Unit 1 Language and Learning1 How do we learn language？We learn language at different agesPeople have different experiencesPeople learn languages for different reasonsPeople learn languages in different waysPeople have different capabilities in language learningLearning can be affected by the way how language is taughtLearning is affected by the degree of success one is expect to achieve. Thus the challenge confronting language teaching is how teaching methodology can ensure successful learning by all the learners who have more differences than the commonality.2. What are the major views of language?1) Structural view:Language is a linguistic system made up of various subsystems: phonology, morphology, lexicology and syntacx. To learn a language is to learn its vocabulary and structural rules.2) Functional view:Language is a linguistic system as well as a means for doing things. Learners learn a language in order to be able to do things with it (use it). To perform functions, learners need to know how to combine the grammatical rules and the vocabulary to express notions that perform the functions.3) Interactional view:Language is a communicative tool to build up and maintain social relations between people. Learners need to know the rules of a language and where, when and how it is appropriate to use them.3.Views on Language LearningTwo broad learning theories：Process-oriented theories are concerned with how the mind organizes new information.Condition-oriented theories emphasize the nature of human and physical context.Behaviorist theoryB. F. SkinnerA stimulus-response theory of psychologyAudio-lingual methodThe idea of this method is that language is learned by constant repetition and the reinforcement of the teacher. Mistakes were immediately corrected, and correct utterances were immediately praised.Cognitive theoryInfluenced by Noam Chomsky (revival of structural linguistics) Language as an intricate rule-based systemA learner acquires language competence which enables him to producelanguage.One influential idea of cognitive approach to language teaching is that students should be allowed to create their own sentence based on their own understanding of certain rules.Constructivist theoryJean Piaget (1896—1980)The learner constructs meaning based on his/her own experiences and what is already known.Socio-constructivist theoryVygotsky“Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD); scaffolding(脚手架)Learning is best achieved through the dynamic interaction between the teacher and the learner and between learners.4 What are the qualities of a good language teacher?A good language teacher does not solely depend on his/her command of the language. There are a variety of element that contributes to the qualities of a good language teacher. These element can be categorized into three5 How can one become a good language teacher?☐Wallace’s (1991) ‘reflective model’ (Figure 1.1, p.9)Stage 1: language developmentStage 2: learning, practice, reflection❖The learning stage is the purposeful preparation that a language normally receives before the practice,This preparation caninclude:1. Learning from others’ experience2. Learning the received knowledge3. Learning from one’s own experiences❖The practice stage (2 senses)Pseudo practice:short period of time assigned to do teachingpractice as part of one’s pre-service education, usually under thesupervision of instructorsThe real classroom teaching:what a teacher undertakes after he/shefinishes formal education❖Teachers benefit from practice if they keep on reflecting on what they have been doingGoal: professional competenceUnit 2 Communicative Principles and Task-based language teaching 1 How is language learned in classrooms different from language used in real life?Language used in real life Language taught in the classroomTo perform certain communtcative functions To focus on forms (structures or patterns)Use all skills, both receptive skills and productive skills To focus on one or two language skills and ignore others.Used in a certain context To isolate language from itscontext2 What is communicative competence?To bridge the gap between classroom language teaching and real-life language use, one solution is to adopt CLT, the goal of which is to develop students’communicative competence.3. Definition:Communicative competence include both the knowledge about the language and the knowledge about how to use the language appropriately in communicative situations4 Five components of communicative competence (Hedge 2000)◆Linguistic competence （语言能力）The knowledge of language itself, its form and meaning.◆ Pragmatic competence （语用能力）The appropriate use of language in social context.◆ Discourse competence （语篇能力）One’s ability to create coherent written text or conversation and the ability to understand them◆ Strategic competence （策略能力）Strategies one employs when there is communication breakdown due to lack of resources.