Part 2
An Introduction to models in ELT—a somewhat in-depth
description
3.1.9.
The Common
European Framework of Reference
at www2.vobs.at/ludescher/.../communicative_language_teaching.htm
From David Newby’s Competence and
performance in learning and teaching:
theories and practices in PDF
“The publication of the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages in
2001 was a major milestone in
foreign language learning and teaching. Its main aim is
to describe[s] in a comprehensive way
what language learners have to learn to do in order to use a
language for communication and what
knowledge and skills they have to develop so as to be able to
act effectively. The description also
covers the cultural context in which language is set. The
Framework also defines levels of
proficiency which allow learners’ progress to be measured at each
stage
of learning and on a life-long basis. (1)
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A further category, “semantic
competence” which “deals with the learner’s awareness
and
control of the organisation of meaning” (115) relates to both lexis and grammar.”
Model 5
Communicative Approach (CA) or Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
Hymes’
proposition formed the basis of efforts by linguists and applied linguists to
form a new model. The origins of this model are
to be found in the emphasis British applied linguists placed on the functional and communicative
potential of language. They saw the need to focus in language
teaching on communicative proficiency rather than on mere mastery of
structures. In addition to the efforts of those we
have seen in the previous subsection, others like Wilkins, Candlin, Christopher
Brumfit, Keith Johnson, Van Ek made their contributions. Their ideas were
rapidly applied by textbook writers and even governments gave prominence to
these ideas nationally and internationally.
Both
American and British proponents now see it as an approach (and not a method)
that aims to (a) make communicative competence the goal of language teaching
and (b) develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that
acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication.
CLT has two versions—strong
and weak—as distinguished by Howatt, as stated at www2.vobs.at/ludescher/.../communicative_language_teaching.htm.
The weak version, which has become more or less
standard practice in the last ten years, stresses the importance of providing
learners with opportunities to use their English for communicative purposes
and, characteristically, attempts to integrate such activities into a wider
program of language teaching.... The 'strong' version of communicative
teaching, on the other hand, advances the claim that language is acquired
through communication, so that it is not merely a question of activating an
existing but inert knowledge of the language, but of stimulating the
development of the language system itself. If the former could be described as
'learning to use' English, the latter entails 'using English to learn it.'
(1984: 279)
CLT has left its doors wide open for a great
variety of methods and techniques. There is no single text or authority on it,
nor any single model that is universally accepted as authoritative.
Theory of
language
“Communicative Language
Teaching has a rich, if somewhat eclectic, theoretical base. Some of the characteristics
of this communicative view of language follow.
1. Language is a system for
expression of meaning.
2. The primary function of
language is for interaction and communication.
3. The structure of
language reflects its functional and communicative uses.
4. The primary units of
language are not merely its grammatical and structural features, but
categories of functional and communicative
meaning as exemplified in discourse.”
(Richards and Rodgers,
1999:71 Cambridge University Press)
Theory of learning
Language is learnt through communicating activities that are based on
tasks that are meaningful to the learner, social context and meaning
negotiation. Another theory proposed by Krashen distinguishes between
acquisition and learning: Language is acquired through the unconscious
development of the target language with real communication activities in the
target language, and learning is a conscious process where language knowledge
is gained through grammar. Others propose a skill-leaning cognitively and
behaviourally.
CLT gets students to
work in small groups, uses authentic texts and learner’s own personal
experiences, focusses on the learning process, creates opportunities for
authentic communication through cooperation and empathy, through tolerance of
errors. Learners listen to audio-video materials, take notes, role play, give
oral presentation, undertake projects; they also develop their four
skills—listen to directions and complete tasks, express personal responses,
take part in simulations, produce mini-dialogues of their own, understand
reading material by skimming, scanning, studying, and prepare a write-up by
gathering ideas, write a draft and give it a final shape.
Criticism of CLT
In their “Handbook of
Foreign Language Communication and Learning” on page 500, Karlfried Knapp, Barbara Seidlhofer say “(CLT) now has a history of
development over several decades and consolidated position, but has also begun
to be criticised.” Section 3 entitled “State of the art” from p. 500 to p.510
presents a comprehensive picture of the weaknesses of CLT.
