08 Isi Pelajaran

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS ELE 3104

TOPIC 1 The Teaching and Assessing of Writing Skills

SYNOPSIS:

This topic focuses on the teaching and assessing of writing skills.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

i. Interpret curriculum content on the principles of teaching writing.

ii. Explain writing readiness by using First Steps Reading resources.

iii. Apply various methods to assess writing.

FRAMEWORK:

i. Principles of teaching Writing

ii. Writing Readiness

iii. Strategies in teaching writing

iv. Integrated activities

v. Assessing writing

CONTENT:

i. Principles of teaching Writing

APPROACHES TO TEACHING WRITING:

Attempts to teach writing – since the time when students were merely

given a topic of some kind and asked to produce a “composition”

without further help – have usually focused on some particular

problematical aspect of the writing situation. Some key approaches

are examined below.

FOCUS ON ACCURACY:

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Mistakes show up in written work and not unnaturally come to be

regarded as a major problem. It was assumed that students made

mistakes because they were allowed to write what they wanted, and

accuracy-oriented approaches have therefore stressed the

importance of control in order to eliminate them from written work.

Students are taught how to write and combine various sentence types

and manipulation exercises like the one below are used to give them

the experience of writing connected sentences.

A (1) man(2) walked (3) down the street. A (4) girl (5) was waiting for

him outside a (6) shop. As he approached, she smiled (7) and

said,“hello, how are you?”

1) tall young well-dressed

2) with a beard, in a black hat, with sunglasses

3) rapidly,hurriedly, impatiently

4) pretty, fair-haired, dark-skinned

5) in high-heeled shoes, with an umbrella, in a pink hat

6) chemist’s, grocer’s bicycle plesantly, attractively, in a friend

manner

Gradually the amount of control is reduced and the students are

asked to exercise meaningful choice (in the example above they do

not have to think and they cannot make mistakes). At still later stage,

they may be given a good deal of guidance with language content, but

allowed some opportunities for self expressions.

This controlled-to-free approach emphasizes step-by-step learning

and formal correctness. Many such schemes were carefully thought

out and although no longer fashionable, they produced many useful

ideas on how to guide writing.

FOCUS ON FLUENCY:

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This approach encourages students to write as much as possible and

as quickly as possible – without worrying about making mistakes. The

important thing is to get one’s ideas down to paper. In this way the

students think that they really writing, not merely doing exercises of

some kind; they write what they want to write and consequently

writing is an enjoyable experience.

This approach draws attention to certain points we need to keep in

mind. Many students write badly because they do not write enough

and for the same reason they feel inhabited when they pick up a pen.

Most of us write less well if we are obliged to write about something. A

fluency approach, perhaps channeled into something like keeping a

diary, can be useful antidote.

FOCUS ON TEXT:

This approach stresses the importance of the paragraph as the basic

unit of written expression and is therefore mainly concerned to teach

students hoe to construct and organize paragraphs. It uses a variety

of techniques, singly and in combination, such as

- Forming paragraphs from jumbled sentences.

- Written parallel paragraphs;

- Developing paragraphs from topic sentences (with or without

cues.)

This approach identifies and tries to overcome one of the central

problems in writing; getting students to express themselves effectively

at a level beyond the sentence.

FOCUS ON PURPOSE:

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In real life we normally have a reason for writing and we write to and

for somebody. These factors which have often been neglected in

teaching and practicing writing. Yet it is easy to devise situations,

which allow students to write purposefully: for example, they can write

to another in the classroom or use writing in role-play situations.

Although this approach does not solve specific problems which

students have when handling the written language, it does motivate

them to write and shows how writing is a form of communication.

The role of guidance:

The fundamental principle of guiding students in various ways

towards a mastery of writing skills, and sometimes controlling what

they write, is not one we can lightly dismiss, even if the principle has

to some extent been misapplied (for example, in trying to eliminate

the mistakes.). rather we should consider mare carefully what kind of

guidance we should give them, particularly in relation to the various

problems they have when writing.

On a linguistic level, since our aim is to develop, their ability to write a

text, one way of helping the students is by using the texts as our basic

format for practice, even in the early stages. While this does not rule

out some sort of sentence practice, which may be necessary for the

mastery of certain types of complex and compound sentence

structure, best practiced through writing because they most commonly

used in writing, we do not need to build into the writing program a

step-by-step approach which will take the learners in easy stages

from sentence practice to the production of text. With the text as our

basic format for practice, we can teach within its framework all the

other rhetorical devices-logical, grammatical, and lexical- which the

learners need to master.

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By using texts (letters and reports, for example – even dialogues in

early stages) as our basic practice format, rather than some other unit

such as the sentence or even paragraph, we can make writing

activities much more meaningful for the students and thereby

increase their motivation to write well. The text provides a setting

within which they can practice for example sentence completion,

sentence combination, paragraph construction, etc. in relation to

longer stretches of discourse. In this way they can see not only why

they are writing but also write in a manner appropriate to the

communicative goal of the text.

In order to make writing more meaningful, we can integrate it

effectively with other classroom activities involving not only reading

but also speaking and listening f.eg. we see an advertisement for a

job which involves “reading”. We talk about it and perhaps phone up

about it, which involves speaking and listening. We then decide to

apply for the job – which involves reading. Consequently we can use

writing in the lesson as we normally do in our daily life.

We need a whole range of techniques, each appropriate to specific

goals and needs. Variety is important. This is essential for the sake of

interest: the learners get bored if they are constantly asked to perform

the same type of task. But another significant factor is that certain

techniques are effective for developing particular writing skills. For

example, texts (read or heard) provide the right sort of context for

note taking: they not only read expected. Visual material, on the other

hand, properly used provides a more open-ended framework for

writing activities of different kinds at different levels, but it is less

suited for elementary writing activities than is often assumed.

Particular kinds of visual material, such as diagrams and tables, are

valuable for developing organizational skills. Clearly then our

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approach should be as eclectic as possible, using those forms of

guidance which are appropriate to different kinds of different levels of

attainment.

Imply tight control over what the learners write. If, for example, we

accept that errors in speech are not only inevitable but are also a

natural part of learning a language, then we should accept that they

will occur, and to some extend should be allowed to occur, in writing

too. Unless the learners are given opportunities to write what they

want to write, they will never learn this skill. As in speech when we

provide opportunities for free expression, errors will occur, but this is a

situation, which we must accept. Perhaps it is largely our attitude

towards these errors that is wrong: because they occur in writing, we

feel that they must be corrected, whereas in speech, perhaps

because it is more transient, we are inclined to be more tolerant.

This is far from suggesting that free expression is the solution to

learning to write: on the contrary, the learners need guidance, as they

do with oral work. They must be encouraged to look critically at what

they write and taught to draft, correct and rewrite. But since no

approach to teaching writing has yet been devised which will take

them smoothly from writing under control to free expression, it seems

reasonable to provide some opportunities for writing freely, even in

the early stages. This will not only enable us to see whether the

students are making any real process; it will also ensure that they

become learners rather than leaners.

