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Course Content:

Phase 1 - Introduction to TESOL

Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition

Acquisition Vs Learning

EFL teaching

Methodologies and Approaches

Learners

Language Learners and their levels

Phase 2 - The Study of English

Grammar

The structures

Contextualizing Grammar

Phonology

Segmental

Supra-segmental

Teaching Vocabulary

Phase 3 - Teaching Techniques (Language Skills)Part I

Teaching speaking

Teaching Listening

Teaching reading

Teaching writing

Part II

Context and Language Modeling

Communicative ways

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Phase 4 - Classroom Management

The components

Disaster Management

Mixed and large groups

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The Current Phase:

This Phase contains an over view of what is TESOL, Approaches and

Methodologies that have shaped TESOL, something that every English

Language Teacher should be aware of and who are we going to teach or the

learner.

Phase 1 : Introduction to TESOL

Language teaching as a profession involves challenges, growth, joy and

fulfillment to teachers who enjoy their job. The joy of teaching language lies in

the pleasure of seeing students grow in linguistic proficiency, and in

successfully meeting their communication needs and interests.

Some familiar terms that are in play in the world of language teaching

includes “ESL” (English as a Second Language) and “ESOL” (English for

Speakers of Other Languages) - most commonly used in relation to teaching

and learning English. “TESL” (Teaching English as a Second Language),

“TEFL” (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and “TESOL” (Teaching

English to Speakers of Other Languages) are also used in the same context of

teaching-learning.

TESOL is an acronym that stands for Teaching English to speakers of other

languages.

Within the purview of TESOL comes the teaching of English as a second

language as well as a foreign language.

ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) the integral component of

TESOL, is extensively used worldwide, especially in the United States.

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The terms ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign

language) play significant roles in teaching and learning of English language

worldwide. Despite sharing the same origin, EFL and ESL differ on the basis

of context. This variance in context requires different materials, syllabi and

pedagogy.

The term ESL is used to refer to situations in which English is being taught

and learned in countries, contexts and cultures in which English is the

predominant language of communication. The concept of teaching English to

immigrants in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United

Kingdom and the United States typify ESL. In these countries, individuals

from non-English-speaking backgrounds may speak their LI at home, but will

be required to use English for communicating at work, in school and in the

community in general. The term is also prevalent in countries where English

is widely used as, lingua franca. These include the Special Administrative

Region of Hong Kong (where its usage reflects the Region's recent past as a

colony of the United Kingdom); Singapore (a multilingual society with

English as a lingua franca) and India (where the population speaks a range of

other languages and where English as well as Hindi enables communication

between these diverse linguistic groups).

EFL is used in contexts where English is neither widely used for

communication, nor used as the medium of instruction. Brazil, Japan, Korea,

Thailand and Mexico are countries where English is taught as a foreign

language, either as part of the elementary and high-school curriculum, or in

private schools and other educational settings. In most EFL settings there is

limited exposure to the language outside of the classroom, and often limited

opportunity to use it. The syllabus therefore needs to be carefully structured

with extensive recycling of key target-language items. In addition the burden

for providing the cultural dimension to the curriculum very much rests with

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the teacher. Teaching is also complicated by the fact that teachers are usually

non-native speakers of English who may lack opportunities to use the

language, or lack confidence in using it. In such situations it is important for

the materials to provide the sort of rich and diverse linguistic input that ESL

learners encounter in the world beyond the classroom.

With globalization and the rapid expansion of information technologies, there

has been an explosion in the demand for English worldwide. This has led to

greater diversification in the contexts and situations in which it is learned and

used, as well as in the nature of the language itself. English no longer belongs

to the United Kingdom, or to the United States. It is an increasingly diverse

and diversified resource for global communication.

There are many teaching aspects to look at before the actual teaching that will

make you well prepared, such as, a solid awareness of language. There are

also ideas and methods to learn that will help make you a good teacher. A

comprehensive teacher training course driven with a well defined approach

has the potential to lead a teacher to this joy of teaching. A proper program,

such as TESOL, will equip you with the skills, knowledge and methods to

produce your own successful classes.

In order to develop into a successful TESOL professional you will want to

develop your own teaching style. You may feel that the real training starts

inside the classroom and in front of your students. But this TESOL program

endeavors to help you emerge ready, prepared and confident before making

your way into the classroom. This TESOL program takes a principled

approach towards language teaching. But no amount of theory can prepare

you for what you are going to face when you are standing in front of your

students. Therefore, in a TESOL program, you are asked to do tasks based on

the things that work most of the time (with most classes and most teachers).

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Moves here are based upon principles of language learning and teaching

found in most “communicative language learning” classrooms.

Our endeavor on the TESOL course is to make you go through that

experience before you take up a teaching assignment; to help you to be ready,

prepared and confident before you step into the classroom.

This course involves behaviors and choreographies that can be employed in

classrooms to facilitate learning. Learned behavior for effective teaching when

linked with your planned lesson frameworks, will form the choreographies to

facilitate your students’ learning. To be precise, this TESOL program blends

proven techniques with the ability to provide interplay between the students,

teacher and texts that constitute real teaching and learning situations. The

goal of our program is to get you into the classroom with these “moves”.

Then the rest is up to you to use them at your disposal to build a successful

personal teaching style that will bring you a memorable lifelong learning

experience, and joy in your new chosen profession.

What about methodology, techniques and approaches to language learning?

It is evident that talking about language and grammar rules is not a sufficient

or even necessary condition for learning language. Equally, talking about

language teaching ideas and methods seems an unlikely condition for

learning to teach. Put another way, good teachers know what to do. It is not

necessarily true that they know why they do certain things, or what makes

them effective. TESOL will present “what to do” based upon things that work

most of the time with most classes for most teachers. These “moves” are

based upon principles of language learning and teaching that are found in

“communicative language learning” classrooms.

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The Online TESOL Certificate Program will present the behaviors and

choreographies that can be employed in a classroom to facilitate learning. It

provides the behaviors for effective teaching, and when linked together in

lesson frameworks, forms the choreographies to facilitate learning. The

comparison to dancing is more than an accurate metaphor. Like dancing,

teaching requires that you learn some body movements and choreographies

that are not natural for most. Learning these behaviors and choreographies

requires the same neural-motor skills as dancing. The only thing missing is

the “music” and that is provided by the interplay between students, teacher

and text that constitutes the real teaching learning situation. While anyone

can learn to perform the steps, dancing to the music may take some time and

experience in classrooms with real students. The goal of TESOL is to get you

into the classroom with the “moves” you need to work with. The rest is up to

you and a lifelong learning experience called teaching.

Language Acquisition

Second Language Acquisition

Language acquisition is one of the most impressive and fascinating aspects of

human development. Language learning is an amazing feat that has attracted

attention of linguist and psychologists for generations. Both first and second

language acquisition share important similarities that explain the

development of the target language in a learners psyche. Several theories

have also been used in explaining how language is learned.

The term second language acquisition (SLA) refers to the process through

which someone acquires one or more second or foreign languages.

Acquisition operates informally in natural context as well as within the

confines of the classroom where both product (language produced by the

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learners at different stages) and process (the mental process and

environmental factors that influence the acquisition process) are at play.

