In learning languages, a distinction is usually made between mother ...

In learning languages, a distinction is usually made between mother ... In learning languages, a distinction is usually made between mother tongues, second languages, and foreign languages. A mother tongue is the first language or languages one learns (or acquires) as a child. When immigrants come to a new country and learn the language of that country, they are learning a second language. On the other hand, when English-speaking students in the United States learn French or Spanish in school, or when Brazilians study English in Brazil, they are learning a foreign language. The acronyms ESL and EFL stand for the learning of English as a Second and as a Foreign Language. Many theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been proposed. These theories, normally influenced by developments in the fields of linguistics and psychology, have inspired many approaches to the teaching of second and foreign languages. The study of these theories and how they influence language teaching methodology today is called applied linguistics. The grammar-translation method (18th, 19th and early 20th century), for example, is an early method based on the assumptions that language is primarily graphic, that the main purpose of second language study is to build knowledge of the structure of the language either as a tool for literary research and translation or for the development of the learner's logical powers, and that the process of second language learning must be deductive, requires effort, and must be carried out with constant reference to the learner's native language. The audiolingual approach, which was very popular from the 1940s through the 1960s, is based in structural linguistics (structuralism) and behavioristic psychology (Skinner's behaviorism), and places heavy emphasis on spoken rather than written language, and on the grammar of particular languages, stressing habit formation as a mode of learning. Rote memorization, role playing and structure drilling are the predominant activities. Audiolingual approaches do not depend so much on the instructor's creative ability and do not require excellent proficiency in the language, being always railed to sets of lessons and books. Therefore, they are easy to be implemented, cheap to be maintained and are still in use by many packaged language courses (especially in Brazil). By the middle of the century Cognitive pschologists like Vygotsky and Piaget bring up theories that explain the ineffectiveness of the traditional prescriptive and mechanistic approaches to language teaching and later serve as a basis for the new natural-communicative approaches. Beginning in the 1950s, Noam Chomsky and his followers challenged previous assumptions about language structure and language learning, taking the position that language is creative (not memorized), and rule governed (not based on habit), and that universal phenomena of the human mind underlie all language. This "Chomskian revolution" initially gave rise to eclecticism in teaching, but it has more recently led to two main branches of teaching approaches: the humanistic approaches based on the charismatic teaching of one person, and content-based communicative approaches, which try to incorporate what has been learned in recent years about the need for active learner participation, about appropriate language input, and about communication as a human activity. Most recently, there has been also a significant shift toward greater attention to reading and writing as a complement of listening and speaking, based on a new awareness of significant differences between spoken and written languages, and on the notion that dealing with language involves an interaction between the text on the one hand, and the culturally-based world knowledge and experientially-based learning of the receiver on the other. There have been developments such as a great emphasis on individualized instruction, more humanistic approaches to language learning, a greater focus on the learner, and greater emphasis on development of communicative, as opposed to merely linguistic, competence. In addition to Chomsky's generativism, the advances in cognitive science and educational psychology made by Jean Piaget and Lev Semenovich Vygotsky in the first half of the century strongly influenced language teaching theory in the 1960s and 70s. New trends favoring more humanistic views and putting a greater focus on the learner and on social interaction, gave way to the Natural (USA) and Communicative (England) approaches. Psychologist Charles Curran's Community Language Learning and Krashen's and Terrell's Natural Approach (in the 1980s) are very representative of this latest trend in language teaching. Language Teaching Methodology Theodore S. Rodgers, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii Background Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. Central to this phenomenon was the emergence of the concept of "methods" of language teaching. The method concept in language teaching—the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning—is a powerful one, and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of teachers and applied linguists throughout the 20th century. Howatt's (1984) overview documents the history of changes of practice in language teaching throughout history, bringing the chronology up through the Direct Method in the 20th century. One of the most lasting legacies of the Direct Method has been the notion of "method" itself. Language Teaching Methodology Defined Methodology in language teaching has been characterized in a variety of ways. A more or less classical formulation suggests that methodology is that which links theory and practice. Theory statements would include theories of what language is and how language is learned or, more specifically, theories of second language acquisition (SLA). Such theories are linked to various design features of language instruction. These design features might include stated objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, and so forth. Design features in turn are linked to actual teaching and learning practices as observed in the environments where language teaching and learning take place. This whole complex of elements defines language teaching methodology. Figure 1. Language Teaching Methodology Schools of Language Teaching Methodology Within methodology a distinction is often made between methods and approaches, in which methods are held to be fixed teaching systems with prescribed techniques and practices, whereas approaches represent language teaching philosophies that can be interpreted and applied in a variety of different ways in the classroom. This distinction is probably most usefully seen as defining a continuum of entities ranging from highly prescribed methods to loosely described approaches. The period from the 1950s to the 1980s has often been referred to as "The Age of Methods," during which a number of quite detailed prescriptions for language teaching were proposed. Situational Language Teaching evolved in the United Kingdom while a parallel method, Audio-Lingualism, emerged in the United States. In the middle-methods period, a variety of methods were proclaimed as successors to the then prevailing Situational Language Teaching and Audio-Lingual methods. These alternatives were promoted under such titles as Silent Way, Suggestopedia, Community Language Learning, and Total Physical Response. In the 1980s, these methods in turn came to be overshadowed by more interactive views of language teaching, which collectively came to be known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Communicative Language Teaching advocates subscribed to a broad set of principles such as these: , Learners learn a language through using it to communicate. , Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities. , Fluency is an important dimension of communication. , Communication involves the integration of different language skills. , Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error. However, CLT advocates avoided prescribing the set of practices through which these principles could best be realized, thus putting CLT clearly on the approach rather than the method end of the spectrum. Communicative Language Teaching has spawned a number of off-shoots that share the same basic set of principles, but which spell out philosophical details or envision instructional practices in somewhat diverse ways. These CLT spin-off approaches include The Natural Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, Content-Based Teaching, and Task-Based Teaching. It is difficult to describe these various methods briefly and yet fairly, and such a task is well beyond the scope of this paper. However, several up-to-date texts are available that do detail differences and similarities among the many different approaches and methods that have been proposed. (See, e.g., Larsen-Freeman, 2000, and Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Perhaps it is possible to get a sense of the range of method proposals by looking at a synoptic view of the roles defined for teachers and learners within various methods. Such a synoptic (perhaps scanty) view can be seen in the following chart. TEACHING METHODS AND TEACHER & LEARNER ROLES Method Teacher Roles Learner Roles Context Setter Imitator Situational Language Teaching Error Corrector Memorizer Language Pattern Practicer Audio-lingualism Modeler Accuracy Drill Leader Enthusiast Communicative Language Needs Analyst Improvisor Teaching Task Designer Negotiator Commander Order Taker Total Physical Response Action Monitor Performer Counselor Collaborator Community Language Learning Paraphraser Whole Person Actor Guesser The Natural Approach Props User Immerser Auto-hypnotist Relaxer Suggestopedia Authority Figure True-Believer Figure 2. Methods and Teacher and Learner Roles As suggested in the chart, some schools of methodology see the teacher as ideal language model and commander of classroom activity (e.g., Audio-Lingual Method, Natural Approach, Suggestopedia, Total Physical Response) whereas others see the teacher as background facilitator and classroom colleague to the learners (e.g., Communicative Language Teaching, Cooperative Language Learning). There are other global issues to which spokespersons for the various methods and approaches respond in alternative ways. For example, should second language learning by adults be modeled on first language learning by children? One set of schools (e.g., Total Physical Response, Natural Approach) notes that first language acquisition is the only universally successful model of language learning we have, and thus that second language pedagogy must necessarily model itself on first language acquisition. An opposed view (e.g., Silent Way, Suggestopedia) observes that adults have different brains, interests, timing constraints, and learning environments than do children, and that adult classroom learning therefore has to be fashioned in a way quite dissimilar to the way in which nature fashions how first languages are learned by children. Another key distinction turns on the role of perception versus production in early stages of language learning. One school of thought proposes that learners should begin to communicate, to use a new language actively, on first contact (e.g., Audio-Lingual Method, Silent Way, Community Language Learning), while the other school of thought states that an initial and prolonged period of reception (listening, reading) should precede any attempts at production (e.g., Natural Approach). What's Now, What's Next? The future is always uncertain, and this is no less true in anticipating methodological directions in second language teaching than in any other field. Some current predictions assume the carrying on and refinement of current trends; others appear a bit more science-fiction-like in their vision. Outlined below are 10 scenarios that are likely to shape the teaching of second languages in the next decades of the new millenium. These methodological candidates are given identifying labels in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek style, perhaps a bit reminiscent of yesteryear's method labels. 