The needs of the learners:

a) teach the learners how to write: since the spoken and the

written forms of language are not the same and since writing is a

different way of communication from speech, it follows that writing that

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writing skills require special teaching.

b) Provide adequate and relevant experience of written

language: writing has to be preceded and accompanied by wide

exposure dialogues in their textbooks and narrative prose in their

readers, they cannot be expected to produceother varieties of the

written language appropriate, for example to letters or reports.

c) Show the learners how the written language functions as a

system of a communication: exposure to the written form of the

language by itself it is not sufficient. The learners also have to be

made aware of how we communicate through the written medium and

how this differs from speech. In particular they need to be shown that

any piece of writing, whether or not it is addressed to a specific

reader, has a communicative purpose. They need to understand how

the resources of the written language are used to fulfill this purpose,

by establishing and maintaining contact withj the reader in order to get

one’s message across.

d) Teach the learners how to write texts: writing involves the

ability to organize sentences to a coherent whole or text.

e) Teach the learners how to write different kinds of texts: it is

not enough to try to r-teach them a kind of neutral general-purpose

form of written expression. They have to some extend at least to be

able to select an appropriate style, formal or informal, depending on

what they are writing about and whom they are addressing, and to

able to present this to the reader in an appropriate form. Many of the

difficulties, which the learners have in this area, arise because of the

nature of the writing tasks. Also this kind of task does not encourage

them to think of writing as communication. Likewise it might be noted,

our goal should not be to teach different kinds of writing. But rather to

see that these are practiced within the wider context of a text.

f) Make writing tasks relevant and realistic: all too often writing

tasks lack reality for the learners because they do not give them the

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feeling that they are writing to or for somebody. They are done solely

as a form of exercise for the benefit of the teacher, who reacts to

them more like judge than a genuine reader. The use of the text as

the basic format for the practice is only part of the solution. We must

also attempt to identify those forms of writing which are most likely to

relevant to the learners’ needs, such as various types of personal

communication and institutional communication and to establish

classroom contexts for practicing them. This does not rule out the

possibility of other kinds of writing, provided the motivation for this

kind of work can be established.

g) Integrate writing with other skills: writing tends to be the

“cinderella” of the four skills and is often relegated to the end of the

teaching unit and used mainly for framework. This is unlikely to make

the learners want to write. Where possible, we should introduce

writing activities that lead naturally onto or from the use of other skills,

so that learners see writing as a real activity.

h) Use a variety of techniques and practice formats: this is

important because the learners get bored with the same type of

activity. Also some techniques and formats are appropriate to certain

levels. For example letter writing is especially suitable for use in the

early stages because it permits the learners to make some use of the

spoken forms of the language within a new framework. We must also

recognize that, in terms of developing writing skills, we cannot make

sure how effective any single technique is.

i) Provide appropriate support: it has been argued that

guidance should be tempered with opportunities for free expression.

We should remember that writing tasks are generally imposed that the

learners may not have either the relevant ideas, when this involves

some contribution on their part, or be sufficiently stimulated by the

tasks to think of them. The problem is further compounded by their

having to work on their own. Clearly there are many solutions to this

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problem and they need to be explored in a flexible way. In particular,

the use of techniques and procedures which have proved valuable for

the oral work need to be examined within the context of the writing

program. There seems no reason why, in the classroom at least,

writing need be a solitary activity.

j) Be sympathetic: with the help of a program which takes the

learners’ problems into account, we can hope to make writing a more

rewarding activity for them, both in terms of attainment and

satisfaction. But we need surrender our role as “judges”, except when

writing is being tested or examined, and view what the learners write

as attempts, however, inadequate, to communicate. There is always a

great temptation, perhaps a natural inclination, to concentrate on what

is wrong in a piece of writing, mainly because, it is there for us to read

and reread. But we are to be truly readers rather than judges, we

should perhaps look not so much at what the learners have failed to

achieve but rather at what they have actually succeeded in doing.

ii. Writing Readiness

Serve the article on the internet for notes:

http://www.springs.k12.ny.us/teachers/prek/for%20students/Writi

ng%20Readiness.htm

iii Stages in a writing lesson

Serve the article on the internet for notes:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/planning-a- writing

lesson

http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/

lesspln1.htm

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http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/lesspln1.htm

http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/lesspln1.htm

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/planning-a-%20writing%20%20%20%20%20%20%20lesson

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/planning-a-%20writing%20%20%20%20%20%20%20lesson

http://www.springs.k12.ny.us/teachers/prek/for%20students/Writing%20Readiness.htm

http://www.springs.k12.ny.us/teachers/prek/for%20students/Writing%20Readiness.htm


iv Strategies in teaching writing

Basic Writing Skills

When we write a composition, it is not enough to have good ideas or

persuasive arguments.

It is important to express them correctly.

Word order: Subject + Verb + Object + Complements (manner place

time)

I found the book easily at the library yesterday

Notes:

1. Time expressions can come at the beginning or at the end of a

sentence.

2. Don´t separate the verb from its object.

3. Frequency adverbs (often, always, never) often come before the

main verb.

4. If a sentence has a direct object and an indirect object, we often

place the indirect

object first: "She wrote him a letter" ( "She wrote a letter to him", is

possible).

5. Adjectives come before the noun and they have no plural form.

Subject-verb agreement: The subject and the verb must agree in

number. For example, when the subject is singular, the verb must

also be singular:

"She sings well"

Some nouns are always followed by a singular verb (everything,

news, furniture, information ...)

Some nouns are followed by a plural verb (people, children, police,

trousers ...)

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Writing A Composition

A good composition has three elements: an introduction, a body

and a conclusion.

It should also flow from sentence to sentence and connect the ideas

in a clear and logical

way. There are several ways to achieve this:

Repeat key nouns throughout the composition.

Use pronouns to refer back to key nouns

Arrange the sentences in a logical order and use linking words to

indicate the order ( first, second, then, later, next, since, then, finally)

A good composition should have a strong opening which attracts the

readers´ attention and makes them to read more. A few good ways of

opening your composition include:

· A question

· A surprising statistic or fact

· A personal address to the reader

· A provocative statement (not too provocative!)

Certain words or expressions are often used to indicate the

conclusion of a piece of writing:

In conclusion, lastly, finally, to sum up, in short ...

Connectors

Below is a chart of words and expressions commonly used to connect

ideas or show

relationships.

1. Contrast or opposing ideas: although, while, in spite of, but,

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however.