Methods arising
from CLT
While
the first four models were used to derive methodologies to teach English as
another language to L1 learners, this model is flexible enough to permit
individual interpretations and variations in the design and the procedure.
Under
this general title, several approaches and syllabus designs have been proposed
and used.:
1.
Learner-centred Approach to Adult ESL students
2.
Functional-Notional Syllabus
3.
Task-based Language Teaching
4.
Procedural Syllabus
5.
Content-based Language Teaching
6.
Text-based Approach
7.
Problem-based Learning
8.
Immersion
9.
Differentiated Instruction
10.
Experiential Learning
1.
Learner-centred Approach to Adult ESL
students
Learner-centred
curriculum “...is a collaborative effort between teachers and learners,
since learners are closely involved in the decision-making process regarding
the content of the curriculum and how it is taught. (Nunan, 1988:2) Learner-centredness
and autonomy are rooted in humanism and experiential psychology.
“Though I
have set the following steps out sequentially, some of the steps overlap, and
can be introduced simultaneously. The is particularly true of Steps 4 - 9,
which focus on learning processes, and can be introduced alongside Steps 1 - 3
which are more content oriented.
• Step 1: Make instruction goals clear
to learners
• Step 2: Allow learners to create
their own goals
•Step
3: Encourage learners to use their second language
outside the classroom
• Step 4: Raise awareness of learning
processes
•
Step 5: Help learners identify their own preferred styles and strategies
• Step 6: Encourage
learner choice
• Step 7: Allow learners to generate
their own tasks
• Step 8: Encourage learners to become
teachers
• Step 9: Encourage learners to become
researchers”
(David Nunan’s Nine steps to learner
autonomy in a Symposium 2003)
PDF
2.
Functional-Notional Syllabus
A
new way of organising teaching materials is known as functional-notional
syllabus by Van Ek (1973) and Wilkins (2976). It attempts to show what learners
need to do with language and what meanings they need to communicate. Its
premises are: a. Communication is meaningful behavior. b. Language
is seen as personal, interpersonal, directive, referential and imaginative functions
and general and topic related notions. Functions are communicative speech acts
such as “asking,” “requesting,” “denying,” “arguing,” “describing,” or
“requesting.” Notional categories include concepts such as “time” or
“location.” Unlike topics and situations, notions and functions express precise
categories.
3.
Task-based Language Teaching
Task-based language teaching represents one of the
several realizations at the levels of syllabus design and methodology. active
involvement of the learner is central to the approach, and the learner learns
‘by doing’.
4.
Procedural Syllabus
This
syllabus was developed in Bangalore, South India by a team led by N. S. Prabhu
in 1987. It involved teaching a large class of thirteen-year-old pupils who had
been learning English for three years. It consists of a series of tasks
sequenced in order of difficulty with learners acquiring language by
negotiating these tasks under teacher guidance and with no focus on language
form.
The
teacher completes with the whole class a series of meaning-focused activities
consisting of pre-tasks; next, the students work on similar activities on their
own—they perform meaning-focused activities, understanding, conveying or
extending meaning. And attention to language forms is only incidental.
5.
Content-based Language Teaching
Content-based
language teaching is a “content driven” curriculum, i.e., with the selection
and sequence of language elements determined by the content with a concurrent
learning of a specific content and related language use skills. It claims that
students get “two for one”--both content knowledge and increased language
proficiency. (Wesche, 1993, pp. 57-58 )
6.
Text-based Approach
Feez
defines it as what learners do with language and what they need to know how
language functions in context. She defines ‘text’ as ‘any stretch of language
which is held together cohesively through meaning’. It consists of 1. building
the context, 2. modeling and deconstructing the text, 3. joint construction of
the text, 4. independent construction of the text and 5. linking to related
texts.
For more information, see The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy
and Practice in Second ...
7.
Problem-based Learning
PBL
offers a lot of scope to learners to think, plan, organise ways and means of
arriving at solutions to problems simulated to real-life situations. They call
upon stored knowledge, gather new knowledge, think independently, share
thoughts through brainstorming employing their creative ability, analyse
critically available options, decide on a plan of action collaboratively. The
teacher only serves as a resource and provides necessary sources and
guidelines. Of course the medium is English and learners have to use it at
every step in their mind, express it orally, draw up a scheme to solve a problem.