6. Teacher/Learner Collaborates Matchmaking techniques will be developed which will link learners and teachers with similar styles and approaches to language learning. Looking at the Teacher and Learner roles sketched in Figure 2, one can anticipate development of a system in which the preferential ways in which teachers teach and learners learn can be matched in instructional settings, perhaps via on-line computer networks or other technological resources. 7. Method Synergistics Crossbreeding elements from various methods into a common program of instruction seems an appropriate way to find those practices which best support effective learning. Methods and approaches have usually been proposed as idiosyncratic and unique, yet it appears reasonable to combine practices from different approaches where the philosophical foundations are similar. One might call such an approach "Disciplined Eclecticism." 8. Curriculum Developmentalism Language teaching has not profited much from more general views of educational design. The curriculum perspective comes from general education and views successful instruction as an interweaving of Knowledge, Instructional, Learner, and Administrative considerations. From this perspective, methodology is viewed as only one of several instructional considerations that are necessarily thought out and realized in conjunction with all other curricular considerations. 9. Content-Basics Content-based instruction assumes that language learning is a by-product of focus on meaning--on acquiring some specific topical content--and that content topics to support language learning should be chosen to best match learner needs and interests and to promote optimal development of second language competence. A critical question for language educators is "what content" and "how much content" best supports language learning. The natural content for language educators is literature and language itself, and we are beginning to see a resurgence of interest in literature and in the topic of "language: the basic human technology" as sources of content in language teaching. 10. Multintelligencia The notion here is adapted from the Multiple Intelligences view of human talents proposed by Howard Gardner (1983). This model is one of a variety of learning style models that have been proposed in general education with follow-up inquiry by language educators. The chart below shows Gardner's proposed eight native intelligences and indicates classroom language-rich task types that play to each of these particular intelligences. INTELLIGENCE TYPES AND APPROPRIATE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Intellegence Educational Activities Type lectures, worksheets, word games, journals, Linguistic debates Logical puzzles, estimations, problem solving charts, diagrams, graphic organizers, drawing, Spatial films Bodily hands-on, mime, craft, demonstrations Musical singing, poetry, Jazz Chants, mood music Interpersonal group work, peer tutoring, class projects Intrapersonal reflection, interest centers, personal values tasks field trips, show and tell, plant and animal Naturalist projects Figure 3. (Adapted from Christison, 1998) 11. The challenge here is to identify these intelligences in individual learners and then to determine appropriate and realistic instructional tasks in response. 12. Total Functional Response Communicative Language Teaching was founded (and floundered) on earlier notional/functional proposals for the description of languages. Now new leads in discourse and genre analysis, schema theory, pragmatics, and systemic/functional grammar are rekindling an interest in functionally based approaches to language teaching. One pedagogical proposal has led to a widespread reconsideration of the first and second language program in Australian schools where instruction turns on five basic text genres identified as Report, Procedure, Explanation, Exposition, and Recount. Refinement of functional models will lead to increased attention to genre and text types in both first and second language instruction. 13. Strategopedia "Learning to Learn" is the key theme in an instructional focus on language learning strategies. Such strategies include, at the most basic level, memory tricks, and at higher levels, cognitive and metacognitive strategies for learning, thinking, planning, and self-monitoring. Research findings suggest that strategies can indeed be taught to language learners, that learners will apply these strategies in language learning tasks, and that such application does produce significant gains in language learning. Simple and yet highly effective strategies, such as those that help learners remember and access new second language vocabulary items, will attract considerable instructional interest in Strategopedia. 14. Lexical Phraseology The lexical phraseology view holds that only "a minority of spoken clauses are entirely novel creations" and that "memorized clauses and clause-sequences form a high proportion of the fluent stretches of speech heard in every day conversation." One estimate is that "the number of memorized complete clauses and sentences known to the mature English speaker probably amounts, at least, to several hundreds of thousands" (Pawley & Syder, 1983). Understanding of the use of lexical phrases has been immensely aided by large-scale computer studies of language corpora, which have provided hard data to support the speculative inquiries into lexical phraseology of second language acquisition researchers. For language teachers, the results of such inquiries have led to conclusions that language teaching should center on these memorized lexical patterns and the ways they can be pieced together, along with the ways they vary and the situations in which they occur. 15. O-zone Whole Language Renewed interest in some type of "Focus on Form" has provided a major impetus for recent second language acquisition (SLA) research. "Focus on Form" proposals, variously labeled as consciousness-raising, noticing, attending, and enhancing input, are founded on the assumption that students will learn only what they are aware of. Whole Language proponents have claimed that one way to increase learner awareness of how language works is through a course of study that incorporates broader engagement with language, including literary study, process writing, authentic content, and learner collaboration. 16. Full-Frontal Communicativity We know that the linguistic part of human communication represents only a small fraction of total meaning. At least one applied linguist has gone so far as to claim that, "We communicate so much information non-verbally in conversations that often the verbal aspect of the conversation is negligible." Despite these cautions, language teaching has chosen to restrict its attention to the linguistic component of human communication, even when the approach is labeled Communicative. The methodological proposal is to provide instructional focus on the non-linguistic aspects of communication, including rhythm, speed, pitch, intonation, tone, and hesitation phenomena in speech and gesture, facial expression, posture, and distance in non-verbal messaging. References Christison, M. (1998). Applying multiple intelligences theory in preservice and inservice TEFL education programs. English Teaching Forum, 36 (2), 2-13. Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books. Howatt, A. (1984). A history of English language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. London: Longman. Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL Classroom Rebecca Oxford, University of Maryland One image for teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) is that of a tapestry. The tapestry is woven from many strands, such as the characteristics of the teacher, the learner, the setting, and the relevant languages (i.e., English and the native languages of the learners and the teacher). For the instructional loom to produce a large, strong, beautiful, colorful tapestry, all of these strands must be interwoven in positive ways. For example, the instructor's teaching style must address the learning style of the learner, the learner must be motivated, and the setting must provide resources and values that strongly support the teaching of the language. However, if the strands are not woven together effectively, the instructional loom is likely to produce something small, weak, ragged, and pale—not recognizable as a tapestry at all. In addition to the four strands mentioned above—teacher, learner, setting, and relevant languages—other important strands exist in the tapestry. In a practical sense, one of the most crucial of these strands consists of the four primary skills of listening, reading, speaking, and writing. This strand also includes associated or related skills such as knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, syntax, meaning, and usage. The skill strand of the tapestry leads to optimal ESL/EFL communication when the skills are interwoven during instruction. This is known as the integrated-skill approach. If this weaving together does not occur, the strand consists merely of discrete, segregated skills—parallel threads that do not touch, support, or interact with each other. This is sometimes known as the segregated-skill approach. Another title for this mode of instruction is the language-based approach, because the language itself is the focus of instruction (language for language's sake). In this approach, the emphasis is not on learning for authentic communication. By examining segregated-skill instruction, we can see the advantages of integrating the skills and move toward improving teaching for English language learners. Segregated-Skill Instruction In the segregated-skill approach, the mastery of discrete language skills such as reading and speaking is seen as the key to successful learning, and language learning is typically separate from content learning (Mohan, 1986). This is contrary to the integrated way that people use language skills in normal communication, and it clashes with the direction in which language teaching experts have been moving in recent years. Skill segregation is reflected in traditional ESL/EFL programs that offer classes focusing on segregated language skills. Why do they offer such classes? Perhaps teachers and administrators think it is logistically easier to present courses on writing divorced from speaking, or on listening isolated from reading. They may believe that it is instructionally impossible to concentrate on more than one skill at a