TKT Module 1

Unit 11 The role of error

Who makes no mistakes makes nothing.

Making a different mistake every day is not only acceptable, it is the definition of progress.  ~Robert Brault

Types of mistakes:

Slips – are the result of ... Errors – are the result of ...

tiredness lack of knowledge insufficient focus on form

emotions circumstances

Slips are easily corrected by the students themselves...

...unlike the errors, as learners do not understand what is wrong.

2 main reasons why students make errors:

Inerference – influence from L1 on L2. Students may use sound patterns, lexis or grammatical structures from their mother tongue.

Developmental errors – being in the learning process, students unconsciously work out and organize L2. Overgeneralization – I worked – I goed.

Interlanguage

Once students start learning language, they see the second language through their life experince and learning skills. They analise it and reorganize, so it is not fixed.

Interlanguage and errors are unavoidable and neccesary to learning process.

Correction

Learners must be ready for correction;

Learning process is individual, teachers should feel the right time for active correction;

Teacher should think of the stage (pre-, task, post - ) when choosing the way of correction.

Correction is considered to be helpful if it is done on the thorough analysis.

There are 3 main ways of organizing correction.

Firstly:

Support you learners’ process with sufficient exposure to lots of interesting language at the right level.

A teacher speaks English, books are in English, listening, video etc.

Secondly:

Give you students enough space to practice their L2. Do not concentrate only on Teacher – Student interaction.

Pair work, group work, chain work – sometimes a teacher needs to step back.

Thirdly:

Draw your stidents attention to the language forms.

Drills, controlled practice, pier correction, etc.

If student lacks language exposure this may result in “fossilised errors”.

Tips. Before starting correction think of the aim – fluency of

accuracy. Don’t be a strict police officer – errors may occur from time to

time. If it is a slip, make your students correct it on their own, just

give them a signal. When it’s work on fluency, ignore all the mistakes. Students’

confidence is the mission. Mistakes may have different level of importance, correct the

most crucial which bother communication. Different learners may need to be corrected in different ways. Errors are useful for both learners and teachers.

Unit 12 Differences between L1 and L2 learning.

A great deal of what is called 'Communicative Language Teaching' is based on what is essentially a 'nativist' view of second language (L2) acquisition. A 'nativist' view assumes – consciously or unconsciously – that somehow L2 learning can and should be like learning our native language (L1).

Main differences:

L1 Starts since the very childhood; Learnt by expposure and picking up,

without analysing; With strong motivation -  L1

acquisition is an essential, biologically–driven process, essencial life skill;

Surrounds an individual every day – family, kindergarden, etc;

With long silence period (a baby listens to for many months before starts speaking;

Enough space to play and experiment with new language;

A lot of communicative practice.

L2 At primary/ secondary school or

even adulthood; Learnt by exposure but with taught

specific language; With different motivation (strong/

little/ no); Doesn’t surround and limited by

classes; Use in unnatural environtment –

controlled practice, in pairs; Not so much time to experiment –

needed to be produced as soon as taught;

Teacher simplifies the language.

L1 learning is nearly always successful, while the L2 learning varies a lot in how successful it is.

Tips: Make circumstances close to L1 learning – exposure to a rich

language variety + opportunities to focus on form; Motivation; Personalize teaching to individual student’s needs and

preferences – vary teaching style, approaches, materials Mind silence period; Show students other ways of language practice out of class –

radio, skype, films, books; Simplify you language, avoid overcorrection, scaffold their

fluency, motivation, confidence, leave space to experiment; Give as much praise and encouragement in class as possible.

Unit 13 Learner characteristics

Learning styles

Wholistic approach is based on natural preferences how to take in information of each individual learner.

The idea is to use in teaching dominating physical senses and the way of interacting with others.

Commonly mentioned styles:

Visual – learning through seeing; Auditory – through hearing; Kinaesthetic – through using the

body; Group –through working with others; Individual – through working alone

Learning strategies:

L.strategies are convenient ways to learn, process new information chosen by our learners.

The right learning strategy helps

develop learners’ autonomy.

Examples of learning strategies: Repeating new word until you learn them; Experimenting with new language in conversations; Guessing the meaning of unknown words; Asking for informal assessment; Recording yourself speaking; Writing all new words on separate card to remember

them; Paraphrasing.

It is believed that learners choose their learning strategies according to their learning style and personality type.

This leads to a conclusion that there are no best learning strategies.

Strategies make learning successful. Teachers should show the learners the variety of strategies.

Age influences the learners’ characteristics and therefore students learn in different ways.

Influence of maturity on characteristics:

Need for moving around the class; Attention span; Abstract thnking; Discipline problems; Taking risks at experimenting; Confidence; Focus on form; Life experience.

Past language learning experience

Tips: Adopt teaching to individual needs and characterisics; Learning strategies and past experience are more

relevant to teaching teenagers or adults; Observe, ask the learners through questionnaires; Learners characteristics are not fixed; Learning to learn strategy – show how, but do not

spoonfeed;