While tracing the stages of first language acquisition we discuss that the

earliest vocalization of a child is involuntary crying that manifest emotions or

biological needs like hunger or discomfort. However, they can clearly

perceive the subtle difference between two dissimilar sounds of human

language. But the vocal expression of such differences comes several months

later. ‘Telegraphic’ sentences begin to form as they combine words into

sentences that are devoid of function words and grammatical morphemes.

Generally by the age of four, language acquires a basic structure which

gradually strengthens with application of formats and rules. Metalinguistic

awareness develops during the pre-school years when language is treated as

an object as the children embarks on learning and reading.

Exposure to more than one language since birth is referred to as

‘simultaneous bilinguals’; slightly different is ‘sequential bilinguals’ where

learning of second language begins at a later stage. Prolonged distance from

family language and intense proximity to a second language on the other

hand lead to ‘subtractive bilingualism’ during early school days.

Discovery of language progresses through predictable patterns that chart the

emergence and development of many features of the language learnt. The

developmental sequences or stages are related to children’s cognitive

development.

However, it is discernible that a child or adult learning a second language is

different from a child acquiring a first language in terms of both personal

characteristics and conditions for learning. Characteristically, all learners of

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second language have had acquired at least one language, irrespective of age.

This prior knowledge can turn out to be a negative or a positive aspect in

second language learning. It is expected to be a combination of contrasting

possibilities. To elucidate further, young language learners begin the task of

language learning without the benefit of some of the skills and knowledge

which adolescent and adult learners have. The first language learner doesn’t

have the same cognitive maturity, Metalinguistic maturity or world

knowledge as older second language learners. Although young second

language learners have begun to develop cognitive maturity and

Metalinguistic awareness, they will still have far to go in these areas, as well

as in the area of world knowledge, before they reach the levels already

attained by adults and adolescents.

Child learners mostly are far less inhibited in using the language – even in

cases of limited proficiency. However, a similar act proves to be very stressful

for adults and adolescents when they are unable to express themselves clearly

and correctly. Nevertheless, even pre-school children can also differ in their

nervousness when faced with speaking a language they do not know well.

Some engage in happy conversation in the new language; others chose to

listen and participate silently in social interaction with their peers.

Fortunately, for these children, the learning environment rarely puts pressure

on them to speak when they are not ready.

Learning conditions too tend to differ with age level. Young learners in an

informal second language learning scenario are usually allowed to be silent

until they are ready to speak. For older learners, the factor of compulsion to

speak works in order to meet the requirements of a classroom or for social

interactions while shopping, medical visits or job interviews. Young children

in informal settings are usually exposed to the second language for many

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hours every day. Older learners, especially students in language classroom

are more likely to receive only limited exposure to the second language.

However, a condition common to learners of all age in varying quantities is

access to modified input. This adjusted speech style which is called child-

direct speech for first language, is sometimes called foreigner talk or teacher

talk for second languages. Many people who interact regularly with language

learners seem to have an intuitive sense of what adjustments are needed to

help learners understand. Of course, some people are better at it than others.

Unlike error correction in first language acquisition which tends to be limited

to corrections of meaning – including errors in vocabulary choice, informal

second language acquisition usually overlook errors which do not interfere

with meaning. Thus, errors of grammar and pronunciation are rarely

remarked on, but wrong word choices are susceptible to comments. The only

place where feedback on error is typically present with high frequency is the

language classroom.

Coming to theories, some have been developed for second language

acquisition (SLA) giving primary importance to learners’ innate

characteristics; some emphasize the essential role of the environment in

shaping language learning, still others seek to integrate learner characteristics

and environmental factors in an explanation for how second language

acquisition take place.

The Theory of Behaviourism identifies language learning as a result of

imitation, practice, feedback on success and habit formation. According to the

behaviourists, all learning, whether verbal or non-verbal, takes place through

the same underlying process. Learners receive linguistic input from speakers

in their environment and they form ‘associations’ between words, and objects

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or events. These associations become stronger as experiences are repeated. By

imitating sounds and patterns around them, children invite positive

reinforcement in form of praise or accomplished communication as well as

corrective feedback on their errors. Behaviourism is also related to

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) that explains the easy adaptation of

second/target language structures if there are similarities with the first;

differences naturally make learning difficult.

The theoretical derivation of Noam Chomsky stresses upon the innate

language programming within the learner that develops like any other

biological functions - Innatism. The environment makes a basic contribution

by making available to the learner, reciprocating speakers. Chomsky has

referred to the special ability within the learner to perceive the ground rules

of any new language system. This inherent language acquisition device (LAD)

or endowment which has later been termed as Universal Grammar (UG)

simply needs language samples to get activated. UG is considered to be a set

of principles that are common to all languages and that permits all learners to

acquire the language of their environment during a ‘critical period’ in their

development. This critical period does not stretch indefinitely and refers to a

concept of right time. A few contrasting arguments that generate from this

theory are –

• The unavailability of UG to guide the acquisition beyond the critical period

• Beyond the critical period of acquisition the learners might not attain

complete mastery of the target language but would eventually have more

knowledge of the language if compared to sole dependence on external

inputs.

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The ‘Monitor Model’ proposed by Stephen Krashen constitute of five

hypotheses’ based on the Innatist theory of second language acquisition.

The acquisition-learning hypothesis concludes at nominating acquired

language as the foremost tool of natural and fluent communication,

compared to the conscious process of learning where attention and

conformation to form and rule prevails. Fluency here isn’t necessarily

controlled and decided by rules.

In the monitor hypothesis, Krashen designates the learned system as

an editor or monitor responsible for fine tuning the language that has

been acquired. This acquisition alone can ensure fluency and intuitive

judgment about correctness. Monitor is used when the focus is on

correctness like in case of written communication. Krashen maintains

that since knowing the rules only helps the speaker supplement what

has been acquired, the focus of language teaching should be on

creating conditions for acquisition rather than learning.

The natural order hypothesis is independent of the order of rules that

are taught in classroom. Acquisition of the second language here

attains a predictable, natural sequence where the easy rules are not

necessarily learnt at the beginning.

Exposure to comprehensible input is a significant factor in acquisition.

Krashen claims that if the input contains forms and structures above

the learner’s existing level of language competence, it is bound to

initiate comprehension and acquisition. Undirected pleasure reading

can be such a source of comprehensible input that underlines the

theory of the input hypothesis.

The affective filter hypothesis has features that are linked to classroom

practice and is able to diagnose the reason behind the discrepancy in

the level of learning among various students under the same learning

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condition. The term ‘affect’ in ‘affective filter’ refers to motivates,

needs, attitudes and emotional states that has potential to filter out

input, creating a virtual barrier that prevents learning and acquisition.

The filter operates at the disposal of the learner’s state of mind, limiting

or encouraging acquisition.

The more recent psychological theories include the model of information

processing where acquisition is viewed as the construction of a knowledge

system that is accessed automatically for speaking and understanding. This

principle of Automaticity involves a timely movement of the control of a few

language forms into automatic processing of a relatively unlimited number of

language forms. Over analyzing language, thinking too much about its forms

and consciously lingering on rules of language all tend to impede this

graduation to automaticity.