2. Comparison: like, similarly, both, just, as + adjective + as.

3. Reason, cause and effect: because, since, as, so that, in order that.

4. Time and sequence: when, while, first of all, secondly, finally.

5. Result and consequences: therefore, thus, as a result of.

6. Addition and example: moreover, in addition, for instance, such as.

v. Integrated activities

The use of integrated activities within the curriculum emphasizes the

development of a complete and well-rounded human being, where

every part of the individual – mind, body, emotions, and spirit – is

developed at the same time to be integrated into the whole person

through a broad education. This means that by providing students

with lessons that encompass a wide range of skills and subject

matter, they will get a much richer educational experience.

Integrated activities aim to focus on more than one skill or subject

matter through one exercise or activity. For instance, in a writing

exercise, the subject matter may be integrated from the history

curriculum. This type of integration shows students that subject matter

and skills are not compartmentalized, but rather can be applied in

many different situations and contexts. It also serves to reinforce

concepts that have been taught in other subject areas for better

retention and comprehension. In a classroom, a teacher wolud like to

focus on the development of her students’ social skills by integrating

activities that utilize group work and cooperation. This shows that

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integrated activities apply to the development of all areas of the child

learner, not just toward cognitive development.

vi. Assessing writing

Writing assessment refers not only to evaluating a student's final

paper and assigning it a grade, but also to measuring a student's

knowledge of the elements of writing we have taught him.

Assessment is a crucial part of the instructional process and of a

student's growth as a writer, but it also demands much of the teacher.

We might revise an old writer's saying to read that "we love everything

about teaching writing except the paper work."

Yet it is not true that we must assess everything students write; if we

did so, our students would not write nearly as much as they must if

they are to improve. Such purposeful writing requires a constructive

response, feedback that helps students revise a specific paper and

improve their future performance. Students themselves, however,

must also reflect on their own writing and the strategies they use

throughout the writing process, for if students do not internalize the

writing strategies discussed throughout this book, they will not

achieve the independence required to apply this knowledge in college

or the workplace.

Respond to writers according to their individual needs.

Responding to papers encompasses so many of the challenges of

teaching writing successfully, all of which can be summed up by

asking, "How can we respond to students' writing in ways that are fast

but effective?" Correcting every error, writing detailed comments in

the margin, offering encouraging and helpful summary remarks when

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we finish-these are noble goals, but if you have 170 (or more!)

students, as many of us do, it's not possible. Well, that's not true; one

of my colleagues worked with a teacher who kept an army cot in her

classroom and, when she collected papers, spent the night in her

room so she could return the papers to her students the next day. As

a happily married man and father of three kids who strives for some

measure of lifework balance, this is not a viable option for me. Our

response to students' writing serves three main purposes: It provides

guidance for revision of the current paper, it gives feedback students

can use to improve their future performance, and it accounts for the

grade you assign the paper. Here then are some ways to respond to

papers when they are finished (as opposed to while they are in draft

form). Avoid overfocusing on surface errors. Instead, narrow your

remarks to emphasize the two or three most important errors,

particularly those errors you have been addressing most recently

through instruction. Look also for patterns of error, as these offer

targeted opportunities for quick improvement.

Show students alternatives to flawed usage or sentence construction.

It's useless to tell them something is wrong if they have no idea how

to do it right. For example, if a student writes, "World War Two was a

very important war because it lasted a long time," when they were

supposed to come up with a thesis about how the war changed

American culture, you might scribble in the margin, "Jane, explain

how it changed American culture. Ex: WW II galvanized Americans,

uniting them in a common cause to defeat Japan and Germany."

Praise what they do well, making specific comments about their good

work. Studies find that students make an effort to repeat what earned

them praise. Thus, if you say, "The strong, active verbs in this

paragraph really give your ideas power!" they will be more likely to

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focus on using strong verbs in future papers.

Avoid vague, general comments, as they are not useful. When you

say that a sentence is "vague" or a paragraph "lacks focus," students

tend to see this as your subjective opinion and dismiss it. Specific

comments with explanation or illustration clarify what you are saying

and help students see not only what to change but how to change it.

Instead of saying a sentence is "awkward," for example, you might

underline a part of the sentence and write, "How else to say this, Pat?

I'm not sure what you mean here." In some cases, when it is quick

and comes easy to you, you might write an example of how they

might revise it to illustrate your point.

Respond like a reader (not like a judge), giving students your honest,

supportive feedback as you read. When responding in this manner,

your comments are more descriptive. I often write such notes as

"Good idea but you lost me halfway through, Maria" or "I'm not sure

how this relates to the previous paragraph, Dion." On some

assignments, I might write at the bottom of the first page something

like "After a whole page you still have not mentioned the book you are

supposed to be analyzing. Consider revising to make the book the

center of your paper." Such comments are best, of course, if students

can then use them to revise.

Encourage students to reflect on the process, the product, and

the performance.

As students use new strategies and learn new aspects of writing, they

need the opportunity to examine the difference these strategies make.

Each writer must study his or her own writing process, learning what

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works when, for example, they generate ideas. I have students who

have learned that they need to talk their ideas through, so they

schedule conferences with me during lunch to have a sit-down and

hash out what they are thinking.

Others need to just write, getting something down on paper no matter

how bad. When the paper is finished and ready to be turned in, ask

students to do some thinking about not only the final product but also

their process and their performance. If they do not reflect, they will

lack insight about how they reached the final result and will be unable

to repeat what they did well due to a lack of awareness. Their success

on a paper becomes an accident, something they cannot reclaim on

future performances.

Just as athletes watch videotapes of previous games, students should

reread past essays. Here are some easy but effective ways to

incorporate reflection into the writing process.

Before they begin to write, students reflect on where they are in their

development as writers, identifying those specific areas they need to

focus on and the ways in which such an effort will improve their paper.

During the writing process, have students pause to reflect, for

example, on the questions they asked to help them generate ideas or

write a particular section of a paper. They might also stop to reflect on

what is not working and then brainstorm some possible strategies to

help them solve that problem.

After the writing process is complete and the paper is due, ask

students to reflect on any of the following:

The strategies they used to write the paper.

I tell students that I often don't know what I am trying to say until I

write my conclusion, which then ends up working well as an

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introduction, at which point I cut and paste it to the front of the essay,

tossing out the original introduction. Another strategy I often suggest,

or even require, is to read each sentence and ask of it, "So what?"

which has the effect of forcing students to explain the importance of

their ideas.

Their performance on this paper in contrast to their previous

papers, focusing on their growth and needs.

An alternative is to have them reflect on their performance on this

paper based on the criteria outlined on the rubric.

Their needs as a writer, reader, or thinker on future assignments.

The most useful question is "What was hard and what went well?"

Each assignment is a step in the year's long journey toward becoming

a better writer, so it is important to keep asking where they are and

what they need to learn to get where they want to be.

