英语教学法(王蔷)总复习资料

learning  Language as an intricate rule-based system

6. Learning can be affected by the way how language is  A learner acquires language competence which

taught enables him to produce language.

7. Learning is affected by the degree of success one is  One influential idea of cognitive approach to language expect to achieve. teaching is that students should be allowed to create 8. Thus the challenge confronting language teaching is their own sentence based on their own understanding

how teaching methodology can ensure successful of certain rules. learning by all the learners who have more C. Constructivist theory differences than the commonality.  Jean Piaget (16—1980)  The learner constructs meaning based on his/her own 1. 2 What are the major views of language? experiences and what is already known. 1) Structural view: D. Socio-constructivist theory Language is a linguistic system made up of various  Vygotsky

subsystems: phonology, morphology, lexicology and  “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD); scaffolding syntax. To learn a language is to learn its vocabulary and (脚手架) structural rules.  Learning is best achieved through the dynamic 2) Functional view: interaction between the teacher and the learner and

Language is a linguistic system as well as a means between learners.

for doing things. Learners learn a language in order to be 1.4 What are the qualities of a good language teacher? able to do things with it (use it). To perform functions, A good language teacher does not solely depend on his/her learners need to know how to combine the grammatical command of the language. There are a variety of elements rules and the vocabulary to express notions that perform that contributes to the qualities of a good language teacher. the functions. These elements can be categorized into three groups: ethic 3) Interactional view: devotion, professional quality and personal styles. Language is a communicative tool to build up and 1.5 How can one become a good language teacher? 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. 1.3 Views on Language Learning Two 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 theory

 B. F. Skinner A stimulus-response theory of

psychology Audio-lingual method

 Wallace’s (1991) ‘reflective model’ (Figure 1.1, p.9) To bridge the gap between classroom language Stage 1: language development teaching and real-life language use, one solution is to Stage 2: learning, practice, reflection adopt CLT, the goal of which is to develop students’

❖ The learning stage is the purposeful communicative competence.

preparation that a language normally receives 2.2.1 Definition:

before the practice, This preparation can Communicative competence include both the knowledge include: about the language and the knowledge about how to use 1. Learning from others’ experience the language appropriately in communicative situations 2. Learning the received knowledge 2.2.2 Five components of communicative competence 3. Learning from one’s own experiences (Hedge 2000) ❖ The practice stage (2 senses) 1. Linguistic competence （语言能力）

Pseudo practice: short period of time a) The knowledge of language itself, its form assigned to do teaching practice as part of and meaning. one’s pre-service education, usually under the 2. Pragmatic competence （语用能力） supervision of instructors a) The appropriate use of language in social The real classroom teaching: what a teacher context. undertakes after he/she finishes formal 3. Discourse competence （语篇能力） education One’s ability to create coherent written text or ❖ Teachers benefit from practice if they keep conversation and the ability to understand them on reflecting on what they have been doing 4. Strategic competence （策略能力）

Goal: professional competence Strategies one employs when there is communication Unit 2 Communicative Principles and Task-based breakdown due to lack of resources. language teaching 5. Fluency （流利性） 2.1 How is language learned in classrooms different One’s ability to ‘link units of speech together with from language used in real life? facility and without strain or inappropriate

slowness or undue（过分的，不适当的）

Language Language hesitation’ used in real taught in the 2.3Implications for teaching and learning life classroom Teaching must enable learners to grasp the five

components of communicative competence, but not just

To perform To focus on the linguistic competence. certain forms 2.4 Principles of CLT communicative (structures or Three principles suggest by Richard and Rodgers： functions patterns) 1 Communication principle：Involve real communication

2 Task principle：Carry out meaningful tasks

Use all skills, To focus on one

3 Meaningfulness principle：Meaningful language to the

both receptive or two language

learner

skills and skills and ignore

Howatt proposes a weak and a strong version of CLT:

productive skills others.

Weak version

Learners first acquire language as a structural system and

Used in a certain To isolate

then learn how to use it in communication.

context language from

Strong version

its context

“Language is acquired through communication” (Howatt,

2.2 What is communicative competence? 1984:279)

2.5 Major Activity Types of CLT Communicative activities (PP22-23) A sequence of activities represented in Littlewood (1981: ▪ Functional communication activities 86) ▪ Social interaction activities Pre-communicative activities 2.6 Six Criteria for evaluating communicative

✓ Structural activities classroom activities

(Main features of communicative activities?)

✓ Quasi-communicative activities类似,准,半

1. Communicative purpose 4. Variety of language 2. Communicative desire 5. No teacher intervention 3. Content, not form 6. No materials control 2.7 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. 2.7.1Four components of a task

1. A purpose 2.A context 3.A process 4.A product 2.7.2 Exercises, exercise-tasks and tasks

Exercise-tasks are halfway between tasks and exercises. This kind of activity consists of contextualized practice of language item.

2.8 Differences between PPP and TBLT

1 The way students use and experience language in TBLT is radically different from PPP. 1. Free of language control

2. A genuine need to use language to communicate 3. A free exchange of ideas

4. Appropriateness & accuracy of language form in general, not production of a single form 5. A genuine need for accuracy and fluency

2. TBL can provide a context for grammar teaching and form-focused activities. PPP is different in this aspect:

1. A task-established context

2. Encouraged to think, analyze, not simply to repeat, manipulate and apply 3. A more varied exposure to natural language 4. Language forms not pre-selected for focus 5. Learner-free selection of language

6. TBL cycle lead from Fluency to accuracy (+fluency)

7. In TBL Integrated skills practiced 2.9 How to design tasks?

Step 1 Think about students’ needs, interests, and abilities→Step 2 Brainstorm possible tasks→Step 3 Evaluate the list→Step 4 Choose the language items→Step 5 Preparing materials 2.10 CLT and TBLT in the Chinese context  Problems with CLT

1. The very first and forceful argument is whether it is culturally appropriate

2. The second problem of CLT relates 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 learners.

 Constraints of TBLT

 The first is it may not be effective for presenting new language items

 The second constraint is Time as teachers have to prepare task-based activities very carefully.  The third is the culture of learning  The forth is Level of difficulty Unit 3

3.1 A brief history of foreign language teaching in China

1. A phase of restoration (1978-1985)

2. A phase of rapid development (1986-1992) 3. A phase of reform (1993-2000) 4. A phase of innovation from 2000

3.2 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. 3.3 Goals and objectives of English language teaching

The 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 with cross-cultural knowledge, awareness and capabilities.

The overall language ability required in the 2001 National English Curriculum includes the following aspects language knowledge, language skills, learning strategies, affects and cultural understanding. 3.4 Design of the National English Curriculum

3.5 The standards for different levels of competence

3.6 Challenges facing English language teachers

1) 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 Planning备课

4.1 Why is Lesson Planning Important

A lesson plan is a framework of a lesson in which teachers make advance decisions about what they hope to achieve and how they would like to achieve it.

Proper lesson plan is essential for both novice and experienced teachers. Language teachers benefit from lesson planning in a number of ways.