In addition to the development of automaticity through practice, skill and

knowledge also undergo change due to ‘restructuring’. Away form the

concept of gradual build-up, skills and knowledge seems to be based on the

interaction of existing knowledge or the acquired new knowledge that fits

into an existing system and causes it to be transformed or restructured. This

set of action can have both positive and negative impact on the learner.

Connectionism is a cognitive approach that attributes greater importance to

the role of the environment as compared to the existence of innate knowledge

in the learner. The knowledge bank here is developed with the help of

exposure to linguistic features through innumerable instances. The

Connectionists consider external inputs as the principal source of linguistic

knowledge.

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Theories have also been based on acquisition that takes place through

conversational interaction. Interactions between learners and native speakers

produce acquirable inputs that are comprehensive in nature. The

interactionist position as discussed by Evelyn Hatch, Teresa Pica, and Michael

Long states that the learners need opportunity to interact with other speakers

in a way that is conducive to adaptation until the learner shows signs of

understanding. Yet another perspective on this role of interaction is the socio-

cultural theory of human mental processing. Social interactions between

individuals are at the centre stage here. Further collaboration and interaction

with more knowledgeable speakers elevates the learners to an advanced level

of knowledge.

Acquisition Vs Learning

The distinction between “language learning” and “language acquisition” has

been brought to us by researchers in linguistics, psycholinguistics and

cognitive psychology – notably by Steve Krashen, Noam Chomsky, Steven

Pinker and others – and through studies of both first and second language

learning. More significantly, the majority of people who learn another

language do so without teachers, books or classroom study. They do it by

being exposed to comprehensible input that is for some reason important to

their lives – trading, traveling, studying or working. They do it not by

thinking about learning language, but by using new sounds and systems to

communicate something of importance to them. We might do well to look at

this phenomenon since these “non-students” are relatively more successful in

their task than the majority of formal language students. The critical

difference is the focus on the “message” rather than the form of the language

used to transmit the message. To summarize: as illustrated by Dave Hopkins

in his book ‘Smooth Moves’:

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Acquisition Learning

1. Similar to the process of learning L1

(first or native language)

2. An intuitive process

3. Implicit knowledge

4. Speaking without thinking about it

5. Formal teaching does not help

much

6. Strongly influenced by affective

factors

7. Peers have a more important

influence than teachers or parental

figures

8. Language is acquired in a “context”

that is understandable to the learner

9. There is a discernable, but as yet

incomplete ordering of the sequence

of acquisition of linguistic features

1. Learning process is not like learning

L1

2. Conscious process

3. Explicit knowledge

4. Thinking before speaking

5. Formal teaching helps

6. Not as dependant upon affective

factors

7. Teachers or parental figures are

more important than peers

8. Language is often de-contextualized

for drills and exercises

9. There is no attention to what is

known about the sequence of learning

different linguistic features

Another way of looking at this distinction may be the following. Native

speakers have a built in “feel” for what is right or wrong in language.

I love to swim.

I enjoy to swim. *

While the second sentence is a logical extension of the first, native English

speakers know it isn’t right.

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In order to bring language teaching closer to the ‘natural acquisition’ of

language characterized by first language learning (L1) certain areas and

consideration need to be strongly emphasized. This also helps in reducing the

type of ‘learning’ practiced in many second-language classrooms. The areas

are –

1. Language context and modeling of language

2. Natural language as it occurs in real life

3. Encouraging learners to participate, initiate and make choices about their

learning

4. Learning grammar and vocabulary in context

5. Repeated and varied language models for accuracy, rather than correction

6. Maximizing peer interaction to allow students to observe, hypothesize,

experiment with language – i.e. scaffolding as output processing for language

development

7. Focus on the “message” rather than the “language”

8. Emphasizing the emotional engagement of the learner.

9. Giving the student time to digest input before requiring production.

EFL Teaching – Methodologies and Approaches

Learners of English who have the opportunity to live in an English speaking

environment while studying have a huge advantage. They are surrounded by

the language continuously and are able to put acquired language into practice

in everyday, realistic situations. However, the majority of English learners are

living in their native countries, where English is not the first language and as

a result do not have these benefits. Many of these students may have the

opportunity to use English at work, with their friends or in some other

practical way where they are able to use their English on a fairly regular basis.

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Many other learners of English are not so fortunate and their only contact

with the language may be twice a week at a language institute. Even if they

have daily exposure to English they get to use it only in English classes at

school or at a private language institute. As a result these students do not get

sufficient exposure to the language or the opportunity to put into practice

what they have acquired in class.

As children we all learnt our native language without the aid of language

teachers and course books. We simply absorbed the language around us,

processed it and through trial and error formulated internal ideas and rules to

allow us to be able to use the language fluently and accurately. This ‘natural

language acquisition’ is impossible to replicate in the classroom but many of

the most popular methodologies in EFL teaching today try to imitate it as far

as practical.

The concept of methodology evolved with the search for an ideal single

method that would successfully teach a foreign language in the classroom.

This search found new ideologies in a row that replaced the previous one and

eventually gave way to the next. In the process, language teaching was

deduced to be composed of three hierarchical components – Approach,

Method and Technique.

Approach deals with assumptions, beliefs and theories that underline the

nature of language, learning and teaching. It is fed by theories about the

applicability of language and its nature of learning in pedagogical settings.

Method or design systematically presents the language, following a selected

approach. We can also designate it as an umbrella term that marks the

specification and interrelation of theory and practice. A strict definition goes

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as pedagogical practices that include theory and research as the basis, trying

to formulate ‘how to teach’.

Techniques are classroom activities and practices specific to any method and

also in accordance with the basic approach. Techniques generally involve a

wide variety of exercises, activities, tasks; everything that turn theory into

practice.

To describe it in a single line we can state that ‘teaching methods are

approaches in action’ or ‘practical application of theoretical findings and

positions’. History of language teaching has seen new methods emerging

every quarter of a century.

The individual methods are based on a set of beliefs about the nature of

language and learning. For as long as people have been learning and teaching

language, there has been continual, and often heated, debate as to which

method and technique produce the best results. The shifting focus over the

years have been distinguished under the major methodological findings –

Grammar – translation

This was probably the main stay of language teaching and learning for

hundred of years, and indeed is still practiced in many situations. Many of us

will have been exposed to this system of learning in the state school sector.

The basic principle of this system is, as its name suggests, learning about a

language through finding equivalent in the students’ own language and the

foreign language being learned. In is in effect, a system of translation.

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The major characteristics of Grammar Translation method can be charted as:

Classes are taught in mother tongue, with little active use of the target

language

Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words

Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given

Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and

instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words

Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early

Little attention is paid to context of texts, which are treated as exercises

in grammatical analysis.

Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences

from the target language into the mother tongue

Little or no attention is given to pronunciation

The major drawback with grammar – translation is that it seems to prevent

the students from getting the kind of natural language input that will really

help them acquire the language. The danger therefore, is that students will

learn about the language rather than learning the language itself. This

methodology also requires the teachers to be proficient in the students’ native

language.

Audio – lingualism

This is the name given to a language teaching/learning methodology based

upon behaviorist theories of learning. This theory basically suggests that

much learning is as a result of habit formation through conditioning. Audio-

lingualism concentrates therefore, to a large degree, on long repetition-drills,

in which the students would be conditioned into using the language correctly.