◆ Fluency （流利性）One ‘s ability to ‘link units of speech together with facility and without strain or inappropriate slowness or undue（过分的，不适当的）hesitation’6.Implications for teaching and learningTeaching must enable learners to grasp the five components of communicative competence, but not just the linguistic competence.7. Principles of CLTThree principles suggest by Richard and Rodgers：1 Communication principle：involve real communication2 Task principle：Carry out meaningful tasks3 Meaningfulness principle：Meaningful language to the learnerHowatt proposes a weak and a strong version of CLT:Weak versionLearners first acquire language as a structural system and then learn how to use it in communication.Strong version“language is acquired through communication” (Howatt, 1984:279)8. Major Activity Types of CLTA sequence of activities represented in Littlewood (1981: 86)Pre-communicative activities✓Structural activities✓Quasi-communicative activities类似,准,半Communicative activities (PP22-23)▪Functional communication activities▪Social interaction activities9.Littlewood’s (1981)classification of communicativeactivities:1). Functional communicative activities:2). Social interaction activities:(1). Functional communicative activities:1. Identifying pictures2. Discovering identical pairs3. Discovering sequences or locations4. Discovering missing information5. Discovering missing features6. Discovering "secrets"municating patterns and pictures8. Communicative models9. Discovering differences10. Following directions11. Reconstructing story-sequences12. Pooling information to solve a problem(2). Social interaction activities:1. Role-playing through cued dialogues2.Role-playing through cues and information3.Role-playing through situation and goals4.Role-playing through debate or discussionrge-scale simulation activities6. Improvisation10.Six Criteria for evaluating communicative classroomactivitiesmunicative purpose2. Communicative desire3. Content, not form4.Variety of language5.No teacher intervention6. No materials control9.What is Task-based Language Teaching?TBLT is a further development of CLT. It shares the same belief in the use of language in real life, but stresses the importance to combine form-focused teaching with communication-focused teaching.10.Four components of a task1. A purpose2. A context3. A process4. A product11. Exercises, exercise-tasks and tasksExercise-tasks is halfway between tasks and exercises. This kind of activity consists of contextualized practice of language item.12. Differences between PPP and TBLT1The way students use and experience language in TBLT is radically different from PPP. 1.Free of language control2. genuine need to use language to communicate3.A free exchange of ideas4.Appropriateness & accuracy of language form in general, not production of a single form5.A genuine need for accuracy and fluency2.TBL can provide a context for grammar teaching and form-focused activities. PPP isdifferent in this aspect.A task-established contextEncouraged to think, analyze, not simply to repeat, manipulate and applyA more varied exposure to natural languageLanguage forms not pre-selected for focusLearner-free selection of languageTBL cycle lead from Fluency to accuracy (+fluency)In TBL Integrated skills practiced13. How to design tasks?Step 1 Think about students’ needs, interests, and abilitiesStep 2 Brainstorm possible tasksStep 3 Evaluate the listStep 4 Choose the language itemsStep 5 Preparing materials14. CLT and TBLT in the Chinese contextProblems with CLT1. The very first and forceful argument is whether it is culturallyappropriate2. The second problem of CLT relate to the design the syllabus for teaching purpose in the classroom.3. The third problem is that whether such an approach is suitable for all age level of learners or all competence level of learnersConstraints of TBLT1.The first is it may not be effective for presenting new language items2.The second constraint is Time as teachers have to prepare task-based activities very carefully.3.The third is the culture of learning4.The forth is Level of difficultyUnit 31. A brief history of foreign language teaching in China❖ A phase of restoration (1978-1985)❖ A phase of rapid development (1986-1992)❖ A phase of reform (1993-2000)❖ A phase of innovation from 20002. Designing principles for the National English Curriculum 1)Aim for educating all students, and emphasize quality-oriented education.2) Promote learner-centeredness, and respect individual differences.3) Develop competence-based objectives, and allow flexibility and adaptability.4) Pay close attention to the learning process, and advocate experiential learning and participation.5) Attach particular importance to formative assessment, and give special attention to the development of competence.6) Optimize learning resources, and maximize opportunities for learning and using the language.3. Goals and objectives of English language teachingThe new curriculum is designed to promote students’overall language ability, which is composed of five interrelated components, namely, language skills, language knowledge, affects, learning strategies and cultural understanding. Each component is further divided into a few sub-categories. Language teaching is no longer aimed only for developing language skills and knowledge, but expanded to developing learners’positive attitude, motivation, confidence as well as strategies for life-long learning along withThe standards for different levels of competence5 Challenges facing English language teachers1) English language teachers are expected to change their views about language which is not a system of linguistic knowledge but a means for communication.2) English language teachers are expected to change their traditional role of a knowledge transmitter to a multi-role educator.3) English language teachers are expected to use more task-based activities and put the students at the center of learning.4)English language teachers are expected to use more formative assessment in addition to using tests.5)English language teachers are