They need to do a lot of reading, listening, speaking and put it down in black
and white.
PBL
enables them to develop their language skills, creative, analytical, critical
thinking and decision-making skills,
gain confidence in their abilities, profit in terms of content knowledge and
thus get ready to face life in workplace and in general as well.
PBL
is a valid, viable, utilitarian alternative to lecture method.
8.
Immersion
Language
immersion occurs when learners learn their school curriculum in a language
other than their mother tongue, say English. Immersion can be total or partial.
It can begin at the early, middle, late schooling, and bilingualism is also
encouraged.
Immersion
as a method took shape when the English-speaking population of the Canadian
province of Quebec proposed to their school board that their uni-lingual
children would be instructed entirely in French from the first day of school in
kindergarten because they felt that whatever French their children were
learning would not ensure economic survival. Of course, Variations in immersion
were introduced for practical reasons. Gradually other countries followed suit.
Johnson
and Swain (1997) summarize eight core features of immersion programs as
follows:
1.
The L2 is a medium of instruction
2.
The immersion curriculum parallels the local L1 curriculum
3.
Overt support exists for the L1
4.
The program aims for additive bilingualism
5.
Exposure to the L2 is largely confined to the classroom
6.
Students enter with similar (and limited) levels of L2 proficiency
7.
The teachers are bilingual
8.
The classroom culture is that of the local L1 community
9.
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiation
seeks to personalize learning experiences to individual learners or a small
group of learners by taking into account children’s current levels of ability,
prior knowledge, strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and interests.
"Differentiation means tailoring
instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content,
process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment
and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction."Tomlinson,
C. A. (August, 2000).
Please
visit these web sites to learn more details:
1.
wttps://www.etprofessional.com/differentiation_1_82.aspx
Differentiation 1
Doug
Evans
differentiated
instruction in the English classroom
Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners
By: Karen Ford
elt-resourceful.com/.../ideas-for-providing-differentiation-that-dont-invo...
https://www.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/.../chapter4.pdf
https://community.tes.co.uk/.../differentiation-in-english-lessons-a-h...
pearsonclassroomlink.com/articles/1212/1212_0302.htm
8. Understanding ESL Learners: Differentiating
Instruction
www.teachers.ab.ca/.../ESL-3-5%20Differe...
Alberta Teachers' Association
iteslj.org/Techniques/DelliCarpini-RoundRobin.html
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TagbnwkeoJE
auselt.com/.../auselt-chat-summary-managing-mixed-ability-classes-july-...
203.72.145.166/elt/files/58-4-7.pdf
13.
TES
What Is Differentiated Instruction?
By: Carol
Ann Tomlinson
14.
Summary
of differentiated learning
In PDF 1. online forum report
Meeting
individual needs with young learners
Peter
Westwood and Wendy Arnold
ELT Journal
Volume 58/4 October 2004 © Oxford University Press 375
10.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined
as "learning through reflection on doing".
For more information see
1. Wikipedia
2. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory and learning
styles model
3. www.slideshare.net/marqueA2/experiential-learning-presentation
|
4. John Dewey, the Modern Father of Experiential
Education
5. The
Concept of experiential learning and John Dewey’s theory of reflective theory
and action
|
James Neill
Last updated: 26 Jan 2005 |
Model 6
The bilingual method
This was developed by C.J. Dodson (1967) as a
counter to the audiovisual method and the
Direct Method. This method, unlike the
other two, makes available the printed text from the very beginning and presents simultaneously the
spoken sentence to allow learners to see the
shape of individual words. The eight major
steps in this method are: (1) imitation, (2) interpretation, (3) substitution
and extension, (4) independent speaking of sentences, (5) reverse
interpretation (optional), (6) consolidation of question patterns, (7)
questions and answers, and (8) normal FL conversation. The aims of bilingual
education are fluency and accuracy in L2 in the spoken and written mediums. The method sandwiches meaning in L1 between the repeated L2 sentence
and thus avoids meaningless and tedious parroting of the learning input. It
uses pictures as aids to recall and practice of the related dialogue sentences,
not as conveyors of meaning. Every lesson cycle moves learners from bilingual
exercises to production of L2, from guided used to free use of L2. The mother tongue is
again used in the oral manipulation of grammatical structures,
i.e. in bilingual pattern drills.