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Audio – lingualism largely went out of fashion because most linguists believe

that language learning consisted of more than merely forming habits and that

speakers of a language are able to process language more effectively from the

knowledge they have acquired . However, it is useful to the extent that the

language drills are still popular (though in a much more limited way)

especially for the low level students.

The characteristics of ALM may be summed up in the following list:

• New material is presented in a dialogue form

• There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases and

over learning

• Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught

one at a time

• Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills

• There is little or no grammatical explanations Grammar is taught by

inductive analogy rather than by deductive explanation

• Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context

• There is much use of tapes, language labs and visual aids

• Great importance is attached to pronunciation

• Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted

• Successful responses are immediately reinforced

• There is a great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances

• There is tendency to manipulate language and disregard content

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Presentation, Practice and Production

In this method teacher first presents the context and situation for the

language, as well as explaining and demonstrating the meaning and form of

the new language. The students then practice making sentences with the

language in a controlled way (including drilling) before going on to the

production stage where they are able to be more creative with the language.

PPP has proved to be extremely effective in teaching simple language at lower

levels. It is less effective with higher level students who already know a lot of

language, and therefore do not need such a marked production stage.

Many teacher training centers (and teachers) still use PPP today. The system

does, however, lack in flexibility and it is easy for the lessons to become too

‘teacher-cantered’.

Task – Based Learning

In this method the focus is more on a task than the language. Students are

given a task to complete (while using the English language). When they have

completed the task, the teacher can, if necessary – and only if necessary-

provides some language study to help clear up some of the problems they

had while doing the task.

The language lessons are based on learning experiences that have

nonlinguistic outcomes, and in which there is a clear connection between the

things learners do in class and the things they will ultimately need to do

outside of the classroom.

Communicative Language Teaching

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The communicative approach stresses the importance of language functions

(such as agreeing, inviting, suggesting, etc.) as opposed to reliance only on

grammar and vocabulary. This approach also suggests that if students have

enough exposure to the language and the opportunity to use it then language

learning would in effect, take care of itself. Activities in CLT typically require

students to use the language in real life situations, so role-play and simulation

have become popular with this method. CLT places far more emphasis on

completion of the task than the accuracy of the language.

Community Language Learning

In CLL students will typically sit in a circle and it is up to them to decide what

they want to talk about. The teacher (standing outside the circle) will help, as

and when necessary, with language problems that arise during the course of

the discussion. This methodology has helped teachers focus on the need to

make the lessons as ‘student- centered’ as possible by allowing the students to

choose the topic and language.

The important characteristics are:

• Learners are not regarded as a class but as a group that is in need of

certain therapy and counseling

• Interaction in interpersonal relationship forms the basis of learning for

the group

• Students and teachers join together to facilitate learning in a context of

valuing each individual in the group

• Personal defenses are replaced by supportive community feeling

• The teacher is treated as a true counselor

• The counselor teacher could become too non directive.

• It is based on an inductive strategy of learning

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The Silent Way

The most notable feature of the silent way is the behavior of the teacher- who

says as little as possible. This is because it is believe that if the students had to

‘discover’ the language for themselves ,learning will be better facilitated

rather than just remembering and repeating what had been taught . Many

teachers have found this method to be a little unnatural in application. The

theory of silent way can be summarized as:

• Discovery and creation of language induces learning more than memorizing

and repetition of the subject

• Mediating physical objects facilitate learning

• Solving problems that belong to the context of the subject facilitates learning

Suggestopaedia

This method was developed largely on the need for the students to be

comfortable, confident and relaxed in order for learning to be more effective.

Another feature is that the teacher and students exist in a parent-children

relationship; students are given new names and traumatic themes are

avoided. A suggestopaedia lesson has three main parts firstly there is an oral

review of the previous lesson. This is followed by the presentation and

discussion of the new language. Finally, students listen to relaxing music

while the teacher reads the new dialogue.

• Music is central to the method

• Practicality of using the method is an issue in absence of music and

comfortable chairs

The Lexical Approach

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This approach argues that words and phrases are far better building blocks

for language acquisition than grammatical structure.

The Natural Approach

Stephen Krashen’s theories of second language acquisition have been widely

discussed and debated. Both Krashen and his colleague Tracy Terrell felt that

learners would benefit from delaying out put of language until the learner

starts to speak. “Learners should be relaxed in the classroom and that a great

deal of communication and acquisition should take place, as opposed to

analysis”, H. Douglas Brown, Teaching by Principles. In fact this approach

recommends the TPR activities at the starter level when “comprehensible

input” is a key element in the process of acquisition.

The Natural Approach was aimed at basic personal communication in

everyday life situation. The teacher needed to provide oral inputs that the

learner is able to understand while the learner was expected to remain silent

and take everything in and respond only when he or she was ready. So the

teacher through different interesting activities would be the source for all

language input.

Krashen and Terrell defined three main stages in this process: (i) Pre-

production stage wherein listening comprehension skills are developed. (ii)

Early production stage where the learner struggles with the language and

naturally makes errors. (iii) The last stage demands production of more

complex and longer “discourses” through role-plays, games, open-ended

dialogues in groups. The aim is developing fluency rather than accuracy, so

error correction should be minimal.

25

This approach was criticized due to the delay in oral production (silent

periods) and its dependence on the teacher to give “comprehensible input”.

How does the teacher decide which structures are to be provided to the

learner? Some teachers may not be able to do so, on their own. The positive of

this approach was to allow students to remain silent till the time they are

comfortable to speak. Therefore they do not feel threatened or embarrassed to

experiment with the new language. The resulting self-confidence helps in

language learning.

The teacher needs to choose the best of what others have experimented with

and adapt those insights to the situation he or she is in.

Which methodology is best?

With so many different approaches and methods it can be rather difficult to

decide which is the best to use. Unfortunately there is no clear answer as

much will depend upon your individual circumstances. Your personality, the

culture for students, and their needs will all play a part in your decision. In

reality each method has its pluses and minuses but certain conclusion can be

drawn:

• Students need as much exposure to language as possible.

• Students need a certain amount of input from the teacher

• Communicative tasks offer real learning possibilities but are not

enough on their own.

• Anxiety and stress needs to be low for effective language learning.

• Where possible students should be encouraged to discover language

for themselves.

• Vocabulary is as important as grammar. Both need each other.

26

The methodology that the teacher prefers may not be the preferred or correct

option for students from different cultures. Compromise may be necessary.

Over the years, a blind search for the perfect method gave way to integration

of approach to language teaching practices. The demand was for unifying

approach to language teaching and designing effective tasks and techniques,

informed by that approach. The eclectic blend of tasks and activities now are

beyond any methodology; they only focus at the dynamics of the classroom.

The enlightened, eclectic approach incorporates a number of basic principles

of learning and teaching, inspired by interconnection of reading and

observation, discussion and teaching. It is a dynamic composition of

perception and experience, where approach and classroom practice is at

constant interaction. Feedback on innovations yields new insight and more

creative possibilities which run in a cycle. When the eclectic approach is at

work, designing of a lesson depends upon the selection of focus. The

approach chosen is also guided by factors like the teacher’s experience as a

learner, a teacher, observer, reader, and specialized orientation in the same

field, if any. Approaches are necessarily controlled by varying contexts and

are subject to interpretation.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a more generally accepted

approach today owing to a wide variety of interpretations and classroom

applications. The approach highlights distinct communicative traits and

incorporates authentic, real-world simulations and meaningful tasks. CLT can

be defined as a unified yet broadly based, theoretically well informed set of

doctrines about nature of language and of language learning and teaching.