1. Makes teachers aware of the aims and language contents of the lesson, so as to plan the

activities and choose the techniques accordingly;

2. Helps teachers distinguish the various stages of a lesson and see the relationship between them

so that the activities of different difficulty levels can be arranged properly and the lesson can move smoothly from one stage to another;

3. Gives teachers the opportunity to anticipate potential problems so that they can be prepared; 4. Gives teachers, esp. novice ones, confidence in class; 5. Raises teachers’ awareness of the teaching aids needed; 6. Planning is a good practice and a sign of professionalism. Teachers benefit from proper lesson plans in a number of other ways:

 To enable the teacher to improve class timing;

 Lesson plans are also an aid to continuing development (plan-practice -reflection)

4.2 Principles for Good Lesson Planning

1. Aim: the realistic goals for the lesson; what students are able to do by the end of the lesson; 2. Variety: different types of activities; a wide selection of materials; 3. Flexibility: preparing some extra and alternative tasks and activities

4. Learnability: the contents and tasks planned should be within the learning capability of the

students

Doing things that are beyond or below the students’ coping ability will diminish their motivation (Schumann, 1999)

5. Linkage: the stages and the steps within each stage are linked with one another.

4.3 What are macro planning and micro planning? Macro planning

Planning over a long period of time which is often done by a group of teachers, it provides a general guidance for language teachers Micro planning

Planning for a specific unit or a lesson, which usually lasts from one to two weeks or forty to fifty minutes respectively. Micro planning is often an individual activity and different teachers may have different ways of writing their own lesson plans.

 Macro planning involves the following：

Knowing about the profession Knowing about the institution

Knowing about the learners Knowing about the curriculum/syllabus Knowing about the textbook Knowing about the objectives A lesson plan usually has the following components:

Background information Teaching aims Teaching content and skills Stages and procedures Teaching aids End of lesson summary Optional activities and Assignment After lesson reflection Unit 5 Classroom Management 5.1 What is classroom management?

Classroom management is the way teachers organize what goes on in the classroom. (68)

the goal of classroom management is to create an atmosphere conducive to (有助于)interacting in English in meaningful ways (Gebhard, 1996).

Efficient classroom management can be achieved when the following six conditions are met: 1. The teacher plays appropriate roles. 4. There is discipline as well as harmony in the 2. The teacher provides clearer instructions. class. 3. Students are grouped in a way suitable for the 5. The teacher asks appropriate questions.

learning activities. 6. The students’ errors are treated properly

5.2 What roles does the teacher play? 1. Controller (what to learn; how to learn) 4. Prompter (when Ss don’t know what to do…) 2. Assessor (correcting mistakes; organizing 5. Participant (in Ss’ activities)

feedback) 6. Resource-provider 3. Organizer (students’ activities)

Teachers’ roles are not static. They change with the development of the society.  New roles: Teacher as facilitators  To create a positive learning environment, use various strategies to motivate learners, guide students in

planning and assessing their learning and develop their learning strategies… Teacher as guide  To activate students’ prior knowledge; find individual interests and explore potential capabilities;

acknowledge and respect individual differences; give each equal opportunity in learning; evaluate students’ development fairly from an all-round perspective… Teacher as researcher  To observe a problem, reflect on the reasons, think about possible solutions, implement the solutions and

evaluate the results…

Q: How much control is needed?  Appropriate degree of control  Different activities need different degrees of control.  The more communicative an activity is, the less control it needs. Q: What does the teacher do as an assessor? 1. Correcting mistakes

 The correcting should be gentle, not harsh. 2. Organizing feedback

 The feedback should be focused on students’ success or progress so that a success-oriented learning atmosphere can be created. Q: How to organise?  Before the activity: what the activity is going to be like, anticipated problems; clear instructions given to students (with T’s demonstration)  During the activity: overhear what the students are saying, rectify wrong practices; take notes for later feedback Q: When to prompt?

 When students are not sure how to start an activity, or what to do next, or what to say next…  When a student doesn’t seem to be ready for an answer,…  When a student finishes with a very short answer,… Q: why to participate in student’s activities?

 Monitoring + participating changes the role from an authority to a conversationalist, a good chance for students to practice English with a superior… Q: What do you think of the jug-and-mug metaphor? Although the jug-and-mug method has been widely criticized, the teacher is still considered a good and convenient resource for the students.” A “jug and mug” theory of education是罗杰斯提出来的，也是他强烈批判的。理论大致是说某种教学当中教师(壶)拥有理智和事实性的知识,认为学生(杯)是消极的容器,知识可以灌入其内。是不是有点类似于填鸭式的教学方法。现在越来越强调student-centered的教学模式，这种方法的弊病应该是显而易见的。

5.3 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 of the students; 2. To use the mother-tongue only when it is necessary;

3. Give students time to get used to listening to English instructions; 4. Use 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. 5.4 What are the different ways for student grouping?

 Whole class work, pair work, group work, individual study 1. Whole class work

 All the students are under the control of the teacher, doing the same activity at the same rhythm and pace. 2. Pair work

 Students work in pairs on an exercise or task. 3. Group work

 Students work in small groups of 3-5 students. 4. Individual study

 Students work on their own at their own speed.Q: How to group? (Grouping methods)

1. Whole class work is normally used when presenting and explaining new language or new information

and it should be used wisely by the teachers.

2. Successful group/pair work depends on skillful organization.

3. The biggest problem for group work is the selection of group members.

4. While teachers are encourage using pair wok and group work to provide more practice chance,

individual study should not be forgotten.

Types of student grouping and their advantages and disadvantages in P314 (task4)

5.5 Discipline in the language classroom Q: 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)

Q: Does discipline guarantee effective learning?

 No. There might be little learning even the class is much disciplined.

 Although discipline is necessary, it is not a sufficient condition for effective learning as a thoroughly undisciplined atmosphere will surely yield no learning at all. (79) Q: How to maintain discipline? P.79

Although 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)  Ss are clear about learning purpose;

 Ss are able to do the work but find it challenging;

 Ss are emotionally, physically and intellectually involved by the tasks;

 The presentation, variety and structure of the work and activities generate curiosity and interest;  Ss have opportunities to ask questions and try out ideas;

 Ss can see what they have achieved and how they had made progress;  Ss get a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment from the work. Q: What causes discipline problems?  Unclear instructions

 A gap in the lesson (e.g. bad planning, equipment fails to work)  Lack of teacher attention

 The teacher concentrates on lengthy explanations to one individual so that the others get bored  Work is too easy or too challenging

Q: What measures can we take for undisciplined acts and badly behaving students?

 Harmer (1983) p.81→Act immediately. → Stop the class. → Rearrange the seats. →Change the

activity. → Talk to students after class. → Create a code of behavior.  Ur’s (1996) advice

Deal with it quietly. Don’t take things personally. Don’t use threats.

5.6 How to make questioning more effective?

1. Questions should be closely linked to the learning objectives in the lesson;

2. Questions should be staged so that the level of challenge increases as the lesson proceeds; 3. There should be a balance between closed and open, lower-order and higher-order questions; 4. Wait time is important to allow students to think through their answers;

5. Ss should be provided opportunities to ask their own questions and seek their own answers;

6. A secure and relaxed atmosphere of trust is needed and Ss’ opinions and ideas are valued. 5.6.2 What types of questions are there? (Classification of questions)

1. Closed and open 2. Display and genuine 3. Lower-order and

questions; questions; high-order questions; 4. Bloom’s taxonomy分类系统(Nuttall, 1982)

Knowledge →Comprehension→Application→Analysis→Synthesis→Evaluation

5.7 Dealing with errors

Q: 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. Q: How to deal with errors?