In groups of four:

i. discuss the following principles of teaching writing:

a. purposes of writing

b. types of writing

ii. explain writing readiness

iii. identify stages in a writing lesson and strategies in teaching

writing.

iv. analyse ways of assessing writing.

v. devise one writing activity to assess writing skills.

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Take down notes during the discussion using graphic organisers and

then email it to your lecturer. You are to keep one copy of the notes

in your learning portfolio.

Chitravelu, N., Sithamparam, S. & Teh S.C. (2005). ELT Methodolgy :

Principles and Practice (2nd. ed.). Shah Alam: Fajar Bakti.

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TOPIC 2 The Teaching and Assessing of Vocabulary, Spelling and Dictation

SYNOPSIS:

This topic focuses on the teaching and assessing of vocabulary, spelling

and dictation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

i. Identify purpose of teaching vocabulary, spelling and dictation

ii. Discuss techniques and activities for teaching vocabulary, spelling

and dictation.

iii. Analyse ways of assessing vocabulary, spelling and dictation

FRAMEWORK:

i. Purpose of teaching vocabulary, spelling and dictation

ii. Techniques and activities for teaching vocabulary, spelling and

dictation.

iii. Assessing vocabulary, spelling and dictation

CONTENT:

i. Purpose of teaching vocabulary, spelling and dictation

Principles for Teaching Vocabulary

Focus on the most useful vocabulary first

Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way

Look at what words to teach and learn

Give attention to the high frequency words across the four

strands of a course

Encourage learners to reflect on and take responsibility for

learning.

The more vocabulary words students know, the better they are

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to comprehend

A large vocabulary opens students up to a wider range of

reading materials

A rich vocabulary also improves students' ability to

communicate through speaking, listening, and writing

To increase the number of words that students know and can

use in a variety of educational, social, and eventually work-

related areas.

ii. Techniques and activities for teaching vocabulary, spelling and

dictation.

Use “instructional” read-aloud events.

Provide direct instruction in the meanings of clusters

of words

and individual words.

Systematically teach students the meaning of

prefixes,

suffixes, and root words.

Link spelling instruction to reading and vocabulary

instruction.

Teach the effective, efficient, realistic use of

dictionaries,

thesauruses, and other reference works.

Teach, model, and encourage the application of a

word-

learning strategy.

Encourage wide reading.

Create a keen awareness of and a deep interest in

language

and words

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Verbal Techniques

Use of synonyms and definitions

Use of antonyms and contrasts

Use of context

Word of part clues

Vocabulary groups

Example of activities:

The Use Of Dictionary

Some pointers for the effective use of dictionary:

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Translation

Effectively convey meaning

Save time by quickly dispensing with the explanation of the

word



Multiple Choice

Completion (write the missing word)

E.g: At last the climbers reached the ………… of the

mountain

Translation (give the L1 of the underlined word)

E.g: They worked at the mill.

Matching (match each word with its meaning)

Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Questions;

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E.g: 1) In fact, there are folk songs for many occupations –

railroading, (following/ mustering/ concentrating/ herding)

cattle, and so on.

2) …known as the Lost Sea. It is listed in the Guinnes Book for

World Records as th world’s largest underground (water,

body, lake, cave).

The Vocabulary Levels Questions

E.g: a)The picture looks nice; the colours

bl………… really well.

b) Nuts and vegetables are considered who………… food

c) Many companies were manufac…………… computers

Non-words Questions

E.g: 1) drink

2) modest

3) sweathing

4) receipt

5) impatient

Synonyms

Fill in the Blanks

True / False Questions

Sentence Writing Questions

Association Questions

E.g: Write three words that can fit in the blank

Cloze Test

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E.g: One afternoon, in the _____ (1) of America, Amy

discovered beautiful _____

(2) in a vase and a box of delicious _____

(3) on her doorstep

In groups of four:

i. identify purpose of teaching vocabulary, spelling and dictation.

Make a list for the purpose.

ii. discuss two techniques and two activities for teaching

vocabulary, spelling and dictation. Provide a PowerPoint/

slideshow.

iii. analyse ways of assessing vocabulary, spelling and dictation.

Provide two samples from any test papers.

Email your work to your lecturer. You are to keep one copy of the

notes in your learning portfolio.



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TOPIC 3 The Teaching and Assessing of Literature for Primary Schools

SYNOPSIS:

This topic focuses on the teaching and assessing of literature for primary

schools.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

i. Explain purpose of using literature in the language classroom

ii. Discuss activities to teach and assessing literature

FRAMEWORK:

i. Purpose of using literature in the language classroom.

ii. Designing activities based on literary texts.

iii. Assessing literature.

CONTENT:

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i. Purpose of using literature in the language classroom

Motivating material:

Literature exposes students to complex themes and fresh,

unexpected uses of language. A good novel or short story can take

the students to foreign countries and fantastic worlds. A play or a

poem can bring up certain dilemmas and powerful emotional

responses. All this can be transposed to their real lives.

Access to cultural background:

Literature can provide students with access to the culture of the

people whose language they are studying.

Encouraging language acquisition:

Obviously, at lower levels, students may be unable to cope on their

own with an authentic novel or short story in English. Any extensive

reading we encourage them to do outside the classroom would

probably need to be of graded material, such as graded readers. But

at higher levels, students may be so absorbed in the plot and

characters of an authentic novel or short story, that they acquire a

great deal of new language almost in passing.

*If recorded literary material is available (audio-books), then students

can practice their listening skills.

Expanding students’ language awareness:

One of the debates centred around literature teaching in the language

classroom is whether literature language is somehow different from

other forms of discourse in that it breaks the more usual rules of

syntax, collocation and even cohesion.

Using literature with students can help them to become more

sensitive to some of the overall features of English.

Developing students’ interpretative abilities:

Literary texts are often rich in multiple levels of meaning, and demand

that the reader/learner is actively involved in ‘teasing out’ the unstated

27


implications and assumptions of the text. Thus, by encouraging our

students to grapple with the multiple ambiguities of the literary text,

we are helping to develop their overall capacity to infer the meaning,

and this can be applied in real life.

Educating the whole person:

Apart from all the linguistic benefits, we cannot forget the wider

educational function of literature. It can help to stimulate the

imagination of our students, to develop their critical abilities and to

increase their emotional awareness. If we ask the students to respond

personally to the texts we give them, they will become increasingly

confident about expressing their own ideas and emotions in English.

ii. Designing activities based on literary texts

Consider several possibilities of exploiting literary texts for the benefit

of the language learner.

A language-based approach:

Studying the language of the literary text will help to integrate the

language and literature syllabuses more closely. Students are

encouraged to draw on their knowledge of familiar grammatical,

lexical or discoursal categories to make aesthetic judgement of the

text.