Despite
convincing research results, this method didn’t engage the attention of ELT
experts and practitioners. However,
Butzkamm and Caldwell (2009) have taken up Dodson’s seminal ideas and called
for a paradigm
shift in foreign language teaching.
This call was repeated by Hall and Cook in their state-of-the-art article
(2012: 299): “The way is open for a major paradigm shift in language teaching
and learning”
Sources:
1. Wikipedia (which provides several other sources)
2. Dodson, C.J.
Language Teaching and the Bilingual Method
3. The Bilingual Method—an overview
Other methods (models 7--11)
While communicative language teaching methodologies
kept evolving and being more clearly defined, in the 1970s and 80s a set of
alternative approaches and methods emerged.
7. Total Physical Response
8. The Silent way
9. Community Language Learning
10. The Natural Approach
11.
Suggestopedia
7. Total Physical Response (TPR)
How was TPR
born?
Asher’s
observation of high dropout rate of second language students in a traditional
programme made him wonder why children found it difficult to learn a second
language and experienced consequent stress while they learn their first
languages with ease. So he decided to create a way where stress will be absent
and learning steps can simulate first language learning. In first language
learning, children respond physically to their parents’ instructions and their
learning gets reinforced through parents’ continued communication; besides,
they do a lot of listening before they begin to communicate verbally.
TPR
It’s
a formulated combination of three hypotheses. First, that language is learned primarily by listening, second,
that language learning must engage the right hemisphere of the brain, and third,
that learning language should not involve any stress.
These form the foundation on
which TPR is built to teach a second language.
Children
listen and comprehend the target language for sufficient
length of time, perform and practise required tasks through physical
activities, (triggering memory association and ensuring easy recall) and only
then produce the target
language—listen, watch, then imitate.
Children
learn core verbs and nouns and grammar inductively.
Children
(1) focus on meaning, not on form, (2) learn through drills, role plays using
realia, pictures, slides, word charts, (3) absorb and store target language in
the subconscious.
Theory of
language
Asher
views language as a mixture of abstractions and non-abstractions. He believes
that learners should be introduced to abstractions in the target language only
after they have internalised the code.
Theory of
learning
Asher
believes that second language learning can be patterned after first language
learning. He sees listening as fundamental to language acquisition—listening
first, speech next. Learning should start with the activation of right-brain
process and then lead to left-brain activity. Learning should be stress-free as
it can act as affective filter impeding progress.
Sources
1.
Wikipedia
2.
Two slideshares
http://www.slideshare.net/ignorantdavinci/total-physical-response?from_action=save
tefltpre-131205221851-phpapp01
totalphysicalresponse-091223125050-phapp02
8. The Silent
Way
How
did this come into being?
“While
working with UNESCO in Ethiopia, Gattegno, who is a polyglot, developed a new
approach to the teaching of the reading and writing of Amharic to native
speakers of that language. As the approach evolved it was applied to more and
more languages, and in 1962 Words in Colour, a scheme for the teaching
of reading and writing to primary school native
speakers
of English, appeared. The Silent Way, a methodology for the teaching of foreign
languages, was a natural development of this ...” (excerpt from Talking shop A conversation
with Caleb Gattegno, inventor of the Silent Way in edited form that
was recorded during a lunch break between Rossner and Gattengo, published in ELT
Journal Volume 36/4 July 1982, pp.237--241).
“In
the last hundred years we have found out that opening education to all means
problems which had not been foreseen. So you had reformists everywhere. I
learnt all I could about the reformists, but what they were proposing only made
a difference in me, not in my students. It didn’t make a difference to
the learners’ ‘yield’. So the notion of yield, the economics of
education
became my preoccupation. And I found that the greatest yield is to be found in
babies. So I tried to learn from babies how they learn. Since they teach
themselves, and since I have been self-taught all my life, I realized that my
privileged position (which I had seen as a hindrance in my recognition of my
own place in the world) as a person who was his own
teacher
places me far ahead of myself. I worked with pupils from where they were,
as I had worked with myself, and I found that they could do remarkable things.