 In dealing with errors and mistakes we need to be clear whether the task or activity is focusing on accuracy or fluency. Q: 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. Q: How to correct errors?

 Different ways and techniques:

Direct teacher correction Indirect teacher correction Self-correction Peer correction Whole class correction

Q: Which 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)

Summary

1. Roles of the teacher: controller, assessor, organizer, prompter, participant, resource-provider, facilitator,

guide, researcher, etc.

2. Classroom instructions: simple; suit the level of students

3. Grouping: whole class work, group work, pair work, individual study

4. Discipline: to engage Ss in learning; how to maintain discipline, how to treat with undisciplined acts 5. Questioning: different classifications; questioning techniques

6. Error correction: error and mistake; different ways and techniques for correcting errors Unit 6 Teaching Pronunciation Critical Period Hypothesis关键期假说1967年列尼伯格(Lenneberg)提出: A biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasing difficult to acquire.

6.1 The role of pronunciation  Debate

Side A: students do not need to learn pronunciation because pronunciation will take care of itself as the students develop overall language ability.

Side B: Failure in pronunciation is a great hindrance to language learning. Views of teaching pronunciation vary  The Learners who have more exposure to English need less focus on pronunciation than those who only learn English in the class.

 Adult learners need more focus on pronunciation because they are more likely to substitute English sounds with sounds from their native language.

 The teaching of pronunciation should focus on the ss’ ability to identify and produce English sounds themselves. (pronunciation vs. phonetics)

 Ss should not be led to focus on reading and writing phonetic transcripts of words, esp. for young students.  Phonetic rules are helpful for Ss to develop ability to cope with English pronunciation and they should be introduced at a suitable stage.

 Stress and intonation are important and should be taught from the very beginning. 6.2 The goal of teaching pronunciation

The 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. The 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.

6.3 What aspects of pronunciation do we need to teach?

Pronunciation is an umbrella 容纳很多的，包容的term covering many aspects, beside sound and phone symbols, such as stress, intonation, and rhythm, of course ,these aspects are not isolated from each other, rather, they are interrelated.

Q: How to achieve good pronunciation?

 Practice makes perfect

 Both mechanical practice and meaningful practice are beneficial.

6.4 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 sound

Focus on an individual sounds especially those sounds that are difficult to learn

Perception practice

 What is the goal of perception practice?

 Developing the students’ ability to identify and distinguish between 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  Completion Production practice

The goal of production practice is developing students’ ability to produce 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 certain sounds). 3. Make up sentences (using as many from the given words as possible). 4. Use meaningful context (to perform meaningful tasks such as role-play). 5. Use pictures (to produce meaningful language). 6. Use tongue twisters (to practice pronunciation).

6.5 Practicing stress and intonation

Two types of stress:

word-level stress

It is very important to stress the proper syllable in multi-syllabic words.

The best strategy is to emphasize the importance of learning the stress as part of learning a word. Phrase-level or sentence-level stress

Each phrase or sentence has one syllable which receives greater or more prominent stress than the others.

 Some phrases or sentences may have one stressed syllable, while others may have 5-6 stressed

syllables.

6.5.1 Teaching methods of stress

 The most important thing in practicing stress is making the students aware of where to stress the words or phrases.

1. Use gestures (e.g. clapping hands; using arm movements) 2. Use the voice (raise the voice to indicate stress)

3. Use the blackboard (underline the stress parts or write with colored chalks

6.5.2 Practicing intonation (How to practice 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.

How can teachers help the students to improve pronunciation?

1. Use individual, pair, group and whole class work; 2. Use 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 articulations 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 Grammar

7.1 The role of grammar in language learning It 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. 7.2 Grammar presentation

What 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 a particular case The deductive method relies on reasoning, analyzing and comparing

2. The inductive method 归纳法method of logical reasoning which obtains or discovers general laws from

particular facts or examples

3. 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 situations.

Two key theoretical issues related to the method: the role of explicit knowledge in language learning; the value     

of discovery as a general method of learning Implicit and explicit knowledge

 Implicit knowledge refers to knowledge that unconsciously exists in our mind, which we can make use of

automatically without making any effort. E.g. of L1 内隐知识

 Explicit knowledge refers to our conscious knowledge about the language. We can talk about it, analyse it

and apply it in conscious ways. 外显知识 7.3 Grammar practice

Practice may be defined as any kind of engaging with the language on the part of the learner, usually under the teacher supervision, whose primary objective is to consolidate learning.

Grammar practice is usually divided into two categories, mechanical practice and meaningful practice. Two types of practice can be combined

1. Mechanical practice (focus on forms)纯形式练习

 Ss pay repeated attention to a key element in a structure.

 Substitution and transformation drills are most frequently used. 2. Meaningful/communicative practice (focus on form) 重形式练习  Focus on meaning (CLT) + overt study of form

 Ss practise the target structure while negotiating meaning. 3. Using prompts for practice

 The prompts can be pictures, mimes (use of facial expressions and gestures), tables, charts or key

words.

 Practice based on prompts is usually considered as meaningful practice.  Examples:

1. Using picture prompts 5. Using chained phrases for story telling 2. Using mimes or gestures as prompts 6. Using created situations (to practise TL in a 3. Using information sheet as prompts communicative way) 4. Using key phrases or key words as prompts What kind of practice is most effective?

 Ur (1988) predicts six factors that contribute to successful practice. 1. Pre-learning: new language noticed 2. Volume and repetition 3. Success-orientation

4. Heterogeneity of sentences and contexts异质性 5. Teacher assistance 6. interest Conclusion

1. The role of grammar in language learning: 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. Three ways of presenting/ teaching grammar: the deductive method, the inductive method, and the

guided discovery method. Each has merits and drawbacks. The best way is to vary methods in different situations.

3. Ur (1996) suggests that a good presentation of grammar should include both oral and written and both form and meaning. Plenty of contextualized examples are necessary; visual materials are helpful; use of complex terminology should be avoided for young learners; inductive and discovery method should be used for those structures that can be easily perceived by the learners; for complex structures it is better to teach the rule explicitly and deductively.

4. Mechanical practice and meaningful practice of grammar have both advantages and disadvantages.

Two types of practice can be combined. Using prompts (pictures, mimes, tables, charts, key words, created situations) has proved to be an effective way of grammar practice. Unit 8 Teaching Vocabulary

8.1 Assumptions about vocabulary learning

1. Vocabulary items can be words, compounds, phrases, sentences.

2. Not every single word has an equivalent in another language, e.g. “the”. 3. Vocabulary can be taught.

4. Both teachers and students should be aware of the difference between active and passive vocabulary,

and then treat them differently.

5. Translation is not the best way to explain new words.

6. English-English explanations are not the best. There are many other more effective ways. 7. An English-English dictionary is very helpful.

8. It is more effective when words of related meaning are taught and learned together. 9. Studying vocabulary in language contexts is more effective.

