Transcript Language Teaching Methodology

Language,
Language Learning
and Teaching Methhod
Hangzhou Normal University
Liu Qixuan
Learning points:
1. View of language
2. View of learning
3. Teaching
4. Framework of language teaching
method
I. View of Language
Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How do we usually learn things?
How do you know that plum is sour?
How do we usually learn languages?
How do children learn their mother tongue?
How do we learn the second langauge—
English?
What is language?
A number of definitions about language
Brown, 2007:6
Three views about the nature of language
1. structural view of language
The structural view of language sees language
as a linguistic system made up of various
subsystems (Larsen-freeman and Long, 1991)
This system includes:
--- phonological units (phonemes)
--- grammatical units (phrases, clauses, sentences)
--- grammatical operations (adding, shifting, joining or
transforming elements)
--- lexical items (function words and structure words)
structural view of language
The areas of research in this view of language:
--- linguistic analysis
---textual discourse analysis
Target of language learning:
--- the mastery of elements of this system.
Methods based on this view :
---The Audiolingual method
---Total Physical Response
--- the Silent Way
2. The communicative / functional
view of language
The communicative, or functional view of
language is the view that language is a vehicle for
the expression of functional meaning. The semantic
and communicative dimensions of language are
more emphasized than the grammatical
characteristics, although these are also included.
Areas of research:
--- sociolinguistics
--- pragmatics
--- semantics
2. The communicative / functional
view of language
Target of language learning
--- to learn to express communication functions and
categories of meaning
Approaches and methods based on this view
---communicative approaches
--- functional-notional syllabuses
--- The Natural Approach
3. The interactional view of language
The interactional view of language sees language
primarily as the means for establishing and
maintaining interpersonal relationships and for
performing social transactions between individuals.
Areas of research
--- interactional analysis
---conversational analysis
--- ethnomethodology
The interactional view of language
Target of language learning
--- learning to initiate and maintain conversations
with other people.
Approaches and methods based on this view
--- Strategic interaction
--- communicative approaches
自洪堡特以来的有些著名语言学家和哲学家给语言所下的定义:
1．从语言与人类精神活动的关系来认识语言的本质特征的。
－Hunmboldt :语言是构成思想的工具。
－Stendhal :语言……是对意识到的内部的、心理的和精神的运动、状态和关系
的有声的表达。
2．从语言的功能的监督出发来对语言下定义的：
－Sapir :语言是利用任意产生的符号体系来表达思想感情和愿望的人类特有的非
本能的方法。
－Lenin :语言是人类最重要的交际工具。
3．从语言的结构特征来下定义的：
－Saussure :语言是表达思想的符号体系。
－Hjemslev :语言是……纯关系结构,……是不依赖于实际表现的形式或公式。
4．从语言的心理和认知基础的角度来认识语言的本质特征的：
－Chomsky :语言是一种能力,是人脑中一种特有的机制。
5．从语言的社会属性来理解语言的(蚕茧兹维金采夫《普通语言学纲要》) （束
定芳,1999 。《现代外语教学》[ M]。上海外语教育出版社。）
－Meillet :语言毫无疑问是社会现象。
（来源：山东师大外国语学院学报2001 第3 期(总第8 期) 语言的本质与外语
教学，李吉全）
II. Language Learning and
learning in general
Brown breaks down learning into
the following components:
Brown, 2007:9
Four views
. Behaviorist theory
. Cognitive theory
. Constructivist theory
. Socio-constructivist theory
1. First view
Behaviorist theory
.
John Waston’s behaviorism
1878-1958
1913: "Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It"
( Psychological Review. )
Here, he outlined the behaviorist program .
1914: Behaviorism: An Introduction to
comparative Psychology.
Ivan Pavlov 1849-1946
Stimulus –Response Learning
Thorndike’s
Trial & Error S-R Learning
1874-1949
Skinner’s behaviorism
Learning happens
through :
S –R –R
Learning is the form of behavior
which can be observed. Learning
happens through stimulus and
response.
Behaviorist theories of learning seek scientific,
demonstrable explanations for simple behaviors.
For these reasons, and since humans are
considered to resemble machines, behaviorist
explanations tend to be somewhat mechanical in
nature. "They make use of one or both of two
principal classes of explanations for learning: those
based on contiguity (simultaneity of stimulus and
response events) and those based on the effects of
behavior (reinforcement and punishment)"
(Lefrancois 1988:29).
Behaviorists believe that by presenting
the right stimulus and providing reinforcement
one can learn any response. This change in
response is seen as learning. The role of the
teacher is to direct the classroom and be active
in reinforcement, maximizing interaction and
feedback with students.
2. Second view
Cognitive theory
.
Cognitivism focuses on an unobservable
change in mental knowledge, trying to discover
psychological principles of organization and
functioning.
Cognitivism came about as a rejection of the
behaviorist views. Psychologists believed that
mental events, or cognitivism, could no longer be
ignored.
Chomsky’s theory :
Language is not a form of behavior, it is
an intricate rule-based system and a
large part of language acquisition is the
learning of this system.
He produced the ideas of:
LAD and
UG
Language is innate. A large
part of acquisition happens
because of the rule-based system
existing in one’s mind. The UG in
people’s mind makes the possibility
of the production of language.
General Assumptions of Cognitive Theories
－Some learning processes may be unique to human beings.
－Cognitive processes are the focus of study.
