- •Alexander kamensky
- •4.5. Conclusions 93
- •5.7. Conclusions 108
- •7.8. Conclusions 163
- •8.7. Conclusions 202
- •9.6. Conclusions 205
- •9.2.2. Grammar 209
- •9.4. Aims of teaching reading in a secondary school 219
- •9.5. How to teach reading 224
- •9.6. Conclusions 233
- •Introduction
- •1.1. Reasons for learning languages
- •1.2. Success in language learning
- •1.2.1. Motivation
- •1.2.2. Extrinsic motivation
- •1.2.3. Intrinsic motivation
- •He teaches good pronunciation.
- •He explains clearly.
- •He speaks good English.
- •1.3. Motivational differences
- •1.3.1. Children
- •1.3.2. Adolescents
- •1.3.3. Adult beginners
- •1.3.4. Adult intermediate students
- •1.3.5. Adult advanced students
- •1.4. Conclusions
- •2. Areas of a native speaker knowledge
- •2.1. Pronunciation
- •2.1.1. Sounds
- •2.1.2. Stress
- •2.1.3. Intonation
- •2.2. Grammar
- •2.3. Vocabulary
- •2.4. Discourse
- •2.4.1. Appropriateness
- •2.4.1.1. Communicative competence
- •2.4.1.2. Interaction with context
- •2.4.1.3. Structuring discourse
- •2.4.2. Global communicative competence
- •2.5. Language skills
- •2.5.1. Skills and sub-skills
- •2.6. Conclusions
- •3. What a language student should learn
- •3.1. Pronunciation
- •3.1.1. The importance of listening
- •3.2. Grammar
- •3.2.1. The importance of language awareness
- •3.3. Vocabulary
- •3.3.1. Vocabulary in context
- •3.4. Discourse
- •3.4.1. Language functions
- •3.5. Skills
- •3.6. The syllabus
- •3.6.1. Structures and functions
- •3.6.2. Vocabulary
- •3.6.3. Situation, topic and task
- •3.6.4. The syllabus and student needs
- •3.7. Language varieties
- •3.8. Conclusions
- •4.1. Methods of language teaching
- •4.1.1. Traditional learning theories and approaches
- •4.1.1.1. Grammar-translation method
- •4.1.1.2. Direct method
- •4.1.2. Behaviourism: Audio-lingual method
- •4.1.3. Cognitivism
- •4.1.3.1. Structural approach
- •4.1.3.2. Structural-situational method
- •4.1.3.3. Situational syllabus
- •4.1.4. Communicative approach
- •4.1.5. Functional-notional courses
- •Functions and notions
- •4.1.6. Acquisition and learning
- •Intonation
- •4.1.7. Task-based learning
- •4.1.8. Humanistic approaches
- •4.1.9. Self-directed learning
- •4.1.10. Neuro-Linguistic Programming
- •4.2. Foreign language learning
- •4.3. Input and output
- •4.4. A balanced activities approach
- •4.5. Conclusions
- •5. Teaching the productive skills
- •5.1. The nature of communication
- •5.2. The information gap
- •5.3. The communication continuum
- •Communicative Activities
- •5.4. Stages in language learning/ teaching
- •5.4.1. Introducing new language
- •5.4.2. Practice
- •5.4.3. Communicative activities
- •5.4.4. The relationship between different stages
- •5.5. Integrating skills
- •5.6. Speaking and writing
- •5.7. Conclusions
- •6. Typology of exercises in teaching english
- •6.1. What is an exercise: Psychological and pedagogical background
- •6.1.1. Exercise as an item of teaching
- •6.1.2. Teaching curve
- •6.1.3. Structure of an exercise
- •Exercise
- •1. Instruction
- •2. Model
- •3. Control
- •6.2. Different approaches to the problem of classification of exercises
- •6.3. Criteria of classification of exercises: Types and kinds
- •6.4. System of exercises
- •6.4.1. Basic notions of a system, subsystem, complex, series, cycle, group of exercises
- •4 Skills
- •6.4.2. Characteristics of the system of exercises
- •6.4.3. Basic methodological principles of constructing the system of exercises
- •6.5. Conclusions
- •7.1. Speaking as a skill
- •7.2. Aims of teaching speaking in a secondary school
- •7.3. Linguistic peculiarities of dialogical speech
- •7.3.1. Functional correlation of dialogue replies
- •7.3.2. Structural correlation of replies
- •7.3.3. Kinds of dialogical unit
- •7.3.4. Functional types of dialogue
- •7.4. Stages of teaching dialogue
- •7.4.1. Dialogical unit as an item of teaching
- •7.4.2. Communicative situations
- •7.4.3. Four faces of a situation
- •7.4.4. System of exercises in teaching dialogical speech
- •7.4.4.1. Exercises of group 1
- •7.4.4.2. Exercises of group 2
- •7.4.4.3. Exercises of group 3
- •7.4.4.4. Exercises of group 4
