The National Curriculum Standards for ELT & the Dialectical Approach in Materials Development

Chen LinBeijing Foreign Studies University

The Point of Departure Materials Development should be based

on the following fundamental philosophy of foreign language learning:

I. Practice v Theory Practice (language skills) is primary

and Theory (language knowledge, such as grammar, pronunciation rules) is secondary. Theory is based on experience from practice and serves practice..

2. Content v Form

Content is primary and Form serves the needs of Content. Hence, the ideas, or concepts, one has to express decides what kind of language form is needed for the purpose.

3. Language Input v Language Output

Language output (speaking and writing) is based on language input (reading and listening). The amount of language input, or exposure, decides the level of one’s communication ability.

4. Learning v Acquisition

For China today, the main form of language learning is still classroom teadhing. But it should be complemented with out-of-class acquisition.

5. Doing v Learning

My slogan is:

Learning by Doing

Doing in Learning

Learning for Doing

THE ULTIMATE AIM OF LEARNING A LANGUAGE IS TO DO THINGS WITH IT.

These fundamental principles serve as the point of departure for materials development. All considerations concerning course book writing and preparation for multi-media learning materials should be in conformity with these principles.

The Criteria for Learning Materials

• The evaluation of the quality and feasibility of any learning and teaching material should be based on the following criteria: (Making reference to and expanding on the suggestions of Mary Newton Brunder of the US)

1. Objectives What kind of students are the materials for? And what are the objectives of their study?

2. Degree of conformity to the requirements and speculations in the National Curriculum Standards (NCS) for ELT as promulgated by China’s MoE in ELL principles, requirements for the different levels (or grades) of students, and the 5 domains of Integrated Language Capability.

3. Content

1) Whether the content is correct in its ideological concepts

2) Whether the content is in conformity with the requirements as set in the NCS in Quality-Oriented Education and Multiple Intelligence and Skills.

3) Whether the content helps with the students’ acquisition of cross-cultural awareness.

4) Whether the content helps to arouse and maintain the learners’ interest in English and English-learning.

4. Language Level

The language level of the content should be suitable for the learners whom the particular material is meant for. This concerns the choice of themes, the range of vocabulary, functions and grammar, etc.

5. The Gradation The different books in the series of material should be arranged in a reasonable gradation, going from easy to difficult, from simple to complicated, from the present to the past in subject matters, the density of learning points, etc.

6. Time allocation Whether the teaching material could be successfully dealt with within the time as allocated for different grades of learners in the NCS.

7. The Activities (Exercises) Whether the activities or exercises in the material are effectively prepared as to be able to help consolidate the language taught. Whether they are of multi- or integrated-purposes. Whether they can help the learners to fulfill the tasks as required in the material.

8. Annotations and Explanations Whether the annotations and explanations are concise and to the point. The annotations and explanations should help the students think further and teach them how to do independent study instead of making them rely on these notes only. And the language of these notes should be easy for the learners to understand instead of giving them more difficulties.

9. Adaptability Whether the material is so arranged as to give users (teachers) possibility and leeway to make changes of the content and the procedure of classroom teaching to suit their individual needs.

10. The Design The design of the book--- its cover, the format and layout, size, the illustrations, etc., should be attractive to both teachers and students, and also practical in use, as in prices and availability, etc.

The Approach in Materials Development

(A Notice: I would like to limit the topic in Textbook Writing.)

In the history of textbook writing in this country, there have been many different approaches, based on the various teaching methodologies----the Grammar-translation Method, the Direct method, the Aural-Oral Method, the Pattern-drill Method, the TPR Method, the Immersion Method, the Cognitive Approach, the Functional-Notional Approach, the Communicative Approach, the latest Task-Based Approach, etc.

My own approach in textbook writing is based on my own foreign language learning approach, which is what I call a Dialectic Approach (different from the Eclectic Approach). That is, I treat the different antitheses in language learning, such as Practice v Theory, Language Knowledge v Language Skills, Input v Output, Learning v Acquisition, etc,. all in a balanced, dialectical way.

Hence, in textbook writing, I believe that we should consider the relationship of theme (and words), function, structure (of grammar and sound), writing and speaking, reading and listening and task-fulfillment in a dialectical manner.

Therefore, I call my own approach in textbook writing

The Theme-Function-Structure-Task Approach

which is fully reflected in the writing of the New Standard English series for which I have the honor of working together with my friend Simon Greenall of the UK.

1. When writing a textbook series, we must first of all decide what subject matters we want to include in the different books for the learners of different grades, in conformity with the requirements of the NCS of MoE. For this we have a whole list of 24 topics to choose from, many of which are recurrent, with expansions at different levels.

2. Then, we consider what different Functions would be involved in the chosen Theme. For instance, for the topic of Daily Conversation, the following Functions would most possibly be chosen:

Formal and informal greetings Expressions for gratitude Expressions for concerns Small talk,etc.

3. Then we decide for the chosen themes and functions what structures (mainly grammatical structures) would be needed. The grammar items should be recurrent, appearing many times at different stages, each time at a higher level.

4. Then, the most crucial step, the grand finale, the fulfillment of tasks. We start with Language Tasks and proceed to Real World (or Real Life) Tasks.

Such is my approach in textbook preparation, which is in conformity with my basic belief in the principles for language learning, and that is, Learning is for Doing, or Doing Things with Words, as the book by J.L. Austin How to Do Things with Words (edited by his students after his death) suggests.

The New Standard English series, co-edited by my friend Simon Greenall and me and jointly published by FLTRP and Macmillan Publishers Limited, is a trial in the implementation of the Theme-Function-Structure-Task Approach in textbook writing. I hope this attempt will offer a topic for discussion, or rather, food for thought, in the experiment of textbook writing under the guidance of China’s National Curriculum Standards for ELT.

The One Loong (Dragon) System

As the learning of the English language at schools is divided into 9 grades in China’s NCS (Grades 1 & 2 for primary school, Grades 3-5 for junior high and Grades 6-9 for senior high), the learning in the 3 stages should be so arranged as to make a continuous, integrated whole.

In China, we pet-name this kind of system the One Dragon System, making use of the name of the legendary animal dragon (with its head, body and tail to make a complete whole) in Chinese culture which is considered to be a symbol of divinity, power and longevity.

However, the word dragon in both British and American English and many other languages may be used as an insulting word for an unfriendly, fierce and frightening woman (as 母老虎 in Chinese), I now venture to recommend the transliteration word loong as a borrowed word in the English language with the following definition: a transliteration of the Chinese word 龙 , which is an imaginary serpent-like animal in Chinese legends considered to be a symbol of divinity, power and longevity.

The New Standard English series mentioned above is an example of the One Loong System in textbook preparation. In the series, we stress a smooth, well-graded progression, carefully planned dovetailing and a balanced multi-syllabus format, in order to ensure the implementation of a Dialectical Approach in textbook writing.

Thank you for your tolerance.

All comments are welcome.