be developed
for an instructional system. Design is the level of method analysis in which we consider the
following:

1. What the objectives of a method are.

2. How language content is selected and organized within the method (the syllabus model the
method incorporates).
3. The types of learning tasks and teaching activities the method advocates.

42
 4. The roles of learners
5. The roles of teachers
6. The role of instructional materials

Now let’s explain each of the considerations one by one.

Objectives of a Method

Different theories of language and language learning determine what a method sets out to achieve.
The specification of particular learning objectives is a product of design and not that of an
approach. Every method sets out to achieve certain objectives in relation to the language; some
methods pay attention primarily on oral skills, therefore looking at reading and writing skills as
secondary skills which are derive from transfer of oral skills. Some methods also set out to teach
general communication skills with greater attention given to one’s ability to express oneself
meaningfully and for one to be understood than focusing on grammatical accuracy or perfect
pronunciation. Still, other methods place a greater emphasis on accurate grammar and
pronunciation from the very beginning. The basic grammar and vocabulary of a language is what
some methods set out to teach, yet other methods may define their objectives less in linguistic
terms than in terms of the process or abilities the learner is expected to acquire as a result of
instruction. The extent at which a method has a process-oriented or product-oriented objectives
may be seen in how much emphasis is placed on vocabulary acquisition and grammatical
proficiency and how the errors relating to grammatical or pronunciation are treated.

Content Choice and Organization: The Syllabus

The term syllabus is used to refer to the form in which linguistics content is specified in a course
or method. It indicates the common themes to be developed and assignments to be completed by
the learner. It is a document that represents all the parties involved in the teaching-learning process.
Syllabus document maybe stated in terms of the aims of the subject, a list of assessment criteria, a
list of objectives and a list of topics. There are types of language syllabi and these are:

1. Structural/formal syllabus
2. Notional/functional syllabus
3. Situational syllabus
4. Skill-based syllabus
5. Task-based syllabus
6. Content-based syllabus

Almost all language teaching syllabi are combinations of two or more of the types stated above,
with one type of syllabus usually dominating in a particular course.

43
Types of Learning and Teaching Activities

The objectives of a method are attained through the instructional process, the organized and
directed interaction of teachers, learners, and materials in the classroom. Different kinds of leaning
and teaching activities in the classroom are determined by the differences among methods at the
level of approach. For example, teaching activities that focus on grammatical accuracy may be
quite different from those that focus on communicative skills.

Differences in activity types in methods may also involve different arrangements and groupings
of learners. A method that stresses oral chorus drilling will require different groupings of learners
in the classroom from a method that uses problem-solving/information-exchange activities
involving pair work. Activity types in methods thus include the primary categories of learning and
teaching activity the method advocates, such as dialogue, responding to commands, group problem
solving, information-exchange activities, improvisations, question and answer, or drills. Learner
roles include the following:

i. Learners plan their own learning program and thus ultimately assume responsibility for
what they do in the classroom.
ii. Learners monitor and evaluate their own progress.
iii. Learners are members of a group and learn by interacting with others.
iv. Learners tutor other learners.
v. Learners learn from the teacher, other students, and other teaching sources.

Learner roles in an instructional system are closely connected to the teacher’s status and function.
Teacher roles are similarly related to both assumptions about language and language learning at
the level of approach. Some methods are totally dependent on the teacher as a source of knowledge
and direction; other methods see the teacher’s role as a catalyst, consultant, guide, and model for
learning; while others try to teacher-proof the instructional system by limiting teacher initiative
and by building instructional content and direction into texts or lesson plan. Teacher roles in
methods are related to the following:

i. The types of roles teachers are expected to fulfill, whether that of practice director,
counselor, or model.
ii. The degree of control the teacher has over how learning takes place.
iii. The degree to which the teacher is responsible for determining the content of what is
taught.
iv. The interactional patterns that develop between teachers and learners.

Methods depend critically on teacher roles and their realizations, and for some methods, the role
of the teacher has been specified in detail. Every approach to learning defines roles for the
teacher that create specific patterns of interaction between teachers and learners in the
classrooms.

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The Role of Instructional Materials

The last component within the level of design is about the role of instructional materials within the
instructional system. Specifications in respect to objectives, the syllabus (content), learning
activities, and learner and teacher roles suggests the function for materials within the system.
Instructional materials further specify subject matter content, even where there are no syllabus,
and suggest the intensity of coverage for syllabus items, allocating the amount of time, attention,
and detail particular syllabus items or tasks require. They also, define the day-to-day learning
objectives that collectively constitute the goals of the syllabus.

The role of instructional materials within a method/instructional system will reflect decisions about
the primary goal of materials, (e.g. to present content, to practice content, to facilitate
communication between learners, or to enable learners to practice content without the teacher’s
help), the form of materials (e.g. textbooks, audiovisuals, computer software), the relation of
materials to other sources of input (e.g. do they serve as the major source of input or only as a
minor component of it) and the abilities of teachers (e.g. their competence in the language). A
particular design for an instructional system may imply a particular set of roles for materials in
support of the syllabus and the teachers and learners.

Procedure

The last level of conceptualization and organization within a method is known as procedure. This
includes classroom techniques, practices, and behaviours that operate in teaching a language based
on a particular method. It is the level at which we describe how a method realizes its approach and
design in the classroom behaviour. It involves resources in terms of time, space, and equipment
used by the teacher, interactional patterns observed in lessons and tactics and strategies used by
teachers and learners when the method is being used. As a method advocates the use of certain
types of teaching activities as a consequence of its theoretical assumptions about language and
learning at the level of design, the level of procedure, the concern is on how these tasks and
activities are integrated into lessons and used as the basis for teaching and learning. There are three
dimensions to a method at the level of procedure and these are:

1. The use of teaching activities such as drills, dialogues, etc. to present new language and to
clarify and demonstrate formal, communicative, or other aspects of the target language.
2. The ways in which particular teaching activities are used for practicing language.
3. The procedures and techniques used in giving feedback to learners concerning the form or
content of their utterances or sentences.

Technique

It is any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for
the realization of lesson objectives. It is the particular strategies used to accomplish an immediate
objective. It is a classroom device or activity. Some techniques are widely used and found in many
methods, examples of such techniques are imitation and repetition. Technique must be consistent
with a method and therefore in harmony with an approach.

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As a language teacher, what are some the techniques that you use in the classroom to help you
achieve your objectives?

We hope you have some of these as your answers: brainstorming, role play, dramatization,
questioning and answering, drill, e.t.c.

Summary

We have come to end of our discussions in section one. The discussion has helped you to
understand that any language teaching method can be described at the levels of approach, design
and procedure. Approach is the level at which assumptions and beliefs about 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. A method
is theoretically related to approach, is organizationally determined by a design, and is practically
realized in procedure.

Self-assessment Questions

1. An overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material is known as …….
2. What is the relationship between method, approach and design?
3. What is technique to teaching a language?

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Section Two: GRAMMAR TRANSLATION/READING METHOD/APPROACH

Introduction

You are most welcome to this section. We trust you enjoyed our discussion in the previous section.
We hope that you will equally enjoy this section. In this section, we are going to discuss one of
approaches/methods to second language teaching. We hope you know that the English Language
is our second language as each one of us has our first language which is our native languages, i.e
our various Ghanaian languages. Good.

Objectives
By the end of the section, you should be able to:

 Explain the Grammar-Translation Method.

 Identify some of the characteristics of the Grammar-Translation Method.
 Identify some advantages and disadvantages of using this method as a teacher.
 Apply this method appropriately in the teaching of the English Language.

Grammar-Translation/Reading Method/Approach

This was a method that was used teach classical languages like Greek and Latin but was extended
to the teaching of modern languages such as the English language. Grammar Translation was first
known in the United States as the Prussian Method. It is also called the Classical
Approach/Method. In the use of this method in teaching, instruction is given in the native language
of the learner with little use of the target language, in our situation, the target language is the
English Language. Sentences are translated from the target language into the mother tongue (native
language) of the learners. Grammatical rules are taught deductively, i.e. the teacher has to first
state the rule and consciously explain the rules to the learners for the learners to test them out with
examples.

The Grammar-Translation Method dominated European and foreign language teaching from the
1840s to the 1940s, and in modified form, it continues to be widely used in some parts of the world
today. This method came with a lot of difficulties in its usage especially for learners. A lot of its
critics, depicted it as horror. Some people demonstrated that the study of French or Germany, in
line with the Grammar Translation, was no less rigorous than the study of classical languages
(Latin and Greek). This brought about the type of Grammar-Translation courses remembered with
dislike by thousands of school learners, for whom foreign language learning meant a tedious
experience of memorizing endless lists of unusable grammar rules and vocabulary and attempting
to produce perfect translations of literary prose. Although the Grammar-Translation Method often
creates frustration for students, it makes few demands on teachers. It is still used in situations

47
where understanding literary texts is the primary focus of foreign language study and there is little
need for a speaking knowledge of the language.

Contemporary texts for the teaching of foreign languages at college level often reflect Grammar-
Translation principles. These texts are mainly the products of people trained in literature rather
than in language teaching or applied linguistics. This method has no advocates though it may be
true to say that it is still widely practiced.

In the mid- and late nineteenth century opposition to the Grammar-Translation Method gradually
developed in several European countries, known as Reform Movement. This movement laid the
foundations for the development of new ways of teaching languages and raised controversies that
have continued to the present day.

The Reform Movement

Language teaching specialist like Marcel, Prendergast and Gouin had done much to promote
alternative approaches to language teaching, but their ideas failed to receive widespread attention.
However, linguists like Henry Sweet in England, Wilhelm Vietor in Germany, and Paul Passy in
France began to provide the intellectual leadership needed to give reformist ideas greater
credibility and acceptance by establishing Phonetics which gave new insights into speech
processes. Linguists emphasized that speech, rather than the written word, was the primary form
of language. This gave birth to International Phonetic Association in 1886, with the designing of
its International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) that enabled the sounds of any language to be accurately
transcribed. One of the earliest goals of the association was to improve the teaching of modern
languages through the following advocacies:

1. The study of the spoken language.

2. Phonetic training in order to establish good pronunciation habits.
3. The use of conversation texts and dialogues to introduce conversational phrases and
idioms.
4. An inductive approach to the teaching of grammar.
5. Teaching new meanings through establishing associations within the target language rather
than by establishing associations with the mother tongue.

Vietor argued that training in phonetics would enable teachers to pronounce the language
accurately as speech patterns, rather than grammar, were the fundamental elements of language.
This was seen in his pamphlet, Language Teaching Must Start Afresh, in which he strongly
criticized the inadequacies of Grammar-Translation and stressed the value of training teachers in
the new science of phonetics. In general, the reformers believed that:

1. The spoken language is primary and that this should be reflected in an oral-based
methodology.
2. The findings of phonetics should be applied to teaching and to teacher training.
3. Learners should hear the language first, before seeing it in written form.
4. Words should be presented in sentences, and sentences should be practiced in meaningful
contexts and not be taught as isolated, disconnected elements.

48
 5. The rules of grammar should be taught only after the students have practiced the grammar
points in context, i.e. grammar should be taught inductively.
6. Translation should be avoided, although the mother tongue could be used in order to
explain new words or to check comprehension.

These principles provided the theoretical foundations for a principled approach to language
teaching and learning, that reflected the start of the discipline of applied linguistics- that branch of
language study concerned with the scientific study of second and foreign language teaching and
learning. Parallel to the ideas put forward by members of the Reform Movement was an interest
in developing principles for language teaching out of naturalistic principles of language learning,
such as are seen in the first language acquisition. This led to what have been termed natural
methods and ultimately led to the development of what came to be known as the Direct Method.

This approach/method came with certain principal characteristics which are as follows:

1. The goal of foreign language study is to learn a language in order to read its literature or in
order to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that result from
foreign- language study. The Grammar Translation deals with the study of a language in
such a way that the language that is being studied is approached through a detailed analysis
of its grammar rules, followed by application of this knowledge to the task of translating
sentences and texts into and out of the target language. It views language learning as
consisting of little more than memorizing rules and facts in order to understand and
manipulate the morphology and syntax of the foreign language. The first/native language
is maintained as a reference point in the acquisition of the second language.
2. Reading and writing are the major focus of Grammar-Translation Method with little or no
systematic attention to speaking or listening.
3. Vocabulary selection is based solely on the reading texts used, and words are taught
through bilingual word lists, dictionary study, and memorization. In a typical Grammar-
Translation text, the grammar rules are presented and illustrated, a list of vocabulary items
are presented with their translation equivalents, and translation exercises are prescribed.
4. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and learning practice. Much of the lesson is
devoted to translating sentences into and out of the target language, and it is this focus on
the sentence that is a distinctive feature of the method. Earlier approaches to foreign
language study used grammar as an aid to the study of texts in a foreign language. But this
was thought to be too difficult for students in secondary schools, and the focus on the
sentence was an attempt to make language learning easier.
5. Accuracy is emphasized. Students are expected to attain high standards in translation,
because of ‘the high priority attached to meticulous standards of accuracy which, as well
as having an intrinsic moral value, was a pre-requisite for passing the increasing number
of formal written examinations that grow up during the century.’
6. Grammar is taught deductively. This means that grammar rules are taught through the
presentation and study of grammar, which are then practiced through translation exercises.
In most Grammar-Translation texts, a syllabus was followed for the sequencing of
grammar points throughout a text, and there was an attempt to teach grammar in an
organized and systematic way.

49
 7. The student’s native language is the medium of instruction. It used to explain new items
and to enable comparisons to be made between the foreign language and the student’s
native language.

Advantages of Using Grammar-Translation Method

1. It helps in memorization of lesson learnt.

2. The use of drills helps in accurate use of language.
3. Learners understand lesson learnt since their mother tongue is used in lesson delivery.

Disadvantages of Using Grammar-Translation Method

1. This method emphasizes only reading and writing and neglects listening and speaking.
2. Learners can hardly use the target language for communication.
3. There is little use of the target language.

Summary

All too soon we have come to the end of our discussions. We hope you really understood what we
discussed. We have seen that the Grammar-Translation Method is the first method to foreign
language teaching. It is based on using the learner’s first language to teach the target language to
the learner. It is a method that helps in memorization and as a result promotes route learning.
Teachers do not need to be competent in the target language to be able to use this method in
teaching.

Self-assessment Questions

1. At what level of the educational system can the Grammar-Translation Method be

appropriate for?
2. Briefly explain the Grammar-Translation Method.

50
Section Three: Direct/Interaction Method/Approach

Introduction

Welcome dear learner, to section three of unit three. In this section, we are going to look at another
method that was born out of the naturalistic principles of language learning. The Direct Method to
language teaching came into place when the Grammar-Translation Method failed to help learners
learn the target language with ease. Now let’s go into details about this method and find out how
it could help us as teachers in the handling of the target language, in our case, the English Language
in the classroom.

Objectives

At the end of our discussions, you should be able to:

 Explain the Direct Method.

 Apply the Direct Method in the teaching of the English Language as the target language.
 Identify some advantages and disadvantages in using the Direct Method in the language
classroom.
 Explain why the Direct Method is more appropriate than the Grammar-Translation
Method in learning the target language.

Direct/Interaction Method

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, other reformers turned their attention to the naturalistic
principles of language learning. Throughout the history of language teaching, attempts have been
made to make second language learning more like first language learning. One of such reformers,
known as L. Sauveur (1826- 1907), tried to apply natural principles to language classes by using
intensive oral interaction in the target language, and employing questions as a way of presenting
and eliciting language. He opened a language school in Boston in the late 1860s, and his method
was referred to as the Natural Method.

Those who believed in the Natural Method like Sauveur argued that a foreign language could be
taught without translation or the use of the learner’s native tongue if meaning was conveyed
directly through demonstration and action. According to the German scholar, F. Franke provided
a theoretical justification for a monolingual approach to teaching. According to him, a language
could best be taught by using it actively in the classroom. Rather than using analytical procedures
that focus on explanation of grammar rules in the classroom teaching, teachers must encourage
direct and spontaneous use of the foreign language in the classroom. The teacher replaced the
textbook in the early stages of learning, with speaking beginning with systematic attention to
pronunciation. Known words could be used to teach new vocabulary using mime, demonstration,
and pictures.