I worked with the blind, the spastic, the learning-disabled, the mentally
retarded, the old who had never been to school, the illiterate, and so on, and
everywhere I found that I could work on what they were able to do
successfully.” (ibid 238--239)
The Silent Way
“The
method relies on the teacher’s ability to exploit each student’s previous
experiences
with
language, his or her imagination and intuition, rather than solely memory or
intellect. Devices such as the colour coded pronunciation charts and pointer
are used to assist the teacher to develop students’ sensitivities to the new
language via its sounds without the traditional techniques of ‘modelling’
pronunciation and correcting errors. Indeed, those
who
use the method claim that it is unnecessary for the teacher to intervene verbally
at all since students can be guided and student production can be elicited much
more effectively by the use of gesture, facial expression, and (on the
teacher’s part) silent routines using the materials.” (ibid 237)
The Silent Way belongs to
the ‘hypothetical tradition’ where the learner is a principal actor rather than
a bench-bound listener.
The Silent way employs rods
and the coded-coded pronunciation charts (called Fidel charts) to create
memorable images that help recall and thus involve the learner in the learning
act.
The Silent Way is also
related to a set of premises that we have called "problem-solving
approaches to learning" as implied in the words of Benjamin Franklin:
Tell me and I forget,
teach me and I remember,
involve me and I learn.
Theory of
language
Gattengo
believes that experience is what gives meaning to language and uses a
structural approach to the organisation of language to be taught.
Theory of
learning
Gattengo
sees second language learning as fundamentally different from first language
learning. He says successful learning of a second language entirely depends on
the learner’s commitment initially in silent awareness and then active trial.
Sources:
1.
www2.vobs.at/ludescher/.../the%20silent%20way%20english.doc
2.
thesilentway-1209251102451-phapp01
3.
presentation-111130115807-phapp02
9. Community Language Learning
How did this originate?
Charles A. Curran developed this method from his
experience as a counsellor to his clients. He found synonymy: the teacher is
the counsellor / knower and the learner is the client. Just as the counsellor
helps their clients solve their personal problems, the teacher can help their
learners gain knowledge in the target language.
The relationship metaphor continues with a
humanistic touch where learners expresses their emotions and feelings, with a
chance to experience the social atmosphere prevalent in the ‘community’
(learners as a group sitting in a circle unlike apart from each other at a
distance demarcated by desks in traditional classroom setting) and with ‘language
alternation’ or ‘code switching’ where learners speak in their L1 and learn to
say in L2 or the target language with help from the teacher.
Theory of language
CLL
sees language as consisting of basic sound and grammatical patterns. It also
sees language as a social process and interactional: “Language is people;
language is persons in contact; language is persons in response” (La Forge, P. G. 1983:9. Counseling
and Culture in Second
Language Acquisition.Oxford: Pergamon.)
Theory of learning
CLL sees learning as both cognitive and affective
and ensures learner’s wholesome growth as a person through interaction and
exchange of thoughts with warmth and understanding, which Curran terms as
‘consensual validation’. Also, Curran’s acronym SARD standing for security,
attention and aggression, retention and reflection and discrimination
respectively addresses “not the psycholinguistic and cognitive processes in
second language acquisition but rather the personal commitments learners need
to make before language acquisition process can operate.” (Jack C. Richards and
Theodore S. Rodgers 1999:118—119)
Sources:
1. Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers
Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching CUP 1999 (fifteenth printing)
2. Fara Citra Ghossani et al Teaching Method—Community Language Learning 2012 (check website on CLL
3. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/community-language-learning
10. The Natural Approach
How
did this evolve?
Tracy
Terrell’s and other teachers’ experiences of teaching Spanish to elementary- to advanced-level classes and their
experiment with several other languages led to crystalisation of this approach.
And of course, Terrell joined hands with Stephen Krashen in forming a
theoretical base.
