Thinking About Theory

• My views of language learning and teaching changed after the module: Comparing Language Teaching Methods. My own experience of 2nd language learning was grammar translation and audiolingualism approach without very desirable interest or results. I was introduced to a variety of methods throughout history each with strengths and weaknesses. I learnt not to discount some approaches because of my past experience but think creatively and consider drill activities fun when used in songs. When defining communicative competence I learnt about form and function and that language knowledge comprised both organisational knowledge and pragmatic knowledge. Bachman and Palmer

•  I found the most interesting was the module on Communicative Classrooms. I liked the idea that language in the classroom should be as real as possible and unpredictable. I prefer the idea of using pair and group work in cooperative learning activities. The advantage is that students interact (talk) more amongst themselves than teacher-led activities. I found the information-gap activities great for authentic language use, unpredictability in communication and enjoyable. I did learn that there still should be a balance between fluency and accuracy with communicative activities. A disadvantage to the communicative approach surprisingly comes from the students themselves.  They dislike this approach mainly because of sociocultural or past educational experiences and do not feel inclined or equipped to work in groups. Their preference is teacher-led activities.

• I was surprised to learn of strategic competence and that it was also teachable. I found it interesting that you can teach students how to use strategies such as paraphrase, guessing, repetition, avoidance of words when there is a breakdown in communication. I liked that strategic competence included non-cognitive aspects to learning such as self confidence and risk taking.

• To continue on my learning journey my next step is grammar. Professionally I would like to develop language vocabulary and activities towards Business English. I think teaching with the Communicative Approach would be a good fit in the business world. 

Thoughts on Language Learning & Teaching

Thinking about Theory: Communicative Classrooms

Communicative Classrooms: "Guide at the side"

Thinking about Theory

    Key characteristics of communicative activities are that language should be real, spontaneous, focus on meaning not form, and be interactive.
    Authenticity in the classroom is important for students to be able to transfer their knowledge and skills to real life situations. Learning slang, gambits, idioms, catchphrases, and social formulas to help discourse competence.
    Example of an information-gap activity for speaking/listening:  Two handouts of same map but Student A has different locations to describe than student B. Take turns in asking and giving directions.
    In task based learning language production starts immediately, students engage in meaningful communication and develop strategic competence. At the end of activity structured elements are addressed and practiced.
    Pros & Cons: Balance of form-focused and meaning-focused activities is necessary to develop communicative competence. Authentic language might overwhelm students at beginner level. Teacher must equip students with sufficient skills or revise the task to make it manageable. In communicative classroom management teacher guides students with pair and group work.


   

Understanding Language Skills: Learning Objectives

Learning objectives role are to keep focus on specific goals and are made to keep courses accountable to both the students and institutions funding the programs. Learning objectives can be modified when performing ongoing formative assessments throughout the course. These assessments can provide essential information on a student's strengths and needs. This data can alter the learning objectives or confirm that they are meeting the goals of the learners.
Teaching attempts to transform learners by students Knowing new things, demonstrate and apply new Skills, and maintain and develop positive Affect towards themselves and learning. B. Bloom identified 3 domains: cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills when planning educational objectives. Most common focus is on the cognitive domain: what students know and are able to do. Learning objectives can also address cultural issues and values which fall into the affective realm.
S.M.A.R.T. method used to develop learning objectives. Specific: accurately describe purpose Measurable: solid evidence that objectives are achieved Achievable: good match between what's intended and what's possible, consider students skills & knowledge, consider resources - space, equipment, staff... Relevant: real purpose Timely: achieved in available time.
B. Bloom use of measurable verbs to help describe and classify observable knowledge, skills, attitude, behaviour and abilities. Knowledge - Name, Comprehension - Discuss, Application - Demonstrate
Critical Thinking Analysis - Debate, Synthesis - Design, Evaluation - Assess. 

Understanding Language Skills: 4 Skills

The integration of all four language skills with multi-lesson and multi-level activities considers learning as a whole language approach. Communication consists of sending and receiving messages. Production (writing & speaking) and reception (reading & listening) are interrelated. Practicing one skill strengthens the other. Multi-level activities should be considered when designing practical lesson plans. Lessons should reflect real-world situations, be functional, and also consider the socio-cultural context. Even if the main focus of an activity is not grammar it can still be an incorporated component of a communicative activity.

