Hong Duc University

Foreign Language Department

An Introduction to Second language

teaching Methodology

Edited and adapted: Nguyen Thi Quyet

Thanh Hoa, October, 2009

Language Teaching methodology – An introduction

Table of contents

Table of contents…………………………………………………………………..…1

I. Tradition to English teaching methodology…………………………………..……2

1. The Grammar-Translation Approach (GTM) ………………………………….…2

2. The Audiolingual Method……………………………………………………..…..3

3. Suggestopedia…………………………………………………………………...…4

4. The Silent way………………………………………………………………….…5

5. Community Language Learning……………………………………….…….……6

6. Total physical response………………………………………………….…….…..6

7. The Notional Functional Syllabus……………………………………….……..….7

8. CLT- An overview…………………………………………………………..……7

II. Variation in Language learning ……………………………………………..….…9

1. Characteristics of a good language learner…………………………………..……9

2. Intelligences……………………………………………………………….……....9

3. Aptitude……………………………………………………….……………….....10

4. Personality………………………………………………………………….…….10

5. Learner Preferences………………………………………………...………..…...11

6. Learner beliefs……………………………………………………………………12

7. Age of acquisition……………………………………………………………….12

8. Motivation and attitude…………………………………………………….….…14

III. Role of the teacher in Second language learning…………………………….…16

IV. The Four Language Skills………………………………………………….…...18

VI. Teacher’s adaptation to social situation………………………………….….….18

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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction

2
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction

I. Tradition to English teaching methodology

1. The Grammar-Translation Approach (GTM)
This approach was historically used in teaching Greek and Latin. The approach was
generalized to teaching modern languages.
Classes are taught in the students' mother tongue, with little active use of the target
language. Vocabulary is taught in the form of isolated word lists. Elaborate
explanations of grammar are always provided. Grammar instruction provides the
rules for putting words together; instruction often focuses on the form and
5 inflection of words. Reading of difficult texts is begun early in the course of study.
Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in
grammatical analysis. Often the only drills are exercises in translating
disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue, and vice
versa. Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.
1 Let’s imagine to experience a lesson of GTM, there is a passage that all is used in
0 the classroom, each student is called on to read a few lines form the passage. After
he has finished reading, he is asked to translate into Vietnamese the few lines that
he has just read. The teacher helps him with new vocabulary items. When the
students have finished reading and translating the passage, the teacher asks them in
Vietnamese if they have any questions. At this stage, students can ask the meaning
1 of an English word that s/he does not know. The teacher then pick out the
5 structures and explain. After that the teacher supplies a list of vocabulary items that
appeared in the passage. The list is divided into two parts: the first contains words,
and the second, idioms like “to give someone a cold shoulder”. Next to each is a
Vietnamese word or phrase. In the following parts, the students will be asked to:
1. Write out the translation of the reading passage into Vietnamese.
2 2. State the rule for the use of a direct object with two-word verbs, and apply it to
0 other phrasal verbs.
3. Do the remaining exercises in the chapter that include practice with one set of
irregular past participle forms. The students will be asked to memorize the present
tense, past tense, and past participle forms of this irregular paradigm.
4. Memorize the remaining vocabulary items and write sentences for each.
2 5. Take a quiz on the grammar and vocabulary of this chapter. They will be asked
5 to translate a Vietnamese paragraph about the content related to the reading
passage into English.

Questions:
1. Which skills are emphasized in Grammar-Translation Method?
2. What is the role of the teacher and the role of the learner?
3. Is this method suitable to today’s social requirement? Why (not)?
4. In what case should we apply this approach?

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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
2. The Audiolingual Method
1 This method is based on the principles of behavior psychology. It adapted many of
the principles and procedures of the Direct Method, in part as a reaction to the
lack of speaking skills of the Reading Approach.
New material is presented in the form of a dialogue. Based on the principle that
5 language learning is habit formation, the method fosters dependence on mimicry,
memorization of set phrases and over-learning. Structures are sequenced and
taught one at a time. Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills. Little or
no grammatical explanations are provided; grammar is taught inductively. Skills
are sequenced: Listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed in order.
1 Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context. Teaching points are
0 determined by contrastive analysis between L1 and L2. There is abundant use of
language laboratories, tapes and visual aids. There is an extended pre-reading
period at the beginning of the course. Great importance is given to precise native-
like pronunciation. Use of the mother tongue by the teacher is permitted, but
discouraged among and by the students. Successful responses are reinforced; great
1 care is taken to prevent learner errors. There is a tendency to focus on
5 manipulation of the target language and to disregard content and meaning.
Hints for Using Audio-lingual Drills in L2 Teaching
1. The teacher must be careful to insure that all of the utterances which students
will make are actually within the practiced pattern. For example, the use of the
AUX verb have should not suddenly switch to have as a main verb.
2 2. Drills should be conducted as rapidly as possible so as to insure automaticity
0 and to establish a system.
3. Ignore all but gross errors of pronunciation when drilling for grammar practice.
4. Use of shortcuts to keep the pace of drills at a maximum. Use hand motions,
signal cards, notes, etc. to cue response. You are a choir director.
5. Use normal English stress, intonation, and juncture patterns conscientiously.
2 6. Drill materials should always be meaningful. If the content words are not
5 known, teach their meanings.
7. Intersperse short periods of drill (about 10 minutes) with very brief alternative
activities to avoid fatigue and boredom.
8. Introduce the drill in this way:
a. Focus (by writing on the board, for example)
3 b. Exemplify (by speaking model sentences)
0 c. Explain (if a simple grammatical explanation is needed)
d. Drill
9. Don’t stand in one place; move about the room standing next to as many
different students as possible to spot check their production. Thus, you will know
who to give more practice to during individual drilling.
3 10. Use the "backward buildup" technique for long and/or difficult patterns.
5 --tomorrow
--in the cafeteria tomorrow
--will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow
--Those boys will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow.