10. Forgetting is inevitable. But if words are frequently used, they are less easy to forget.

8.2 What does knowing a word involve?  Knowing a word means knowing meaning.  its pronunciation and stress;  Learning a word involves learning more than just  its spelling and grammatical properties; the word itself. Lexical items can be phrases,  its meaning; clauses or sentences.  How and when to use it to express the intended 8.2.1According to Hedge (2000)

Vocabulary learning “involves at least two aspects of meaning. The first aspect involves the understanding of its denotative and connotative meaning. The second aspect involves understanding the sense relations among words.”

Denotative meaning: the primary, literal or explicit meaning of a word, which refers to “those words that we use to label things as regards real objects, such as a name or a sign, etc. in the physical world. 字面意义；外延

Connotative meaning: the meaning of a word or phrase that is suggested or implied, as opposed to a denotation, or literal meaning 隐含意义；内涵 Sense relations

Collocations固定搭配: words that co-occur with high frequency and have been accepted as ways for the use of words

Synonyms同义词: items that mean the same, or nearly the same Antonyms反义词: items that mean the opposite of a word

hyponyms下义词words which can be grouped together under the same superordinate (上义词) concept Receptive and productive vocabulary

 Be aware of the distinction between receptive/passive and productive/active vocabulary.

 Receptive vocabulary refers to words that one is able to recognize and comprehend in reading or listening

but unable to use automatically in speaking or writing.

 Productive vocabulary: words that one is not only able to recognize but also able to use in speech and

writing.

8.3 How can we present new vocabulary items? 1. Provide a visual or physical demonstration;

2. Provide a verbal context to demonstrate meaning; 3. Use synonyms or antonyms;

4. Use lexical sets or hyponyms to show relations of words and their meanings; 5. Translate and exemplify, if words with abstract meaning; 6. Use word formation rules; 7. Teach vocabulary in chunks;

8. Relate words to contexts in real life; 9. Provide different contexts;

10. Prepare for possible misunderstanding or confusion. 8.4 What are some effective ways to consolidate vocabulary?

 Some vocabulary consolidation activities suggested: 1. Labelling 7. Word association 2. Spot the difference 8. Find synonyms and antonyms 3. Describe and draw 9. Categories 4. Play a game 10. Using word net-work 5. Use word series 11. Using the Internet resources for more ideas 6. Word bingo填格子

8.5 How do we help students develop vocabulary learning strategies? 1. Review regularly

2. Guess meaning from context

 contextual clue: the topic, the grammatical structure, meaning connect between the given word and

other words, linguistic pattern

3. Organize vocabulary effectively (p.131)

4. Use a dictionary (what dictionary, how to use, what to look for, when to use) 5. keep a vocabulary notebook (in different formats) 6. Manage strategy use: self-evaluate; share experiences Vocabulary learning strategies  Discovery strategies

 Determination strategies: discover the word meaning by guessing from 1) its structural knowledge; 2)an L1

cognate 同源词; 3) Context; 4) consulting others.  Social strategies: asking sb. who knows  Consolidation strategies

 Social strategies: 1) cooperative group learning; 2)teachers check for accuracy; 3) interact with NSs

 Memory/mnemonic strategies: 1) pictures/imagery; 2) related words; 3) unrelated words; 4) grouping;

5)word’s orthographical or phonological form

 Cognitive strategies: repetition and using mechanical meaning to study vocabulary, e.g. repeatedly saying a

word; word lists and flash cards; taking notes in class; recording word lists; voc notebooks.  Metacognitive strategies元认知: to control and evaluate learning Conclusion

 It is very important to make students aware how to learn vocabulary effectively and how to use some

vocabulary learning strategies.

 Teachers should present new vocabulary items effectively and guide and help students consolidate the

newly learned vocabulary. Also it is important for teachers to help students develop vocabulary learning strategies.

Unit 9 Teaching Listening

9.1 Why does listening seem so difficult? 9.1.1 Problems in listening  Goh (2000) listed some problems reported by learners when listening to an English text. 1. Quickly forget what is heard.

2. Do not recognize words they know.

3. Understand the words but not the intended message. 4. Neglect the next part when thinking about meaning.

5. Unable to form a mental representation from words heard.

6. Do not understand subsequent parts of input because of earlier problems. 9.1.2 Reasons for difficulty in listening

 Listening is often neglected in language teaching due to lack of teaching materials, lack of

equipment in some schools, and lack of real-life situations where learners need to understand spoken English.

 Even if listening were not neglected, it could not be guaranteed that students could have no

problems in listening. In foreign language learning ,both listening and reading are receptive skills,

but listening can be more difficult than reading because:

 Different speakers produce the same sounds in different ways (dialects, accents, stresses,

rhythms, intonations…);

 The listener has little or no control over the speed of the input of spoken material;  Speech is likely to be distorted with background noise;

9.2 What do we listen to in everyday life? (Ur, 1996)

Loudspeaker announcements Radio news Lesson, lecture Conversation, gossip Instructions Watching television Watching movies Telephone conversations Interview Shopping Story-telling Meetings Negotiations Theater show

9.3 Characteristics of the listening process 1. Spontaneity

 Most of the time we listen to people speaking spontaneously and informally without rehearsing. 2. Context

 Is usu known to both L and S, which helps predict what we are going to hear. 3. Visual clues

 The visual clues such as facial expressions, gestures and other body language as well as the surrounding

environment help us understand and predict what we hear. 4. Listener’s response

 Most of the listening in daily life allows L to respond to S (interruption, repetition or clarification). 5. Speaker’s adjustment

S can adjust the way of speaking according to L’s reactions. 9.4 Principles and models for teaching listening 9.4.1 Four principles

1. Focus on process: listening is as active a skill as speaking (attending, parsing, decoding, re-encoding,

understanding…)

2. Combine listening with other skills: listening is not an isolated skill. Listening +speaking (retelling,

interviewing, discussion, answers); listening+ writing (note-taking, a writing task). 3. Focus on comprehension of meaning: listening comprehension, not memory checking.

4. Grade difficulty level appropriately: 3 major factors –1)type of language used; 2) task or purpose in listening;

3) context in which the listening occurs.

9.4.2 Principles for selecting and using listening activities  Oxford (1993: 210) offered 12 principles:

1. The listening activity must have a real, communicative purpose.

2. The activity must use authentic language without significantly slower or simpler speech.

3. Pre-listening tasks (e.g. discussing the topic, brainstorming, presenting voc, sharing of related articles) must

be used to stimulate the appropriate background knowledge and help learners identify the purpose of the activity.

4. The listening text must offer content that is personally interesting and motivating to learners.

5. To allow listeners to infer meaning from body language and related context clues, the speaker must be

visible whenever possible.

6. The activity must offer many environmental clues to meaning.

7. When possible, the whole listening text should be given, and then divided into parts that can be repeated. 8. At the end, the whole text should be given again, and Ss should have opportunity to discuss their hypotheses

and how they tested and altered them.

9. The activity requires listeners to respond in some meaningful fashion, individually or in pairs/groups.

10. The activity must be fashioned so that Ss with normal background knowledge are able to understand the

topic.

11. The activity must be typical for its own speech type.

12. The classroom climate must be non-threatening and positive. 9.4.3 Models of listening process

1.  2. 

Bottom-up model

Listening comprehension starts with sound and meaning recognition, then to words, phrases, and structures. Top-down model

Listening comprehension involves “knowledge that a listener brings to a text, sometimes called ‘inside the head’ information” (Hedge, 2000:232).