CLT highlights the social, cultural and pragmatic features of languages. CLT

uses authentic language to a great extent in an attempt to build fluency. The

27

basic characteristics of the communicative mode of teaching feature distinct

digression from the previous approaches.

In Communicative Language Teaching the grammatical, functional, socio-

linguistic, and strategic discourse components are at their best possible

interplay. The techniques are utilitarian and driven towards fulfillment of

individual purposes. Fluency and accuracy are complementary principles that

alternatively acquire high degree of importance. Productive and

contextualized communication is necessarily the goal and the students need

to work towards this goal through the development of appropriate strategies

for autonomous learning. The teacher here is the facilitator who is supposed

to facilitate authentic linguistic interaction and encourage meaningful

construction of language. The functional aspects like fluency and spontaneity

displace overt presentation and discussion of grammatical rules and

concentrate on the learner’s initiative, in CLT.

The concepts that are derivatives from the Communicative Approach of

language teaching are –

>> Learner-Centered Instruction involves techniques that are based on the

learner’s needs, styles and goals. The teaching is an interactive session here

with students’ inputs, space for creativity, enhancing individual competence.

>> Cooperative and Collaborative Learning emphasizes on students’ team

spirit, promoting intrinsic motivation; enhancing self-esteem; bonding of

relationship amidst cultural variation and individualities. It is a collaborative

pursuance of goals and objectives.

>> Interactive Learning promotes interactive communications and creates

more opportunities for genuine interaction through pair and group activities;

28

spontaneous reception and production of authentic language; catering to real

audience and not forced situation.

>> Whole Language Education initially referred to the ‘wholeness’ of

language, encompassing the various significant components and the blending

of oral with written form of communication. Currently it is analogous to

cooperative, participatory and student-centered learning; it focuses on the

community of learners, the social nature of language; exploits meaningful and

authentic language with integration of the four-skills.

>> Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is viewed as the integration of content

learning with language teaching aims. Content here dictates the form and

sequence of language presentation.

>> Task-Based Instruction puts task at the centre of one’s methodological

focus and views learning process as a set of communicative tasks that are

directly linked to the curricular goals they serve, the purpose of which

extends beyond the practice of language for its own sake.

Theory

of

languag

e

Theory

of

learnin

g

Objecti

ves

Syllabu

s

Activity

types

Learner

roles

Teacher

roles

Roles of

materia

ls

Audioling

ual

Langua

ge is a

system

of rule-

governe

d

structur

es

Habit

formati

on;

skills

are

learned

more

effectiv

Control

of

structur

es of

sound,

form

and

order,

Graded

syllabu

s of

phonol

ogy,

morpho

logy

and

Dialogu

es and

drills,

repetiti

on and

memori

zation,

pattern

Organis

ms that

can be

directe

d by

skilled

training

techniq

Central

and

active

teacher-

domina

ted

method

.

Primari

ly

teacher-

oriente

d.

Tapes

&

visuals,

29

hierarc

hically

arrange

d

ely if

oral

precede

s

written;

analogy

, not

analysis

.

mastery

over

symbol

s of the

languag

e; goal;

native-

speaker

mastery

.

syntax.

Contras

tive

analysis

.

practice

.

ues to

produc

e

correct

respons

es

Provide

s

model,

controls

directio

n and

pace.

languag

e lab

often

used.

Total

Physical

Response

Basicall

y a

structur

alist,

gramm

ar-

based

view of

languag

e.

L2

learnin

g is the

same as

L1

learnin

g;

compre

hension

before

product

ion, is

‘imprin

ted’

through

carryin

g out

comma

Teach

oral

proficie

ncy to

produc

e

learners

who

can

commu

nicate

uninhib

itedly

and

intelligi

bly

with

native

Sentenc

e-based

syllabu

s with

gramm

atical

and

lexical

criteria

being

primary

, but

focus

on

meanin

g, not

forms.

Imperat

ive

drills to

elicit

physica

l

actions.

Listener

and

perfor

mer,

little

influenc

e over

the

content

of

learnin

g.

Active

and

direct

role;

“the

director

of a

stage

play”

with

student

s as

actors.

No

basic

text;

materia

ls and

media

have an

importa

nt role

later.

Initially

voice,

action

and

gesture

s are

sufficie

nt.

30

nds

(right-

brain

functio

ning);

reducti

on of

stress.

speaker

s.

The Silent

Way

Each

languag

e is

compos

ed of

element

s that

give it a

unique

rhythm

and

spirit.

Functio

nal

vocabul

ary and

core

structur

e are

Process

es of

learnin

g a

second

languag

e are

fundam

entally

differen

t from

L1

learnin

g. L2

learnin

g is an

intellect

ual,

cognitiv

Near-

native

fluency,

correct

pronun

ciation,

basic

practica

l

knowle

dge of

the

gramm

ar of

the L2.

Learner

s learn

how to

learn a

Basicall

y

structur

al

lessons

planne

d

around

gramm

atical

items

and

related

vocabul

ary.

Items

are

introdu

ced

Learner

respons

es to

comma

nds,

questio

ns and

visual

cues.

Activiti

es

encoura

ge and

shape

oral

respons

es

without

gramm

Learnin

g is a

process

of

persona

l

growth.

Learner

s are

respons

ible for

their

own

learnin

g and

must

develop

indepen

dence,

Teacher

s must

(a)

teach

(b) test

(c) get

out of

the

way.

Remain

impassi

ve.

Resist

temptat

ion to

model,

remode

l, assist,

direct,

Unique

materia

ls:

colored

rods,

color-

coded

pronun

ciation

and

vocabul

ary

charts.

31

key to

the

spirit of

the

languag

e.

e

process.

Surrend

er to

the

music

of the

languag

e, silent

awaren

ess then

active

trial.

languag

e.

accordi

ng to

their

gramm

atical

comple

xity.

atical

explana

tion or

modeli

ng by

teacher.

autono

my and

respons

ibility.

exhort.

Communi

ty

language

learning

Langua

ge is

more

than a

system

for

commu

nication

. It

involve

s whole

person,

culture,

educati

Learnin

g

involve

s the

whole

person.

It is a

social

process

of

growth

from

childlik

e

No

specific

objectiv

es. Near

native

mastery

is the

goal.

No set

syllabu

s.

Course

progres

sion is

topic

based;

learners

provide

the

topics.

Syllabu

s

Combin

ation of

innovat

ive and

convent

ional.

Transla

tion,

group

work,

recordi

ng,

transcri

ption,

Learner

s are

membe

rs of a

commu

nity.

Learnin

g is not

viewed

as an

individ

ual

accomp

lishmen

Counse

ling

/parent

al

analogy

.

Teacher

provide

s a safe

environ

ment in

which

student

s can

No

textboo

k,

which

would

inhibit

growth.

Materia

ls are

develop

ed as

course

progres

ses.