Literature as content:

In this case literature itself is the content of the course, which

concentrates on areas such as the history and characteristic of literary

movements; the social, political and historical backgrounds to a text;

literary genres and rhetorical devices, etc

Literature for personal enrichment:

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Literature encourages students to reflect on their own personal

experiences, feelings and opinions. At the same time of learning

English, they become more active, both intellectually and emotionally.

This method is also an excellent stimulus for groupwork.

Stylistics in the classroom

Stylistics has two main objectives: firstly, to enable student’s to make

meaningful interpretations of the text itself; secondly, to expand

students’ knowledge and awareness of the language in general.

Criteria for selecting the text

The student’s cultural background:

When considering this factor, think about how far the students’

cultural background and their social and political expectations will help

or delay their understanding of the text. On the other hand, it is also

true that remote texts may arise the students’ interest. Literature,

particularly in a foreign language, is often seen as something remote

and far removed from ‘ordinary’ language. One of the aims of this

activity is to show that literature is not necessarily a language apart.

Even poetry, if we do not know it is poetry, can be mistaken for plain

prose. And plain prose may have its own poetry.

The students’ linguistic proficiency:

You might need to ask yourself questions like:

Are students sufficiently familiar with the usual norms of language use

to recognise when these are subverted?

How much of the language in the text will students be able to infer?

Will students find it useful and enjoyable to study the text, or will they

feel demotivated by the difficulties of the language? Even if the

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language is difficult, will students be motivated by other factors to

study the text?

The students’ literary background:

If the students have some kind of literary competence in their mother

tongue, they may already know similar conventions for reading and

interpreting literature in English.

Availability of texts.

Length of the text.

Exploitability of the text.

Fit with syllabus.

Why use poetry with the language learner?

In order to make sense of what is a new, original use of language

(new vocabulary/invented words, mixed registers, metaphors, rhythm

and rhyme).

To show students that language may not be quite as rigidly governed

by rules as we think.

Poems often enhance students to make confident interpretations, as

their personal opinion is vital.

We can also encourage students to make use of certain interpretative

strategies while reading, for example speculating about the symbolic

meaning of certain words rather than focusing on their literal meaning.

Useful techniques to apply literature in the language classroom.

Analyzing: the centre of attention is the language of the text.

Comparison and contrast: students have to find similarities and/or

30


differences between two topic-related texts. In this case, the meaning

is more relevant.

Expansion: students have to add certain elements to the text, for

instance, what happens after the story finishes?

Matching: students are given two groups of items, which they must

link taking into account both syntax and meaning.

Media transfer: a text is transformed from one medium to another, for

example from poetry to prose or from written to oral.

Reconstruction: students have to re-establish certain elements in a

text which have been omitted, or jumbled.

Reduction: contrary to ‘expansion’, students have to remove certain

elements from a text so as to make it shorter, though still meaning the

same.

Replacement: some elements of a text must be replaced with others

of the same kind.

iii. Assessing literature.

Literature is a powerful vehicle for helping children understand their

homes, communities and the world. Even before young children can

read, family members, childcare providers and teachers read them

stories about people in far away places, sometimes from the distant

past and sometimes about people whose lives are similar to their

own. The impressions and messages contained in these stories can

last a lifetime.

Books, at their best, invite children to use their imaginations, expand

their vocabularies and gain a better understanding of themselves and

others. If the books reflect the diverse groups of people in the world

31


around them, children can learn to develop respect for self and

others. Literature should be both a mirror in which children can see

themselves reflected, and also a window through which children can

explore the world around them; books can illustrate the concept that

people from diverse groups can play and work together, solve

problems, and overcome obstacles. At its best, multicultural children's

literature helps children understand that despite our many differences,

all people have feelings and aspirations. Those feelings can include

love, sadness and fear and the desire for fairness and justice.

Selecting good multicultural books involves an anti-bias approach, an

active commitment to challenging prejudice, stereotyping, and all

forms of discrimination; good multicultural children's books challenge

stereotypes, provide a realistic glimpse into the lives of diverse groups

of people, help children learn to recognize unfairness, and provide

models for challenging inequity.

Unfortunately, not all children's literature conveys the messages that

we want young people to learn. Books often contain the same

stereotypes and biases of other media, and because children are

interested in a story's plot and characters, it is unlikely that they will

know or consider whether a book includes racist, sexist or other

stereotypical messages. If young children are repeatedly exposed to

biased representations through words and pictures, there is a danger

that such distortions will become a part of their thinking, especially if

reinforced by societal biases. It is, therefore, the responsibility of

adults to select literature that is entertaining, age appropriate, and that

provides children with accurate representations of all people. For

example, instead of choosing Cinderella, which perpetuates the

stereotype of the lead female character as passive, dependent and

naïve, adults could instead chose Robert Munsch's The Paper Bag

Princess in which the lead female character is portrayed as brave and

32


independent. Additionally, because there are such a relatively small

number of children's books about people of color, people who are gay

and lesbian or people with physical and mental disabilities, it is

extremely important that adults make every effort to ensure that high-

quality children's literature by and about these groups is made

available to children.

Selecting good multicultural children's books begins with the same

criteria that apply to selecting good children's books in general-the

literary elements of plot, characterization, setting, style, theme and

point of view must be interwoven to create a compelling story in an

age appropriate manner. When deciding whether or not to include a

particular title in a collection of children's books, it is important to

review the illustrations or pictures that accompany the text, in addition

to the content.

Checklist For Assessing Children's Literature

Here are some things to think about when choosing early childhood

children's literature. Some of these questions can be used to evaluate

a single book; however, the questions are most effective when used

to review a complete collection.

Story:

Are the stories interesting to children?

Are there various conflicts for children to explore?

How are the conflicts resolved?

Characters:

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Do characters represent people from a variety of cultural groups?

Do "good" characters reflect a variety of backgrounds?

Are females as well as males depicted in leadership roles?

Themes:

Does the story offer children a variety of things to think about, to

question, and to consider?

Are values being explored instead of preached?

Are there lessons to be learned?

Settings:

Do the stories reflect a variety of settings?

Are urban, suburban, and rural settings represented realistically?

Are cultural settings represented realistically?

Illustrations:

Are diverse populations represented?

Is there diversity represented within cultural groups?

Are characters realistically and genuinely represented?

34


Do the illustrations avoid reinforcing societal stereotypes?

Other Considerations:

Will the stories encourage discussions?

Are children exposed to multiple perspectives and values?

Do the stories promote understanding of our diverse society?

Are the stories age appropriate to ensure children can understand

what is presented?

While every children's book cannot possibly meet each and every

standard of excellence, in many instances, the value of a particular

book will outweigh those aspects that might be questionable or

problematic. Teacherr should examine children's books for such

things as historical accuracy, realistic life styles, believable

characters, authentic language and ensure the book is age

appropriate. The books chosen should also represent a variety of

settings, problem-solving approaches and themes, and should provide

opportunities for children to consider multiple perspectives and

values. Multicultural children's books should not speak to a limited

group of children; they should speak to all children.