time. Even if it were possible to fully develop one or two skills in the absence of all the others, such an approach would not ensure adequate preparation for later success in academic communication, career-related language use, or everyday interaction in the language. An extreme example is the grammar-translation method, which teaches students to analyze grammar and to translate (usually in writing) from one language to another. This method restricts language learning to a very narrow, noncommunicative range that does not prepare students to use the language in everyday life. Frequently, segregated-skill ESL/EFL classes present instruction in terms of skill-linked learning strategies: reading strategies, listening strategies, speaking strategies, and writing strategies (see Peregoy & Boyle, 2001). Learning strategies are srategies that students employ, most often consciously, to improve their learning. Examples are guessing meaning based on context, breaking a sentence or word down into parts to understand the meaning, and practicing the language with someone else. Very frequently, experts demonstrate strategies as though they were linked to only one particular skill, such as reading or writing (e.g., Peregoy & Boyle, 2001). However, it can be confusing or misleading to believe that a given strategy is associated with only one specific language skill. Many strategies, such as paying selective attention, self-evaluating, asking questions, analyzing, synthesizing, planning, and predicting, are applicable across skill areas (see Oxford, 1990). Common strategies help weave the skills together. Teaching students to improve their learning strategies in one skill area can often enhance performance in all language skills (Oxford, 1996). Fortunately, in many instances where an ESL or EFL course is labeled by a single skill, the segregation of language skills might be only partial or even illusory. If the teacher is creative, a course bearing a discrete-skill title might actually involve multiple, integrated skills. For example, in a course on intermediate reading, the teacher probably gives all of the directions orally in English, thus causing students to use their listening ability to understand the assignment. In this course, students might discuss their readings, thus employing speaking and listening skills and certain associated skills, such as pronunciation, syntax, and social usage. Students might be asked to summarize or analyze readings in written form, thus activating their writing skills. In a real sense, then, some courses that are labeled according to one specific skill might actually reflect an integrated-skill approach after all. The same can be said for ESL/EFL textbooks. A particular series might highlight certain skills in one book or another, but all the language skills might nevertheless be present in the tasks in each book. In this way, students have the benefit of practicing all the language skills in an integrated, natural, communicative way, even if one skill is the main focus of a given volume. In contrast to segregated-skill instruction, both actual and apparent, there are at least two forms of instruction that are clearly oriented toward integrating the skills. Two Forms of Integrated-Skill Instruction Two types of integrated-skill instruction are content-based language instruction and task-based instruction. The first of these emphasizes learning content through language, while the second stresses doing tasks that require communicative language use. Both of these benefit from a diverse range of materials, textbooks, and technologies for the ESL or EFL classroom. Content-Based Instruction. In content-based instruction, students practice all the language skills in a highly integrated, communicative fashion while learning content such as science, mathematics, and social studies. Content-based language instruction is valuable at all levels of proficiency, but the nature of the content might differ by proficiency level. For beginners, the content often involves basic social and interpersonal communication skills, but past the beginning level, the content can become increasingly academic and complex. The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA), created by Chamot and O'Malley (1994) shows how language learning strategies can be integrated into the simultaneous learning of content and language. At least three general models of content-based language instruction exist: theme-based, adjunct, and sheltered (Scarcella & Oxford, 1992). The theme-based model integrates the language skills into the study of a theme (e.g., urban violence, cross-cultural differences in marriage practices, natural wonders of the world, or a broad topic such as change). The theme must be very interesting to students and must allow a wide variety of language skills to be practiced, always in the service of communicating about the theme. This is the most useful and widespread form of content-based instruction today, and it is found in many innovative ESL and EFL textbooks. In the adjunct model, language and content courses are taught separately but are carefully coordinated. In the sheltered model, the subject matter is taught in simplified English tailored to students' English proficiency level. Task-Based Instruction. In task-based instruction, students participate in communicative tasks in English. Tasks are defined as activities that can stand alone as fundamental units and that require comprehending, producing, manipulating, or interacting in authentic language while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form (Nunan, 1989). The task-based model is beginning to influence the measurement of learning strategies, not just the teaching of ESL and EFL. In task-based instruction, basic pair work and group work are often used to increase student interaction and collaboration. For instance, students work together to write and edit a class newspaper, develop a television commercial, enact scenes from a play, or take part in other joint tasks. More structured cooperative learning formats can also be used in task-based instruction. Task-based instruction is relevant to all levels of language proficiency, but the nature of the task varies from one level to the other. Tasks become increasingly complex at higher proficiency levels. For instance, beginners might be asked to introduce each other and share one item of information about each other. More advanced students might do more intricate and demanding tasks, such as taking a public opinion poll at school, the university, or a shopping mall. Advantages of the Integrated-Skill Approach The integrated-skill approach, as contrasted with the purely segregated approach, exposes English language learners to authentic language and challenges them to interact naturally in the language. Learners rapidly gain a true picture of the richness and complexity of the English language as employed for communication. Moreover, this approach stresses that English is not just an object of academic interest nor merely a key to passing an examination; instead, English becomes a real means of interaction and sharing among people. This approach allows teachers to track students' progress in multiple skills at the same time. Integrating the language skills also promotes the learning of real content, not just the dissection of language forms. Finally, the integrated-skill approach, whether found in content-based or task-based language instruction or some hybrid form, can be highly motivating to students of all ages and backgrounds. Integrating the Language Skills In order to integrate the language skills in ESL/EFL instruction, teachers should consider taking these steps: , Learn more about the various ways to integrate language skills in the classroom (e.g., content-based, task-based, or a combination). , Reflect on their current approach and evaluate the extent to which the skills are integrated. , Choose instructional materials, textbooks, and technologies that promote the integration of listening, reading, speaking, and writing, as well as the associated skills of syntax, vocabulary, and so on. , Even if a given course is labeled according to just one skill, remember that it is possible to integrate the other language skills through appropriate tasks. , Teach language learning strategies and emphasize that a given strategy can often enhance performance in multiple skills. Conclusion With careful reflection and planning, any teacher can integrate the language skills and strengthen the tapestry of language teaching and learning. When the tapestry is woven well, learners can use English effectively for communication. References Chamot, A. U., & O'Malley , J.M. (1994). The CALLA handbook: Implementing the cognitive-academic language learning approach. Reading: MA: Addison Wesley. O'Malley, J.M., & Valdez Pierce, L. (1996).Authentic assessment for English language learners: Practical approaches for teachers. New York: Addison Wesley. Mohan, B. (1986). Language and content. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. Nunan , D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies. What every teacher should know. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle. Oxford, R. (1996). Language learning strategies around the world. Cross-cultural perspectives. Manoa: University of Hawaii Press. Peregoy, S.F., & Boyle, O.F. (2001). Reading, writing, and learning in ESL. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Scarcella, R., & Oxford, R. (1992). The tapestry of language learning: The individual in the communicative classroom. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers Douglas A. Demo, Center for Applied Linguistics What Is Discourse Analysis? Discourse analysis is the examination of language use by members of a speech community. It involves looking at both language form and language function and includes the study of both spoken interaction and written texts. It identifies linguistic features that characterize different genres as well as social and cultural factors that aid in our interpretation and understanding of different texts and types of talk. A discourse analysis of written texts might include a study of topic development and cohesion across the sentences, while an analysis of spoken language might focus on these aspects plus turn-taking practices, opening and closing sequences of social encounters, or narrative structure. The study of discourse has developed in a variety of disciplines-sociolinguistics, anthropology, sociology, and social psychology. Thus discourse analysis takes different theoretical perspectives and analytic approaches: speech act theory, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, pragmatics, conversation analysis, and variation analysis (Schiffrin, 1994). Although each approach emphasizes different aspects of language use, they all view language as social interaction. This digest focuses on the application of discourse analysis to second language teaching and learning. It provides examples of how teachers can improve their teaching practices by investigating actual language use both in and out of the classroom, and how students can learn language through exposure to different types of discourse. Detailed introductions to discourse analysis, with special attention to the needs and experiences of language teachers, can be found in Celce-Murcia and Olshtain (2000), Hatch (1992), McCarthy (1992), McCarthy and Carter (1994), and Riggenbach (1999). Discourse Analysis and Second Language Teaching Even with the most communicative approaches, the second language classroom is limited in its ability to develop learners' communicative competence in the target language. This is due to the restricted number of contact hours with the language; minimal opportunities for interacting with native speakers; and limited exposure to the variety of functions, genres, speech events, and discourse types that occur outside the classroom. Given the limited time available for students to practice the target language, teachers should maximize opportunities for student participation. Classroom research is one way for teachers to monitor both the quantity and quality of students' output. By following a four-part process of Record-View-Transcribe-Analyze, second language teachers can use discourse analytic techniques to investigate the interaction patterns in their classrooms and to see how these patterns promote or hinder opportunities for learners to practice the target language. This process allows language teachers to study their own teaching behavior—specifically, the frequency, distribution, and types of questions they use and their effect on students' responses. Step One: Videotape a complete lesson. Be sure to capture all of your questions and the students' responses. (Opportunities to speak the target language are often created by teachers' questions.) Step Two: Watch the videotape. As you watch it, think about the types of questions you asked. Look for recurring patterns in your questioning style and the impact it has on the students' responses. Step Three: Transcribe the lesson. A transcript will make it easier to identify the types of questions in the data and to focus on specific questions and student responses. Step Four: Analyze the videotape and transcript. Why did you ask each question? What type of question was it—open (e.g., "What points do you think the author was making in the chapter you read yesterday?") or closed (e.g., "Did you like the chapter?")? Was the question effective in terms of your goals for teaching and learning? What effect did your questions have on the students' opportunities to practice the target language? How did the students respond to different types of questions? Were you satisfied with their responses? Which questions elicited the most discussion from the students? Did the students ask any questions? Focusing on actual classroom interaction, teachers can investigate how one aspect of their teaching style affects students' opportunities for speaking the target language. They can then make changes that will allow students more practice with a wider variety of discourse types. Teachers can also use this process of Record-View-Transcribe-Analyze to study communication patterns in different classroom activities, such as student-to-student interactions during a paired role-play task and during a small-group cooperative learning activity. Communicative activities are expected to promote interaction and to provide opportunities for students to engage in talk. Teachers are likely to discover that students produce different speech patterns in response to different tasks. For example, a map activity is likely to elicit a series of questions and answers among participants, whereas a picture narration task requires a monologue developed around a narrative format. Given that teachers use communicative tasks to evaluate learners' proficiency, a better understanding of the influence of specific activities on learner discourse will likely lead teachers to use a greater variety of tasks in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of students' abilities. By recording, transcribing, and analyzing students' discourse, teachers can gain insight into the effect of specific tasks on students' language production and, over time, on their language development. A discourse analysis of classroom interactions can also shed light on cross-cultural linguistic patterns that may be leading to communication difficulties. For example, some speakers may engage in overlap, speaking while someone else is taking a turn-at-talk. For some linguistic groups, this discourse behavior can be interpreted as a signal of engagement and involvement; however, other speakers may view it as an interruption and imposition on their speaking rights. Teachers can use the Record-View-Transcribe-Analyze technique to study cross-cultural interactions in their classrooms, helping students identify different communication strategies and their potential for miscommunication. Although some variables of language learning are beyond the control of second language teachers, discourse analysis can be a useful analytic tool for making informed changes in instructional practices. Mainstream teachers, especially those with second language learners, can also use this technique to study classroom interactions in order to focus on the learning opportunities available to students with limited English proficiency. In fact, discourse analysis can be an integral part of a program of professional development for all teachers that includes classroom-based research, with the overall aim of improving teaching (Johnson, 1995). Discourse Analysis and Second Language Learning Language learners face the monumental task of acquiring not only new vocabulary, syntactic patterns, and phonology, but also discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence, strategic competence, and interactional competence. They need opportunities to investigate the systematicity of language at all linguistic levels, especially at the highest level (Riggenbach, 1999; Young and He, 1998). Without knowledge of and experience with the discourse and sociocultural patterns of the target language, second language learners are likely to rely on the strategies and expectations acquired as part of their first language development, which may be inappropriate for the second language setting and may lead to communication difficulties and misunderstandings. One problem for second language learners is limited experience with a variety of interactive practices in the target language. Therefore, one of the goals of second language teaching is to expose learners to different discourse patterns in different texts and interactions. One way that teachers can include the study of discourse in the second language classroom is to allow the students themselves to study language, that is, to make them discourse analysts (see Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000; McCarthy & Carter, 1994; Riggenbach, 1999). By exploring natural language use in authentic environments, learners gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the discourse patterns associated with a given genre or speech event as well as the sociolinguistic factors that contribute to linguistic variation across settings and contexts. For example, students can study speech acts in a service encounter, turn-taking patterns in a conversation between friends, opening and closings of answering machine messages, or other aspects of speech events. Riggenbach (1999) suggests a wide variety of activities that can easily be adapted to suit a range of second language learning contexts. One discourse feature that is easy to study is listener response behavior, also known as backchannels. Backchannels are the brief verbal responses that a listener uses while another individual is talking, such as mm-hmm, ok, yeah, and oh wow. Listener response can also be non-verbal, for instance head nods. Research has identified variation among languages in the use of backchannels, which makes it an interesting feature to study. Variation has been found not only in the frequency of backchannels, but also in the type of backchannels, their placement in the ongoing talk, and their interpretation by the participants (Clancy, Thompson, Suzuki, & Tao, 1996). Students can participate in the Record-View-Transcribe-Analyze technique to study the linguistic form and function of backchannels in conversation. Step One: Ask to video- or audiotape a pair of native speakers engaging in conversation, perhaps over coffee or lunch. Step Two: Play the tape for students. Have them identify patterns in the recorded linguistic behavior. In this case, pay attention to the backchanneling behavior of the participants. Is the same backchannel token used repeatedly, or is there variation? Step Three: Transcribe the conversation so that students can count the number and types of backchannel tokens and examine their placement within the discourse. Step 4: Have students analyze specific discourse features individually, in pairs or in small groups. These are some questions to consider: How often do the participants use a backchannel token? How does backchanneling contribute to the participants' understanding of and involvement in the conversation? How can differences in backchannel frequency be explained? How does backchanneling work in the students' native language? Students can collect and analyze data themselves. Once collected, this set of authentic language data can be repeatedly examined for other conversational features, then later compared to discourse features found in other speech events. This discourse approach to language learning removes language from the confines of textbooks and makes it tangible, so that students can explore language as interaction rather than as grammatical units. Teachers can also use these activities to raise students' awareness of language variation, dialect differences, and cultural diversity. Conclusion In sum, teachers can use discourse analysis not only as a research method for investigating their own teaching practices but also as a tool for studying interactions among language learners. Learners can benefit from using discourse analysis to explore what language is and how it is used to achieve communicative goals in different contexts. Thus discourse analysis can help to create a second language learning environment that more accurately reflects how language is used and encourages learners toward their goal of proficiency in another language. References Celce-Murcia, M,. & Olshtain, E. (2000). Discourse and context in language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press. Clancy, P., Thompson, S., Suzuki, R., & Tao, H. (1996) The conversational use of reactive tokens in English, Japanese, and Mandarin. Journal of Pragmatics, 26, 355-387. Hatch, E. (1992). Discourse and language education. New York: Cambridge University Press. Johnson, K. (1995). Understanding communication in second language classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press. McCarthy, M. (1992). Discourse analysis for language teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press. McCarthy, M., & Carter, R. (1994). Language as discourse: Perspectives for language teachers. New York: Longman. Riggenbach, H. (1999). Discourse analysis in the language classroom: Volume 1. The spoken language. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Schiffrin, D. (1994). Approaches to discourse. Oxford: Blackwell. Young, R., & He, A. (1998). Talking and testing: Discourse approaches to the assessment of oral proficiency. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Reading with a Purpose: Communicative Reading Tasks for the Foreign Language Classroom Elizabeth K. Knutson, U.S. Naval Academy In describing reading proficiency, the relative difficulty or ease that an individual reader experiences in reading a particular text, researchers have recognized the importance of both text- and reader-based factors. This article focuses on the factor of purpose, as determined by the reader or the instructional context. Having a purpose means having a reason to read and approaching a text with a particular goal in mind, whether that goal involves learning or entertainment. In both real-world and classroom situations, purpose affects the reader's motivation, interest, and manner of reading. Reading in the Real World Reading in the real world is defined here as reading outside the classroom, or nonacademic reading. Real-world reading is performed for any number of reasons, and the nature of reading varies according to the reader's purpose and situation. These factors inevitably determine the reader's approach to the text, the amount of attention paid, the time spent, as well as what features or parts of the text are focused on. Perhaps the broadest distinction commonly made in defining real-world reading purpose is that of reading for pleasure versus reading for information. Pleasure reading is most frequently associated with narrative, and in particular, popular fiction. It is commonly perceived to be the antithesis of academic or serious reading. By contrast, reading to learn is pursued to gain insight or information. Reading for information may range from the scanning of documents and the reading of letters to in-depth reading of articles or books. Whether we are reading for pleasure or information, the nature of the reading depends on what we want from the text, as well as situational factors such as time available or constraints relative to place of reading. No matter what our agenda, why and where we read inevitably determine how we read. Pleasure Reading in a Foreign Language In second language acquisition research and theory, Krashen has consistently argued that pleasure reading is an important source of comprehensible input for acquisition. The only requirement "is that the story or main idea be comprehensible and the topic be something the student is genuinely interested in, that he would read in his first language" (Krashen, 1982, p. 164). To encourage light reading in a foreign language, foreign language departments can provide a library or resource where students can browse and take out reading materials of interest. At the high school or college levels, it is possible to incorporate some free outside reading into course syllabi. Over the course of a semester, students can be asked to perform one self-selected reading and report on it in oral or written form. While the reporting task turns the activity into work, the important element of self- selection is still retained. Alternatively, students can work with magazines and newspapers in the classroom or library to create a portfolio of texts on a topic of interest. In the portfolio, students identify the source and briefly summarize the gist of each text. In addition, they write a paragraph explaining their interest in the topic, reactions to certain articles, and questions they may have. The instructor responds in writing with comments on both the topic itself and the text collection. Because reading is valuable input for language acquisition, it makes sense to take advantage of the fact that many students in elementary courses are capable of reading far beyond the level at which they speak. Strong language learners and good readers can benefit from reading longer, narrative texts at earlier levels of instruction. Unfortunately, readings in elementary textbooks for commonly taught languages are generally limited to short, informational texts. Literary and cultural readings in intermediate textbooks are often only excerpts. As a supplement to introductory textbooks, instructors can assign universally known stories or tales, or longer authentic texts on topics with which students are already familiar. Intermediate-level students can read detective stories or other formulaic fiction. The Factor of Interest Wherever possible, instructors should ask students directly about their interests and provide them with choices of authentic texts. But reader interest in a text can also be a function of purpose. Educational researchers have defined several different categories of interest. Individual or personal interest refers to long-standing preferences on the part of a particular reader for certain topics or related subject matter (Schiefele, 1992). By contrast, situational interest refers to interest generated by situational factors, including the text itself. Text-based situational interest is generally defined as interest that is elicited by text through topics or ideas that are of universal or archetypal appeal (Hidi & Anderson, 1992). Another form of situational interest, and one that concerns us here, is reading purpose. In a study that sought to determine the effect on interest and recall of reading with a particular perspective, Schraw and Dennison (1994) found that focusing readers' attention on selected text information increases what the researchers term purpose-driven interest and that text segments that are relevant to a readers' purpose are recalled better than those that are not. The implications of this study for classroom instruction are clear and significant. When readers are asked to read a text with a particular focus or angle, both their reading interest and retention of text material are heightened. Reading Purpose in the Classroom and the Concept of Task Because reading is more interesting and text information is understood and recalled better when reading is purpose driven, it follows that creating purpose in the classroom reading situation will enhance readers' interest and performance. But how narrowly should the concept of purpose be defined? In the broadest sense, even the most traditional textbook comprehension exercises provide students with the purpose of reading a text for specific information. Yet traditional comprehension questions generally address all information in the text in an undifferentiated manner. This kind of even, comprehensive coverage is well intentioned but unfortunately results in a leveling of content, as if all ideas or aspects of the text were equally important. In short, there is no reading perspective. Rarely in real-world reading do we pay equal attention to everything in a text, and exercises that lead students to approach a text in this way may well remove the important element of interest from the reading process. An alternative to comprehension questions that often accompany textbook dialogues or cultural texts is to have students write a list based on the text. Depending on content, this could be a list of places, events, or even facts the student finds interesting. Reading with a purpose means approaching texts with a specific goal. When possible, students can be asked to read a text from a specific point of view, depending on what the text might suggest. In the classroom, students can be given reasons to read that approximate their purposes in a variety of real-world situations. They can read ads for apartments to find one that fits a particular set of requirements, look through movie listings and reviews to decide whether to see a particular movie, or respond to a written invitation. Beyond these comprehension exercise types, purposeful reading can also be part of whole communicative tasks in the foreign language classroom. Nunan (1993) defines a communicative task as a "piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on meaning rather than form" (p. 59). Strictly speaking, in task activities, the goal is nonlinguistic. The idea is to get something done via the language, to read a text and do something with the information (Long & Crookes, 1992). Whole tasks involve performance of reading in conjunction with other skills: listening, speaking, or writing. For example, students in a small group might read a number of texts, such as brochures, timetables, or maps, and listen to radio weather or traffic reports in order to carry out the larger task of deciding on the best method of transportation to use on a trip. In such an activity, each student deals with one category of information, and all students must communicate their information to one another to come up with the best plan for the trip. Still other kinds of communicative tasks may be activities that would not actually occur in real-world situations. For example, a classroom reading task might involve students drawing a picture based on a written text, recon-structing a text that has been cut up into paragraphs, or, in pairs, reading slightly different versions of the same story and discovering differences through speech alone. These tasks, while not real world, are still communicative; the focus is on understanding a text to get something done. A task approach conveys to students the value of fluent and efficient reading, because reading for a specific purpose means reading texts in different ways at different speeds, depending on the information needed and the task to be carried out. Another advantage of tasks is that students can work with authentic texts from the start. A complex, unedited text can be made accessible by adjusting the level of difficulty of the task. The same text can be used at different points during a semester, each time with a different task or purpose. In rereading the same text with a different purpose, students derive a sense of accomplishment from their progressively greater comprehension and more extended use of the text. Textual Analysis: Working with Meaning and Form Recent reading research points to the benefits of working with texts for the purpose of drawing students' attention to formal features of written language as well (Long & Crookes, 1992). A communicative or task approach can and should be combined with analysis of text structure and linguistic features of text; however, most specialists concur that instructors should focus on textual messages first. If an individual student cannot perform a task successfully due to misreading of a text, the student will need to reread problematic segments and attend more closely to the text structure. If many students in a class experience difficulty with certain syntactical structures or forms of text organization, the instructor may choose to conduct a reading lesson that targets those areas. Students can be led from considerations of content to those of form in a natural manner. In the domain of rhetoric, for example, students can be asked to identify the discourse features of the text that contribute to its persuasiveness. They can focus on pragmatic issues of register and audience and examine the lexical networks that connect text segments and the use of syntax to establish topic and theme. Textual analysis of this sort is a different kind of activity from reading to perform a communicative task. Both uses of text are beneficial, but it is necessary for instructors and students to distinguish between them. It is also important that a text be apprehended first in terms of meaning and reader response. Foreign Language Literacy and Academic Tasks In advanced-level courses, such as film studies or special topics in literature, the real-world uses of text are less evident; rather, the focus is on academic tasks. In most academic tasks, such