- •7.5. Psychological and linguistic peculiarities of dialogic and monologic speech. Types of monologue
- •7.5.1. Psychological characteristics of dialogue and monologue
- •7.5.2. Linguistic characteristics of dialogue and monologue
- •7.6. Functional types of monologue
- •7.7. System of exercises in teaching monologic speech
- •7.7.1. Exercises of group I
- •7.7.2. Exercises of Group 2
- •Verbal sound and illustrative (visual) aids
- •7.7.3. Exercises of group 3
- •7.8. Conclusions
- •8. Teaching the receptive skills: listening
- •8.7. Conclusions
- •8.1. Role and place of listening in teaching English
- •8.2. Listening as a skill in real-life communication
- •8.3. Typology of listening
- •8.3.1. Kinds of listening
- •8.3.2. Types of listening
- •8.4. Types of text for teaching listening in school
- •8.4.1. Authentic and non-authentic listening
- •8.4.2. Structure of texts for listening
- •8.4.3. Types of text for listening
- •8.5. Major premises and conditions for effective teaching listening
- •8.5.1. Major premises for listening
- •8.5.2. Conditions for effective listening
- •8.6. System of exercises in teaching listening comprehension in school
- •8.6.1. Preparatory exercises: Isolating the listening skill
- •8.6.2. Preparatory exercises: Non-isolated listening skill
- •8.6.2.1. Exercises in finding grammatical cues
- •8.6.2.2. Exercises in guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words
- •8.6.2.3. Exercises in understanding sentences containing unfamiliar words which do not interfere with comprehension
- •8.6.2.4. Exercises in anticipation
- •8.6.2.5. Exercises in eliciting different categories of meaningful information (time, space, cause, effect, etc.)
- •8.6.2.6. Exercises in estimating types of cohesion
- •8.6.2.7. Exercises in telling the main idea in a group of sentences
- •8.6.2.8. Exercises in developing auditive memory and attention
- •8.6.3. Authentic listening material
- •8.6.3.1. Authentic listening material at the early stages
- •8.6.3.2. Communicative exercises: Teaching listening as a skill
- •8.6.4. Using listening comprehension dialogues in class
- •8.6.5. How to justify the use of songs
- •8.7. Conclusions
- •9. Teaching the receptive skills: reading
- •9.2.2. Grammar
- •9.6. Conclusions
- •9.1. Reading as perception of information
- •9.1.1. Vocalisation and verbose
- •9.1.2. Redundancy
- •9.1.2.1. Uncertainty and information
- •9.1.2.2. Sources of redundancy
- •9.2. Reading as interpretation of information
- •9.2.1. Surface and deep structures
- •9.2.2. Grammar
- •9.2.3. Learning: Knowledge
- •9.2.4. Three faces of memory
- •9.3. Reading as a skill
- •9.3.1. Reading in real life: Functions
- •9.3.2. Interest and usefulness
- •9.3.3. Purpose and expectations
- •9.3.4. Specialist skills of reading
- •9.3.4.1. Predictive skills
- •9.3.4.2. Extracting specific information
- •9.3.4.3. Getting the general picture
- •9.3.4.4. Extracting detailed information
- •9.3.4.5. Recognising function and discourse patterns
- •9.3.4.6. Deducing meaning from context
- •9.4. Aims of teaching reading in a secondary school
- •9.4.1. Reading as a vehicle of teaching
- •9.4.2. Aims of teaching reading in school
- •9.4.3. Kinds of reading mastered in school
- •9.4.4. Techniques of reading and stages of teaching
- •9.5. How to teach reading
- •9.5.1. Teaching reading aloud
- •9.5.1.1. Three methods of teaching reading aloud
- •9.5.1.2. Grapheme-phonemic exercises
- •9.5.1.3. Structural information exercises
- •9.5.2. Teaching silent reading
- •9.5.2.1. The twin problem of analysis and synthesis
- •9.5.2.2. Semantic-communicative exercises
- •9.6. Conclusions
1.1. Reasons for learning languages
People who wish to learn a foreign language may have any one of a great number of different reasons for language study. If we take English as an example we can make a tentative list of these reasons. This list is not exhaustive but it will give an idea of the great variety of such reasons: school curriculum, advancement, target language community, culture, English for special purposes, miscellaneous.
School curriculum