The Direct Method overemphasized and distorted the similarities between naturalistic first
language learning and classroom foreign language learning and failed to consider the practical
realities of the classroom. In addition, it lacked a rigorous basis in applied linguistic theory, and

51
for this reason it was often criticized by the more academically based proponents of the Reform
Movement. The Direct Method represented the product of enlightened amateurism which was seen
to have many setbacks. First, its implementation required teachers who were native speakers or
who had nativelike fluency in the foreign language. It was mostly dependent on the teacher’s skill
rather than on a textbook, and not all teachers were proficient enough in the foreign language to
adhere to the principles of the method. Critics argued that strict adherence to the Direct Method
principles was often counterproductive, since teachers were required to go to great lengths to avoid
using the native language of the learners, when sometimes a simple brief explanation to an
expression in the learner’s native language would have been a more efficient route to
comprehension.

By the 1920s, the Direct Method was gradually modified into versions that combined its techniques
with more controlled grammar-based activities. In the early part of the twentieth century, this
method was implemented in American schools and colleges with caution. A study which was
conducted in 1923 on the state of foreign language teaching concluded that no single method could
guarantee successful results. The goal of trying to teach conversation skills was considered
impractical in view of the restricted time available for foreign language teaching in schools, as
well as the limited skills of teachers, and the perceived irrelevance of conversation skills in a
foreign language for the average American college student. The study known as the Coleman
Report suggested that a more reasonable goal for a foreign language course would be a reading
knowledge of a foreign language, achieved through the gradual introduction of words and
grammatical structures in simple reading texts. Which meant that reading became the goal of most
foreign language programs in the United States until World War 11.

Although the Direct Method enjoyed popularity in Europe, not everyone had embraced it
enthusiastically. Such was the British applied linguist, Henry Sweet, who identified some
limitations with the method. He saw it as offering innovations at the level of teaching procedures
but lacked a thorough methodological basis. Its main focus was on the exclusive use of the target
language in the classroom, but it failed to address many issues that Sweet thought more basic. He
and other applied linguists argued for the development of sound methodological principles that
could serve as the basis for teaching techniques. These applied linguistics systematized the
principles proposed earlier by the Reform Movement and therefore laid the foundations for what
developed into the British approach to teaching English as a foreign language, which subsequently,
led to Audiolingualism in the United States and Oral Approach or Situational Language Teaching
in Britain.

These natural language learning principles gave the foundation for the Direct Method. The Direct
Method came into being as a reaction to the Grammar-Translation Method as it (GTM) failed to
produce learners who could use the target language they had been studying. In the Direct Method,
instructions are given in the target language without any use of the native language. Lessons are
begun with dialogues and anecdotes. Actions and pictures are used to make meanings clear to the
learners of the target language.

52
The objective of the teacher in using the Direct Approach/Method in teaching the target language
is to ensure that the learner learns how to communicate in the target language. This objective is
achieved through the learner associating meaning with the target language directly. In order for
the teacher to help the learner do this, the teacher must demonstrate the meaning of new words or
phrases through concrete things like realia, pictures, sketches, and the likes. Also, dramatizations
and demonstrations are other activities the teacher can employ to teach meanings of new items
(words and phrases) to the learner of the target language. This is done to help the learner learn the
target language as the teacher is never allowed to translate meaning in the mother tongue of the
learner. The learner is made to communicate in the target language using real situations. Grammar
is learnt inductively as he/she is presented with examples and left on his/her own to figure out the
rules from the examples given.

In practice, the Direct Method stood for the following principles and procedures:

1. Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.

2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.
3. Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded progression organized around
question and answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.
4. Grammar is taught inductively.
5. New teaching points are introduced orally.
6. Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract
vocabulary is taught by association of ideas.
7. Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.
8. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.

To sum up these principles, the teacher who uses the Direct Method must do the following in the
classroom:

Never translate; do demonstration

Never explain; perform actions

Never make a speech; ask questions of the learners

Never speak too much; let the learners do most of the talking

Never go too fast; keep pace with your learners

Never speak too slowly, quickly or loudly; always speak normally and naturally

Never be impatient with your learners; always take it easy with your learners

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Advantages of Using the Direct Method

1. It makes learners use and understand the English Language right from the beginning.
2. It ensures fluency in the learner in the use of the English language.
3. Lesson becomes meaningful since the teacher uses a lot of TLMs and actions to facilitate
understanding of the learners during teaching.
4. All the four skills are emphasized.
5. It builds in learners’ self-confidence in their ability to use the target language (English
language).
6. The learner is encouraged to use language orally and not be so preoccupied with
demonstrating the rules of language.
7. Evaluation is practical and involves the learner’s previous experiences.
8. Reading and writing exercises are based on what the learner has practiced orally.

Demerits of Using the Direct Method

1. The teacher needs to be proficient in the target language (English language) to be able to
use this method otherwise the teacher is bound to fail in his/her lesson delivery.
2. It needs a lot of preparation including TLMs preparation by the teacher for the lesson to be
a success.
3. The learner’s mother tongue is never used in the classroom
4. Strict adherence to the Direct Method principles is often counterproductive, since teachers
are required to go to great lengths to avoid using the native language of the learners, when
sometimes a simple brief explanation to an expression in the learner’s native language
would have been a more efficient route to comprehension.
5. It is mostly dependent on the teacher’s skill rather than on a textbook, and not all teachers
are proficient enough in the target language to adhere to the principles of the method.
6. It fails to consider the practical realities of the classroom situation

Summary

The Direct Method to second/foreign language teaching is more or less in direct contrast to the
Grammar-Translation Method as the Direct Method emphasizes largely on learning language for
the purpose of communication and not necessarily for reading or writing. The Direct Method, also
known as the Oral or Natural Method, has its basis, the involvement of the learner, actively in
speaking and listening activities in realistic everyday situations. In this method, the learner’s native
language does not feature at all in the learning process but the learner is rather encouraged to think
directly in the target language. Emphasis is placed on good pronunciation.

Self-assessment Questions

1. How does the teacher help the learner to be able to associate meaning with the target
language directly.
2. What does the expression ‘grammar is learnt inductively’ mean?
3. Why is the acquisition of vocabulary emphasized over grammar in the Direct Method?
4. How does the teacher react to learners’ errors in the application of the Direct Method?

54
Section Four: Audiolingual Method
Introduction
You are most welcome to another section of unit three. In this section we are going to discuss
another method that emerged as a result of a reaction to the Direct Method. The Audio-lingual
method has certain similarities with the Direct Method though both methods have very significant
differences. This method lays emphasis on oral-aural skills hence it being referred to as Aural/Oral
Method.
Objectives
By the end of our discussions, you will be able:
 Explain what the Audio-Lingual Method is all about.
 Differentiate between the Direct Method and the Audio-lingual Method.
 Bring out the similarities between the Direct Method and the Audio-lingual Method.
 Apply the Audio-lingual Method in your teaching.
Audio-lingual Method
The emergence of the Audio-lingual Method, also known as the Oral Approach, the Aural-Oral
Approach, and the Structural Approach, resulted from the increased attention given to foreign
language teaching in the United States towards the end of the 1950s. The need for a radical change
and rethinking of foreign language teaching methodology (most of which was still linked to the
Reading Method) was prompted by the launching of the first Russian satellite in 1957. The U.S.
Government acknowledged the need for a more intense effort to teach foreign languages in order
to prevent Americans from becoming isolated from scientific advances made in other countries.
The National Defense Education Act (1958), among other measures, provided funds for the study
and analysis of modern languages, for the development of teaching materials, and for the training
of teachers. The combination of structural linguistic theory, contrastive analysis, aural-oral
procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the Audio-lingual Method. This method was meant
to have transformed language teaching from an art to a science, which would enable learners to
achieve mastery of a foreign language effectively and efficiently.
This method places emphasis on everyday spoken conversation with special attention to natural
pronunciation. In this method, language learning is seen as a process of habit formation and based
on that structural patterns involving dialogue about everyday situations are imitated and drilled
until the learner responds automatically. Grammatical structures are sequenced and taught
inductively. The primary skills are taught first before the secondary skills, because it is believed
that language is first heard by the learner through aural training, then followed by oral practice
through pronunciation training, before being seen and used in written form. There is a special
attention on areas of structural difference between the native language and the foreign/target
language. There is a limit to the vocabulary items taught in a lesson while pronunciation is stressed
from the onset therefore ensuring that learner errors are prevented.

55
The Audio-lingual Method comes with certain principles underlying its use, and these are:
i. Language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit formation with foreign
language not being exception. Good habits are formed by giving correct responses
rather than by making mistakes. By memorizing dialogue and performing pattern drills,
mistakes are minimized. It is believed that the more often something is repeated, the
stronger a habit is formed, and the greater the learning results.
ii. It is important that the learner is prevented from committing errors in learning the
foreign language because errors will lead to bad habit formation in relation to language
learning. Based on this, learners are to be corrected by the teacher anytime they make
errors.
iii. All language that is being learnt must be contextualized.
iv. The teacher has to be a good model of the target/foreign language in order for the
teacher to be able to provide the learner with a native speaker-like model of the
target/foreign language. The learner has to first of all listen to this model before he/she
can respond appropriately to it.
v. The native language of the learner and the target/foreign language have separate
linguistic systems and for that matter both languages should be kept apart so that the
learners’ native language will have very little influence in the learners’ attempt at
acquiring the target/foreign language.
vi. It is observed that particular parts of speech occupy particular positions in sentences,
the learner must therefore learn the specific part of speech and the particular positions
it occupies in a sentence in order for the learner to be able to create new sentences.
vii. The main reason for learning a language is for communication.
viii. The learner is encouraged to learn to respond to both verbal and non-verbal stimuli.
ix. Emphasis is placed on reinforcement that is positive since this is seen as the best way
in helping the learner develop correct habits.
x. The teacher is compared to an orchestra leader, i.e. the teacher conducts, guides, and
controls the learner’s behavior in the target language/foreign language (L2)
xi. It is believed that once the native language is learnt naturally without the learner relying
on any rules to learn it, so will the learner learn the target language naturally through
examples and repetitions without the learner learning the rules in the target language.
xii. The main objective of language teaching is for the learner to acquire the structural
patterns as vocabulary can be learnt later.
xiii. Speech is seen to be more basic to language than the written form.

The main aim of the teacher using the Audio-lingual Method is to help the learner to be able
to communicate in the target language/foreign language. For this to materialize, the learner
must be able to answer questions automatically without any break in his delivery to think in
the target language. The learner can be fluent in the target language if he/she is able to do away
with the old habits of his/her native language and form new habits in the target language before
the learner can acquire the target language. The teacher on his/her part has to provide the

56
 learners with a good model of the target language for the learners to imitate. During
teaching/learning process, the teacher is expected to use dialogue as a tool to present new
vocabulary and grammar while the learners are supposed to learn these new items through
imitation and repetition. New patterns found in the dialogue are supposed to be taught by the
teacher using accuracy drills with the learners’ successful responses being positively
reinforced. The learner’s reading and written work are based on oral work which has been
practiced during the dialogue sessions.
In a classroom where the teacher applies the Audio-lingual Method in his/her, chain drills and
role play are the major tools used by the learners to interact with each other with the teacher
giving directions as to how the learners should go about it. The teacher is the one who initiates
the interaction activities and this is done between the teacher and the learners. This is done to
ensure that the learners do not use their native language in the classroom as the Audio-lingual
Method encourages the use of the target language alone in the classroom in teaching the target
language. It is believed that if the native language of the learner is allowed in the learning of
the target language, there could be an interference of the native language in the learner’s
attempt to master the target language. In an Audio-lingual classroom, evaluation is done in
such a way that each question in a test focuses on only one point of the language at a time. This
is to ensure that learner errors are avoided as much as possible. When all these are done, the
teacher will be successful in using the Audio-lingual Method in teaching the target language.

Advantages of Using the Audio-lingual Method

1. Using the Audio-lingual Method makes lessons to be practical.
2. Its use ensures accuracy is emphasized.
3. It brings out maximum participation in the classroom by the learners.
4. Learners hardly forget what they learn since they learn with all their four senses.

Disadvantages of Using the Audio-lingual Method

1. It pays little attention to fluency as accuracy is emphasized in using this method.
2. Only a teacher who is skillful can use this method since learning materials are carefully
controlled.
3. The four skills are not integrated in a lesson thereby creating lapses in the acquisition of
some of the skills.
4. Memorization is overemphasized without attention being paid to meaning.

Summary

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It is clear that the Audio-lingual method ensures accuracy in the learner in that drills are used
extensively and learners are prevented from committing errors as much as possible. However, this
method as with all the methods discussed earlier, comes with its own criticism. Some critics think
that human language cannot be learnt only through imitated behavior but needs the sub-
consciousness of the individual. Therefore pattern practice, drilling, and memorization may lead
to language-like behavior but may not necessarily lead to speech competence.

Self-assessment Questions
1. List three features of the Audio-lingual Method.
2. What is the difference between the Direct Method and the Audio-lingual Method?
3. What skills are developed when learners are taught the target language using the Audio-
lingual Method?
4. What brought about the emergence of the Audio-lingual Method?
5. State two advantages and two disadvantages of using the Audio-lingual Method in teaching
the target language.
6. What is the role of the teacher in an Audio-lingual classroom?

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Section Five: Situational Method/Approach
Introduction
We trust you have been enjoying the discussions so far. You are welcome to section five of unit
three. In this section, we are going to look at another language teaching method known as the
Situational Method, also known as the Oral Approach, refers to an approach to language teaching
developed by British applied linguists from the 1930s to 1960s. This method helped shaped the
design of many EFL/ESL textbooks and courses, such as Access to English by Coles and Lord
(1975); Kernel Lessons Plus by O’Neill (1973); and many of L.G. Alexander’s textbooks. We trust
you will enjoy our discussions on this method as well.
Objectives
By the end of our discussions, we hope you will be able to:
 Explain the Situational Method to language teaching.
 Use this method effectively in the teaching of language.
 Identify some advantages and disadvantages in using the Situational Method in a language
classroom.
 Explain how effective the Situational Method is in the teaching of language.

Situational/Oral Method/Approach
From the 1920s onwards, Palmer Hornby, and other British applied linguists developed an
approach to methodology that was based on the systematic principles of selection, gradation and
presentation. The systematic principles of selection dealt with the procedures by which lexical and
grammatical content was chosen, the gradation dealt with the principles by which the organization
and sequencing of content were determined, and presentation dealt with the techniques used for
presentation and practice of items in a course. Although this method was also based on the use of
oral procedure to language teaching hence, the name Oral Approach, it was not to be confused
with the Direct Method, which also used oral procedures but lacked a systematic basis in applied
linguistic theory and practice. This meant that in the Direct Method, the learner was bewildered
by a flow of ungraded speech, suffering all the difficulties he would have encountered in picking
up the language in its normal environment and losing most of the compensating benefits of better
contextualization in those circumstances (Patterson 1964).
The Situational/Oral Approach was the accepted British approach to English Language teaching
by the 1950s and it is described in the standard methodology textbooks of the period. Its principles
are seen in Hornby’s famous Oxford Progressive English Course for Adult Learners (1954-56) and
in many other textbooks. Also, George Pittman and his colleagues developed an influential set of
teaching materials based on the Situational Method, which were widely used in Australia, New
Guinea, and the Pacific territories. Pittman was also responsible for the situationally based
materials developed by the Commonwealth Office of Education in Sydney, Australia, used in the

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English programs for immigrants in Australia. The main characteristics of the approach are as
follows:
1. Language teaching begins with the spoken language as material is taught orally before it is
presented in written form.
2. The target language is the language of the classroom.
3. New language points are introduced and practiced situationally.
4. Vocabulary selection procedures are followed to ensure that an essential general service
vocabulary is covered.
5. Items of grammar are graded following the principle that simple forms should be taught
before complex ones.
6. Reading and writing are introduced once a sufficient lexical and grammatical basis is
established.