 Listening for gist and making use of contextual clues and background knowledge to construct meaning are

emphasized.

9.4.4 Three teaching stages Pre-listening→While-listening→Post-listening 9.5 Pre-listening activities

Predicting→Setting the scene→Listening for the gist→Listening for specific information Summary on pre-listening activities

 Pre-listening tasks should not take much time.

 We select most often one kind of activity before each listening session.

 The purpose is to motivate Ss, activate their schema, to add context, prepare Ss for necessary language so

that the actual listening itself becomes easier. 9.6 While-listening activities

No specific responses (By not giving Ss any task the first time they listen to a passage, it can take the anxiety out of listening.) →Listen and tick (p. 148) →Listen and sequence (p.149) →Listen and act→Listen and draw (Task 11) →Listen and fill (in the blanks) →Listen and take notes (p.151) 9.7 Post-listening activities 1. Multiple-choice questions

2. Answering questions (comprehension or inference) 3. Note-taking and gap-filling (e.g. mini-lecture in TEM8) 4. Dictogloss (cf. dictation)

1. Preparation (introduce the topic, key words, general questions) 2. Dictation (at normal speed) 3. Reconstruction

4. Analysis and correction

Summary on post-listening activities

 Tasks like role play, debate, discussion, writing back, etc. offer opportunities to integrate listening with the

practice of other language skills, to integrate what Ss have listened to with their own knowledge and meanwhile they can show their personal views and reactions towards what they’ve heard.  Do not require Ss to remember more details than a NS would be able to do in real life.

 Do not spend too much time giving Ss with traditional test-taking questions (not authentic). Unit 10 Teaching Speaking

According to Bygate(1987),there are 4 common features of spoken language:

• • • • Using less complex syntax;

Taking short cuts,e.g. incomplete sentences; Using fixed conventional phrases\\chunks;

Using devices such as fillers, hesitation device to give time to think before speaking.

10.2 Principles for teaching speaking p.159

1. Balancing accuracy-based with fluency-based practices 2. Contextualizing practice 3. Personalizing practice 4. Building up confidence

5. Maximizing meaningful interactions 6. Helping Ss develop speaking strategies

7. Making the best use of classroom learning environment to provide sufficient language input and

practice for Ss

10.3 How to design speaking tasks

 Characteristics of successful speaking tasks (Ur, 1996) 1. Maximum foreign talk 2. Even participation 3. High motivation 4. Right language level

10.4 Types of speaking tasks

It is important to give the students a variety of speaking activities so that they will be able to cope with different situations in reality.

1. Classification of speaking activities 1) Controlled activities:

Controlled activities mainly focus on form and accuracy. 2) Semi-controlled activities.

Semi-controlled activities focus more on meaning and communication. 3) Communicative activities.

Communicative activities allow for real information exchange, which include information gap activities, problem-solving activities, discussions, debates. Interviews, fluency- focused games, etc. 2. typical speaking activities 1) Information-gap activities

One excellent way to make speaking tasks communicative is to use information-gap activities, in which the students have different information and they need to obtain information from each other in order to finish a task.

2) Dialogues & role-play 3) Activities using pictures 4）Problem solving activities This type of activity tends to be productive because there is a clear objective to be reached. There are many topics that would be interesting and relevant to the students’ life. Try the problem-solving task below. 5) Find someone who…

Directions: Stand up and walk around the room. Ask your classmates what they like to do. Once you find someone who likes something, write down his/her name in the blank next to the activity. Continue asking until you have a different name written down for each activity. The first person to fill in all the blanks is the winner. 6）Change the story each student writes a short story or description and underlines all the verbs. The group together makes a list of 20 random verbs. Each group member reads her/his story and pauses at every verb. The group uses one of the random verbs in place of what the group member originally wrote. 7）Human scrabble

a game using index cards: one letter per card, two cards of each vowel, one card blank. Divide a stack of cards among a group. Teacher calls out a word in English, groups rush to hold up their cards in the right order.

10.5 How to organize speaking tasks

Design small group work for three reasons:

(1) It increases the time for each student to practise speaking in one lesson;

(2) Often Ss are afraid of making mistakes or losing face or feel shy speaking in front of a whole class; (3) Speaking in small groups is more natural in real life.

Small group work helps Ss learn to work cooperatively and helps them develop interpersonal skills—”fostering development of tolerance, mutual respect and harmony” (Cooke & Nicholson, 1992:34) Unit 11 Teaching reading 11.1 How do people read?

11.1.1 Assumptions about reading

1. People read for different purposes.

2. Reading aloud does not help Ss focus on the meaning of the text because they have to concentrate on

pronunciation, intonation, pausing and the recognition of new words.

3. The purpose will usually determine what specific information you are going to look for and the

appropriate type of reading skills to be used.

4. Our eyes are always jumping, from ‘group of words’ to ‘groups of words’. 5. People read at different speed and can’t ‘read together’. 6. People guess much of what it is said in a text in reading.

7. Different reading tasks and materials require different reading speed.

8. Mental translating not only slows down the reading speed, but also makes the readers lose track of the

overall meaning.

9. Readers guess the new words, and if the words do not interfere with understanding of the text, ignore

them.

10. Research has indicated that lack of cultural knowledge may lead to failure in ESL reading

comprehension. Language and culture are inseparable.

11. To achieve reading comprehension, readers need not only vocabulary, but also general knowledge about

the language, about the world, about text types, and effective reading strategies. 12. Reading extensively helps.

11.1.2 Reading aloud and silent reading 11.2 What do effective readers do?

1. Have a clear purpose in reading 2. Read silently

3. Read phrase by phrase, rather than word by word

4. Concentrate on the important bits, skim the rest, and skip the insignificant parts 5. Use different speeds and strategies for different reading tasks

6. Perceive the information in the target language rather than mentally translate 7. Guess the meaning of new words from the context, or ignore them 8. Have and use background information to help understand the text.

11.3 What do we read?

 We read a great variety of texts in English.

 Refer to Page 180 for a list of things we read in our daily life.

 It is very important for EFL teachers to bear in mind what we read in real life so that when we select

reading materials for our students, we will ensure not only there is a great variety but also we can help prepare ss to meet their future needs.

 EFL learners read authentic texts and/or simulated texts depending on proficiency level. 11.4 Strategies involved in reading comprehension 11.4.1 Reading and reading comprehension

 Reading “is the construction of meaning from a printed or written message”. (Bamford, 1998:12)

 Reading comprehension involves extracting the relevant information from the text as efficiently as

possible, connecting the information from the written message with one’s own knowledge to arrive at an understanding.

11.4.2 Two levels of reading

1. A recognition task of perceiving visual signals from the printed page through the eyes;

2. A cognitive task of interpreting the visual information, relating the received information with the reader’s

own general knowledge, and reconstructing the meaning that the writer had meant to convey. 11.4.3 What are the skills involved in reading?