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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
11. Arrange to present drills in the order of increasing complexity of student
4 response. The question is: How much internal organization or decision making
0 must the student do in order to make a response in this drill. Thus: imitation first,
single-slot substitution next, then free response last.

4
5

Questions:
1. Which skills are not emphasized in this method?
2. Which theory is the base of this method?
3. Which technique is the most important in this method?
4. What are the strong points and weak points of the method?
5. Which skills are emphasized in this method?
6. What is the role of learners like? Active or passive?
3. Suggestopedia
The person who developed this method was Lozonov. According to him, learning will
take place best under the appropriate conditions. Ss should learn in a state of deep
relaxation bordering on hypnosis. Hypnosis could be treated through Yoga, rhythmic
breath, and listening to the teacher’s reading, at the same time music is played.
Researchers believe that Ss could learn huge amount of vocabulary. It could be between
1,000 and 3,000 words per day. However, in reality, Suggestopedia theorists would not
prove that their learners were able to learn as much as those who follow traditional
methods.
The steps of a specific lesson could be demonstrated as follows:
The students are seated in cushioned armchairs that are arranged in a semicircle
facing the front of the room. The lighting is dim. There is soft music playing. There are
several posters on the walls. Most of them are travel posters with scenes from America; a
few, however, contain grammatical information.
The teacher greets the Ss in Vietnamese and tells them what they are about to begin a
new and exciting experience in language learning. She says confidently, ‘You won’t need
to try to learn. It will just come naturally. Sit back and enjoy yourself”
The teacher puts on a record of The Grand Canyon Suite and invites the students to close
their eyes and to become aware of their breathing. “In, out. In, out”, she says in almost a
whisper. She then invites the students to take an imaginary trip with her. She tells them
that they are going to visit America. She will be the guide. She describes the airplane
flight, what they may see when they first land and how they will feel in the airport. She
tells them to listen to the English all around them and to feel themselves replying fluently
in English to questions posed to them by the customs and immigration officials. “Now,”
she says, “slowly bring your awareness back to this room, its sounds and its smells. When
you are ready, open your eyes. Welcome to English!”
....................................
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
Questions:
1. How do you like this method?
2. Do you want to apply this method? Why (not)?
3. What is the belief of those who generate this method?
4. What are the strong points of this method?
5. Who generated the method?
6. What are the conditions of learning?
7. What is the claim of scientists that this method is better than others?
8. Why can’t it be popular?
4. The Silent way
It is a prominent humanistic method, devised by Gattegno. In this method, no
mother tongue is used, researchers believed that the learning of a language is a
mysterious process. They emphasized the learners’ autonomy which is
generated from the teacher and teaching situation. In which learners will pay
5 attention on a limited amount of language, common actions associated with the
manipulation of a number of colored objects and the duty of the learners is to
find out the word after the teacher’s explicit action and mime it, at the same
time, learn it.
Although researchers claimed that the method is learner-centered, it is highly
1 controlled and extremely manipulative of the Ss. What’s more, the techniques
0 used are very much of Audiolingualism. Teacher is the director and monitor,
while learners are those who have to find out how language works, and the
materials are used to elicit language.

Observation of the class lesson:

1. The teacher points to five blocks of color without saying anything. The block of
color represents the sounds of five English vowels close to the five simple vowel of
Vietnamese.
2. The teacher points again to the five blocks of color. When the students say
nothing, the teacher points to the first block of color and say /a/. Several ss say /e/, /i/, /o/,
/u/ as the teacher points to the other four blocks.
3. The teacher does not model the new sounds, but rather uses gestures to show the ss
how to modify the Vietnamese sounds.
4. Ss takes turns tapping out the sounds
5. The teacher works with gestures, and sometimes instructions in the students’
native language, to help ss to produce the target language sounds as accurately as
possible.
6. The ss learn the sounds of new blocks of color by tapping out the name of their
classmates.
7. The teacher points to a rod and then to three blocks of color on the sound-color
chart. The students respond, “Rod”
8. The teacher points to the words “a” and “rod” on the word chart.
9. The teacher sits down at the table and is silent. After a minute, a girl points to a
rod and says, “A rod”