as presenting a report or writing a paper, reading plays a significant role. In discussions of the concept of critical literacy, reading and interpretation have been defined by a variety of researchers as being able to talk about a text, which in turn means being able to participate in a "conversation of readers" (Graff, 1992). In his view, literacy is both a social and cognitive process. Importantly, Graff situates reading within the larger communicative context of academic discourse and emphasizes the primacy of context over text. He argues that reading a literary text in order to support or counter a particular critical argument can engage students who otherwise would not know what to think or say about what they are reading. Thus, in literature courses, an important sense of purpose can be created by asking students to read from a particular angle or with a particular argument in mind. Literacy tasks for upper-level coursework should afford diverse opportunities for interaction among students: In a discussion of academic discourse and collaborative learning, Bruffee (1984) borrows the Vygotskian concept of thought as internalized conversation to argue for "engaging students in conversation among themselves at as many points in both the writing and the reading process as possible", in short, for pedagogical practice that acknowledges and reflects the social and inter-textual nature of literacy and knowledge. This means less emphasis on reading as a solitary activity and more on reading and talking with others. Pre-reading Activities for the Advanced Level A reader's background knowledge with respect to text topic and genre is recognized as a significant factor in text comprehension. As a result, textbooks and pedagogical practice now routinely include pre-reading activities with authentic texts or other reading selections. Interestingly, a benefit of such activities is the focus or purpose for reading that they can provide. The value of pre-reading work for both comprehension and interest does not diminish at the advanced level. In literature courses, for example, writing and discussion can serve equally well as an entry into a whole text or text segment. Pre-reading discussion can focus on a critical argument or controversy surrounding interpretation of a text. More simply, discussion or writing tasks can elicit students' personal views or previous readings on a topic or their expectations with respect to text content or point of view. In a civilization course, students familiar with American and French newspapers can be asked to compare articles from The Washington Post or USA Today on terrorism in Paris with articles from Le Monde or Le Figaro. Prior to the reading, they can articulate their expectations about what facts will be highlighted and what perspective or political stance, if any, the articles will reflect. Discussing these issues before rather than after reading provides focus, which in turn creates interest in the texts. As preparation for reading authentic foreign language texts on a cultural topic, students can engage in peer reading and debate. In this activity, the instructor provides students with a topic for debate formulated in terms of a specific question. Each student writes a short position statement on the topic, making an argument that may or may not represent their view. In groups, students read through and discuss all statements, culling what they believe to be the best arguments for and against each side of the debate. The groups then compare their results. Again, prior discussion of the arguments provides a focal point for reading. Writing is a particularly effective form of pre-reading activity that prompts readers to reflect on what they are about to read. Writing activities foster the development of a sense of authorship, which in turn helps make students more critical readers. An effective way to promote active response to text is through assignment of reading journals. In these, students write entries prior to each reading assignment. In addition to writing their reactions to text passages already read, they are encouraged to write prospectively, anticipating story line or character development and formulating questions about what they are about to read. Journal entries are handed in to the instructor or exchanged with other students and form the basis for discussion or for other, more developed writing tasks. Uses of Text Across the Curriculum Ideally, it is the intended use of texts by learners that should drive reading instruction across the curriculum. In high schools and colleges, learners' needs may range from fulfilling a language requirement to language use in travel or study abroad or general interest in language and culture. Because of this wide range, it is often difficult to base instruction on a well-defined set of learners' future needs or target tasks; however, it is possible to place increased emphasis on learners' potential uses of text. Such a focus might prompt reevaluation of a variety of foreign language courses and programs, ranging from foreign language across the curriculum to reading requirements for M.A. and Ph.D. candidates in the humanities. At all levels of foreign language instruction, providing students a reason to pick up a text also gives them a way to read it. In elementary and intermediate classes, whole real-world tasks that offer other kinds of communicative purpose convey to students the value of reading for message. In advanced-level courses, the principle of reading with a purpose means rethinking the conventional "read and discuss" approach to literary and cultural texts. It means that some of the classroom discussion that has traditionally taken place after reading would be better placed before, so students have something to read for. Reading with a perspective or reading to decide for or against a particular interpretation, not only creates interest in the text but also provides students with something interesting to say after reading. At all levels of foreign language coursework, purposeful reading can enhance interest and recall on the part of students. Just as important, the concept of purpose provides a useful organizing principle for the coordination of reading instruction across the curriculum. References Bruffee, K. A. (1984). Collaborative learning and the "conversation of mankind." College English, 46, 635-52. Graff, G. (1992). Beyond the culture wars: How teaching conflicts can revitalize American education. New York: W.W. Norton. Hidi, S., & Anderson, V. (1992). Situational interest and its impact on reading and expository writing. In K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp, Eds., The role of interest in learning and development (p. 215-38). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon. Long, M. H., & Crookes, G. (1992). Three approaches to task-based syllabus design. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 27-56. Nunan, D. (1993). Task-based syllabus design: Selecting, grading, and sequencing tasks. In G. Crookes, & S. Gass, Eds., Tasks in a pedagogical context: Integrating theory and practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Schiefele, U. (1992). Topic interest and levels of text comprehension. In K. A. Renninger, S. Hidi, & A. Krapp, Eds., The role of interest in learning and development (p. 151-82). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Schraw, G., & Dennison, R.S. (1994). The effect of reader purpose on interest and recall. Journal of Reading Behavior, 26, 1-17. A longer version of this article was published in Foreign Language Annals (volume 30, number 1, 1997). Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction And Sample Activities Ann Galloway, Center for Applied Linguistics This digest will take a look at the communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages. It is intended as an introduction to the communicative approach for teachers and teachers-in-training who want to provide opportunities in the classroom for their students to engage in real-life communication in the target language. Questions to be dealt with include what the communicative approach is, where it came from, and how teachers' and students' roles differ from the roles they play in other teaching approaches. Examples of exercises that can be used with a communicative approach are described, and sources of appropriate materials are provided. Where does communicative language teaching come from? Its origins are many, insofar as one teaching methodology tends to influence the next. The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the audiolingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language instruction. They felt that students were not learning enough realistic, whole language. They did not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions; in brief, they were at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language studied. Interest in and development of communicative-style teaching mushroomed in the 1970s; authentic language use and classroom exchanges where students engaged in real communication with one another became quite popular. In the intervening years, the communicative approach has been adapted to the elementary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary levels, and the underlying philosophy has spawned different teaching methods known under a variety of names, including notional-functional, teaching for proficiency, proficiency-based instruction, and communicative language teaching. What is communicative language teaching? Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics. Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p. 5). What are some examples of communicative exercises? In a communicative classroom for beginners, the teacher might begin by passing out cards, each with a different name printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to model an exchange of introductions in the target language: "Guten Tag. Wie heissen Sie?" Reply: "Ich heisse Wolfie," for example. Using a combination of the target language and gestures, the teacher conveys the task at hand, and gets the students to introduce themselves and ask their classmates for information. They are responding in German to a question in German. They do not know the answers beforehand, as they are each holding cards with their new identities written on them; hence, there is an authentic exchange of information. Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening exercise, the students might hear a recorded exchange between two German freshmen meeting each other for the first time at the Gymnasium doors. Then the teacher might explain, in English, the differences among German greetings in various social situations. Finally, the teacher will explain some of the grammar points and structures used. The following exercise is taken from a 1987 workshop on communicative foreign language teaching, given for Delaware language teachers by Karen Willetts and Lynn Thompson of the Center for Applied Linguistics. The exercise, called "Eavesdropping," is aimed at advanced students. Instructions to students: Listen to a conversation somewhere in a public place and be prepared to answer, in the target language, some general questions about what was said. 1. Who was talking? 2. About how old were they? 3. Where were they when you eavesdropped? 4. What were they talking about? 