1. Specifying a purpose for reading 15. Paying attention to text structure 2. Planning what to do/what steps to take 16. Rereading 3. Previewing the text 17. Guessing the meaning of a new word from 4. Predicting the contents of the text context 5. Checking predictions 18. Using discourse markers to see 6. Skimming the text for the main idea relationships 7. Scanning the text for specific information 19. Checking comprehension 8. Distinguishing main ideas from supporting 20. Identifying difficulties

details 21. Taking steps to repair faulty 9. Posing questions about the text comprehension 10. Finding answers to posed questions 22. Critiquing the author 11. Connecting text to background knowledge 23. Critiquing the text 12. Summarizing information 24. Judging how well objectives were met 13. Making inferences 25. Reflecting on what has been learned from 14. Connecting one part of the text to another the text

11.5 The role of vocabulary in reading

 Day & Bamford (1998): efficient reading begins with a lightening-like automatic recognition of

words, which frees one’s mind to use other resources to construct meaning.

 Helping Ss to develop the ability of automatic word recognition is the basis for developing their

reading skills.

 The way to develop sight vocabulary is to read extensively (‘Familiarity breeds automaticity’).

Sight vocabulary 视觉词汇，一见即懂的词汇

 Words that one is able to recognize immediately [both sounds and meanings] are often referred to

as sight vocabulary.

 How to develop sight vocabulary?

A: To read extensively – ‘Familiarity breeds automaticity’ (Day & Bamford, 1998:16).

However, the materials chosen [for extensive reading after class] must be at the right level and a degree of monitoring should be available to keep the motivation high so that Ss can feel a sense of achievement by sharing their reading experiences with others

11.6 Principles and models for teaching reading 11.6.1 Principles for teaching reading (184)

1. The selected texts and attached tasks should be accessible to the ss. 2. Tasks should be clearly given in advance.

3. Tasks should be designed to encourage selective and intelligent reading for the main meaning rather

than Ss’ understanding of trivial details.

4. Tasks should help develop Ss’ reading skills rather than test their reading comprehension. 5. The teacher should help Ss develop reading strategies and reading ability in general.

6. The teacher should provide enough guidance and assistance at the beginning but gradually

withdraw guidance as Ss progress.

11.6.2 Models for teaching reading

1. Bottom-up model

 Reading follows a linear process from the recognition of letters to words, to phrases, to sentences,

to paragraphs, and then to the meaning of the whole text. 2. Top-down model

 One’s background knowledge plays a more important role than new words and structures in

reading comprehension.

 Reading is ‘a psycholinguistic guessing game’ (Goodman, 1967). 3. Interactive model

 Reading as an interactive process does not only involve the printed page but also the reader’s

knowledge of the language in general, of the world, and of the text types.

What makes a proficient reader?

1. Have good language skills: automatic recognition of words and phrases, understanding sentence

structures, building a discourse structure, etc.

2. Integrate this decoding process with what he/she already knows about the topic –schemas or

schemata 图式, ‘cognitive constructs which allow for the organization of information in our long-term memory’ (Widdowson, 1983)

11.7 Procedures of activities

 Pre-reading activities (Lead-in)  While-reading activities  Post-reading activities

11.7.1 Types of reading activitites  Pre-reading activities

 Purpose: to stimulate Ss’ interests; to facilitate while-reading activities, by pooling existing knowledge

about the topic, predicting the contents of the text, learning key words and structures, etc.  Activities: predicting, setting the scene, skimming, scanning, etc.  While-reading activities

 Two main ways of exploiting texts: 1. Focusing on the results of reading

 Multiple-choice questions; T/F; open questions, paraphrasing, translation

2. Focusing on the process of understanding

 Information transfer activities, ( with a transition device)  Five types of reading comprehension questions  Understanding references  Making inferences …

Post-reading activities  Purposes/functions:

1. To provide Ss with opportunities to relate what they’ve read to what they already know or what they feel;

2. To enable Ss to produce language based on what they learned.

 Post-reading activities:

 Traditional: questions; paraphrasing; translation

 Suggested: 1) discussion as a basis for problem-solving, the ranking of alternatives, deciding upon

priorities, etc. 2) Role-play; 3) gap-filling; 4) retelling; 5) writing Unit 12 Teaching Writing

12.1 What, why and how do we write?

1. What do we write?

Writing is a real-life reality. We write letters, journals, notes, instructions, posters, essays, reports, menus, etc.

2. Why do we write?

We write for various reasons, to convey messages, to keep a record of what is in our mind, to

communicate, to raise awareness of how language works, to become more familiar with the linguistic and social conventions of writing in English, etc.

3. How do we write?

Writing can be both collaborative and solitary EFL writing vs. writing in reality

 Two major differences:

1. ‘writing as language learning’ (to consolidate language that is recently studied) vs. writing for

communication (to convey messages or for self creation)

2. EFL writing tasks lack authenticity. EFL writing tasks focus on the product rather than process,

ignoring planning, drafting, rewriting stages.  We should make Ss want to write in the first place, then teach them how to write.

12.2 A communicative approach to writing

 Ss are motivated by authentic writing tasks that have some communicative elements.  With different audiences and different purposes, the writing piece could vary greatly.

 Writing activities can be “writing for learning”, “writing for communication” and somewhere

between.

12.3 Problems in writing tasks

1. They are mainly accuracy-based.

2. They are designed to practice a certain target structures. 3. There is insufficient preparation before the writing stage. 4. There is no sense of audience. 5. There is no sense of authenticity.

6. Ss are given ideas to express rather than being invited to invent their own.

7. There is no opportunity for creative writing, for expressing unusual for original ideas. 8. Many of them are test-oriented. 12.4 A process approach to writing

 12.4.1 Features of process writing (Brown, 1994):

1. Focus on the process of writing that leads to the final written product; 2. Help Ss understand their own composing process;

3. Help Ss build repertoires of strategies for prewriting, drafting, and rewriting; 4. Give Ss time to write and rewrite.

5. Place central importance on the process of revision; 6. Let Ss discover what they want to say as they write;

7. Give Ss feedback throughout the composing process to consider as they attempt to bring

their expression closer and closer to intention;

8. Encourage feedback both from the instructor and peers;

9. Include individual conferences between T and S during the process of composition.

12.4.2 Procedures of process writing

Creating a motivation to write; →Brainstorming; →Mapping; →Free writing; →Outlining; →Drafting; →Editing; →Revising; →Proofreading; →Conferencing 12.5 Motivating students to write

1. Make the topic of writing as close as possible to Ss’ life. 2. Leave Ss enough room for creativity and imagination. 3. Prepare Ss well before writing.

4. Encourage collaborative group writing as well as individual writing. 5. Provide opportunities for Ss to share their writings. 6. Provide constructive and positive feedback. 7. Treat Ss’ errors strategically.

8. Give Ss a sense a achievement from time to time 12.6 Designing writing tasks

 Writing tasks should be motivating and communicative.  Self-study sample tasks on pages 224-225. 12.7 Using the Internet to promote process writing

 Research indicates that Ss prefer to submit drafts one at a time to the teacher and revise their work

after seeking comments or advice from the teacher (Warschauer, 1995)

 E-mail provides a perfect mechanism for Ss to submit drafts and for Ts to look them over at their

convenience and send them back with comments –once, twice, or several times.  Other useful ways: blogging; BBS; Moodle Advantages of an e-mail based writing scheme

 New ideas are shared promptly and can be responded to quickly.

 The teacher can store all the drafts for later review and analysis of the revision process.  Ss can also send their work to each other so as to receive comments from all peers.