expected to use modern technology in teaching, creating more effective resources for learning and for using the language.Unit 4 Lesson Planning1.Lesson planning means making decisions in advance about whattechniques, activities and materials will be used in the class.2. Why is lesson planning necessary?Proper lesson planning is essential for both novice/beginner and experienced teachers.3. Benefit from lesson planning in a number of ways1). A clear lesson plan makes the teacher aware of the aimsand language contents of the lesson.2). It also helps the teacher to distinguish the variousstages of a lesson and to see the relationship betweenthem so that the lesson can move smoothly from one stageto another.3). The teacher can also think about how the students canbe fully engaged in the lesson.4). when planning the lesson, the teacher also becomes awareof the teaching aids that are needed.5). Lesson planning helps teachers to think about therelative value of different activities and how much timeshould be spent on them.6). The teacher soon learn to judge lesson stages and phaseswith greater accuracy.7). Plans are also an aid to continuing improvement.8). After the lesson, the teacher can add an evaluation tothe plan, identifying those parts which went well andthose which were less successful.4. There are four major principles behind good lesson planning:1) variety,2) flexibility,,3) learnability,4) linkageDefinitions of variety, flexibility, learnability, andlinkage.Variety means planning a number of different types ofactivities and where possible introducing students to a wide selection of materials so that learning is always interesting, motivating and never monotonous for the students.Flexibility means planning to use a number of different methods and techniques rather than being a slave to one methodology. This will make teaching and learning more effective and more efficient.Learnability means the contents and tasks planned for the lesson should be within the learning capability of the students. Of course, things should not be too easy either. Doing things that are beyond or below the students' coping ability will diminish their motivation (Schumann, 1999). Linkage means the stages and the steps within each stage are planned in such a way that they are somehow linked with one another. Language learning needs recycling and reinforcement.5.Macro planning involves:1) Knowing about the profession:2) Knowing about the institution:3) Knowing about the learners:4) Knowing about the syllabus/curriculum:5) Knowing about the textbook6) Knowing about the objectivesponents of a lesson plan1.Background information: number of students/ ages/ grade/ genders/ the time and the date of the lesson/ the time duration of the lesson2.Teaching objectives: What do you want students to know and be able to do?nguage contents and skills: structures, vocabulary, functions, topics and so on; listening, speaking, reading and writing.4.Teaching stages and procedure: the major chunks of activities that teachers go through in a lesson. Procedures are the detailed steps in each teaching stage.1) Five-step teaching model(1)warm-up/ a tarter/revision;(2)presentation(3)drilling(4)consolidation(5)summary and homework2) The three P’s model: presentation, practice, and production5.Teaching aids: real objects/ flashcards/ wordcards/ worksheets/ wallcharts/ cassette tapes/ magazine pictures/ video, Multi-media, etc.6.End of lesson summary:Purposes of making a summary is to take learning further and deeper by helping the students to refer back to the learningobjectives; To create a sense of achievement and completion of tasks for the students. To develop with students a habit of reflection on learning;stimulate interest, curiosity and anticipation about the next phase of learning; help students draw out applications of what has been learned and highlight the important conceptions which have developed.7.Optional activities and assignment8.After class reflection7.The advantage of a concrete teaching plan:Teachers can follow it in the class and check what they have done;The plan will be the basis of a record of what has been covered in class;It will make it easier to make achievement tests later;It will be good records for the entire course.8. The aims of a lesson includelanguage components to present,communicative skills to practice,activitie s to conductmaterials to be usedteaching aids to be used.Unit 5 Classroom Managementthe goal of classroom management is to create an atmosphere conducive to (有助于)interacting in English in meaningful ways (Gebhard, 1996).2.Efficient classroom management can be achieved when the following six conditions are met.1.The teacher plays appropriate roles.2.The teacher provides clearer instructions.3.Students are grouped in a way suitable for the learning activities.4.There is discipline as well as harmony in the class.5.The teacher asks appropriate questions.6.The students’ errors are treated properly3 What roles does the teacher play?1.Controller (what to learn; how to learn)2.Assessor (correcting mistakes; organizing feedback)aniser (students’ activities)4.Prompter (when ss don’t know what to do…)5.Participant (in ss’ activities)environment, use various strategies to motivate learners, guide students in planning and assessing their learning…’prior knowledge; find individual interests and explore potential capabilities; acknowledge and respect individual differences; give each equal opportunity in learning; evaluate students’…reflect on the