Reading the World

Reading Skills:

• Skill which opens the doors to the world, language, culture & ideas
• Knowledge: Syntactic (grammar rules to form sentences) Morphological  (relationship of words ie. kind unkindness) General World, Sociocultural (context) Topic (subject,theme) Genre (particular style)                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
• Schematic knowledge: concept of prior knowledge, able to make  connections and give meaning to unfamiliar words and ideas
• Reading strategies: For comprehension first scan, read article quickly for context. Underline unknown words, read again then use dictionary. Guessing words and then verify. Summarise by paragraph, reread and then summarise by article. 

Writing up a Storm

Writing Skills:

• Like reading the advantages of literacy as in the context of education where students are tested on writing proficiency.
•  Process of writing is not linear. Recursive process means writers plan, draft, edit, re-plan, re-draft, re-edit like a wheel before they have written a final version.
• Writing & Speaking: Both are products of a language. Written word tends to be permanent, speaking is often transient, unless text messaging which resembles informal speech. 
• Aspects to consider when writing: Purpose, genre, text construction, cohesion, coherence and register.

Pardon Me, What was that?

Listening Skills:

• Prominence of English such as access to the world (BBC), pleasure (music), travel/tourism (lingua franca), work purposes and academic requirements (international English)
• Some difficulties in learning to listen are mishearing messages, accents in delivery, affective characteristics of listener (tired), defective equipment, overload of input.
•  Strategies: predicting, note-taking, use of gap-fill exercises, phrases asking for clarification.
• Features to consider in a good recorded text: interest, cultural accessibility, discourse structure, density, language level, length, quality of recording, speed, number of speakers, and accent.

Keep the Conversation Going

Speaking Skills:

• Most important of four language skills in communication for daily interaction, work purposes, creative expression and travel.
• Three stages to verbal communication: conceptualisation, formulation, and articulation.
• Speaking serves either a transactional function such as service encounters or an interpersonal function such as a conversation between friends.
• Strategies for speakers to achieve fluency is the use of chunks such as idioms, phrasal verbs, sentence frames, social formulas and discourse markers. 

Thinking about Theory: Pros & Cons of Assessing for Learning Skills

PROS:

• Metacognitive knowledge of ones learning style and applying appropriate strategies to facilitate the process. 
• Matching teaching and learning styles for successful outcomes.
• Awareness of different learning styles of individual students and creating diverse activities. Variety in teaching techniques to address different senses used in learning.
• Gaining knowledge of other learning styles and taking the risk of applying new strategies to keep learning fresh and exciting.
• Understand other students' styles and learn to incorporate with their own style to work as a team. Balance each others weaknesses and strengths as a group.

CONS:

• Research is non-conclusive on reliability and accuracy of assessments.
• Rely too heavily on style and not enough on relevant and meaningful content.
• Some assessments far above the beginner level of comprehension of a second language learner. 

Understanding the Language Skills: Listening Skills

Three people were on a train in England. As they approached a station, one of the travelers asked, "Is this Wemberly?" "No," replied a second passenger, "it's Thursday." Whereupon the third person remarked, "Oh, I am too; let's have a drink!"

How much time should we spend developing listening skills?
We seem to concentrate on speaking a language but I think we should learn to listen and understand a language also. Looking at the Natural Approach and Total Physical Response there is a "silent period" given where a substantial amount of oral input is given. Just like children learning a 1st language students are listening to language which is just beyond the learner's ability. The stress of speaking is eliminated until the student is ready to do so. However I don't think adult learners have the luxury for a long "period of silence". I believe there is a need for adult students to communicate from the beginning.
 Even though the apparent language speaking skill is the product of communication, listening skills should not be overlooked or underrated. Along with teaching skills you are also teaching strategies for students to become good listeners. Companies are training employees in "active listening" for soft skills in the customer service industry. There are points such as having eye contact, body language, focus on what the person is saying, don't think of a rebuttal while the person is speaking, acknowledge you're listening with "really" "uh uh" etc.
Whether an adult is learning a language for pleasure, travel or business there are many components involved with listening skills. After assessing the needs and level of students there are many points for a teacher to consider in choosing a good listening text: content, delivery, length, quality of recordings, speed and number of speakers and accents. These considerations reflect what the student faces in real life. In a multicultural society like ours there are varied accents to listen to besides a Canadian accent. Perhaps your students want to keep up with current affairs by listening to a dense news cast. The reason for learning listening skills for some students is to take notes for academic lectures. The content should have relevance and meaning for the students if following a Communicative Approach to teaching.
By teaching listening strategies to your students you enable them to become independent learners away from the classroom. You can teach learners strategies for effective listening. You can teach how to listen for the general gist of a conversation and predict what a speaker will say due to the context of the discourse. You can teach how to ask for clarification and guess the meaning or listen for key words. You can practise these strategies in the classroom to develop confidence and competence in your students.