 Ss have a feeling of real-time writing –writing for the purpose of sharing ideas with their teacher or

classmates.

Unit 13 Integrated Skills

13.1 Why integrate the four skills?

 When we communicate, we often use more than a single language skill.  What skills do we need in our daily communication?

 Integrating the skills means that we are working at the level of realistic communication, which is

the aim of communicative approach and an integral part of essential conditions for language learning.

13.2 How to integrate the four skills?

 Two types of integration

1. Simple integration: integration within the same medium (either oral or written), from receptive

to productive skills

2. Complex integration: constructing a series of activities that use a variety of skills

13.3 What are the implications for teaching?

 Since integration of the four skills is concerned with realistic communication, we are teaching at

the discourse level, not just at the level of sentences or individual words and phrases.

13.3.1 Focus on discourse

 Implication: we need to be aware of the discourse features of a text and to be able to make Ss aware

of them.

 Discourse features include:

1. The way that the text is organized 2. Its layout (for written text)

3. The style of the language (formal or informal)

4. The register (the vocabulary that is commonly found in such discourse)

13.3.2 Adjusting the textbook contents

 Teachers have to

1. decide how much detail we should include in the lesson;

2. Make some changes to the textbook contents (e.g. the order of the contents; the activities in

the textbook).

13.3.3 Adjusting the timetable

 Teachers should make the timetable arrangements (e.g. a ‘listening’ lesson one day and a ‘reading’

lesson another day) more flexible so that we can integrate the skills better.

13.4 What are the limitations of integrating the four skills?

 Benefit: help the development of Ss’ communicative competence;  Limitations:

1. no separate focus on individual aspects of vocabulary, grammar and skills ( an appropriate

balance between integration and separation);

2. Integration can be demanding of the teacher.

3. The problem of designing suitable materials that take into account Ss’ different skill levels.

13.5 Conclusion

 Why integrating the four skills?

 It enhances the focus on realistic communication, which is essential in developing Ss’

competence in English.

 What integrating skills?

 Simple integration, whereby a receptive language skill serves as a model for a productive

language skill;

 Complex integration, which is a combination of activities involving different skills, linked

thematically.

 What limitations?

 The role of a focus on individual language elements, such as vocabulary and grammar,

should not be overlooked.

 Integration is demanding of teachers in terms of finding or designing suitable materials,

particularly when it is necessary to take into account the differing rates of progress of Ss in mastering the individual skills.

 Integration requires skillful teaching, but it can bring worthwhile results. Unit 14 Moral Learning

14.1 Moral learning and English

“Teachers are engineers of the soul.” Basic education should aim for better development of students, not only in knowledge, skills and abilities but also in values, attitudes, and emotions. Moral values

• • • • • •

Self control

Good health and hygiene Kindness Fairness Self-reliance Sense of duty

• • • • •

Reliability Truthfulness

Good work attitude Team work Loyalty

Activates for Moral Development

Sharing、posters、 debates、comparison、role plays、case study for problem solving

Extension activities拓展、philosophy circle、spontaneous reflection自发的, 无意识的、Essays 14.3 The roles of the teacher

• Teacher as role model

• Teacher as curriculum developer 14.4 The roles of the school

• Classroom activities • Performances • Student-organized activities • Ceremonial events • Extra-curricular activities • Sports events • Campaigns • Field trips Unit 15 Assessment in Language Teaching

15.1 What is assessment? How is it different from evaluation and testing?

 Test: usually done at the end of a learning period; result by a mark; Ss’ test scores are compared

with each other

 Assessment: involves the collecting of information or evidence of a learner’s learning progress and

achievement over a period of time for the purposes of improving teaching and learning. Forms of assessment: tests, comment from T, T’s observation notes, Ss’ self-assessment sheets, samples of Ss’ work, etc. Ss’ achievement is measured against his own starting point.

 Evaluation: ‘a whole range of issues in and beyond language education’; produces a global view of

achievement based on many different types of information

 Evaluation is the most general of the three concepts, for decision-making purpose. Assessment focus on the learning progress and process-oriented, for the purposes of improving teaching and learning. Test is one instrument of assessment, focusing on the result of learning. 15.2 The purpose of assessment

15.3 Methods for assessment

1. Summative and formative assessment 4. Self-assessment and peer assessment 2. Teacher’s observations 5. Project work 3. Continuous assessment 6. portfolios 15.4 Criteria for assessment

 Criterion-referenced assessment: based on a fixed standard or a set of criterion.

 Norm-referenced assessment: to measure how the performance of a particular student or group of

students compares with the performance of another student or group of students whose scores are given as the norm. (relative)

 Individual-referenced assessment: based on how well the learner is performing relative to his or her

own previous performance, or relative to an estimate of his or her individual ability.

15.5 Assessment principles p.257

 Law and Eckes (1995:9):

1. Assess authentic use of language in reading, writing, speaking and listening. 2. Assess literacy and language in a variety of contexts. 3. Assess the environment, the instruction, and the students. 4. Assess processes as well as products.

5. Analyze patterns of errors in language and literacy.

6. Base assessment on normal developmental patterns and behavior in language and literacy

acquisition.

7. Clarify and use standards when assessing reading, writing, and content knowledge.

8. Involve Ss and parents, as well as other personnel such as the ESL or mainstream teacher,

in the assessment process.

9. Make assessment an ongoing part of every day.

15.6 Test formats/testing techniques

 Ten most frequently used test formats:

1. Questions and answers 6. Dictation 2. T or F 7. Transformation 3. Multiple-choice 8. Translation 4. Gap-filling or completion 9. Essay writing 5. Matching 10. interview

Unit 16 Learner Differences and Learner Training

16.1 How learners are different?  Different learning styles

1. Visual learners (learn through eyes/seeing)

2. Auditory learners (learn through the ear/hearing)

3. Tactile learners (learn through touch/hands-on activities) 4. Kinesthetic learners (learn through body experience) 5. Group learners (learn through working with others) 6. Individual learners (learn through working alone)

7. Authority oriented learners (learn by listening to the teacher) 8. Reflective learners (learn through reflections)

What can teachers do to meet the needs of different learners?  (Cheng & Banya, 1998)

1. Ts have to be aware of Ss learning styles as well as their own learning/teaching styles.

2. Ts have the responsibility to provide multiple opportunities for Ss to develop/expand different LS. 3. Ts need to take risks to integrate more teaching styles into class preparation.

4. Ts should encourage Ss to try different ways of learning and adjust themselves to different LS,

because certain LS are more appropriate in certain learning situations and for some special learning purposes.

Multiple intelligence theory

 Gardner proposes 7 intelligences: 1. Verbal/linguistic intelligence 5. Bodily/kinesthetic intelligence 2. Musical intelligence 6. Interpersonal intelligence 3. Logical/mathematical 7. Intrapersonal intelligence intelligence 8. Naturalist intelligence

4. Spatial/visual intelligence

Teaching should be able to develop as much as possible Ss’ different potentials in their intelligences 16.2 Learner training in language teaching

 Teachers need to incorporate learner training into the language course and make it an integral part of it.  What is learner training?

 Ellis & Sinclair (19:2): learner training focuses on the process of learning rather than the product of learning, emphasizing ‘how to learn rather than what to learn’.

