TKT UNITS 15 AND 16

Unit 15 Approaches to language teaching

START

What is an Approach to language teaching?

• Approaches also refer to the ways or methods of teaching that we use in the classroom.

• Refering to our view of language and our view of how language learning takes place.

Key Concepts

• Those approaches differ in their view of language, language learning and in their classroom practices.

Approaches to teaching

Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP)

View of language: Grammatical structures and functions. View of language learning: seeing new language in a context which shows its meaning, practising it in guided conditions.Classroom practices:

• The syllabus focuses on grammatical structures or functions.
• The teacher inputs language and guides students.
• Typical activities are situational presentations and miming at the presentation.

Lexical Approach

View of language: Vocabulary is the most important aspect of language.View of language learning: language is learnt by learning chunks as whole and complete units.Classroom practices:

• The syllabus focuses on lexis.
• Learners work with authentic written or spoken texts.
• Activities that encourage students to notice chunks in texts.

Functional Approach

View of language: functions are the most important aspect of language. View of language learning: as for PPP.

Classroom practices: • The syllabus focuses on functions usually graded according to their frequency of use in practical daily life and to learners' communicative needs. • The Functional Approach does not have any typical practices of its own. It often makes use of PPP tages in lessons, or of communicative activities.

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Communicative approaches

• View of language: communication is the most important aspect of language.
• View of language learning: the best way to learn lapguage is to use it in interaction, rather than to learn about it.

Classroom practices: • The syllabus focuses on tasks, • Pair and group work enable lots of interaction to take place in the classroom. • Fluency is more important than accuracy. • Authentic materials provide useful input for learners and are therefore often used in the classroom. • In the classroom, learners become active users of the language; the teacher's role focuses particularly on setting up communicative activities.

Grammar-Translation

View of language: language is made up of grammatical rules.View of language learning: language is learnt by analysing and applying grammatical rules. Classroom practices: • Studying grammatical rules presented through grammatical terms, then applying them in exercises. • Working out what language means by applying rules. • Learning lists of words by heart. • Translating texts and/or isolated sentences from LI to L2 or vice versa. • Emphasis on grammatical accuracy.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

Classroom practices: Used mainly with young learners and beginners. • The syllabus focuses on grammatical structures and vocabulary involved in giving and following instructions. • Lessons involve the teacher giving instructions and the learners physically carrying out the instructions • At more advanced stages and after their silent period, learners give one another instructions.

View of language: grammatical structures and vocabulary are the most important aspect of language. View of language learning: • Learners learn by being exposed to language. • Learners often need a silent period to take in language, so they should not be forced to speak before they are ready. • Language is learnt best when it is accompanied by doing things physically. • Learning takes place when learners are relaxed.

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Guided discovery

View of language: Meaning and use. View of language learning: Patterns and rules of language by themselves Classroom practices:

• Examples of a target language area
• Rules after students have worked them
• Used together with PPP, Task-based Learning and the Functional Approach.

Content-based learning

View of language: grammatical, lexical, functional areas. View of language learning: Language is l presented through interesting topics. Classroom practices:

• Syllabus focuses on grammar, lexis, functions or skills.
• Primary and secondary schools.
• School subjects about the world.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

View of language: communicate meaning View of language learning: Language is learnt through acquisition and through using it. Classroom practices:

• Syllabus is based on cognitive skills.

• Subject is taught in the L2.
• Lessons focus on the subject.

• The approaches vary in how specific they are about views on language and language learning and their typical classroom practices.

• Language teachers do not use one single approach.
• Eclectic approach: an approach which mixes techniques from different approaches.

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Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

• It is difficult to say that one approach is better than another.

• The best approach to use depends on learners and teaching conditions.

• It is important to mix techniques coherently.

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Unit 16 Presentation Techniques and Introductory activities

They are the ways used by the teacher to focus learners' attention on the meaning, use and form of new language.

Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) lesson:

Presentation • The teacher first puts the target language into a situation. • Then makes sure that the students remember previously studied language. • The teacher next models the target language and the students just listen. Practice learners practice the language structure correctly. By doing very controlled or restricted exercises, exercises. Production • Learners use the newly learnt language structure to produce oral or written texts. Examples, dialogues, oral presentations, and the production of sentences, paragraphs dialogues, role plays.

*The presentation stage of a PPP lesson first sets up a context for presenting the new language that shows its meaning,*Then models the target language for students to repeat before highlighting the form and use of the language. *The lesson then moves on to a practice stage.

Task-based Learning (TBL) lesson:

• The aim of the lesson is for students to complete a task. • The teacher starts by contextualising the topic. • The teacher gives the students tasks to do. • The teacher and students discuss any new or problematic language they needed for the task. • Lastly, the students do a task to consolidate the language.

TBL allows students to focus first on the meaning of the new language rather than its form.

PPP AND TBL

PPP focuses directly on both them meaning or use. Gives students to practice language in a safe learning environment. But gives students few opportunities to really use the language for communication.

On the other hand, PBL allows students to find new language and to use it creatively for real communication. It puts learners in a situation which is quite similar to the one in which children learn their first language. But, Some learners would prefer for more guidance and structure to help them.

PPP AND TBL

PPP focuses directly on both them meaning or use. Gives students to practice language in a safe learning environment. But gives students few opportunities to really use the language for communication.

On the other hand, PBL allows students to find new language and to use it creatively for real communication. It puts learners in a situation which is quite similar to the one in which children learn their first language. But, Some learners would prefer for more guidance and structure to help them.

PPP and TBL are not the only ways of presenting a new language. Examples to present a new language to learners. Guided Discovery to present a target language • Comprehension: Listening or Reading activities • Work out: the meaning of use of that language Oral activities • Discussions

Test-teach-test

The teacher first gives learners a task that requires them to use the target language. After, If this activity shows that the students don't know the target language, the teacher will then present it. Later, Students are going to practice again with the new target language.

Note: Presentation involves techniques that contextualize target language. i.e. Teaching the parts of the body (using realia, mime, explanations, and visual aids).

• Contextualizing aims: help learners to notice and understand the meaning.

• Techniques: focus on the meaning of the target language.

• PPP and guided Discovery: focus on form and meaning.

• Task-based presentations: focus more on meaning.

The introductory stage helps students to focus on its content.

1. Warmers: students' energy levels
2. Lead-ins: Their aim is to focus and motivate students (personalization)

• i.e. introductory activities to global warming

These activities will probably involve

• Pre-teaching
• Key vocabulary
• Comprehension tasks

• When to present the target language?
• What language items to present?
• What context to choose? (Meaningful, personalized, relevant)
• Is important to use warmers activities to introduce the target language?
• The introductory and activities are according to the level of students, age, strengths, and weakness?
• Have I enough resources to present it?
• What style I will use with them?

Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

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