Describing learning and teaching

MSc.Elsa Vula, Teaching Assistant

Children and language
Almost all children acquire a language, apparently without effort. In
many parts of the world, children grow up speaking two or more
languages. And if young children move to a new country and go to school
there, they seem to ‘pick up’ the new language with incredible ease.
In order for acquisition to take place, certain conditions need to be met.
In the first place, the children need to hear a lot of language:
-exposure
-rough-tuning (Parents don’t use complex sentences, or technical
vocabulary; they use language which fits the situation, rough-tuning
what they say to match the child’s age and situation
Acquisition and learning
• The American applied linguist Stephen Krashen in the 1980s, have
suggested that we can make a distinction between acquisition and
learning.
• “Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which
they are unaware of grammatical rules. ... Language learning, on the
other hand, is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language”
• Krashen, among others, suggested that teachers should concentrate on
acquisition rather than learning and that the role of the language teacher
should be to provide the right kind of language exposure, namely
comprehensible input (that is, language that the students understand
more or less, even if it is a bit above their own level of production).
Different times, different methods
The Grammar-translation method (which was first named as such in
Germany in the 1780s) introduced the idea of presenting students with
short grammar rules and word lists, and then translation exercises in
which they had to make use of the same rules and words.
Most language learners translate in their heads at various stages
anyway, and they (and we) can learn a lot about a foreign language by
comparing parts of it with parts of our own mother tongue.
First, play the role of a learner in a grammar-
translation class: read the text and answer the
questions.
• Reading text
I woke up. All around me were awful sounds of humans and animals crying
together. I was actually in my cabin, and still partly awake. Eventually, my
mother opened the door and out of panic she shouted: “I’d never thought things
could turn out this way.” She reached for my hand and brought me near the
railing of the ship. Some the crew were busy testing the seaworthiness of the
lifeboats. My mother stepped forward and entrusted me to one of the sailors;
she finally kissed me on the forehead and set about finding the rest of the family.
One of the sailors told me to get on the boat first, as the rest of the crew were
loosening the riggings. Suddenly, an outburst of flames emerged from behind
them and I felt like I was being pushed down, while my new means of
transportation hit the ocean. It all went pitch black … then I woke up again.”
• 1. Translate the text into French
• 2. Comprehension questions:
• a) Did the character experience these events for real?
• b) Do you believe the mother to be courageous?
• c) Have you ever been through a similar experience?
• 3. Find words in the text which mean the opposite of the following words:
individually, joy, to tighten
Now find synonyms for these: terrible, navigability ,to put in the care of
• 4. How would you translate the following words into French?
actually ,eventually ,finally, suddenly
Can you notice a pattern as regards the ending of the words between both
languages?
Audio-Lingualism
• The audio-lingual method originated in army education in the 1940s.
It was then developed in the 1950s and enhanced by the arrival of the
language laboratory in the 1960s
Presentation, Practice and
Production (PPP)
• Presentation- (e.g. describing someone’s holiday plans) The ‘going to’
future - e.g. ‘He’s going to visit…
• Practice- The students then practice making sentences with ‘going to’
(this is often called controlled practice and may involve drilling
• Production stage in which they talk more freely about themselves
(‘Next week I’m going to see that new film’) or other people in the
real world (‘My cousin’s going to buy a new car’, etc.)
Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT)
• CLT was a 1970s reaction to much that had gone before.
• CLT has two main guiding principles: the first is that language is not
just patterns of grammar with vocabulary items slotted in, but also
involves language functions such as inviting, agreeing and
disagreeing, suggesting, etc
• The second principle of Communicative Language Teaching is that if
students get enough exposure to language, and opportunities for
language use - and if they are motivated - then language learning
will take care of itself.
Task-Based Learning (TBL)
• TBL is a natural extension of communicative language teaching.
• A typical TBL sequence starts with a pre-task (where students are
introduced to the topic and told what the task will be). This is
followed by a task cycle where the students plan the task, gathering
language and information to do it, and then produce the piece of
writing or oral performance that the task demands. In the final
language focus phase, students analyze the language they used for
the task, making improvements and practicing any language that
needs repair or development.
What methods did your primary teacher use?
• What methods did your primary English teacher use?
• What methods did your high school English teacher use?
• What methods will you use in your future career as an English
teacher?
Elements for successful language
learning (ESA)
 Task
ESA:
(For Straight Arrows, Boomerang, and Patchwork Sequence)
Thank you for your attention!!!!!!