The Natural Approach
This
begins with providing comprehensible ‘input’ to learners, learners understand
what they hear and read. It does not focus on early speaking to avoid ‘filters’
affecting production, enables speaking to emerge gradually and allows errors in speaking. It facilitates fluency in
speaking through listening (reading) as happens in the case of mother tongue. This
accords more importance to vocabulary than grammar, which is taken care of
through correction in home work.
Theory of
language
The essence of language is
meaning, not form. The focus is on what
we say, not how we say. So vocabulary,
not grammar, is the heart of language.
Theory of
learning
This
method is based on the distinction between ‘acquisition’ from ‘learning’, the
former as a unconscious and the latter as conscious. “Language acquisition does not require extensive use
of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill.” Stephen
Krashen
Acquisition requires
meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in
which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the
messages they are conveying and understanding.”Stephen Krashen
Sources:
1. Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers
Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching CUP 1999 (fifteenth printing)
2.
http://www.osea-cite.org/class/SELT_materials/SELT_Reading_Krashen_.pdf
Stephen
D. Krashen and Tracy Terrell. The Natural Approach. Prentice Hall Europe 1988
11.
Suggestopedia
How did it come
into existence?
Suggestopedia was originally developed in the 1970s
by the Bulgarian educator Georgi Lozanov.
Professor Doctor Georgi Lozanov, M. D., a Bulgarian
psychiatrist – psychotherapist, brain physiologist and an educator, is the
creator of the science known as Suggestology and its application in pedagogy –
Suggestopedia.
Suggestopedia
The expression ‘suggestopedia’ is derived from the
words ‘suggestion’ and ‘pedagogy’.
In pedagogy, it operates on the level of the
reserves of mind, tapped in a new organisation of the teaching – learning
communication.
Suggestopedia (in its new desuggestive development
as well) is a science for developing different non-manipulative and
non-hypnotic methods for teaching/learning of foreign languages and other
subjects for every age-group on the level of reserve (potential, unused)
capacities of the brain/mind. A teaching method based on
the idea how the human brain works and how we learn most effectively. It includes a rich sensory
learning, a positive expectation of success and the use of a varied range of
methods like dramatised texts, music, active participation in songs and games,
etc. It focusses on ‘desuggesting’ the learner’s mental limitations or psychological barriers like fear of
failure and inability to learn, and provides a relaxed atmosphere that helps
retain learnt material.
It is at least three to five times faster than
other methods, ensures easier and deeper learning, nurtures inner freedom,
increases motivation for learning, makes
learning joyful and results in psycho-physiological well-being of the
learner.
Theory of language
Lozanov does not talk about a theory of language, but
he
emphasizes
i.
memorization vocabulary pairs and their native language translation
ii.
experiencing language through listening to ‘whole meaningful texts’ for its
rhythm and
intonation
Theory of learning
Learning occurs through
‘desuggestion’ and ‘suggestion’. The first one delimits memory by removing
‘fear’ and ‘inability to learn’, and the second one provides ‘desired’
memories. This process occurs through ‘authority’, ‘infantilisation’,
‘double-planedness’, ‘intonation’,
‘rhythm’ and ‘concert pseudo-passiveness’. Reading with proper
intonation and rhythm and dramatic
reading in a music environment conducive to relaxing the mind promotes learning and storing in memory
banks.
Sources:
1. Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers
Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching CUP 1999 (fifteenth printing)
2. Tim Bowen
Teaching approaches: what is suggestopedia?
3.
suggestopedia-121021181949-phapp02
4. WHAT IS SUGGESTOPEDIA?
The Reading model
Reading as a
method
Since earliest times, the pendulum has been
swinging from reading to speaking. In Grammar-Translation Method, reading was
an essential skill; The Direct Method, the Situational Approach in England and
the Audio-lingual Method in the States preferred speaking as the starting
point. Today, however, reading has somewhat gained its status in the several
methods embracing the principles of Communicating Language Teaching.