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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
10. The teacher points to a particular rod and taps out “a blue rod” on the sound colour
chart.
11. The students have to respond “a blue rod’ if s/he utters “a pink rod” then s/he has
problem and has to correct himself.
12. The teacher locates errors made by students but does not supply the correct
language until all self-corrections have failed.
13. The teacher says “Take the green rod’ only once. Ss take turns issuing and
complying with command to take a rod of a certain color.
14. There is no homework assign
Questions:
1. What are the goals of teachers who use the Silent Way?
2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the Ss?
3. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction?
4. What areas of language are emphasized?
5. Community Language Learning
It was generated by Curran, the primary aim is to create a warm and supportive
“community” among learners and gradually move them from dependence on the teachers
to complete autonomy.
This method was first built up for homogeneous class in which teacher must be bilingual,
learners are seated in a circle and the teacher is outside. When one wants to speak
something, he whispers to the teacher in L1 and the teacher will whisper to him in L2,
this student then reads the sentence to the class, the process continues, and learners’
utterances are recorded on tape. Then after a lesson, the whole class has a tape of many
utterances. They will try to analyze it as the basis of more formal language. Gradually, Ss
will work in groups and the keeps out of the way and allows learners to work
autonomously (each group have a tape recorder).
This method is very emotionally oriented and could be led to dangerous directions. It is
very difficult for teacher to control and in somehow Ss may feel that they are not learning
anything.

Questions:
1. Who built up the method?
2. What is the aim of the method?
3. What is the necessary quality of the teacher?
4. Why tape recorder is important in the class?
5. Why can this method be led to dangerous directions?

6. Total physical response

This method is generated by Asher from theory of the first language acquisition.
He follows the hypothesis that the child gets a vast amount of comprehensible
input before beginning to speak and there is a lot of physical manipulation and
action language accompanying early input. The following points are emphasized:
5  We should stress comprehension rather than production at the beginning of
nd
2 language instruction
 Obey the “here and now” principle

7
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
 Provide input to the learners by getting them to carry out commands in
imperative
10 TECHNIQUE
Step I The teacher says the commands as he himself performs the action.
Step 2 The teacher says the command as both the teacher and the students then
perform the action.
Step 3 The teacher says the command but only students perform the action
15 Step 4 The teacher tells one student at a time to do commands
Step 5 The roles of teacher and student are reversed. Students give commands to
teacher and to other students.
Step 6 The teacher and student allow for command expansion or produces new
sentences.

Questions:
1.What is the belief of the author of the approach?
2. What should be emphasize at the first stage?
3. What does it mean by :here and now” principle?
4. Briefly demonstrate the method.
7. The Notional Functional Syllabus
A notional-functional syllabus is more a way of organizing a language learning
curriculum than a method or an approach to teaching. In a notional-functional syllabus,
instruction is organized not in terms of grammatical structure as had often been done with
the ALM, but in terms of “notions” and “functions.” In this model, a “notion” is a
particular context in which people communicate, and a “function” is a specific purpose
for a speaker in a given context. As an example, the “notion” or context shopping
requires numerous language functions including asking about prices or features of a
product and bargaining. Similarly, the notion party would require numerous functions
like introductions and greetings and discussing interests and hobbies. Proponents of the
notional-functional syllabus claimed that it addressed the deficiencies they found in the
ALM by helping students develop their ability to effectively communicate in a variety of
real-life contexts.
This method of language teaching is categorized along with others under the rubric of a
communicative approach. The method stresses a means of organizing a language
syllabus. The emphasis is on breaking down the global concept of language into units of
analysis in terms of communicative situations in which they are used.
Questions:

1. What is the similarity between Audiolingualism and Notional-Functional Syllabus?

2. What is notion?
3. What is function?
4. What is the strong point of this method?

8. CLT- An overview (Communicative language teaching)

As an extension of the notional-functional syllabus, CLT also places great emphasis on
helping students use the target language in a variety of contexts and places great
emphasis on learning language functions. Unlike the ALM, its primary focus is on
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
helping learners create meaning rather than helping them develop perfectly grammatical
structures or acquire native-like pronunciation. This means that successfully learning a
foreign language is assessed in terms of how well learners have developed their
communicative competence, which can loosely be defined as their ability to apply
knowledge of both formal and sociolinguistic aspects of a language with adequate
proficiency to communicate.
CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as a teaching
method with a clearly defined set of classroom practices. As such, it is most often defined
as a list of general principles or features. One of the most recognized of these lists is
David Nunan’s (1991) five features of CLT:
 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also
on the learning process itself.
 An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside
the classroom.
These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that they are very
interested in the needs and desires of their learners as well as the connection between the
language as it is taught in their class and as it used outside the classroom. Under this
broad umbrella definition, any teaching practice that helps students develop their
communicative competence in an authentic context is deemed an acceptable and
beneficial form of instruction. Thus, in the classroom CLT often takes the form of pair
and group work requiring negotiation and cooperation between learners, fluency-based
activities that encourage learners to develop their confidence, role-plays in which
students practice and develop language functions, as well as judicious use of grammar
and pronunciation focused activities.