reasons, think about possible solutions, implement the solutions and evaluate the results…Controller: The teacher controls:1). the space (activities run smoothly),2) .the time (do lockstep activities)3. the whole class (Ss have equal chance)4. the production ( a degree of accuracy)Assessor: The teacher does two things:1). Correcting mistakes (not making a big fuss大惊小怪butgentle by Harmer)2). Organizing feedback (discouraging for the teacher to becritical不提倡吹毛疵, focusing on Ss’success progress)Organizer: The teacher should be important and difficult as it:1). Using creative/unlimited way2). Envisaging设想activities,3). Anticipating the problems4). Giving clear and concise instructions5). Demonstrating6 .Using native language to clarify if necessary7. Walking around and monitoring8. Rectifying订正9. Taking mental notes轮流惦记Prompter: The teacher should do:1). Giving hints (just like time, place…)2). Eliciting more (by saying”and…?”“Anything else?”Yes,but why…?(Ss. read the example)Participant:The teacher shouldn’t dominate or appear to be authoritative.Resource-provider:We have criticized the jug-and-mug method, but the teacher should withhold his/her readiness to provide resourc4 How to give effective classroom instructions?Classroom instructions refer to the type of language teachers use to organize or guide learning.1.To use simple instructions and make them suit the comprehension level ofthe students;2.To use the mother-tongue only when it is necessary;3.Give students time to get used to listening to English instructions;e body language to assist understanding;5.Model the task/activity before letting students into groups or pairs…6.Teachers are not expected to do all the talking in class.Tip: Demonstration is usually more effective than words.5. What are the different ways for student grouping?Whole class work, pair work, group work, individual study1.Whole class workAll the students are under the control of the teacher, doing the same activity at the same rhythm and pace.2.Pair workStudents work in pairs on an exercise or task.3.Group workStudents work in small groups of 3-5 students.4.Individual studyStudents work on their own at their own speed.Types of student grouping and their advantages and disadvantages in P314 (task4)6.Discipline in the language classroomQ: What does discipline mean?Discipline refers to a code of conduct which binds a teacher and a group of students together so that learning can be more effective. (78)7: How to maintain discipline?P.79Although discipline is often discussed together with classroom management, Classroom management skills are not sufficient if discipline is to be achieved，rather，a variety of teacher’s behavior contribute to discipline, such as the teacher’s choice of methodology, their interpersonal relationships with students, their preparation for the lesson. Beside, student’s motivation, which can be enhanced by the teacher action, is extremely important for discipline.When students are engaged in learning, they will be disciplined. (79)1.Ss are clear about learning purpose;2.Ss are able to do the work but find it challenging;3.Ss are emotionally, physically and intellectually involved by thetasks;4.The presentation, variety and structure of the work and activitiesgenerate curiosity and interest;5.Ss have opportunities to ask questions and try out ideas;6.Ss can see what they have achieved and how they had made progress;7.Ss get a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment from the work.8What causes discipline problems?1.A gap in the lesson (e.g. bad planning, equipment fails to work)2.Unclear instructionsck of teacher attention4.The teacher concentrates on lengthy explanations to one individual so that the others get bored5.Work is too easy or too challenging9. What measures can we take for undisciplined acts and badly behavingstudents?☐Harmer (1983) p.811.Act immediately.2.Stop the class.3.Rearrange the seats.4.Change the activity.5.Talk to students after class.6.Create a code of behavior.⏹Ur’s (1996) advice1.Deal with it quietly.2.Don’t take things personally.3.Don’t use threats.10 How to make questioning more effective?☐Questions should be closely linked to the learning objectives in the lesson;☐Questions should be staged so that the level of challenge increases as the lesson proceeds;☐There should be a balance between closed and open, lower-order and higher-order questions;☐Wait time is important to allow students to think through their answers;☐Ss should be provided opportunities to ask their own questions and seek their own answers;☐ A secure and relaxed atmosphere of trust is needed and ss’ opinions and ideas are valued.11. What types of questions are there?(Classification of questions)1.Closed and open questions;2.Display and genuine questions;3.Lower-order and high-order questions;4.Bloom’s taxonomy分类系统(Nuttall, 1982)①Knowledge②Comprehension③Application④Analysis⑤Synthesis⑥Evaluation12: What are errors? How are they different from mistakes?☐ A mistake refers to “a performance error that is either a random guess or a ‘slip of tongue’, and it is a failure performance to a known system”(Brown, 2000: 218-219)☐An error has direct relation with the learner’s language competence.Errors do not result from carelessness nor hesitation, but lack of knowledge in the target language.☐ A mistake can be self-corrected; an error cannot be.13 When to correct errors?☐Generally, it is best not to interrupt students during fluency work unless communication breaks down.