32

onal

develop

ment ,

commu

nicative

process

es.

depend

ence to

self-

directio

n and

indepen

dence.

emerge

s from

learners

’

intentio

n and

the

teacher’

s

reform

ulations

.

reflectio

n and

observa

tion,

listenin

g, free

convers

ation.

t, but

somethi

ng that

is

achieve

d

collabor

atively.

learn

and

grow.

The

Natural

Approach

The

essence

of

languag

e is

meanin

g.

Vocabu

lary,

not

gramm

ar, is

the

heart of

languag

There

are two

ways of

L2

languag

e

develop

ment:

“acquisi

tion” –

a

natural

subcons

cious

process.

Designe

d to

give

beginne

rs and

interme

diate

learners

basic

commu

nicative

skills.

Four

broad

areas;

Based

on

selectio

n of

commu

nicative

activitie

s and

topics

derived

from

learner

needs.

Activiti

es

allowin

g

compre

hensibl

e input

about

things

in the

here-

and-

now.

Focus

on

Should

not try

to learn

languag

e in the

usual

sense,

but

should

try to

loose

themsel

ves in

activitie

s

The

teacher

is the

primary

source

of

compre

hensibl

e input.

Must

create

positive

, low-

anxiety

climate.

Materia

ls

comes

from

realia

rather

than

text

books.

Primar

y aim is

to

promot

e

compre

33

e. Learnin

g

cannot

lead to

acquisit

ion.

basic

persona

l

commu

nicative

skills(or

al/writt

en);

academ

ic

learnin

g skills

(oral/wr

itten)

meanin

g, not

form.

involvi

ng

meanin

gful

commu

nication

.

Must

chose

and

orchestr

ate a

rich

mixture

of

classroo

m

activitie

s.

hension

and

commu

nication

.

Suggestop

edia

Rather

convent

ional,

althoug

h

memori

zation

of

whole

meanin

gful

texts is

recom

mende

Learnin

g

occurs

through

suggest

ion,

where

learners

are in a

deeply

relaxed

state.

Baroqu

e music

To

deliver

advanc

e

convers

ational

compet

ence

quickly.

Learner

s are

require

d to

master

Ten

unit

courses

consisti

ng of

1.200-

word

dialogu

es

graded

by

vocabul

ary and

gramm

Initiativ

es,

questio

n and

answer,

role-

play,

listenin

g

exercise

s under

deep

relaxati

on.

Must

maintai

n a

passive

state

and

allow

the

materia

ls to

work

on

them

(rather

To

create

situatio

ns in

which

the

learner

is most

suggest

ible and

present

materia

l in a

way

Consist

s of

texts,

tapes,

classroo

m

fixtures

, and

music.

Texts

should

have

force,

literary

34

d. is used

to

induce

this

state.

prodigi

ous lists

of

vocabul

ary

pairs,

althoug

h the

goal is

underst

anding,

not

memori

zation.

ar. than

vice

versa)

most

likely to

encoura

ge

positive

receptio

n and

retentio

n. Must

exude

authorit

y and

confide

nce.

quality

and

interesti

ng

charact

ers.

Communi

cative

Language

Teaching

Langua

ge is a

system

for the

expressi

on of

meanin

g;

primary

functio

n –

interact

ion and

Activiti

es

involvi

ng real

commu

nication

;

carryin

g out

meanin

gful

tasks;

and

Objecti

ves will

reflect

the

needs

of the

learner;

they

will

include

functio

nal

skills as

Will

include

some/al

l of the

followi

ng

structur

es,

functio

ns,

notions,

themes,

tasks.

Engage

learners

in

commu

nication

,

involve

process

es such

as

informa

tion

sharing,

Learner

as

negotiat

or,

interact

or,

giving

as well

as

taking

Facilitat

or of

the

commu

nication

process,

particip

ants’

task

and

texts;

needs

analyst,

Primar

y role

in

promoti

ng

commu

nicative

languag

e use;

task-

based

materia

ls;

35

commu

nication

.

using

languag

e which

is

meanin

gful to

the

learner

promot

e

learnin

g.

well as

linguist

ic

objectiv

es.

Orderin

g will

be

guided

by

learner

needs.

negotiat

ion of

meanin

g, and

interact

ion.

counsel

or,

process

manage

r.

authent

ic.

Language Learners and their Levels

ESL learners are socio-cultural products, necessarily conditioned by their

surrounding, family orientation, exposure to the greater society and several

such factors. Therefore, while assessing the learner/s the factors like age

culture, language level and motivation for learning are always taken into

consideration. Any of these factors could have a bearing on what we perceive

to be a ‘good learner’. However, there are number of general characteristics

that successful students appear to possess. These can include:

• A willingness to listen to the language

• A desire to experiment with the language

• A willingness to ask questions

• An ability to think about their own learning process and methods

• An acceptance of error correction.

• A desire to learn.

36

These are all qualities that successful learners usually have and it is the

teacher’s responsibility to encourage and foster these attributes in the

classroom.

Age

The broad categorization would be under the subheads - young learners and

adults. Generally, adults are taken to mean those who are 18 years of age or

more, and the term is self-explanatory.

However, there are at least three categories of young learners.

• First is the post puberty or early teen age learner i.e. 13-plus.

• Second is the pre-puberty learner, corresponding to primary school or 8 to

12 years old.

• Finally, the very young learners, who are often pre-schoolers, aged 7 years

and less. These are becoming an increasingly bigger market the world over.

They have shorter attention spans, and in the case of very young ones they

have not even completely mastered the grammar of their mother tongue, but

all are generally amenable to fun games, singing, drawing etc.

Culture and First Language

Approaches to learning vary with the change in cultural backgrounds of the

students.

Students from some Asian Countries, for example are noted as being very

serious about their learning and respectful to their teachers but sometimes

lacking in willingness to communicate. The problem possibly stems from the

fact in these areas, the teacher is often still expected to do all the talking and

37

the students are encouraged not to speak in class unless addressed directly by

the teacher. In some schools TEFL teachers are sometimes frowned upon and

some classes considered unruly because of the noise (Inevitable and necessary

when there is choral work or pair and group work!). A good teacher should

be aware of their student’s customs and differences that could affect the

success of the classes.

Language Level

Distinctions between the different levels of ability in English language

learning have to be clearly demarcated. The most common breakdown is as

follows:

Beginners - From zero knowledge of English to very basic knowledge of

English, which cannot be quickly or easily activated.

Elementary – Students at this level are likely to be able to form basic sentence

structures and communicate on simple topics.

Low or pre-intermediate- Students are able to communicate and understand

a greater variety of topics but lacking general fluency and depth of language

awareness but are still likely to make many errors even with basic structures.

Intermediate – Able to understand and communicate on a wide range of

issues using limited vocabulary store but still lacking in accuracy and fluency.

Upper Intermediate – Should be able to actively communicate on almost all

topics using a greater range of language but still lacking in accuracy.

Advanced – Students should have a very good knowledge of English

38

language and now will be studying more subtle language items.

It should be noted that while the above terms are the most commonly used

their actual meaning can differ considerably depending on where you work

and which text book you may be using, an elementary student in one country

could be viewed as intermediate in a different country!