The third principle became the key feature of the approach in the sixties and that brought about
the term situational referring to the Oral Approach. Situational Language Teaching believes in
speech as the basis of language learning, and structure is viewed as being the heart of speaking
ability. In practice, the situational approach draws much from the direct approach, where emphasis
is placed on spoken language and therefore, all language material is practiced orally before being
presented in written form. It recommends the use of only the target language in the classroom,
with grammatical structures being graded from simple to complex while efforts are made to ensure
that the most general and useful lexical items are presented. Natural situations are used to introduce
new items in the target language.
Advantages of Using Situational Approach/Method
1. It lays emphasis on spoken language and as a result, helps the learner of the target language
to be able to use it effectively in speech.
2. It makes use of natural situations in teaching and learning the target language.
3. It helps the learner to be fluent in the use of the target language as spoken language is
emphasized.
4. Learners are encouraged to think directly in the target language without doing any
translation into or out of it.

Disadvantages of Using Situational Approach/Method

1. It needs a skillful teacher to be able to use this approach in teaching the target language
otherwise lesson will not be successful.
2. Other important skills of the language such as listening, reading and writing are neglected
as emphasis is placed on speaking.
3. There is total avoidance of formulation of grammatical rules in the use of the approach.

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Summary
The situational approach/method to language teaching sees the active involvement of the learner
in learning the target language through activities in realistic everyday situations as it is with the
direct approach to language teaching. With this approach, emphasis is laid more on spoken
language, therefore ensuring good pronunciation.

SECTION SIX: Communicative Approach

INTRODUCTION
Welcome, dear student, to section six of Unit 3. In this section, you will look at the Communicative
Approach to the methods of teaching the language. This approach/method was a reaction to the
Situational Approach to English language teaching. This approach helps you, as a language
teacher, to be able to teach the language by focusing on communicative proficiency rather than on
mere mastery of structures as in the case of Situational Approach to language teaching. This
approach when applied well, will help your learners to acquire competence in the language, as a
variety of language skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing are involved in the
application of the approach. We hope that you will find the discussions on this section interesting.
OBJECTIVES
By the close of the section, you will be able to:
 Explain the Communicative Approach to language teaching.

 Identify the principles underlying the Communicative Approach to language teaching.

 Identify the role of the teacher in using the Communicative Approach in the language
classroom.

 Identify the role of the learner in the use of the Communicative Approach the language
classroom.

COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
The Communicative Approach was propounded when linguists saw that the Situational Approach
to second/foreign language (English language) teaching had run its course and there was no future
in continuing to pursue the notion of predicting language on the basis of situational events. One of
such linguist by name Noam Chomsky, an American, had shown that the Structural Approach to
language teaching was incapable of accounting for the fundamental characteristics of language
that dealt with the creativity and uniqueness of individual sentences. Also, British applied linguists
identified another fundamental dimension of language that was inadequately addressed by the
Situational Approach to language teaching that is, the functional and communicative potential of

61
language. They saw the need to focus in language teaching on communicative proficiency rather
than on mere mastery of structures which the Situational Approach sought to do. Scholars who
advocated for the Communicative Approach to language teaching such as Christopher Candlin and
Henry Widdowson, draw on the work of British functional linguists like John Firth and M.A.K.
Halliday; American work in sociolinguistics such as Dell Hymes, John Gumperz, and William
Labov, as well as work in philosophy by John Austin and John Searle.
The Communicative Approach also known as Communicative Language Teaching gained
eminence in the 1960s. Its name is based on the fact that this approach focuses on communicative
activities and concentrates on language as a means of communication. With this approach, the
learner is trained to use the target language (L2) mainly for communication. The proponents and
adherents of this approach do appreciate that grammar and vocabulary cannot be left out when it
comes to language learning but they think that there will be some shortfalls if only grammar and
vocabulary are emphasized in the preparation of the learner for communication. They think that
this will lead to the learner learning and knowing the rules of the target/foreign language (L2) but
that may not guarantee that the learner will be able to communicate in that language. To them,
language is used to communicate in order for one to perform a function such as for request, to
command, to complain, to persuade, to promise etc. and these functions are carried out in a social
context. They also believe that communication is a process, therefore it is not enough for the
learner learning a target language to simply have knowledge of forms, meanings and functions but
the learner must be able to apply his/her knowledge of these forms, meanings and functions of
language to bring out meaning. This means that the learner of the target language must be able to
use the language effectively for communication. This approach assumes that the goal of language
teaching is the ability of the learner to communicate in the target language.
The core objective of using this approach/method by the teacher is to make learners learning the
target language to be competent in communication. The teacher is to ensure that the learners are
able to use the target language appropriately in any given context. For this to be achieved, the
teacher has to play certain roles to facilitate the learning of the target language by the learners.
These roles are: a manager, an advisor and a co-communicator. As a manager, the teacher manages
the classroom activities by creating situations in the classroom that ensures the learner’s
competence in communication in the target language. The teacher has to make use of role-play
and dramatization to ensure the learners use of the target language in various social context.
As an advisor, the teacher advises the learners when the need be. He/she also answers their queries
as well as monitors their performance in the classroom. Activities such as group work or pair work
are used by the teacher as he/she performs the advisory role. As a co-communicator, the teacher
involves him/herself in the activities that help promote communication in the target language in
the learners. Mostly, the learner plays the role of a communicator in order to ensure his/her fluency
in communicating in the target language. He/she has to manage his/her own learning by putting in
every effort to be understood in his/her use of the target language.

Principles Underpinning the Communicative Approach/Method

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 a. The focus of teaching should be on real language use.
b. The teaching and the use of language must be contextualized. This means that the teaching
and use of the target language must be put in context.
c. The teacher is supposed to create situations that promote communication for the learner of
the target language.
d. Grammar and vocabulary learnt by the learner in the target language must be in line with
the functions and roles of those involved in the communication process.
e. Language games have certain features in common with real communicative events,
therefore they must form an integral and important part of learning the target language.
f. Opportunities must be given to the learner to express his/her ideas and opinions.
g. Learners are to be encouraged to interact and to build co-operative relationships among
each other in order to help them build their fluency in the target language.
h. Emphasis must be placed on appropriate use of language forms so as to ensure
communicative competence in the learner of the target language since accuracy forms part
of communicative competence.
i. The learner of the target language must be given the chance to develop strategies for
interpreting the language as used by the native speakers of the target language.
j. The teacher performs the role of an advisor during communicative activities.
k. The learner learning the target language, must be helped to acquire it by him/her being
introduced to cohesion and coherences devices as these are properties that help build
sentences together.
l. Errors in language use are seen as natural outcomes in the development of communication
skills, therefore errors committed by learners learning the target language are to be
tolerated.

Advantages of Using Communicative Approach/Method

1. It enables the learner of the target language use the language in natural context.
2. It ensures fluency in the learner in the use of the target language.
3. It develops all the four language skills in the learner in learning the target language.
Disadvantages
1. It needs a skillful teacher to be able to apply this approach/method or else objectives cannot
be achieved.
2. Emphasis is mostly placed on fluency thereby downplaying accuracy in learning process
of the target language.
3. The learner’s mother tongue is avoided in the use of the communicative approach. Only
the target language is used in the explanation of activities to the learners and also in
assigning home work to the learners.

Summary

63
You have come to the end of our discussions in this section. You have learnt that the
communicative approach/method sees language learning as mainly for communication and
therefore sees linguistic competence as one aspect of communicative competence. All the four
main areas of language acquisition (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are fairly emphasized
right from the beginning, with the functional use of language being emphasized over linguistic
knowledge (form and meaning).
Self-assessment Questions
1. Briefly explain the Communicative Approach to language teaching.
2. State four principles underlying the Communicative Approach to language teaching.
3. State two advantages and two disadvantages of using this approach to teach language.

Unit summary
Dear student, you must be happy to have come to the end of this unit. We hope that this
achievement will make you want to continue till you get to the end.
In this unit, we engaged you on some definitions of some key language teaching concepts by taking
you through concepts such as methods, approach, design, procedure and technique. Understanding
these concepts is important to understanding issues on language teaching methods.
The unit also took you through some language teaching methods which gives the language teacher
insights into how language is acquired and what language is used for. Each section of the unit gave
an indepth discussion on each of the methods by letting you know how the method views

64
UNIT 4: TEACHING READING IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
INTRODUCTION
This unit will introduce you to the practical aspect of teaching English language in both junior and
senior high schools. It will discuss with you the need for teaching reading, reading aloud, listening
comprehension, reading strategies and testing reading comprehension. Details are provided in the
sections that follow. You will enjoy studying it.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 tell why reading is important
 differentiate between reading aloud and listening comprehension
 explain some reading strategies and
 give examples of comprehension questions

Unit 4 Section 1: The Need for Teaching Reading in Junior and Senior High Schools
Introduction
Reading is one of the important skills in academia. It is one of the secondary/literacy skills that are
needed for enhancing our lives in this modern world. It is also crucial when it comes to pursuing
higher education. Reading has several benefits, and some of them are discussed in this section.
Objectives
By the end of this section you will be able to:

65
  explain what reading is
 mention the importance of reading
 explain the importance of reading.

Reading Types
Reading can be defined from different perspectives, but the ultimate explanation one can give to
reading is ‘making meaning out of printed material.’ Reading involves words, phrases, clauses and
sentences. These constructions are all based on information. The kind of information contained in
the material and the purpose of the writer, and reader determines the kind of reading that is done.
One may see reading as any other subject, but reading goes beyond that. Reading is the basis of
academic work. If one cannot read, there is no way that person can write.

IMPORTANCE OF READING
It Helps in Our Daily Lives
In our daily activities reading forms part of it, for we read for information that guides us to perform
our duties. For instance, the prescription on drugs must be read and followed strictly, so those who
administer drugs should be able to read with understanding. One’s ability to read can enhance their
daily lives, since simple activities at home and work places can be performed without problems. It
is just a matter of following instructions attached to gadgets to get them fixed. Hair dressers who
cannot read and are not able to do the right combinations of the hair products they use for their
clients’ hair and these lead to several adverse effects on their clients. t Recipes are followed
through reading at homes and work places. Those who cannot read may depend on distorted
information that may not yield any good result.
It Development of Language Skills
Reading helps in the development of language skills. The basic language skills; listening, speaking,
reading and writing are greatly enhanced through reading. A person who likes reading develops a
better listening and speaking skills than someone who does not like reading. The reader comes
across several expressions that s/he uses in speech. Similarly, such a person understands others
better when they speak. The oral language of a person influences his/her reading and writing skills.
Also, the reading skills that are well developed influence the writing kills of a person, because the
reader is exposed to different texts in terms of structure, form, style, and language use. Knowledge
of this influences a person’s writing, due to the fact that the writer will transfer all the necessary
skills acquired from reading the varieties of materials into his/her writing.

It Develops Vocabulary

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Reading obviously increases the vocabulary of the readers by introducing them to the new and
unfamiliar words and phrases regularly. As these new words are read students may look for their
meanings and put them to use in their daily conversations. Reading does not only enrich our
vocabulary but also teaches us the better way of expressing ourselves, for we make use of the
appropriate vocabulary in the right context.

It Ensures Success in Academics in Future

Reading ensures a child’s success in future, for almost everything concerning academic has
something to do with reading. Even those who go into trade need to know how to read and write.
Those who are able to read progress better in their areas of study and trade, because they are able
source for more information through reading. They do not rely on people for information for they
may adulterate information. Besides, it encourages the thirst for knowledge to be used in future.
Reading encourages students to read for more information around a topic. It makes them to read
to curious to fish out information rather than relying on people. Reading enriches one with
knowledge, and makes students perform better in academics.
.
It Exercises Children’s Brain

Reading is regarded as an exercise of the brain. When we involved in reading our brain cells start
to work for understanding the meaning of the text and try to relate various aspects of the matter
read. Thus reading stimulates the brain and impels it to think about all possible aspects for
realizing the meaning. Reading is important because it develops the minds of children. The mind
is a muscle. It needs exercise. Understanding the written word is one way the mind grows in its
ability. Teaching young children to read helps them develop their language skills. It also helps
them learn to listen. Everybody wants to talk, but few can really listen. Lack of listening skills
can result in major misunderstandings which can lead to job loss, marriage breakup, and other
disasters - small and great. Reading helps children and adults focus on what someone else is
communicating.

It Increases Concentration
For reading one needs to be focused for a longer duration and it requires mental exercise. In order
to understand the text or the whole story, the reader must focus his mind towards a particular
matter. S/he tries to make inferences between and among the sentences and paragraph. In this
way, reading improves our concentration power. The reader tries to get the story line, so s/he
follows the way the story is organized to from the beginning to the end, all these need
concentration. Through this, the reader develops concentration.

It Develops Creativity

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Reading varieties of materials exposes readers to the creativity of different writers. Every human
being is unique; therefore, different writers display their creativity in their write ups. As these
young ones read from numerous writers, they emulate the way they write by pulling together all
the desirable qualities they find in those books, add them to their own creativities to produce very
interesting essays.
It Develops Empathy
Children develop empathy for the characters they come across in their readings. They put
themselves into the shoes of the characters they read about and feel the way those characters feel
in their roles. Majority of the children show this behavior in their daily lives. When they grow with
it, they would develop the passion for people and things that happen around them. They would
also share people’s pain and happiness with them. They can instill this behavior in their younger
generations.

For Entertainment
Reading is a great habit that can change human lives dramatically. It can entertain us when we are
lonely. It can be very amusing when we read in groups stories that are amusing. When students
are to read stories and learn to act them in class they do it happily and end up entertaining
themselves and others. So do they help reduce stress, relieve tensions and boost our energy. It
carries students to the realm of dreams, far away from the real complex world.

SUMMARY

Reading in one of the most important skills everybody should know. Reading adds a lot of values
to the lives of human beings. It helps to enhance our daily lives, develops language skills, increases
concentration, develops vocabulary, ensures success in academics in future, exercises children’s
brain, develops creativity, develops empathy and it is for entertainment. Reading can be very
beneficial to all.

Assessment Questions
1. What is reading?
2. State and explain four benefits of reading.

UNIT 4 SECTION 2 READING ALOUD WITH ITS IMPORTANCE

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Introduction
This section explains what reading aloud is. Reading aloud falls within one of the components of
reading in schools. It is not practiced in schools only, but also at social gatherings, homes and work
places. People do reading aloud to while away time. The section goes on to explain the importance
of reading aloud.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 explain what reading aloud means
 what one pays attention to when reading aloud
 explain the importance of reading aloud

What is reading aloud?

Reading aloud is done by vocalizing as you read for others to hear. At the early stages of school
going ages, children learn to read by pronouncing the words in the text. It is to ensure that the
children are able to identify the words and sentence that they read, so that they can identify them
wherever they come across those same words. Apart from identifying the words and sentences,
they are expected to be able to spell the words correctly. Their spelling will strengthen them to
write correctly spelt words. Reading aloud helps children to write their own scripts, for they will
follow the story line of the scripts they read, and learn many other things about the scripts they
read. The question is; how important is reading aloud to someone in JHS/SHS?
Write any two.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Compare your answers with the points explained below.

Importance of Reading Aloud Schools

It aids correct pronunciation of words. In a reading aloud lesson, the teacher ensures that students
pronounce words of the sentences correctly. Some words are spelt the same, but are pronounced
differently and have different meanings. For example; read and read
Let us look at the following sentences that context.
1. When do you want read the book?
2. They read always.
3. They read three books last week.
4. I read that book.

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In sentences 1 and 2, the word read is pronounced [ri:d] because it is used as present tense. In
sentences 3 and 4 word read is pronounced [red] for it is used as the past tense of the word read.
Similarly, the words; minute / minute are pronounced differently in different contexts. As in;
1. You have one minute remaining.
2. A minute substance was dropped into the food.

In sentence 1, the word minute is pronounced [minit], but in sentence 2, the word minute is
pronounced [mainju‫׃‬t]
Another example is found in the word live in the sentences below.
1. The football match is live.
2. They live in the same house.
Live in sentence 1is pronounced /laɪv/ while in sentence 2 it is pronounced /lɪv/.