Classroom activities used in CLT

Example Activities
Role Play
Interviews
Information Gap
Games
Language Exchanges
Surveys
Pair Work
Learning by teaching
However, not all courses that utilize the Communicative Language approach will restrict
their activities solely to these. Some courses will have the students take occasional
grammar quizzes, or prepare at home using non-communicative drills, for instance.

Critiques of CLT

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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
One of the most famous attacks on Communicative Language teaching was offered by
Michael Swan in 1985 in the English Language Teaching Journal (1985 39(1):2-12, and
1985 39(2):76-87). Henry Widdowson responded in defense of CLT, also in the ELT
Journal (1985 39(3):158-161). More recently other writers (e.g. Bax 2003) have critiqued
CLT for paying insufficient attention to the context in which teaching and learning take
place, though CLT has also been defended against this charge (e.g. Harmer 2003).
The Communicative Approach often seems to be interpreted as: if the teacher
understands the student we have good communication. What can happen though is that a
teacher who is from the same region, understands the students when they make errors
resulting from first language influence. Problem with this is that regular speakers of the
target language can have great difficulty understanding them. This observation asks to
rethink and adapt the communicative approach. The adapted communicative approach
should be a simulation where the teacher pretends to understand only that what any
regular speaker of the target language would, and should react accordingly.
Questions:
1. State the characteristics of CLT.
2. What is the role of learners’ experiences in language learning?
3. What are the criticism of CLT?

II. Variation in Language learning

1. Characteristics of a good language learner

The following is a list of some of the characteristics commonly thought to contribute to
successful language learning. In your experience – as a second language learner and as a
teacher – which characteristics seem to you most likely to be associated with success in
second language acquisition in the classroom? Which one would you be less inclined to
expect in a successful learner?
1. Very important
2. Quite important
3. important
4. Not very important
5. Not at all important
A good language learner:
a/ is a willing and accurate guesser 1 2 3 4 5
b/ tries to get a message across even if specific language 1 2 3 4 5
knowledge is lacking
c/ is willing to make mistakes 1 2 3 4 5
d/ constantly looks for patterns in the language 1 2 3 4 5
e/ practices as often as possible 1 2 3 4 5
f/ analyses his or her own speech and the speech of others 1 2 3 4 5
g/ attends to whether his or her performance meets the 1 2 3 4 5
standards he or she has learnt
h/ enjoys grammar exercises 1 2 3 4 5
i/ begins learning in childhood 1 2 3 4 5
j/ has an above average IQ 1 2 3 4 5
k/ has a good academic skill 1 2 3 4 5
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
l/ has a good self image and lots of confidence 1 2 3 4 5
2. Intelligences
It has traditionally used to refer to performance on certain kind of tests. These tests are
often associated with success in school, and a link between intelligence and second
language learning has sometimes been reported. Over the years, many studies using a
variety of intelligence tests (IQ) and different methods of assessing language learning
have found that IQ scores were good means of predicting how successful a learner would
be. Some recent studies have shown that these measures of intelligence may be more
strongly related to certain kinds of language abilities than to others, for example: it was
related to language reading, grammar, and vocabulary; it was unrelated to productive
skills (Genesee, 1976). Similar findings have been reported in other studies. Therefore,
intelligence may be a strong factor when language learning involves language analysis
and rule learning, and it will be less important in classrooms where the instruction
focuses more on communication and interaction.
Questions:
1. How could intelligence be measured?
2. What language abilities relate to intelligences?
3. What does “productive skill” mean?
4. Is intelligence important to language learning?
3. Aptitude
Learning quickly is a distinguishing feature of aptitude. It has been investigated most
intensively by researchers interested in developing tests which can be used to predict
whether individuals will be efficient learners of a foreign language. Tests are based on
the view that aptitude is composed of different types of abilities:
1. The ability to identify and memorize new sounds
2. The ability to understand the function of a particular words in sentences
3. The ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples
4. Memory for new words
With Grammar Translation and Audio-lingual methods, a substantial relationship
between aptitude and performance in language learning is revealed, however, with the
adoption of a more communicative approach to teaching, many researchers and teachers
see it as irrelevant to the process of language acquisition.
Successful language learners may not be strong in all of the components of
aptitude. Some individual may have strong memory but only average abilities in the other
component of aptitude. Ideally, one could determine learners’ profiles of strengths and
weaknesses and uses this information to place students in appropriate programs. For
example: Ss who are high on analytic ability but average on memory are assigned to
teaching that focuses on grammatical structures, those who are high on memory but
average on analytic ability are placed in a class where teaching is organized around the
functional use of L2 in specific situation.
Questions:
1.What is the typical feature of aptitude?
2. How could aptitude be measured?
3. What is the role of aptitude to language teaching in the light of Communicative
approach?
4. Is the understanding of Ss’ aptitude important to teachers? Why?
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
4. Personality
A number of personality characteristics have been proposed as likely affect L2 learning.
However, it is really difficult to demonstrate their effects in language learning. It is often
argued that an extroverted person is well suited to language learning, however, research
does not always support this conclusion.
Another aspect of personality which has been studied is inhibition. It has been suggested
that inhibition discourages risk-taking which is necessary for progress in language
learning. This is often considered to be a particular problem for adolescents who are more
self-conscious than younger learners. It was claimed that inhibition is a negative force for
language learning.
Several personality characteristics such as self-esteem, empathy, dominance, and
responsiveness have also been studied. However, in general, the available research does
not show a clearly defined relationship between personality and second language
acquisition. Another explanation which has been offered for the mixed findings of
personality studies is that personality variables may be a major factor only in the
acquisition of conversational skills, not in the acquisition of literacy skills. Personality
variables seem to be related to communicative ability, not grammatical accuracy.
Questions:
1. What characteristics of personalities are taken into consideration in language
learning?
2. What is the role of inhibition to language learning?
3. Where is personality more important? In acquision of communicative ability or
grammatical accuracy? Could you explain about the point?
4. Tell the class your own experience of the influence of personality on language.