 Gallacher (2005): learner training is about developing Ss’ awareness of how they learn and about developing strategies to help them learn. The intention is to make learners take more responsibilities for their own learning so that eventually they can become independent and autonomous learners. 16.3 Contents and procedures for learner training

 What can teachers do to help learners learn how to learn?  Dickinson & Carver (1980):

1. Psychological preparation, e.g. activities to build confidence;

2. Methodological preparation, e.g. activities to help understand and use metalanguage

and to become aware of the rationale behind classroom activities;

3. Practice in self-direction, e.g. activities which provide learners with opportunities to

make choices about their learning.

What can we do in learner training?

 Ellis & Sinclair (19) proposes two stages for learner training:

1. Preparation for language learning

--raise awareness about oneself (motivation, interest, learning styles…) --know what learning strategies are, strengths and weaknesses in learning… 2. Skills training

--give learners the knowledge and practice of different learning strategies

16.4 How can we help learners to become more autonomous? (Guidance/procedures for learner training)

1 Involve Ss in an overview of the textbook at the beginning 2 Involve Ss in finding about themselves

3 Introduce Ss to a number of different learning strategies

4 Help learners set up their own learning goals and make their own plans 5 Share lesson aims with Ss in class and review them by the end of the lesson 6 Use learner diaries as a way to help Ss reflect on their learning 7 Guide Ss to make plans for learning

8 Use portfolios to promote more autonomous learning 9 Help Ss learn to use resources

Ryan (1997) suggests 3 steps in helping Ss to use resources:  A consciousness-raising discussion of available resources;

 T models by presenting and practicing some techniques to exploit resources;

 T introduces the theoretical assumptions underlying the selection of resources and techniques.

 Other ways: create a class library; organize a reading seminar; display book reports; inform Ss of some useful websites

How learners are different?8 types of learners; multiple-intelligence theory What is learner training?

To develop Ss’ awareness of how to learn and to develop strategies to help them learn

What can we do in learner training?(psychological & methodological) Preparation for language learning; Skills training

How can we help learners to become more autonomous? Learners should be encouraged to choose and develop the most appropriate strategies for their own learning so that they can make their learning more effective and efficient.

Unit 17 Resources and textbooks

17.1 What resources are available for teaching?

 Possible resources:

 Pictures of objects, toys and animals, real objects, action pictures, word cards, dictionaries, the Internet, video materials, audio materials, books, newspapers, computer projectors…

 Today’s youth are ‘multi-processing’ (Brown, 2002)– doing several things simultaneously.  multi-literacy: being able to read and write not only text, but also image and screen  e-literacy, e.g. skills of Internet navigation 17.2 How to create one’s own resources?

 Even if you have a package of resources provided, it can never satisfy every teacher in every

context.

 Suggestions for creating your own resources:

1. Create one’s own file of pictures and cards.

2. Use your own creativity and imagination to provide a better learning environment for the

students.

3. Make your students an important resource. 4. Use the Internet resources.

17.3 What hidden resources can be explored?

 Hidden resources: intangible, under-explored resources, such as gestures, facial expressions,

imagination, creativity, environment, knowledge and skills, etc.  Suggestions (pp.287-291):

1. Use yourself as resource dictionaries 2. Use students as resources 8. Let students make up their own 3. Make use of students’ drawings quizzes 4. Make use of the surroundings 9. Make better use of your video 5. Shadow theatre resources 6. Explore emotions 10. Use songs for learning 7. Get students to make their own 11. Internet as an important resource 17.4 What are some of the useful websites available for teaching?  Refer to Page 291.

 Basic education and curriculum reform in China:

 http://www.cbc21.com  http://english.cersp.com

 The British Council’s Learn English site

 http://www.learnenglish.org.uk

 Free resources for teachers and students

 http://www.oup.com/elt

 Free online journals and magazines on ELT

 http://www.britishcouncil.org.uk/english/onlinejournals.htm

 Websites of international teachers’ associations

 www.asiatefl.org

 Cultural information

 http://www.footballculture.net

Unit 18 Evaluating and adapting textbooks 18.1What are textbook for?

In all modern school systems the textbook has long served not only to support instruction but to symbolize that instruction, in other words, the textbook defined the curriculum. 18.2Why and what do teachers evaluate and adapt?

 Why?

 Many textbooks have been recommended by the Ministry of Education for schools.

Only through the process of evaluating textbooks, can teachers maximize the strength of materials and supplement them according to the needs of their own students (Hedge, 2000)  What?

 Textbooks are used in a broad sense, referring to a great variety of materials used in language

classrooms such as audio cassettes, videos, CD-ROMs, workbooks, photocopied materials, etc.

18.3 How should teachers evaluate textbooks?

 Two types of evaluation:  On-the-page evaluation

 evaluation which is carried out independent of its users or before it gets into the classroom

 In-the-use evaluation

 evaluation based on the users’ opinions, i.e. teachers’ as well as learners, about how useful

and effective it is for promoting learning (in the form of interviews and questionnaires)  A longitudinal evaluation is preferred, including a pre-use evaluation, a whilst-use

evaluation and a post-use evaluation.

Two steps of on-the-page evaluation

 External evaluation

 focus on the external features of a textbook; also called macro evaluation

 How? First examine the authors’ claims (view of language learning), then look through the

contents and other details in the textbook to see if they reflect what the authors claim.

 Questions asked: what’s the intended audience? What proficiency level? What context?

How is the language presented and organized into units? Is a teacher’s book available? Is a vocabulary list included? …

 Internal evaluation

 Focus on the internal features; also termed as micro evaluation  Questions asked:

 Does it include the presentation and practice of all the skills?

 Are the grading and sequencing of the materials natural and appropriate?  Is the language input reflect the interest or age level of the intended learners?  Are there enough skills and strategy practice?

 Do the tasks designed encourage cooperative learning?

Features of good textbooks p.297

1. Attract the Ss’ curiosity, interest and attention. 2. Help Ss feel at ease.

3. Help develop confidence. 4. Meet Ss’ needs.

5. Expose Ss to language in authentic use.

6. Provide Ss with opportunities to use TL to achieve communicative purposes.

7. Take into account that the positive effects of language teaching are usual delayed. 8. Take into account that Ss differ in learning styles. 9. Take into account that Ss differ in affective factors.

10. Maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement

which stimulates both right and left brain activities.

18.4 How should teachers select textbooks?

 Grant (1987) designed a three-part questionnaire which can be used as a checklist when selecting

textbooks.

 The questionnaire helps teachers examine to what extent a textbook suits the students, the teacher,

the syllabus and examination.

 Refer to Page 299 for the questionnaire. 18.5 How should teachers adapt textbooks?

 Textbooks are only a medium through which teachers help Ss learn.

 It is strongly advised that teachers should USE the textbook creatively rather than to simply

TEACH the textbook passively.

 McDonough and Shaw (2003) give the following suggestions for adapting materials:

1. Adding 4. Simplification 2. Deleting or omitting 5. reordering 3. Modifying

Three steps of textbook adaptation

1. Macro adaptation

 Done before the language program begins. E.g. omit a whole unit, supplement certain

contents.

2. Adapting a unit

 E.g. reorder the activities, combine activities, omit activities, rewrite or supplement

exercise material, etc.

3. Adaptation of specific activities in a unit