Some other words have different spellings and meanings but have same pronunciations. As
students read aloud they come across such words and pronounce them correctly even though they
don’t have the same spellings.
For example;
sun / son
Site / sight / cite
Sea / see
Pail / pale
Rain / reign
Mail / male
Sail / sale
Tail / tale
Right / write
Can you think about adding more to the list?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

They develop spelling skills

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Aside the correct pronunciations of words, students develop the ability to spell words correctly,
when they have knowledge of such occurrences have in the English language. As much as they
get into contact with several words that look same but are pronounced differently, spellings are
easily captured by them. Those words that have the same pronunciations but different spellings
can easily be identified and spelt correctly. It is possible for students to identify the occurrences of
such words, in different environments; hence, their spellings.
Paying Attention to Punctuation Marks
Reading aloud helps students to pay attention to punctuation marks and pause appropriately where
necessary. You cannot close your eyes to punctuation marks in your reading because they aid
understanding of the text. The writer uses them to give the intended meaning of a text. It also
encourages fluency in reading because the reader pauses accordingly. A struggling reader may
need to listen to recorded readings and match them with live texts to enable them read better with
understanding. In addition, students would notice when to pause as they read, and also realize that
paying attention to punctuation marks influences the meaning and understanding a text.

Using Correct Stress and Intonation

Stress and intonation bring out the intended meaning of a writer. Stressed syllables are louder than
unstressed syllables. This can be heard clearly, when reading aloud is being done by a good reader.
The stresses in texts do bring out the intended meaning of the writer, so if the reader pays attention
to these stress patterns when reading aloud, those listening would understand better. In some
disyllabic words are usually verbs when they have stress on their second syllables, while those
with stress on their first syllables change from verbs to nouns. For example;
Nouns Verbs
export export
record record
import import
invite invite

Intonations are identified

Intonation occurs when the voice changes in pitch. Pitch may be high or low. In reading aloud, the
listeners would make clear distinctions between and among sentences based on the readers’ ability
to use clear intonations. Questions are read with high pitch at their ends. The voice modulations
used when reading statements is different from reading questions. Statements are read with low
pitch. Apart from the listeners may not have access to the text that is being read, they can tell the
difference between a question and a statement.
Reading aloud enhances oral communication.

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Reading aloud helps students to speak naturally, using the right voice modulation - high and low
pitch, to enhance oral communication. Reading aloud enables students to speak fluently, using the
correct stress patterns in their speech to convey their thought. They make good use of words by
making appropriate choices. The students use varieties of words with their correct pronunciations.
For instance; when they engage in conversation, they can make good use of homographs and other
related words that may be confusing.
It develops the writing skills of students
If students have control over reading, it equips them with some requisite skills needed for writing.
The texts that are used for reading aloud have story lines; thus, introduction, body of the text, and
the conclusions. The texts may be constitute different forms of writing such as; descriptive,
narrative, argumentative, exposition, letters, formal and informal write-ups. All write-ups have
their formats that need to be followed. In addition to their formats, the use of language depends on
the form of writing, whether formal or informal. Readers base on the texts they read during reading
aloud to develop their own essays. Their contact with the reading aloud texts, serve as reference
points for writing essays.
SUMMARY
This section dealt with reading aloud with its importance in the JHS / SHS. It aids correct
pronunciation of word students. It also helps students to develop the ability to spell words
correctly. It makes students pay attention to punctuation marks correctly. It enhances the use of
correct stress and intonation, therefore aids oral communication. It goes a long way to develop the
writing skills of students.

Assessment Questions
1. Give four examples of words that have the same spelling, different pronunciation and
different meanings.
2. What is meant by reading aloud?
3. What are the benefits of reading aloud to a student?

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Unit 4 Section 3: Listening Comprehension
Introduction
Do you remember all that you will benefit from reading aloud in unit 4 section 2? Good you do.
We are going to look at listening comprehension in this section. We will try to find out whether
listing comprehension has any relationship with reading aloud.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 identify the link between reading aloud and listening comprehension
 tell the benefits of listening comprehension
 note the difference between reading aloud and listening comprehension

What listening comprehension is.

Basically, comprehension is making meaning out of a text. To students, listening comprehension
is making meaning out of a text that is read to them. The teacher may read a text or play a recorded
text to the students, and ask them questions on it immediately after listening. The questions on
listening comprehension are structured to check a few more things in addition to the content; thus
the story that the passage contains. Apart from the content, can you write two areas that are
developed or tested in listening comprehension? Put your answer in the space provided.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Compare your answer with the points to be discussed.
Keep in mind that the students do not have access to the text. They only sit and listen to the text.
This exercise develops the listening and speaking skills, for what they hear influences what they
say. These two skills are inseparable, and their ability to pronounce words correctly will depend
on the correct pronunciations that they hear. However, both reading comprehension and listening
comprehension involve comprehension of the content of the text involved.

To help develop pronunciation

In a listening comprehension lesson, students listen to correct pronunciation of words. A good
model is used for them to follow; otherwise, they would have problems with pronunciation. This
aspect is crucial when it comes to meaning, because wrong pronunciation may result in wrong
meaning. They learn the right pronunciation of words, and this enhances other areas of their
language development.

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To identify stress patterns
Another benefit of listening comprehension for students is they identify stress patterns of words.
The stress patterns of words contribute to their meaning. As discussed earlier in section 2 of this
unit, when the first syllables of some disyllabic words are stressed, they are recognized as nouns,
but when the second syllables are stressed, they are regarded as verbs. E.g. record and record
When students listen to texts read to them, they are able to make clear distinctions between words
on the basis of their stress patterns. Also, the students are able to identify stressed words in
sentences, to reveal the focus and meaning of the sentences. The two sentences below do not mean
the same.
I bought the car.
I bought the car.
The emphasis is on the ownership of the car in terms of who purchased it; hence, the stress on
the subject. In the second sentence, the focus is on the purchased item – car, but not the one who
purchased it.
Stress contributes a lot to meaning, so as the students are made to listen to texts that are read to
them, they develop the ability to identify the stress patterns with the meanings associated to them.
Relate this to what you studied in Oral English in your senior high school education.

To identify intonation
In a listening comprehension lesson, voice modulation is done by the reader according to the nature
of the sentence structures and functions. Intonation occurs when the voice changes in pitch. Pitch
may be high or low. In listening comprehension lesson, the listeners would try to make clear
distinctions between and among sentences read to them based on the readers’ ability to use clear
intonations. For instance; questions are read with high pitch at their ends, while the voice
modulations used when reading statements is different from reading questions. Statements are read
with low pitch. Even though listeners do not have access to the text that is read to them, they can
tell the difference between a question and a statement.

Paying attention to punctuation marks in reading

Listening comprehension helps students to pay attention to punctuation marks and pause
appropriately where necessary. You cannot ignore punctuation marks in your reading, because
they aid understanding of the text. The punctuation marks are used to give the intended meaning
in a text; due to this, the one who listens to a reader can tell where a comma or a full stop appears
in a text. The reader pauses accordingly, and this is emulated by a listener when he/she is reading.
Students may do listening comprehension by listening to recorded readings repeatedly, in order to
develop the ability to identify punctuation marks in a text. In addition, students would notice when

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to pause as they speak or read, and also realize that paying attention to punctuation marks in their
speech and reading influences the meaning and understanding a text.
Identifying and following story line
When students listen to read passages, they follow the story structure, and can identify the parts of
the story, so they can transfer this knowledge into writing their own stories. In addition to
identifying story lines, the students do reading comprehension without difficulty, because
following the story structure aids comprehension. In fact, listening comprehension helps students
to follow different forms of texts; whether formal or informal.
Now, compare the discussions on reading aloud and listening comprehension. Do they have any
similarities and/or differences? Write your answers in the space provided.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
You will notice that almost all the benefits are the same. The main differences are that the students
have access to the text so they do the reading in reading aloud; whiles in listening comprehension,
the students do not have access to the text so they only listen to the text as it is read. They both
contribute to the development of reading skills.
SUMMARY
Listening comprehension is crucial when it comes to teaching and learning. Through listening
comprehension, the learners develop a lot of skills, in the fields of academia. The students develop
comprehension, pronunciation; identify stress patterns, intonation, and paying attention to the use
of punctuation marks in a text. The reading aloud and listening comprehension have several
similarities, but their main differences are that students have access to the text and they do their
own reading in reading aloud; while in listening comprehension, the students don’t have access to
the text, so they only listen to it.

Assessment Questions
1. What is the importance of studying listening comprehension in school?
2. State any two differences between listening comprehension and reading aloud.

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Unit 4 Section 4: Reading Comprehension Strategies
Introduction
This section discusses the strategies that are needed for reading comprehension. It also introduces
the skills you need to impart in your students, to enable them do reading comprehension without
difficulty. The strategies and skills are discussed well for your understanding.
Objectives:
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
 identify reading comprehension strategies and skills
 use the skills and strategies to do effective reading comprehension.

Comprehension strategies; skimming, scanning, and Know, Want to Learn, Learnt (KWL), close
reading, SQ3R Technique and Semantic Mapping

Skimming
One of the strategies that can be used for reading is skimming. It is a quick search for general
information in a text. In relation to a passage, the student should read the title, for most titles are
true reflections of the content of their texts. In addition, the thesis statement should be read. The
thesis shows the focus or theme of the passage, in other words, it provides a kind of summary of
the body of the text. Another area that can provide some overview of a passage is the introductory
sentence of each body paragraph. Since each paragraph expresses one main point, a reader may
identify the main ideas of the passage. A glance at the concluding paragraph may also be useful.
Some concluding paragraphs summarize the entire passage. Skimming also involves reading
highlighters in a text (words /expressions that are underlined, bolded, italicized, capitalized, etc).
These highlighters give vital pieces of information. After going through all these, the student may
have general information on the text, and this will serve as a foundation for comprehending the
content of the text.

Scanning
Unlike skimming, scanning is a quick search for specific information. Scanning focuses on specific
things in the text. Skimming or scanning does not require reading word for word. The reader
usually scans a text with some specific things about the text in mind. It may be names of specific
things or places, dates, a phrase or sentence, and as soon as the reader locates it s/he stops. Scanning
is based on previous knowledge or information obtained from skimming a text.

KWL

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The K stands for Know; that is what the learners already know in relation to the text; the L stands
for Learn. The W stands for what they want to know in the passage. When you want to use this
strategy, create a chart of three columns and label each column as shown below and fill the columns
with the aid of students in your class. Put them in groups and let them write what they know about
the topic and fill the first column. Ask them what they want to know about the topic and fill the
second column with their questions. The questions should show clearly what they want to know
from the comprehension text. Ask the students to read the text silently to find out whether their
questions would be answered in relation to the things they want to know in the text. The third
column is filled after reading passage. That is when they can state what they have learnt;
therefore, the third column is filled with information on what they have learned. This may include
answers to questions in the second column in addition to their new discoveries in the text. The
KWL is used effectively when reading information text. The chart below is a typical example of
KWL chart. Study it for clearer understanding.

KWL Chart on Cholera

K W L
What do you know about What do you want to know What have you learnt about
cholera? about cholera? cholera?

It is an airborne disease. The possible means of It is caused by filth.

Frequent passing of stool. contracting the disease. Frequent washing of hands,
It is dangerous. How can it be controlled? eating hot food, boiling water
Many people die. Is it curable? before drinking prevent it.

I hope you have seen a typical example of KWL chart. This strategy has an extension, and that is
the KWLS. The KWLS chart is used when the students still want to know more about the text;
hence, the fourth column (S) is created and filled. This column is filled with further information
or questions that call for information outside the text in question. It is used when all the questions
asked by students cannot be answered from the text, and additional information must be collected
to answer these questions that the students still have after reading the text. Check the chart below.
It is a typical example of KWLS.

KWLS Chart on Cholera

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 K W L S
What do you know What do you want to What have you learnt What do you still want
about cholera? know about cholera? about cholera? to know about
cholera?
It is an airborne The possible means of It is caused by filth. How to prevent
disease. contracting the Frequent washing of cholera in our
Frequent passing of disease. hands, eating hot communities.
stool. How can it be food, boiling water
It is dangerous. controlled? before drinking
Many people die. Is it curable? prevent it.

Close Reading
After skimming and scanning a text, one gets some basis upon which close reading can be done.
Close reading involves reading a text word for word, by paying attention to every word in the text.
Attention is also given to how the words are related and used in context to bring out the intended
meaning, and information of the writer. The figurative expressions in the text should be observed
closely to figure out the meaning they convey. The reader needs to follow the structure of the text,
thus from the introduction through the body to the conclusion. This would help readers to follow
the plot of the write-up. Close reading leads to the comprehension of a passage. It helps students
to develop the skill of comprehension and they extend it to studying all other subjects in their area
of study.
All the desirable skills/strategies discussed so far are needed for students to be successful in
making comprehension more practical and easier.

SQ3R Technique
It is a reading technique that has five stages. Going through those stages to read a material helps
you to understand the material better, for it gives you the opportunity to interact closely with the
material. The S stands for Survey, Q for question, the first R for Read, the second R for Recall,
and the third R for Review. We shall discuss each of the terms one after the other.

Survey
To survey a test, you need to go through series of activities. First you need to observe the cover of
the book. The front cover contains the title of the book, the author’s name. The back cover contains
information regarding the author, and the content of the book. The author’s educational
background and writing experiences are found there. These will make you get some information
about what you already know about the author, and something similar to the write-up.

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You may continue with your survey by examining the title page. It contains the date of publication,
publishers’ name, the place of publication and the copyright ownership. Also, study the table of
content; that is list of topics in the book, since it will give you some information about the content
of the text.
The next thing to survey is the Introduction/ Foreword / Preface. These words are synonymous,
whether introduction or any other. This part gives the overview of the subject matter in the book.
After going through the foreword of the book, you may continue to survey the index. The index
is a detailed list of topics covered with their page numbers. This is usually found at the end of the
book. Unfortunately, most readers do not pay any attention to it. It helps you to make quick
references, and be sure of whether it is the right book that you wanted to read.
In addition to the above, the glossary should be surveyed. The glossary is near the end of the book.
It is the list of the key concepts together with their definitions. The glossary helps you to rate
vocabulary used in the book; whether you can read with ease or not.
The list of references / bibliography gives you the sources from which the ideas originated.
Besides, it leads to detailed sources of information in the book. That is; if you need more
information on any other issues in relation to what is stated in the book, you can trace the source.
Having gone through all the above to survey a book, you can now examine the text itself. This
can be done by looking at the headings and sub-headings and how they are arranged in the book.
You may also take a look at the illustrations; pictures, charts and tables if any. You may observe
highlighters such as the use of capital letters, colours, boldings, italics, and many others that
look exceptional in the text. They all send some signals in terms of the information about the
content of the text. This part is applicable to comprehension texts, but all that we have discussed
earlier are applicable to whole books.
As you go through all these, trying to survey the text, a lot of questions run through your mind
about the text. They are what will lead to the second stage of the SQ3R Technique, and that is the
Q (Question). Almost all the activities lead to questioning; hence, you base on questions that come
to your mind. Write some of them, keep them in mind, and make use of them later as you read.
You may also write the things you want to know in and about the text. These questions will guide
your reading and make you remain focused and curious as well. Having gathered all your necessary
questions, you can move to the third level. In fact, when you are guided by questions as you read,
it helps you to concentrate and focus on testing yourself after reading the text.
The third level is the first R (Read). At this point, you need to do close reading, bearing in mind
all the questions. I hope you remember what close reading is? Apply it by reading word for word
paying attention to the expressions; figurative expressions, idiomatic expressions, word relations.
You must also take notice of the plot of the story, the time sequence, and linking expressions.
The fourth stage is the second R (Recall). At this stage, try to use what you have read by
recollecting the information in the text. However, remember you cannot remember word for word.
As students, you can recall by writing the things you remember point by point. Recall is very
important. Throughout your programme, you will be doing a lot of reading in order to answer

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questions in all the different subjects that you study. It will be very appropriate to employ this
technique for your studies. When you try to recall, do not look into the book/text you have read.
You need to recall from memory.
The final stage of this technique is the third R (Review). Now you can compare what you have
recalled by referring to the text to make confirmations, additions and subtractions. The revision is
also meant answering the questions that guided your reading. Check whether there are any gaps to
fill. You may re-read the text and make the additions. The last stage of SQ3R Technique will make
you go back to some areas of the first stage and all the rest of the stages. Certainly, it is a review
of all the stages.
The SQ3R Technique is a practical technique that is advisable to use when doing reading
comprehension or study reading. It helps students to test themselves after reading their course
materials even in other subject areas.
Semantic Mapping
Semantic mapping is the same as concept mapping. Semantic mapping is the act of drawing a
diagram that represents a concept. The main idea of the concept is captured in the middle, with the
minor ideas patterned around it. This strategy is used in different areas of study, but for the purpose
of this study, it is used in reading comprehension as a prediction activity. Semantic mapping can
be used in brainstorming activity to come out with some ideas in relation to a topic or to predict
the possible vocabulary items that students are likely to meet in a text. It can also be used when
planning an essay at the pre-writing stage to organize an essay. Below is an example of semantic
mapping.

