lunes, 26 de septiembre de 2011

Theoretical bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing

Theoretical bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing
Canale & Swain

1. Background (p.2)
1.1 Difference in the syllabus depending on a Grammatical or a Communicative Approach / Situational Syllabus
1.2 Difference in concept between Communicative Competence and Performance (p.3). Definitions by Chomsky (1965) and Campbell and Wales (1970)

2. Some theories of Communicative Competence (p.8)
2.1 Basic Communication Skills Theory (“emphasizes the minimum level of communication skills needed to get along in language situations”) / Disadvantages and drawbacks of this theory (p.10) / Specifications or Principles of this theory  / Conclusion: grammatical competence is not a good predictor of communicative competence.
2.2 Sociolinguistic perspectives on communicative competence (p.15)
      Relation between language and social context
Theories of Hymes (1972), (p.15) and Halliday (1973), (p.17)
2.3 Integrative Theories (p.19)
      Munby´s Model: sociocultural orientation, sociosemantic view of linguistic knowledge and rules     of discourse (p.20)
     Drawbacks of Integrative Theories (p.22)
2.4 Comments of the proposed theories (p.25)

3. Toward an adequate theory of Communicative Competence (p.27)
3.1 Principles that guide a Communicative Competence Approach: it must address the learner´s needs, learner must be involved in producing interaction, provide learner with learning situations, etc.
3.2 Competences required to reach a communicative competence: grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence and strategic competence. (p.28) / Definition of Communication (p.29)
3.3 Teaching with a Communicative Competence Approach (p.31): focus on Syllabus design, focus on teaching Methodology (p.33), Role of the teacher
3.4 Assessment in Communicative Competence and Communicative Performance (p.34)

4. Further Investigation

lunes, 12 de septiembre de 2011

Teaching by Principles- Brown

5) Classes operate more successfully by encouraging intrinsic motivation.
I think teenagers (which is the age I teach) feel that knowing English is going to be useful for their future. They are learning because they know that knowing a second language is an important tool. I think that when they are intrinsically motivated they have a better attitude towards learning the language. As a teacher we should motivate our students to feel interested on the knew knowledge they will acquire.

6) With new language learners, teachers need to be gentle and empathetic.
I consider the teacher´s personality a key factor when being in contact with students. In my experience, last year I had an awful experience becuase I didn´t know how to set a limit between them and me. Being gentle and empathetic doesn´t mean that you don´t have to be demanding or strict. Teenagers know that there ´re certain teachers that are more relaxed or less demanding, and they know they can do whatever they want with them. A good teacher, in my opinion, is the one that is gentle, nice, patient, but also that teaches respect and makes students give their best.

8) The language classroom should have plenty of meaningful learning.
Meaningful learning is the one that is going to last for life. If they give a meaning to language, or what students learn makes sense, that information will stay forever with them, and they will know how to apply it in daily experiences.

13) A communicative class should give special attention to fluency / accuracy.
I think this is the neverending debate. My classes are more focused on fluency. I don´t overcorrect studetns when they are talking as that can be tedious and even humiliating for them. But when they are answering a grammar test, of course I focus on accuracy as that what is being evaluated. Sometimes students don´t focus on grammar skills, so their message is affected.

viernes, 2 de septiembre de 2011

Summary of Different Approaches


The Audiolingual Method (1940s) consisted in repeating drills in the target language, with almost none grammatical explanation. The idea was that the language was not explained, only taught. Teachers had to communicate in the target language making special emphasis in pronunciation.

In the 70s other methods appeared. For example, the Community Language Learning (CLL) said that the class should be treated as a group; therefore, students and teacher interact with one another in order to facilitate the learning process. The teacher´s presence is essential as he/she is the one in charge of building a relationship amongst the students, their needs, etc. The students will say an utterance in his/her native language, and the teacher must translate it into the target language. The group will always be supported by the counselor (teacher) who will help them to cope with frustration or anxiety.

In the late 70s, Suggestopedia appeared. It postulated that if you are in a relaxed and open position, the brain will receive much information. For this, relaxation is essential; therefore, music plays a central role. The teacher has all the authority as he is the one that provides all the input by reading different passages, and students merely repeat and try to memorize.

The Silent way is another method used to teach a second language. Students were shown different rods in order for them to learn colors, numbers, sizes, etc. The teacher is silent and only shows the students the rods.

Total Physical Response (TPR) was developed in 1977. The premise for this method is that children spend two years without pronouncing a word, and then they start speaking. At the same time, on their first years, children only respond to stimuli in a physical way. So, the idea is that the teacher mentions a command, and students have to act it. The problem with this method is that it seems to be effective only in a beginner’s level.

The Natural Approach was postulated by Stephen Krashen in the mid 80s. The essential element of this approach is the “comprehensible input” provided by the teacher. The goal is that students are able to communicate in everyday situations.

These methods use different methodologies in order to reach the desired goal that is the command of a second Language. As the author of the text says “your responsibility as a teacher is to choose the best of what others have experimented with and adapt those insights to your own situation” (p.66)