5. Learner Preferences
Learners have clear preferences for how they go about learning new material. The term
“learning style” has been used to describe an individual’ natural, habitual, and preferred
way of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills. Some people say
that they can not learn something until they have seen it. Such learners would fall into the
group called “visual learners”. Other people, who may be called “aural learners” seem to
need only to hear something once or twice before they know it. For others, who are
“kinesthetic” learners, there is a need to add a physical action to the learning process. In
contrast to these conceptually based learning styles, a cognitive learning style distinction
between field independent and field dependent learners.
Field independence and field dependence
FI hinges on the perceptual skill of "seeing the forest for the trees." A person who can
easily recognize the hidden castle or human face in 3-D posters and a child who can spot
the monkeys camouflaged within the trees and leaves of an exotic forest in coloring
books tend toward a field independent style. The "field" may be perceptual or it may be
abstract, such as a set of ideas, thoughts, or feelings from which the task is to perceive
specific subsets. Field dependence is, conversely, the tendency to be "dependent" on the
total field so that the parts embedded within the field are not easily perceived, though that
total field is perceived most clearly as a unified whole (Brown: 1994).
There are advantages and disadvantages to FI and FD learning styles and both are
important for L2 learning. The FI learner excels in classroom learning which involves
12
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
analysis, attention to details, and mastering of exercises, drills, and other focused
activities. The FD learner, by contrast, seems to achieve a higher degree of success in
everyday language situations beyond the constraints of the classroom; tasks requiring
interpersonal communication skills.
Listed below are the principal characteristics of the two cognitive styles and the
implications of each for L2 learning (Ellis 1993; based on Hawkey: 1982).
Field independence Field dependence
1. Impersonal orientation 1. Personal orientation
i.e. reliance on internal frame of i.e. reliance on external frame of
reference in processing information reference in processing information
2. Analytic 2. Holistic
i.e. perceives a field in terms of its i.e. perceives field as a whole; parts
component parts; parts are are fused with background
distinguished from background
3. Independent 3. Dependent
i.e. sense of separate identity i.e. the self view is derived from
others
4. Socially sensitive 4. Not so socially aware
i.e. greater skill in interpersonal/social i.e. less skilled in interpersonal/social
relationships relationships
FI/FD Checklist
Students can enhance their learning power by being aware of style areas in which they
feel less comfortable--and by working on the development of these--thus, providing
avenues to foster their intellectual growth (Eliason in Kang: 1999). Similarly, teachers
can identify strong style patterns in their classes and make effective use of such
information by devising lesson plans which accommodate individual learning style
preferences. The writer has created the following learning styles checklist to enable EFL
teachers to gauge their learners' tendencies towards FI/FD. Although this kind of
assessment is not comprehensive, it does indicate students' preferred general learning
styles. Learners whose responses tend toward the right-hand side of the list, indicate a
preference for FD, conversely, those who check more on the left show a preference for
FI.
Questions:
1.How could learner preference be defined?
2. What does it mean by “visual learner”?
3. What is “aural learner” like?
4. Who are named “kinesthetic learner”?
5. Who is more analytical? Field independence or field dependence learner?
6. Being a teacher, how should you organize tasks for FD learners?
7. Being a teacher, how should you organize tasks for FI learners?
8. Are you FI or FD? Explain.
6. Learner beliefs
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
All learners, particularly older learners, have strong beliefs and opinion about how
their instruction should be delivered. These beliefs are usually based on previous learning
experiences and assumptions (right or wrong) that a particular type of instruction is the
best way for them to learn. For example, in a highly communicative program, it was
found a high level of dissatisfaction among learners, they expressed concerns of several
aspects of instructions: the absence of attention to language form, corrective feedback, or
teacher-centered instruction etc...
Questions:
1. Who keep stronger belief of good instruction? Young learners or old ones? Why?
2. What is your belief of a good language teaching?
3. Why a highly communicative program caused a high level of dissatisfaction among
learners?
4. What would you do if your instruction contradicts what your learners expect?
7. Age of acquisition
The critical period research to date
How children acquire native language (L1) and the relevance of this to
foreign language (L2) learning has long been debated. Although evidence for L2
learning ability declining with age is controversial, a common notion is that
children learn L2s easily, whilst older learners rarely achieve fluency. This
5 assumption stems from ‘critical period’ (CP) ideas. A CP was popularized by Eric
Lenneberg in 1967 for L1 acquisition, but considerable interest now surrounds age
effects on second language acquisition (SLA). SLA theories explain learning
processes and suggest causal factors for a possible CP for SLA, mainly attempting
to explain apparent differences in language aptitudes of children and adults by
10 distinct learning routes, and clarifying them through psychological mechanisms.
Research explores these ideas and hypotheses, but results are varied: some
demonstrate pre-pubescent children acquire language easily, and some that older
learners have the advantage, whilst others focus on existence of a CP for SLA.
Recent studies (e.g. Mayberry and Lock, 2003) have recognized certain aspects of
15 SLA may be affected by age, whilst others remain intact. The objective of this
study is to investigate whether capacity for vocabulary acquisition decreases with
age.
A review of SLA theories and their explanations for age-related differences
is necessary before considering empirical studies. The most reductionist theories
20 are those of Penfield and Roberts (1959) and Lenneberg (1967), which stem from
L1 and brain damage studies; children who suffer impairment before puberty
typically recover and (re)develop normal language, whereas adults rarely recover
fully, and often do not regain verbal abilities beyond the point reached five
months after impairment. Both theories agree that children have a neurological