SUMMARY

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Reading comprehension is an active process that needs to be done effectively with the aid of some
strategies and skills. Those strategies and skills discussed in this section are as follows: KWL,
Scanning, Skimming, Close Reading, Semantic Mapping and SQ3R Technique.

Assessment Questions

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Unit 4 Section 5: TESTING LEARNERS’ COMPREHENSION
Introduction
Comprehension has been discussed extensively in this unit. In this section, we shall look at how
comprehension is tested, to enable you to construct standardized test items for your students.
Comprehension questions are supposed to cover low order questions and high order questions.
This unit contains types of comprehension questions.

OBJECTIVE
By the end of the section, the learner will be able to:
 identify that comprehension questions differ
 identify types of comprehension questions
 help students to answer comprehension questions

Comprehension Questions
There are several ways of constructing test items in reading comprehension. These comprehension
questions should fall within the profile dimensions, according to the prescriptions of the English
language course at the junior and senior high levels. All the details can be found in the introductory
part of the English Language syllabuses designed for the different levels of academics. In line with
the profile dimensions, three categories of questions can be realized; questions that test knowledge,
understanding and use of knowledge. Comprehension questions are expected to be constructed to
fit into the demands of the profile dimensions in order to test all the levels. This section discusses
some types of comprehension questions.
Factual Questions / Content Questions
Factual/content questions usually have their answers directly stated in the text, and can be lifted
directly from the passage. They fall within the low level questions.
Inferential Questions / Derivational Questions
Such questions need the readers’ ability to interpret the text, deduce meaning from the text and
also get the implications of the text. The reader needs to infer two or more sentences to deduce the
answer to the question. The answers to such questions are not directly stated in the passage, so the
students are expected to extract the answers from the texts. This type of question is a high order
question, and tests the learners’ ability to use their knowledge.
Appreciative Questions
Appreciative questions are also high order questions. Their answers are based on the reader’s
personal impression or opinion about the use of an expression, a character, the content of the text
or anything else that is related to the text. These questions may demand the analysis of the tone of
the author, a trait of a character and the answers to such questions are based on the reader’s view

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point. The answers provided by the learners may not necessarily be the same, but correct. If all of
them have their answers related to the content of the text, and satisfies the demands of the question,
they may all have it right. The variations in answers occur as a result of using their personal
impressions but from the same content.

Vocabulary Questions
Vocabulary questions test student’s understanding of words and expressions as used in context.
Such questions may demand students to find synonyms or antonyms for words, or ask students to
explain meaning of words as used in context.

Grammatical questions
Grammatical questions are to test the students’ knowledge in word classes/grammatical names and
grammatical functions. Grammatical questions are of two kinds. One form tests grammatical
names, and the other one grammatical function. These are based on context in which the
grammatical units/structures appear. For example;
What is the grammatical name for the word singing in the sentence below?
“Singing is good for you.”
Answer; gerund
The question can be constructed to test sentence type (simple sentence, compound sentence,
complex sentence, compound complex sentence.) clause (noun clause, adverb clause, adjective
clause, etc) phrase (noun phrase, adverb phrase, adjective phrase, verb phrase, etc.)
Testing the grammatical functions is based on the role of a grammatical unit/structure in contexts.
For example;
What is the grammatical function of the word singing in this sentence?
“Singing is good for you.” Answer; subject
That is the role of the word singing in context is the subject of the sentence.

Summary questions
To summarise, basically means to reduce the length of a text to its main idea or ideas. A
comprehension question may call for the summary of a full text to a few number of sentences, but
the most common summary questions demand finding suitable title for a passage. Titles as we all
know reflect the subject matter of their content. Summary questions may also take forms such as:

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  In three sentences explain what the woman did to save her life.
 Summarise the passage into three sentences.
 How will you describe the behavior of the king? Etc.

Questions on Figurative Expressions

Figurative expressions usually give deeper meanings in texts. They do provide connotative
meanings, which is beyond the surface meaning. Such questions make learners think through the
context in which the expression is used in order to provide the appropriate responses to the
question. Examples of questions:
Identify the figure of speech of this sentence;
“The tree smiled.”
The figure of speech of the above statement is personification.
“The young girl is like a pig.”
The figure of speech of the above statement is simile.
Quotation Questions
Questions that demand quotations as their answers are quotation questions. Such questions demand
answers that are lifted directly from the passage. It may be a word, phrase, clause, or a sentence.
The answer is expected to be put in a double quotation mark, because the the quotation mark shows
that the information is lifted word for word from the passage. Examples of such questions are;
1. Quote a sentence from the passage to show that the bottle was found in the room.
Sample Answer: “The boy saw the bottle under the bed which was in their room.”
2. Quote a phrase to support your answer.

Answer: “all the short girls”

3. Quote one word from the passage that describes Papa Owusu’s wife.
Answer: “traitor”
Let your students know that they must quote appropriately. If students are required to quote a
phrase and they decide to quote a different grammatical structure which is not a phrase, their
answer will be wrong.

NOTE

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Note that a set of comprehension questions on a passage cannot contain all the types of questions
we looked at in this section; however, the questions should be organized to test the three areas
mentioned earlier.

SUMMARY
This section discussed the types of comprehension questions that learners are likely to come across
in their studies, so teachers of English language need to help the students to go through/ practice
all the types of questions in different texts. Comprehension questions can be structured to test three
levels; knowledge, understanding and use of knowledge, that is according to the profile
dimensions.
Assessment Questions
Write some examples of the types of questions discussed in this unit and discuss them with your
colleagues.

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UNIT 4 Section 6: Strategies for Teaching Summary in Senior High School
Introduction
Summarization is the ability to find the main idea of a story or a passage. When you write a
summary, you want to pick out the most important facts. The learning goal for this lesson is for
teachers to help students to be able to apply a summarization strategy.

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 teach students how to summarize by picking out the most important ideas
 pick important ideas from a text
 the things to avoid when writing summary

To summarize means to reduce a text to make it shorter than its original form. It is an essential
strategy for reading comprehension, and making notes by extracting important pieces of
information from a text. It is also an essential component that is tested at the end of the senior high
school programme, for this reason, it must be given special attention in the teaching learning
process.

Usually, we want students to incorporate what they already know about a topic. We even take
time in class to activate previous knowledge; knowing that students will better understand what
they read if they can relate it to what they already know. On the contrary, when summarizing a
text, students are not supposed to incorporate any additional information therefore, there is no
need making reference to their previous knowledge. Students are expected to rely solely on the
information that the author includes in the text.

Also, some teachers encourage students to think for themselves, share their opinions, and justify
those opinions. But when summarizing, students are not supposed to use their own opinion. They
are simply supposed to depend on what the author puts in the text. Students are to include the
salient points in the text. This implies that students have to revisit how to find the main ideas of
a text, and this will help them better.

Look out for the thesis statement

Every well organized text has an introduction. Within the introduction is the thesis statement. A
thesis statement is the sentence which contains the theme of the text or a passage. A well organized
thesis statement is usually the last information in the introductory paragraph. All the points to be
discussed in an essay is based on the thesis statement; therefore, a student’s knowledge about the
thesis of an essay will help in doing a summary of a text.

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Look out for topic sentences
Unlike the thesis statement, the topic sentence is found in the body paragraph. The topic sentence
is the sentence which contains the main idea of the body paragraph. The topic sentence may be
found at the beginning of the body paragraph, the middle or the end of the body paragraph. Some
paragraphs do not state their topic sentences explicitly, but after reading the paragraph, you will
be able to state the main idea of the body paragraph. You can conveniently lift and paraphrase the
topic sentence of a paragraph to represent the entire paragraph. Explanations and giving details are
not needed in summary writing, because you are trying to reduce the length of the text but
maintaining the main ideas. You must be careful not to distort the information in the text by using
your personal impression. The topic sentences of an essay can help in writing a good summary.
Look out for the concluding paragraphs
The concluding paragraphs take different forms. Those which can help you to summarize a text
are those that contain the main points of an essay/text, and used as the conclusion. Another form
of conclusion that can be useful for writing a summary is made up of the restating the thesis
statement. Such a conclusion is a complete summary of the entire passage, and must be regarded
as such, but it does not mean that that paragraph should be lifted verbatim. A student can use the
information in the concluding paragraph to write summary.

Look out for linking expressions / transitional devices

The liking expressions serve as very important signals in texts. They may show introduction of
main or minor ideas in paragraphs. These ideas may be additions of information, contrasts,
introduction of examples for further details. Students can base on these linking expressions to
select information for summarizing texts.

Steps to Follow if You Want to Write a Summary

Step 1: Keep the most important ideas by highlighting the sentences that have main points of the
text. After gathering your main points, draft the summary.

Step 2: Get rid of the less important details such as sentences that give further explanations of
ideas, examples and expansions.

Step 3: Let the students write the main ideas in their own words.

Remember that the summarized version of a passage should be in the student’s own words. This
would show that the student understands the text very well, and can present the same information
in a different way by rewording, and in a reduced form. The student can reduce his/her version
by doing away with all the unnecessary details in the text.

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Things to Avoid in Summarizing a Text

 Avoid lifting verbatim from the text that is being summarized. In spite of the fact that you
are not expected to lift directly the text, you cannot change the names of people and
places in the text when summarizing.
 Another thing you should avoid is giving details in your summary. The sentences that
give details should also be avoided in writing the draft.

SUMMARY
Summary writing becomes very easy when you prepare your students well towards it. Look out
for the thesis statement, topic sentences, the concluding paragraphs and linking expressions /
transitional devices. All these will aid you and your students to write good summary. Try to follow
the three steps that are stated, avoid the avoidable in summary writing.

Assessment Questions
1. Summary features in some areas of study in academics. State them.
2. State the three steps involved in summary writing.

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ANSWERS TO ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS IN UNIT FOUR
Unit Four Section 1
1. Reading is making meaning out of a print.
2. a. Reading is making meaning out of print.
b. It Helps in Our Daily Lives
c. It Development of Language Skills
d. It Develops Vocabulary
e. It Ensures Success in Academics in Future
f. It Exercises Children’s Brain
g. It Increases Concentration

Unit Four Section2

Unit Four Section 3

1. It enhances the listening skills of students
2. a. Students have access to the text in reading aloud, but in listening comprehension, the students
don’t have access to the text.
b. Students do their own reading in reading aloud; while listening comprehension, the students
only listen to the text.

Unit Four Section4

Unit Four Section5
Unit Four Section6
1. Comprehension making notes all subjects

2 Step 1: Read and keep the most important ideas by highlighting them in the text, and draft the
summary.

Step 2: Get rid of the less important details such as sentences that give further explanations of
ideas, examples and expansions.

Step 3: Let the students write the main ideas in their own words.

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UNIT FIVE: Language Games and Drills
INTRODUCTION
Teachers often give learners lists or words of key words to study. These words can be difficult to
use or retain because they are out of context. There are more practical ways of teaching students,
without putting the under undue pressure. In language classes, language games and drills are
designed to help ease the pressure of studying.
The unit will also deal with language drills as techniques for teaching language. Drills are repetitive
by nature. They are focused on a specific language structures. Learners follow good models and
are made to say a word or structure over and over again to mastery over the language item or
structure. Language games on the other hand are designed to enhance the teaching and learning of
language. These games are designed to teach different aspects of language. This unit will discuss
both language drills and games, and how beneficial they are to learners in language classes.

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit you will be able to:
 Explain what language games and drills
 Give the characteristics of language and drills
 State how language games and drills are used

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Unit 5 Section 1: Language Games
Introduction
This section introduces language games as a strategy for teaching and learning language in
classroom situation. I hope you have ever played a game, so you know the nature of games. I am
sure you do enjoy the games you play indoors. That is how language games are. But these games
are with a difference. They are played in classrooms as teaching and learning are ongoing, and are
guided by the teacher during the teaching learning situation. This unit will discuss the
characteristics of language games.

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 explain language games
 identify the characteristics of games

What are language games?

Language games are educational games that are designed for the teaching and learning of language.
These games enhance the teaching and learning of all aspects of language. They make students
study in a stress free environment.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE GAMES

What are the characteristics of language games? Write your answer in the space provided below.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Compare your answers with the information below.
Language games are governed by rules. They are like the games we play on daily basis. These
games are structured to serve a particular purpose, so the rules guide the playing of each game to
a successful end. The rules control the players to retain / maintain the focus of the game in order
to achieve its purpose.
They are competitive by their nature. The games are played by participants who are prepared to
win the competition in class. In this context, the participants are the students in your class. The
competitive nature of language games makes it challenging for learners to get involved in order to
win. In addition to winning a game in class, they grasp the concept of language in a language class.

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Since language games are competitive, a winner is declared at the end. The competitive nature of
language games makes all group members very attentive and where necessary, they all participate
in the activities that lead to learning a language concept, as well as winning the competition.
Above all, language games are designed to develop all the three domains; cognitive domain,
affective domain and the psychomotor domain. They are not ordinary games that entertain but
their focus is to develop all areas that are necessary for achieving success in language lessons. The
examples of language games are treated in the next section. It also contains how those language
games are played and used.

SUMMARY
Language games enhance the teaching and learning of all aspects of language. They are governed
by rules; all students participate in the teaching learning process. These games are competitive,
and they develop all the three domains of the learners.

Questions

1. What are language games?

2. State any two characteristics of language games.

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Unit 5 Section 2: Some Language Games
Introduction
There are several examples of language games. Just as there are a lot of games in our social
settings, so are language games. New games are developed in addition to the already existing ones
in our educational systems. This section will discuss some examples of language games.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 mention some language games
 play some language games
 use games in your language classes

These games are designed to help students to engage in playing games that lead to the development
of the language skills. There are already existing games that are designed for students to use in
language lessons; however, you may design your own games for your lessons or modify the already
existing games to suit your objectives. Here are some examples of language games.

Mother and Child

In this game, give students a long word to study, and form as many words as they can from it. The
one who is able to develop the highest number of words is declared the winner. All the words
developed from the long word should be correctly spelt words that exist. For example; accentuation
(eat, ate, ten, tea, tin, unite, neat, accent, cent, nine, union, cat, cut, tune, tit, cite, tie, ion,
tuna, acetic, unit, neon…)
The teacher can make it interesting by grouping the students to form the words in their groups.
Through the group work, the students would assist one another and they would be assessed on
group basis. This will make the game more competitive and more interesting.
Can You Go?
This game is also a word building game, but it is a little bit restricted than the Mother and Child.
Two students are selected to play the game. It is in the form of a dialogue. The first person begins
with a word; preferably, a monosyllabic word, and asks the other competitor; Can you go? If s/he
answers yes, s/he adds a morpheme to form another word. They continue till one of them is unable
to add a new morpheme to the word. Whoever is unable to add a new morpheme becomes the
loser. Look at the example below.
A: Faith; Can you go?
B: Yes. Faithful; Can you go?
A: Yes. unfaithful; Can you go?

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B: Yes. unfaithfulness; Can you go?
A: No
In this example competitor ‘A’ is the loser, and ‘B’ the winner.

"I know a word"

Get a ball, and prepare a list of words that contain the sounds you want the students to identify in
words. Use the word list for the game, in order to make you get focused. Begin the game by
saying; "I know a word that starts with the same sound you hear at the beginning of the word
country." Students will raise their hands, and you will choose one of them to tell you a word that
starts with the sound "/k/." Whoever tells you the correct word; toss him/her the ball. They
choose someone else to tell them another word that begins with that sound, passing the ball to the
student who gets it right. As the game continues, change the sound very often. Play until
everyone has a turn. You can use this game for the identification of initial, medial and final
sounds of words. This game helps students to develop vocabulary, and identify sounds in
context.

"I need a synonym"

This is a vocabulary building exercise. Put a list of words on the board and divide the class into
two teams. Give cut out cards to all the students. Have one person from each team come up and
compete. When the students are set, you start the game by saying; "I need a synonym for the
word annoyed." (You may select any word of your choice.) The competitors are to write another
word that has similar meaning as that same word on the card; such as angry, irritated, bothered,
upset and infuriated. Whoever writes the correct synonym on the card, raises the card and says
it, wins a point for his/her team. Synonyms of words may be more than one, so if the second
competitor also comes up with another synonym of the word in question, half of the point is
awarded to that team. Other members may also come up with additional synonyms of the focus
word but would not score any mark for it. In the end, all of your students gain knowledge in a
word relations.

