3.7. Language varieties

One last issue needs to be dealt with in this talk: the issue of language variety. Crudely, we can ask whether we should teach American or British English, Jamaican or Nigerian English, Indian or Canadian English. And if it is British English, should it be then Northern or Southern British English?

The situation is very complex and simple at one and the same time. We cannot say that English is one language. It is many languages, or rather, there are many varieties of English used all over the world.

There are some people who would suggest that some of these varieties of English are ‘better’ than others. But this is not an attitude, which has any place here. What we can discuss is whether students should learn one particular variety or whether it matters which variety or varieties they are exposed to.

Three factors are important in this discussion.

1. The first is the variety of English that the teacher uses. That will surely be the one the students become most accustomed to.

2. The second is which variety is most appropriate for the students. If they are going to study in the United States, for example, American English may be preferable to other varieties.

3. The third factor concerns what variety of English is dealt with by the material which the teacher and students are using.

For students at lower levels it is probably advisable to stick with one variety of English. At the secondary school students are traditionally exposed to British English. As students go through the intermediate and advanced areas, they can be exposed to other accents and varieties, as it is the case with English language departments. Indeed, with the status of English as an international language it is vital that any competent user of the language is able to understand as many varieties and accents as possible.

3.8. Conclusions

We have discussed what language students need to learn. We looked at the need to teach students how to produce and recognise the sounds, stress and intonation of the language. We said that for many the goal of native speaker pronunciation was not important (or appropriate), but communicative efficiency was. We emphasised the importance of listening as a way of acquiring pronunciation.

We discussed the grammar the students need to learn, noting that some grammar was necessary for lower level students while some was more stylistically appropriate to advanced levels. We emphasised the need for students to have language awareness and as part of this to use discovery activities.

We discussed the need for students to learn the vocabulary that was appropriate for their level and we stressed the importance of learning vocabulary in context.

We saw how students need to learn ways of performing function in English and how we clearly need to train them in the use of language skills insofar as they apply to a foreign language.

We discussed the basis on which syllabuses are organised and we measured the relative merits of grammar, vocabulary, functions, situations, topics and tasks as the main organising principle round which a syllabus could be designed. We concluded that the job of the syllabus designer was to combine all these elements to a greater or lesser degree depending upon the needs of the students.

Finally, we discussed the many varieties of English. We said, that at lower levels the teacher’s variety of English might be the main one for the students, whereas for more advanced students knowledge of many varieties is a definite advantage.

Discussion

1. How important is good pronunciation for an English teacher? How important is it for school students? What is good pronunciation?

2. How important is it to teach grammar? What is the best way of doing it?

3. Would you teach the four skills equally on a general English course? Would the level of the students matter?

4. In what ways (if at all) would you restrict the syllabus if your students were: a) KGB overseas operators; b) taxi drivers; c) travel agents; d) businessmen.

5. Find any authentic piece of English writing. What language would you make your students especially aware of when they read it? What level would your students need to be to understand it? How would you change it for the students a level lower/ higher?

6. List as many functions as you can. Choose one and say how many ways there are of performing it. Would you teach your students all of them in school? Why?

7. Make a list of 10 words you would teach beginners and 10 words you would definitely not teach beginners. What is different about the words in the 2 lists?

8. Make a list of the varieties of language spoken in the Crimea. Which variety would you teach a foreigner? Why?

4

In this talk we will look at some of the main theories and trends that have informed the practice of English language teaching over the last decades. From this over-view we will draw up a language learning and teaching methodological approach to the learning of languages which takes account of categories of input and output and which is based on the rational balance between non-communicative and communicative activities.

. LANGUAGE LEARNING AND LANGUAGE TEACHING

4.1. Methods of language teaching

4.1.1. Traditional learning theories and approaches

1. Grammar-translation method

2. Direct method

1. Behaviourism: Audio-lingual method

2. Cognitivism

1. Structural approach

2. Structural-situational method

3. Situational syllabus

4.1.4. Communicative approach

4.1.5. Functional-notional courses

6. Acquisition and learning

7. Task-based learning

8. Humanistic approaches

9. Self-directed learning

10. Neuro-linguistic programming

4.2. Foreign language learning

4.3. Input and output

4.4. A balanced activities approach

4.5. Conclusions