The common European framework recently established by the council of

Europe state the following six levels:

• Breakthrough Basic User A1

• Way stage, Basic User, A2

• Threshold , Independent User, B1

• Vantage, Independent User, B2

• Effective Operational Policy, Proficient User, C1

• Mastery, Proficient User , C2

The complex variables introduced by sociopolitical contexts of teaching

(country, societal expectations, cultural factors, political constraints, the status

of English), the ethics and views of the institution one is teaching in (school,

university, language school, adult education, vocational/workplace courses),

and the implied purposes for learning English (academic, technical, social,

immersion, enrichment, survival) heavily conditions the teacher-student

relationship and the final output in the classroom . Each of these

considerations is essential to incorporate into your choices of techniques,

lesson organization, and supporting materials.

Teaching Children

Children exercise a good deal of both cognitive and affective effort in order to

internalize both native and second languages. The difference between

39

children and adults (that is, persons beyond the age of puberty) lies primarily

in the contrast between the child's spontaneous, peripheral attention to

language forms and the adult's overt, focal awareness of and attention to

those forms.

Children are blessed with fluency and naturalness that help them to score

over the superior intellect of the adults. The context of classroom instruction

may introduce some difficulties to children learning a second language.

Many fail to differentiate between very young children (4-6 years old) and

pre-pubescent children (12-13 years) and the whole range of ages in between.

There are actually many instances of six- to twelve-year-old children

manifesting significant difficulty in acquiring a second language for a

multitude. Ranking high on that list of reasons are a number of complex

personal, cultural, and political factors at play in elementary school education.

Teaching ESL to school-age children, therefore, is not merely a matter of

setting them loose on a plethora of authentic language tasks in the classroom.

To successfully teach children a second language requires specific skills and

intuitions that differ from those appropriate for adult teaching. Five

categories may help give some practical approaches to teaching children.

Teaching Teens

The Job of teaching ‘Young Adults’, ‘Teens’ and ‘high school-age children’

should preferably be a mix of variables that can appropriately cater to an age

of physical, psychological transition between twelve and eighteen. Students at

this stage of evolution from childhood to adulthood need to be handled with

special consideration. Some thoughts worth verbalizing are –

• Intellectual capacity adds abstract operational thought around the age of

40

twelve. Therefore, some sophisticated intellectual processing is increasingly

possible. Complex problems can be solved with logical thinking. This means

that linguistic metalanguage can now, theoretically, have some impact. But

for any intellectual endeavor to be successful the learner must pay full

attention to the task at hand. If a learner is simultaneously trying to attend to

other things like her/his appearance, or to sexual thoughts, or to planning a

weekend party, or whatever, the intellectual task at hand may suffer.

• Attention span extends with intellectual maturity. However, with potential

diversions present all around, the same attention span tend to get shortened.

• Varieties of sensory input are still important, but, again, increasing

capacities for abstraction lessen the essential nature of appealing to all five

senses.

• Teaching process dedicated to teenagers should have elements to bolster

their ultra-sensitive sense of self-image, ego and self-esteem. The secondary

school teacher should aim at that by

o avoiding embarrassment of students

o affirming their personal talents and strength

o making room for acceptance of mistakes and errors

o de-emphasizing competition between peers

o encouraging group work and activities

Teaching Adults

Compared to children, adults have superior, cognitive abilities that spell

success for them in varied classroom endeavors. Their need for sensory input

can largely be generated from their imagination (“imagine touching a leaf” VS

actually touching it). Adults also score an advantage over children for having

acquired self-confidence that help them to handle shyness to certain extent.

The cognitive faculty also enables them to deal with languages that are not

currently contextualized. Therefore, besides considering the thumb-rules

41

specified for teaching children, special suggestions can be –

• Adults are better at handling abstract rules and concepts. But beware! As an

adult you may get carried away by too much abstract generalization about

usage and never get around to practicing the language in real life situations.

In other words too much focus on language learning concepts and rules may

hinder the actual language learning process.

• Adults have longer attention spans and can concentrate on material that

may not be intrinsically interesting to them. But again, the rule of keeping

your activities short and interesting applies also to adult teaching.

• Sensory input need not always be quite as varied with adults, but one of the

secrets of lively adult classes is to make the activities multiple sense based.

• Adults often bring a modicum of general self-confidence (global self-

esteem) into a classroom. The fragility of egos may therefore not be quite as

critical as of children. Yet we should never underestimate the emotional

factors that may be attendant to adult second language learning.

• Adults with their more developed abstract thinking ability, arc better able to

understand a context-reduced segment of language. Authenticity and

meaningfulness are of course still highly important, but in adult language

teaching, a teacher can take temporary digressions to dissect and examine

isolated linguistic properties, as long as students are returned to the original

context.

The Current Phase:

42

This phase deals with Language Awareness. In order to teach English, a

teacher needs to be aware of the structure and form of the language not only

to enrich one’s own knowledge of the language but to be aware of what

he/she is presenting to the learners. Phonology helps the teacher become

aware of the differences in languages and the difficulties that the learners

might face.

Phase 2 : What is Grammar?

Grammar is generally thought to be a set of rules specifying the correct

ordering of words at the sentence level. The Longman Dictionary of Applied

Linguistics defines it as, “a description of the structure of a language and the

way in which units such as phrases and words are combined to produce

sentences in the language.”

Sentences are acceptable if they follow the rules set out by the grammar of the

language. For example, in English, one rule states that “a subject followed by

a verb followed by an object” is grammatical. The sentence “The letter the

man wrote” is ungrammatical because it violates this rule where as “The man

wrote the letter” is acceptable because it obeys this rule. Therefore how can

we define grammar?

According to McArthur, “grammar is not a precise term like phonology or

anatomy. It behaves pretty much like the majority of the words in a language;

it has a core of generally agreed meaning, but is fuzzy around the edges”.

This means that the term can have several interpretations. It is used to refer

both to language users’ subconscious internal system and to linguists’

attempts explicitly to codify or describe that system. With the latter, its scope

can be broad enough to refer to the system underlying a particular language.

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It can also refer to a particular school of linguistic thought or to a specific

compendium of facts for a general audience.

It is said that there are three kinds of Grammar namely, G1, G2 and G3.

G1 is the total mechanism which a language possesses and through which its

users are able to communicate with each other. Every native speaker whether

literate or illiterate, knows and controls his or her G1. Each language

possesses a distinctive G1, peculiar to itself.

G2 refers to all formal analysis and description of the rules of the language.

The illiterate native speaker of a language may know its G1 but not G2.

However when he or she begins to think of language consciously, to wonder

what should be said in a situation to get the message across, he or she is

involved in the G2 of the language.

G3 grammar refers to the rules of correct use of a language which may be

prescribed for its users.

The importance of teaching Grammar

A glance through the last century of language teaching practices reveals

mixed opinions about the place of grammar, depending on the method or era.

In the Grammar translation method formal aspects of language received

prime importance. In the Natural Approach overt focus on form was

forbidden. Some manifestations of CLT advocated only a passing mention to

form, while other proponents of CLT used form focused techniques into a

communicative curriculum. Today, only a handful of language teaching

experts advocate Stephan Krashen’s zero option of no from-focused

instruction at all. Current views are universally agreed on the importance of

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some form-focused instruction within the communicative framework, ranging

from explicit rules to noticing and consciousness- raising techniques.