In groups of four:

i. identify purpose of using literature in the language classroom .

35


Provide a graphic organiser.

ii. design one activity on teaching a literary text and another

activity on assessing the children’s comprehension of the

literary text. You may provide a task-sheet in assesing

the literary text.





36


TOPIC 4 The Teaching of Grammar

SYNOPSIS:

This topic focuses on the teaching and assessing of grammar

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

i. Discuss approaches to teach grammar (overt and covert).

ii. Explain purpose of teaching grammar.

iii. Identify techniques and activities for teaching grammar.

iv. Analyse ways of assessing grammar.

FRAMEWORK:

i. Approaches in teaching grammar (overt and covert)

ii. Purpose of teaching grammar

iii. Techniques and activities for teaching grammar

iv. Assessing grammar

CONTENT:

i. Approaches in teaching grammar (overt and covert)

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“The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines grammar

as the rules by which words change their forms and are combined into

sentences. There are two basic elements in this definition: the rules of

grammar; and the study and practice of the rules. The rules of

grammar are about how words change and how they are put together

into sentences. The knowledge of grammar also tells the learner what

to do if he wants to put the some phrase into the sentence. Grammar

should be called the way in which words change themselves and

group together to make sentences.” (Jeremy Harmer, 1991, p. 1)

Each teacher should think about these facts and try to answer these

questions before teaching grammar:

1) Children do not learn grammar rules when they acquire their first

language, so do they need to learn the rules of grammar when they

acquire the second language?

2) Pupils need or need not to be given details of grammar rules to

study English successfully.

3) Should pupils get enough chance to practice using a language or

should they learn grammar?

4) Should students be aware of grammatical information about the language?

A good teacher has several possibilities how to teach grammar. There

is a number of techniques for presenting and practicing grammar.

According to J.Harmer the grammatical information can be given to

students in two major ways. The first one could be extremely covert

and the second will be made extremely overt.

Covert grammar teaching means that grammatical facts are hidden

from the students- even though they are learning the language.

Students may be asked to do any activity where a new grammar is

presented or introduced, but their attention will be drawn to this

activity not to the grammar.

38


Overt grammar teaching means that the teacher actually provides the

students grammatical rules and explanations-the information is openly

presented. With overt teaching grammatical rules are explicitly given

to students, but with covert teaching students are simply asked to

work with new language to absorb grammatical information which will

help them to acquire the language as a whole.

It is expected to do a lot of structures in teaching and practicing, and

less really free communicative activity at the beginner level. The

teaching of grammar is likely to be fairly covert since the main aim is

to get students to use language as much as possible. On the other

hand students at intermediate levels should be involved in more

communicative activities and should have less grammar teaching.

The teaching grammar would probably be more overt. Then advanced

students can actively study grammar in more overt ways.

ii. Purpose of teaching grammar

The goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry out

their communication purposes. This goal has three implications:

Students need overt instruction that connects grammar points

with larger communication contexts.

Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar

point, only those that are relevant to the immediate

communication task.

Error correction is not always the instructor's first responsibility.

Overt Grammar Instruction

Adult students appreciate and benefit from direct instruction that

allows them to apply critical thinking skills to language learning.

Instructors can take advantage of this by providing explanations that

give students a descriptive understanding (declarative knowledge) of

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each point of grammar.

Teach the grammar point in the target language or the

students' first language or both. The goal is to facilitate

understanding.

Limit the time you devote to grammar explanations to 10

minutes, especially for lower level students whose ability to

sustain attention can be limited.

Present grammar points in written and oral ways to address the

needs of students with different learning styles.

An important part of grammar instruction is providing examples.

Teachers need to plan their examples carefully around two basic

principles:

Be sure the examples are accurate and appropriate. They must

present the language appropriately, be culturally appropriate

for the setting in which they are used, and be to the point of the

lesson.

Use the examples as teaching tools. Focus examples on a

particular theme or topic so that students have more contact

with specific information and vocabulary.

Relevance of Grammar Instruction

In the communicative competence model, the purpose of learning

grammar is to learn the language of which the grammar is a part.

Instructors therefore teach grammar forms and structures in relation

to meaning and use for the specific communication tasks that

students need to complete.

Compare the traditional model and the communicative competence

40


model for teaching the English past tense:

Traditional: teaching for the sake of grammar

Teach the regular -ed form with its two pronunciation variants

Teach the doubling rule for verbs that end in d (for example,

wed-wedded)

Hand out a list of irregular verbs that students must memorize

Do pattern practice drills for -ed

Do substitution drills for irregular verbs

Communicative competence: grammar for the sake of communication

Distribute two short narratives about recent experiences or

events, each one to half of the class

Teach the regular -ed form, using verbs that occur in the texts

as examples. Teach the pronunciation and doubling rules if

those forms occur in the texts.

Teach the irregular verbs that occur in the texts.

Students read the narratives, ask questions about points they

don't understand.

Students work in pairs in which one member has read Story A

and the other Story B. Students interview one another; using

the information from the interview, they then write up or orally

repeat the story they have not read.

Error Correction

At all proficiency levels, learners produce language that is not exactly

the language used by native speakers. Some of the differences are

grammatical, while others involve vocabulary selection and mistakes

41


in the selection of language appropriate for different contexts.

In responding to student communication, teachers need to be careful

not to focus on error correction to the detriment of communication and

confidence building. Teachers need to let students know when they

are making errors so that they can work on improving. Teachers also

need to build students' confidence in their ability to use the language

by focusing on the content of their communication rather than the

grammatical form.

Teachers can use error correction to support language acquisition,

and avoid using it in ways that undermine students' desire to

communicate in the language, by taking cues from context.

When students are doing structured output activities that focus

on development of new language skills, use error correction to

guide them.

Example:

Student (in class): I buy a new car yesterday.

Teacher: You bought a new car yesterday. Remember, the

past tense of buy is bought.

When students are engaged in communicative activities,

correct errors only if they interfere with comprehensibility.

Respond using correct forms, but without stressing them.

Example:

Student (greeting teacher) : I buy a new car yesterday!

Teacher: You bought a new car? That's exciting! What kind?

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iii. Techniques and activities for teaching grammar

Language teachers and language learners are often frustrated by the

disconnect between knowing the rules of grammar and being able to

apply those rules automatically in listening, speaking, reading, and

writing. This disconnect reflects a separation between declarative

knowledge and procedural knowledge.

Declarative knowledge is knowledge about something.

Declarative knowledge enables a student to describe a rule of

grammar and apply it in pattern practice drills.

Procedural knowledge is knowledge of how to do something.

Procedural knowledge enables a student to apply a rule of

grammar in communication.