In the last
century, reading approach or reading method was first devised for English
learners in India and French or German learners in the United States of
America. It has also been advocated in England for pupils of inferior
language-learning ability. Dr Michael West proposed what came to be
called the Reading method. From his experience of teaching in India, he
considered reading the most useful skill to acquire in a foreign language. West
prepared a series of readers containing interesting reading material with
graded vocabulary. New words were evenly distributed in the lessons to
facilitate reading with understanding. The aim of the series was to awaken in
the students the desire to read more and more. West believed that plenty of
exercises in reading comprehension would make for later progress in speech and
writing. Despite its practical appeal, it didn’t survive but introduced into
language teaching some important new elements such as ‘grading of texts was
possible with vocabulary control that led to rapid reading. In
1930, Coleman proposed reading silently as the first goal of foreign language
learning.
Research in
reading
Jacobs,
George, M., Renandya, Willy. A., and Bamford, Julian published Reading in a Foreign Language 2000, which
summarises investigations into intensive and extensive reading covering a
hundred years from the twentieth to early part of the twenty first, clearly
indicate interest and concern about using reading as a focus of second language
learning.
Pearson’s
account traces the history of reading in the twentieth century. Teaching
reading in the first thirty years of the twentieth century began with words to
letters, words to reading and a potpourri. During this period, teachers and
researchers conducted experiments on various aspects of reading—text difficulty
and reliability, reading readiness, reading skills, remediation. The next
thirty years saw fine tuning of the reading method. The last thirty years saw a tremendous leap
in the interest evinced by linguists, psycholinguists, sociolinguists,
philosophers, literary critics and critical theorists in reading as a language
learning activity.
Reading models
There
are three models of reading: schema theory, interactive view and metacognitive
view. Schema theory refers to the background knowledge that the reader already
possesses and that the reader employs to make meaning of a given text. Thus
it’s a top-down approach. A bottom-up approach recognises letters, words,
phrases, sentences and makes meaning. The interactive view holds that both
approaches are employed to derive meaning from a given text using appropriate
subskills (strategies): predicting, skimming, scanning, studying, inferencing
and self monitoring.
Definition of
Reading
Reading
is a language learning process where the reader interacts dynamically with a
given text as he/she tries to elicit the meaning and where various kinds of
knowledge are being used: linguistic or systemic knowledge (through bottom-up
processing) as well as schematic knowledge (through top-down processing). Reading
is a mental and complex process which derives meaning through recognising
letters as words, words as phrases and sentences and making sense, synthesises
and evaluates derived meaning and arrives at conclusions.
Types of reading
Intensive
reading and extensive reading are the two types. Intensive reading relates to
carefully studying a given content—coursebooks, discipline-related journals and
books and accumulating knowledge for professional growth and research purposes.
Extensive reading is for curiosity, amusement, enjoyment.
Sources
1.
Annotated Bibliography of Works on
Extensive Reading in a Second Language
compiled by Jacobs, George, M., Renandya,
Willy. A., and Bamford, Julian published in
Reading
in a Foreign Language (2000) :449—522
2.
0108 CIERA Archive READING IN THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY by P. David
Pearson at http://www.ciera.org/library/archive/2001-08/0108pdp.pdf
3.
Boswell, R. E. (1972). Toward a new eclecticism in modern-language teaching.
Foreign
Language Annals, 6 (2), 237-246
Sources
for the paper as a whole
1.
H H Stern Fundamental Concepts of Language Learning
2.
Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers Approaches and Methods in Language
Learning
3.
Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features From an
Instructional Design Perspective by Peggy
A. Ertmer and Timothy J. Newby published
in
P E R F O R M A
N C E I M P R O V E M E N T Q UA R T E R LY, 2 6 ( 2 ) P P. 4 3 – 7
4.
Cognitivsim 100413190630-phpapp01
Cognitivism 100414120847-phpapp02
Cognitivism—learning PDF from
AEU--asiaeuniversity
5.
Nunan, D. (1988). The Learner-Centred Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge
University
Press.
6.
David Nunan’s Nine steps to learner autonomy in a Symposium 2003) PDF
7.
Task based Language Teaching by David Nunan
CUP 2004
8.
Johnson, R. K.& Swain, M. (1997). Immersion education: International perspectives.
Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge university Press.
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