Spelling Review
You can go through your spelling words with your students using a ball. Put them in groups.
Have them mention one letter at a time, as you throw the ball to them. For example: Tell them,
“We're going to spell the word photographer.” The first person says "p," the second person says
"h," the third person says "o," and so on. If one in the group says the wrong letter, the next
person says correct letter and fixes the mistake. If the group is able to spell the word correctly, it
gains a point, but if the group defaults in spelling the word correctly, it loses and passes the ball
to another group to spell as a bonus. This is done until all the groups take part in the spelling of
words.

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Roll dice to have your students answer story questions.
"What is the plot of the story?" you might ask them. "What is the setting?" You can introduce
more reflective questions such as, "Why did this character do what he or she did?" and "What
was the author's purpose?" You can write these questions on cards or write it on the board. You
need to put the students in groups to answer the questions by sharing ideas. After setting the
class, read a story to them and ask them to provide answers to the questions. Remember that the
story is the source of information for the questions. The group which will answer all the
questions correctly will emerge the winner.
However, share the correct answers with the entire class. This game will enhance the
development of listening skills, and comprehension in students. You may use this game to teach
literature and comprehension.

Word Hunt

Choose a part of passage appropriate for your students. The text might be a paragraph, a page, or
more. Provide students with a piece of paper. Write four or more words on the cardboard. Three
of the words should come directly from the text; the fourth word should not appear in the text.
Show the words to the class. As soon as the words are revealed to the students, have them scan
the passage, looking for those words. When they know which word does not appear in the text,
they write it/them on their papers and put down their pencils and raise their hand to signal they
are done. How many students found the correct word/words that are missing in the passage? This
game is to build scanning and visual recognition skills in students.

Meaning Match-Up

Supply each pair of students with 20 index cards, and have each pair divide the cards evenly
between them. Then provide each pair with ten vocabulary items. Tell each student to write five
of the words on index cards, one word to a card. Then tell each student to write the definitions of
those five words on the remaining five cards (They may use the dictionary to get the meanings.),
one definition per card. Mix up the cards, turn them upside down, and place them in five rows of
four cards each. Have Player 1 turn over two cards. If the cards are a word and matching
definition, the player keeps those two cards and continues his or her turn. If the cards don't
match, they are turned back, and Player 2 takes a turn. Play continues until all words are matched
to their definitions. This game will end up with a large number of vocabulary items, which
students can share at the end. It builds word-meaning skills.

Alpha Sentences
Select a sentence from a passage the students have read. Then have students work individually or
in pairs to create another sentence in which the words begin with the same letter as the word in
the selected sentence. For example, “Stop struggling like her.” might become “Some people

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came there.etc. Students create varieties of sentences, and are made to vote for the best sentences
created by their peers.

It builds grammar /sentence structure) skills and creativity.

Searching for Syllables

Provide each student with a sheet of paper. Instruct students to fold the paper to create three
columns, and number the columns 1, 2, and 3 (senior high school students may divide their paper
into more columns; or head the columns with the numbers 2, 3, and 4 or more or 3, 4, and 5 or
more.) The numbers indicate the number of syllables in the words that will be placed in each
column.

Provide a text (of a paragraph, page, or other appropriate length) and have students write each
word in the text in the appropriate column on their papers. The student who places the most
words in the correct columns wins! An example is on the chart below.

2 3 4

father photograph remediation

maker deduction reactivate
faithful relatives beneficial
table benefit generation
winner continental
depart
cannot
convict
savior

The table above represents a sheet of paper. It is divided into three columns, even though there are
no lines to show. The numbers on top of each column represent the number of syllables each word
contains in that column. This game builds the skill of syllabication in students. In addition to that,
the students develop vocabulary.

Do you have any examples of language games to share with your colleagues? Write the names
of the games in the space provided below and share with your colleagues.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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Discuss them later with your colleagues in your study groups.
Summary
This section discussed some examples of language games and how they are played. Remember
that language games can be used for teaching different concepts in language lessons. It is left with
the teacher to make decisions on which of them will be suitable for his/her lesson. The games are
focused on teaching different aspects of language, such as; listening, speaking, reading and writing.
In addition, they develop many other skills that help in learning other subjects.

Assessment Questions
1. Give four examples of language games.
2. Mention and explain how the games you mentioned earlier are played.

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Unit 5 Section 3: Importance of Language games
Introduction
Language games take different forms and are used in teaching different concepts. Looking at the
types of language games, they may have several benefits to both the teacher and the learner. This
section will discuss the importance of language games.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 state some importance of language games
 explain the importance of language games to the learner

It breaks from the routine of language class.

Language games create the opportunity for teachers to break from the normal teaching learning
process, where teachers present their lessons in an environment that hardly allows students to talk,
or contribute to the learning process. Language games change teacher centered classes to learner
centered classrooms. The kind of routine experienced in language classrooms no more exists when
language games are used.

All students participate in the lesson and they interact among themselves.
The use of language games enable all students to participate in language lessons. They may be
allowed to work in groups or pairs to give reports/answers. Because they work with their own
colleagues they feel more comfortable to talk freely with them. They work in a stress free
environment, and achieve better results.

Language skills are developed.

When students engage in language games in class, they develop the four language skills. They will
by all means talk to one another on the topic for discussion. As they do so, they develop listening
and speaking skills. In addition to the aural and oral skills, they do develop reading and writing
skills. These activities that they engage in would make them develop the four basic language skills.

It creates meaningful context.

Students are made to engage in doing activities in meaningful contexts. For example; when
students engage in vocabulary game, the teacher can create a market scene for students to work
with. This would make the students engage in a real life situation, which is more meaningful. to

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play a game in class. Besides, they understand better because of the context within which they play
the game in a language class.

Learning a new concept becomes easy.

Language games make learning easier. Since students are made to put into practice some of the
concepts they learn, it is easier to learn because of the friendly environment. Because of the
friendly environment, and the tension free learning environment, it is easier for the learners to
recollect what they have been studied. They would always link what they have learnt to the game
they played.

They develop vocabulary.

Language games enhance the vocabulary of the learners. Students engage in a lot of activities, and
interactions, so they are have the opportunity to do a lot of talking using vocabulary items in
context. Through their frequent use of words in context, they get exposed to a lot of vocabulary
items.

They develop oral fluency.

When a teacher uses language games in class, the students engage in a lot of conversation with
their peers. They have the opportunity to use language in real life situation in the classroom. These
same students communicate with their colleagues outside the classroom freely, using language
items to interact, and engage in activities practiced in the classroom. With time, they become fluent
and interact freely in different environments.
It breaks the ice between the teacher and the students
Language games break the coldness between the teacher and the learner. The students who are
introverts and have difficulty getting close to his/her teacher, will gradually open up and bridge
the gap between him/her and his/her teacher. The teacher engages all students when it comes to
the use of language games; therefore, he bridges the gap between him and the students. The
students feel free to ask questions for clarifications. When there is no barrier between the teachers
and the learners, teaching and learning language become easier.
SUMMARY
This section discussed the importance of using language games in language classrooms. They
include; the break from the routine of language class where the teacher does almost all the talking,
all students participate and interact among themselves, the students develop language skills,
creation and interaction in meaningful context, language becomes easy to learn and recall, students
develop vocabulary, they develop oral fluency, and break the ice between the teacher and the
students. I hope you got them all.

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Assessment Questions
1. Why is it important to use language games in a language class?

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Unit 5 Section 4: Language Drills
Introduction
Drilling is a way of memorizing a chunk of language by saying it repetitively. It can be a very
effective approach for learning new vocabulary or language structures. Any time we try to learn a
new song; we try to say the words repeatedly in order to be able to recollect the words without
looking at them. You can replicate this strategy in your classrooms, by asking your students to say
a word or language structure over and over again. The strategy you will use for your students to
say the same thing over and over again is a drill. We shall look at what drills are in this section.
We shall also look at why they are used, what teachers must drill and when they are used.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 Explain what a drill with their characteristics
 Give examples of drills
 Explain how some drills are used in language lessons

WHAT LANGUAGE DRILLS ARE

Drilling means listening to a model, provided by the teacher, or a tape or another student and
repeating what is heard. Drilling is a technique that is still used by many teachers when introducing
new language items to their students.

REASONS FOR USING DRILLS/ PURPOSE OF DRILLS

To practice new language structures
Drilling is a way of memorizing a chunk of new language item by repeating it. It can be a very
effective way of learning language structures. It involves teacher modeling a language item or
structure and the learners repeating it. The repetition of the language structure would help the
learner to remember the composition of the structure. That is; how the words of the structure are
arranged is captured, and the context within which they are used is also captured. It is therefore
advisable to make use of drills when teaching new language structures. The use of language drills
in language lessons will help students make use of correct language structures when the need
arises.
It can be concluded that drilling is a technique that has been used in foreign language classrooms
which emphasizes on repeating structural pattern through oral practice to demonstrate students’
ability to use specific language items in a controlled manner and progress to free practice.

WHAT TEACHERS SHOULD DRILL

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Pronunciation: Pronunciation in English language largely depends on English language sounds.
The sounds are can be divided into two groups. They are vowels and consonants. For teachers of
language to ensure correct pronunciation of words in the language that they teach, they should use
drills in their lessons to help the learners.
The sound system of our Ghanaian languages differs slightly from that of English language; this
is because not all the English language sounds exist in Ghanaian languages. This brings about the
problem of wrong pronunciation that impedes intelligibility. The initial sound for the word think
is /θ/ which does not exist in any Ghanaian language. This sound is substituted with /f/ or /t/
depending upon the first language background of the speaker. It is therefore necessary to drill for
correct pronunciation of English language sounds (words) through drills. Stress and intonation
should be included in the teaching of pronunciation since they contribute a lot to meaning. The
drills will surely enhance the teaching of pronunciation.

Minimal Pairs
Minimal pairs are pairs of words that are different as a result of a change in one sound. For
example; pan and can are different words because their initial sounds are not the same. If the /p/
is replaced with /k/ the two words will become the same; however, the difference is as a result of
one sound. It is therefore necessary to engage in drills that include minimal pairs. This will help
students to identify the differences in words. Minimal pairs are very common in the English readers
that are used in junior / senior high schools. Some of them are found as vocabulary items at the
foot of the comprehension passages. Study the list of words below.
Feet fit
Bean bin
Clash crash
Clap class
The highlighted portions of the words above indicate the variations in the pairs of words, so each
pair is a minimal pair.
To fix new structures (Phrases/Clauses) that are complex in the mind of a learner
The use of drills helps teachers to fix new structures in the minds of learners. When learners are
introduced to new structures such as phrases and clauses, they would be made to say the structure
repeatedly in drills, in order to get used to it. This would make it easier for them to use the
grammatical structures correctly in context.

WHEN TO USE DRILLS

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Drills can be incorporated into any part of a language lesson. However, some plans can be put
in place for teachers to make sure, that learners understand the concept of the grammatical item or
structure to be used for the drill. On this note, I will say; meaning must come before drilling.
Drills can be incorporated into different lessons. Drills can be used when we want learners to
remember some items accurately in a lesson. It does not matter the aspect of language which is
being taught. Since the aspects of language are many, drills can be used when teaching any aspect
of language.
Drills may follow a language focus stage particularly when dealing with spoken language.
You may ask the learners to say some expressions repeatedly in order to become used to them.
The use of the drill at the language focus stage will make learners focus on a particular structure
to be used in language.
Drills can be used in grammar lessons. In grammar lessons, drills help in reinforcement of a
concept of chunks of language items and structures. Drills are used as controlled practice in
grammar lessons. At the control practice stage, the use of drills avoids language errors in a learners’
language.

Summary
This unit discussed what language drills are, reasons for using drills, purpose of using drills what
teachers should drill and when to use drills.

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Unit 5 Section 5: SOME LANGUAGE DRILLS
Introduction
Drilling is a way of memorizing a chunk of language by repeating it. It can be a very effective
approach for learning new vocabulary or language structures. Just as you saw in Section 5 of this
unit, language drills are used for different purposes. You also saw what to drill, and when to drill.
This section will discuss the examples of drills and how they are used in language lessons.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 Explain what a drill with their characteristics
 Give examples of drills
 Explain how some drills are used in language lessons

These are examples of language drills and how they are used in class.
1. Substitution drills
This drill requires more than simple repetition in which the students will repeat a sentence from
the dialogue and replace a word or phrase in the sentence with the word or phrase that the teacher
gives them. This word or phrase is called the cue which can be a picture or any other thing. E.g.
replace the name of the item bought from the market with your own.
Teacher: I bought a new book.
Student: I bought a new bag.
Teacher: She bought a cow.
Student: She bought a kokonte.
You may also use a substitution table for substitution drill.

Another example of Substitution Drill:

Substitution drill can used to practice different structures or vocabulary items ( One word or
more change when learners practise the drill.) The teacher gives the clue regarding the subject of
the sentence. Observe the drill below.
Example:
Teacher : I go to school. He?
Students : He goes to school.
Teacher : They?
Students : They go to school.

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Repetition Drill

The teacher models (the word or phrases) and the students repeat it. This is a very common drill
at the lower grades. In the high schools, it is appropriate to use this type of drill when teaching
complex language structures.
Example:
Teacher : He didn’t come, so I needn’t have taken the money.
Students: He didn’t come, so I needn’t have taken the money.

Teacher: They didn’t eat the food, so I shouldn’t have prepared it.

Students: They didn’t eat the food, so I shouldn’t have prepared it.

The Question and Answer Drill

The teacher gives students practice that makes them answer questions. The students are made to
answer the teacher’s questions very quickly. These questions follow a pattern of language to be
practiced. It is also possible for the teacher to let the students practice to ask questions for their
colleagues to answer as well. This gives students practice with the question pattern.
Example on the topic, Question Tags;

Teacher : Does he eat yam? Yes?

Students : Yes, he does.
Teacher : No?
Students : No, he does not.

The Transformation Drill

Transformation drill transfers one idea to another. This type of drill asks students to change one
type of sentence into another-an affirmative sentence into a negative or active sentence into a
passive, for example. The teacher uses a Transformation drill that requires the students to change
a statement into a yes/no question, The teacher gives students a certain kind of sentence pattern,
an affirmation sentence for example. Students are asked to transform this sentence into a
negative sentence. Other examples of transformations are; changing a statement into a question,
an active sentence into a passive sentence, or direct speech into a reported speech.

Example: (positive into negative)

Teacher : I clean the chairs every day.
Students : I don’t clean the chairs every day.
Teacher : She cooks well.
Students : She doesn’t cook well.

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The Chain Drill
The teacher begins the chain drill by asking a student a question. That student responds, and then
turns to the student sitting next to him. The first student asks a question of the second student and
the chain continues. A chain drill is practiced strictly in chains and no student can escape
practicing in the row. A chain drill allows some controlled communication, even though it is
limited. A chain drill also gives the teacher an opportunity to check each student’s speech.
E.g

Teacher: What is the colour of this table?

Student A: The colour of table is brown.
Teacher: What the colour of your bag?
Student B: The colour of my bag is blue.
Student C: What is the colour of the pencil?
Student D: The colour of the pencil is red.

The Expansion Drill

This drill is used when a long line dialogue is giving students trouble. The teacher breaks down
the line into several parts. The students repeat a part of the sentence, usually the last phrase of the
line. Then following the teacher’s cue, the students expand what they are repeating; part at the
end of the sentence (and works backward from there) to keep the intonation of the line as natural
as possible. This also directs more students’ attention to the end of the sentence, where new
information typically occurs.

Example:
Teacher : My father is a doctor.
Students : My father is a doctor
Teacher : He works in the hospital.
Students : He works in the hospital
Teacher : My father is a doctor. He works in the hospital.
Students : My father is a doctor. He works in the hospital
Teacher : He takes care of the patient.
Students : He takes care of the patient
Teacher : My father is a doctor. He works in the hospital. He takes care of the patient
Students : My father is a doctor. He works in the hospital. He takes care of the patient

Summary
This section discussed examples of drills and how they are used in language class. Do you know
any other drill apart from those discussed in this section? Discuss it with your colleagues and teach
them how it is used in a language lesson.