5. What did they say? 6. Did they become aware that you were listening to them? The exercise puts students in a real-world listening situation where they must report information overheard. Most likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a class discussion could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and viewpoints. Communicative exercises such as this motivate the students by treating topics of their choice, at an appropriately challenging level. Another exercise taken from the same source is for beginning students of Spanish. In "Listening for the Gist," students are placed in an everyday situation where they must listen to an authentic text. Objective: Students listen to a passage to get general understanding of the topic or message. Directions: Have students listen to the following announcement to decide what the speaker is promoting. Passage: Situacion ideal . . . Servicio de transporte al Aeropuerto Internacional . . . Cuarenta y dos habitaciones de lujo, con aire acondicionado . . . Elegante restaurante . . . de fama internacional. (The announcement can be read by the teacher or played on tape.) Then ask students to circle the letter of the most appropriate answer on their copy, which consists of the following multiple-choice options: a. a taxi service b. a hotel c. an airport d. a restaurant (Source: Adapted from Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool, 1980, Item No. 13019) Gunter Gerngross, an English teacher in Austria, gives an example of how he makes his lessons more communicative. He cites a widely used textbook that shows English children having a pet show. "Even when learners act out this scene creatively and enthusiastically, they do not reach the depth of involvement that is almost tangible when they act out a short text that presents a family conflict revolving round the question of whether the children should be allowed to have a pet or not" (Gerngross & Puchta, 1984, p. 92). He continues to say that the communicative approach "puts great emphasis on listening, which implies an active will to try to understand others. [This is] one of the hardest tasks to achieve because the children are used to listening to the teacher but not to their peers. There are no quick, set recipes. That the teacher be a patient listener is the basic requirement" (p.98). The observation by Gerngross on the role of the teacher as one of listener rather than speaker brings up several points to be discussed in the next portion of this digest. How do the roles of the teacher and student change in communicative language teaching? Teachers in communicative classrooms will find themselves talking less and listening moreœbecoming active facilitators of their students' learning (Larsen- Freeman, 1986). The teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students' performance is the goal, the teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting as referee or monitor. A classroom during a communicative activity is far from quiet, however. The students do most of the speaking, and frequently the scene of a classroom during a communicative exercise is active, with students leaving their seats to complete a task. Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using the target language in general. Students are more responsible managers of their own learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). Where can I learn more about communicative teaching? All of the following documents on communicative language teaching are in the ERIC database. They can be read on microfiche at any library housing an ERIC collection or purchased in microfiche or paper copy from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS), 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852 (1-800-443-3742). Ben-Barka, A. C. [1982]. In search of a language teaching framework: An adaptation of a communicative approach to functional practice. (EDRS No. ED239507, 26 pages) Das, B. K. (Ed.) (1984). Communicative language teaching. Selected papers from the RELC seminar (Singapore). Anthology Series 14. (EDRS No. ED266661, 234 pages) Littlewood, W. T. (1983). Communicative approach to language teaching methodology (CLCS Occasional Paper No. 7). Dublin: Dublin University Trinity College, Centre for Language and Communication Studies. (EDRS No. ED235690, 23 pages) Pattison, P. (1987). The communicative approach and classroom realities. (EDRS No. ED288407, 17 pages) Riley, P. (1982). Topics in communicative methodology: Including a preliminary and selective bibliography on the communicative approach. (EDRS No. ED231213, 31 pages) Savignon, S. J., & Berns, M. S. (Eds.). (1983). Communicative language teaching: Where are we going? Studies in Language Learning, 4(2). (EDRS No. ED278226, 210 pages) Sheils, J. (1986). Implications of the communicative approach for the role of the teacher. (EDRS No. ED268831, 7 pages) Swain, M., & Canale, M. (1982). The role of grammar in a communicative approach to second language teaching and testing. (EDRS No. ED221026, 8 pages) (not available separately; available from EDRS as part of ED221023, 138 pages) Willems, G., & Riley, P. (Eds.). (1984). Communicative foreign language teaching and the training of foreign language teachers. (EDRS No. ED273102, 219 pages) Readers may also wish to consult the following journal articles for additional information on communicative language teaching. Clark, J. L. (1987). Classroom assessment in a communicative approach. British Journal of Language Teaching, 25(1), 9-19. Dolle, D., & Willems, G. M. (1984). The communicative approach to foreign language teaching: The teacher's case. European Journal of Teacher Education, 7(2), 145-54. Morrow, K., & Schocker, M. (1987). Using texts in a communicative approach. ELT Journal, 41(4), 248-56. Oxford, R. L., et al. (1989). Language learning strategies, the communicative approach, and their classroom implications. Foreign Language Annals, 22(1), 29-39. Pica, T. P. (1988). Communicative language teaching: An aid to second language acquisition? Some insights from classroom research. English Quarterly, 21(2), 70-80. Rosenthal, A. S., & Sloane, R. A. (1987). A communicative approach to foreign language instruction: The UMBC project. Foreign Language Annals, 20(3), 245-53. Swan, M. (1985). A critical look at the communicative approach (1). ELT Journal, 39(1), 2-12. Swan, M. (1985). A critical look at the communicative approach (2). ELT Journal, 39(2), 76-87. Terrell, T. D. (1991). The role of grammar instruction in a communicative approach. Modern Language Journal, 75(1), 52-63. References And Resources Berns, M. S. (1984). Functional approaches to language and language teaching: Another look. In S. Savignon & M. S. Berns (Eds.), Initiatives in communicative language teaching. A book of readings (pp. 3-21). Reading, PA: Addison- Wesley. Gerngross, G., & Puchta, H. (1984). Beyond notions and functions: Language teaching or the art of letting go. In S. Savignon & M. S. Berns (Eds.), Initiatives in communicative language teaching. A book of readings (pp. 89-107). Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Littlewood, W. (1981). Language teaching. An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Savignon, S., & Berns, M. S. (Eds.). (1984). Initiatives in communicative language teaching. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. Lexical Approach to Second Language Teaching Olga Moudraia, Walailak University, Thailand The lexical approach to second language teaching has received interest in recent years as an alternative to grammar-based approaches. The lexical approach concentrates on developing learners' proficiency with lexis, or words and word combinations. It is based on the idea that an important part of language acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalyzed wholes, or "chunks," and that these chunks become the raw data by which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar (Lewis, 1993, p. 95). Instruction focuses on relatively fixed expressions that occur frequently in spoken language, such as, "I'm sorry," "I didn't mean to make you jump," or "That will never happen to me," rather than on originally created sentences (Lewis, 1997a, p. 212). This digest provides an overview of the methodological foundations underlying the lexical approach and the pedagogical implications suggested by them. A New Role for Lexis Michael Lewis (1993), who coined the term lexical approach, suggests the following: , Lexis is the basis of language. , Lexis is misunderstood in language teaching because of the assumption that grammar is the basis of language and that mastery of the grammatical system is a prerequisite for effective communication. , The key principle of a lexical approach is that "language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar." , One of the central organizing principles of any meaning-centered syllabus should be lexis. Types of Lexical Units The lexical approach makes a distinction between vocabulary—traditionally understood as a stock of individual words with fixed meanings—and lexis, which includes not only the single words but also the word combinations that we store in our mental lexicons. Lexical approach advocates argue that language consists of meaningful chunks that, when combined, produce continuous coherent text, and only a minority of spoken sentences are entirely novel creations. The role of formulaic, many-word lexical units have been stressed in both first and second language acquisition research. (See Richards & Rodgers, 2001, for further discussion.) They have been referred to by many different labels, including "gambits" (Keller, 1979), "speech formulae" (Peters, 1983), "lexicalized stems" (Pawley & Syder, 1983), and "lexical phrases" (Nattinger & DeCarrico, 1992). The existence and importance of these lexical units has been discussed by a number of linguists. For example, Cowie (1988) argues that the existence of lexical units in a language such as English serves the needs of both native English speakers and English language learners, who are as predisposed to store and reuse them as they are to generate them from scratch. The widespread "fusion of such expressions, which appear to satisfy the individual's communicative needs at a given moment and are later reused, is one means by which the public stock of formulae and composites is continuously enriched" (p. 136). Lewis (1997b) suggests the following taxonomy of lexical items: , words (e.g., book, pen) , polywords (e.g., by the way, upside down) , collocations, or word partnerships (e.g., community service, absolutely convinced) , institutionalized utterances (e.g., I'll get it; We'll see; That'll do; If I were you . . .; Would you like a cup of coffee?) , sentence frames and heads (e.g., That is not as . . . as you think; The fact/suggestion/problem/danger was . . .) and even text frames (e.g., In this paper we explore . . .; Firstly . . .; Secondly . . .; Finally . . .) Within the lexical approach, special attention is directed to collocations and expressions that include institutionalized utterances and sentence frames and heads. As Lewis maintains, "instead of words, we consciously try to think of collocations, and to present these in expressions. Rather than trying to break things into ever smaller pieces, there is a conscious effort to see things in larger, more holistic, ways" (1997a, p. 204). Collocation is "the readily observable phenomenon whereby certain words