－Objective, systematic observations of people's behavior
should be the focus of scientific inquiry, however, inferences
about unobservable mental processes can often be drawn
from such behavior.
－Individuals are actively involved in the learning process.
－Learning involves the formation of menatal assocaitions that
are not necessarily reflected in overt behavior changes.
－Knowledge is organized.
－Learning is a process of relating new information to
previously learned innformation.
General Educational Implications of
Cognitive Theories
－Cognitive processes influence learning.
－As children grow, they become capable of
increasingly more sophisticated thought.
－People organize the things they learn.
－New information is most easily acquired when
people can associate it with things they have
already learned.
－People control their own learning.
Cognitivists believe learning happens
when one processes information. People
structure information into schema, a
network of thoughts and ideas. As new
information is presented, it is assimilated
or causes a restructuring of the network.
Key Concepts of Cognitive Theory
• Schema
• Three-Stage Information Processing Model
---sensory register
-- Short-term memory
--Long-Term Memory and Storage
• Meaningful Effects
• Serial Position Effects
• Practice Effects –
• Transfer Effects
• Interference Effects.
• Organization Effects.
• Levels of Processing Effects
• State Dependent Effects
• Mnemonic Effects
• Schema Effects
• Advance Organizers
3. Third view
Constructivist theory
.
Constructivist theory
- Learning is a process in which meaning
construction is based on learner’s
experiences and what the learner
already knows.
- The goal of education is to develop
learner’s mind not the ability of rote recall.
- Teaching should be based on what
learners already learn and get learners
actively involved in learning.
Behaviorism treats the organism as a black box 。
Cognitive theory recognises the importance of the mind in
making sense of the material with which it is presented. It also
presupposes that the role of the learner is primarily to
assimilate whatever the teacher presents.
Constructivism，particularly in its "social“ forms，uggests
that the learner is much more actively involved in a joint
enterprise with the teacher of creating ("constructing") new
meanings.
4. Fourth view
Social-constructivist theory
.
Social-constructivist theory
- emphasizes the dynamic interaction in
the classroom
- It is based on the concept
of ZPD ("Zone of Proximal
Development)" and
scaffolding
(Vygotsky).
III. Teaching and
the framework of teaching method
Teaching
“to satisfy the practical demands of education, theories
of learning must be ‘stood on their head’ so as to yield
theories of teaching.” ( Nathan Gage”)
“Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the
learners to learn, setting the conditions for learning. Your
understanding of how the learner learns will determine your
phylosophy of education, your teaching style, your
approach, methods and classroom techniques.” (Brown, H.
D, 2002:7-8)
Teaching
“Language teaching can be defined as the
activities which are intended to bring about
language learning.”
(Stern, H. H., 1999:21)
“Since language teaching is defined as ‘activities
intended to bring about language learning’, a
theory of language teaching always implies
concerns of language learning.”
(Stern. H. H, 1999:21
Teaching methods answer the questions:
What is the purpose of education?
And what are the best ways of achieving
these purposes?".
The framework of language
teaching method
Method
approach
approaches are language
teaching philosophies that can be
interpreted and applied in a
variety of different ways in the
classroom.
design
procedure
Richards, & Rodgers, 2001
Approach defines those foundational
assumptions, beliefs, and theories about the
nature of language and language learning.
Design specifies the relationships of theories to
both the form and use of instructional materials.
Procedure comprises classroom techniques and
practices consequent upon particular
approaches and designs. The discussion is in
three parts
Approach
A theory of the nature of language
--an account of the nature of language
proficiency
--an account of the basic units of language
structure
A theory of the nature of language learning
--an account of the psycholinguistic and
cognitive processes involved in language
learning
--and account of the condition that allow for
successful use of these processes
Design
a. The general and specific objectives of the method
b. syllabus model
--criteria for the selection and organization of linguistic / or subject-matter content
c. Types of learning and teaching activities
--kinds of tasks and practice activities to be employed in the classroom and in
materials
d. learner roll
-- types of learning tasks set for learners
-- degree of control learners have over the content of learning
-- patterns of learner groupings that are recommended or implied
-- degree to which learners influence the learning of others
-- the view of the learner as a processor, performer, initiator, problem solver, etc.
e. Teacher roles
-- types of functions teachers fulfill
-- degree of teacher influence over learning
-- degree to which the teacher determines the content of learning
-- types of interaction between teachers and learners
f. the role of instructional materials
-- primary function of materials
-- the form materials take (e. g. , textbooks, audiovisual)
--relation of materials to other input
-- assumptions made about teachers and learning
Procedure
Classroom techniques, practices, and
behaviors observed when the method is
used
-- resources in terms of time, space, and
equipment used by the teacher
-- interactional patterns observed in lesson
--tactics and strategies used by teachers
and learners when the method is being
used
“ A method is theoretically related to
approach, is organizationally determined
by design and is practically realized
through procedure.”
(Richards & Rodgers, 2001)
Major References
Brown，H. D. 2002. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 北京：外语教学
与研究出版社
Richards, J. C. & T. S. Rodgers. 2001. Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching. (2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
李吉全. 语言的本质与外语教学山东师大外国语学院学报2001 第3 期(总第8 期)
束定芳. 1999 . 现代外语教学[ M]. 上海外语教育出版社
王蔷. 2006. 英语教学法教程（第2版）[M]. 北京：高等教育出版社，2006
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language.