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Assessment Questions
1. Mention and discuss a language drill. Mention one aspect of language that can be taught with
that drill.
2. Which language drill can be used for teaching simple present tense and simple past?

107
Unit 5 Section 6: Importance of Language Drills
Introduction
I hope you enjoyed going through the language drills. Do you think it is important to use language
drills in language classes? This section will present the importance of using language drills to teach
language.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 identify the importance of language drills
 use language drills in their language lessons
 give reasons for using language drills in language lessons

The more time you spend doing grammar drills, the more you advance, because you are focusing
your brain on some aspect of language learning, and the effects amass. If you engage in grammar
drills, you are probably also learning vocabulary, and hopefully practicing speaking
(pronunciation) and /or listening. Drills generally help learners improve in many areas including
their language skills

All learners participate in all the activities.

The good thing about using drills in a language class is that all the learners participate in the
activity. In addition to listening to their teacher for correct pronunciation, they turn to listen to one
another and draw inspirations from them. Because all the learners participate in the process, the
teacher is sure of achieving success at the end of the lesson.

It helps students to memorize accurate use of structures.

One of the reasons for using language drills is to help learners to memorize language structures.
Drills enable learners to say a new language item/structure over and over again correctly. The
teacher insists on correct forms only, and ensures that every student in the class takes part in the
drill. Through the repeated saying of the drill the students become used to the correct forms of that
language item/structure.
It enables the teacher to correct learners’ errors.
Another purpose for using language drills in a language lesson is to enable teachers to correct
learner errors promptly. It is obvious, that not all learners can produce the right language structures
at the initial stages of practicing the constructions of some language structures; therefore, the
teacher will get opportunity to correct learners’ language errors promptly. Through the use of

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drills, and persistent corrections by the teacher, learners develop the use of correct forms of
language.
For improving pronunciation
The use of drills helps students to improve upon their pronunciation. The teacher provides correct
models of pronunciation of words for learners to imitate, and these correct pronunciations are said
repeatedly by learners over time. As they are made to say selected words correctly over and over
again, their pronunciations improve.

For improving vocabulary

The use of drills makes teachers use varieties of vocabulary items / language structures for practice
in class. The more practice the students engage in, the wider the range of vocabulary they cover.
The benefits of language drills are not limited to language class only, but also they make use of
the vocabulary items that they come across in other subject areas without difficulty. This is because
they have the vocabulary needed for dealing with the challenges in different areas of their study.
Besides, the English language syllabus is structured to help students to study the language across
the curriculum, so students will develop vocabulary in relation to all areas of study within their
level.
Improves oral language
In relation to the development of vocabulary through the use of drills, students will improve upon
their oral language. The students will also make use of those language structures in their daily
activities. They may not be handicapped with oral language because they will have all the requisite
skills for engaging in meaningful conversation.

Improves the development of other aspects of language

Drills help learners to develop their minds on aspects of language. Drills help develop oral and
aural skills in language learning. The students’ listening and speaking skills reflect on their
communication skills. They are able to speak fluently without hesitation. Students who have the
opportunity to be taken through drills get to know of the different language structures and use them
correctly in their conversations. Their grammar improves, for they are taken through the correct
structures in several ways in different contexts. They also come across formal and informal
structures in the drills they use. This will surely influence the writing skills of students. The
learners transfer the knowledge acquired from the drills into writing.
SUMMARY
Language drills are very important in language lessons. They play very vital roles in the lives of
students during the teaching learning process. The above constitutes some of the importance of
language drills. All learners participate in all the activities; it helps students to memorize accurate

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use of structures; it enables the teacher to correct learners’ errors; it helps improve pronunciation,
and vocabulary; it improves oral language, and other aspects of language.
Assessment Questions

Answers to Unit 5 SECTION 1

Answers to Unit 5 SECTION 2

Answers to Unit 5 Section3

It breaks from the routine of language class.
All students participate and interact among themselves.
Language skills are developed.
It creates meaningful context.
They develop vocabulary.
Learning becomes easy.
They develop vocabulary.
They develop oral fluency.
It breaks the ice between the teacher and the students.

Answers to assessment questions Unit 5 Section 5

1 Repetition drill
The teacher constructs the drill based on a topic. The teacher says a language structure and
allows the students to repeat it after him / her.
Teacher: To err is human.
Students: To err is human.
The aspect of language to be taught with the drill is: the use of to infinitives as subjects of
sentences.
2. Transformation drill

Answers to Unit 5 SECTION 6

110
UNIT SIX: LANGUAGE LESSON PLAN
OBJECTIVES
Unit 6 Section 1: Parts of English Language Lesson Plan
Introduction
Dear learner, you are welcome to unit six of this model. This is the last unit of this model, and I
hope you enjoyed studying the first five unites. This unit seeks to introduce you to the format of
English language lesson plan. It will present you with the format in the form of a table with the
sub-headings. Further explanations of each column are given after the table. You will go through
the aspects of English lesson notes with their variations. Study their forms well and learn to prepare
each aspect on your own.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
 identify the features of English language lesson plan
 follow the stages of English lesson notes
 write English language lesson notes

111
Unit 6 Section 1: Parts of English Language Lesson Plan
Introduction
Dear learner, you are welcome to unit six section one. This section will introduce you to the format
of English language lesson plan. It will present you with the format in the form of a table with the
sub-headings. Further explanations of each column are given after the table. Study the content of
the section carefully so that you can use it to develop the various aspects of English language
lesson plans.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
 identify the parts of a language lesson plan
 identify the format for writing lesson plan for the different aspects of English
 follow the format and write a good lesson plan for a language lesson.

FORMAT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LESSON PLAN

Week Ending: References:
Name of School:
Class:
Subject:
Number on Roll:
Average Age:
Day/Date/ Aspect/Topic Specific T. L. M. Core Points Evaluation
Duration Sub-Topic Objectives T. L. A. Exercise
R. P. K.
Day Aspect Specific Obj. T. L. M. Core Points Sampled
Monday Grammar Questions

Date Topic
10/10/16 T. L. A.
R. P. K. Expected
Answers
Duration Sub-topic
35mins

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Key: Obj. (Objectives)
R. P. K. (Relevant Previous Knowledge)
T. L. M. (Teaching Learning Materials)
T. L. M. (Teaching Learning Activities)
Explanation of the Information on the Table
The table above shows how a lesson plan looks. The first item of the preamble is the week ending.
That is the last working day of the week, which is normally Fridays’ date. This is followed by the
name of the school. The third item is the class in which the lesson will be taught. The forth item is
the name of the subject – English Language, followed by the number of students in the class. The
sixth item is the average age of the students. On the right hand side of the table is the references
consulted by the teacher. The references should include the following: titles of the books, pages,
the author, and publishers’ name.
Column 1 - Day, Date and Duration
The table has six columns. The first column has three items (Day, Date and Duration). The items
follow a sequence and must maintain their positions. You may state the time of the lesson, and this
will make the items four.
Column 2 - Aspect, Topic, Sub-Topic
The second column also has three items. Note that the positions of the items should not be changed,
because the arrangement of the items is fixed. As stated, the Aspect should occur first, followed
by the Topic before the Sub-Topic if any. The number of items may reduce to two, if the lesson
has no sub-topic. This depends upon the aspect of English lesson plan. For example, when a teacher
prepares a lesson plan for reading comprehension, there would be no sub-topic because the entire
passage is used for the lesson, even if part of the passage is to be used for the lesson, the title
remains the same as the topic of the lesson. In this case, only the Aspect and Topic would be
recorded in the second column.
Note that the topic of a comprehension passage should be used as the topic of the lesson. The same
applies to storytelling, poetry recital and some others, so the title of the story should be used as the
topic of the lesson.

Column 3 - Specific Objectives and Relevant Previous Knowledge (R. P. K.)

The next column contains two items. They are the Specific Objectives and Relevant Previous
Knowledge (RPK). The specific objectives are stated using an introductory statement; By the end
of the lesson, the student will be able to: followed by the actual specific objectives, one after the
other. The specific objectives are set using action verbs. Examples are stated in behavioral terms
in the syllabus. The specific objectives are main things the teacher would like to achieve by the
end of the lesson.

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Within the same column, is the R. P. K. of the students. It is what the students already know in
relation to the topic to be treated. The students’ R. P. K. should be directly related to the new topic.
E.g. the R. P. K. of the topic Adjectives could be; students can describe their friends / environment/
homes / things around them.
Column 4 - Teaching Learning Activities
The fourth column has two major things; TLM and TLA. The TLM stands for the Teaching
Learning Materials, while the TLA stands for Teaching Learning Activities. The TLMs for an
English language lessons are stated in this column first, followed by the TLA. The TLMs must be
stated clearly. E.g. the picture of a school compound / a market scene/ the parts of an official letter
on a chart; these examples are clear and do not need any further explanations.
The TLA varies from aspect to aspect. These are the activities that teachers and students go through
in order to achieve the objectives of the lesson. The Teaching Learning Activities are organized in
stages, and different aspects of English demand different activities with their stages. Each aspect
has three stages with different sub-headings. They are: reading lesson - Preliminary Reading
Stage, Reading Stage and Post Reading Stage; Grammar lesson - Introduction,
Discussion/Explanation and Exercise Stage; Oral language lesson - Pre-Presentation Stage,
Presentation Stage and Post Presentation Stage; Writing lesson - Pre-Writing Stage, Writing Stage
and Post Writing Stage. The details of each aspect will be discussed in the other sections.
Column 5 Core Points
The core points of a language lesson are what the learners are expected to develop as skills in
language. These are supposed to be stated in the fifth column of the table. This depends upon the
aspect of language that is to be taught. When teaching reading for example, the teacher expects
his/her students to develop language skills such as vocabulary, the skill of scanning, skimming,
comprehension, and the ability to answer questions. The core points of English lessons are not like
other subjects, where the most important points are captured as core points. The language skills
are preferred in the teaching of language.
Column 6 - Evaluation Exercise
The evaluation column is the last column of the language lesson plan. The assessment questions
together with their expected answers are written there. However, not all questions can have their
expected answers stated in their lesson plans. E.g. if you ask students to write an essay, you cannot
write a full length essay in that small space in your in your lesson plan. It is essential to study the
nature of the topic carefully, in order supply the correct information the various columns provided.
Remarks
No specific column is created for remarks in English language lesson plan; therefore, it may be
written at the bottom of column 4, 5 or 6. The remarks on a lesson should be written only after
teaching the lesson. And specific comments must be written. E.g.
 The students understood the lesson, because they were able to answer the questions
correctly on the lesson.

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  Part of the lesson will be taught again because about 50% of the students could not answer
questions on the lesson.
 The lesson was referred to the third week due a heavy rainstorm on that day.

Blanket statements must not be used as remarks in lesson plans, for it doesn’t give adequate
information on the success or failure of the lesson. E.g.
 The lesson was successful.
 Lesson referred to next week.

SUMMARY
This section introduced you to the format of English language lesson plan. Note that English
language lesson note has six columns, unlike other subjects. The Specific Objectives are stated
first before the R. P. K. The stages for Teaching Learning Activities vary from one aspect to the
other. Study the entire plan carefully, and follow it.
Assessment Questions
1. Draw the plan for English language lesson.

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Unit 6 Section 2: Teaching Oral Language
Introduction
The oral aspect of language is very important, especially when it comes to the teaching of English
as a second language. It is crucial because wrong pronunciation may impede the intended meaning
of the speaker. Do you remember how learners of your first language say wrong things as a result
of wrong pronunciation? The same thing happens when people pronounce words wrongly in
English language. This section will look at the areas involved in the teaching of oral English
language in junior/senior high schools.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 identify areas that are taught in oral English
 explain each area of oral English
 prepare a lesson note to teach oral English

The Areas of Oral English to be Taught

The main areas of oral English include pronunciation based on sounds of English; thus, vowel
sounds and consonant sounds. Students are made to identify these sounds in contexts, but not in
isolation. The teacher should focus on the vowel sounds first. These vowel sounds should be dealt
with in three segments; short vowels, long vowels and diphthongs. These sounds must be treated
distinctly in context, for the students to be able to pronounce them correctly, and identify them in
context. Also, pairs of similar sounds may be presented to students within the same lesson. For
example: long and short vowel sounds (/i:/ /I/ /u:/ /u/), /æ/ and /ᴧ/, and others. The consonant
sounds should be taught after teaching the vowel sounds. I hope you remember, that some of the
English sounds do not exist in Ghanaian languages therefore pay special attention to the teaching
of those sounds. E.g /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, /ʤ/ and /ʧ/.
The next thing to teach the students is the syllables of words. This can be done through the use of
mono syllabic words, disyllabic words, multi syllabic words and polysyllabic words. This should
be incorporated in stress patterns, in order to show the stressed and unstressed syllables clearly.
The stressed syllables enhance meaning. Therefore, learners need to be taken through for the
purposes of getting the right pronunciations for the intended meaning. For example; import is a
noun while import is a verb. The disyllabic words that have stress at their first syllables are nouns
and those that have stress on their second syllables are verbs, and so on. This is not fixed though,
it depends on the context. Refer to the oral English course book for senior high schools.
Intonation is another area of concentration in oral English. In the senior high school curriculum,
intonation is expected to be taught in context. It is done in sentence types as in tune one and tune
two. Knowledge of intonation enhances meaning in communication, so it should not be underrated
at all.

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Stages of Oral Language Lesson
The stages of oral language lesson are three. They are; Pre-Presentation, Presentation and Post
Presentation. They are arranged in sequence. Each stage has its own activities, and you are
expected to present them as such in your lessons. Study the example below and organize yours to
go with your lesson.

Pre-Presentation Stage
At this stage, review the relevant previous knowledge of your students. Note that their previous
knowledge should have a link with the current topic. If the topic is on vowels one (i:) and two (I),
ask them to give examples of words in which they can hear these sounds. Of course, some of their
words may be wrong, so you need to write the correct ones the board. Put them under the
appropriate sounds. Peel, peal, pill, seal, kill, deal, team, dean, bin, etc

Presentation Stage
Pronounce the individual sounds for students to listen and pronounce after you. /i:/ and /I/, use the
examples of sounds above in words. Pronounce the words individually, using the individual sound.
/I/ Gill, hill, pill, sill, fill, kill, till, etc. and /i:/ feel, peel, peal, seal, weed, pea, etc. Take students
through repetition drill: e.g. Let the students say the list of words that have /I/ sound repeatedly
let them do same for the long vowel sound. Add to the list of words and let them study the spelling
systems of words that have these sounds. Let the students give their own examples of words that
contain these sounds, and correct their errors as they present their examples.

Post Presentation Stage

Pronounce a set of words in each case and ask the students to listen and identify the one which
contains the sound /I/. e.g; hill, hail, hell. 2. Fail, feel, fill 3. pill, pail, peel. Etc. Do same for the
sound /i:/. This will test their listening skills regarding the sounds in question. Give the students
a list of words that contain these sounds, and ask them to group the words according to the two
sounds. This should be done in groups for assessment.
Mill, seal, still, steal, mill, meal, peal, fill, feet, pill, fit, sit, seat bean, pin, pit
Expected answers: /I/ mill, still, mill, fill, pill, fit, sit, pin, pit
/i:/ seal, steal, meal, peal, feet, seat, bean
Give the students prompt feedback.

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NOTE
The procedure for presenting oral language lesson is made up of the teacher learner activities only,
so when preparing your lesson notes for teaching, you must add other components of lesson plan.
You therefore need to refer to section one of this unit for the details.

SUMMARY
This section discussed areas to be covered in teaching oral English. These are; pronunciation based
on sounds of English; thus, vowel sounds and consonant sounds, the syllables of words and stress
patterns. It also discussed the stages of presenting oral; they are, Pre-Presentation Stage
Presentation Stage Post Presentation Stage. Each stage has its own details. Study them carefully
and use the information to prepare your lesson plan on other areas oral English.

Assessment Questions
Which areas of English are taught as oral English in schools?
Mention and explain the stages of oral English lesson plan.