co-occur in natural text with greater than random frequency" (Lewis, 1997a, p. 8). Furthermore, collocation is not determined by logic or frequency, but is arbitrary, decided only by linguistic convention. Some collocations are fully fixed, such as "to catch a cold," "rancid butter," and "drug addict," while others are more or less fixed and can be completed in a relatively small number of ways, as in the following examples: , blood / close / distant / near(est) relative , learn by doing / by heart / by observation / by rote / from experience , badly / bitterly / deeply / seriously / severely hurt Lexis in Language Teaching and Learning In the lexical approach, lexis in its various types is thought to play a central role in language teaching and learning. Nattinger (1980, p. 341) suggests that teaching should be based on the idea that language production is the piecing together of ready-made units appropriate for a particular situation. Comprehension of such units is dependent on knowing the patterns to predict in different situations. Instruction, therefore, should center on these patterns and the ways they can be pieced together, along with the ways they vary and the situations in which they occur. Activities used to develop learners' knowledge of lexical chains include the following: , Intensive and extensive listening and reading in the target language. , First and second language comparisons and translation—carried out chunk-for-chunk, rather than word-for-word—aimed at raising language awareness. , Repetition and recycling of activities, such as summarizing a text orally one day and again a few days later to keep words and expressions that have been learned active. , Guessing the meaning of vocabulary items from context. , Noticing and recording language patterns and collocations. , Working with dictionaries and other reference tools. , Working with language corpuses created by the teacher for use in the classroom or accessible on the Internet—such as the British National Corpus () or COBUILD Bank of English ()—to research word partnerships, preposition usage, style, and so on. The Next Step: Putting Theory Into Practice Advances in computer-based studies of language, such as corpus linguistics, have provided huge databases of language corpora, including the COBUILD Bank of English Corpus, the Cambridge International Corpus, and the British National Corpus. In particular, the COBUILD project at Birmingham University in England has examined patterns of phrase and clause sequences as they appear in various texts as well as in spoken language. It has aimed at producing an accurate description of the English language in order to form the basis for design of a lexical syllabus (Sinclair, 1987). Such a syllabus was perceived by COBUILD researchers as independent and unrelated to any existing language teaching methodology (Sinclair & Renouf, 1988). As a result, the Collins COBUILD English Course (Willis & Willis, 1989) was the most ambitious attempt to develop a syllabus based on lexical rather than grammatical principles. Willis (1990) has attempted to provide a rationale and design for lexically based language teaching and suggests that a lexical syllabus should be matched with an instructional methodology that puts particular emphasis on language use. Such a syllabus specifies words, their meanings, and the common phrases in which they are used and identifies the most common words and patterns in their most natural environments. Thus, the lexical syllabus not only subsumes a structural syllabus, it also describes how the "structures" that make up the syllabus are used in natural language. Despite references to the natural environments in which words occur, Sinclair's (1987) and Willis's (1990) lexical syllabi are word based. However, Lewis's (1993) lexical syllabus is specifically not word based, because it "explicitly recognizes word patterns for (relatively) de-lexical words, collocational power for (relatively) semantically powerful words, and longer multi-word items, particularly institutionalized sentences, as requiring different, and parallel pedagogical treatment" (Lewis, 1993, p. 109). In his own teaching design, Lewis proposes a model that comprises the steps, Observe-Hypothesize-Experiment, as opposed to the traditional Present-Practice-Produce paradigm. Unfortunately, Lewis does not lay out any instructional sequences exemplifying how he thinks this procedure might operate in actual language classrooms. For more on implementing the lexical approach, see Richards & Rodgers (2001). Conclusion Zimmerman (1997, p. 17) suggests that the work of Sinclair, Nattinger, DeCarrico, and Lewis represents a significant theoretical and pedagogical shift from the past. First, their claims have revived an interest in a central role for accurate language description. Second, they challenge a traditional view of word boundaries, emphasizing the language learner's need to perceive and use patterns of lexis and collocation. Most significant is the underlying claim that language production is not a syntactic rule-governed process but is instead the retrieval of larger phrasal units from memory. Nevertheless, implementing a lexical approach in the classroom does not lead to radical methodological changes. Rather, it involves a change in the teacher's mindset. Most important, the language activities consistent with a lexical approach must be directed toward naturally occurring language and toward raising learners' awareness of the lexical nature of language. References Cowie, A. P. (Eds.). (1988). Stable and creative aspects of vocabulary use. In R. Carter & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching (pp. 126-137). Harlow: Longman. Keller, E. (1979). Gambits: Conversational strategy signals. Journal of Pragmatics, 3, 219-237. Lewis, M. (1993). The lexical approach: The state of ELT and the way forward. Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications. Lewis, M. (1997a). Implementing the lexical approach: Putting theory into practice. Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications. Lewis, M. (1997b). Pedagogical implications of the lexical approach. In J. Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy (pp. 255-270). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nattinger, J. (1980). A lexical phrase grammar for ESL. TESOL Quarterly, 14, 337-344. Nattinger, J., & DeCarrico, J. (1992). Lexical phrases and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pawley, A., & Syder, F. (1983). Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Native-like selection and native-like fluency. In J. Richards & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 191-226). London: Longman. Peters, A. (1983). The units of language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching: A description and analysis (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. Sinclair, J. M. (Ed.). (1987). Looking up: An account of the COBUILD project in lexical computing. London: Collins COBUILD. Sinclair, J. M., & Renouf, A. (Eds.). (1988). A lexical syllabus for language learning. In R. Carter & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching (pp. 140-158). Harlow: Longman. Willis, D. (1990). The lexical syllabus: A new approach to language teaching. London: Collins COBUILD. Willis, J., & Willis, D. (1989). Collins COBUILD English course. London: Collins COBUILD. Zimmerman, C. B. (1997). Historical trends in second language vocabulary instruction. In J. Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy (pp. 5-19). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. #english Organizing and Integrating Information Skills in organizing and integrating information are an important component of thinking critically and of applying the abstract material that you learn at university, and are a prerequisite to independent thinking and problem solving in your discipline. Your education will take on a new dimension when you begin to organize what you learn in your own way, and connect what you learn in your discipline with how you interpret your world. Guidelines and Tips You can begin to think independently simply by working from memory. Reorganize the material you have learned from your lectures and readings in ways that make sense to you; then asking challenging questions about the concepts, and trying to answer them. Try to figure out what kinds of questions are appropriate to ask, and what sorts of answers are required. Another advantage of organizing information is that organized information is much easier to remember than unorganized information, particularly if you organize it yourself. When individual items can be "chunked" into meaningful named groups, learning is facilitated, even though it may appear that you will have more to learn since you will have to learn the names of the categories as well as the items in each category. Keep the number of items in a category small -- try for less than six (if you have more, make up new sub-categories). The following procedures incorporate active learning strategies, and will help you make sense of, and remember, the key concepts and detailed information in your courses. , Work toward developing a rigorous and coherent organization of the information in your course. Start with a concept map, to get a picture of the information, as it stands -- this format will allow you to include all relevant information, but will not commit you to a rigid scheme. Then see if you can fit this information into a standard format, such as a grid, list or linear sequence, Venn diagram, flowchart, logical argument, hierarchical "tree," standard outline, or whatever seems to work best. , Form a study group to discuss the abstract concepts in your course. The university is a community of open-minded but skeptical learners. An effective way to integrate concepts is to see them in a variety of ways or perspectives, and to allow your own interpretations to be challenged. Other people can often do this more effectively than you can, since you may have "blind spots" with regards to weaknesses in your own ideas. Learning Skills Program Resources , The Learning Skills Program has a number of handouts with material that you can use to practice a variety of organizational techniques. , We can help you organize a study group, by meeting with your group and discussing effective strategies. We can also arrange for a room on campus in which your group can meet once a week. Individual Help If you would like to work individually on any of these strategies, be sure to make an appointment with one of us Joe Parsons or David Palmer-Stone. We can help you figure out an organizational strategy appropriate for your needs, and work with you until you can apply it effectively. Courses The Modular Learning Skills Course contains information related to organizing the content of your courses, so that you will be able to use it to prepare efficiently and effectively for exams and assignments. For example, you can build organizational strategies directly into your notetaking and reading activities. Handouts The following handouts on organizing information are available at the Drop-In Center . , Organization Practice - Concept Mapping , Organization Practice - List Structures , Organization Practice - Tables , Organization Practice - Sequential Diagram , Organization Practice - Hierarchical Outline , Concept Mapping , Concept Mapping books in our library