Probably the greatest number of language students in the world does it because it is on the school curriculum. They study English only because they have to. English is part of the school curriculum because someone in authority has taken a decision that it should be so. For many of these students English is something that both they and their parents want to have taught. For others the study of languages is something they feel neutral or sometimes negative about.
Advancement
Some people want to study English because they think it offers, in some general way, a chance for advancement in their professional lives. It is possible that a good knowledge of a foreign language will help them get a better job than if they only know their mother tongue. English has a special position here since it has become the international language of communication.
Target language community
Students may find themselves living either temporarily or permanently in the target language community. A target language community (TLC) is one where the inhabitants speak the language, which the student is learning. For students of English an English-speaking country would be a TLC. The students will have to learn English to survive in that community.
Culture
Some students study a foreign language because they are attracted to the culture of one of the TLCs. They learn the language because they want to know more about the people who speak it, the places where it is spoken and, in some cases, the writings that it has produced.
English for special purposes
The term English for Special or Specific Purposes (ESP) has been applied to situations where students have some specific reasons for wanting to learn the language. E.g., an air traffic controller needs English primarily to guide aircraft through skies. He may not use the language at all apart from this. Business executives need English for international trade. The waiter may need English to serve his customers. These needs have often been referred to as English for Occupational Purposes (EOP).
Students who are going to study at a university in the English-speaking country may need English so that they can write reports or essays and function in a seminar situation. This is often called English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Students of medicine or nuclear physics or other scientific disciplines studying in their own countries need to be able to read articles and textbooks about those subjects in English. This is often referred to as English for Science and Technology (EST). We can summarise the differences in the following way:
ESP
EOP EAP EST
What is interesting about all these examples is that the type of English the students want to learn may be different. Waiters might want to speak and listen whereas scientists may want to read and write.
Miscellaneous
There are, of course, many other possible reasons for learning a language. Some people do it just for fun – because they like the activity of going to class. Some people do it because they want to be tourists in a country where that language is spoken. Some people do it because all their friends are learning the language. A student might well go to a class because he likes a particular person in the class or, in general, likes the atmosphere of the class: perhaps the student has simply heard that English classes at a certain school are enjoyable or prestigious, etc.
It will be clear from this list that there are many possible reasons for studying a language. What will also be clear is that not all the students mentioned above will necessarily be treated in the same way. The students who are only interested in one of the forms of ESP mentioned above could be taught very differently from the students who are learning English for fun. Students who study English because it is on the curriculum need to be handled in a different way from those who go to a language institute out of choice.
Most students who decide to go to a language school do so for a mixture of the reasons mentioned above. We will be focusing on them and we will also be dealing with students for whom English is part of the curriculum. We will not concentrate specifically on students of ESP although we will be mentioning them at various stages throughout the course.