☐Let a trivial mistake pass if most of the language is right.☐For some common mistakes, take a note in mind first and correct after the student’s performance.14 How to correct errors?☐Different ways and techniques:⏹Direct teacher correction⏹Indirect teacher correction⏹Self-correction⏹Peer correction⏹Whole class correctionWhich techniques to use?☐As a general rule, indirect teacher correction is encouraged rather than direct ones to avoid damaging ss’self-esteem and confidence.☐In practice, self-correction is encouraged before teacher correction or peer correction, esp. for mistakes.☐The whole class correction is used for main error types (e.g.The Big Ten)Unit 6 Teaching Pronunciation1.Critical Period Hypothesis:a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasing difficult to acquire.2. The goal of teaching pronunciationThe goal of teaching pronunciation is not to teach learners to achieve a perfect imitation of a native accent, but simply to get the learners to pronounce accurately enough to be easily and comfortably comprehensible to other speakers.3The realistic goals of teaching pronunciation is as following: Consistency: the pronunciation should be smooth and natural; Intelligibility: the pronunciation should be understandable to the listeners;Communicative efficiency: the pronunciation should help convey the meaning that is intended by the speaker.4.Three aspects of pronunciation to teach? Stress, intonation, rhythm5. One common problem in learning English of Ss: (Neglect stress and intonation)6. What aspects of pronunciation do we need to teach? Pronunciation is an umbrella term covering many aspects, beside sound andphone symbols, such as stress, intonation, and rhythm, of course ,these aspects are not isolated from each other, rather, they are interrelated.7. How to achieve good pronunciation?☐Practice makes perfect☐Both mechanical practice and meaningful practice are beneficial.8 Practising sounds(List some methods of practicing sounds. )Mechanical drilling is boring and demotivating; it is important to combine drilling pronunciation exercises with more meaningful exercises that focus on whatever aspect of pronunciation is the focus of the lesson.Focus on a soundFocus on a individual sounds especially those sound that are difficult to learnPerception practice☐What is the goal of perception practice?⏹Developing the students’ability to identify and distinguishbetween different sounds.☐Examples of perception practice:⏹Using minimal pairs(with one sound difference): will/well;ship/sheep; light/night⏹Which order: bear, tear, ear⏹Same or different? [met], [mi:t]⏹Odd one out⏹Completion9.The goal of production practice is developing students’ ability toproduce sounds.1.Listen and repeat ( practice individual sounds, individual words,groups of words, sentences (mechanical imitation)2.Fill in the blanks (in sentences with words which contain certainsounds).3.Make up sentences(using as many from the given words as possible).e meaningful context(to perform meaningful tasks such asrole-play).e pictures (to produce meaningful language).e tongue twisters (to practice pronunciation).10. Practising stress and intonation☐Two types of stress:⏹word-level stress⏹Phrase-level or sentence-level stress11. Teaching methods of stress⏹The most important thing in practising stress is making thestudents aware of where to stress the words or phrases.e gestures (e.g. clapping hands; using arm movements)e the voice (raise the voice to indicate stress)e the blackboard(underline the stress parts or write with coloredchalks12 Practicing intonation (How to practise intonation?)⏹Use hand or arm movement to indicate change of intonation.⏹Use rising or falling arrows to mark intonation.⏹Draw lines to mark change of intonation.13.How can teachers help the students to improve pronunciation?e individual, pair, group and whole class work;e hands and arms to conduct practice.3.Move around the classroom when doing choral practice.4.Vary the criteria of ‘good’ to give students confidence.5.Do articulation practice more than once.6.Bring interests and variety to the practice.7.The main criteria for good pronunciation are consistency,intelligibility and communicative efficiency.8.Make full use of demonstrations.9.Try to use visual aids.Unit 7 Teaching Grammar1. The role of grammar in language learningIt is generally believed that•Grammar teaching is less important for children than for adults; •Grammar teaching is less important in listening and reading than in writing.•Grammar teaching can be seen in most formal classroom language teaching. Generally speaking, Chinese EFL learners need a certain degree of mastery of English grammar. However, it should be noted that learning grammar itself is not the ultimate goal of learning English.2 Grammar presentationWhat are the major types of grammar presentation method?☐Three ways of presenting grammar in the classroom:1.The deductive method 演绎法reasoning from general principles to aparticular caseThe deductive method relies on reasoning, analyzing and comparing2.The inductive method 归纳法method of logical reasoning which obtains ordiscovers general laws from particular facts or examples3.The guided discovery method 引导式发现法Similar to the inductive method in that ss are induced to discover rules by themselves;But different in that the process of the discovery is carefully guided and assisted by the teachers and the rules are then elicited and taught explicitly.Each has merits and drawbacks. The best way is to vary methods in different。