Procedural knowledge does not translate automatically into

declarative knowledge; many native speakers can use their language

clearly and correctly without being able to state the rules of its

grammar. Likewise, declarative knowledge does not translate

automatically into procedural knowledge; students may be able to

state a grammar rule, but consistently fail to apply the rule when

speaking or writing.

To address the declarative knowledge/procedural knowledge

dichotomy, teachers and students can apply several strategies.

1. Relate knowledge needs to learning goals.

Identify the relationship of declarative knowledge and procedural

knowledge to student goals for learning the language. Students who

plan to use the language exclusively for reading journal articles need

to focus more on the declarative knowledge of grammar and

43


discourse structures that will help them understand those texts.

Students who plan to live in-country need to focus more on the

procedural knowledge that will help them manage day to day oral and

written interactions.

2. Apply higher order thinking skills.

Recognize that development of declarative knowledge can accelerate

development of procedural knowledge. Teaching students how the

language works and giving them opportunities to compare it with other

languages they know allows them to draw on critical thinking and

analytical skills. These processes can support the development of the

innate understanding that characterizes procedural knowledge.

3. Provide plentiful, appropriate language input.

Understand that students develop both procedural and declarative

knowledge on the basis of the input they receive. This input includes

both finely tuned input that requires students to pay attention to the

relationships among form, meaning, and use for a specific grammar

rule, and roughly tuned input that allows students to encounter the

grammar rule in a variety of contexts.

4. Use predicting skills.

Discourse analyst Douglas Biber has demonstrated that different

communication types can be characterized by the clusters of linguistic

features that are common to those types. Verb tense and aspect,

sentence length and structure, and larger discourse patterns all may

contribute to the distinctive profile of a given communication type. For

example, a history textbook and a newspaper article in English both

use past tense verbs almost exclusively. However, the newspaper

44


article will use short sentences and a discourse pattern that alternates

between subjects or perspectives. The history textbook will use

complex sentences and will follow a timeline in its discourse structure.

Awareness of these features allows students to anticipate the forms

and structures they will encounter in a given communication task.

5. Limit expectations for drills.

Mechanical drills in which students substitute pronouns for

nouns or alternate the person, number, or tense of verbs can

help students memorize irregular forms and challenging

structures. However, students do not develop the ability to use

grammar correctly in oral and written interactions by doing

mechanical drills, because these drills separate form from

meaning and use. The content of the prompt and the response

is set in advance; the student only has to supply the correct

grammatical form, and can do that without really needing to

understand or communicate anything. The main lesson that

students learn from doing these drills is: Grammar is boring.

Communicative drills encourage students to connect form,

meaning, and use because multiple correct responses are

possible. In communicative drills, students respond to a prompt

using the grammar point under consideration, but providing

their own content. For example, to practice questions and

answers in the past tense in English, teacher and students can

ask and answer questions about activities the previous

evening. The drill is communicative because none of the

content is set in advance:

Teacher : Did you go to the library last night?

45


Student 1 : No, I didn’t. I went to the movies.

(to Student 2) : Did you read chapter 3?

Student 2 : Yes, I read chapter 3, but I didn’t

understand it.

(to Student 3): Did you understand chapter 3?

Student 3 : I didn’t read chapter 3. I went to the movies with

Student 1.

Developing Grammar Activities

Many courses and textbooks, especially those designed for lower

proficiency levels, use a specified sequence of grammatical topics as

their organizing principle. When this is the case, classroom activities

need to reflect the grammar point that is being introduced or

reviewed. By contrast, when a course curriculum follows a topic

sequence, grammar points can be addressed as they come up.

In both cases, instructors can use the Larsen-Freeman pie chart as a

guide for developing activities.

For curricula that introduce grammatical forms in a specified

sequence, instructors need to develop activities that relate form to

meaning and use.

Describe the grammar point, including form, meaning, and use,

and give examples (structured input)

Ask students to practice the grammar point in communicative

46


drills (structured output)

Have students do a communicative task that provides

opportunities to use the grammar point (communicative output)

For curricula that follow a sequence of topics, instructors need to

develop activities that relate the topical discourse (use) to meaning

and form.

Provide oral or written input (audiotape, reading selection) that

addresses the topic (structured input)

Review the point of grammar, using examples from the

material (structured input)

Ask students to practice the grammar point in communicative

drills that focus on the topic (structured output)

Have students do a communicative task on the topic

(communicative output)

When instructors have the opportunity to develop part or all of the

course curriculum, they can develop a series of contexts based on the

real world tasks that students will need to perform using the language,

and then teach grammar and vocabulary in relation to those contexts.

For example, students who plan to travel will need to understand

public address announcements in airports and train stations.

Instructors can use audiotaped simulations to provide input; teach the

grammatical forms that typically occur in such announcements; and

then have students practice by asking and answering questions about

what was announced.

47


In groups of four:

i. identify purpose of using literature in the language classroom .

Provide a graphic organiser.

ii. design one activity on teaching a literary text and another

activity on assessing the children’s comprehension of the

literary text. You may provide a task-sheet in assesing

the literary text.

iv. Assessing grammar

Authentic Assessment

Just as mechanical drills do not teach students the language,

mechanical test questions do not assess their ability to use it in

authentic ways. In order to provide authentic assessment of students’

grammar proficiency, an evaluation must reflect real-life uses of

grammar in context. This means that the activity must have a purpose

other than assessment and require students to demonstrate their level

of grammar proficiency by completing some task.

To develop authentic assessment activities, begin with the types of

tasks that students will actually need to do using the language.

Assessment can then take the form of communicative drills and

communicative activities like those used in the teaching process.

For example, the activity based on audiotapes of public address

announcements can be converted into an assessment by having

students respond orally or in writing to questions about a similar tape.

In this type of assessment, the instructor uses a checklist or rubric to

evaluate the student’s understanding and/or use of grammar in

context.

48


Mechanical Tests

Mechanical tests do serve one purpose: They motivate students to

memorize. They can therefore serve as prompts to encourage

memorization of irregular forms and vocabulary items. Because they

test only memory capacity, not language ability, they are best used as

quizzes and given relatively little weight in evaluating student

performance and progress.

Planning a Lesson

A key aspect of effective teaching is having a plan for what will

happen in the classroom each day. Creating such a plan involves

setting realistic goals, deciding how to incorporate course textbooks

and other required materials, and developing activities that will

promote learning. This section shows instructors how to carry out

each of these steps.

Set Lesson Goals

Lesson goals are most usefully stated in terms of what students will

have done or accomplished at the end of the lesson. Stating goals in

this way allows both teacher and learners to know when the goals

have been reached.

To set lesson goals:

Identify a topic for the lesson. The topic is not a goal, but it will

help you develop your goals. The topic may be determined largely by

your curriculum and textbook, and may be part of a larger thematic

unit such as Travel or Leisure Activities. If you have some flexibility in

choice of topic, consider your students’ interests and the availability of

authentic materials at the appropriate level.