25 advantage in learning languages, and that puberty correlates with a turning point
in ability. They assert that language acquisition occurs primarily, possibly
exclusively, during childhood as the brain loses plasticity after a certain age. It
then becomes rigid and fixed, and loses the ability for adaptation and
reorganization, rendering language (re-)learning difficult.
30 Results showed a linear decline in performance with increasing age of
exposure; those exposed to ASL from birth performed best, and ‘late learners’
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
worst, on all production and comprehension tests. Their study thus provides direct
evidence for language learning ability decreasing with age, but it does not add to
Lennerberg’s CP hypothesis as even the oldest children, the ‘late learners’, were
35 exposed to ASL by age four, and had therefore not reached puberty, the proposed
end of the CP.
Other work has challenged the biological approach; Krashen (1975)
reanalyzed clinical data used as evidence and concluded cerebral specialization
occurs much earlier than Lenneberg calculated. Therefore, if a CP exists, it does
40 not coincide with lateralization.
Although it does not describe an optimal age for SLA, the theory implies that
younger children can learn languages more easily than older learners, as adults
must reactivate principles developed during L1 learning and forge an SLA path:
children can learn several languages simultaneously as long as the principles are
still active and they are exposed to sufficient language samples (Pinker, 1995).
Questions:
1. What is the controversy of the age of language acquisition?
2. In your opinion, what is the effect of age to language learning? What is the optimal
age for language learning?
3. What is the advantage that adults learning a second language could overcome
children?
8. Motivation and attitude
Motivation in L2 learning is a complex phenomenon which can be defined in terms of
two factors: learners’ communicative needs and their attitudes toward the L2 community.
R. Gardner and W. Lambert coined the term integrative motivation to refer to language
learning for personal growth and cultural enrichment, and instrumental motivation for
language learning for more immediate or practical goals. Depending on learners’
attitudes, learning a L2 can be a source of enrichment or a source of resentment.
Motivation in the classroom setting
Several areas where educational research has reported increased levels of motivation for
students in relation to pedagogical practices. Included among these are:
Motivating Ss into the lesson: At the opening stage of the lesson, remarks teachers make
about forthcoming activities can lead to higher levels of interest on the part of the Ss.
Varying the activities, tasks, and materials: Ss are reassured by the existence of
classroom routines which they can depend on. However, lessons which always consist of
the same routines, patterns, and formats have been shown to lead to a decrease in
attention and increase in boredom. Varying the activities, tasks, and materials can help to
avoid this and increase Ss’ interest levels.
Using cooperative rather than competitive goals: These techniques have been found to
increase the self confidence of Ss, including weaker ones because every participant in a
cooperative task has an important role to play.
Clearly, cultural and age differences will determine the most appropriate way for teachers
to motivate Ss. In some classrooms, Ss may thrive on competitive interaction while in
others, cooperative activities may be more successful.
Questions:
1. What is motivation?
2. What is the difference between integrative and instrumental motivation?
15
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
3. What should the teacher do to motivate students?
4. What factors decide the way the teacher motivate his/her Ss?
Motivation in Language Learning
Motivation is one of the keys to successful language learning. Maintaining a high level
of motivation during a period of language learning is one of the best ways to make the
whole process more successful. As each individual is motivated in different ways, we
have to find the right balance of incentives to succeed (or "carrots") and disincentives to
fail (or "sticks"), encouragement, and the right environment in which to learn.
Here are some tips to help you:
 find a teacher or tutor who is enthusiastic and who can help to motivate you
 tell your friends and family that your language learning is important to you - if you're
lucky they'll give you valuable encouragement
 set yourself short, medium and long-term goals to focus your activities, e.g. register
for an exam, test yourself regularly
 remind yourself frequently that you are going to succeed
 tell your boss/parents that you are learning a language and request some type of
reward for increasing your skills (some companies give financial incentives for
successful language learning)
 take responsibility for your own learning
 study your own language learning and try to understand what tends to motivate and
demotivate you
 select learning materials that are attractive and interesting
 don't choose materials that are too difficult for you; you need just the right level of
challenge
 make sure that your learning process is enjoyable and stimulating
 praise yourself for mastering a piece of work
 reward yourself for reaching goals and deadlines
 find a group of students that takes language learning seriously
 aspire to mastery of the language and culture, to speak the language like a native
 keep your expectations high
 develop positive attitudes to learning, the target language and target community
 build up your confidence levels by reminding yourself about your successes
 use the target language at every opportunity.
In addition to these positive actions, you'll need to manage the learning process so that
you minimize the effects of demotivating factors and other obstacles. Some of these (e.g.
noisy building work, strikes, power cuts, illness, redundancy, accommodation problems,
etc.) will be largely outside your control, but it might help to have some contingency
plans.
In-company language courses sometimes fail due to a combination of factors: decline in
initial enthusiasm after the first few months, illness, excessive pressure of work, travel
overseas, clashes of lessons with other appointments, lack of support from senior
management, irregular attendance from colleagues and/or tutor ... With careful
management these problems can be minimized, and high levels of motivation maintained.
Questions:
1. Choose two tips that you like best and explain why?
2. What have you done to motivate your students?
16
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
3. What will you do (in addition) to motivate your students?
4. What should the teacher do to build up motivation in in-company language
courses?