Technically, grammar refers to sentence level rules only. But it is widely

accepted that communicative competence refers to both grammatical

competence and organizational competence of how we string sentences

together. As Diane Larsen- freeman pointed out, grammar is one of the three

dimensions of language that are interconnected. Grammar gives us the form

or structures but those forms are meaningless without semantics (meaning of

words and string of words) and pragmatics(which meaning to assign

according to context). It is therefore important to grasp the significance of the

interconnectedness of all three dimensions as no one dimension is sufficient.

So no one can say grammar is irrelevant. Experiences in language teaching

suggest that judicious attention to grammatical form is not only helpful but

can lead to a speedy learning process.

Appropriate grammar-focusing techniques are meaningful, communicative

contexts. They contribute positively to communicative goals and promote

accuracy within fluency. The learner should not be overwhelmed with

linguistic terminology.

Principles of teaching grammar

Integrate both inductive and deductive method -

In the deductive classroom, the teacher gives a grammatical explanation or

rule followed by a set of exercises designed to clarify the grammatical point.

In deductive grammar one moves from rules to examples. Inductive

procedures reverse this process. Examples are presented to the learners and

through a process of guided discovery they work out the principles

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themselves. This leads us to the question, which is better? It depends on the

grammar point being learnt. A combination of both is needed, however

inductive techniques appear to result in better retention in the long term.

Connect grammatical form and communicative function -

Many grammar based courses are relatively ineffective because they teach

grammar a an abstract system and fail to give learners a proper context for the

grammar point. Teaching was limited to the form of the new grammatical

item. For example when the passive voice was introduced students were

given a list of sentences in the active voice along with a model of how to form

the passive. Such a procedure did not give students any insights into the

communicative contexts in which they should use the passive. Therefore

when teaching the passive voice, show why the passive voice is used- to place

emphasis on the action rather than the doer, to hide the identity of the doer.

Focus on development of procedural rather than declarative knowledge-

Declarative knowledge is about knowing the rules whereas procedural

knowledge is being able to use the knowledge for communication. Most

second language users of English know that they must place an –s on the end

verb when making third person singular declarative sentences but when

speaking most often than not they leave off the –s. this shows they have

declarative knowledge but not procedural. On the other hand a vast majority

of native speakers have procedural knowledge but lack the declarative

reasoning which does not impede their communicative skills. Declarative

knowledge can facilitate the development of procedural knowledge but is not

a necessity. Students need to develop the mastery of target language items not

by memorizing rules but by using them in communicative contexts.

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Contextualization involves meaningful language use for real communicative

purposes and helps students to understand how meaning is constructed by

language users (be it writing, speaking, reading, or listening) depending upon

the context.

Context refers to the topic and situation of a communicative act that are

necessary for understanding (Walz, 1989). Walz (1989) points out that a

number of language textbooks provide contextualized grammar exercises.

These exercises provide thematically related sentences requiring mechanical

manipulation of a grammatical form, but often do not force students to

understand. Therefore, contextualization of mechanical drills in this sense is

certainly not the same thing as creating a context (Walz, 1989, p. 162).

According to Shrum and Glisan (1994): language that is introduced and

taught in context presents real situations that encompass the physical setting,

the purpose of the exchange, the roles of the participants, and the socially

acceptable norms of interaction, in addition to the medium, topic, tone, and

register of the exchange. Grammatical structures that might otherwise be

devoid of context become an integral part of the communicative acts that

occur in contexts.

Research has shown consistently that grammatical structures will become

internalized only if the learners use the structures for meaningful,

communicative purposes .“ ...[I]f words take on their meanings when used in

connection to each other, learners will need to experience “whole”

contextualized language (stories, legends, poems, listening selections,

cartoons, songs, recipes, etc.) with an emphasis on meaning-making and

sense-making before a focus on form can be a productive instructional activity

(Long, 1991)”.

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Classes that focus on language form for the purpose of increasing

comprehension and meaning have been shown to result in greater language

gains than classes in which no focus on form is available or in which forms

are learned as meaningless structures, not connected to any meaningful

communicative act or applied in any way. That is, focus on form is only

useful if this knowledge can be used by the learners in a new way at a later

time.

Steps in Presenting Points of Grammar Using Direct Instruction in ESL and

Foreign Language Instruction

Motivate the teaching of structures by showing how they are needed in

real-life communication.

State the objective of the lesson.

Review the familiar items, e.g. calendar, time, name of objects,

auxiliary verbs in the target language that will be needed to introduce,

explain, or practice the new item.

Use the new structure (adjective of color, for example) in a brief

utterance in which all the other words are known to the students.

Model the utterance several times.

Engage in full class, half-class, group and individual repetition of the

utterance.

Give several additional sentences in which the structure is used. Class

and groups will repeat with you.

Write two of the sentences on the board. Underline the new structure

and (where relevant) use curved arrows or diagrams to illustrate the

relationship of the structure to other words and/or parts of the

sentence.

Point to the underlined structure as you ask questions that will guide

students to discover the sounds, the written form, the position in the

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sentence and the grammatical function of the new structure. ("What

does it tell us?")

Help students to verbalize the important features of the structure. Use

charts and other aids to relate to other familiar structures such as verb

tenses.

Engage the students in varied guided oral practice.

Require students to consciously select the new grammatical item from

contrasting one learned in the past.

Have the students use the structure with communicative expressions

and familiar or new notion.

Some helpful techniques:

Motivation: Fun should be an element in any class , specially one that deals

with grammar. Usually as soon as the word G-R-A-M-M-A-R is announced

there is a sense of doom that looms over the students. The immediate reaction

is , a groan inward or auditory , “tuning off” where the students remain

bodily in the room but their mind wanders off and a lot of apprehension as to

how they will be judged on their “technicality” . It is also the same for any

teacher especially a one who is new and less experienced , therefore the one

and only weapon that can diffuse the situation is FUN.

Games

Songs

Mime

Poems

Audio visual aids are all potential ways to have fun and introduce

almost any topic on grammar.

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Objective: Once the ice breaker is introduced; set the objective, make it simple

and clear. Ask students questions that will help them identify the grammar

concept to be discussed. Follow with another exercise that more specifically

focuses on the grammar concept, but takes an inductive approach. This could

be a reading exercise with questions and responses in the structure that is

being taught.

Inductive is known as a 'bottom up' approach. In other words, this approach

helps a student to discover grammar rules while working through exercises.

For example: A reading comprehension which includes a number of sentences

describing what a person has done up to that period in time. After doing the

reading comprehension, the teacher could begin to ask questions such as:

How long has he done this or that?

Has he ever been to Paris?

When did he go to Paris?

Practice : A soon as the topic is introduced lets say adjective or adverb, ask

the students what words they already know on this topic . You will be

surprised so will the students be when both the parties realize that they

posses a lot of vocabulary on the above. Only lack of practice and application

has not been enough leading to lack of confidence .As they develop strength

gradually introduce them to the new structure . In this stage the following

aids come in handy :

Blackboard

Flash cards

Pointers

Coloured markers

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Applied grammar: Please keep in mind that grammar taught isolated is

grammar not learnt. Just stating the definition and giving single examples

will not help the students . The teacher has to help the students to apply the

rules in day to day situations.

For example: The present perfect is made up of the auxiliary verb 'have' plus

the past participle. It is used to express an action which has begun in the past

and continues into the present moment... etc.

What good does this definition do for