49


Identify specific linguistic content, such as vocabulary and

points of grammar or language use, to be introduced or reviewed.

These are usually prescribed by the course textbook or course

curriculum. If they are not, select points that are connected in some

significant way with the topic of the lesson.

Identify specific communication tasks to be completed by

students. To be authentic, the tasks should allow, but not require,

students to use the vocabulary, grammar, and strategies presented in

the lesson. The focus of the tasks should be topical, not grammatical.

This means that it may be possible for some students to complete the

task without using either the grammar point or the strategy presented

in the first part of the lesson.

Identify specific learning strategies to be introduced or

reviewed in connection with the lesson.

Create goal statements for the linguistic content,

communication tasks, and learning strategies that state what you will

do and what students will do during the lesson.

Structure the Lesson

A language lesson should include a variety of activities that combine

different types of language input and output. Learners at all

proficiency levels benefit from such variety; research has shown that it

is more motivating and is more likely to result in effective language

learning.

An effective lesson has five parts. The five parts of a lesson may all

take place in one class session or may extend over multiple sessions,

depending on the nature of the topic and the activities.

50


The lesson plan should outline who will do what in each part of the

lesson. The time allotted for preparation, presentation, and evaluation

activities should be no more than 8-10 minutes each. Communication

practice activities may run a little longer.

1. Preparation

As the class begins, give students a broad outline of the day’s goals

and activities so they know what to expect. Help them focus by

eliciting their existing knowledge of the day’s topics.

Use discussion or homework review to elicit knowledge related

to the grammar and language use points to be covered

Use comparison with the native language to elicit strategies

that students may already be using

Use discussion of what students do and/or like to do to elicit

their knowledge of the topic they will address in communication

activities

2. Presentation/Modeling

Move from preparation into presentation of the linguistic and topical

content of the lesson and relevant learning strategies. Present the

strategy first if it will help students absorb the lesson content.

Presentation provides the language input that gives students the

foundation for their knowledge of the language. Input comes from the

instructor and from course textbooks. Language textbooks designed

for students in U.S. universities usually provide input only in the form

of examples; explanations and instructions are written in English. To

increase the amount of input that students receive in the target

language, instructors should use it as much as possible for all

51


classroom communication purposes.

An important part of the presentation is structured output, in which

students practice the form that the instructor has presented. In

structured output, accuracy of performance is important. Structured

output is designed to make learners comfortable producing specific

language items recently introduced.

Structured output is a type of communication that is found only in

language classrooms. Because production is limited to preselected

items, structured output is not truly communicative.

3. Practice

In this part of the lesson, the focus shifts from the instructor as

presenter to the students as completers of a designated task.

Students work in pairs or small groups on a topic-based task with a

specific outcome. Completion of the task may require the bridging of

an information. The instructor observes the groups an acts as a

resource when students have questions that they cannot resolve

themselves.

In their work together, students move from structured output to

communicative output, in which the main purpose is to complete the

communication task. Language becomes a tool, rather than an end in

itself. Learners have to use any or all of the language that they know

along with varied communication strategies. The criterion of success

is whether the learner gets the message across. Accuracy is not a

consideration unless the lack of it interferes with the message.

Activities for the practice segment of the lesson may come from a

52


textbook or be designed by the instructor.

4. Evaluation

When all students have completed the communication practice task,

reconvene the class as a group to recap the lesson. Ask students to

give examples of how they used the linguistic content and learning or

communication strategies to carry out the communication task.

Evaluation is useful for four reasons:

It reinforces the material that was presented earlier in the

lesson

It provides an opportunity for students to raise questions of

usage and style

It enables the instructor to monitor individual student

comprehension and learning

It provides closure to the lesson

5. Expansion

Expansion activities allow students to apply the knowledge they have

gained in the classroom to situations outside it. Expansion activities

include out-of-class observation assignments, in which the instructor

asks students to find examples of something or to use a strategy and

then report back.

Identify Materials and Activities

The materials for a specific lesson will fall into two categories: those

that are required, such as course textbooks and lab materials, and

authentic materials that the teacher incorporates into classroom

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activities.

For required materials, determine what information must be presented

in class and decide which exercise(s) to use in class and which for

out-of-class work. For teacher-provided materials, use materials that

are genuinely related to realistic communication activities. Don’t be

tempted to try to create a communication task around something just

because it’s a really cool video or a beautiful brochure.

Truly authentic communication tasks have several features:

They involve solving a true problem or discussing a topic of

interest

They require using language to accomplish a goal, not using

language merely to use language

They allow students to use all of the language skills they have,

rather than specific forms or vocabulary, and to self-correct

when they realize they need to

The criterion of success is clear: completion of a defined task

In groups of four:

i. discuss approaches to teach grammar (overt and

covert).

ii. explain purpose of teaching grammar.

iii. identify techniques and activities for teaching

grammar.

iv. analyse ways of assessing grammar.

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For more information on how to assess grammar, download the this

article: PPT Assessing Grammar by Christine, Alice, Stacey, Jenny

and Ann, using the stated url address:

http://www.google.com.my/search?

q=assessing+grammar&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-

US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8&rlz=1I7MOOI_enMY438





TOPIC 5 Integration of Language Skills and Language Content

SYNOPSIS:

This topic focuses on the teaching and assessing of the integration of

language skills and language content.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

i. Discuss purpose of integration.

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http://www.google.com.my/search?q=assessing+grammar&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8&rlz=1I7MOOI_enMY438




ii. Explain ways of integration.

FRAMEWORK:

i. Purpose of integration

ii. Ways of integration

CONTENT:

i. Purpose of integration

Reasons to integrate other skils in teaching English.

To reinforce learning To develop other language skills apart the focused skill To stimulate authentic situations To create a fun and meaningful classroom environment

There are many other reasons why English language teachers need

to integrate other skills in teaching English.

To have a better idea of the reasons, download the article on the

topic: Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL Classroom using the stated

url address: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0105oxford.html

ii. Ways of integration

There are many ways how to integrate other skills in teaching English.

Download the article on the topic: Integrating Skills – Approaches

to Language Teaching using the url address below:

http://exchanges.state.gov/media/oelp/pdfs/shaping-the-way-we-

teach/module3integratingskills.pdf

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http://exchanges.state.gov/media/oelp/pdfs/shaping-the-way-we-teach/module3integratingskills.pdf

http://exchanges.state.gov/media/oelp/pdfs/shaping-the-way-we-teach/module3integratingskills.pdf

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0105oxford.html


In groups of four:

i. Discuss purpose of integration.

ii. Explain ways of integration.

Take down notes during the discussion using graphic organisers and

then email it to your lecturer. You are to keep one copy of the notes

in your learning portfolio.



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08 Isi Pelajaran

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