17
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
III. Role of the teacher in Second language learning

The role of the teacher undergoes fundamental changes with the delivery of a
multidimensional second-language program. As the language classroom moves from
teacher-centred to student-centred and from a language-based to a needs-based
approach, the teacher's responsibilities also change.
The primary role of the teacher in a multidimensional language class is to
establish conditions and develop activities so that students are able to practise the
language in a meaningful context. It is one of the teacher's greatest responsibilities
to develop in the students a positive attitude to learning a second language.
5 It is the teacher who acts as facilitator, resource person and language model for
the second- language classroom. If developing units, the teacher needs to predict
the possible needs of the students and have communicative language activities
readily available to meet these needs. The activities should be designed so that the
students experience a high degree of success. Teachers will also experience
1 greater success when activities are planned around the students' interests and take
0 into account subjects that they have some knowledge about.
The teacher is also instrumental in creating a positive and supportive learning
environment within the class. Students who feel safe and secure are much more
willing to practise a second language. A healthy classroom climate promotes risk-
taking and allows the students to experiment. Positive experiences in the
1 classroom lead to an excellent attitude toward language and culture.
5 The constant re-entry and review of linguistic content throughout the different
units enable the students to practice and internalize the language. Although this
spiral approach is ideal in language learning, the teacher must be aware of the
program objectives and ensure that the objectives are being met. Instruction and
evaluation must reflect these objectives.
2 The teacher will continue to serve as a language model for the students. While
0 remaining the person with whom the students will communicate most often, one
of the main functions of the teacher will now be to discover or invent ways to
encourage students to communicate meaningfully with each other. Instead of
actively directing and controlling all activities the teacher will aim to set up
conditions for meaningful practice and then take on the role of a resource person.
2 The classroom becomes student-centred rather than teacher-centred; the students
5 do most of the talking and the role of the teacher is to facilitate, advise, assist and
offer direction. As the students most often work in small groups the teacher will
observe the activities, noting problem areas for future work. During these
activities, the teacher will interrupt to correct students only if the errors are so
serious as to block communication. The role of the language teacher in the
3 classroom has traditionally been to convey knowledge. As the teacher moves
0 toward being a facilitator of language learning, the students acquire skills that will
enable them to be independent language learners.
Teachers are encouraged to become more knowledgeable about theories and
methods of second language instruction. This can be done through reading and
attending workshops, professional development days and conferences whenever
3 the opportunity lends itself. Mini-immersion or immersion courses are
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Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
5 instrumental in providing the opportunity for improvement/maintenance of
communicative competence. Meeting with colleagues, formally or informally,
also provides an opportunity for discussion, sharing and practising the language
on another level.
The role of the students is also evolving in the second language classroom.
4 Students are becoming more active in their role as learners and are playing a
0 major part in many aspects.
One significant development is the amount of student input and decision-making
that naturally occurs in the development of the unit. In the initial phase of a unit,
students are asked for their input and the knowledge that they possess on a
particular subject. It is this input phase that begins to motivate the students.
4 Students are encouraged to make a number of decisions. They need to decide
5 what vocabulary and structures are important for their activities and projects. The
decisions that are made regarding the projects reflect the interests and strengths of
the students. Although there are specific objectives and guidelines that need to be
met in the second language classroom, students who are allowed some freedom to
move within the parameters are more likely to remain motivated and on task.
5 The experiential goal at the end of the unit gives the students the opportunity to
0 work toward their potential. The students become aware of this project in the
early stages of the unit. They are then able to tailor their vocabulary, their
activities and their thinking toward the final task. As the students realize that the
work they do within the class leads them toward their final goal, they are much
more inclined to stay on task. Students are able to personalize their projects and
5 use their personal abilities and talents. Students with a strong French background
5 may wish to expand on the oral or written aspect of the projects. Students with
artistic or creative talents may wish to add an original dimension to the finished
product. Students with a lesser degree of language skill will also be able to work
toward their own potential. Students learn in different ways and at a different pace
and their final projects will reflect these unique differences.
6 As students become more responsible for their own language learning, their
0 success in the second language class increases. The work that students do in the
Core French class takes on new meaning as the students work toward a final task.
Student self-evaluation becomes more common as the students reflect on what
they have learned, how they have learned and what they still need to learn.