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Unit 6 Section 3: Teaching Reading Comprehension
Introduction
As discussed previously, the procedure for lesson presentation varies from aspect to aspect. This
section deals with reading comprehension lesson plan, and three stages are involved. They are;
Preliminary Reading Stage, Reading Stage and Post Reading Stage. The activities performed
at each stage are discussed below.

Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
 state the stages of a reading comprehension lesson
 explain the activities performed at each stage of a comprehension lesson
 prepare a comprehension lesson plan

THE STAGES OF READING COMPREHENSION

Preliminary Reading Stage
At the preliminary reading stage, two main activities are performed. These activities are prediction
activities, and the teaching of vocabulary items. The prediction activities may be done by
reviewing the learners’ RPK through questioning. That is the likely things the students know in
connection with the content of the text. In addition to that, the learners may be asked to discuss
pictures based on the topic. For example; the picture a very busy market would be suitable for the
topic; ‘A Market Day in Gbi-Wegbe. The teacher can also lead his/her students to brainstorm for
the content of the passage. You can use an anecdote, discussion of the title of the passage in book
You can engage your students in doing semantic mapping. This would help them to mention the
possible words they will come across in the passage. For example; the title, Tea Party, may involve
vocabulary items such as; conversation, serve, Lipton, Tetley, tea bags, Milo, sugar, honey, milk,
bread, bread spread, jam, cheese, butter, margarine, hot water, fried egg, biscuits, tissue, tea cups,
saucer, cutlery set, etc.. As you do the Semantic mapping the students come out with the ideas they
have about the topic. This can also be used for teaching vocabulary.

Reading Stage
At the second stage, that is the reading stage, ask the students to read the passage silently. As they
read the passage, provide them with a set of questions to guide their reading and to make them
follow the text. Discuss the guided questions with the students. This discussion will help them to
get an overview of the content of the text or general information. After the discussion of the pre-
reading questions/while reading questions, ask the students to do another silent reading. This is the

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real reading for comprehension, after which the learners can provide apposite answers to the
comprehension questions. They are required to do close reading, when it comes to reading for
comprehension. They are expected to read word for word, make inferences, and deduce meanings
from figurative expressions, idiomatic expressions, follow the logical reasoning of the writer.
These are the things that would help learners to carry out reading comprehension with ease.
Post Reading Stage
The post reading stage is the third stage of a reading comprehension lesson. At this stage the
teacher should discuss the passage with the students. Do you remember the types of comprehension
exercises you studied in unit four? You may refer to that section for additional information. The
discussion of the passage should be based on the comprehension questions. The learners should be
guided to answer the comprehension questions appropriately, for different types of questions
constitute each set of comprehension questions. Following the discussion of the comprehension
questions, let the students answer the comprehension questions into their exercise book for
assessment. Provide learner with feedback on each exercise promptly, and insist that students do
corrections for every exercise.
SUMMARY
This section discussed the stages of teaching comprehension in both junior and senior high schools.
It includes preliminary reading stage, reading stage and post reading stage. Each stage has its own
activities that can help the learners to achieve the objectives of comprehension lesson.
Assessment Questions
1. What are the stages of a reading comprehension lesson?
2. Give two examples of activities that are done when doing prediction activities.
3. State any four things that students are expected to do when they are doing the second
silent reading.
4. At what stage is evaluation done for reading comprehension?

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Unit 6 Section 4: Teaching grammar in SHS
Introduction
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
 State the stages of grammar lesson plan
 Explain the activities at every stage of JHS grammar lesson plan
 Write a detailed lesson plan for junior/senior high school class
 Teach grammar well in a junior high school class.

STAGES OF GRAMMAR LESSON PLAN

Introduction
The introduction stage is the first stage of a grammar lesson in the junior/senior high school. It is
the preparation of the learners to gain grounds for the actual lesson. At this stage, the teacher
should base on the activities that may lead to the content of the topic. As a teacher of grammar at
that level, you may review the R. P. K. of your students. You may do so by asking your students
questions on the previous topics that can form the basis for the new topic in question. For example;
if the new topic is on simple past tense, you can ask them questions on simple present tenses; thus
habitual tenses:
What do you do on Saturdays?
How do you clean your shoes?
When do go to farm?
These questions will make your students provide answers that fall within a particular tense group,
which is the springboard for presenting the new topic.
You may use a sketch that will be performed by the students. For example; you may ask some
students to perform a sketch on a hospital scene, for others students to observe. After the sketch,
ask questions about it, and ask the students will tell you what they observed. Their comments
would have some information on the text. In addition to that you may ask the students to read a
text which contains the language items to be taught. For instance; if the topic for the day is on past
simple past tense, you can use a text on A Journey You Have Made. Such a text is made up with
past events, so it will contain a lot of past tenses that can form the basis for teaching the new topic.
After reading the text, the students are made to answer questions on the text. The questions would
reflect the use of past events, to introduce the new topic for discussion. These and many other
activities can be organized to introduce a grammar lesson in the junior/senior high school class.

Discussion/Explanation

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This is the second stage of junior/senior high school grammar lesson plan. As you continue from
the first stage, refer to some examples of the language items reviewed. Ask the students to mention
the features of the of those vocabulary items regarding tenses. Base on it to give the grammatical
definition and give examples in relation to them. For example;
Add d to some verbs to form their past (dance – danced, smile – smiled, shine – shined, tile – tiled,
etc.) if you teach the rules, do not forget to teach the exceptions, for they can be very confusing.
For example; (drive – drove, write – wrote, etc.) You cannot add a d to these and some other verbs
to make their past. Those verbs fall within a different category. Their forms change. In some cases,
the verb remains the same. As in; put, cut, etc. you may continue to give more examples of the
focused verb and ask the students to do same. At this point, you may ask the students to give their
own examples of verbs with their past forms, but remember to remain focused. At this you may
use transformation drill to make them engage in providing past forms of a list of verbs. Put your
class into two groups if you have a small class. Let one group provide some examples of the focus
verbs, and the other group provides the past tenses. In the same vein, you may use a grammatical
game or a drill (Transformation drill) to help them practice. The use of a substitution table can also
be useful after giving the learners several examples.
I left eight o’clock in the morning.
We started early.
Jane arrived in the afternoon
Sara ate some food items.
He bought rice with chicken.
They received abolo and fried fish.

Let the students construct sentences from the table, to reflect the use of simple past tenses in
context.
Exercise Stage
The exercise stage is the final stage of a grammar lesson in junior / senior high schools. This is the
evaluation stage, and you need to do both oral and written assessment. You need to ask oral
questions before giving them written exercise on the lesson. The oral assessment will serve as the
basis for the written exercise. Remember to base your assessment questions on the profile
dimensions, so that you will construct high level questions and low level questions. Eg
1. Identify the past tenses in the following sentences.
 They travelled to Accra together.
 We boiled the eggs into that basket.
 He danced throughout the day.
 They walked home yesterday.
 Felicia and Kpokpovitor performed well in the examination.
2. Construct four sentences from the substitution table on the board.

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SUMMARY
A Junior/Senior High School grammar lesson has three stages. The stages are the Introduction,
Discussion/Explanation and Exercise Stage. Several activities can be performed at the first stage
to prepare the learners for the content of the topic, such as; revision of students’ R. P. K., ask
leading questions, refer to a text, teach vocabulary in relation to the topic, etc. The second stage
has to do with the teaching of grammatical rules with their exceptions, and all these go with
examples. Other activities are used for students to use the new language items in context.
The final stage is the Exercise Stage where the lesson is evaluated, to find out whether the learners
understand the lesson or not. With this, both oral and written assessment is done. The written
assessment depends on the oral assessment.
Assessment Questions
Prepare a lesson note to teach Mass Nouns in SHS 2 class.

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Unit 6 Section 5: How to Present a Lesson on Writing in Senior High School
Introduction
Writing is one of the important skills in the academic world. It is one of the productive skills which
help students to express themselves in different situations for different purposes. As students, you
wrote several examinations before getting to this level. In addition to writing examination, you
wrote job applications, notes, short stories and many others. Based on your experience, you will
agree with me that writing is a great skill that needs to be learnt. Even if you are a perfect writer,
you will still need to add up to what you already know. This section will give you the guide to
present writing lessons to your students.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
 identify the process you will take your students through in a writing lesson
 discuss the stages of writing lesson
 explain the activities involved at each stage of teaching writing.

What Writing Entails in the Junior and Senior High Schools

Writing curriculum for our Ghanaian schools contains different forms of writing. This includes
letters (formal, informal and semi-formal), exposition, descriptive, argumentative and narrative.
Each writing type takes its own form and must be treated as such. Because of their forms you need
to teach the features of the type of essay first, the form of writing, before taking the learners through
the writing process itself.
The first thing to do is to choose the right topic. In the case of the junior high school students, the
teacher chooses what to teach. The student can make his/her own choice during examination most
of the time, because that is when options are given.
Help the students to identify the audience / their target group of their write-up. They are the people
who are expected to read the text. One can write with teachers in mind. This material for instance
is written with teachers of English or student teachers of English in mind; because they constitute
the people who will benefit from reading this material.
The next thing is to have the purpose of the write-up in mind. Are you writing to inform, educate,
and entertain or what? This is another very important thing about writing. It will pre-inform you,
the writer to choose the appropriate words for the write-up, to achieve your purpose.
Ask students to gather information for the writing through different means; brainstorming, going
to the library, searching the internet, interviewing people or holding discussions with people.
Before you do any kind of writing, you will have to prepare well. It is just like putting up a building,
for the building to be done firmly, you must look for the essential things that will be used for
raising the building. So it is with writing. All the necessary pieces of information needed for

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writing the essay should be made available through their own efforts. The students need to follow
the process by organizing their points well through outlining or semantic mapping.
The students should be aided by their plan to write the first draft, revise the draft and by r They
are the major and minor constrains; thus, the organization of the write-up and the grammatical
expressions of the essay. With respect to the organization, let students check whether they have
organized the paragraphs well (thesis of the essay in the first paragraph, the topic sentences and
the minor sentences). They should make sure that every body paragraph has one main idea, and all
the main ideas relate to the thesis statement. They need to check for the right linking expressions
within and between the paragraphs. Another area they need to check is the concluding paragraph
of the essay. It should be appropriate for the essay.
The next thing they need to check is the grammatical features in the essay. Tenses, spellings,
capitalization and punctuations should be used correctly in the essay. This is usually the last stage
of the writing process which is also known as the proofreading/editing. At this stage the students
may do peer editing in order to point out their colleagues’ errors to them.

The Stages for a Writing Lesson Plan

Three stages are involved in preparing writing lesson plan. They are: Pre-Writing Stage, Writing
Stage and Post Writing Stage.

Activity 5.1
Write two things you can take your students through, at the pre-writing stage.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Compare your points with these ones.
Pre-Writing Stage
This stage is the preparation for the actual writing. Ask the students to look for information prior
to the lesson, so at this stage, let them sit in groups. Ask the students to raise their points. In case
you did ask them to look for information before hand. You may also ask them to brainstorm for
ideas. Ask each group to do concept mapping (semantic mapping) with the points they have raised,
at their group level. As stated earlier, semantic mapping helps map out a list of words related to
topics and themes. You may refer to Unit 4 Section 4 for details. The students may also be asked
to prepare an outline with their points.

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Writing Stage
Let the students write the essays using the points raised at the pre-writing level. This should be
done individually by the students. The students should prepare the first draft. The draft should be
revised by checking two main things.
1. Let students check and restructure their organization if necessary in the following areas:
- thesis of the essay in the first paragraph,
- the topic sentences and the minor sentences.
- Each body paragraph should have one main idea, and all the main ideas should relate to the thesis
statement.
- The use of the right linking expressions within and between the paragraphs
- The concluding paragraph of the essay should be appropriate.
2. They need to check the grammatical features and structures in the essay. Tenses, spellings,
capitalization and punctuations should be used correctly in the essay.
After the revision of the paragraph they should develop another draft which will be better than the
first one.
Post Writing Stage
This stage is the Editing and Proofreading stage. The teacher may allow the students to do peer
editing. If so, the students will exchange their work and read and identify errors if any. The teacher
collects the essays and marks. Mark the essays by paying attention to the content, organization,
expression and mechanical accuracy. Acknowledge all the errors in the essays and write comments
where necessary, and discuss with the students shortly.

SUMMARY
This section discussed the forms of writing taught in the junior /senior high schools. It went on to
discuss the stages of lesson note preparation for writing. The stages are three: Pre-Writing Stage,
Writing Stage, and the Post Writing Stage. You can follow the stages and prepare your own
lesson plan on specific topic for teaching your class.
Assessment Questions
Prepare a lesson note to teach writing, on any topic of your choice.

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Unit 6 Section 6: Teaching Summary in Senior High School
Introduction
This section shows how summary should be taught in the junior / senior high schools. The stages
of a summary lesson are three. They are pre-writing stage, writing stage, and post writing stage.
These stages are discussed in order to help teachers at these levels to teach summary well.
Summary is an area which challenges a lot of students, and help reduce their marks, for this reason,
teachers should employ a lot of activities to make the teaching and learning of summary easy.

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you will be able to:
 mention the stages involved in a summary lesson.
 state and explain the activities involved in each stage of a summary lesson.
 write a good summary.

PRE-WRITING STAGE

Engage students in activities that will help them to anticipate the content of the text that will be
used for the summary. One of the things you can do is to discuss the title of the passage with the
students. Through the discussion of the title of the passage, students will anticipate the content of
the passage. Another activity is to ask leading questions on the content of the passage. These
questions should be organized such that their answers will bring out information on the text. If
some pictures are attached to the passage, you may discuss it with the students. Such pictures are
usually the true reflections of the content of the passage. Any activities to engage the students in
to enable them to have some idea about the passage are accepted.

Teach them vocabulary items that they will come across in the text. You can employ semantic
mapping in order to make it easier. As much as possible, select and teach the words they would
need for their writing.

The next major exercise is the reading of the text. Let your students read the text closely, by
identifying the most important ideas. They should highlight the sentences that have such main
ideas in the text. The students should employ their knowledge in identifying thesis statements,
and topic sentences, to highlight the thesis statement and the topic sentences of the passage. The
concluding paragraph should also be examined in order to find out whether there are any main
ideas so that they are also underlined.

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Writing Stage

The writing stage is where the actual writing is done. The first thing to do at this stage is to
paraphrase the main ideas that were highlighted at the pre-writing stage. As much as possible,
the students are not expected to lift verbatim from the text; however, they need to maintain some
pieces of information, since they cannot be paraphrased. They are names of people, places,
events, and statistics. Such lifting may be allowed in exceptional cases. Also, get rid of the less
important details such as sentences that give further explanations of ideas, examples, repetitions
and expansions. The summary should be organized based on the demands of questions

Take a second look at the first draft, and check whether your ideas are the same as those in the
original text. Check the consistency of the main ideas in the draft and check whether you can still
reduce the length further or not. Check whether you can reduce compound sentence to simple
sentence or a clause to a phrase, and reduce phrases to words.

Post Writing Stage

This stage is the final stage of writing. Under examination condition, find out if the summary
satisfies the demands of the questions. Check the content in order to find out if it is correct or
not. You can do this by checking the correct use of punctuation marks; correct spelling of words,
and appropriateness of the choice of words. Mar and give the feedback to the students.

SUMMARY
This section has employed a lot of practical activities that a teacher needs to teach summary. The
preparatory activities at the pre-writing stage prepare them to get focused on the points to look for
from the text which is used for the summary.
Assessment Questions
1. Write the steps involved in teaching summary.
2. State two things you need to avoid when writing summary.

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ANSWERS TO ASSESSMENT QUSTIONS IN UNIT SIX
SECTION 1
Unit 6 Section 2 - Answers to assessment questions
1. Pronunciation based on sounds

The syllables of words

Stress and intonation
2. Pre-Presentation, Presentation and Post Presentation

Unit 6 Section 3
Answers to Assessment Questions
1. Preliminary Reading Stage, Reading Stage, and Post Reading Stage
2. Discussion of pictures on the passage, discussion of the title of the passage, asking and
answering leading questions, brainstorming, etc.
3. Read word for word, make inferences, deduce meanings from figurative expressions and
idiomatic expressions, follow the logical reasoning of the writer

SECTION 4
SECTION 5
SECTION 6

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REFERENCES
Haycraft, J. (1978). An Introduction to English Language Teaching. Longman Group Ltd.:
England.

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