6
5

Questions:
1. What does the T do if s/he act as the
- facilitator?
- language model?
- language resource?
2. What should the teacher consider when s/he develop the units?
19
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
3. In what way can the teacher be instrumental?
4. What is the role of the traditional teacher?
5. What is the role of Ss in contemporary class?
6. Being a student, what should you do to learn English best?
7. Being a teacher, what should you do to teach best? (not only in English but also in
your own teaching profession)

20
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
IV. The Four Language Skills
When we learn a language, there are four skills that we need for complete
communication. When we learn our native language, we usually learn to listen first, then
to speak, then to read, and finally to write. These are called the four "language skills":
Skill #1: Listening
Skill #2: Speaking
Skill #3: Reading
Skill #4: Writing

The four language skills are related to each other in two ways:
 the direction of communication (in or out)
 the method of communication (spoken or written)
Input is sometimes called "reception" and output is sometimes called "production".
Spoken is also known as "oral".
In fact there are other skills for language learning, such as Grammar and Pronunciation
(often called "micro-skills"). But the 4 skills illustrated above are the main ones, and the
ones that people usually mean when they refer to "language skills".
Questions:
1. Can you list other micro-skills in learning a language?
2. Why do people distinguish reading and listening from speaking and writing?
3. In your opinion what should be the best order of the skill in teaching a second
language? Briefly explain.

VI. Teacher’s adaptation to social situation

It is an universal phenomenon that language teachers with the same training
and the same formal qualifications, teaching on the basis of the same method
and using the same textbook, could end up in the classroom with very different
results. This, of course, does not come as a surprise because teaching and
5 learning are socially situated and occur in an interactional process which is
determined by uncontrollable factors. Since human beings are involved in such
a process, no single situation can be duplicated, not even one with the same
persons – teachers and Ss - involved. Every teacher has experienced many

21
Language Teaching methodology – An introduction
times that the same lesson phan worked perfectly well in one class and entirely
1 failed in another. Al this can be taken for granted. But apart from this, there is
0 something else.
Teaching is both a science and an art. As a science, its practices must be based
on research and scientific evidence, which is crystallized in theory. As Stern
(1983: 27) has asserted “No language teacher – however strenuously he may
deny his interest in theory – can teach a language without a theory of language
1 teaching” It can not be guided solely by wisdom. “Good teaching practice is
5 based on good theoretical understanding. There is indeed nothing so practical
as a good theory” (Wardhaugh 1969: 116). The larger the teacher’s theoretical
knowledge base, the more principled his or her teaching is. Principles,
knowledge, and skills are three integrated dimensions of the professionally
competent teacher.
2 Teaching and learning are social and situational. Learning never takes
0 place in a vacuum, it is embedded in a larger social context. Each school exists
in a context which determines what one perceives. It is important, therefore, to
understand the context in which a particular school culture is developing, or in
which an individual is trying to live out his or her life. In different schools, the
challenge of motivation, of classroom management and discipline requires
2 different levels of creativity from teachers and administrators. An appropriate
5 method of teaching is the one that fits with what the teacher is trying to achieve
and it is appropriate to the learners and the context in which teaching and
learning occur. Appropriate methodology is emergent (Holliday 1994, Edge
1996) through the interaction between the teacher’s professional knowledge,
knowledge of the classroom realities, his or her experience and values and the
3 general education goals.
0
Questions:
1. Why do teachers with the same formal qualifications have different teaching
result?
2. Which factors determine the teaching method?
3. What method is considered appropriate?
4. What are the three dimensions of a competent teacher?
5. Inferencing: In Vietnam, what are the prominent cultural features that affect
teaching method?

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